News & notes.

Presents information about the Society for the History of Psychology. Members may obtain the latest information on the Division's web site, or subscribe to the electronic mailing list. The column specifically summarizes the History of Psychology sessions at Southeastern Regional meetings. It also reports on the 23rd Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of the Human Sciences, Salzburg, Austria, July 20–24, 2004. The death of a Division member is also announced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bulk nanocrystalline aluminum 5083 alloy fabricated by a novel technique: Cryomilling and spark plasma sintering

Dense, bulk nanocrystalline aluminum 5083 alloy was fabricatedvia a combined technique: cryomilling (mechanical milling at cryogenic temperature) to achieve the nanocrystalline Al 5083 powder and spark plasma sintering (SPS) to consolidate the cryomilled powder. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that the average grain size in the SPS consolidated material is 51 nm, one of the smallest grain sizes ever reported in bulk Al alloys produced by powder metallurgy derived methods. In contrast, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed a bimodal grain size distribution, with an average grain size of 47 nm in the fine-grained regions and approximately 300 nm in the coarse-grained regions. Nanoindentation was used to evaluate the mechanical properties and the uniformity of the consolidated nanocrystalline Al 5083. The hardness of the material is greatly improved over that of the conventional equivalent, due to the fine grain size. The mechanisms for spark plasma sintering and the microstructural evolution are discussed on the basis of the experimental findings.     

Freud's narrow escape and the discovery of transference.

Contends that Freud discovered transference in connection with material derived from his treatment of Emma Eckstein. The last chapter of Studies on Hysteria by J. Breuer and S. Freud (1895) in which Freud's 1st published use of the term transference occurs, can be read as a working through of the crisis that occurred when Eckstein nearly died. This concept, it is argued, explained Freud's patient's disturbed feelings toward him as a "false connection" and thereby helped to free him of feelings of personal involvement in her libidinal demands. The story of the troubled circumstances under which Freud discovered transference provides insight into the defensive nature of the concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Post-concussive symptoms in children with mild traumatic brain injury.

To investigate postconcussive symptoms (PCS) following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), 8- to 15-year-old children with mTBI (n = 186) and a comparison group with uncomplicated orthopedic injuries (OI, n = 99) were recruited from two emergency departments. Parent and child ratings of PCS and symptom counts were obtained within 3 weeks after injury (baseline) and at 1, 3, and 12 months postinjury. The mTBI group also completed magnetic resonance imaging at baseline. Group differences were examined using growth modeling, controlling for age at injury, sex, socioeconomic status, and (for parent-based measures) preinjury symptom levels. Relative to the OI group, the mTBI group had higher ratings of somatic PCS and parent counts of PCS at the initial assessments, but higher parent ratings of cognitive PCS and child counts of PCS throughout follow-up. Higher levels of PCS in the mTBI group were associated with motor-vehicle-related trauma, loss of consciousness, neuroimaging abnormalities, and hospitalization. The findings validate both transient and persistent PCS in children with mTBI and document associations of symptoms with injury and noninjury factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of the (2R)- and (2S)-stereoisomers of 3-(2-carboxypyrrolidinyl)-2-methyl acetic acid as ligands for the ionotropic glutamate receptors

In this paper we describe the rational design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of two new stereoisomeric (S)‐glutamate (Glu) analogues. The rational design was based on hybrid structures of the natural product kainic acid, a synthetic analogue CPAA and the high‐affinity Glu analogue SYM2081. Pharmacological evaluation of the two stereoisomers revealed that one stereoisomer showed a subtype selectivity profile with low micromolar affinity for GluK1 and GluK3 and a 10‐ to 15‐fold lower affinity for GluK2. The other stereoisomer displayed full selectivity for the KA over AMPA and NMDA receptors (GluK1–3: 0.39, 0.51 and 0.099 µM , respectively).     

Topographical and chemical characterization of polymer surfaces modified by physical and chemical processes

Nanoscale changes to the surface of polymeric materials enables changes in materials' adhesion, wettability, printability, chemical functionality, and bioactivity, while maintaining desirable bulk properties. Polymer surface modification is therefore used in applications such as antimicrobial or non‐fouling materials, biosensors, and active packaging. The range of available modification and analytical techniques used across laboratories prevents accurate comparison of techniques in terms of their effects on surface chemistry and topography. It was therefore our goal to evaluate the effects of four surface modification techniques (chromic acid, piranha solution, ultraviolet irradiation, and oxygen plasma) on polyethylene films. Changes in surface chemistry and topography were quantified using attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurement, and direct measurement of available surface carboxylic acids. Roughness increased in the order: piranha (57.7 nm); oxygen plasma (76.3 nm); UV irradiation (76.4 nm); chromic acid (120 nm). Hydrophobicity decreased in the order: piranha (77.20), chromic acid (73.50), oxygen plasma (61.70), UV irradiation (58.70). Functionalization (by IR absorbance intensity between 1680–1780 cm⁻¹) increased in the order: oxygen plasma (0.06), piranha (0.09), chromic acid (0.34), UV irradiation (0.50). By analyzing these methods using consistent analytical techniques, side‐by‐side comparisons have been accurately made. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Severity of delayed (“secondary”) cerebral energy failure after acute hypoxia-ischemia is related to the time integral of acute ATP depletion

The aim of this study was to reproduce the delayed (secondary) cerebral energy failure previously described in birth-asphyxiated newborn infants and to investigate relationships between primary insult severity and the extent of the delayed energy failure. Phosphorus (³¹P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 7 T was used to study the brains of 12 newborn piglets during an acute, reversible, cerebral hypoxic-ischemic episode which continued until nucleotide triphosphates (NTP) were depleted. After reperfusion and reoxygenation, spectroscopy was continued for 48 h. High-energy metabolite concentrations returned to near normal levels after the insult, but later they fell as delayed energy failure developed. The time integral of NTP depletion in the primary insult correlated strongly with the minimum [phosphocreatine (PCr)]/[inorganic orthophosphate (P_i)] observed 24–48 h after the insult. (Linear regression analysis gave slope –8.04 h^–1; ordinate intercept=1.23;r=0.92;P<0.0001.) This model is currently being used to investigate the therapeutic potential of various cerebroprotective strategies including hypothermia.