What drives success in English medium taught courses? The interplay between language proficiency, academic skills, and motivation.

This article explores the relationship between course performance, English language proficiency, motivation, and academic language skills in an English medium instruction (EMI) university context. It analyses test and questionnaire data from 146 students from an EMI business program at a Japanese university, and follow-up interviews with seven students. Proficiency test and subject exam scores revealed that knowledge of English language and academic English skill were statistically significant predictors of success in EMI, suggesting that lower proficiency students require more targeted language support in order to increase their likelihood of success. A motivation measure did not correlate with higher grades, contradicting research in language learning contexts. Interview data uncovered the multi-faceted nature of ‘success in EMI’ suggesting that students see success as a combination of final grades, lecture comprehension, English language proficiency gains, and long-term career advancement

Exploring the role of self-efficacy beliefs and learner success in English Medium Instruction

English medium instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon in higher education contexts across the globe, and EMI programs are expanding rapidly in Japan as part of their internationalization efforts. This paper explores the relationship between student self-beliefs and their success in an EMI course within a bilingual business program. It analyzed direct measures of content course and preparatory course performances, proficiency, and questionnaire data from 139 students completing an English-mediated International Business course at a university in Japan. These data were supplemented by interviews with seven students. Multiple linear regression analysis found L2 proficiency, preparatory course performance, and self-efficacy to predict success in the EMI course. Our qualitative findings support these results, indicating that students with stronger efficacy put forth more effort and see course activities as development opportunities. These findings highlight the need for efficacy development opportunities for students entering EMI study

Social origins, school type and higher education destinations

To what extent and why do social origins matter for access to higher education, including access to elite universities? What is the role of private and selective schooling? This paper uses the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) to analyse the trajectories of a generation currently in early middle age. We find that the influence of social origins, especially parental education, remains when both a wide range of cognitive measures and school attainment are controlled. Attending a private school is powerfully predictive of gaining a university degree, and especially a degree from an elite institution, while grammar schooling does not appear to confer any advantage

English medium instruction in emerging contexts: An editorial introduction to the special issue

The burgeoning field of English Medium Instruction (EMI) has witnessed a significant increase in empirical studies yet remains largely insular and under-theorised. This special issue aims to address these gaps by spotlighting EMI in emerging contexts and interrogating its theoretical underpinnings. Comprising 10 empirical studies across diverse geographical and educational settings, this special issue, edited by Heath Rose, Samantha Curle, and Dogan Yuksel, offers a multifaceted examination of EMI's impact on language proficiency, academic achievement, and pedagogical practices. These studies contribute valuable insights into the complexities of implementing EMI. They also reveal a predominant focus on applied linguistics, often to the exclusion of other disciplinary perspectives. This editorial introduction critiques the current state of EMI research, calling for greater interdisciplinary collaboration and theorisation. It concludes with an urgent call for future research that is not only geographically diverse but also critically and theoretically robust. The overarching aim is to broaden the scope of EMI research, particularly in the face of the unrestricted Englishisation of global education systems

Epigenetic Inheritance of a Cocaine Resistance Phenotype

A heritable phenotype resulting from the self-administration of cocaine in rats was delineated. We observed delayed acquisition and reduced maintenance of cocaine self-administration in male, but not female, offspring of sires that self-administered cocaine. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA and protein were increased in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and there was an increased association of acetylated histone H3 with BDNF promoters only in the male offspring of cocaine-experienced sires. Administration of a BDNF receptor antagonist (the TrkB receptor antagonist ANA-12) reversed the diminished cocaine self-administration in male cocaine-sired rats. In addition, the association of acetylated histone H3 with BDNF promoters was increased in the sperm of sires that self-administered cocaine. Collectively, these findings indicate that voluntary paternal ingestion of cocaine results in epigenetic reprograming of the germline resulting in profound effects on mPFC gene expression and resistance to cocaine reinforcement in male offspring

Federal and state cooperation necessary but not sufficient for effective regional mental health systems : insights from systems modelling and simulation

