Evaluating Practitioner Training to Improve Competencies and Organizational Practices for Engaging Fathers in Parenting Interventions.

Fathers are consistently underrepresented in parenting interventions and practitioners are an important target for change in interventions to enhance father engagement. This research examined the effects of two practitioner training programs in improving practitioner rated competencies and organizational father-inclusive practices. Two studies were conducted, each with a single group, repeated measures (pre, post and 2-month follow-up) design. Study 1 (N = 233) examined the outcomes of face-to-face training in improving practitioner ratings of competencies in engaging fathers, perceived effectiveness and use of father engagement strategies, organizational practices and rates of father engagement. Study 2 (N = 356) examined online training using the same outcome measures. Practitioners in both training formats improved in their competencies, organizational practices and rates of father engagement over time, yet those in the online format deteriorated in three competencies from post-training to follow-up. The implications for delivering practitioner training programs to enhance competencies and rates of father engagement are discussed.

Lymphomas of the oral soft tissues are not preferentially associated with latent or replicative Epstein-Barr virus.

OBJECTIVES: Epstein-Barr virus is periodically shed in the saliva of persons infected by the virus. Epstein-Barr virus has been implicated in the pathogenesis of certain subtypes of lymphoma, particularly high-grade lymphomas. Because high-grade subtypes represent the majority of lymphomas that arise in oral soft tissues, we hypothesized that Epstein-Barr virus might be preferentially associated with oral lymphomas. STUDY DESIGN: A series of 34 oral lymphomas were diagnosed according to the revised European-American classification scheme. They were examined for the presence of latent Epstein-Barr virus by EBER1 in situ hybridization and for expression of the Epstein-Barr virus replicative protein, BZLF1, by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Epstein-Barr virus EBER1 transcripts were detected in 11 of 31 oral lymphomas including 7 of 10 AIDS-related lymphomas and only 4 of 21 lymphomas that occurred in nonimmunocompromised persons. The Epstein-Barr virus-containing lymphomas were all high-grade histologic subtypes, that is, diffuse large cell, immunoblastic, or Burkitt's lymphomas. In contrast, Epstein-Barr virus was not detected in any of five low-grade oral lymphomas. In the single case of T-cell lymphoma in this study, EBER1 was expressed in the tumor cells. A switch from viral latency to replication, as measured by EBV BZLF1 expression, was identified in rare lymphoma cells in only four cases. This rate of viral replication was not higher than what has been reported in lymphomas arising at other anatomic sites. Although one of our lymphomas arose at a site of previous oral hairy leukoplakia, there was no other evidence that Epstein-Barr virus replication predisposed to development or persistence of oral lymphomas. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that even though Epstein-Barr virus is frequently found in oral secretions, neither latent nor replicative Epstein-Barr virus is present more commonly in oral lymphomas than in lymphomas arising in other anatomic sites, when controlling for immunodeficiency status.

Production of bacteriophage T7.

Bacteriophage T7 was grown with Escherichia coli B as the host organism in 3- and 20-liter vessels. Under the best growth conditions devised, the yields of T7 in the culture lysates averaged 1.33 x 10(12) and 0.95 x 10(12) plaque-forming units per ml, respectively, compared with the best previously reported yields of 10(11) to 3 x 10(11) plaque-forming units per ml in 1-liter batches grown in the presence of air, or double this in similar batches grown in the presence of oxygen. The bacteriophage was purified by a simple method which gave average yields of 143 mg/liter and 131 mg/liter from the 3- and 20-liter batches, respectively. The efficiency of plating of the final material ranged from 18 to 42%. The purified bacteriophage is a convenient source of monodisperse deoxyribonucleic acid, the molecular weight of which is about 25 x 10(6).

Production of Clostridium pasteurianum in a defined medium.

A method for the growth of Clostridium pasteurianum in a 140-liter (total capacity) stainless-steel vessel is described. By preventing the pH value from falling below 5.6, the growth of cultures was prolonged. Larger amounts of the carbon source (sucrose) and the nitrogen source (ammonium ion) were supplied and consumed, and cell yields of up to 5.56 g (dry weight) per liter were obtained. The highest cell yield previously reported was 1.7 g (dry weight) per liter obtained under nitrogen-fixing conditions in 500-ml cultures. The ferredoxin content of the cells was comparable with that obtained by earlier workers.

Anaerobic Production of Thiobacillus denitrificans for the Enzyme Rhodanese.

A method for the anaerobic growth of Thiobacillus denitrificans in a 140-liter (total capacity) stainless-steel culture vessel is described. As a result of controlling the pH value of cultures, and of ensuring that certain essential nutrients were in excess, cell yields approaching 700 mg (dry weight) per liter were obtained. These were over threefold higher than the best yields hitherto reported. The average rhodanese content of the cells from four cultures was 176,000 units per gram (dry weight). Adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate reductase (average content, 238 units per gram dry weight) and adenylate kinase (average content, 15,300 units per gram, dry weight) were also present.