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OBJECTIVE: Climate change has implications for human health worldwide, with workers in outdoor occupations in low- to middle-income countries shouldering the burden of increasing average temperatures and more frequent extreme heat days. An overlooked aspect of the human health impact is the relationship between heat exposure and increased risk of occupational injury. In this study, we examined the association between occupational injury occurrence and changes in outdoor temperatures through the workday among a cohort of Guatemalan sugarcane harvesters. METHODS: Occupational injuries recorded for the 2014/2015 to 2017/2018 harvest seasons were collected from a large agribusiness employing male sugarcane harvesters in Southwest Guatemala. Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) for the same period was collected from the El Balsamo weather station. We used a logistic mixed effects model to examine the association between injury occurrence and (1) the average WBGT during the hour injury was record, (2) the average WBGT during the hour prior to the injury being recorded, and (3) the change in the hourly average WBGT prior to the injury being recorded. RESULTS: There were 155 injuries recorded during the study period. Injuries were recorded most often between 14:00 to 16:00 (n = 62, 40%) followed by 8:00 and 10:00 (n = 56, 36%). There were significant differences in the average hourly WBGT and the hour in which injuries were recorded (p-value < 0.001). There were no observable associations between average hourly WBGT (OR: 1.00, 95%CI: 0.94, 1.05; p-value: 0.87), lagged average hourly WBGT (OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 0.97, 1.05; p-value: 0.71), or change in average hourly WBGT (OR: 0.96, 95%CI:0.89, 1.04; p-value: 0.35) and recorded occupational injury. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study that has examined how changes in WBGT throughout the day are related to occupational injury among agricultural workers. Although this study did not demonstrate an association, there is a need for future research to examine how various measurements of WBGT exposure are related to occupational injury in agricultural worker populations.

Supervision is recognized as a critical component of preservice training in health service psychology (HSP), particularly during the internship experience. However, little is known empirically abou...

Three lab experiments used an interrogation simulation to examine the relative effectiveness of pain, coercive verbal pressure, and rapport-building for obtaining reliable information. Investigator...

I am honored and humbled to serve as the sixth Editor for the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation (JEPC). The longevity of the journal, having recently celebrated its 30th year of...

Issues of equity, access, and social justice in educational settings have received increased attention in the educational and psychological literature over the past several years, though there is s...

Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive upper motor neuron dysfunction. Because PLS patients represent only 1 to 4% of patients with adult motor neuron diseases, there is limited information about the disease's natural history. The objective of this study was to establish a large multicenter retrospective longitudinal registry of PLS patients seen at Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS) sites to better characterize the natural progression of PLS.

Extant coverage of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) in the research literature has tended to focus on student outcomes as opposed to the process of adult implementation. This conceptual artic...

Problem: Conferences are the most common form of continuing medical education (CME), but their effect on clinician practice is inconsistent. Reflection is a critical step in the process of practice...

Emergent directional entropic forces that favour facet-to-facet alignment of neighbouring colloidal particles – arising from multi-body interactions upon crowding – should cause the process by whic...

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a broad set of evidence-based strategies designed to create school environments that promote and support appropriate b...

This case study examines behavioral supervision of behavioral consultation (BSBC) during a school-based practicum experience in one school psychology training program. Supervision implement...

Structured peer group supervision (SPGS) supports applied skill growth for novice mental health professionals. Whereas previous SPGS research has focused on counseling, consultation is a core compe...

The purpose of this investigation was to examine children's accuracy and speed when asked to name rapidly images following a concussion. The authors predicted that children with a recent concussion would not differ in accuracy from peers, but would be slower.Children with and without a recent concussion were compared on their accuracy and speed of naming objects, and speed was correlated with time since injury.Fifty-eight participants, aged 10-22 years, 32 within one month of concussion and 26 age-matched participants with no history of concussion, rapidly viewed and verbally named 107 illustrations of common objects, and sensitive measures of response time were recorded.Groups did not differ in rate of accuracy, but children with recent injury responded significantly more slowly. A trajectory of recovery was calculated, providing qualified evidence for a longer timeline of recovery than the typical two-week period.These findings affirm the presence of this naming latency effect in children, explore the duration of this effect over the course of recovery, and add nuance to inconsistently reported chronic naming deficits following concussion, informing recommendations for return to full academic and recreational participation.

Prior work demonstrated that toddlers can learn words from a speaker with a foreign accent and generalize that learning to the native accent when the accented variation does not cross phoneme bound...

