The phytohormone ethylene has numerous effects on plant growth and development. Its immediate precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), is a non-proteinogenic amino acid produced by ACC ...SYNTHASE (ACS). ACC is often used to induce ethylene responses. Here, we demonstrate that ACC exhibits ethylene-independent signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana reproduction. By analyzing an acs octuple mutant with reduced seed set, we find that ACC signaling in ovular sporophytic tissue is involved in pollen tube attraction, and promotes secretion of the pollen tube chemoattractant LURE1.2. ACC activates Ca
-containing ion currents via GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE (GLR) channels in root protoplasts. In COS-7 cells expressing moss PpGLR1, ACC induces the highest cytosolic Ca
elevation compared to all twenty proteinogenic amino acids. In ovules, ACC stimulates transient Ca
elevation, and Ca
influx in octuple mutant ovules rescues LURE1.2 secretion. These findings uncover a novel ACC function and provide insights for unraveling new physiological implications of ACC in plants.
Background and Purpose
Neutrophil overactivation is crucial in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI). Bletinib (3,3′‐dihydroxy‐2′,6′‐bis(p‐hydroxybenzyl)‐5‐methoxybibenzyl), a natural bibenzyl, ...extracted from the Bletilla plant, exhibits anti‐inflammatory, antibacterial, and antimitotic effects. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of bletinib in human neutrophilic inflammation and LPS‐mediated ALI in mice.
Experimental Approach
In human neutrophils activated with the formyl peptide (fMLP), we assessed integrin expression, superoxide anion production, degranulation, neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, and adhesion through flow cytometry, spectrophotometry, and immunofluorescence microscopy. Immunoblotting was used to measure phosphorylation of Src family kinases (SFKs) and downstream proteins. Finally, a LPS‐induced ALI model in male BALB/c mice was used to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of bletinib treatment.
Key Results
In activated human neutrophils, bletinib reduced degranulation, respiratory burst, NET formation, adhesion, migration, and integrin expression; suppressed the enzymic activity of SFKs, including Src, Lyn, Fgr, and Hck; and inhibited the phosphorylation of SFKs as well as Vav and Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk). In mice with ALI, the pulmonary sections demonstrated considerable amelioration of prominent inflammatory changes, such as haemorrhage, pulmonary oedema, and neutrophil infiltration, after bletinib treatment.
Conclusion and Implications
Bletinib regulates neutrophilic inflammation by inhibiting the SFK‐Btk‐Vav pathway. Bletinib ameliorates LPS‐induced ALI in mice. Further biochemical optimisation of bletinib may be a promising strategy for the development of novel therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases.
This exploratory action research study aims to understand the challenges that a group of pre-service teachers faced while participating in an undergraduate course unit introducing Content and ...Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teaching in an online context (Cycle 1), and the way in which they implemented plans of action (Cycle 2) to address issues uncovered in Cycle 1. The study found that the pre-service teachers experienced problems applying appropriate English teaching approaches to promote their pupils' communicative competence. Four measures were applied in Cycle 2, such as restructuring the training-teaching module, reinforcing the concept of English as a lingua franca to promote students' communicative skills, selecting authentic materials to enhance students' motivation, and obtaining administrative support to resolve technological problems. The results from English proficiency tests showed that the pupils improved their reading and listening skills in Cycle 2. Although the actions taken in Cycle 2 were focused on improving pupils' English abilities, these actions also had the effect of enhancing the pre-service teachers' CLIL pedagogical concepts, such as the translanguaging approach. The study provides a detailed description of CLIL teaching with online storybooks and adds to the body of much-needed studies of CLIL in practice, especially in the Asian context.
Language teachers are expected to engage in classroom assessment practices and report on learners’ progress aligned with proficiency standards, as well as prepare learners for external examinations. ...The term “language assessment literacy” (LAL) describes what the constituency of language instructors needs to know about assessment matters. Traditionally, a top‐down perspective has been provided for language teachers, such as through textbooks and testing courses. However, the result of this top‐down, decontextualized approach is that teachers often seem unable to influence and change the policy. Accordingly, this article reports on a study framed within sociocultural theory, in which a group of preservice English teachers applied Gal'perin's model of systemic theoretical instruction, brought into second language education as concept‐based language instruction (C‐BLI), to internalize and apply LAL concepts in instructional contexts. Results of the study suggest that C‐BLI was more effective than a top‐down, textbook‐based teaching approach in facilitating preservice teachers’ understanding of LAL concepts. It also helped them become active agents of their own language‐testing practice. Implications of the study are trifold. First, the C‐BLI intervention empowered preservice teachers on the design of classroom‐based assessments. Second, it brought positive washback to the instructional plan and English curricula. Third, the intervention helped form the dialectical unity of theory and practice, which contributed to the teachers’ professional development in English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language contexts.
