Informational technology assists the teaching and learning of Chinese as a Second Language: the case of Cross-Cultural Learners' Magazine (CCLM)

EDUTE Session: Education and Educational Technologies IIn Hong Kong, catering for the different learning needs of culturally diverse non-Chinese speaking (NCS) secondary students in the Chinese language classroom has recently become a pressing challenge to the teachers. This paper presents a case study of using information technology for assisting teaching and learning of Chinese as a second language (CSL) by situating students in a natural learning environment. Our research team launched an online creative project named Cross-Cultural Learners’ Magazine (CCLM) based on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and social learning theories. Students’ written and multimedia works on cultural issues were published on various social media, thus creating an online learning platform and a rich source of mental age and life experience matched authentic Chinese materials for CSL curriculum and assessment development. Teachers’ and students’ feedback indicate that CCLM has been successful in motivating NCS students’ for CSL learning and language socialization within the local Chinese-dominated society

Label-free quantitative proteomics reveals survival mechanisms developed by hypertrophic chondrocytes under ER stress

Emerging evidence implicates ER stress caused by unfolded mutant proteins in chondrocytes as the underlying pathology of chondrodysplasias. ER stress is triggered in hypertrophic chondrocytes (HCs) in a mouse model (13del) of metaphyseal chondrodysplasia type Schmid (MCDS) caused by misfolded mutant collagen X proteins, but the HCs do not undergo apoptosis, rather chondrocyte differentiation is altered causing skeletal abnormality. How 13del HCs can escape from apoptosis and survive ER stress is not understood. Here, we compared the proteomes of HCs isolated from 13del growth plates with normal HCs, using label-free quantitative mass spectrometry approach. Pathway enrichment analyses of differentially expressed proteins showed significant changes in glycolysis and ER-mitochondria pathways in 13del HCs, as well as in ATDC5 cell lines expressing wt and 13del collagen X. In vivo, we showed expression of mitochondrial calcium channels was reduced while mitochondrial membrane polarity was maintained in 13del chondrocytes, while in vitro, glucose uptake was maintained. We propose 13del HCs survive by a mechanism whereby changes in ER-mitochondria communication reduce import of calcium coupled with maintenance of mitochondrial membrane polarity. These findings provide the initial insights to our understanding of growth plate changes caused by protein misfolding in the pathogenesis of chondrodysplasia

The manchester respiratory activities of daily living questionnaire : reliability and validity of the Chinese version with pictorial enhancement

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