It is broken and accented : Non-native English-speaking (NNES) Graduate Students\u27 Perceptions toward NNES Instructors\u27 English

This study investigates the perceptions of non-native English-speaking graduate students towards non-native English speaking (NNES) instructors’ accented English. Students (N=161) who were enrolled in an oral English course at Purdue University participated in a survey. Follow-up interviews were conducted with voluntary participants (N=9) to examine the perceptions of NNES graduate students towards NNES instructors in depth. The findings in the survey showed that more than one third of the participants experienced difficulty with their NNES instructors due to their limited intelligibility and restricted command of English. Furthermore, one third of the participants expressed that they would transfer to another section of a course if the NNES instructor of the course speaks highly accented English. However, the majority of them believed NNES instructors can be as effective as NNS instructors. More overtly negative views were found during the interviews; many of the interviewees revealed strong desire to avoid NNES instructors with particular language backgrounds. Familiarity with the accents also played a significant role in ameliorating their negative perceptions toward NNES instructors. When there were communication breakdowns between the respondents and their NNES instructors, they tended to give up listening to the lectures and sought other resources or solutions to keep up their study address difficulties. Moreover, the majority of the interview participants expressed that they would avoid to discuss discussing the communication issues with their NNES instructors directly as it would be seen as rude and disrespectful

Cooperative Motions and Topology-Driven Dynamical Arrest in Prime Knots

Knots are entangled structures that cannot be untangled without a cut. Topological stability of knots is one of the many examples of their important properties that can be used in information storage and transfer. Knot dynamics is important for understanding general principles of entanglement as knots provide an isolated system where tangles are highly controlled and easily manipulated. To unravel the dynamics of these entangled topological objects, the first step is to identify the dominant motions that are uniquely guided by knot structure and its complexity. We identify and classify motions into three main groups -- orthogonal, aligned, and mixed motions, which often act in unison, orchestrating the complex dynamics of knots. The balance between these motions is what creates an identifiable signature for every knot. As knot complexity increases, the carefully orchestrated dynamics is gradually silenced, eventually reaching a state of topologically driven dynamical arrest. Depending on their complexity, knots undergo a transition from nearly stochastic motions to either non-random or even quasiperiodic dynamics before culminating in dynamical arrest. Here, we show for the first time that connectivity alone can lead to a topology-driven dynamical arrest in knots of high complexity. Unexpectedly, we noticed that some knots undergo cooperative motions as they reach higher complexity, uniquely modulating conformational patterns of a given knot. Together, these findings demonstrate a link between topology and dynamics, presenting applications to nanoscale materials

Manual aspiration thrombectomy through proximal and distal supporting technique for the treatment of procedural distal A2 emboli: A technical case report

Disrupted clots that form during endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke can cause distal embolization. It is not easy to recanalize occluded vessels resulting from distal emboli. In particular, endovascular treatment of distal A2 emboli is very challenging because it is difficult to access such a distal location and maintain microcatheter stability throughout the procedure. We report a case of successful recanalization of A2 occlusion caused by procedural-induced distal emboli through a proximal and distal supporting technique

Are Histrionic Personality Traits Associated with Irritability during Conscious Sedation Endoscopy?

Aim. We aimed to evaluate whether histrionic personality traits are associated with irritability during conscious sedation endoscopy (CSE). Materials and Methods. A prospective cross-sectional study was planned. Irritability during CSE was classified into five grades: 0, no response; I, minimal movement; II, moderate movement; III, severe movement; IV, fighting against procedure. Patients in grades III and IV were defined as the irritable group. Participants were required to complete questionnaire sheet assessing the extent of histrionic personality traits, extraversion-introversion, and current psychological status. The present authors also collected basic sociodemographic data including alcohol use history. Results. A total of 32 irritable patients and 32 stable patients were analyzed. The histrionic personality trait score of the irritable group was higher than that of the stable group (9.5 ± 3.1 versus 6.9 ± 2.9; P = 0.001), as was the anxiety score (52.8 ± 8.6 versus 46.1 ± 9.6; P = 0.004). Heavy alcohol use was more frequently observed in the irritable group (65.6% versus 28.1%; P = 0.003). In multivariate analysis, all these three factors were independently correlated with irritability during CSE. Conclusion. This study revealed that histrionic personality traits, anxiety, and heavy alcohol use can affect irritability during CSE

One-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride conducting channel

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an insulating two-dimensional (2D) material with a large bandgap. Although known for its interfacing with other 2D materials and structural similarities to graphene, the potential use of hBN in 2D electronics is limited by its insulating nature. Here, we report atomically sharp twin boundaries at AA???/AB stacking boundaries in chemical vapor deposition???synthesized few-layer hBN. We find that the twin boundary is composed of a 6???6??? configuration, showing conducting feature with a zero bandgap. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the atomically sharp twin boundaries is suggested by an analogy with stacking combinations of AA???/AB based on the observations of extended Klein edges at the layer boundaries of ABstacked hBN. The atomically sharp AA???/AB stacking boundary is promising as an ultimate 1D electron channel embedded in insulating pristine hBN. This study will provide insights into the fabrication of single-hBN electronic devices

Comparison of the characteristics and injury severity of passengers in motor vehicle accidents between urban and rural cities in South Korea

