Herbert F. Wright (1907–1990): Obituary.

Announces the death in Tennessee of H. F. Wright, a pioneer in ecological psychology. Wright, using ideas generated by a research group, defined the units and categories by which both the behaviors of children and the facts of their situations could be analyzed. Wright and his staff developed both methods for comparing town and city children and theory to illuminate the environmental qualities involved. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Terrorism and cardiovascular responses to acute stress in children.

A number of studies have considered whether background stress affects cardiovascular responses to acute stress tasks. The present study considers the effect of a potent background stressor with a clear onset, namely the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Specifically, the authors investigated differences among 9.5-year-old children tested before (N = 30) and then following (N = 20) the 9/11 attacks. In addition, a majority of these children (N = 37) were retested approximately 1 year later (i.e., before and after 9/11/2002). Children tested directly following 9/11/2001 exhibited significantly greater stroke volume and cardiac output responses to acute stress tasks compared with their responses 1 year later, and this change in reactivity differed significantly from the change in reactivity exhibited by children tested before 9/11/2001 and again 1 year later. These results suggest that a potent background stressor can temporarily heighten some children's cardiovascular responses to subsequent acute stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blood lead (Pb) levels: Further evidence for an environmental mechanism explaining the association between socioeconomic status and psychophysiological dysregulation in children.

Objective: The authors recently reported that blood lead (Pb) was a significant mediator for the positive association between socioeconomic status (SES) and peripheral vascular responses to acute stress in children (B. B. Gump et al., 2007). The present study considers the possibility that Pb may also mediate an association between SES and cortisol responses to acute stress. Design: Early childhood Pb exposure was tested as a mediator for cross-sectional associations between SES and cortisol responses. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was cortisol responses to acute stress in 9.5-year-old children (N = 108). Results: Lower family income was associated with significantly greater cortisol levels following an acute stress task. A mediational analysis confirmed that Pb was a significant mediator for this association. Conclusion: These results reaffirm the importance of considering the chemical environment as well as social and psychological environment when evaluating psychophysiological effects of low SES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nanoparticle Coating for Advanced Optical,Mechanical and Rheological Properties

Primary titania nanoparticles were coated with ultrathin alumina films using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). The deposited films were highly uniform and conformal with an average growth rate of 0.2 nm per coating cycle. The alumina films eliminated the surface photocatalytic activity of titania nanoparticles, while maintained their original extinction efficiency of ultraviolet light. Deposited films provided a physical barrier that effectively prevented the titania surface from oxidizing organic material whereas conserving its bulk optical properties. Parts fabricated from coated powders by pressureless sintering had a 13 % increase in surface hardness over parts similarly fabricated from uncoated particles. Owing to its homogeneous distribution, the secondary alumina phase suppressed excessive grain growth. Alumina films completely reacted during sintering to form aluminum titanate composites, as verified by XRD. Coated particles showed a pseudoplastic behavior at low shear rates due to modified colloidal forces. This behavior became similar to the Newtonian flow of uncoated nanoparticle slurries as the shear rate increased. Suspensions of coated particles also showed a decreased viscosity relative to the viscosity of uncoated particle suspensions.     

Vigilance and cardiovascular reactivity to subsequent stressors in men: A preliminary study.

Understanding moderators of acute responses to stress has implications for a variety of outcomes in health psychology. The present study investigated the role of sustained search for potential threat in acute cardiovascular stress responses. As a means of manipulating vigilance for threat in the laboratory, male participants (N?=?30) were randomly assigned to search, on a computer screen, for statements that were negative, positive, or occurring at known intervals. Relative to participants in the other search conditions, participants in the negative search condition had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses during subsequent stressors. These results encourage a closer look at the effects of vigilance for threat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Particle atomic layer deposition of alumina for sintering yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia

