Development of English and French Literacy among Language Minority Children in French Immersion

This study examined English and French literacy skills among language minority children in French immersion. Forty children with a first language other than English (non-English L1) and forty-one native English-speaking (EL1) children were examined on phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, word reading, and English vocabulary at the beginning and end of Grade 1. They were also examined on phonological awareness, word reading, and French vocabulary at the end of the year. Non-English L1children experienced greater growth in English expressive vocabulary, and similar growth in English receptive vocabulary, to that of EL1 children. There was a cross-language transfer of phonological awareness and word reading from English to French, and cross-language relationship between English receptive vocabulary and French receptive vocabulary for both groups. Non-English L1 children do not lag behind in early English skills, even when their English exposure is limited in a French immersion setting.MAS

Vocabulary Skill of Bilingual Adolescents: The Effects of First Language Background and Language Learning Context

This thesis investigated the vocabulary skill of bilingual adolescents and young adults with two studies. Study 1 examined the contributions of English phonological awareness and morphological awareness to English vocabulary in 80 Spanish-English and 117 Chinese-English bilingual adolescents educated in Canada. Using Structural Equation Modelling, the study showed that English derivational awareness, word reading and length of residence contributed to English vocabulary for both language groups. In addition, for the Chinese-English bilingual group, English phonological awareness contributed to English vocabulary both directly and indirectly through the mediation of English word reading. Study 2 compared the contributions of Chinese compound awareness and homograph awareness to Chinese vocabulary between Chinese L1 young adults educated in China and in Canada. Participants included 96 and 66 first-year university students in China and Canada, respectively. Using hierarchical regression analyses, Study 2 showed that Chinese homograph awareness and character reading contributed to Chinese vocabulary for both groups of Chinese L1 young adults; however, the contribution of Chinese compound awareness was not significant. The association of Chinese homograph awareness with Chinese vocabulary was not significantly different between the two groups, whereas the association of Chinese character reading with Chinese vocabulary was stronger for the Chinese L1 young adults in China. Overall, the thesis highlights the importance of morphological awareness to vocabulary across English and Chinese for older students.Ph.D

ISG15 Promotes ERK1 ISGylation, CD8+ T Cell Activation and Suppresses Ovarian Cancer Progression

Increased number of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ lymphocytes is associated with improved survival in patients with advanced stage high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) but the underlying molecular mechanism has not been thoroughly explored. Using transcriptome profiling of microdissected HGSOC tissue with high and low CD8+ lymphocyte count and subsequent validation studies, we demonstrated that significantly increased ISG15 (Interferon-stimulated gene 15) expression in HGSOC was associated with high CD8+ lymphocyte count and with the improvement in median overall survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Further functional studies showed that endogenous and exogenous ISG15 suppressed ovarian cancer progression through ISGylation of ERK in HGSOC, and activation of NK cells and CD8+ T lymphocytes. These data suggest that the development of treatment strategies based on up-regulating ISG15 in ovarian cancer cells or increased circulating ISG15 in ovarian cancer patients is warranted

Ubiquitin Carboxyl-Terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) Promotes Uterine Serous Cancer Cell Proliferation and Cell Cycle Progression

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is the most aggressive form of endometrial cancer, with poor survival rates and high recurrence risk. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify therapeutic targets that could aid in the management of USC. By analyzing endometrial cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we found Ubiquitin Carboxyl-Terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) to be highly expressed in USC and to correlate with poorer overall survival. UCHL1 silencing reduced cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, cyclin B1 protein levels and cell cycle progression. Further studies showed that UCHL1 interacts with cyclin B1 and increases cyclin B1 protein stability by deubiquitination. Treatment of USC-bearing mice with the UCHL1-specific inhibitor reduced tumor growth and improved overall survival. Our findings suggest that cyclin B1 is a novel target of UCHL1 and targeting UCHL1 is a potential therapeutic strategy for USC

Correction: Hu, W., et al. Targeting Dopamine Receptor D2 by Imipridone Suppresses Uterine Serous Cancer Malignant Phenotype. Cancers 2020, 12, 2436

In the original article, there was a mistake in Figure 2B as published [...