Forests, grazing areas, water supplies, and the internship imbalance problem: Redefining the paradigm to implement effective change.

We are frustrated with the internship imbalance. Twenty years ago, those of us involved in academic training programs prepared students in our doctoral programs for the internship application process by meeting with them for an hour and giving them a few pointers. Now, the focus on securing an internship seems to pervade all aspects of doctoral education. We listen to students worry that they don’t have sufficient hours, assessment experience, or diverse practicum placements. As the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Match approaches, we meet with students more frequently, helping them to prepare their applications and carefully construct their list of internship sites. We devote time helping students to complete the APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI), prepare for interviews, and rank sites. Those of us who are involved in internship training programs spend extensive hours reviewing hundreds of applications in Phase I and Phase II of the APPIC Match. We respond to applicant concerns, questions, and anxiety. And all of us try to provide support and consolation, as well as some understanding about “what went wrong” to those students who aren’t matched. When we have a moment, we look beyond the students in front of us and worry about the future of our profession. How is it possible that we’ve gotten ourselves into this mess? Hatcher’s (this issue, pp. 126 –140) article (a manifesto, if you will) has the potential to point us in a new direction. Our hope is that each of you, like us, will view Hatcher’s article as the beginning of a paradigm shift in terms of how we characterize this problem and its potential solutions. His innovative and bold view of how the professional training community can work collaboratively to reorganize has the potential to effectively impact the internship imbalance and the quality of the profession as a whole. By likening the internship imbalance to a resource management issue similar to what has been encountered in regard to other resources such as crops and forests, Hatcher provides us with an opportunity to rise above our own positions to draw upon existing, evidence-based approaches to cooperative solutions that can benefit all involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lapis lazuli provenance study by means of micro-PIXE

In this paper we report about the micro-PIXE characterisation of lapis lazuli, for a provenance study of this semi-precious stone, used for glyptic as early as 7000 years ago. The final aim is to find markers permitting to identify the origin of the raw material coming from three quarries in regions of historical importance: Afghanistan, Pamir Mountains and Siberia. This may help to reconstruct trade routes, especially for ancient objects for which written testimonies are scanty or absent at all.Due to the heterogeneity of lapis lazuli we concentrate our attention on single phases instead of the whole stone; in particular we focused on two of the main phases: lazurite, responsible for the blue colour, and diopside, the most frequent accessory mineral. This study was preceded and completed by means of microanalysis with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDX) and Cold-Cathodoluminescence (cold-CL) analysis.Despite the limited number of analysed samples, results are sufficient to exclude/suggest a few features as provenance markers, partly confirming what has been previously published in literature.     

Organo-silane coatings for AZ31 magnesium alloy corrosion protection

The protective performances of coatings formed by organo-silanes with a long alkyl chain for AZ31 magnesium alloy corrosion protection were evaluated by electrochemical techniques. The coatings were formed in hydroalcoholic baths of octyl- or octadecyl-trimethoxy-silane, and hydrolyzed at different pH values.

The coatings formed at all the pH by the lower homologue were always porous and scarcely protective. Those built by the higher homologue were more corrosion resistant and the best results were observed when octadecyl-trimethoxy-silane was hydrolyzed at pH 5: in this case a thick, scarcely defective, layer was formed and no evident corrosion attack was observed after 1000 h immersion in 0.05 M Na₂SO₄ solution.     

Polycaprolactone/alendronate systems intended for production of biomaterials

Sodium alendronate (ALD) is a bisphosphonate used to treat osteoporosis. However, its oral administration has been associated with side effects as gastroesophageal reflux. Moreover, there are some particularities for the intake of the medicine, which also hinder the patient's compliance, for example, the instruction that it has to be taken with an empty stomach, 30 to 60 min before breakfast and avoid the decubitus position after using the drug. Therefore, biomaterials for applications in osteoporotic bones are a good alternative. Thus, this work aimed to produce a Polycaprolactone (PCL) and ALD-based powder as a supply to build biomaterials by selective laser sintering, compression molding (CM), solvent casting (SC), among others. The powder was produced by coating the ALD particles with PCL and films were produced by SC and CM techniques. The samples were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and thermal analysis. Furthermore, the drug release was evaluated by UV–Vis spectroscopy. Results showed that ALD particles were successfully coated by PCL and applied to the production of biomaterials, highlighting its potential in the treatment of osteoporosis.     

Multitarget Compounds for Bipolar Disorder: From Rational Design to Preliminary Pharmacokinetic Evaluation

Due to the complex and multifactorial nature of bipolar disorder (BD), single-target drugs have traditionally provided limited relief with no disease-modifying effects. In line with the polypharmacology paradigm, we attempted to overcome these limitations by devising two series of multitarget-directed ligands endowed with both a partial agonist profile at dopamine receptor D3 (D3R) and inhibitory activity against glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3β). These are two structurally unrelated targets that play independent, yet connected, roles in cognition and mood regulation. Two compounds ( 7 and 10 ) emerged as promising D3R/GSK-3β multitarget-directed ligands with nanomolar activity at D3R and low-micromolar inhibition of GSK-3β, thereby confirming, albeit preliminarily, the feasibility of our strategy. Furthermore, 7 showed promising drug-like properties in stability and pharmacokinetic studies.     

