Developing Critical Thinking Skills and Attitude: An Analysis of a Reading Course in a University English Program

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether an English academic readingcourse in a Japanese university fosters critical thinking skills and attitudeamong its students. Critical thinking has long been a topic of debate ineducation, but especially recently, it has become a center of attention ofeducators in Japan. The English program of International Christian University,Tokyo, has been providing quality education with the aim of nurturing criticalthinking skills through academic English. The research question asked in thispaper is “How does the reading course of this program provide the studentswith opportunities to engage in critical thinking?” Based on definitions ofcritical thinking provided by several scholars, this paper analyzes classes andassignments to identify which critical thinking skills the students need toemploy. The findings show that students do engage in activities that requirecritical thinking. This paper also implies that skills and attitude are inseparablefor effective critical thinking

Plasma Cytokine Profiles in Subjects with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Accumulating evidence suggests that dysregulation of the immune system is involved in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim of the study was to explore immunological markers in peripheral plasma samples from non-medicated subjects with high-functioning ASD.A multiplex assay for cytokines and chemokines was applied to plasma samples from male subjects with high-functioning ASD (n = 28) and matched controls (n = 28). Among a total of 48 analytes examined, the plasma concentrations of IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-5, IL-8, IL-12(p70), IL-13, IL-17 and GRO-α were significantly higher in subjects with ASD compared with the corresponding values of matched controls after correction for multiple comparisons.The results suggest that abnormal immune responses as assessed by multiplex analysis of cytokines may serve as one of the biological trait markers for ASD

Malignant Mesothelioma in the Thoracic Cavity of a Crj:CD(SD) Rat Characterized by Round Hyalinous Stroma

Spontaneous malignant mesothelioma was found in a 104-week-old male Crj:CD(SD) rat. The tumor was scattered on the surface of the lung, heart, mediastinal pleura and thoracic wall and metastasized to the alveolar septa. Histopathologically, small flattened or cuboidal tumor cells proliferated with stroma, formed almost normal papillary structures and reacted positively to colloidal iron stain and immunohistochemical staining for mesothelin. Round hyalinous stromata were pronounced, which is a characteristic feature, and the possible reason for this is as follows; at first, a small amount of collagen fibers was formed in the center of the clusters of several tumor cells, and then the cell clusters expanded like balloons with an increase in the collagen fibers

De Novo Mutations in GNAO1, Encoding a Gαo Subunit of Heterotrimeric G Proteins, Cause Epileptic Encephalopathy

Heterotrimeric G proteins, composed of α, β, and γ subunits, can transduce a variety of signals from seven-transmembrane-type receptors to intracellular effectors. By whole-exome sequencing and subsequent mutation screening, we identified de novo heterozygous mutations in GNAO1, which encodes a Gαo subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins, in four individuals with epileptic encephalopathy. Two of the affected individuals also showed involuntary movements. Somatic mosaicism (approximately 35% to 50% of cells, distributed across multiple cell types, harbored the mutation) was shown in one individual. By mapping the mutation onto three-dimensional models of the Gα subunit in three different complexed states, we found that the three mutants (c.521A>G [p.Asp174Gly], c.836T>A [p.Ile279Asn], and c.572_592del [p.Thr191_Phe197del]) are predicted to destabilize the Gα subunit fold. A fourth mutant (c.607G>A), in which the Gly203 residue located within the highly conserved switch II region is substituted to Arg, is predicted to impair GTP binding and/or activation of downstream effectors, although the p.Gly203Arg substitution might not interfere with Gα binding to G-protein-coupled receptors. Transient-expression experiments suggested that localization to the plasma membrane was variably impaired in the three putatively destabilized mutants. Electrophysiological analysis showed that Gαo-mediated inhibition of calcium currents by norepinephrine tended to be lower in three of the four Gαo mutants. These data suggest that aberrant Gαo signaling can cause multiple neurodevelopmental phenotypes, including epileptic encephalopathy and involuntary movements

Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography reveals early structural changes in channelrhodopsin

X線自由電子レーザーを用いて、光照射によるチャネルロドプシンの構造変化の過程を捉えることに成功. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-03-26.Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are microbial light-gated ion channels utilized in optogenetics to control neural activity with light . Light absorption causes retinal chromophore isomerization and subsequent protein conformational changes visualized as optically distinguished intermediates, coupled with channel opening and closing. However, the detailed molecular events underlying channel gating remain unknown. We performed time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallographic analyses of ChR by using an X-ray free electron laser, which revealed conformational changes following photoactivation. The isomerized retinal adopts a twisted conformation and shifts toward the putative internal proton donor residues, consequently inducing an outward shift of TM3, as well as a local deformation in TM7. These early conformational changes in the pore-forming helices should be the triggers that lead to opening of the ion conducting pore

