Reading development in bilingual pupils

The subjects are a group of bilingual pupils in 3rd grade. They live in an area dominated by Norwegian, but their parents have chosen Sámi as their first language in school. The pupils communicate in Sámi with one or both parents, the teacher, classmates during lessons, and in some cases other family members. In play, both in their neighbourhood and school, the children use Norwegian. Earlier research has showed that bilingualism for some groups has a positive effect on education, for other a negative effect. The motivation for this study is to describe the language environment and the pupils' reading competence in the context described above. The most of the children manage decoding rather well, and the decoding mistakes are of the same types in both languages. There is a connection between decoding proficiency and understanding of the text, but this is complex. The reading comprehension for all the children was at least twice as good for Norwegian texts compared with Sámi texts, for some of the children more than three times better. There was a clear connection between the children's language environment and their comprehension of the texts from school books written for the class level

A new therapy for highly effective tumor eradication using HVJ-E combined with chemotherapy-2

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "A new therapy for highly effective tumor eradication using HVJ-E combined with chemotherapy"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/28</p><p>BMC Medicine 2007;5():28-28.</p><p>Published online 21 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2039728.</p><p></p>and one (single) or three (multiple) injections of HVJ-E/BLM were intradermally re-challenged with 5 × 10parental CT-26 cells on day 10 after CDDP administration (arrow). The initial (upper) and re-challenged (lower) tumor volumes per mouse were assessed (mean value ± standard deviation). p < 0.05, single vs multiple injection, Student's test. The control mice were age-matched mice that were intradermally inoculated with CT-26 cells. (B) Eradication rate of initial or re-challenge tumor. On day 31 after CDDP administration (on day 16 after re-challenge) the tumors – whether visible or invisible – were examined

A new therapy for highly effective tumor eradication using HVJ-E combined with chemotherapy-0

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "A new therapy for highly effective tumor eradication using HVJ-E combined with chemotherapy"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/5/28</p><p>BMC Medicine 2007;5():28-28.</p><p>Published online 21 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2039728.</p><p></p>n the dorsa of BALB/c mice reached 5 mm in diameter, HVJ-E (5000 HAU, i.t.), HVJ-E/BLM (5000 HAU, i.t.), CDDP (i.p.), or CDDP (i.p.) plus HVJ-E/BLM (5000 HAU, i.t.) was administered. The tumor diameter was measured every 3 days. Results are expressed as the mean (n = 8 per group). Data are representative of each group. Two independent experiments were performed. CDDP and HVJ-E/BLM treated tumor growth was strongly suppressed compared with saline treated tumors (control). *p < 0.05. By contrast, no significant difference (NS) was seen between control and CDDP alone. Results were statistically analyzed using the Steel-Dwass test. (B) The body weight of each groups. Data are expressed as means ± SD. No significant difference was seen in all groups

The Transcription Factors Tbx18 and Wt1 Control the Epicardial Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition through Bi-Directional Regulation of Slug in Murine Primary Epicardial Cells

<div><p>During cardiac development, a subpopulation of epicardial cells migrates into the heart as part of the epicardial epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and differentiates into smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. However, the roles of transcription factors in the epicardial EMT are poorly understood. Here, we show that two transcription factors expressed in the developing epicardium, T-box18 (<i>Tbx18</i>) and Wilms’ tumor 1 homolog (<i>Wt1</i>), bi-directionally control the epicardial EMT through their effects on Slug expression in murine primary epicardial cells. Knockdown of Wt1 induced the epicardial EMT, which was accompanied by an increase in the migration and expression of N-cadherin and a decrease in the expression of ZO-1 as an epithelial marker. By contrast, knockdown of Tbx18 inhibited the mesenchymal transition induced by TGFβ1 treatment and Wt1 knockdown. The expression of Slug but not Snail decreased as a result of Tbx18 knockdown, but Slug expression increased following knockdown of Wt1. Knockdown of Slug also attenuated the epicardial EMT induced by TGFβ1 treatment and Wt1 knockdown. Furthermore, in normal murine mammary gland-C7 (NMuMG-C7) cells, Tbx18 acted to increase Slug expression, while Wt1 acted to decrease Slug expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and promoter assay revealed that Tbx18 and Wt1 directly bound to the <i>Slug</i> promoter region and regulated <i>Slug</i> expression. These results provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms that control the epicardial EMT.</p> </div

The epicardial EMT induced by Wt1 knockdown is inhibited by knockdown of Tbx18 or Slug.

<p>(A) Representative images of Wt1-knockdown epicardial cells co-transfected with siTbx18 or siSlug. Epicardial cells transfected with siControl or siWt1 were used as controls. (B) Immunostaining for ZO-1 (green) and DAPI nuclear staining (blue) of primary epicardial cells transfected with siRNA. (C) Percentage of cells categorized as “Enlarged” or “Cobblestone-like,” based on cellular morphology. (D) The relative mRNA expression of <i>Tbx18</i>, <i>Wt1</i> and <i>Slug</i> by real-time PCR in Wt1-knockdown epicardial cells co-transfected with siTbx18 or siSlug, in comparison to siControl-transfected epicardial cells (n = 3; *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. siControl, ^†<i>P</i><0.05 vs. siWt1). The results were normalized to <i>Gapdh</i> expression and the relative expression level is provided as a ratio to the siControl. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. Scale bars: 100 µm.</p

Tbx18 and Wt1 are bound to the Slug promoter region and regulate the activity of the Slug promoter.

