Improving Japanese EFL Learners' Writing Performance Through Self-Regulated Strategy Development

This study examines the use and effectiveness of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD), a writing instructional model, in helping Japanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) at the university level develop skills and strategies that will improve their writing skills and performance. A pretest and posttest rated by two raters, with SRSD instruction over a 5-week period in between for the experimental group, suggested that the participants who received the treatment could significantly improve their opinion-writing outcomes. This study suggests that instructors could assist language learners develop self-regulated strategies to improve their writing outcomes

Editorial: Advances in the Understanding of the Commensal Eukaryota and Viruses of the Herbivore Gut

Herbivores play an important role in the survival of humanity, contributing food and textiles, as well as social and economic value. For decades, optimizing the productivity, health, welfare, and environmental footprint of herbivorous animals, particularly ruminant livestock, has been the subject of an extensive, global research effort. Much of this research effort has focused on the herbivore gut. The specialized nature of the herbivore digestive tract and its resident microbes enables the breakdown of highly fibrous plant materials, which are unable to be utilized by omnivores and carnivores. In recent years, the bacteria and methanogenic archaea have been the major focus of research efforts, with the other gut microbes being understudied in comparison

Mind the gap: a comparative study of migratory behavior in social amoebae

Social amoebae aggregate to form a multicellular slug that migrates some distance. Most species produce a stalk during migration, but some do not. We show that Dictyostelium giganteum, a species that produces stalk during migration, is able to traverse small gaps and utilize bacterial resources following gap traversal by shedding live cells. In contrast, we found that Dictyostelium discoideum, a species that does not produce stalk during migration, can traverse gaps only when in the presence of other species’ stalks or other thin filaments. These findings suggest that production of stalk during migration allows traversal of gaps that commonly occurs in soil and leaf litter. Considering the functional consequences of a stalked migration may be important for explaining the evolutionary maintenance or loss of a stalked migration

A genome-wide association study identifies a susceptibility locus for biliary atresia on 2p16.1 within the gene EFEMP1

Biliary atresia (BA) is a rare pediatric cholangiopathy characterized by fibrosclerosing obliteration of the extrahepatic bile ducts, leading to cholestasis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and eventual liver failure. The etiology of BA remains unknown, although environmental, inflammatory, infectious, and genetic risk factors have been proposed. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a European-American cohort of 343 isolated BA patients and 1716 controls to identify genetic loci associated with BA. A second GWAS was performed in an independent European-American cohort of 156 patients with BA and other extrahepatic anomalies and 212 controls to confirm the identified candidate BA-associated SNPs. Meta-analysis revealed three genome-wide significant BA-associated SNPs on 2p16.1 (rs10865291, rs6761893, and rs727878; P < 5 ×10-8), located within the fifth intron of the EFEMP1 gene, which encodes a secreted extracellular protein implicated in extracellular matrix remodeling, cell proliferation, and organogenesis. RNA expression analysis showed an increase in EFEMP1 transcripts from human liver specimens isolated from patients with either BA or other cholestatic diseases when compared to normal control liver samples. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that EFEMP1 is expressed in cholangiocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells in liver specimens from patients with BA and other cholestatic diseases, but it is absent from cholangiocytes in normal control liver samples. Efemp1 transcripts had higher expression in cholangiocytes and portal fibroblasts as compared with other cell types in normal rat liver. The identification of a novel BA-associated locus, and implication of EFEMP1 as a new BA candidate susceptibility gene, could provide new insights to understanding the mechanisms underlying this severe pediatric disorder

Using Satellite Images of Environmental Changes to Predict Infectious Disease Outbreaks

A strong global satellite imaging system is essential for predicting outbreaks

Effect of albiglutide on cardiovascular outcomes in older adults: a post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial

Aim: To analyse the effects of albiglutide, a glucagon‐like peptide 1 receptor agonist, on cardiovascular outcomes in older adults aged ≥65 years with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease who participated in the Harmony Outcomes trial (NCT02465515). Materials and methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of the primary endpoint of the Harmony Outcomes trial—time to first occurrence of a major adverse cardiovascular event—in subgroups of participants aged &lt;65 and ≥65 years and &lt;75 and ≥75 years at baseline. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were generated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: The analysis population included 9462 Harmony Outcomes participants, including 4748 patients ≥65 and 1140 patients ≥75 years at baseline. Hazard ratios for the prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events were 0.66 (95% CI, 0.53‐0.82) in persons &lt;65 and 0.86 (95% CI, 0.71‐1.04) in those ≥65 years (age interaction p = .07), and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.67‐0.91) in &lt;75 and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.48‐1.01) in ≥75 year age groups (interaction p = .6). When analysed as a continuous variable, age did not modify the effect of albiglutide on the primary endpoint. Conclusions: This post hoc analysis adds to the body of literature showing that glucagon‐like peptide 1 receptor agonists added to standard type 2 diabetes therapy safely reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in older adults with established cardiovascular disease. In this analysis, the risk‐benefit profile was similar between younger and older age groups treated with albiglutide

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin