Family to work conflict and the usefulness of workplace support.

BACKGROUND: While much is known about the effect of work stress on an employee's home life, less is known about the opposite effect, that of domestic worries upon work performance. AIMS: To investigate employee perceptions about the effect of family to work conflict (FWC) on work. METHODS: An online anonymous survey tool was developed and sent to all employees reporting to a single onsite human resources (HR) department at a UK research and development plant. FWC included family and other domestic stressors. Work effects studied included those on business travel, work performance and the awareness and usefulness of work-provided support. RESULTS: The sample size was 286 and response rate was 58%. Approximately two-thirds of respondents reported requiring time away from work for domestic reasons in the previous 5 years. The role of domestic stressors not related to care giving was significant. Support from line-managers and colleagues was important, and the perceived usefulness of in-house occupational health (OH) by business travellers was significant. Only 53% of the workforce said they knew of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), although 70% of users found it beneficial and usage was higher in females. CONCLUSIONS: All forms of FWC affected work performance, including when on business travel. FWC arose from caring responsibilities but also from financial and relationship problems, which are potentially amenable to help from EAPs. Line-managers and colleagues were the primary sources of workplace support. The in-house OH service and the EAP were underutilized and they may require popularizing with employees.

Pitfalls of genetic analysis using a doubled-haploid backcrossed to its parent.

A population derived from a doubled-haploid backcrossed to its parent has a unique genetic structure, which affects the mapping and genetic analysis of molecular-marker data. In such a cross: (1) repulsion linkages are reduced dramatically and can be detected only in restricted chromosome sections; each repulsion-linkage group represents a section of a chromosome carrying a crossover that occurred in the meiosis that produced the gamete from which the doubled-haploid was derived; (2) the number of coupling-linkage groups observed depends on how many crossovers occurred during the meiosis; the observed size of a linkage group will be only a fraction of a total chromosome if the chromosome carried in the doubled-haploid resulted from crossover exchanges; (3) the size covered by all the observed linkages is only equivalent to the haploid genome; and (4) the ratio of single-dose to multi-dose markers is inflated. These features have not been recognized in previous reports, resulting in misinterpretations in genetic mapping and analysis of the molecular-marker data. The ratio of single- to multi-dose markers has been used inappropriately to distinguish polyploid type.

A 10 year survey of the antimicrobial susceptibility of urinary tract isolates in the UK: the Microbe Base project.

Microbe Base is a national computerized database comprising in excess of 1.7 million patient records down-loaded from the laboratory computer systems of 61 participating UK laboratories over 10 years. This paper highlights the antimicrobial susceptibilities of organisms isolated from the urinary tract which comprise around 50% of all isolates in the database. These data may be used to determine trends in antimicrobial susceptibilities; to formulate local antibiotic policies; to compare local with national data and, overall, to assist clinicians in the rational choice of antibiotic therapy and to prevent misuse, or overuse, of antibiotics.

Resonant photoemission from complex cuprates and nickelates.

Synchrotron-excited resonant-photoemission measurements at rare-earth 4d --> 4f and transition-metal 3p --> 3d thresholds have been carried out using a variety of complex cuprates and nickelates on stations 6.1 (grazing-incidence monochromator) and 6.2 (toroidal-grating monochromator) at the SRS CLRC Daresbury Laboratory. The systems studied are Nd(2)Ni(1 - x)Cu(x)O(4), La(2 - x)Sr(x)Ni(1- y)Fe(y)O(4 + delta) and Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(1 - x)Y(x)Cu(2)O(8 + delta). A combination of EDC and constant-initial-state data is used to examine the 4f and 3d contributions to the valence-band density of states and their binding-energy positions relative to the Fermi energy. This allows the study of the valence states of the transition-metal ions and their modulation on doping. For La(2 - x)Sr(x)Ni(1 - y)Fe(y)O(4 + delta), this approach is used to infer a valence state of >/= 3.0 for Fe. In the case of Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(1 - x)Y(x)Cu(2)O(8 + delta), the effect of Cu valence modulation on the 3p resonance is observed as x is varied. This is discussed in the light of controversy surrounding shifts in core-level photoemission with doping for this system.

Preliminary evaluation of Cyto-Rich: an improved automated cytology preparation.

A new cervical cytology monolayer preparation system called Cyto-Rich was evaluated. Using samples from 557 patients, Cyto-Rich monolayers were compared to matched conventional smears. After conventional smears were prepared and spray fixed, residual exfoliated cells were transferred to preservative fluid. The cell suspensions were gently disaggregated and the epithelial component enriched with gradient centrifugal sedimentation. The batched samples were then placed on the Cyto-Rich work station where slides are automatically prepared and stained. The results demonstrate that Cyto-Rich prepared monolayers are vastly superior to the conventional smears for cell presentation. While the study showed 99% overall concordance. Cyto-Rich improved the detection of low-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions.

The 3H-labelling of bilirubin.

A simple method has been developed for the preparation of 3H-labelled bilirubin IX-alpha from bilirubin dimethyl ester. The label is located in the propionic acid side chains, and there is no isomerization of the bilirubin during the preparation.