326 research outputs found
The Application of Conceptual Metaphor in English Vocabulary Teaching
As the basic unit of expression, vocabulary is the foundation of English and is closely related to students’ overall language ability. However, many teachers tend to teach English vocabulary in traditional way, simply listing words with little attention to context in daily instruction. As a result, students mechanically memorize words without understanding the connotation and extension of words, which frequently leads to misunderstandings in vocabulary comprehension and inflexible vocabulary application. To solve this problem, this study considers cognitive linguistics as the guide to exploring vocabulary teaching based on conceptual metaphor. Following the definition, mechanism, and classification of conceptual metaphor, it makes an overview of both the international and Chinese studies concerning the application of conceptual metaphor in English vocabulary teaching, and finds that the lack of empirical research, the small sample size, the short time of experiment, the uncomprehensive research results and students’ different ability to accept this teaching method remain to be further solved. This contributes to the existing problems in vocabulary teaching and cultivating students’ competence in cognitive acquisition
Difference or Indifference: China's Development Assistance Unpacked
China's growing role in international development through so?called ‘South–South cooperation’ has attracted considerable global attention. This article aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the nature of foreign aid policies implemented by China and help facilitate a new set of dialogues between China and more established providers of aid. It unpacks the developmental side of the story by first analysing the official discourse of Chinese aid in a historical context and thereafter examines the practice of conditional aid in relation to the Chinese emphasis on non?interference and mutual interest. The empirical basis for this article is largely derived from field studies undertaken in Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. We argue that although centrally controlled, Chinese aid has been consistently developmental, reflecting both the country's own development path and, to a lesser extent, international developmental goals
Dietary Supplementation of Astaxanthin Improved the Growth Performance, Antioxidant Ability and Immune Response of Juvenile Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) Fed High-Fat Diet
High-fat diet (HFD) usually induces oxidative stress and astaxanthin is regarded as an excellent anti-oxidant. An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary astaxanthin supplementation on growth performance, lipid metabolism, antioxidant ability, and immune response of juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fed HFD. Four diets were formulated: the control diet (10.87% lipid, C), high-fat diet (18.08% lipid, HF), and HF diet supplemented with 75 and 150 mg kg−1 astaxanthin (HFA1 and HFA2, respectively). Dietary supplementation of astaxanthin improved the growth of fish fed HFD, also decreased hepatosomatic index and intraperitoneal fat ratio of fish fed HFD, while having no effect on body fat. Malondialdehyde content and superoxide dismutase activity were increased in fish fed HFD, astaxanthin supplementation in HFD decreased the oxidative stress of fish. The supplementation of astaxanthin in HFD also reduced the mRNA levels of Caspase 3, Caspase 9, BAD, and IL15. These results suggested that dietary astaxanthin supplementation in HFD improved the growth performance, antioxidant ability and immune response of largemouth bass.publishedVersio
Leveraging Historical Medical Records as a Proxy via Multimodal Modeling and Visualization to Enrich Medical Diagnostic Learning
Simulation-based Medical Education (SBME) has been developed as a
cost-effective means of enhancing the diagnostic skills of novice physicians
and interns, thereby mitigating the need for resource-intensive
mentor-apprentice training. However, feedback provided in most SBME is often
directed towards improving the operational proficiency of learners, rather than
providing summative medical diagnoses that result from experience and time.
Additionally, the multimodal nature of medical data during diagnosis poses
significant challenges for interns and novice physicians, including the
tendency to overlook or over-rely on data from certain modalities, and
difficulties in comprehending potential associations between modalities. To
address these challenges, we present DiagnosisAssistant, a visual analytics
system that leverages historical medical records as a proxy for multimodal
modeling and visualization to enhance the learning experience of interns and
novice physicians. The system employs elaborately designed visualizations to
explore different modality data, offer diagnostic interpretive hints based on
the constructed model, and enable comparative analyses of specific patients.