Objective To analyze motor vehicle accidents in two different traffic environments and compare differences in severity between both regions. Methods Injury data were collected by the Emergency Medicine and Traffic Accident Research Team as part of the Korean In-Depth Accident Study. Patients admitted to emergency medical centers located in Wonju, Gangwon province (population 345,143, rural, group A) and Bucheon, Gyeonggi province (population 870,735, urban, group B) between January 2011 and December 2017 were included for analysis. Injury severity was classified into four categories based on Injury Severity Score (ISS): minor (1≤ Results Overall, 1,807 patients were included (group A, 1,484; group B, 323). There was a higher proportion of daytime accidents, accidents involving larger cars, passenger injuries, and accidents involving lack of seat belt use in group A than in group B. The mean ISS value was 8.98 in group A and 4.62 in group B (P Conclusion Patients in a rural city who visited the emergency room owing to motor vehicle accidents had more severe injuries than those in an urban city

Wen-pi-tang-Hab-Wu-ling-san, a Polyherbal Medicine, Attenuates ER Stress in 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes by Promoting the Insulin Signaling Pathway

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle that functions to synthesize, fold, and transport proteins. ER stress is a key link between type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity, and insulin resistance. In this study, we investigated the effect of WHW on the ER stress response and the insulin signaling pathway in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were differentiated into adipocytes, and ER stress was then induced by treatment with tunicamycin. ER stress-induced adipocytes were treated with different concentrations of WHW for 24 h. The expression of ER stress-related molecules such as X-box-binding protein-1 (XBP-1), glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP-homologous protein 10 (CHOP10), and eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) and signaling molecules such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), insulin receptor substrates-1 (IRS-1), and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) were investigated. WHW significantly inhibited the expression of XBP-1, GRP78, CHOP10, and eIF2α in ER stress-induced 3T3-L1 adipocytes. WHW also increased the PI3K expression and the IRS-1 phosphorylation but decreased the phosphorylation of JNK in ER stress-induced 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Our results indicate that WHW inhibits ER stress in adipocytes by suppressing the expression of ER stress-mediated molecules and the insulin signaling pathway, suggesting that WHW may be an attractive therapeutic agent for managing T2D

Hafnium metallocene compounds used as cathode interfacial layers for enhanced electron transfer in organic solar cells

We have used hafnium metallocene compounds as cathode interfacial layers for organic solar cells [OSCs]. A metallocene compound consists of a transition metal and two cyclopentadienyl ligands coordinated in a sandwich structure. For the fabrication of the OSCs, poly[3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene]:poly(styrene sulfonate), poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) + [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester, bis-(ethylcyclopentadienyl)hafnium(IV) dichloride, and aluminum were deposited as a hole transport layer, an active layer, a cathode interfacial layer, and a cathode, respectively. The hafnium metallocene compound cathode interfacial layer improved the performance of OSCs compared to that of OSCs without the interfacial layer. The current density-voltage characteristics of OSCs with an interfacial layer thickness of 0.7 nm and of those without an interfacial layer showed power conversion efficiency [PCE] values of 2.96% and 2.34%, respectively, under an illumination condition of 100 mW/cm2 (AM 1.5). It is thought that a cathode interfacial layer of an appropriate thickness enhances the electron transfer between the active layer and the cathode, and thus increases the PCE of the OSCs

Production of α-Bisabolol from metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

α-Bisabolol is a natural-occurring sesquiterpenoid with applications in cosmetics as whitening and soothing agent. It is synthesized from the universal precursors, isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP), which are generated either through the mevalonate (MVA) pathway or the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. Farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) synthase (IspA) then catalyzes the condensation of IPP and DMAPP to the linear FPP, which is rearranged and cyclized to α-bisabolol by bisabolol synthases. Here, we compared the capacity of 5 α-bisabolol synthases from Lippia dulcis, Streptomyces citricolor, Santalum spicatum, Matricaria recutita, and Artemisia annua for α-bisabolol production. MVA pathway and FPP synthase were also overexpressed to supply sufficient FPP for bisabolol synthesis in the recombinant E. coli. Bisabolol synthase from M. recutita (MrBBS) shows the highest activity of bisabolol synthesis, and 75 mg/L/OD600 of bisabolol was produced in a test-tube culture. We further optimized the expression level of IspA and MrBBS by modulation their RBS strength. The 24 bisabolol synthesis operons with different RBSs were assessed for their performance on bisabolol synthesis. By this approach, the best strain is able to produce bisabolol with a capacity of 220mg/L/OD600 in a test tube culture. The consequence of host strain optimization led to an increase in bisabolol production to 300 mg/L/OD600, which presents a 4-fold increase over the initial engineered strain. This work was supported by a grant (NRF-2016R1A2B2010678) from the National Research Foundation, MSIP, Korea

Alpha-tocopherol exerts protective function against the mucotoxicity of particulate matter in amphibian and human goblet cells

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders and mortality. The cytotoxicity of PM is mainly due to the abnormal increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage cellular components such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. The correlation between PM exposure and human disorders, including mortality, is based on long-term exposure. In this study we have investigated acute responses of mucus-secreting goblet cells upon exposure to PM derived from a heavy diesel engine. To this end, we employed the mucociliary epithelium of amphibian embryos and human Calu-3 cells to examine PM mucotoxicity. Our data suggest that acute exposure to PM significantly impairs mucus secretion and results in the accumulation of mucus vesicles in the cytoplasm of goblet cells. RNA-seq analysis revealed that acute responses to PM exposure significantly altered gene expression patterns; however, known regulators of mucus production and the secretory pathway were not significantly altered. Interestingly, pretreatment with alpha-tocopherol nearly recovered the hyposecretion of mucus from both amphibian and human goblet cells. We believe this study demonstrates the mucotoxicity of PM and the protective function of alpha-tocopherol on mucotoxicity caused by acute PM exposure from heavy diesel engines