Childhood Adversity and Self-Care Education for Undergraduate Social Work and Human Services Students

Many students pursuing social work and human services courses have experienced adverse childhoods. This article focuses on their learning about self-care, an important skill for future practice. Interviews with 20 undergraduate students with a history of childhood adversity found unmet needs both for conceptualizing self-care and developing strategies to implement self-care in their day-to-day lives. Many cited limited role modeling and little importance placed on self-care during childhood. Teaching self-care is conceptualized as not only a core skill for practice but also an equity issue for students with a history of childhood adversity.     

A parallel microfluidic channel fixture fabricated using laser ablated plastic laminates for electrochemical and chemiluminescent biodetection of DNA

Herein is described the fabrication and use of a plastic multilayer 3-channel microfluidic fixture. Multilayer devices were produced by laser machining of plastic polymethylmethacrylate and polyethyleneterapthalate laminates by ablation. The fixture consisted of an array of nine individually addressable gold or gold/ITO working electrodes, and a resistive platinum heating element. Laser machining of both the fluidic pathways in the plastic laminates, and the stencil masks used for thermal evaporation to form electrode regions on the plastic laminates, enabled rapid and inexpensive implementation of design changes. Electrochemiluminescence reactions in the fixture were achieved and monitored through ITO electrodes. Electroaddressable aryl diazonium chemistry was employed to selectively pattern gold electrodes for electrochemical multianalyte DNA detection from double stranded DNA (dsDNA) samples. Electrochemical detection of dsDNA was achieved by melting of dsDNA molecules in solution with the integrated heater, allowing detection of DNA sequences specific to breast and colorectal cancers with a non-specific binding control. Following detection, the array surface could be renewed via high temperature (95 °C) stripping using the integrated heating element. This versatile and simple method for prototyping devices shows potential for further development of highly integrated, multi-functional bioanalytical devices.