Our approach is validated through two case studies and expert interviews,
demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing medical training.Comment: Accepted by IEEE VIS 202
A Survey on Service Route and Time Prediction in Instant Delivery: Taxonomy, Progress, and Prospects
Instant delivery services, such as food delivery and package delivery, have
achieved explosive growth in recent years by providing customers with
daily-life convenience. An emerging research area within these services is
service Route\&Time Prediction (RTP), which aims to estimate the future service
route as well as the arrival time of a given worker. As one of the most crucial
tasks in those service platforms, RTP stands central to enhancing user
satisfaction and trimming operational expenditures on these platforms. Despite
a plethora of algorithms developed to date, there is no systematic,
comprehensive survey to guide researchers in this domain. To fill this gap, our
work presents the first comprehensive survey that methodically categorizes
recent advances in service route and time prediction. We start by defining the
RTP challenge and then delve into the metrics that are often employed.
Following that, we scrutinize the existing RTP methodologies, presenting a
novel taxonomy of them. We categorize these methods based on three criteria:
(i) type of task, subdivided into only-route prediction, only-time prediction,
and joint route\&time prediction; (ii) model architecture, which encompasses
sequence-based and graph-based models; and (iii) learning paradigm, including
Supervised Learning (SL) and Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). Conclusively,
we highlight the limitations of current research and suggest prospective
avenues. We believe that the taxonomy, progress, and prospects introduced in
this paper can significantly promote the development of this field
Circulating microRNAs in Pancreatic Juice as Candidate Biomarkers of Pancreatic Cancer
Development of sensitive and specific biomarkers, preferably those circulating in body fluids is critical for early diagnosis of cancer. This study performed profiling of microRNAs (miRNAs) in exocrine pancreatic secretions (pancreatic juice) by microarray analysis utilizing pancreatic juice from 6 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients and two pooled samples from 6 non-pancreatic, non-healthy (NPNH) as controls. Differentially circulating miRNAs were subsequently validated in 88 pancreatic juice samples from 50 PDAC, 19 chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients and 19 NPNH controls. A marked difference in the profiles of four circulating miRNAs (miR-205, miR-210, miR-492, and miR-1427) was observed in pancreatic juice collected from patients with PDAC and those without pancreatic disease. Elevated levels of the four miRNAs together predicted PDAC with a specificity of 88% and sensitivity of 87%. Inclusion of serum CA19-9 level increased the sensitivity to 91% and the specificity to 100%. Enrichment of the four miRNAs in pancreatic juice was associated with decreased OS, as was the combination of miR-205 and miR-210. Higher contents of miR-205 and miR-210 were also associated with lymph node metastasis. Elevated levels of circulating miR-205, miR-210, miR-492, and miR-1247 in pancreatic juice are, therefore, promising candidate biomarkers of disease and poor prognosis in patients with PDAC
Decreased programmed cell death ligand 2-positive monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells and programmed cell death protein 1-positive T-regulatory cells in patients with type 2 diabetes: implications for immunopathogenesis
Objectives: The activation of immune cells plays a significant role in the progression of type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and T-regulatory cells (Tregs) in type 2 diabetes.
Methods: A total of 61 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were recruited. Clinical characteristics were reviewed and peripheral blood samples were collected. We calculated the percentage of different cells. Frequencies of MDS C subsets refered to the percentage of G-MDSCs (CD15+CD33+CD11b+CD14-HLA-DR-/low) in CD45 positive cells and the percentage of M-MDSCs (CD14+CD15-CD11b+CD33+HLA-DR-/low) in lymphocytes plus monocytes.
Results: Frequencies of programmed cell death ligand 1-positive granulo cytic MDSCs (PD-L1+ G-MDSCs), programmed cell death ligand 2-positive monocytic MDSCs (PD-L2+ M-MDSCs), PD-L2+ G-MDSC, and programmed cell death protein 1-positive Tregs (PD-1+Tregs) were decreased in patients with type 2 diabetes. The frequency of PD-1+ Tregs was positively related to PD-L2+ M-MDSCs (r = 0.357, P = 0.009) and negatively related to HbA1c (r = -0.265, P = 0.042), fasting insulin level (r = −0.260, P = 0.047), and waist circumference (r = −0.373, P = 0.005).
Conclusions: Decreased PD-L2+ M-MDSCs and PD-1+ Tregs may promote effector T cell activation, leading to chronic low-grade inflammation in type 2 diabetes. These findings highlight the contribution of MDSCs and Tregs to the immunopathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and suggest their potential as targets for new therapeutic approaches
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