Students’ Voices from the Pandemic. The Use of Modal and Semi-Modal Verbs for Expressing Subjectivity in a Local Academic Learner Corpus

This essay presents the results of a small-scale study on learner output obtained through an asynchronous writing activity completed in a Moodle forum during an English course targeting students of Primary Teacher Education at the University of Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy) in spring 2020. The activity encouraged learners’ expression about topics relevant to their disciplinary and professional domain, thus enhancing their engagement in the learning process. The analysis focuses on the use of modal and semi-modal verbs, and it aims at contributing to research into modality in learners’ academic writing. Indeed, the insights obtained by examining material created by learners during the pandemic can help develop resources and strategies to be incorporated in a more conscious, organic, and learner-centred manner into the design of future courses. The corpus (27,430 tokens) was investigated using Sketch Engine, and the results show the students’ preference for modals and semi-modals expressing obligation. This may be determined by the topic and by the students’ background, as they integrate their personal perspective as insiders into their contributions, hence demonstrating their strong commitment towards the profession for which they are training

Mechanisms through which Sos-1 coordinates the activation of Ras and Rac

Signaling from receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs)* requires the sequential activation of the small GTPases Ras and Rac. Son of sevenless (Sos-1), a bifunctional guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), activates Ras in vivo and displays Rac-GEF activity in vitro, when engaged in a tricomplex with Eps8 and E3b1–Abi-1, a RTK substrate and an adaptor protein, respectively. A mechanistic understanding of how Sos-1 coordinates Ras and Rac activity is, however, still missing. Here, we demonstrate that (a) Sos-1, E3b1, and Eps8 assemble into a tricomplex in vivo under physiological conditions; (b) Grb2 and E3b1 bind through their SH3 domains to the same binding site on Sos-1, thus determining the formation of either a Sos-1–Grb2 (S/G) or a Sos-1–E3b1–Eps8 (S/E/E8) complex, endowed with Ras- and Rac-specific GEF activities, respectively; (c) the Sos-1–Grb2 complex is disrupted upon RTKs activation, whereas the S/E/E8 complex is not; and (d) in keeping with the previous result, the activation of Ras by growth factors is short-lived, whereas the activation of Rac is sustained. Thus, the involvement of Sos-1 at two distinct and differentially regulated steps of the signaling cascade allows for coordinated activation of Ras and Rac and different duration of their signaling within the cell

Deciphering KRAS and NRAS mutated clone dynamics in MLL-AF4 paediatric leukaemia by ultra deep sequencing analysis

To induce and sustain the leukaemogenic process, MLL-AF4+ leukaemia seems to require very few genetic alterations in addition to the fusion gene itself. Studies of infant and paediatric patients with MLL-AF4+ B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BCP-ALL) have reported mutations in KRAS and NRAS with incidences ranging from 25 to 50%. Whereas previous studies employed Sanger sequencing, here we used next generation amplicon deep sequencing for in depth evaluation of RAS mutations in 36 paediatric patients at diagnosis of MLL-AF4+ leukaemia. RAS mutations including those in small sub-clones were detected in 63.9% of patients. Furthermore, the mutational analysis of 17 paired samples at diagnosis and relapse revealed complex RAS clone dynamics and showed that the mutated clones present at relapse were almost all originated from clones that were already detectable at diagnosis and survived to the initial therapy. Finally, we showed that mutated patients were indeed characterized by a RAS related signature at both transcriptional and protein levels and that the targeting of the RAS pathway could be of beneficial for treatment of MLL-AF4+ BCP-ALL clones carrying somatic RAS mutations

Barrett's esophagus: proton pump inhibitors and chemoprevention II.

