Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

I Will Be the Leader : Leader Emergence as an Adaptive Response Among MENA Refugee and Immigrant Women in the U.S

The findings of this research provide important implications for leader emergence as an adaptive response to traumatic experiences. Additionally, improvements for workforce transition of MENA refugee and immigrant women are discussed through understanding the impact of cultural context as well as facets which provide a means toward empowerment. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to investigate the leadership patterns that existed within a culture-sharing community of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) refugee and immigrant women who resettled in the Midwestern United States. Limited exploration has sought to understand the existing knowledge and the practice of leadership within such communities. Through an ethnographic approach over three years, this study involved immersive observation, focus groups, and in-depth interviews with seven key informants. Primary sources of data included fieldnotes from three focus group discussions and transcripts from nearly 36 hours of interviews that were analyzed through first cycle eclectic coding and second cycle pattern coding. Fieldnotes and reflective memos served as supporting sources of data that contributed to the development of a rich context and deeper understanding of the emerging themes. Through the development of supporting concepts and subthemes, five major themes emerged, including (1) cultural context, (2) powerlessness, (3) empowerment, (4) unethical leadership, and (5) ethical leadership. These themes contributed to the development of a model that helped explain the process of leader emergence within this community which appeared to be an adaptive response to trauma. Drawing on psychological literature about the concepts of tend-and-befriend and posttraumatic growth as responses to stress and life crises, leader emergence may provide use beyond the present research for other populations who have experienced trauma

Quantitation of Sulfhydryl Groups on Erythrocytes in Polycythemia Vera

The number of sulfhydryl groups on the surface of intact erythrocytes from patients with polycythemia vera is significantly less (34%) than those from control subjects. Sulfhydryl groups were measured indirectly by reversibly blocking-SH groups with the thiol reagent, 6,6′-dithiodinicotinic acid, which forms stable mixed disulfides on the surface of erythrocytes. Glutathione was used to break the disulfides and release thione into the supernatant. Thione was then quantitated spectrophotometrically

How Do Mentors and Protégés Choose Each Other? The Influence of Benevolence, OCB, and POS on the Initiation of Mentoring Relationships

Mentoring relationships play a critical role in career and organizational success yet little research has explored how mentors and protégés choose each other before beginning a productive mentoring relationship. We integrate the selection and trust literatures to describe a mentor\u27s and a protégé\u27s evaluation of each other before initiating a mentoring relationship. Our conceptual framework distinguishes between a mentor and a protégé in their assessments of the other\u27s potential for organizational citizenship behaviors and perceived organizational support, respectively, and how those assessments are contingent upon perceptions of benevolence. We conclude by outlining the implications of this conceptual model for effective mentoring relationships in the workplace