For more than a decade, suicide rates in Australia have shown no improvement despite significant investment in reforms to support regionally driven initiatives. Further recommended reforms by the Productivity Commission call for Federal and State and Territory Government funding for mental health to be pooled and new Regional Commissioning Authorities established to take responsibility for efficient and effective allocation of ‘taxpayer money.’ This study explores the sufficiency of this recommendation in preventing ongoing policy resistance. A system dynamics model of pathways between psychological distress, the mental health care system, suicidal behaviour and their drivers was developed, tested, and validated for a large, geographically diverse region of New South Wales; the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (PHN). Multi-objective optimisation was used to explore potential discordance in the best-performing programs and initiatives (simulated from 2021 to 2031) across mental health outcomes between the two state-governed Local Health Districts (LHDs) and the federally governed PHN. Impacts on suicide deaths, mental health-related emergency department presentations, and service disengagement were explored. A combination of family psychoeducation, post-attempt aftercare, and safety planning, and social connectedness programs minimises the number of suicides across the PHN and in the Hunter New England LHD (13.5% reduction; 95% interval, 12.3–14.9%), and performs well in the Central Coast LHD (14.8% reduction, 13.5–16.3%), suggesting that aligned strategic decision making between the PHN and LHDs would deliver substantial impacts on suicide. Results also highlighted a marked trade-off between minimising suicide deaths versus minimising service disengagement. This is explained in part by the additional demand placed on services of intensive suicide prevention programs leading to increases in service disengagement as wait times for specialist community based mental health services and dissatisfaction with quality of care increases. Competing priorities between the PHN and LHDs (each seeking to optimise the different outcomes they are responsible for) can undermine the optimal impact of investments for suicide prevention. Systems modelling provides essential regional decision analysis infrastructure to facilitate coordinated federal and state investments for optimal impacts

Common clonal origin of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a patient with a germline CHEK2 variant

Hematological malignancies are broadly divided into myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms, reflecting the two major cellular lineages of the hematopoietic system. It is generally rare for hematological malignancies to spontaneously progress with a switch from myeloid to lymphoid lineage. We describe the exceptional case of a patient who sequentially developed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), as well as our investigation into the underlying pathogenesis. Using whole-exome sequencing (WES) performed on sorted CMML and B-ALL cell fractions, we identified both common and unique potential driver mutations, suggesting a branching clonal evolution giving rise to both diseases. Interestingly, we also identified a germline variant in the cancer susceptibility gene CHEK2 We validated that this variant (c.475T > C; p.Y159H), located in the forkhead-associated (FHA) domain, impairs its capacity to bind BRCA1 in cellulo. This unique case provides novel insight into the genetics of complex hematological diseases and highlights the possibility that such patients may carry inherited predispositions

GMF controls branched actin content and lamellipodial retraction in fibroblasts

The lamellipodium is an important structure for cell migration containing branched actin nucleated via the Arp2/3 complex. The formation of branched actin is relatively well studied, but less is known about its disassembly and how this influences migration. GMF is implicated in both Arp2/3 debranching and inhibition of Arp2/3 activation. Modulation of GMFβ, a ubiquitous GMF isoform, by depletion or overexpression resulted in changes in lamellipodial dynamics, branched actin content, and migration. Acute pharmacological inhibition of Arp2/3 by CK-666, coupled to quantitative live-cell imaging of the complex, showed that depletion of GMFβ decreased the rate of branched actin disassembly. These data, along with mutagenesis studies, suggest that debranching (not inhibition of Arp2/3 activation) is a primary activity of GMFβ in vivo. Furthermore, depletion or overexpression of GMFβ disrupted the ability of cells to directionally migrate to a gradient of fibronectin (haptotaxis). These data suggest that debranching by GMFβ plays an important role in branched actin regulation, lamellipodial dynamics, and directional migration

F-actin bundles direct the initiation and orientation of lamellipodia through adhesion-based signaling

During cell migration, F-actin bundles/filopodia serve as templates for formation and orientation of lamellipodia and prime their stabilization by adhesion-based PI3K signaling.Mesenchymal cells such as fibroblasts are weakly polarized and reorient directionality by a lamellipodial branching mechanism that is stabilized by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling. However, the mechanisms by which new lamellipodia are initiated and directed are unknown. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to monitor cytoskeletal and signaling dynamics in migrating cells, we show that peripheral F-actin bundles/filopodia containing fascin-1 serve as templates for formation and orientation of lamellipodia. Accordingly, modulation of fascin-1 expression tunes cell shape, quantified as the number of morphological extensions. Ratiometric imaging reveals that F-actin bundles/filopodia play both structural and signaling roles, as they prime the activation of PI3K signaling mediated by integrins and focal adhesion kinase. Depletion of fascin-1 ablated fibroblast haptotaxis on fibronectin but not platelet-derived growth factor chemotaxis. Based on these findings, we conceptualize haptotactic sensing as an exploration, with F-actin bundles directing and lamellipodia propagating the process and with signaling mediated by adhesions playing the role of integrator