Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Utilizing Genre Analysis: From Theory to Application in Teaching the Research Article Methods Section

The implementation of a genre-based curriculum by the University of Electro-Communications (UEC) English department created a need for all of the English instructors to have some working knowledge of genre-based pedagogy. This paper attempts to fill part of that need with some micro-teaching applications focusing on explicitly teaching the Methods section of the Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion (IMRD) research article (RA), one of the required genres to be taught in the second-year compulsory English courses at UEC. These applications are derived from genre theory and genre analysis advanced by English for Specific Purposes (ESP). A brief review of these concepts within the ESP framework will be covered as well as a compressed overview of the IMRD RA. One major implication of this article is that genre analysis can be a powerful tool that enables teachers to better assist students in improving their language skills and their use of relevant genres in particular academic contexts

Analysis of the Basic Spoken English Course at the University of Electro-Communications

Dual objectives of this paper are contained herein. The first is to familiarize its audience to the Basic Spoken English night course, a course offered by the Department of Human Communication at the University of Electro-Communications. Readers should get a general sense of understanding relevant to five main activities of this course, and see the significance of them pertinent to second language acquisition. The second function is that of reflection by the authors on the motives and intentions behind the activities, and critical analysis of these undertakings in a concerted effort to make improvements to future courses

Student Opinions and Attitudes toward the Use of Music in Learning English

Research in the area of music and its effects on learning has long established its value in education and specifically in language learning. Music adeptness has even been categorized as a major separate intelligence contrasting and complimenting the traditional concept of Logical/Mathematical Intelligence. However, most of the arguments for using music as a learning aid have come from scientists, researchers and instructors, and little has been done in the area of finding out student opinions and attitudes toward the use of music in the EFL/ESL classroom. Ascertaining these sentiments and dispositions is the aim of this study. Twenty-eight first-year Japanese university students attending the Basic Spoken English class at the University of Electro-Communications were asked what they thought about the use of music in learning English. Results indicate that the students, perhaps all of whom are unfamiliar with relevant formal research, appear to overwhelmingly agree with subject experts. This is not only a testament to the validity and value of previous research, but also to the future search for more effective methods of music use that can assist EFL/ESL learners

Effects of Autonomy in an English Language Learning Class

Autonomy in language learning in one form or another has established itself as an importantfactor in student achievement and performance. This paper examines some of the effects of variousaspects of autonomy that were implemented with 27 first-year university students attending anelective English course to encourage their educational growth and development in Englishlanguage skills. At the end of the semester, the students participated in a general survey whichrated their opinions on several aspects of the class. Parts of this survey which relate to the use ofautonomy in class will be discussed in this paper. The authors also share observations citingspecific cases where giving the students a certain amount of freedom resulted in outstandingperformance on the final project of the course, an approximate 5-minute presentation in English.Both the results of the survey and the author observations support the notion that giving studentssome amount of freedom fostered autonomy, and is beneficial in a language learning context

Epithelial cell-derived cytokine TSLP activates regulatory T cells by enhancing fatty acid uptake

Abstract Epithelial cells control a variety of immune cells by secreting cytokines to maintain tissue homeostasis on mucosal surfaces. Regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for immune homeostasis and for preventing tissue inflammation; however, the precise molecular mechanisms by which epithelial cell-derived cytokines function on Treg cells in the epithelial tissues are not well understood. Here, we show that peripheral Treg cells preferentially respond to thymic stromal lymphoprotein (TSLP). Although TSLP does not affect thymic Treg differentiation, TSLP receptor-deficient induced Treg cells derived from naïve CD4+ T cells are less activated in an adoptive transfer model of colitis. Mechanistically, TSLP activates induced Treg cells partially through mTORC1 activation and fatty acid uptake. Thus, TSLP modulates the activation status of induced Treg through the enhanced uptake of fatty acids to maintain homeostasis in the large intestine

Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) V2

The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT), an activity of the international marine carbon research community, provides access to synthesis and gridded fCO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) products for the surface oceans. Version 2 of SOCAT is an update of the previous release (version 1) with more data (increased from 6.3 million to 10.1 million surface water fCO2 values) and extended data coverage (from 1968-2007 to 1968-2011). The quality control criteria, while identical in both versions, have been applied more strictly in version 2 than in version 1. The SOCAT website (http://www.socat.info/) has links to quality control comments, metadata, individual data set files, and synthesis and gridded data products. Interactive online tools allow visitors to explore the richness of the data. Applications of SOCAT include process studies, quantification of the ocean carbon sink and its spatial, seasonal, year-to-year and longerterm variation, as well as initialisation or validation of ocean carbon models and coupled climate-carbon models

An update to the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT version 2)

International audienceThe Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) is an effort by the international marine carbon research community. It aims to improve access to carbon dioxide measurements in the surface oceans by regular releases of quality controlled and fully documented synthesis and gridded fCO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) products. SOCAT version 2 presented here extends the data set for the global oceans and coastal seas by four years and has 10.1 million surface water fCO2 values from 2660 cruises between 1968 and 2011. The procedures for creating version 2 have been comparable to those for version 1. The SOCAT website (http://www.socat.info/) provides access to the individual cruise data files, as well as to the synthesis and gridded data products. Interactive online tools allow visitors to explore the richness of the data. Scientific users can also retrieve the data as downloadable files or via Ocean Data View. Version 2 enables carbon specialists to expand their studies until 2011. Applications of SOCAT include process studies, quantification of the ocean carbon sink and its spatial, seasonal, year-to-year and longer-term variation, as well as initialisation or validation of ocean carbon models and coupled-climate carbon models

Outcomes in Newly Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation and History of Acute Coronary Syndromes: Insights from GARFIELD-AF

BACKGROUND: Many patients with atrial fibrillation have concomitant coronary artery disease with or without acute coronary syndromes and are in need of additional antithrombotic therapy. There are few data on the long-term clinical outcome of atrial fibrillation patients with a history of acute coronary syndrome. This is a 2-year study of atrial fibrillation patients with or without a history of acute coronary syndromes