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a well-defined yet difficult-to-manage disease entity. Both the precipitous rise in its incidence due to contemporary lifestyles and the growing heterogeneity among ...affected populations present unprecedented challenges. Moreover, the predisposed risk for developing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in populations with MetS, and the viral impacts on host metabolic parameters, underscores the need to investigate this mechanism thoroughly. Recent investigations of metabolomics and proteomics have revealed not only differentially expressed substances in MetS, but also the consequences of diet consumption and physical activity on energy metabolism. These variations in metabolites, as well as protein products, also influence a wide spectrum of host characteristics, from cellular behavior to phenotype. Research on the dysregulation of gut microbiota and the resultant inflammatory status has also contributed to our understanding of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. As for state-of-the-art therapies, advancing depictions of the bio-molecular landscape of MetS have emerged and now play a key role in individualized precision medicine. Fecal microbiota transplantation, aiming to restore the host’s homeostasis, and targeting of the bile acid signaling pathway are two approaches to combatting MetS. Comprehensive molecular inquiries about MetS by omics measures are mandatory to facilitate the development of novel therapeutic modalities.
Phenotyping cardiovascular illness and recognising heterogeneities within are pivotal in the contemporary era. Besides traditional risk factors, accumulated evidence suggested that a high ...inflammatory burden has emerged as a key characteristic modulating both the pathogenesis and progression of cardiovascular diseases, inclusive of atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. To mechanistically elucidate the correlation, signalling pathways downstream to Toll-like receptors, nucleotide oligomerisation domain-like receptors, interleukins, tumour necrosis factor, and corresponding cytokines were raised as central mechanisms exerting the effect of inflammation. Other remarkable adjuvant factors include oxidative stress and secondary ferroptosis. These molecular discoveries have propelled pharmaceutical advancements. Statin was suggested to confer cardiovascular benefits not only by lowering cholesterol levels but also by attenuating inflammation. Colchicine was repurposed as an immunomodulator co-administered with coronary intervention. Novel interleukin-1β and -6 antagonists exhibited promising cardiac benefits in the recent trials as well. Moreover, manipulation of gut microbiota and associated metabolites was addressed to antagonise inflammation-related cardiovascular pathophysiology. The gut-cardio-renal axis was therein established to explain the mutual interrelationship. As for future perspectives, artificial intelligence in conjunction with machine learning could better elucidate the sequencing of the microbiome and data mining. Comprehensively understanding the interplay between the gut microbiome and its cardiovascular impact will help identify future therapeutic targets, affording holistic care for patients with cardiovascular diseases.
This retrospective cohort study aimed to examine the relationship between herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) and the subsequent risk of dementia using a population-based database. We retrieved the ...study sample from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The study group included 846 patients with HZO, and the comparison group included 2538 patients without HZO. Each patient was individually followed for a 5-year period to identify those patients who subsequently received a diagnosis of dementia. We performed a Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dementia during the follow-up period between patients with HZO and comparison patients. The respective incidence rates of dementia per 1000 person-years were 10.15 (95% CI: 7.22~13.87) and 3.61 (95% CI: 2.61~4.89) for patients with HZO and comparison patients. The Cox proportional analysis showed that the crude HR of dementia during the 5-year follow-up period was 2.83 (95% CI: 1.83-4.37) for patients with HZO than comparison patients. After adjusting for patients' characteristics and comorbidities, HZO patients were still at a 2.97-fold greater risk than comparison patients for developing dementia. Furthermore, we found that of sampled male patients, the crude HR of dementia for patients with HZO was as high as 3.35 (95% CI = 1.79-6.28) compared to comparison patients. This study demonstrated an association between HZO and dementia. Clinicians must be alert to suspect dementia in patients with cognitive impairment who had prior HZO.
This study explores teachers' perceptions and practices about the translanguaging approach in CLIL elementary and secondary school contexts in Taiwan. It first investigates 422 in-service teachers' ...perspectives toward teachers' and students' use of (1) a native language; (2) non-verbal behaviors; and (3) other meaning-making signs in the language learning context. Second, the study delves into how in-service teachers apply the notion of translanguaging in CLIL by examining episodes of classroom discourse originating from three participating teachers in various school contexts. Results reveal that (1) elementary English teachers used semiotic resources and gestures; (2) middle school English teachers applied semiotic resources and (3) middle school content teachers preferred using L1 to reinforce subject learning. This study demonstrates that though the concept of translanguaging approach is new to many teachers in Taiwan, many of these practices are currently carried out by teachers in daily routines. Results show that the translanguaging approach has expanded the linguistics practices and empowered the use of other meaning-making signs that are typically less valued in school. Pedagogical applications are suggested, such as raising teachers' awareness of the strategic use of translanguaging and gestures, and integrating the translanguaging and trans-semiotizing approach into CLIL classes in a systematic fashion.
This study implemented the principles of dynamic assessment (DA) with computer technology, iSpring Quiz Maker, to (1) identify the English listening difficulties of 172 L2 English learners; (2) ...diagnose their individual learning needs, and (3) promote their future potential abilities. Upon evaluating the participating junior high school students' performance on three English listening question types－overview, detail, and inference questions, this computerized DA (C-DA) program provided automatically generated results showing each participant's current abilities, mediated performance, learning needs, and future potential (i.e., learning potential score, LPS). Findings revealed that (1) all three types of questions were challenging to the participants, especially the overview questions; (2) the mediation provided via the C-DA program was most effective in supporting participants' attempts to answer inference questions, and (3) participants with low LPSs had more difficulty with inference questions while participants with mid or high LPSs needed more assistance in answering the detail questions. Results demonstrated that participants had very different listening difficulties regarding the three question types even when they had identical scores. It had shown that the implementation of C-DA could offer a fuller picture of EFL learners' English listening abilities, which could affect the English instructional design, and pedagogical approaches.
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