The following on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and chemoprevention in relation to Barrett's esophagus includes commentaries on 48-h pH monitoring, pH-impedence, bile acid testing, dyspepsia, long/short segment Barrett's esophagus, nonerosive reflux disease (NERD), functional heartburn, dual-release delivery PPIs, immediate-release PPIs, long-term PPI use, prokinetic agents, obesity, baclofen, nocturnal acid breakthrough, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and new PPIs

INTRODUCING AN ACCESSIBLE TASK-BASED LEARNING (ATBL) APPROACH TO INCLUSIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (IELT) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VERONA

Now that the pandemic is slowly abating, it is time to focus on a learner-centred curriculum design for the future. The OECD report [1] on curriculum design for their 2030 project, underlines the fact that there may be “wide gaps” (p. 17) between the intentions behind curriculum design and the actual learner experience of such curricula. Over the past few years of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT), in fact, the focus has not been on either content or learners, but rather on digital tools and the mechanics of implementing them in online learning [2]. The Covid pandemic and the adoption of ERT, an ad hoc solution to an unexpected problem, was conceived of as an emergency measure with no long-term guarantees of success. It has, however, confirmed that the process of integrating digital tools in education may only be effective on the plane of inclusion and equity if adopted in a principled manner, and most importantly, if a learner-centred approach is adopted [2]. One framework which seeks to cater for the needs of inclusion from the viewpoint of diverse students in diverse learning contexts, regardless of access to technology, is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and its three macro areas, i.e. the what (content) the how (formative aspects such as goal setting) and the why (motivation) of learning, it provides a transferable approach that still enables autonomy and flexibility in its implementation [3]. This presentation illustrates concrete ways in which these three central tenets of UDL are being implemented in the design of an experimental, accessible, task-based learning (ATBL) approach to Inclusive English Language Teaching (IELT) at the Verona University language centre. The course is part of an ongoing research project which aims to develop an effective model for this type of teaching. The learning design stems from the findings analysed qualitatively in a series of interviews conducted with key stakeholders in our study (teachers, tutors and students). The 40-hour course blends synchronous onsite/ online sessions with asynchronous activities provided for autonomous study on the e-learning platform. The participants are mixed-abilities, including special needs learners. An ATBL approach was created for this learning design because of its focus on meaningful tasks in realistic contexts that put the needs of the learners at the centre of the process. The interactive use of language in real-life tasks may also promote increased learner agency and engagement. This, in turn, may also impact performance gain, while leading to learner perceptions of autonomy, motivation, and a growing self-awareness that contribute both to more effective learning and competence. References: [1] A. Schleicher, Curriculum (Re)design. A Series of Thematic Reports from the OECD Education 2030 Project, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/contact/brochure-thematic-reports-on-curriculum-redesign.pdf [2] J. Xiao, “Decoding new normal in education for the post-COVID-19 world: Beyond the digital solution,” Asian Journal of Distance Education, vol. 16, issue 1, pp. 141-155, 2021. Retrieved from http://asianjde.com/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/558. [3] Center for Applied Language Technology, “The UDL Guidelines”, CAST, 2022. Retrieved from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/?utm_source=castsite&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=none&utm_content=footer. Keywords: Universal Design for Learning, Task-Based Learning, English Language Teaching, Accessibility, Inclusion, Emergency Remote Teaching

Teaching oral skills in Higher Education (HE) language learning

The aim of this study was to test two UDL-informed models to inclusive, accessible language teaching in a Business English course at a B1+ level. We adopted a task-based learning (TBL) approach in the experimental group and a presentation, practice, production (PPP) approach in the control group. Our hypothesis was that the former approach would lead to a more significant performance gain in oral skills than the latter. The hypothesis was tested by conducting oral pre- and post-tests prior to and following instruction, the scores of which were analysed quantitatively. These results were triangulated by a qualitative analysis of the answers learners gave to open questions on exit tickets throughout the course. The quantitative findings showed significant performance gain in both groups after the treatment, but the difference between the two was not marked. However, the qualitative analysis revealed variation in the participants’ perceptions of their learning process, which may have been influenced by the approach applied. A future teaching model may, therefore, include both PPP and TBL elements, complemented by formative assessment strategies