Effects of Multimedia Instruction on L2 Acquisition of High-Level, Low-Frequency English Vocabulary Words

The present study examined the effects of multimedia enhancement in video form in addition to textual information on L2 vocabulary instruction for high-level, low-frequency English words among Korean learners of English. Although input-based incidental learning of L2 vocabulary through extensive reading has been conventionally believed to be appropriate for high-frequency words, intentional or explicit vocabulary learning is suggested to be more sensible or realistic for the acquisition of low-frequency academic words. Multimedia support in foreign language instruction has revealed benefits in promoting direct teaching and explicit learning of L2 vocabulary; moreover, adding textual information to video seems to boost students’ understanding of the learning materials. Under the theoretical frameworks such as the dual-coding theory and the cognitive load theory, the study investigated (1) multimedia effects on vocabulary acquisition of advanced-level infrequent words, (2) the best way to offer multimedia by combining the optimal modes of presentation, and (3) the aspects in multimedia support that can help students with acquisition and retention of unfamiliar words. Seventy-four Korean students who were preparing for the GRE for graduate study in the U.S. participated in the experiment. They were randomly divided into four different groups and were given instruction on 34 GRE vocabulary words in four different conditions: Text-only, Text+Audio, Text+Video, or Text+Audio+Video. After each treatment, immediate post-tests and seven-day delayed post-tests were administered to evaluate participant score change from the pre-tests. Results indicate that multimedia presentation has a greater positive effect on learning than text-only presentation, supporting the dual-coding theory. Among the types of multimedia support, Text+Audio+Video appears to be better than Text+Audio or Text+Video, suggesting the benefit of the combination of audio and video. Moreover, multimedia audio-visual support was found to be more advantageous when supplemented with a linguistic cue in the form of a precise definition or synonym of an unknown word. Findings have both theoretical and pedagogical implications in L2 vocabulary acquisition of high-level, low-frequency English words in that the study addressed ways to design effective multimedia materials and offered instructional guidelines for multimedia language teaching

Association of Contraceptive Knowledge, Sexual Double Standard and Contraceptive Self-Efficacy among Unmarried Women in Their 30s and 40s

PURPOSE: To determine association of contraceptive knowledge, sexual double standard, and contraceptive self-efficacy among unmarried women in their 30s and 40s. METHODS: With a survey design, data were collected from 119 unmarried women in their 30s and 40s in G city of Korea from September 2017 to March 2018. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Contraceptive knowledge, sexual double standard, and contraceptive self-efficacy scores of participants were 8.97±2.22, 18.54±5.57, and 45.84 ± 6.90, respectively. Contraceptive self-efficacy was negatively correlated with sexual double standard. Factors influencing contraceptive self-efficacy were sexual double standard (β =−.26, p=.003), existence of boyfriend (β=.25, p=.004), and contraceptive education need for adults (β=.17, p=.044). They explained 19% of contraceptive self-efficacy of participants. CONCLUSION: To increase contraceptive self-efficacy of unmarried women in their 30s and 40s, lowering sexual double standard and developing customized contraceptive education according to age and knowledge level are needed. Research on factors related to contraceptive self-efficacy of unmarried women in their 30s and 40s from various regions are also needed in the future

Effects of Sex Communication with Friends and Sexual Double Standard on Contraceptive Self-efficacy among University Students

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of sex communication with friends and sexual double standard on contraceptive self-efficacy among university students. METHODS: With a survey design, data were collected from 251 university students from three universities in G city from September 2016 to October 2016. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Sex communication with friends, sexual double standard, and contraceptive self-efficacy scores of participants were 58.82±8.78, 21.73±6.00, and 44.20±5.91, respectively. Sex communication with friends and sexual double standard were related to contraceptive self-efficacy. Sexual double standard, sex communication with friends, female, contraceptive education, and contraceptive experience explained 33% of contraceptive self-efficacy of participants. CONCLUSION: Sexual double standard and sex communication with friends were influencing factors of contraceptive self-efficacy. To improve contraceptive self-efficacy of university students, a program is needed to eliminate sexual double standard and improve sex communication with friends among university students in Korea