<p>(A) Immunoblot performed with an anti-Tbx18 antibody and an anti-Wt1 antibody. Tbx18 was immunoprecipitated with an anti-FLAG antibody (FLAG) or control IgG (IgG) in NMuMG-C7 cells expressing 3×FLAG-tagged Tbx18, and Wt1 was immunoprecipitated with an anti-Wt1 antibody (Wt1) or control IgG (IgG) in NMuMG-C7 cells expressing Wt1. (B) Direct binding of Tbx18 or Wt1 near the transcription start site (TSS) of the Slug gene in NMuMG-C7 cells, as assessed by ChIP. DNA fragments co-precipitated with Tbx18 or Wt1 were quantified by real-time PCR. The data are presented as the mean ± SD; n = 3; *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. control IgG. (C) The relative luciferase activity of a reporter construct carrying the <i>Slug</i> promoter in primary epicardial cells. The data are provided as ratios to siControl and are presented as the mean ± SD; n = 4; *<i>P</i><0.01 vs. siControl. (D) The relative luciferase activity of a reporter construct carrying the <i>Slug</i> promoter (Full) or the <i>Slug</i> promoter lacking the region around −200 from the TSS (−200 del) or +350 from the TSS (+350 del) in primary epicardial cells. The data are provided as ratios to Full and are presented as the mean ± SD; n = 4; *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. Full.</p

Knockdown of Wt1 and Tbx18 in primary epicardial cells.

<p>(A) Representative images of primary epicardial cells transfected with control siRNA (siControl) or siRNA directed against Tbx18 (siTbx18) or Wt1 (siWt1). Scale bar: 200 µm. (B) Immunostaining for ZO-1 or N-cadherin (green) and DAPI nuclear staining (blue) of primary epicardial cells transfected with siRNAs. Scale bars: 100 µm. (C) Percentage of cells categorized as “Enlarged” or “Cobblestone-like,” based on the cellular morphology of primary epicardial cells transfected with siRNAs. (D) Representative images of primary epicardial cells transfected with siRNAs at 0 and 14 hr after the scratch was made. Scale bar: 200 µm. (E) Quantification of migration distance, given as a ratio to the siControl (n = 4; *<i>P</i><0.01 vs. siControl). (F) The relative mRNA expression of <i>Tbx18</i>, <i>Wt1</i>, <i>Snail</i> and <i>Slug</i> by real-time PCR analysis (n = 3; *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. siControl). The results were normalized to <i>Gapdh</i> expression, and the relative expression level is given as a ratio to the siControl. (G) Western blot performed with antibodies against Tbx18, Wt1, adhesion molecules (E-cadherin and N-cadherin) and EMT regulators (Snail and Slug). β-actin and histone H3 were used as loading controls. The data are presented as the mean ± SD.</p

Hoxc8 is down-regulated during brown adipogenesis in vivo.

<p>(A) Immunofluorescence analysis of Hoxc8 in the mouse SVF cells derived from inguinal WAT. The cells were untreated (Undifferentiated) or induced to undergo differentiation (Adipogenic induction). The lipid droplets and nuclei were counterstained with Bodipy and DAPI, respectively. Scale bars indicate 30 µm. (B) Immunoblots of Hoxc8 in the mouse SVF cells left untreated or induced to undergo differentiation. β-actin served as a loading control. (C) Upper, the UCP1 expression in the differentiated mouse SVF cells. Scale bars indicate 30 µm. Lower, the fold increase of mRNA expression levels of <i>Ucp1</i> and <i>Ucp2</i> in the mouse WAT-SVF cells induced to undergo differentiation. The results were normalized to <i>β-actin</i>. (D) The expression of <i>Pgc-1α</i> and <i>C/EBPβ</i> induced during the differentiation of mouse SVF cells. The results were normalized to <i>β-actin</i>. The data are presented as means ± SEM; * <i>p</i><0.05. (E) Western blot analysis in different fat depots from mice treated with or without CL-316,243, a β3-adrenergic receptor agonist. ingWAT, epiWAT, and iBAT denote inguinal WAT, epididymal WAT, and interscapular BAT, respectively. (F) Western blot analysis of Hoxc8 in SVF cells and ingWAT of mice treated with CL-316,243 (CL) or saline.</p

Primary culture of epicardial cells from E12.5 mouse embryos.

<p>(A) Representative image of primary epicardial cells generated from E12.5 mouse hearts, as described in the <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0057829#s2" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a> section. (B) The relative mRNA expression levels of epicardial markers (<i>Tbx18 and Wt1</i>) and a cardiomyocyte marker (<i>Nkx2-5</i>) in primary epicardial cells and cardiomyocytes, as determined by quantitative real-time PCR (n = 3; *<i>P</i><0.0001 vs. primary epicardial cells). The results are normalized to <i>Gapdh</i> expression, and the relative expression level is given as a ratio to primary epicardial cells. (C) Immunostaining for Wt1 (green) and DAPI nuclear staining (blue) of primary epicardial cells after 4 days in culture. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. Scale bars: 200 µm.</p

Tbx18 and Wt1 regulate Slug expression in NMuMG-C7 cells.

<p>(A) Representative images of NMuMG-C7 cells expressing EGFP, Tbx18, Wt1 or a combination of Tbx18 and Wt1. Scale bar: 100 µm. (B) Western blot analysis of transduced NMuMG-C7 cell lines with antibodies against Tbx18, Wt1, Snail and Slug. β-actin was used as a loading control. (C) The relative mRNA expression of <i>Slug</i> in transduced NMuMG-C7 cell lines. The results were normalized to <i>Gapdh</i> expression, and the relative expression is provided as a ratio to EGFP transduced cells. The data are presented as the mean ± SD; n = 3; *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. EGFP transduced cells, ^†<i>P</i><0.0001 vs. Tbx18 transduced cells.</p