Emerging roles of ARHGAP33 in intracellular trafficking of TrkB and pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders

Intracellular trafficking of receptor proteins is essential for neurons to detect various extracellular factors during the formation and refinement of neural circuits. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the trafficking of neurotrophin receptors to synapses remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that a brain-enriched sorting nexin, ARHGAP33, is a new type of regulator for the intracellular trafficking of TrkB, a high-affinity receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor. ARHGAP33 knockout (KO) mice exhibit reduced expression of synaptic TrkB, impaired spine development and neuropsychiatric disorder-related behavioural abnormalities. These deficits are rescued by specific pharmacological enhancement of TrkB signalling in ARHGAP33 KO mice. Mechanistically, ARHGAP33 interacts with SORT1 to cooperatively regulate TrkB trafficking. Human ARHGAP33 is associated with brain phenotypes and reduced SORT1 expression is found in patients with schizophrenia. We propose that ARHGAP33/SORT1-mediated TrkB trafficking is essential for synapse development and that the dysfunction of this mechanism may be a new molecular pathology of neuropsychiatric disorders

A市における看護学実習に携わる臨地実習指導者の思い : 学生に対する思い・実習指導への思い

[目 的]臨地実習指導者の思いを明らかにし,臨地実習指導者と教員との効果的な連携と実習の在り方についての示唆を得ることである。[方法]A市内の3病院の臨地実習指導者 8名に非構造化面接を行い,質的帰納的分析を行った。[結果]【指導者としての方針】,【自分の指導方法】,【指導のジレンマ】,【指導者として報われる】 ,【臨地実習の有り様を問う 】,【今時の学生事情を知る】,【スタッフの協力の必要性】,【教員との信頼関係の必要性】,【指導者としての学び】の 9つのカテゴリーを抽出した。[考察]臨地実習指導者は実習指導を通じて自分の実習指導が揺らぎ,【指導のジレンマ】を感じていた。しかし,環境の影響から得られる【指導者として報われる】経験は,指導者としての役割意識の構築につながると考えら れた。【教員との信頼関係の必要性】では,普段から教員は臨地実習指導者と目標を共有し,相談しつつ実習をともに進める信頼関係の構築が必要である。Objective：Aims of this study were to elucidate feelings and thoughts of nurses in charge of clinical training and to obtain suggestions for effectivc cooperation between these nurses and teachers,as well as a clinical training approach.Methods:Unstructured interviews were perfomed with eight nuses in charge of clinical trainig,which were conducted in three hospitals in "A" Citty, and the research data were analyzed qualitatively and inductively.Results:In this research,nine categories were extracted:leadership policy, individual teaching methods,dilemmas in teaching,reward as a nurse in charge of clinical traning,questions on clinical training condtions, knowing students\u27 current environments, necessity of staff cooperation, necessity of relationship of mutual trust with a teacher, and learning as a nurse in charge of clinical training.Discussin:Nurses leading clinical training courses had lost their confidence in their teaching approach in some way and felt a“ leadership dilemma. "Howevery, they obtained experiences where “ they felt rewarded as a nurse in charge of clinical training, "and were influenced by circumstances. It was recognized that these experiences led to the achievement of playing a role of a clnical-training nurse. In "necessity of relationship of mutual trust with a teacher, \u27\u27it is required for a teacher to establish a relationship of mutual trust with these nurses in order to conduct clinical trainings together, regularly sharing the purpose of these trainings and consulting on courses

A dehydrated space-weathered skin cloaking the hydrated interior of Ryugu

Without a protective atmosphere, space-exposed surfaces of airless Solar System bodies gradually experience an alteration in composition, structure and optical properties through a collective process called space weathering. The return of samples from near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu by Hayabusa2 provides the first opportunity for laboratory study of space-weathering signatures on the most abundant type of inner solar system body: a C-type asteroid, composed of materials largely unchanged since the formation of the Solar System. Weathered Ryugu grains show areas of surface amorphization and partial melting of phyllosilicates, in which reduction from Fe3+ to Fe2+ and dehydration developed. Space weathering probably contributed to dehydration by dehydroxylation of Ryugu surface phyllosilicates that had already lost interlayer water molecules and to weakening of the 2.7 µm hydroxyl (–OH) band in reflectance spectra. For C-type asteroids in general, this indicates that a weak 2.7 µm band can signify space-weathering-induced surface dehydration, rather than bulk volatile loss