School consultation is practiced in rapidly changing educational settings, including increasing student diversity and the implementation of a multitiered system of supports. This changing context m...

One in five Latino men who have sex with men has experienced child sexual abuse. Although concerning in itself, child sexual abuse may increase an individuals' likelihood of depression and risk-taking in adult life, including engagement in HIV risk behaviors and alcohol and substance use. It is therefore urgent that researchers and practitioners better understand the long-term effects of child sexual abuse. We utilized logistic and linear regression to assess associations between child sexual abuse (operationalized as forced or coerced sexual activity before age 17) and depression, sexual behaviors, and drinking patterns in a sample of 176 adult Latino men who have sex with men from New York City. Over one-fifth (22%) of participants reported child sexual abuse. In multivariable models, participants with histories of child sexual abuse were significantly more likely than participants without such histories to screen for clinically significant depressive symptoms and heavy drinking and reported more anal sex acts, male sexual partners, and incidents of condomless anal intercourse in the previous three months. These findings confirm a high prevalence of child sexual abuse among Latino men who have sex with men and associations between child sexual abuse and adulthood depressive symptoms, high-risk alcohol consumption, and sexual risk behaviors. We recommend that providers who serve Latino men who have sex with men incorporate child sexual abuse screenings into mental health, HIV prevention, and substance use treatment programs, utilizing approaches that are inclusive of resilience.

Two studies examine a possible consequence – namely, unwanted reactions to psychological research on wrongdoing – if laypeople perceive psychologists to have liberal tendencies. Study 1 replicated previous research by showing that when psychologists presented findings demonstrating situational (compared to dispositional or interactionist) influences on wrongdoing, they were perceived as assigning less responsibility to perpetrators. Further, this effect was stronger among participants who perceived psychologists to be politically liberal. Study 2 revealed that when psychologists were explicitly identified as liberals, participants believed they would downplay perpetrator responsibility across the board, but particularly when the responsibility attributional account was situational. Psychologists should be aware that laypeople’s perception of their political leanings could lead to discrepant construal of psychologists’ actual perspectives on human behavior.

The language used in consultation supervision by one supervisor-in-training (SIT) and five consultant-in-training (CIT) supervisees during one semester of consultation training in a doctoral-level school psychology program is investigated. Exploratory analyses conducted with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software measured SIT and CIT use of pronouns, and summary variables of Analytical Thinking, Clout, Authenticity, and Emotional Tone. Patterns of language use in sessions and changes in patterns over time suggest a hierarchical supervision dynamic despite supervision being offered by a fellow trainee. Implications for consultation supervision in a vertical training model are offered.

Consultee-centered consultation (CCC) is a familiar, but historically understudied, model of consultation. This Special Issue of the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation summarizes, supplements, and updates the CCC research base; considers the role of CCC in contemporary school and community settings; and calls for and helps guide future CCC research and practice. This introduction to the Special Issue begins with a definition of CCC, individuates the model from its historical roots in mental health consultation, and provides a timeline of significant events in the evolution of the CCC model. Next, each article in the Special Issue is previewed in order to highlight unique contributions made to the CCC literature. Collectively, these articles provide a summary of the current state of CCC, multicultural frameworks for CCC training and practice, and multiple directions for future research.

The current paper examined whether lexical access might (ever) cross talker boundaries. In four cross-modal priming experiments, listeners made visual lexical decisions after hearing an auditory word or word pair. On some trials, the auditory signal was produced by a single talker; on other trials, a talker gender change occurred in the middle of the auditory sequence. Participants demonstrated priming for items crossing both word boundaries and talker changes: after hearing a male talker say my and a female talker say great, participants showed a speeded response to “geese” (related to “migrate”). Priming was based on the combination of syllables across talkers, not driven simply by the first word. Findings suggest that acoustic cues indicating multiple talkers are insufficient to disrupt lexical access, and activation of lexical representations is not limited to those occurring within a single-talker stream. This provides support for models that do not involve explicit pre-lexical segmentation.

Qualitative metasynthesis (QM) is a research methodology that permits the meaningful integration and interpretation of qualitative research. This study applies a QM approach combined with constructivist grounded theory methods, bolstered by several features of research credibility, to examine the state of consultee-centered consultation (CCC) and related relational, process-oriented school consultation research. A systematic search and retrieval process including two rounds of appraisal resulted in a final sample of 38 relevant studies from 1995 to 2014. Data analyses included two stages of coding/theme development. Integrated themes suggest a number of considerations regarding consultation implementation including: system-level factors; consultation structure; consultee voice, social-emotional support, and learning; ecological orientation and cultural responsiveness; and consultation training. Future research priorities stemming from these themes are identified and elaborated upon, as are future ...