The addition of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) as a sintering aid to yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) reduces the required densification temperature. Sintering aids are incorporated using a number of processes which can lead to ambiguity when determining the effect of the sintering aid on the densification mechanism. In this study, a novel method for sintering aid addition, Particle Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), was used to deposit an amorphous Al₂O₃ thin film on YSZ particles. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the deposition of conformal Al₂O₃ thin films on the surface of the YSZ particles. The addition of Al₂O₃ to YSZ reduced the temperature at which densification began by ~75°C, and 2.2 wt% Al₂O₃ addition resulted in a minimum activation energy for the intermediate stage of densification. This concentration is well in excess of the solubility limit of Al₂O₃ in YSZ, showing that Al₂O₃ does not enhance the densification of YSZ solely by dissolving into the YSZ lattice and activating volume diffusion. The addition of 0.7 wt% Al₂O₃ with one Particle ALD cycle enhanced the ionic conductivity of YSZ by 23% after sintering at 1350°C for 2 hours, demonstrating that dense parts with high oxygen ion conductivities can be produced after sintering at reduced temperatures. One Particle ALD cycle is a fast, easily scaled-up process that eliminates the use of solvents and has substantial cost/performance advantages over conventional processing.     

"Effects of optimism, pessimism, and trait anxiety on ambulatory blood pressure and mood during everyday life": Correction to R?ikk?nen et al. (1999).

Reports an error in the original article by K. R?ikk?nen et al (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999, 76(1), 104–113). Table 4 on page 111 contained an error. The 4 sets of column heads ("Adjusted" and "Unadjusted") were inadvertently transposed. The corrected table is provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1999-00166-008): This study tested whether dispositional measures of optimism, pessimism, and anxiety affected ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and mood and whether any cardiovascular effects of dispositions were moderated by mood. Pessimistic and anxious adults had higher BP levels and felt more negative and less positive than did optimists or low anxious adults throughout the monitoring. The few times that optimists did feel negative were associated with levels of BP as high as those observed among pessimists or anxious individuals, regardless of their mood. To the extent that trait anxiety measures neuroticism, these findings suggest that neuroticism is directly related to health indicators rather than simply to illness behavior. Furthermore, the results suggest that pessimism has broad physiological and psychological consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blood lead (Pb) levels: A potential environmental mechanism explaining the relation between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular reactivity in children.

Objective: A number of studies have shown an association between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress. In addition, the authors recently reported that higher early childhood blood lead (Pb) levels are associated with significantly greater total peripheral (vascular) resistance (TPR) responses to acute stress. It is not known whether the SES-TPR association is mediated by underlying differences in blood lead levels. Design: Participants were 9.5-year-old children (N = 122) with established early childhood blood lead levels. Main Outcome Measures: Family SES was measured using the Hollingshead Index, blood lead levels were abstracted from pediatrician and state records, and children's cardiovascular responses to acute stressors were measured in the laboratory with impedance cardiography and an automated blood pressure monitor. Results: Lower family SES was shown to be associated with significantly higher blood lead levels as well as significantly heightened systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and TPR responses to acute stress tasks. A mediational analysis confirmed that Pb was a significant mediator of the SES-TPR reactivity association; some evidence also suggested moderation. Conclusion: These results suggest the importance of considering the chemical environment as well as social and psychological environment when evaluating cardiovascular effects of low SES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic stress influences cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses during acute stress and recovery, especially in men.

This study tests the influence of chronic stress on cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to and recovery from acute stressors and whether the effects are gender specific. Sixty-two healthy, middle-aged persons (50% women) performed mental-arithmetic and public-speaking tasks and relaxed thereafter for 1 hr while their cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions were measured. Participants with higher levels of chronic stress showed lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) and epinephrine (E; men only) and marginally lower levels of norepinephrine (NE) responses to the tasks and showed lower levels of cortisol and marginally lower NE responses during recovery. Relative to women, men had high diastolic blood pressure (DBP) responses to the tasks and high SBP, DBP, and E responses during recovery. Gender differences in cardiovascular disease in midlife may be due to gender differences in inability to recover quickly, in addition to enhanced acute-stress response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)