A cross-sectional survey with face-to-face interviews was conducted for data collection. A convenient sample of 203 Vietnamese women in transnational marriages in southern Taiwan was recruited. The Demographic Inventory measured Selleckchem mTOR inhibitor the participants’ age, education, employment status, religion, length of residency and number of children, as well as their spouse’s age, education, employment status and religion. The Demand of Immigration Specific Distress scale measured the level of distress and had six subscales: loss,

novelty, occupational adjustment, language accommodation, discrimination and alienation. Among the 203 participants, 6.4% had a high level of immigration distress; 91.1% had moderate distress; and 2.5% had minor distress. Higher mean scores were found for the loss, novelty and language accommodation subscales of the Demand of Immigration Specific Distress scale. Participant’s (r = 0.321, p < 0.01) and spouse’s (r = 0.375, p < 0.01) unemployment, and more children (r = 0.129, p < 0.05) led to greater immigration distress. Length of residency in Taiwan (r = 0.576, p < 0.001) was an effective predictor of immigration distress. It indicated that the participants

who had stayed fewer years in Taiwan had a higher level of immigrant distress. Health care professionals need to be aware that the female newcomers in transnational marriages are highly susceptible selleck to immigration distress. The study suggests that healthcare professionals need to provide a comprehensive assessment of immigration distress to detect health problems early and administer culturally appropriate healthcare for immigrant women in transnational marriages.”
“Cardiac transplantation is an effective treatment for multiple types of heart failure refractive to therapy. Although immunosuppressive therapeutics have increased survival rates within the first year posttransplant, chronic rejection (CR) remains a significant barrier to long-term graft survival. Indicators

of CR include patchy interstitial fibrosis, vascular occlusion and progressive loss of graft function. Multiple factors have been implicated in the onset and progression of selleck screening library CR, including TGF beta, IL-6 and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). While associated with CR, the role of CTGF in CR and the factors necessary for CTGF induction in vivo are not understood. To this end, we utilized forced expression and neutralizing antibody approaches. Transduction of allografts with CTGF significantly increased fibrotic tissue development, though not to levels observed with TGF beta transduction. Further, intragraft CTGF expression was inhibited by IL-6 neutralization whereas TGF beta expression remained unchanged, indicating that IL-6 effects may potentiate TGF beta-mediated induction of CTGF. Finally, neutralizing CTGF significantly reduced graft fibrosis without reducing TGF beta and IL-6 expression levels.