A personal history of being the target of biased negative evaluation may lead individuals to habitually divert attention from negative feedback when it is possible to do so. Two studies tested for the first time the hypothesis that people belonging to a stigmatized group (Black students on a predominantly White campus) will, relative to non-stigmatized people, be more likely to engage in mnemic neglect-that is, they will reveal a greater tendency to insulate themselves from the effects of negative self-relevant feedback by means of motivated forgetting. The results of Study 1 supported that hypothesis. In Study 2, priming the concept of egalitarianism reduced the tendency of Black participants to engage in higher levels of mnemic neglect, consistent with the idea that the higher observed levels of mnemic neglect among stigmatized individuals derives from expecting biased, discriminatory responses from other people.

The evidence base for school-based consultation practice and training is limited by a small number of studies, possibly due to unique challenges in researching consultation. For example, there are myriad variables to measure and idiosyncratic cultural and contextual factors to account for when investigating what works, for whom, and in what circumstances. Survey methodology offers one means for conducting consultation research. This article proposes a process for rigorous survey research in school-based consultation training and practice, which addresses some potential concerns regarding survey research. Specifically, issues of survey development, survey validation, sampling, and data collection are addressed. These processes are illustrated through the design and administration of an online survey of 262 early career school psychologists; preliminary data analyses suggested strong scale reliability, minimal item response bias, and population representativeness. Recommendations for future consulta...

Individuals exposed to beryllium (Be) may develop Be sensitization (BeS) and progress to chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Recent studies with other metal antigens suggest epigenetic mechanisms may be involved in inflammatory disease processes, including granulomatous lung disorders and that a number of metal cations alter gene methylation. The objective of this study was to determine if Be can exert an epigenetic effect on gene expression by altering methylation in the promoter region of specific genes known to be involved in Be antigen-mediated gene expression. To investigate this objective, three macrophage tumor mouse cell lines known to differentially produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, but not interferon (IFN)-γ, in response to Be antigen were cultured with Be or controls. Following challenges, ELISA were performed to quantify induced TNFα and IFNγ expression. Bisulfate-converted DNA was evaluated by pyrosequencing to quantify CpG methylation within the promoters of TNFα and IFNγ. Be-challenged H36.12J cells expressed higher levels of TNFα compared to either H36.12E cells or P388D.1 cells. However, there were no variations in TNFα promoter CpG methylation levels between cell lines at the six CpG sites tested. H36.12J cell TNFα expression was shown to be metal-specific by the induction of significantly more TNFα when exposed to Be than when exposed to aluminum sulfate, or nickel (II) chloride, but not when exposed to cobalt (II) chloride. However, H36.12J cell methylation levels at the six CpG sites examined in the TNFα promoter did not correlate with cytokine expression differences. Nonetheless, all three cell lines had significantly more promoter methylation at the six CpG sites investigated within the IFNγ promoter (a gene that is not expressed) when compared to the six CpG sites investigated in the TNFα promoter, regardless of treatment condition (p

Approximately 2.4 million children receive special education services for specific learning disabilities (SLDs), and school psychologists are key contributors to the SLD eligibility decis...

The purpose of this study was to describe a methodology for surveillance and monitoring of beryllium exposure using biological monitoring to complement environmental monitoring. Eighty-three Israeli dental technicians (mean age 41.6 ± 1.36 years) and 80 American nuclear machining workers (54.9 ± 1.21 years) were enrolled. Biological monitoring was carried out by analyzing particle size (laser technique) and shape (image analysis) in 131/163 (80.3%) induced sputum samples (Dipa Analyser, Donner Tech, Or Aquiva, Israel). Environmental monitoring was carried out only in the United States (Sioutas impactor, SKC, Inc., Eighty Four, Pa.). Pulmonary function testing performance and induced sputum retrieval were done by conventional methods. Sixty-three Israeli workers and 37 American workers were followed up for at least 2 years. Biological monitoring by induced sputum indicated that a92% accumulation of5 μm particles correlated significantly to a positive beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test result (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.2-11.4, p = 0.015) among all participants. Environmental monitoring showed that beryllium particles were1 μm, and this small fraction (0.1-1 μ) was significantly more highly accumulated in nuclear machining workers compared to dental technicians. The small fractions positively correlated with induced sputum macrophages (r = 0.21 p = 0.01) and negatively correlated with diffusion lung carbon monoxide single breath (DLCO-SB r = 0.180 p = 0.04) in all subjects. Years of exposure were positively correlated to the number of accumulated particles 2-3 μ in diameter (r = 0.2, p = 0.02) and negatively correlated to forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity findings (r = -0.18, p = 0.02). DLCO was decreased in both groups after two years of monitoring. Biological monitoring is more informative than environmental monitoring in the surveillance and monitoring of workers in beryllium industries. Induced sputum is a feasible and promising biomonitoring method that should be included in the surveillance of exposed workers.

