Stress and coping among university counselors: A minority perspective.

78 university and college ethnic minority counselors identified on a questionnaire the types of on-the-job stress they encounter and the availability of self-help networks and/or other mechanisms used to cope with such stressors. The responses from Ss who indicated they had an adequate self-help network were compared with responses from Ss who felt that their self-help network was inadequate. Ss with inadequate self-help networks indicated they were experiencing more on-the-job stress, perceived the university as less supportive of their role as a "minority" counselor, and identified more conflict of role definition between themselves and their supervisors than Ss with adequate self-help networks. Both groups of Ss indicated that they preferred to rely primarily on themselves for support when experiencing stress but that they would also turn to a professional associate, family member, or work associate to help them cope with job-related stress. Implications for the training of minority persons as counselors are discussed, and strategies are suggested for facilitating the development of viable self-help networks. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pilot Plant Study of the Effect of a Surface Electric Field on Fabric Filter Operation

Electrostatic fields at the fabric surface of fabric dust collectors have been observed in the laboratory to reduce the flow resistance of the collected dust and to reduce the dust penetration into the fabric. A pilot plant study of electrostatically augmented fabric filtration was undertaken to transfer the laboratory technology to the field environment. Pilot plant results are presented. These results are interpreted with respect to dust cake structure and properties.     

Quartz crystal microbalance study of DNA immobilization and hybridization for nucleic Acid sensor development

The immobilization of two 30-mer oligonucleotides, one biotinylated (biotin-DNA) and the other having a mercaptohexyl group at the 5'-phosphate end (BS1-SH), onto modified gold surfaces has been examined using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). Both single-layer and multilayer DNA films were prepared. The single-layer films of biotin-DNA were constructed by binding to a precursor layer of avidin, which had been attached to the QCM either covalently using a water-soluble carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) or via electrostatic interaction with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). Single-layer films of BS1-SH were also formed on PAH via the electrostatic attraction between the amine groups on PAH and the negatively charged phosphate backbone of DNA. Multilayer films of DNA were fabricated by the successive deposition of avidin and poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS), up to a total of nine avidin/PSS layers, followed by DNA adsorption. DNA immobilization and hybridization of the immobilized DNAs was monitored in situ from QCM frequency changes. Hybridization was induced by exposure of the DNA-containing films to complementary DNA in solution. Equal frequency changes were observed for the DNA immobilization and hybridization steps for the single-layer films, indicating a DNA probe-to-hybridized DNA target ratio of 1:1. The multilayer DNA films also exhibited DNA hybridization, with a greater quantity of DNA hybridized compared with the single-layer films. The multilayer films provide a novel means for the fabrication of DNA-based thin films with increased capacity for nucleic acid detection.     

Tribological Properties of Films Formed by the Reaction of Carbon Tetrachloride with Iron

The tribological properties of halide films grown on iron by reaction with carbon tetrachloride vapor at a temperature of 617 K and a pressure of 1.7 Torr are compared, in ultrahigh vacuum, with FeCl₂ films evaporated onto the surface. It is found that the reactively formed film has a slightly lower limiting friction coefficient than the evaporated layer (~0.06 compared to ~0.08), which may be due either to the diffusion of some carbon into the substrate or the formation of a more oriented layer when this is formed reactively. The major difference between the reactively grown and evaporated film is that the evaporated layer attains the minimum friction when ~40 ? of FeCl₂ has been evaporated, while the reactively formed layer has a minimum friction coefficient when a film of 6±2 ? has been deposited. In the case of the evaporated FeCl₂ film, the growth of second and subsequent layers proceeds before the first layer is complete. It has been shown that the friction coefficient reaches its minimum value after completion of the first monolayer, a process that is complete after the evaporation of ~40 ? of FeCl₂. In the case of the film formed by reaction with CCl₄, the halide film grows directly on the surface implying that the FeCl₂ monolayer thickness is ~6 ?. This value is in good agreement with the layer thickness in bulk ferrous chloride.     

Phosphorylation- and activation-independent association of the tyrosine kinase Syk and the tyrosine kinase substrates Cbl and Vav with tubulin in B-cells

Aggregation of the B-cell antigen receptor leads to the activation of the 72-kDa Syk protein-tyrosine kinase and the phosphorylation of tubulin on tyrosine. To explore the requirement of Syk catalytic activity for tubulin phosphorylation, tubulin was isolated from cytosolic fractions from anti-IgM-activated B-cells (DT40) that lacked endogenous Syk and immunoblotted with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. Tubulin was not tyrosine-phosphorylated in Syk- B-cells. Phosphorylation could be restored by the expression of wild-type, but not catalytically inactive, Syk. However, both catalytically inactive and wild-type Syk were capable of constitutive association with tubulin, indicating that tubulin phosphorylation is not required for this interaction. Anti-phosphotyrosine antibody immunoblotting of proteins adsorbed to colchicine-agarose revealed the presence of three major tubulin-associated phosphoproteins of 110, 90, and 74 kDa, the phosphorylation of which was dependent on Syk expression. The proteins of 110 and 90 kDa were identified as Cbl and Vav, two proto-oncogene products known to become prominently phosphorylated following receptor engagement. Both proteins were shown to be constitutively associated with tubulin.     

