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Does instructional language matter in CLIL? A study of learner proficiency and affective factors
Get PDFThis study examines the English language proficiency and affective factors of Japanese university students enrolled in medical programs taught in English (CLIL) (n = 44) and those taught in Japanese (L1-supported CLIL, n = 61). Pre- and post-study questionnaires, administered over a 14-week semester, measured speaking and writing proficiency, L2 speaking and writing anxiety, language learning enjoyment, international posture and willingness to communicate. The results show that both CLIL and L1-supported CLIL students experienced gains in speaking proficiency and a reduction in L2 speaking anxiety.The CLIL group demonstrated a decrease in L2 writing anxiety and an increase in willingness to communicate, while the L1-supported CLIL group showed an increase in international posture. This study reveals that L1 instruction in certain aspects of the first year of the CLIL curriculum appears to provide a supportive environment for lower-proficiency students to develop L2 proficiency and an international posture. Pedagogical implications are discussed in relation to the importance of selecting instructional language according to students’ L2 proficiency levels when designing CLIL programmes
Loss and gain of motor protein function cause microtubule bundle damage in Drosophila axons
Get PDFNeurodegeneration often starts by atrophy of the cable-like nerve fibers (axons) that wire nervous systems. Maintaining axons requires supply via motor-protein-driven transport along uninterrupted bundles of microtubules. Functional loss of motor proteins, but surprisingly also their hyperactivation, links to conditions of axonal atrophy; in both cases the underlying mechanisms are little understood. To bridge this important knowledge gap, we carried out systematic studies using 40 different genetic tools to manipulate 19 context-related genes in one standardized Drosophila primary neuron system. Starting with transport motors, we found that downregulation in at least three of them—dynein heavy chain, the kinesin family member 5 (KIF5) ortholog kinesin heavy chain (Khc), and KIF1A ortholog Unc-104—caused disintegration of axonal microtubule bundles, which we refer to as “microtubule-curling”; this damages the essential highways for life-sustaining axonal transport. To understand this phenomenon, we focused on Khc’s various subfunctions. We found that abolishing Khc-mediated mitochondrial and lysosomal transport affects the homeostasis of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn triggers microtubule-curling in fly and mouse neurons alike. Taking the opposite approach by using conditions where Khc is hyperactive, we observed comparable microtubule-curling, triggered by an ROS-independent mechanism likely involving excessive mechanical force generation. To assess wider relevance of our findings, we studied Unc-104, its binding partner KIF-binding protein (KIFBP), and human KIF5A. These studies suggest that functional loss and hyperactivation of other transport motors also cause ROS-dependent and -independent microtubule-curling, which could therefore represent two fundamental pathways that link transport motors to microtubule bundle decay and neurodegeneration
Comments about Davey et al. [1] A two-experiment approach to hydraulic jump scaling
Get PDFThese Comments address the paper by K. Davey, A. Al-Tarmoom, H. Sadeghi, A two-experiment approach to hydraulic jump scaling, Eur. J. Mech. B Fluids, 111(3) (2025) 215–228 [1], from the perspective of practical hydraulics. The modelling and scaling of complex fluid flows at reduced size, including hydraulic jumps, are explained in more detail. Particular attention is given to the Froude scaling laws, which correspond to some of the scaling relations derived in Ref. [1]. The discussion then extends to alternative theoretical and empirical approaches to address scale effects in hydraulics, in addition to the finite similitude scaling theory [1]. These include precise Froude scaling, one-parameter Lie group point-scaling transformations, Reynolds number invariance, numerical quantification of scale effects and the scale series method. Finally, possible future research paths, building upon the work in Ref. [1], are outlined
The global extent of the grassland biome and implications for the terrestrial carbon sink
Get PDFLand cover data are commonly used to model the terrestrial carbon (C) sink, yet these data have wide margins of error that significantly alter estimates of global C storage. Here we demonstrate this data vulnerability in grasslands, which are critical to C cycling but whose estimated distribution has varied by >50 million km2 (3.5-42% of the Earth's terrestrial surface). Comparing multiple high-resolution land cover products with expertly annotated grassland data from six continents, we show sources of mapping error and discuss C implications based on 2023 United Nations (UN) FAO estimates. Past misidentification arose from inconsistent definitions on grassland identity and classification flaws especially relating to woody plant cover. Correcting these errors adjusted grassland coverage to 22.8% of the terrestrial land base (30.1 million km2), elevating UN projections of soil C stocks to 155.02 Pg (0-30 cm depth). These findings underscore the challenges of biome mapping for ecosystem accounting and policy, when lacking field-validated remotely sensed data
Retrospective study examining complications and iatrogenic cycle: identification of an 'early neutering window' in bitches
