Suchergebnisse

The growing number of pollutants requires the development of innovative analytical devices that are precise, sensitive, specific, rapid, and easy-to-use to meet the increasing demand for legislative actions on environmental pollution control and early warning. Optical biosensors, as a powerful alternative to conventional analytical techniques, enable the highly sensitive, real-time, and high-frequency monitoring of pollutants without extensive sample preparation. This article reviews important advances in functional biorecognition materials (e.g., enzymes, aptamers, DNAzymes, antibodies and whole cells) that facilitate the increasing application of optical biosensors. This work further examines the significant improvements in optical biosensor instrumentation and their environmental applications. Innovative developments of optical biosensors for environmental pollution control and early warning are also discussed.

This study examined the extent to which evidence-based practices (EBPs) are taught in North American Masters of Social Work (MSW) curricula. A web-based survey distributed through the National Association of Deans and Directors and a similar Canadian listserv facilitated exploration of which EBPs are taught, what faculty positions teach them, in what size programs, geographic areas, and other factors, as well as the barriers and implications of doing so. Fifty-eight program deans and directors responded to the survey. While the majority of programs reported teaching at least one EBP and developing EBP skill sets, challenges to curriculum integration were noted. Ideological, definitional, and practical concerns emerge as constraints to teaching EBPs, with MSW program leaders identifying faculty-related barriers as a primary constraining factor. This article presents the study and its implications for academic and practice settings.

This article presents data on health care spending for the United States, covering expenditures for various types of medical services and products and their sources of funding from 1960 to 1994. Although these statistics for 1994 show the slowest growth in more than three decades, health spending continued to grow faster than the overall economy. The Federal Government continued to fund an increasing share of health care expenditures in 1994, offset by a falling share from out-of-pocket sources. Shares paid by State and local governments and by other private payers including private health insurance remained unchanged from 1993.