This study presents a cross‐sectional and longitudinal analysis of how 108 high school students in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms enhanced the comprehensibility of their second ...language (L2) speech according to different motivation, emotion, and experience profiles. Students’ learning patterns were primarily associated with their emotional states (anxiety vs. enjoyment) and secondarily with their motivational dispositions (clear vision of ideal future selves). Students’ anxiety together with weaker Ideal L2 Self related negatively to their performance at the beginning of the project—performance that they had achieved after several years of EFL instruction. Students’ enjoyment together with greater Ideal L2 Self predicted the extent to which they practiced and developed their L2 speech within the 3‐month framework of the project. Results suggest that more frequent L2 use with positive emotions directly impacts acquisition, which may in turn lead to the lessening of negative emotions and better long‐term L2 comprehensibility.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The presence of hydrous minerals in carbonaceous chondrites has been considered important evidence for the former presence of liquid water in parent asteroids. However, the evolution of water–rock ...reactions in hydrous asteroids remains not well constrained. Here, we conduct water–rock type experiments and chemical equilibria calculations under low-temperature hydrothermal and reducing conditions to investigate the alteration process and secondary mineral assemblages of chondritic rock in the earliest alteration stage. Using synthetic chondrite (mixtures of olivine (forsterite95), orthopyroxene (enstatite95), silicate glass, troilite and Femetal) as a starting material, our experiments were conducted at temperatures of 25 °C–80 °C for time periods between 1 and 460 days at a water-to-rock mass ratio of 10. A combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses revealed that the primary secondary phases consisted of pyrrhotite, an amorphous SiO2-rich phase and saponite at 80 °C, while the secondary phase consisted of an amorphous SiO2-rich phase and saponite at 25 °C. At both temperatures, the SiO2-rich phases and saponite densely covered the surface of the primary phases. The Fe/Mg ratios of saponite and amorphous SiO2-rich phases showed clear difference between 80 °C and 25 °C. Saponite that was formed at 80 °C was richer in Fe than the initial silicate phases, and the highest Fe/Mg ratios were obtained in the saponite encrusting the troilite and Femetal. These results suggest that the Fe distributed from the troilite and Femetal induced the formation of Fe-rich saponite. Some of the secondary minerals observed from our alteration experiments were consistent with those expected by chemical equilibria calculations. However, the formation of serpentine, the dominant secondary mineral expected from chemical equilibria calculations, was not observed in our experiments up to 460 days, probably because the preferential dissolution of SiO2-rich silicate glass in the earliest stage of alteration induced the formation of saponite rather than serpentine. The secondary mineral assemblage and its morphological characteristics, as observed by our alteration experiments, showed similarities with carbonaceous chondrites such as CM2 and CO3 chondrites. This alteration might be explained by water–rock reactions at low temperatures and by the short time alteration. These findings better constrain the temperatures and timescales of aqueous alterations in hydrous asteroids, as well as the role of water in the early solar system bodies.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Zircon is one of the most important minerals in geochronologic research. Isotopic ratios and trace elements in zircons are expected to reflect those of their parent magmas. Many geochemical ...researchers have proposed various discrimination diagrams for zircon to indicate tectonic setting and to identify source rock. Because most detrital zircons accumulated at river mouths are derived primarily from granitoids, the classification of zircon within granitoids is potentially meaningful. In our research, we focused on sediment involvement during granitoid formation and tried to identify trace‐element compositions in zircon that are sensitive to variation in sediment incorporation. To accomplish this, we examined trace‐element compositions of both the granitoids and the included zircons in the Kofu granitic complex and the Tanzawa tonalitic plutons in Japan. Among the high‐field‐strength elements (Th, U, Ta, Nb, Hf, and rare earth elements), only Nb and Ta concentrations in the granitoids increased as the rate of sediment contribution increased. However, the zircon did not show such trends in Nb and Ta content. Zircon Y and P contents exhibited a positive correlation, indicating that xenotime substitution occurs to some extent. Because P exists as pentavalent ions in igneous systems, its presence likely affects the concentrations of pentads in zircon. When we divided the Nb and Ta contents by the P content, it became clear that zircon Nb/P and Ta/P ratios increase depending on sediment involvement. While some exceptions exist, we found that zircon Yb/Gd ratios also respond to sediment involvement. Our data further demonstrated that zircons in granitoids with significant sediment incorporation are characterized by low Ce/P contents, which is partly attributable to monazite crystallization before zircon saturation. This study demonstrates that combining these element ratios is useful for indicating sediment incorporation.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
To investigate the relationship between hyperuricemia (HUA) and the clinical backgrounds in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
After a cross-sectional study evaluating the association ...of HUA with the clinical characteristics in 1,213 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the incidence of diabetic macroangiopathies was investigated in a prospective observational study in 1,073 patients during a 3.5 year period. HUA was defined by serum uric acid levels >327 μmol/L or as patients using allopurinol.