Corrosion behaviour of the aluminium alloy AA 6351 in glycol/water solutions degraded at elevated temperature

A research programme has been developed to characterize the corrosion behaviour of the metals most widely used in solar collector systems. Common heat transfer fluids such as glycol/water solutions show a low aggressivity, unless pollution or high temperature exposure (degradation) occur. This paper deals with the study of the corrosion behaviour of the aluminium alloy 6351 (nominal composition: 1% Si, 0.6%Mg, 0.3% Mn, the balance Al) in ethylene or propylene glycol (EG or PG)/water solutions (1:1 in volume) degraded at 108°C in contact with AA 6351 as glycol oxidative degradation catalyzer. The tests in degraded solutions, performed at 80°C over a period of 60 days, showed that degradation causes an increase in the uniform corrosion rates and a remarkable pitting attack. Pitting corrosion has been mainly attributed to the action of copper ions dissolved from the aluminium alloy and detected in the solutions by atomic adsorption analysis. In conjunction with the degradation studies, tests were also performed at 80°C in buffered PG/water solutions (pH 4) containing the acids reported to be produced during the process of glycol oxidative degradation (oxalic, glycolic, acetic and formic acids), at the concentrations 10^?3 or 10^?2 M. In these solutions the corrosion behaviour of AA 6351 was investigated over a period of 30 days by measuring the gravimetric corrosion rates and the polarization resistance values and by recording the polarization curves after 2 h or 30 days of immersion. Only oxalic acid and 10^?2 M glycolic acid significantly increased the AA 6351 corrosion rates, but only in the first period of immersion. On the contrary, when the surface films were formed in the solutions of these acids, they afforded the highest protectivity. The analogous behaviour of AA 6351 in oxalic and glycolic solutions has not been attributed to the formation of an insoluble aluminium salt film with the organic anions, but rather to the growth of an oxide film with peculiar characteristics of thickness and protectivity.     

Oligosaccharide contents in the seeds of cultivated lupins

The contents of socrose and α-galactosides of the seeds of 84 cultivated lupin samples were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (PHLC) and the data were correlated both with genotype and environment.     

Intermediates and isomers in the substitution of cobalt carbonyl hydride with tertiary phosphorous ligands

Mono- and disubstitution of HCo(CO)₄ with tertiary phosphines and phosphites was studied by IR and¹H-NMR spectroscopy. It was found that these substitutions proceed through phosphonium tetracarbonylcobaltate intermediates, leading to a mixture of isomers. The crystal and molecular structure of trans-HCo(CO)₃[P(O-p-C₆H₄Ph)₃] was determined by X-ray diffraction.GDR research fellow at the University of Veszprém.     

Are two interventions worse than none? Joint primary and secondary prevention of eating disorders in college females.

Prevention programs for eating disorders attempt to simultaneously prevent new cases from arising (primary prevention) and encourage students who already have symptoms to seek early treatment (secondary prevention), even though ideal strategies for these 2 types of prevention may be incompatible with each other. In the present study, an eating disorder prevention program was evaluated in a sample of female college freshmen. In the intervention, classmates who had recovered from eating disorders described their experiences and provided information about eating disorders. At follow-up, intervention participants had slightly more symptoms of eating disorders than did controls. The program may have been ineffective in preventing eating disorders because by reducing the stigma of these disorders (to encourage students with problems to seek help), the program may have inadvertently normalized them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inhibition of pitting corrosion of AISI 304 by organic compounds

The influence of N-lauroylsarcosine, laurylaminedicarboxylic acid, Na-dodecylbenzene sulphonate and Na-laurylsulphate on the pitting corrosion of AISI 304 stainless steel has been studied in 0.1 N NaCl solutions, buffered in the pH range 2.2 to 7.5, at 50°C. The steel pitting potentials have been determined by potentiostatic measurements and by a scratching electrode technique. The potential value at which active pits could be repassivated has been identified. The pitting incubation times have been determined on the steel electrodes prepassivated for different times at 0.5 V/Ag/AgCl in buffer solutions in the absence or in the presence of inhibitors. The overall results confirmed the inhibiting effect of the mentioned substances against the intiation of pitting, just emphasized by the means of potentiodynamic tests. On the contrary, the examined compounds do not show any effect on the pitting propagation. Some more information on the mechanism of action of the mentioned inhibitors are obtained from the incubation time values: in order to explicate their action they must either find sufficiently stable oxide film or can contribute to the stabilization of the passive film during its formation.