Understanding international volunteering: Who is most likely to participate?

International volunteers are playing an increasingly important role in meeting diverse challenges and improving lives of many across the world, and more opportunities for international volunteering are available across the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors than ever. Nevertheless, little is known about international volunteering and the individuals who participate in this activity. This study examines the utility of the existing volunteering literature by testing how the traditional determinants of volunteering predict participation in international volunteering. The findings show that individuals who have attained post-secondary education, are from a high-income household, or are self-employed are most likely to volunteer internationally. The results also indicate that some of the known predictors of volunteering, such as age, race and gender, do not satisfactorily explain participation in international volunteering. This study concludes by providing suggestions for recruitment strategies, calling for further research on international volunteering

CXCR6 by increasing retention of memory CD8 + T cells in the ovarian tumor microenvironment promotes immunosurveillance and control of ovarian cancer

Purpose Resident memory CD8 T cells, owing to their ability to reside and persist in peripheral tissues, impart adaptive sentinel activity and amplify local immune response, and have beneficial implications for tumor surveillance and control. The current study aimed to clarify the less known chemotactic mechanisms that govern the localization, retention, and residency of memory CD8 T cells in the ovarian tumor microenvironment. Experimental design RNA and protein expressions of chemokine receptors in CD8 + resident memory T cells in human ovarian tumor-infiltrating CD8 + T cells and their association with survival were analyzed. The role of CXCR6 on antitumor T cells was investigated using prophylactic vaccine models in murine ovarian cancer. Results Chemokine receptor profiling of CD8 + CD103 + resident memory tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with ovarian cancer revealed high expression of CXCR6. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (ovarian cancer database revealed CXCR6 to be associated with CD103 and increased patient survival. Functional studies in mouse models of ovarian cancer revealed that CXCR6 is a marker of resident, but not circulatory, tumor-specific memory CD8 + T cells. CXCR6-deficient tumor-specific CD8 + T cells showed reduced retention in tumor tissues, leading to diminished resident memory responses and poor control of ovarian cancer. Conclusions CXCR6, by promoting retention in tumor tissues, serves a critical role in resident memory T cell-mediated immunosurveillance and control of ovarian cancer. Future studies warrant exploiting CXCR6 to promote resident memory responses in cancers. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Seeing Red Over Green: Contesting Urban Sustainabilities in China

10.1177/0042098013478239Urban Studies50112256-227

A novel device for collecting and dispensing fingerstick blood for point of care testing

<div><p>The increased world-wide availability of point-of-care (POC) tests utilizing fingerstick blood has led to testing scenarios in which multiple separate fingersticks are performed during a single patient encounter, generating cumulative discomfort and reducing testing efficiency. We have developed a device capable of a) collection of up to 100 μL of fingerstick blood from a single fingerstick by capillary action, and b) dispensing this blood in variable increments set by the user. We tested the prototype device both in a controlled laboratory setting and in a fingerstick study involving naive device users, and found it to have accuracy and precision similar to a conventional pipettor. The users also found the device to be easy to use, and recommended minor ergonomic improvements. Our device would allow performance of multiple POC tests from a single fingerstick blood sample, thus providing a novel functionality that may be of use in many testing settings worldwide.</p></div