Response to intervention (RtI) is an influential system of service delivery in contemporary schools, but the specific role of school consultation in RtI implementation is not clearly defined. Instructional consultation provides a potential meeting point between consultation and RtI practices. Through a mixed-methods approach, this study explored school psychologists’ adherence to instructional consultation and perceived benefits and challenges in implementing instructional consultation in a RtI system. Results suggest that while contracting for relational accountability and instructional match were challenging constructs to implement in the RtI system, psychologists viewed them as valuable, potentially filling gaps in RtI problem solving. Data are discussed in consideration of the relation between consultation and RtI, implications for school consultation practice, and avenues for future research.

Exposure to small amounts of beryllium (Be) can result in beryllium sensitization and progression to Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD). In CBD, beryllium is presented to Be-responsive T-cells by professional antigen-presenting cells (APC). This presentation drives T-cell proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-2, TNFα, and IFNγ) production and leads to granuloma formation. The mechanism by which beryllium enters an APC and is processed to become part of the beryllium antigen complex has not yet been elucidated. Developing techniques for beryllium detection with enough sensitivity has presented a barrier to further investigation. The objective of this study was to demonstrate that Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) is sensitive enough to quantify the amount of beryllium presented by APC to stimulate Be-responsive T-cells. To achieve this goal, APC - which may or may not stimulate Be-responsive T-cells - were cultured with Be-ferritin. Then, by utilizing AMS, the amount of beryllium processed for presentation was determined. Further, IFNγ intracellular cytokine assays were performed to demonstrate that Be-ferritin (at levels used in the experiments) could stimulate Be-responsive T-cells when presented by an APC of the correct HLA type (HLA-DP0201). The results indicated that Be-responsive T-cells expressed IFNγ only when APC with the correct HLA type were able to process Be for presentation. Utilizing AMS, it was determined that APC with HLA-DP0201 had membrane fractions containing 0.17-0.59 ng Be and APC with HLA-DP0401 had membrane fractions bearing 0.40-0.45 ng Be. However, HLA-DP0401 APC had 20-times more Be associated with the whole cells (57.68-61.12 ng) than HLA-DP0201 APC (0.90-3.49 ng). As these findings demonstrate, AMS detection of picogram levels of Be processed by APC is possible. Further, regardless of form, Be requires processing by APC to successfully stimulate Be-responsive T-cells to generate IFNγ.

With the increase in schoolwide practices to improve reading instruction for all students and provide supplemental interventions for struggling readers, the need for collaboration among education professionals has become increasingly important. This article focuses on the expanding opportunities for collaboration between school psychologists and speech-language pathologists in schoolwide models such as Response to Intervention. Examples of collaboration and an approach for expanding collaborative efforts are offered for school psychologist and speech-language pathologist practitioners working in schools using schoolwide models of reading instruction.

This study reports results from a national Internet-based survey administered anonymously to a cross-section of social work faculty in the United States. Drawn from a sampling frame of 700 accredited or in candidacy schools, data were collected between November 2010 and March 2011. We investigate the role of sex, sexual orientation, race, religious affiliation and beliefs, religiosity, political ideology, sexism, and interest in sexuality/LGBTQ issues. Race, religiosity, political ideology, and sexism are associated with sexual prejudice, which was endorsed among a small percentage (14%) of the sample (n = 303). Outcome scores were not statistically different based on the targets’ sex. Strategies are recommended to reduce sexual prejudice among social work faculty and to increase institutional support for acceptance in the academy. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Supervision is considered a keystone instructional tool in school psychology and has been argued to be an essential feature of effective consultation training. However, descriptive data suggest that supervision is not always incorporated as part of consultation training. In this article the application of a structured peer group supervision (SPGS) model in preservice training of novice consultants is described, including specific case-related concerns worked on during SPGS sessions. The article concludes with a discussion of the promise of an SPGS model in consultation training and considerations for future research regarding its effectiveness.

