The role of motivation and vocabulary learning strategies in L2 vocabulary knowledge: A structural equation modeling analysis

This study explores the complex relationships between language learning motivation, vocabulary learning strategies, and two components of second language vocabulary knowledge (i.e., vocabulary size and depth), within the framework of self-regulated learning. Responses to questionnaires were gathered from 185 secondary-level Korean adolescent learners of English as a foreign language, regarding their motivation and vocabulary learning strategy use; additionally, the results of their vocabulary size and depth tests were collected. We adopted structural equation modeling for analysis, with vocabulary learning strategies consisting of memory, cognitive, and metacognitive categories, and vocabulary knowledge consisting of vocabulary size and depth. The results showed that motivation directly predicted vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge, and indirectly predicted vocabulary knowledge via vocabulary learning strategies. When further classified, intrinsic motivation was found to have a stronger influence on the use of vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge than extrinsic motivation. We discuss the implications of increasing learners’ motivation and repertoire of strategies for improving vocabulary size and depth.This study explores the complex relationships between language learning motivation, vocabulary learning strategies, and two components of second language vocabulary knowledge (i.e., vocabulary size and depth), within the framework of self-regulated learning. Responses to questionnaires were gathered from 185 secondary-level Korean adolescent learners of English as a foreign language, regarding their motivation and vocabulary learning strategy use; additionally, the results of their vocabulary size and depth tests were collected. We adopted structural equation modeling for analysis, with vocabulary learning strategies consisting of memory, cognitive, and metacognitive categories, and vocabulary knowledge consisting of vocabulary size and depth. The results showed that motivation directly predicted vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge, and indirectly predicted vocabulary knowledge via vocabulary learning strategies. When further classified, intrinsic motivation was found to have a stronger influence on the use of vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge than extrinsic motivation. We discuss the implications of increasing learners’ motivation and repertoire of strategies for improving vocabulary size and depth

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Extracellular Vesicles from Thapsigargin-Treated Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorated Experimental Colitis via Enhanced Immunomodulatory Properties

Therapeutic applications of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted considerable attention because of their immunomodulatory properties against immune-mediated, inflammatory diseases. Here, we demonstrated enhanced immunomodulatory properties of EVs secreted from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inducer thapsigargin (TSG)-primed human Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs (WJ-MSCs). EVs from TSG-primed WJ-MSCs (TSG-EV) showed increased yield and expression of immunomodulatory factors, such as transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), and especially indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), compared to control EVs. TSG-EV showed a significantly enhanced immunosuppressive effect on human peripheral blood-derived T cell proliferation and Th1 and Th17 differentiation, whereas Treg and M2-type macrophage were enriched compared to a control EV-treated group. Furthermore, TSG-EV substantially mitigated mouse experimental colitis by reducing the inflammatory response and maintaining intestinal barrier integrity. A significant increase of Tregs and M2-type macrophages in colitic colons of a TSG-EV-treated mouse suggests an anti-inflammatory effect of TSG-EV in colitis model, possibly mediated by Treg and macrophage polarization. These data indicate that TSG treatment promoted immunomodulatory properties of EVs from WJ-MSCs, and TSG-EV may provide a new therapeutic approach for treatment of colitis

Practical resolution of angle dependency of multigroup resonance cross sections using parametrized spectral superhomogenization factors

Based on the observation that ignoring the angle dependency of multigroup resonance cross sections within a fuel pellet would result in nontrivial underestimation of the spatial self-shielding of flux, a parametrized spectral superhomogenization (SPH) factor library (PSSL) method is developed as a practical means of resolving the problem. Region-wise spectral SPH factors are calculated by the normal and transport corrected SPH iterations after ultrafine group slowing down calculations over various light water reactor pin-cell configurations. The parametrization is done with fuel temperature, U-238 number density, fuel radius, moderator source represented by ΣmodVmod, and the number density ratio of resonance nuclides to that of U-238 in a form of resonance interference correction factors. The parametrization is successful in that the root mean square errors of the interpolated SPH factors over the fuel regions of various pin-cells are within 0.1%. The improvement in reactivity error of the PSSL method is shown to be superior to that by the original SPH method in that the reactivity bias of −200 pcm to −300 pcm vanishes almost completely. It is demonstrated that the environment effect takes only about 4% in the reactivity improvement so that the pin-cell based PSSL method is effective in the assembly problems

Graphene Oxide/Polystyrene Bilayer Gate Dielectrics for Low-Voltage Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Here, we report on the use of a graphene oxide (GO)/polystyrene (PS) bilayer as a gate dielectric for low-voltage organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The hydrophilic functional groups of GO cause surface trapping and high gate leakage, which can be overcome by introducing a layer of PS—a hydrophobic polymer—onto the top surface of GO. The GO/PS gate dielectric shows reduced surface roughness and gate leakage while maintaining a high capacitance of 37.8 nF cm−2. The resulting OFETs show high-performance operation with a high mobility of 1.05 cm2 V−1 s−1 within a low operating voltage of −5 V

