Absentminded lapses during smoking cessation.

Although it is widely believed that drug cravings are responsible for drug use and relapse, S. T. Tiffany (1990) has proposed a cognitive model in which drug use is triggered not by craving but by the cuing of automatized action plans. The purpose of this study was to examine the lapse episodes from an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of smokers attempting to quit for evidence of automatic, or absentminded, lapses with slight or no urges to smoke, in keeping with S. T. Tiffany's (1990) model. Qualitative analysis of 270 EMA reports made by 41 smokers during the first 14 days of quitting identified 15 (6%) absentminded lapses. Quantitative urge levels were significantly lower during absentminded lapses compared with nonabsentminded lapses; however, urges were not very low. Results indicate that absentminded lapses may occur but are probably relatively rare. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Automatic lateral emergency collision avoidance for a passenger car

Longitudinal collision avoidance controllers are of limited benefit for preventing head-on collisions between road vehicles travelling at high speed or for preventing rear end collisions when there is insufficient separation between the vehicles. In these circumstances, aggressive lateral vehicle manoeuvres are more appropriate. This paper develops a controller architecture to perform an emergency lateral collision avoidance manoeuvre. Simulation results indicate significant improvements in collision avoidance at vehicle speeds up to 100 [km/hr] using integrated automatic steering and braking.     

Implantable data logging system for heart rate and body temperature: its application to the estimation of field metabolic rates in Antarctic predators

Mutations affecting the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) gene are associated with inherited motor and sensory neuropathies in mouse (Trembler and Trembler-J) and human (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A and Dejerine-Sottas syndrome). Although genetic studies have established a critical role of PMP22 in the formation and/or maintenance of myelin in the peripheral nervous system, the biological function of PMP22 in myelin and in non-myelin forming cells remains largely enigmatic. In this Mini-Review, we will summarize the current knowledge about PMP22 and discuss its hypothetical function(s) in a broad context.     

Residual stress craze and crack formation in poly(methyl methacrylate)

Samples of poly(methyl methacrylate) with a central circular hole are compressed, and crazes form on or after unloading, provided that the strain attains or exceeds a threshold value ?_t. Crazes induced in air are transformed rapidly to cracks, but environmental crazes are more stable. These residual stress crazes form at the diameter of the hole on a plane perpendicular to the applied stress direction. In contrast, during loading, crazes form on the vertical plane containing the hole axis. Unloading crazes are relatively insensitive to changes in strain rate, whereas loading erazes have a pronounced rate dependence. Environmental residual stress crazing exhibits an apparent rate sensitivity at constant time, but the critical applied strain ?_t is essentially constant, irrespective of rate, if the sample is in contact with the environment for a sufficiently long time to ensure that the minimum ?_t is obtained. Residual stress crazes appear to initiate at the equator of the hole, and the maximum tensile residual strain, indicated by a strain gauge, occurs in this position.     

Digital Doppler measurement with spacecraft

Digital and analog phase-locked loop (PLL) receivers were operated in parallel, each tracking the residual carrier from a spacecraft. The PLL tracked the downlink carrier and measured its instantaneous phase. This information, combined with a knowledge of the uplink carrier and the transponder ratio, permitted the computation of a Doppler observable. In this way, two separate Doppler measurements were obtained for one observation window. The two receivers agreed on the magnitude of the Doppler effect to within 1 mHz. There was less jitter on the data from the digital receiver. This was due to its smaller noise bandwidth. The demonstration and its results are described     

The contextual basis of behavior.

Summarizes highlights of 15 yr. of research, emphasizing the roles and mechanisms of context, particularly as these are understood in behaviorally relevant terms. Context is examined as empirical phenomenon, experimental paradigm, and systematic concept. Various influences on the context problem (i.e., relationalism, the organizational character of Gestalt psychology, and the functional and quantitative approach of American behaviorism) are regarded as part of an adaptation level theory. A case is made for adaptation level as a general theory of perception. This involves adapting the paradigm of the anchor experiment to selected perceptual settings. The interrelations of system function are examined through experiments of pooling and response latency. Results indicate that the norm for latency, consistent with adaptation level theory, is a mean derived through pooling. Context effects in reinforcement and the relation of context to the question of relevance are also discussed. (52 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)