The purpose of this study was to explore a university-based supervision process for consultants-in-training (CITs) engaged in a preservice level consultation course with applied practicum experience. The study was approached from a constructivist worldview using a grounded theory methodology. Data consisted of supervision session transcripts, reflective logs, and notes about supervision for 5 CITs and were analyzed using NVivo computer software. The analyzed data were a subset from a larger pool of data from 1 semester of training and were selected to consider CIT skill development over time. According to the data, the supervision process included (a) activities outside of supervision sessions such as reflection and work; (b) strategic interactions within supervision sessions focused on past experiences, the present moment, and future application; and (c) a variety of feelings, both from CITs and consultees. Supervision strategies were differentiated based on CIT needs, pulls from consultation cases, and ...

To aid potential authors, this statement is an overview of the core values and editorial goals of the current editorial leadership of Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation. The key pillars are that we value research that (a) supports culturally responsive practice and social justice, (b) reflects varied research methodologies and traditions, (c) originates and investigates consultation topics across multiple professional disciplines, and (d) reflects global practice.

This essay examines the creation and meaning of the Pennsylvania anti-slavery borderland that developed in the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Drawing on the voluminous legal files of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society (the world's oldest anti-slavery organisation), as well as recent insights by scholars working on both emancipation and borderlands history in the Atlantic world, I argue that enslaved people and their allies defined Pennsylvania's territorial boundaries in ways that abetted black freedom claims. Indeed, though a seemingly small outpost of Atlantic slave culture, the Pennsylvania borderland became a crossroads of freedom for generations of enslaved people and kidnapped free blacks in the United States.

Phosphorus (P) retention in wetlands is an important function of watershed nutrient cycling, particularly in drainage basins with significant nonpoint nutrient contributions from agriculture and urban sources. Phosphorus storage involves complex interrelated physical, chemical, and biological processes that ultimately retain P in organic and inorganic forms. Both short-term storage of P mediated by assimilation into vegetation, translocation within above- and below-ground plant tissues, microorganisms, periphyton, and detritus, and long-term storage (retention by inorganic and organic soil particles and net accretion of organic matter) need to be considered. Here, we review and synthesize recent studies on P cycling and storage in soils and sediments throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and the influence of biotic and abiotic regulation of P reactivity and mobility as related to restoration activities in south Florida. Total P storage in the floc/detrital layer and surface soils (0–10 cm) is estima...

Objectives: To identify biomarkers for cancer in asbestosis patients.Methods: SELDI-TOF and CART were used to identify serum biomarker profiles in 35 asbestosis patients who subsequently developed cancer and 35 did not develop cancer.Results: Three polypeptide peaks (5707.01, 6598.10, and 20,780.70 Da) could predict the development of cancer with 87% sensitivity and 70% specificity. The first two peaks were identified as KIF18A and KIF5A, respectively, and are part of the Kinesin Superfamily of proteins.Conclusions: We identified two Kinesin proteins that can be potentially used as blood biomarkers to identify asbestosis patients at risk of developing lung cancer.

Social psychologists could play major roles in public debates on social problems, but social‐psychological accounts of behavior are often resisted. Replicating past research, when psychologists described research illustrating situational control of wrongdoing, participants believed that the psychologists would attribute less blame and responsibility to wrongdoers than other psychologists arguing for dispositional influences. But psychologists presenting interactionist accounts were not perceived to be similarly exonerating. Participants also preferred interactionist accounts to situational or dispositional ones. Finally, after exposure to interactionist accounts, participants included just as many (if not more) contextual factors in open‐ended explanations of wrongdoing than after exposure to situational accounts. If social psychologists want to influence thinking about human behavior, insisting on strong situationism might be counterproductive.

People with a repressive coping style are highly motivated to defend themselves against self-concept threats. But what kinds of unfavourable personal characteristics are they most focused on avoiding? Weinberger (1990) suggested that repressors are primarily concerned with seeing themselves (and having others see them) as calm, unemotional people who are not prone to experiencing negative affect. A content analysis of the actual (self-ascribed) and undesired attributes of 349 male and female college students, however, provided no support for that hypothesis. Instead, relative to other participants, repressors’ undesired selves consisted more of traits exemplifying disagreeableness (as defined by the five-factor model). Repressors might not engage in affective self-regulation for its own sake, but because it allows them to control expression of traits with which they are more directly concerned.

We examined how children with and without oral language (word-finding) difficulties (WFD) perform on oral reading (OR) versus silent reading recognition (SRR) tasks when reading the same words and how lexical factors influenced OR accuracy, error patterns, and nature of miscues. Primary-grade students were administered an experimental reading measure. Words were controlled for lexical factors known to influence oral language, such as frequency, lexical neighborhood, familiarity, and phonotactic probability. For learners with WFD, SRR was superior to OR; lexical factors predicted OR success; WF error-patterns emerged in OR; and miscues were higher in frequency, more familiar, and from denser neighborhoods than targets.

This study was conducted to determine if law enforcement personnel experience symptoms associated with methamphetamine lab investigation and to assess those factors that may result in more symptoms. A total of 258 standardized, self-administered surveys were distributed to law enforcement personnel attending national/regional training classes, between June 2004-February 2005. Ninety-three percent of the surveys were returned and used to determine symptoms experienced while investigating clandestine methamphetamine labs, as well as the job duties of the respondent and the personal protective equipment used. More than 70% of respondents reported headaches, central nervous system symptoms, respiratory symptoms, sore throat, and other symptoms. Unadjusted and adjusted risk of symptoms was higher for those who investigated more than 30 labs. Other significant risk factors included time spent in the lab, phase of investigation, presence of active chemical processes, and coexistent disease. Respirator use was not independently associated with the likelihood of reporting symptoms. It was concluded that methamphetamine lab investigation is positively associated with symptom reporting in a high percentage of law enforcement personnel involved in these tasks. For most individuals, the reported symptoms were transitory and diminished in a short time, but some individuals reported needing to seek medical attention with symptoms that persisted.

Hot tub exposure has been causally associated with a steroid-responsive, granulomatous lung disease featuring nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) growth in both clinical and environmental samples. Little is known regarding prevalence of and risk factors for NTM-contamination and associated illness in these settings. In this study, the frequency of NTM growth and aerosolization in 18 public hot tubs and warm water therapy pools and the factors associated with mycobacterial growth were analyzed. Each site was characterized by water chemistry analysis; a questionnaire on maintenance, disinfection, and water quality; and air and water sampling for quantitative NTM culture. NTM were detected in air or water from 13/18 (72%) sites; a strong correlation was found between the maximum air and water NTM concentrations (rho 0.49, p = 0.04). Use of halogen (chlorine or bromine) disinfection was associated with significantly lower air and water concentrations of NTM compared with disinfection using ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide (p = 0.01-0.04). Higher water turnover rates were also associated with lower air and water NTM concentrations (p = 0.02-0.03). These findings suggest that NTM are frequently detectable in the air and water of spas and therapy pools and that particular maintenance and disinfection approaches affect NTM bioaerosol concentrations in these settings.

A TCE-contaminated competent bedrock site in Portsmouth, NH was used to determine if a relation existed between microfracture surface geochemistry and the ecology and metabolic activity of attached microbes relative to terminal electron accepting processes (TEAPs) and TCE biodegradation. The bedrock is a metasandstone and metashale of the Silurian Kittery Formation. Eleven microfractures (MF 01-11) were extracted from cores of competent rock from 2 boreholes (BBC5 and BBC6) at depths > 21.3 m below ground. The host rock had 3 nominal pore width sizes (131.1, 1.136, and 0.109 μ m), a porosity of 0.8%, and a permeability of < 1 μ d. Microfracture surface precipitates were polycrystalline with grain sizes ranging from 10 to 100 μ m. Petrography and XRD revealed that carbonates and quartz were the dominant microfracture surface precipitates. Mineral distribution was heterogeneous at the 10 μ m scale. Oxidized and reduced iron species were identified with XPS on the microfracture precipitate surfaces. Carbon f...

The article reviews empirical studies on trends in attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and compares data from a 1985 survey of 297 students living in a college residence hall with data collected in 2001 when 152 students living in the same residence hall responded to a similar questionnaire. College students in 2001 expressed more accepting attitudes toward lesbians, reported more contact with lesbians, and assessed their parents' attitudes as more positive when compared with the 1985 sample. Consistent trends in the importance of these variables to the development of attitudes toward lesbians were shown, with gender role attitudes, parental attitudes, and exposure to education and media about gays and lesbians remaining the most important predictors. This suggests that strategies that discourage gender role stereotypes and provide educational and media experiences could increase acceptance of sexual minorities. Although gender was significant in 1985, there were no effects of gender in the 2001 sample. Continued study of trends in attitudes toward all sexual minorities and attention to the relative importance of gender and gender roles are recommended.