The frequency of HUA was significantly higher in the diabetic patients (32% in men and 15% in women) than in the normal controls (14% in men and 1% in women). In total, HUA was found in 299 (25%) of the patients during the cross-sectional study. Even after adjusting for sex, drinking status, treatment for diabetes mellitus, body mass index, hypertension, use of diuretics, hyperlipidemia, HbA1c and/or the eGFR, the HUA was independently associated with some diabetic complications. The eGFR was significantly reduced in HUA patients compared to those with normouricemia in the 12 months after observation was started. HUA was also an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease even after adjustment in the Cox proportional hazard model.
HUA is a associated with diabetic micro- and macroangiopathies. HUA is a predictor of coronary heart disease and renal dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the influence of HUA is considered to be limited.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A novel methane-oxidizing bacterium, strain IT-9T, was isolated from a shallow submarine hydrothermal system occurring in a coral reef in Japan. Strain IT-9T was a Gram-negative, aerobic, motile, ...coccoid or oval-shaped bacterium with the distinctive intracytoplasmic membrane arrangement of a type I methanotroph. Strain IT-9T was a moderately thermophilic, obligate methanotroph that grew on methane and methanol at 30–55 °C (optimum 45–50 °C). The strain possessed the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). The ribulose monophosphate pathway was operative for carbon assimilation. NaCl was required for growth within a concentration range of 1–5 % (optimum 3 %). The hao gene encoding hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) involved in nitrification was detected by a PCR experiment. The major phospholipid fatty acids were C16 : 0 and C18 : 1ω7c. The major isoprenoid quinone was Q-8. The DNA G+C content was 66.0 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain IT-9T was only moderately related to the sequences of members of the closest genera Methylohalobius (94.1 % similarity) and Methylothermus (91.7–91.9 % similarity); however, those sequences formed a deeply branching monophyletic group within the order Methylococcales. Phylogenies based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, deduced partial PmoA sequences and deduced partial Hao sequences and physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics revealed that strain IT-9T represents a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Methylomarinovum caldicuralii gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Methylomarinovum caldicuralii is IT-9T ( = JCM 13666T = DSM 19749T). In addition, we propose a new family, Methylothermaceae fam. nov., in the order Methylococcales, to accommodate the genera Methylothermus, Methylohalobius and Methylomarinovum. The genera Methylothermus and Methylohalobius have been recognized as being distinct from other genera in the methane-oxidizing order Methylococcales in the class Gammaproteobacteria. These genera form a distinctive monophyletic lineage within the order on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogeny. This seems consistent with their distinctive physiological traits; the genus Methylothermus includes the most thermophilic species, and the genus Methylohalobius includes the most halophilic species, within the order. Although these two genera include only three species at the time of writing, similar sequences of 16S rRNA genes and pmoA genes encoding pMMO have been detected in a geothermal area or deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields by studies using culture-independent techniques. This suggests that unknown methanotrophs of this lineage inhabit various extreme environments.
Some deep-sea chemosynthetic invertebrates and their symbiotic bacteria can use molecular hydrogen (H
) as their energy source. However, how much the chemosynthetic holobiont (endosymbiont-host ...association) physiologically depends on H
oxidation has not yet been determined. Here, we demonstrate that the Campylobacterota endosymbionts of the gastropod Alviniconcha marisindica in the Kairei and Edmond fields (kAlv and eAlv populations, respectively) of the Indian Ocean, utilize H
in response to their physical and environmental H
conditions, although the 16S rRNA gene sequence of both the endosymbionts shared 99.6% identity. A thermodynamic calculation using in situ H
and hydrogen sulfide (H
S) concentrations indicated that chemosynthetic symbiosis could be supported by metabolic energy via H
oxidation, particularly for the kAlv holobiont. Metabolic activity measurements showed that both the living individuals and the gill tissues consumed H
and H
S at similar levels. Moreover, a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization, quantitative transcript analyses, and enzymatic activity measurements showed that the kAlv endosymbiont expressed the genes and enzymes for both H
- and sulfur-oxidations. These results suggest that both H
and H
S could serve as the primary energy sources for the kAlv holobiont. The eAlv holobiont had the ability to utilize H
, but the gene expression and enzyme activity for hydrogenases were much lower than for sulfur-oxidation enzymes. These results suggest that the energy acquisitions of A. marisindica holobionts are dependent on H
- and sulfur-oxidation in the H
-enriched Kairei field and that the mechanism of dual metabolism is controlled by the in situ H
concentration.
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NUK, SBMB, SBNM, UL, UM, UPUK
•Chemostratigraphic (δ13C-δ18O-87Sr/86Sr-δ15N) data were obtained from the Doushantuo Formation.•Two episodes of negative δ13Ccar excursions (EN1 and EN3) were recognized.•EN3 coincides with ...decoupled δ13Ccar-δ13Corg values and decrease of Mn, Fe and δ15N values, indicating glacial influence.
