Demographic and social variables associated with psychiatric and school-related indicators for Asian/Pacific-Islander adolescents

BACKGROUND: Factors associated with Asian/Pacific-Islander adolescent adjustment is a greatly neglected research area. AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between demographic, social and adjustment measures based on a large-scale investigation of Asian/Pacific-Islander youths. METHOD: A total of 2577 adolescents were surveyed across 4 public schools in Hawai'i during the 1992--1993 school year. RESULTS: Three social variables (number of relatives frequently seen, family support and friends' support) exhibited statistically significant but low correlations. Family support had the highest negative association with the four psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, aggression, substance use). Friends' support was inconsistently associated with the adjustment measures, and the number of relatives frequently seen resulted in negligible effects. In contrast, demographic variables, especially ethnicity, played a much greater role in the association with the four school-related measures (grade-point average, absences, suspensions, conduct infractions). DISCUSSION: For Asian/Pacific-Islander youths, the quality of the social supports, including family relations, may be particularly important in the adolescents' adjustment. When examining school-related outcomes, demographic variables, with particular emphases on ethnicity and culture, must be considered. When developing and implementing prevention and intervention services and programs, consideration of family and ethnic-cultural influences should be taken into account, with further research needed in several related domains: other SES influences, life stressors, migration-generational effects, ethnic identity, self-concept indicators and socio-political aspects.     

The immortality of humoral immunity

Summary: Decades of high-titered antibody are sustained due to the persistence of memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells (PCs). The differentiation of each of these subsets is antigen- and T-cell driven and is dependent on signals acquired and integrated during the germinal center response. Inherent in the primary immune response must be the delivery of signals to B cells to create these populations, which have virtual immortality. Differences in biology and chemotactic behavior disperse memory B cells and long-lived PCs to a spectrum of anatomic sites. Each subset must rely on survival factors that can support their longevity. This review focuses on the generation of each of these subsets, their survival, and renewal, which must occur to sustain serological memory. In this context, we discuss the role of antigen, bystander inflammation, and cellular niches. The contribution of BAFF (B-cell activating factor belonging to the tumor necrosis factor family) and APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand) to the persistence of memory B cells and PCs are also detailed. Insights that have been provided over the past few years in the regulation of long-lived B-cell responses will have profound impact on vaccine development, the treatment of pre-sensitized patients for organ transplantation, and therapeutic interventions in both antibody- and T-cell-mediated autoimmunity.     

Antigen presentation by monocytes and monocyte-derived cells

Monocytes are circulating mononuclear phagocytes with a fundamental capacity to differentiate into macrophages. This differentiation can, in the presence of the right environmental cues, be re-directed instead to dendritic cells (DCs). Recent advances have been made in understanding the role of monocytes and their derivatives in presenting antigen to drive immune responses, and we review this topic herein. We briefly discuss the heterogeneity of monocytes in the blood and subsequently raise the possibility that one of the major monocyte phenotypes in the blood corresponds with a population of 'blood DCs' previously proposed to drive T-independent antibody reactions in the spleen. Then we evaluate the role of monocytes in T-dependent immunity, considering their role in acquiring antigens for presentation before exiting the bloodstream and their ability to differentiate into macrophages versus antigen-presenting DCs. Finally, we review recent literature on the role of monocyte-derived cells in cross-presentation and discuss the possibility that monocyte-derived cells participate critically in processing antigen for cross-priming, even if they do not present that antigen to T cells themselves.     

Higher Donor Apheresis Blood Volumes Are Associated with Reduced Relapse Risk and Improved Survival in Reduced-Intensity Allogeneic Transplantations with Unrelated Donors

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) offers a curative option for patients with hematologic malignancies who are unable to undergo myeloablative conditioning, but its success is limited by high rates of relapse. Several studies have suggested a role for T cell doses in peripheral blood stem cell grafts in RIC HSCT. Because T cell dose is typically not known until after the collection, and apheresis blood volume is easily modifiable, we hypothesized that higher donor apheresis blood volumes would improve transplantation outcomes through an effect on graft composition. Thus, we analyzed the relationships between apheresis volume, graft composition, and transplantation outcomes in 142 consecutive patients undergoing unrelated donor allogeneic RIC HSCT. We found that apheresis volume ≥15 L was associated with a significantly decreased risk of relapse (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], .48; 95% confidence interval [CI], .28 to .84]; P?=?.01) and improved relapse-free survival (aHR, .56; 95% CI, .35 to .89; P?=?.02) and overall survival (aHR, .55; 95% CI, .34 to .91; P?=?.02). A high apheresis volume was not associated with increased rates of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease. These results demonstrate that an apheresis volume of at least 15 L is independently predictive of improved transplantation outcomes after RIC allogeneic HSCT.