Chromosome-level genome assembly of Patagonian moray cod (Muraenolepis orangiensis) and immune deficiency of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II

The Patagonian moray cod, Muraenolepis orangiensis, belongs to the family Muraenolepididae and is the sole order of Gadiformes that inhabits the temperate and cold waters of the southern hemisphere. One of the features of the Gadiformes order is that they have a remarkably unique immune gene repertoire that influences innate and adaptive immunity, and they lack major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, invariant chains (CD74), and CD4 genes. In this study, a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly was constructed, resulting in a final assembled genome of 893.75 Mb, with an N50 scaffold length of 30.07 Mb and the longest scaffold being 39.77 Mb. Twenty-five high-quality pseudochromosomes were assembled, and the complete BUSCO rate was 93.4%. A total of 34,553 genes were structurally annotated, and 27,691 genes were functionally annotated. Among the 10 primary genes involved in MHC class II, only two ERAP1 genes and one AIRE gene were identified through the genome study. Although no specific reason for the MHC class II deficiency has been identified, it has been shown that the toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are significant to the innate immune response, are significantly expanded in M. orangiensis. A total of 44 TLRs have been identified, with 32 TLR13 genes distributed evenly on six different pseudochromosomes. This study is the first to reveal the whole genome of a Muraenolepididae family and provides valuable insights into the potential rationale for the MHC class II deficiency in a Gadiformes fish species

Self-assembled adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells as an extracellular matrix component- and growth factor-enriched filler

The clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is attracting attention due to their excellent safety, convenient acquisition, multipotency, and trophic activity. The clinical effectiveness of transplanted MSCs is well-known in regenerative and immunomodulatory medicine, but there is a demand for their improved viability and regenerative function after transplantation. In this study, we isolated MSCs from adipose tissue from three human donors and generated uniformly sized MSC spheroids (∼100 µm in diameter) called microblocks (MiBs) for dermal reconstitution. The viability and MSC marker expression of MSCs in MiBs were similar to those of monolayer MSCs. Compared with monolayer MSCs, MiBs produced more extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including type I collagen, fibronectin, and hyaluronic acid, and growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor. Subcutaneously injected MiBs showed skin volume retaining capacity in mice. These results indicate that MiBs could be applied as regenerative medicine for skin conditions such as atrophic scar by having high ECM and bioactive factor expression

In vivo and in vitro safety evaluation of fermented Citrus sunki peel extract: acute and 90-day repeated oral toxicity studies with genotoxicity assessment

Abstract Background Citrus sunki Hort. ex Tanaka peel has been traditionally used as an ingredient in folk medicine due to its therapeutic effects on promotion of splenic health and diuresis as well as relief of gastrointestinal symptoms. Although a growing interest in health-promoting natural products and the development of highly concentrated products have facilitated consumption of C. sunki peel, its safety assessment has not been explored, posing a potential health risk. In this study, we carried out a series of systemic and genetic toxicity tests on fermented C. sunki peel extract (FCPE) to provide the essential information required for safe use in human. Methods We conducted acute and 90-day repeated oral toxicity studies in Sprague-Dawley rats to evaluate systemic toxicity, and three genotoxicity assays to measure bacterial mutation reversion, cellular chromosome aberration and in vivo micronucleus formation. Results Single oral administration of FCPE did not cause any clinical signs and lethality in all animals, establishing LD50 to be over 2000 mg/kg BW. Repeated administration of up to 2000 mg/kg BW FCPE for 90 days revealed no test substance-related toxicity as demonstrated in analysis of body weight gain, food/water intake, blood, serum biochemistry, organweight and histopathology, collectively determining that the no-observable-adverse-effect-level of FCPE is over 2000 mg/kg BW. In addition, we detected no mutagenicity and clastogenicity in FCPE at 5000 μg/plate for the in vitro assays and 2000 mg/kg BW for the in vivo micronucleus test. Conclusion FCPE did not cause systemic and genetic toxicity in our model systems at the tested dose levels. These results suggest a guideline for safe consumption of C. sunki peel in human