High-resolution isotopic analyses were conducted on core samples from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation at the Wangjiapeng section, western Hubei Province in South China, whereby two laterally traceable, negative δ13Ccarb excursions (EN1 and EN3) were recognized. The magnitude and duration of these excursions permit intra-basinal and inter-basinal correlation, which indicates that they probably represent a global change in seawater composition. The occurrence of decoupled δ13Ccar-δ13Corg with almost invariable δ13Corg values at Wangjiapeng, Zhongling, Yangjiaping sections is consistent with remineralization of a dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool by means of sulfate reduction, as recorded in EN3. The synchronous presence of EN3, a shift to higher 87Sr/86Sr and decrease of Mn and Fe contents and δ15N values together points to a glacial influence whereby oxygenation and remineralization of reduced carbon produced 13C-depleted DIC. Glaciations cause a drop in sea level, which itself leads to increased continental shelf area to be exposed to surface weathering, and ultimately to enhanced delivery of radiogenic 87Sr. The increase of 87Sr/86Sr ratios, sulfate and phosphate are consequences of surface runoff into oceanic environments and such perturbations induce biogeochemical changes.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The main purposes of this article are to provide an overview of a research project on a longitudinal learner spoken corpus and to share procedures related to the transcription of learners' utterances ...from audio files using automated speech recognition (ASR) technology (IBM Watson Speech-to-text).The data of the corpus were collected twice or thrice a year for three consecutive years from 2016, creating eight data collection points altogether. They were gathered from 120 secondary school students who had been learning English in an English as a Foreign Language context for three years. The students were asked to take a monologue speaking test, the Telephone Standard Speaking Test, consisting of various tasks. The overall discussion of the article focuses on the details of this project and highlights howa methodological approach of combining electronic learner language data and ASR technology is useful in constructing learner spoken corpora.
Two aerobic methane-oxidizing bacterial strains were isolated from distinct marine environments in Japan. Strains IT-4T and T2-1 were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile, plump short rods or ...oval-shaped bacteria with a single polar flagellum and type I intracytoplasmic membranes. They were obligate methanotrophs that grew only on methane or methanol. Each strain possessed the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). The ribulose monophosphate pathway was operative for carbon assimilation. The strains grew best at 37 °C, and did not grow at 45 °C. NaCl was required for growth within a concentration range of 1–8 % (w/v). The major phospholipid fatty acids were C16 : 0, C16 : 1ω7c, and C16 : 1ω5t. The major isoprenoid quinone was MQ-8. The DNA G+C content was 50.9–51.7 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the strains showed 99.4 % similarity to each other, and DNA–DNA hybridization analysis indicated that the strains were representatives of the same species. The 16S rRNA gene sequences were highly similar to some marine environmental sequences (94.0–97.7 % similarity), but did not show similarities more than 94 % with sequences of members of other related genera, such as Methylomicrobium, Methylobacter, Methylomonas and Methylosarcina. Phylogenies based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and deduced partial PmoA sequences, and the physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics revealed that strains IT-4T and T2-1 represent a novel species of a new genus in the family Methylococcaceae, for which the name Methylomarinum vadi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IT-4T ( = JCM 13665T = DSM 18976T).
Internal tandem duplication in the
FLT3
gene (FLT3/ITD), which is found in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), causes resistance to FLT3 inhibitors. We found that RUNX1, a transcription ...factor that regulates normal hematopoiesis, is up-regulated in patients with FLT3/ITD
+
AML. While RUNX1 can function as a tumor suppressor, recent data have shown that RUNX1 is required for AML cell survival. In the present study, we investigated the functional role of RUNX1 in FLT3/ITD signaling. FLT3/ITD induced growth factor-independent proliferation and impaired G-CSF mediated myeloid differentiation in 32D hematopoietic cells, coincident with up-regulation of RUNX1 expression. Silencing of RUNX1 expression significantly decreased proliferation and secondary colony formation, and partially abrogated the impaired myeloid differentiation of FLT3/ITD
+
32D cells. Although the number of FLT3/ITD
+
32D cells declined after incubation with the FLT3/ITD inhibitor AC220, the cells became refractory to AC220, concomitant with up-regulation of RUNX1. Silencing of RUNX1 abrogated the emergence and proliferation of AC220-resistant FLT3/ITD
+
32D cells in the presence of AC220. Our data indicate that FLT3/ITD deregulates cell proliferation and differentiation and confers resistance to AC220 by up-regulating RUNX1 expression. These findings suggest an oncogenic role for RUNX1 in FLT3/ITD
+
cells and that inhibition of RUNX1 function represents a potential therapeutic strategy in patients with refractory FLT3/ITD
+
AML.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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