Calendar

        Benefit: The Breast Cancer Alliance of Greater Cincinnati will hold its second Breast Cancer Brick Silent Auction at 1 p.m. Sept. 30 at Philip Bortz Jewelers in the Shops at Harper's Point, 11330 Montgomery Road, Symmes Township. All proceeds benefit the alliance's educational seminars and communications programs. Information: Ellen Ganson, 489-2511.

        Cancellation: Celebrity kitchenmeister Chef Tell will not be appearing as scheduled today at the Hyatt Regency. Information: www.cincinow.com or call 475-4500.
Research

        Reducing risk: Using a technique that mimics the body's own self-defense mechanisms could significantly reduce the risk of infections associated with medical implants like catheters, artificial organs and sensors placed under the skin, according to new research from the University of North Carolina.

        Medical implants are critical for curing illness and improving quality of life, but more than half of all hospital infections have been linked to the devices.

        Researchers led by Dr. Mark H. Schoenfisch, assistant professor of chemistry at UNC, have found they can store nitric oxide — a substance the body produces naturally to fight infection — in soluble gel-based materials that could be used to coat medical implants. The nitric oxide is released by the coating in tissue or blood and reduces bacteria's tendency to stick to the implants and form living films that lead to infection.

        Conventional antibiotic treatments contribute to bacteria becoming resistant to those treatments, Dr. Schoenfisch says. But nitric oxide “mimics our body's own self-defense mechanisms against foreign cells.”

        Immune system cells engulf bacteria and release high levels of reactive molecules, including nitric oxide, in a process called phagocytosis, to destroy the bacteria. Releasing nitric oxide into infection-prone tissues “might represent a new approach” for reducing infection, Dr. Schoenfisch says.

        The study will appear in the Journal of the American Chemical Society this fall.
Tips

        Burnout: Is job stress taking its toll?

        Dr. Audrey L. Canaff, an assistant professor in the counseling department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, says the warning signs of job burnout are easy to recognize if you know what questions to ask:

        • Do you dread going to work every morning?

        • Are you regularly fatigued or suffering from low energy levels at work?

        • Are you easily bored by your job?

        • Do work activities that used to be enjoyable now seem like drudgery?

        • Do you get depressed on Sunday when you think about going back to the office on Monday?

        • Have you become more cynical about your job, your boss or your company? Are you easily annoyed or irritated by co-workers?

        • Are relationships with friends and family affected by work issues?

        • Do you envy people who are happy in their jobs?

        • Do you care less now about doing a “good job” at work than you used to?

        If you answered “yes” to five or more questions, you could be suffering from job burnout, Dr. Canaff says. Job burnout, a byproduct of work-related stress, can lead to fatigue, despair and isolation. Career counseling can help identify sources of stress and better ways to cope with those stresses, she advises.

        For helping choosing a counselor, log on to www.ncda.org, the Web site for the National Career Development Association.

        Contact Peggy O'Farrell by phone: 768-8510; fax, 768-8330; e-mail, pofarrell@enquirer.com.

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