Establishment of Efficacy and Safety Assessment of Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hATMSCs) in a Nude Rat Femoral Segmental Defect Model

Human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hATMSC) have emerged as a potentially powerful tool for bone repair, but an appropriate evaluation system has not been established. The purpose of this study was to establish a preclinical assessment system to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cell therapies in a nude rat bone defect model. Segmental defects (5 mm) were created in the femoral diaphyses and transplanted with cell media (control), hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate scaffolds (HA/TCP, Group I), hATMSCs (Group II), or three cell-loading density of hATMSC-loaded HA/TCP (Group III-V). Healing response was evaluated by serial radiography, micro-computed tomography and histology at 16 weeks. To address safety-concerns, we conducted a GLP-compliant toxicity study. Scanning electron microscopy studies showed that hATMSCs filled the pores/surfaces of scaffolds in a cell-loading density-dependent manner. We detected significant increases in bone formation in the hATMSC-loaded HA/TCP groups compared with other groups. The amount of new bone formation increased with increases in loaded cell number. In a toxicity study, no significant hATMSC-related changes were found in body weights, clinical signs, hematological/biochemical values, organ weights, or histopathological findings. In conclusion, hATMSCs loaded on HA/TCP enhance the repair of bone defects and was found to be safe under our preclinical efficacy/safety hybrid assessment system

Drug Lag and Associated Factors for Approved Drugs in Korea Compared with the United States

(1) Background: Drug lag, the delay between the first global regulatory approval and approval by the national health authorities in other countries, impacts the accessibility of drugs. Although the Korean pharmaceutical market has grown significantly, most of its innovative drugs for public health depend on imports from foreign pharmaceutical markets. (2) Methods: We extracted data from the official websites of the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and the US Food and Drug Administration. Information on new molecule entity drugs, approved as imported drugs by MFDS from 2000 to 2019, was extracted. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models on drug approval were estimated. (3) Results: In total, 424 drugs were analyzed. Orphan drugs designated by MFDS were less likely to receive approval (HR = 0.731, 95% CI: 0.572–0.934). The drugs with Korean MAHs were less likely to obtain drug approval than those with MAHs of subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical companies (HR = 0.524, 95% CI: 0.371–0.738). In the analyses for non-orphan drugs (n = 37), oncology drugs that need local clinical study (HR = 0.247, 95% CI: 0.093–0.657) and drugs that need more patients in a local clinical study (HR = 0.993, 95% CI: 0.988–0.999) were less likely to receive approval, with longer drug lag. The higher number of clinical studies in Korea was associated with a shorter drug lag (HR = 2.133, 95% CI: 1.196–3.805). (4) Conclusions: Our findings imply that Korean pharmaceutical companies should augment their research capabilities for new drug development. Furthermore, consideration of orphan drugs used in rare diseases is needed for drug approval to ensure the availability of these drugs in the market without approval delays

The complete mitochondrial genome of Cacopsylla burckhardti (Hemiptera, Psylloidea, Psyllidae)

Cacopsylla burckhardti Luo, Li, Ma & Cai, 2012 (Hemiptera, Psylloidea, Psyllidae) is a pear psyllid species, distributed in the East Asia. The complete mitogenome of C. burckhardti is obtained in this study for the first time. The mitogenome of C. burckhardti is circular form and 14,798 bp long, which consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs and two rRNAs. The base composition is 38.80% for A, 34.89% for T, 9.99% for G and 16.33% for C, with the higher A + T contents (73.69%). The phylogenetic analysis, using 13 protein-coding genes, shows that C. burckhardti is clustered with other Cacopsylla species and nested in the Psyllidae clade within the superfamily Psylloidea