Diagnostic performance of respirators for collection and detection of SARS-CoV-2

Abstract Respirators, called as face mask, have been used to protect the wearer from the outside harmful air environment and prevent any virus from being released to neighbors from potentially infected exhaled breath. The antiviral effectiveness of respirators has not only been researched scientifically, but has also become a global issue due to society's obligation to wear respirators. In this paper, we report the results of a study on the collection and detection of viruses contained in exhaled breath using respirators. The inner electrostatic filter was carefully selected for virus collection because it does not come in direct contact with either human skin or the external environment. In the study of a healthy control group, it was confirmed that a large amount of DNA and biomolecules such as exosomes were collected from the respirator exposed to exhalation, and the amount of collection increased in proportion to the wearing time. We conducted experiments using a total of 72 paired samples with nasopharyngeal swabs and respirator samples. Out of these samples, fifty tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and twenty-two tested negative. The PCR results of the NPS and respirator samples showed a high level of agreement, with a positive percent agreement of ≥ 90% and a negative percent agreement of ≥ 99%. Furthermore, there was a notable level of concordance between RCA-flow tests and PCR when examining the respirator samples. These results suggest that this is a non-invasive, quick and easy method of collecting samples from subjects using a respirator, which can significantly reduce the hassle of waiting at airports or public places and concerns about cross-contamination. Furthermore, we expect miniaturized technologies to integrate PCR detection into respirators in the near future

RECENT CAPABILITY AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS OF THE WHOLE-CORE TRANSPORT CODE nTRACER

The whole-core transport code nTRACER has made many advances in recent years. Several innovative cross section treatment methods were developed, a new axial transport solver was introduced for stabilizing the 2D/1D scheme, and substantial computational enhancements were achieved using NVIDIA CUDA and Intel Math Kernel Library (MKL). In addition, gamma transport solver was implemented to predict the power distributions more physically, and the flexibility of the restart calculation was improved using an offline processing code nTIG (nTRACER Input Generator). This paper is the compilation of the recent progresses in nTRACER developments

RECENT CAPABILITY AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS OF THE WHOLE-CORE TRANSPORT CODE nTRACER

The whole-core transport code nTRACER has made many advances in recent years. Several innovative cross section treatment methods were developed, a new axial transport solver was introduced for stabilizing the 2D/1D scheme, and substantial computational enhancements were achieved using NVIDIA CUDA and Intel Math Kernel Library (MKL). In addition, gamma transport solver was implemented to predict the power distributions more physically, and the flexibility of the restart calculation was improved using an offline processing code nTIG (nTRACER Input Generator). This paper is the compilation of the recent progresses in nTRACER developments

MRI T2 and T2* relaxometry to visualize neuromelanin in the dorsal substantia nigra pars compacta

Visualizing gradual changes in neuromelanin distribution within the substantia nigra is an important metric used to monitor the progression of Parkinsonism. This study aimed to identify the origin of the mismatch region between magnetic resonance transverse relaxation times (T2 and T2*) in the substantia nigra and investigate its feasibility and implications for in vivo detection of neuromelanin as a clinical biomarker. The relationships between neuromelanin distribution assessed by histological staining and the area of T2 and T2* mismatch determined by high- and low-resolution magnetic resonance relaxometry at 7T were directly compared in two normal and one depigmented substantia nigra collected at postmortem. In vivo feasibility of assessing T2 and T2* mismatch, clinically, was investigated using 3T magnetic resonance imaging. In the normal postmortem substantia nigra tissue, the T2 and T2* mismatch region exhibiting a linear pattern was strongly colocalized with neuromelanin distribution along the dorsal substantia nigra pars compacta, but a negligible amount of dorsal mismatch was observed in the depigmented brain. The regions of T2 and T2* mismatch from MRI, neuromelanin pigments from histology, and elevated iron signals from mass spectrometry were spatially overlapped for a normal postmortem brain. In preliminary in vivo studies, a similar, linear T2 and T2* mismatch region was observed in the dorsal area of the substantia nigra in eight normal subjects; this mismatch was significantly obscured in eight Parkinson???s disease patients. The length of the dorsal linear mismatch line based on the T2*-T2 mask was significantly shorter in the Parkinson???s disease patients compared to normal controls; this result was corroborated by reduced striatal uptake of [18F] FP-CIT dopamine transporters assessed by positron emission tomography scans. In conclusion, the measurement of T2 and T2* mismatch could serve as a complementary imaging biomarker to visualize the dorsal region of the substantia nigra pars compacta, which contains large amounts of neuromelanin