The actual and potential impacts of the CEFR on language education in Japan

Abstract: This paper examines how the CEFR has been applied in language education in Japan demonstrating positive impacts as well as difficulties and potential problems. It can be said that the CEFR has had much influence and we deal with the three main applications: for score translation, to improve foreign language education in Japan (pedagogical use of CEFR), and the establishment of Japan standards of foreign language proficiency. In the first case there are several ongoing developments how can do descriptors are also used for the score interpretation of high-stake tests. The CEFR and in particular can do descriptors are used as assessment, goal-setting and reflective tools to develop and plan curricula and courses. A number of research projects have been conducted to further produce language proficiency standards in Japan using the CEFR as a reference point. This leads to one of the more serious issues regarding the implementation in the Japanese and other contexts: it could be the case that the more it is adapted to a specific context, the greater the possibility that the CEFR will lose its validity and the original language proficiency scales will be altered in an unhelpful way

Effective Therapy Using Voglibose for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in a Patient with Insufficient Dietary and Exercise Therapy: Exploring Other Treatment Possibilities

A 56-year-old Japanese female with a 10-year history of thyroiditis presented to our institution. The laboratory data and clinical findings suggested that the patient had complicated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with autoimmune hepatitis according to the criteria by the application of the International Autoimmune Hepatitis score. The patient could not manage by herself so dietary- and exercise-based treatment was difficult. Accordingly, ursodeoxycholic acid and ezetimibe therapy was started and continued until the performance of a liver needle biopsy to define the diagnosis. However, no improvement in liver function was observed. In addition, pathological findings indicated that the patient had NASH. The patient was finally diagnosed as having NASH. Therefore, voglibose was added to the ursodeoxycholic acid and ezetimibe therapy, and this addition of voglibose actually took effect. The patient's serum aspartate transaminase and alanine aminotransferase levels decreased dramatically. This report is the first to document other treatment possibilities of NASH in a case when dietary therapy is difficult

For more than money : willingness of health professionals to stay in remote Senegal

The study was funded through a Research Grant for International Health, H25-11, from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour, Japan (http://www.ncgm.go.jp/kaihatsu/), and undertaken as part of the project Réseau Vision Tokyo 2010, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Acknowledgement The authors would like to express their profound gratitude to the fieldwork team and to the health professionals who responded to the survey questionnaire. Thanks also to four reviewers whose comments have improved the paper. The datasets used and/or analysed in the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Peer reviewedPublisher PD