Efficiency of conventional drinking-water-treatment processes in removal of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds

Samples of water and sediment from a conventional drinking-water-treatment (DWT) plant were analyzed for 113 organic compounds (OCs) that included pharmaceuticals, detergent degradates, flame retardants and plasticizers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fragrances and flavorants, pesticides and an insect repellent, and plant and animal steroids. 45 of these compounds were detected in samples of source water and 34 were detected in samples of settled sludge and (or) filter-backwash sediments. The average percent removal of these compounds was calculated from their average concentration in time-composited water samples collected after clarification, disinfection (chlorination), and granular-activated-carbon (GAC) filtration. In general, GAC filtration accounted for 53% of the removal of these compounds from the aqueous phase; disinfection accounted for 32%, and clarification accounted for 15%. The effectiveness of these treatments varied widely within and among classes of compounds; some hydrophobic compounds were strongly oxidized by free chlorine, and some hydrophilic compounds were partly removed through adsorption processes. The detection of 21 of the compounds in 1 or more samples of finished water, and of 3 to 13 compounds in every finished-water sample, indicates substantial but incomplete degradation or removal of OCs through the conventional DWT process used at this plant.     

Effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the chemistry of bottom sediments in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, U.S.A

The effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the subsequent unwatering of New Orleans, Louisiana, on the sediment chemistry of Lake Pontchartrain were evaluated by chemical analysis of samples of street mud and suspended and bottom sediments. The highest concentrations of urban-related elements and compounds (e.g., Pb, Zn, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and chlordane) in bottom sediments exceeded median concentrations in U.S. urban lakes and sediment-quality guidelines. The extent of the elevated concentrations was limited, however, to within a few hundred meters of the mouth of the 17th Street Canal, similar to results of historical assessments. Chemical and radionuclide analysis of pre- and post-Hurricane Rita samples indicates that remobilization of near-shore sediment by lake currents and storms is an ongoing process. The effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the sediment chemistry of Lake Pontchartrain are limited spatially and are most likely transitory.     

Steroid hormone runoff from agricultural test plots applied with municipal biosolids

The potential presence of steroid hormones in runoff from sites where biosolids have been used as agricultural fertilizers is an environmental concern. A study was conducted to assess the potential for runoff of seventeen different hormones and two sterols, including androgens, estrogens, and progestogens from agricultural test plots. The field containing the test plots had been applied with biosolids for the first time immediately prior to this study. Target compounds were isolated by solid-phase extraction (water samples) and pressurized solvent extraction (solid samples), derivatized, and analyzed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Runoff samples collected prior to biosolids application had low concentrations of two hormones (estrone <0.8 to 2.23 ng L(-1) and androstenedione <0.8 to 1.54 ng L(-1)) and cholesterol (22.5 ± 3.8 μg L(-1)). In contrast, significantly higher concentrations of multiple estrogens (<0.8 to 25.0 ng L(-1)), androgens (<2 to 216 ng L(-1)), and progesterone (<8 to 98.9 ng L(-1)) were observed in runoff samples taken 1, 8, and 35 days after biosolids application. A significant positive correlation was observed between antecedent rainfall amount and hormone mass loads (runoff). Hormones in runoff were primarily present in the dissolved phase (<0.7-μm GF filter), and, to a lesser extent bound to the suspended-particle phase. Overall, these results indicate that rainfall can mobilize hormones from biosolids-amended agricultural fields, directly to surface waters or redistributed to terrestrial sites away from the point of application via runoff. Although concentrations decrease over time, 35 days is insufficient for complete degradation of hormones in soil at this site.     

Psychotherapy and disclosure: recent court decisions

We report the prenatal diagnosis of a transient myeloproliferative disorder suggestive of leukaemia in a fetus with hepatosplenomegaly, hydrops and 47, XY, +21 karyotype. The initial fetal white blood cell count at 26 + 5 weeks' gestation was 190/nl with 70 per cent blast cells. Immunophenotyping of the large blasts revealed surface markers suggestive of an early stem cell differentiation arrest resulting in undifferentiated polyclonal myelopoiesis. The fetal heart tracing showed minimal beat-to-beat variability in the presence of high leukocyte counts. Serial fetal blood sampling showed decreasing blast cells in the peripheral blood and normalization of white blood cell counts. Although there was increasing hydrops, this period was marked by improvement of the fetal heart rate pattern. Finally the fetus developed pancytopenia with increasing hydrops, AV-valvular insufficiency and venous Doppler studies indicative of cardiac decompensation prior to intra-uterine death at 31 + 5 weeks' gestation. Post-mortem examination revealed marked liver and splenic necrosis without evidence of residual leukaemic infiltration in any organ. Fetal hydrops and hepatosplenomegaly may indicate an underlying haematopoietic disorder warranting further investigation. Furthermore, this case indicates that transient abnormal myelopoesis may result in a fulminant clinical picture much like true leukaemia. This may be due to increased vulnerability of the fetus or represent a disease mechanism unique to fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities.