School Counselor Involvement in Partnerships with Families of Color: A Social Cognitive Perspective

School-family partnerships facilitate the academic and personal success of all students. Whereas forming these partnerships are a component of school counselor identity, school counselors are commonly unprepared to form and maintain such relationships. Additionally, shifting racial demographics within K-12 schools call for culturally responsive partnership-building, as the majority of school counselors continue to belong to the dominant culture. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of school counselors as it relates to involvement in partnerships with families of color. Using a social cognitive theoretical framework, this study solicited a national sample of 155 practicing school counselors to examine self-efficacy, multicultural competence, and environment with regards to forming these diverse partnerships. The School Counselor Self-Efficacy (SCSE) scale, the Multicultural Counseling Competence and Training Survey-Revised (MCCTS-R), and a modified version of the School Counselor Involvement in Partnerships Survey (SCIPS) were used to examine these characteristics. The results of this study indicated significantly positive relationships between self-efficacy, multicultural competence, and involvement in partnerships with families of color. However, only self-efficacy as it relates specifically to partnerships and multicultural knowledge served as significant predictors of involvement in these partnerships. Further, receiving previous coursework in multicultural counseling or family-related content did not make any significant differences in involvement. The outcomes suggest that school counselors may benefit from more practical experiences in diverse settings to encourage involvement in partnerships with families of color. Findings also support the integration of the social cognitive theoretical concept of triadic reciprocal determinism into training curricula

Molecules in the mirror: how SERS backgrounds arise from the quantum method of images.

The Raman coupling of light to molecular vibrations is strongly modified when they are placed near a plasmonic metal surface, with the appearance of a strong broad continuum background in addition to the normal surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) peaks. Using a quantum method of images approach, we produce a simple but quantitative explanation of the inevitable presence of the background, due to the resistive damping of the image molecule. This model thus suggests new strategies for enhancing the SERS peak to background ratio.This work was supported by UK EPSRC EP/C511786/1, EP/F011393, ERC 320503 LINASS, EU CUBIHOLES, 3M, the Royal Society and the Wolfson Foundation

The structure of the agrochemical fungicidal 4-Chloro-3-(3,5-dichloropheny)-1H-pyrazole, RPA 406194 and related compounds

The difficulties to obtain convenient monocrystals of the important fungicide RPA 406194 have been overcome by a combination of solid state 13C NMR, X-ray powder diffraction and molecular modeling. The compound, a 3-aryl tautomer, crystallizes forming infinite chains of molecules bonded by N–H· · ·N hydrogen bonds, leading to needle-shaped crystals. The tautomerism (equilibrium constant and energy barrier) of this compound in solution has been studied

Synthesis and Isolation of {110}-Faceted Gold Bipyramids and Rhombic Dodecahedra

Two {110}-faceted gold nanostructures—rhombic dodecahedra and obtuse triangular bipyramids—have been synthesized via a Ag-assisted, seed-mediated growth method. The combination of a Cl−-containing surfactant with a low concentration of Ag+ plays a role in the stabilization of the {110} facets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported synthesis of a {110}-faceted bipyramid structure

Synthesis and Isolation of {110}-Faceted Gold Bipyramids and Rhombic Dodecahedra

Two {110}-faceted gold nanostructures—rhombic dodecahedra and obtuse triangular bipyramids—have been synthesized via a Ag-assisted, seed-mediated growth method. The combination of a Cl−-containing surfactant with a low concentration of Ag+ plays a role in the stabilization of the {110} facets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported synthesis of a {110}-faceted bipyramid structure

Searching for health information in rural Canada. Where do residents look for health information and what do they do when they find it?

Abstract Introduction. People living in rural area

Optimisation of absorption efficiency for varying dielectric spherical nanoparticles

Abstract-In this paper we compare the optical absorption for nanospheres made from a range of transition and alkali metals from Li (A=3) to Au (A=79). Numerical solutions to Mie theory were used to calculate the absorption efficiency, Q abs , for nanospheres varying in radii between 5 nm and 100 nm in vacuum. We show that, although gold is the most commonly used nanoparticle material, its absorption efficiency at the plasmon resonance is not as strong as materials such as the alkali metals. Of all the materials tried, potassium spheres with a radius of 21 nm have an optimum absorption efficiency of 14.7. In addition we also show that, unlike gold, the wavelength of the plasmon peak in other materials is sensitive to the sphere radius. In potassium the peak position shifts by 100 nm for spheres ranging from 5 nm to 65 nm, the shift is less than 10 nm for gold spheres

APOBECs and Herpesviruses

The apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC) family of DNA cytosine deaminases provides a broad and overlapping defense against viral infections. Successful viral pathogens, by definition, have evolved strategies to escape restriction by the APOBEC enzymes of their hosts. HIV-1 and related retroviruses are thought to be the predominant natural substrates of APOBEC enzymes due to obligate single-stranded (ss)DNA replication intermediates, abundant evidence for cDNA strand C-to-U editing (genomic strand G-to-A hypermutation), and a potent APOBEC degradation mechanism. In contrast, much lower mutation rates are observed in double-stranded DNA herpesviruses and the evidence for APOBEC mutation has been less compelling. However, recent work has revealed that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) are potential substrates for cellular APOBEC enzymes. To prevent APOBEC-mediated restriction these viruses have repurposed their ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) large subunits to directly bind, inhibit, and relocalize at least two distinct APOBEC enzymes-APOBEC3B and APOBEC3A. The importance of this interaction is evidenced by genetic inactivation of the EBV RNR (BORF2), which results in lower viral infectivity and higher levels of C/G-to-T/A hypermutation. This RNR-mediated mechanism therefore likely functions to protect lytic phase viral DNA replication intermediates from APOBEC-catalyzed DNA C-to-U deamination. The RNR-APOBEC interaction defines a new pathogen-host conflict that the virus must win in real-time for transmission and pathogenesis. However, partial losses over evolutionary time may also benefit the virus by providing mutational fuel for adaptation