Developing sociocultural competence at the master student level: challenges and opportunities

EN: The importance of sociocultural competence for modern university graduates is universally acknowledged. Yet, in practical terms, developing this competence still poses a number of challenges related to background competence of master students and availability of academic hours. While information sources on relevant topics abound, there remains a deficit of comprehensive training packages that are finely attuned to the unique needs of master students in agricultural universities. UK: В статті проаналізовано теоретичні аспекти формування соціокультурної компетенції у студентів в процесі навчання їх англійської мови, узагальнено практичний досвід роботи зі студентами магістратури, презентовано власне бачення шляхів формування соціокультурної компетенції у цієї категорії суб′єктів навчання

Foreign language teaching: the ways of sociocultural competence creation at the master student level

EN: The importance of sociocultural competence for modern university graduates is universally acknowledged. Yet, in practical terms, developing this competence still poses a number of challenges related to background competence of master students and availability of academic hours. While information sources on relevant topics abound, there remains a deficit of comprehensive training packages that are finely attuned to the unique needs of master students in agricultural universities. RU: В статье проанализированы теоретические аспекты формирования социокультурной компетенции у студентов в процессе обучения их английскому языку, обобщен практический опыт работы со студентами магистратуры, представлено собственное видение путей формирования социокультурной компетенции у этой категории субъектов обучения

Foreign language teaching at the Master student level: lessons from John Dewey’s philosophy of education

EN: The article determines the specific bundle of competences and strategies underpinning the modern process of foreign language teaching by building upon the selected elements of educational philosophy of John Dewey. The article proceeds by reconstructing some of these elements and subsequently by drawing implications for the competence development strategies in the foreign language teaching. UK: Стаття обгрунтовує набір компетенцій та стратегій, пов’язаних із сучасним процесом навчання іноземної мови професійного спрямування, в контексті низки положень філософії освіти американського філософа-прагматиста Дж. Дьюї. Стаття узагальнює дані положення і розглядає їх значення для реалізації компетентнісного підходу при навчанні іноземної мови. RU: Статья обосновывает набор компетенций и стратегий, связанных с современным процессом обучения иностранному языку для профессиональных целей, в контексте ряда положений философии образования американского философа-прагматиста Дж. Дьюи. Статья обобщает данные положения и рассматривает их значение для реализации компетентностного подхода в обучении иностранному языку

Morphine withdrawal recruits lateral habenula cytokine signaling to reduce synaptic excitation and sociability.

The lateral habenula encodes aversive stimuli contributing to negative emotional states during drug withdrawal. Here we report that morphine withdrawal in mice leads to microglia adaptations and diminishes glutamatergic transmission onto raphe-projecting lateral habenula neurons. Chemogenetic inhibition of this circuit promotes morphine withdrawal-like social deficits. Morphine withdrawal-driven synaptic plasticity and reduced sociability require tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) release and neuronal TNF receptor 1 activation. Hence, habenular cytokines control synaptic and behavioral adaptations during drug withdrawal

Identification of a Novel β-Cell Glucokinase (GCK) Promoter Mutation (−71G>C) That Modulates GCK Gene Expression Through Loss of Allele-Specific Sp1 Binding Causing Mild Fasting Hyperglycemia in Humans

OBJECTIVE: Inactivating mutations in glucokinase (GCK) cause mild fasting hyperglycemia. Identification of a GCK mutation has implications for treatment and prognosis; therefore, it is important to identify these individuals. A significant number of patients have a phenotype suggesting a defect in glucokinase but no abnormality of GCK. We hypothesized that the GCK beta-cell promoter region, which currently is not routinely screened, could contain pathogenic mutations; therefore, we sequenced this region in 60 such probands. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The beta-cell GCK promoter was sequenced in patient DNA. The effect of the identified novel mutation on GCK promoter activity was assessed using a luciferase reporter gene expression system. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) were used to determine the impact of the mutation on Sp1 binding. RESULTS: A novel -71G>C mutation was identified in a nonconserved region of the human promoter sequence in six apparently unrelated probands. Family testing established cosegregation with fasting hyperglycemia (> or = 5.5 mmol/l) in 39 affected individuals. Haplotype analysis in the U.K. family and four of the Slovakian families demonstrated that the mutation had arisen independently. The mutation maps to a potential transcriptional activator binding site for Sp1. Reporter assays demonstrated that the mutation reduces promoter activity by up to fourfold. EMSAs demonstrated a dramatic reduction in Sp1 binding to the promoter sequence corresponding to the mutant allele. CONCLUSIONS: A novel beta-cell GCK promoter mutation was identified that significantly reduces gene expression in vitro through loss of regulation by Sp1. To ensure correct diagnosis of potential GCK-MODY (maturity-onset diabetes of the young) cases, analysis of the beta-cell GCK promoter should be included

Genome-wide significant associations in schizophrenia to ITIH3/4, CACNA1C and SDCCAG8, and extensive replication of associations reported by the Schizophrenia PGC

The Schizophrenia Psychiatric Genome-Wide Association Study Consortium (PGC) highlighted 81 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with moderate evidence for association to schizophrenia. After follow-up in independent samples, seven loci attained genome-wide significance (GWS), but multi-locus tests suggested some SNPs that did not do so represented true associations. We tested 78 of the 81 SNPs in 2640 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia attending a clozapine clinic (CLOZUK), 2504 cases with a research diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and 2878 controls. In CLOZUK, we obtained significant replication to the PGC-associated allele for no fewer than 37 (47%) of the SNPs, including many prior GWS major histocompatibility complex (MHC) SNPs as well as 3/6 non-MHC SNPs for which we had data that were reported as GWS by the PGC. After combining the new schizophrenia data with those of the PGC, variants at three loci (ITIH3/4, CACNA1C and SDCCAG8) that had not previously been GWS in schizophrenia attained that level of support. In bipolar disorder, we also obtained significant evidence for association for 21% of the alleles that had been associated with schizophrenia in the PGC. Our study independently confirms association to three loci previously reported to be GWS in schizophrenia, and identifies the first GWS evidence in schizophrenia for a further three loci. Given the number of independent replications and the power of our sample, we estimate 98% (confidence interval (CI) 78–100%) of the original set of 78 SNPs represent true associations. We also provide strong evidence for overlap in genetic risk between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder