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Most organizational researchers understand the detrimental effects of measurement errors in testing relationships among latent variables and hence adopt structural equation modeling (SEM) to control for measurement errors. Nonetheless, many of them revert to regression-based approaches, such as moderated multiple regression (MMR), when testing for moderating and other nonlinear effects. The predominance of MMR is likely due to the limited evidence showing the superiority of latent interaction approaches over regression-based approaches combined with the previous complicated procedures for testing latent interactions. In this teaching note, we first briefly explain the latent moderated structural equations (LMS) approach, which estimates latent interaction effects while controlling for measurement errors. Then we explain the reliability-corrected single-indicator LMS (RCSLMS) approach to testing latent interactions with summated scales and correcting for measurement errors, yielding results which approximate those from LMS. Next, we report simulation results illustrating that LMS and RCSLMS outperform MMR in terms of accuracy of point estimates and confidence intervals for interaction effects under various conditions. Then, we show how LMS and RCSLMS can be implemented with Mplus, providing an example-based tutorial to demonstrate a 4-step procedure for testing a range of latent interactions, as well as the decisions at each step. Finally, we conclude with answers to some frequently asked questions when testing latent interactions. As supplementary files to support researchers, we provide a narrated PowerPoint presentation, all Mplus syntax and output files, data sets for numerical examples, and Excel files for conducting the loglikelihood values difference test and plotting the latent interaction effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese foreign policy has multiple sources, and the incentives that are driving its behaviour have grown from the domestic/international, as well as from regional, economic, normative, multilateral, and cultural levels. Foreign policy-making in China is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. This special issue is drawn from some edited papers presented in the joint workshop between Fudan and Durham Universities on Chinese foreign policy on 29-30 March 2010. By assessing the economic, domestic, regional, global and cultural sources of Chinese foreign policy, we aim to illustrate the various sources and to locate possible ways to consolidate the transitional process, and to spur future endeavour facing China's foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese family enterprises in the United Kingdom have penetrated many different sectors of the economy, including restaurants, wholesaling, retailing, trading, manufacturing, property development, computer services and investment holding. Among the companies in these sectors, those involved in different segments of the food industry, as manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers, reputedly feature characteristics of Chinese culture. A majority of these enterprises, for example, function as family firms. This study explores the assertion that, among companies owned by ethnic minorities, culture strongly influences form of business development. This argument will be assessed through a focus on Chinese food-based enterprises in the UK. Two family-controlled companies, Seven Seas (Frozen Food) Ltd and Dayat Foods Packaging Ltd, were selected as case studies as they are involved in key business components of the Chinese food chain industry. Through an in-depth comparative study of the history and development of these two firms, we consider the argument that Chinese businesses have evolved well because of family ties and their inclusion in mutually-beneficial ethnically-constructed networks. Through these case studies, we provide an alternative perspective to diasporic Chinese business development which brings into question the extensive use of the concept of ethnic enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces several articles featured in the 2004 issue of "East Asia: An International Quarterly," including the regionalism in China and its economic diplomacy with Singapore.

The article discusses a research study by N. T. Pauli and colleagues on the role of protein A of Staphylococcus aureus in the immune response. Topics noted include the suppression of reactivity toward important determinants of virulence of the bacteria, ways on how the human immune system prevent bacterial infections, antigen specificity of plasmablasts, and inclusion of protein A-specific components in the development of Staphylococcus aureus vaccines.

Presents information on "East Asia: An International Quarterly." Description of the two phases of the journal; Scope and academic coverage; Information on the editorial team of the journal.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are a promising form of cancer immunotherapy, although they are often associated with severe toxicities. Here, we present a split-CAR design incorporating separate antigen recognition and intracellular signaling domains. These exploit the binding between the tetracycline repressor protein and a small peptide sequence (TIP) to spontaneously assemble as a functional CAR. Addition of the FDA-approved, small molecule antibiotic minocycline, acts as an "off-switch" by displacing the signaling domain and down-tuning CAR T activity. Here we describe the optimization of this split-CAR approach to generate a CAR in which cytotoxicity, cytokine secretion and proliferation can be inhibited in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. Inhibition is effective during on-going CAR T cell activation and inhibits activation and tumor control in vivo. This work shows how optimization of split-CAR structure affects function and adds a novel design allowing easy CAR inhibition through an FDA-approved small molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects 15-30% of children and approximately 5% of adults in industrialized countries. Although the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis is not fully understood, the disease is mediated by an abnormal immunoglobulin-E immune response in the setting of skin barrier dysfunction. Mast cells contribute to immunoglobulin-E-mediated allergic disorders including atopic dermatitis. Upon activation, mast cells release their membrane-bound cytosolic granules leading to the release of several molecules that are important in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and host defence. More than 90% of patients with atopic dermatitis are colonized with Staphylococcus aureus in the lesional skin whereas most healthy individuals do not harbour the pathogen. Several staphylococcal exotoxins can act as superantigens and/or antigens in models of atopic dermatitis. However, the role of these staphylococcal exotoxins in disease pathogenesis remains unclear. Here we report that culture supernatants of S. aureus contain potent mast-cell degranulation activity. Biochemical analysis identified δ-toxin as the mast cell degranulation-inducing factor produced by S. aureus. Mast cell degranulation induced by δ-toxin depended on phosphoinositide 3-kinase and calcium (Ca2+) influx; however, unlike that mediated by immunoglobulin-E crosslinking, it did not require the spleen tyrosine kinase. In addition, immunoglobulin-E enhanced δ-toxin-induced mast cell degranulation in the absence of antigen. Furthermore, S. aureus isolates recovered from patients with atopic dermatitis produced large amounts of δ-toxin. Skin colonization with S. aureus, but not a mutant deficient in δ-toxin, promoted immunoglobulin-E and interleukin-4 production, as well as inflammatory skin disease. Furthermore, enhancement of immunoglobulin-E production and dermatitis by δ-toxin was abrogated in KitW-sh/W-sh mast-cell-deficient mice and restored by mast cell reconstitution. These studies identify δ-toxin as a potent inducer of mast cell degranulation and suggest a mechanistic link between S. aureus colonization and allergic skin disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread antibiotic resistance among important bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus calls for alternative routes of drug development. Interfering with crucial virulence determinants is considered a promising new approach to control bacterial infection. Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) are peptide toxins with multiple key roles in pathogenesis and have a major impact on the ability of highly virulent S. aureus to cause disease. However, targeting PSMs for therapeutic intervention is hampered by their multitude and diversity. Here we report that an ATP-binding cassette transporter with previously unknown function is responsible for the export of all PSMs, thus representing a single target for complete obstruction of PSM production. The transporter had a strong effect on virulence phenotypes, such as neutrophil lysis, and the extent of its effect on the development of S. aureus infection was similar to that of the sum of all PSMs. Notably, the transporter was essential for bacterial growth. Furthermore, it contributed to producer immunity toward secreted PSMs and defense against PSM-mediated bacterial interference. Our study reveals a noncanonical, dedicated secretion mechanism for an important class of toxins and identifies this mechanism as a comprehensive potential target for the development of drugs to efficiently inhibit the growth and virulence of pathogenic staphylococci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]