Get PDFIntroduction - Neutering in the anoestrus period is most commonly recommended for bitches due to reduced risk of intraoperative bleeding and iatrogenic pseudopregnancy. However, there is a possible second period for neutering, commencing after oestrus until the time when prolactin concentrations increase. Methods - This retrospective study compared reports of intraoperative bleeding (categorised in two ways: excluding and including bleeds from the skin and subcutaneous tissue/fat) and cases of pseudopregnancy between bitches neutered during an ‘early’ period (EP bitches, neutered from the end of oestrus until day 43 after ovulation, n=319), during a ‘conventional’ period (CP bitches, neutered 90 or more days from estimated ovulation date, n=1,993) and bitches neutered in an ‘at greatest risk’ period (GRP bitches, neutered between 44 and 89 days from estimated ovulation date, n=231). Data for pseudopregnancy post-neutering were gathered using two methods 1) clinical indicators from electronic health records and 2) routinely collected behavioural data for behaviours that have been associated with pseudopregnancy.Results - There was no association between neuter period and the presence of an intraoperative bleed, either when excluding or including bleeding from the skin and subcutaneous tissue/fat (3.8-4.4% EP, 5.8-8.8% CP, and 7.4-11.3% GRP bitches). Only six cases of pseudopregnancy after neutering were identified in clinical records: two EP bitches (0.6%), one CP bitch (0.05%) and three GRP bitches (1.3%); associations were not evaluated statistically due to the small number of cases. Examinations of behavioural data found no association between neuter period and trait scores for ‘General Anxiety’, ‘Body Sensitivity’ and ‘Separation-related behaviours’ from dog behaviour questionnaires. However, EP (4.1%) and CP bitches (11.7%) had reduced odds of having a behaviour incident and/or development plan related to fear or anxiety and/or aggression post-neutering compared to GRP bitches (20.8%). Conclusion - The results suggest that neutering bitches during the ‘early’ period may be a suitable alternative to the ‘conventional’ period. Additionally, the results support the generally well-accepted advice to avoid neutering bitches during the period of greatest risk
Comparing CKD populations with T1D and T2D: a perspective based on the FINE-ONE and FIDELITY populations
Get PDFChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity of both type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and is associated with increased mortality, end-stage kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease risk. Despite standard-of-care treatment with renin–angiotensin system inhibitors added to blood pressure and glycaemic control, people with CKD and T1D have a residual risk of CKD progression. Advances in therapeutic management have been limited over the past three decades, especially compared with CKD in T2D, for which new treatment options have emerged in the last 5 years. In this review article, we discuss similarities and differences between T1D and T2D populations with CKD, including epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical findings. Additionally, we explore the use of albuminuria as a potential bridging biomarker to extrapolate clinical evidence from one population to the other. This concept could offer a promising strategy to narrow the gap in treatment availability between these populations and address the unmet therapeutic need in people with CKD and T1D. The FINE-ONE trial is investigating the non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone in a population with CKD and T1D using change in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio from baseline (ratio to baseline) over 6 months as its primary endpoint and bridging biomarker. Similarities between the populations from FINE-ONE and FIDELITY (a pooled dataset of individuals with CKD and T2D included in two large phase 3 clinical trials of finerenone) may inform the translation of clinical evidence on finerenone from people with CKD and T2D to those with CKD and T1D
Gendering the safety net: Social protection policy and the limits to Decent Work in Cambodia's garment sector
No full textThe adoption of the Social Protection Floors Recommendation (SPFR) by the International Labour Conference in 2012 is widely recognised as an “historic” (Deacon 2013) and “radical” (Cichon 2013) reorientation of social protection, promising a new “universal and comprehensive” approach. Despite the SPFR's bold ambitions, however, the implementation of social protection floors at global- and national-level has proven uneven. In practice, the social protection floors initiative has generally been “subordinate” (Seekings, 2019) to the Decent Work agenda. Particularly in many lower-income settings in the global South, for instance, vertical expansion of benefits to waged workers through social insurance has taken precedence over the SPFR's more radical promise to horizontally expand the frontiers of social assistance. In Cambodia, for example, entrenched norms of fiscal and social conservativism have focused policy attention on expanding benefits provided to the 700,000 workers in the country's largest formal industry – the garment sector – rather than expanding the scope of social protection to include the yet more numerous informal or agricultural sector workforce. In this paper, we examine the consequences of this lopsided social protection strategy for its apparent beneficiaries: women working within the garment industry. We argue that the focus on extending support for formal workers, at the exclusion of informal workers is, in fact, detrimental to both groups. To illustrate these arguments, we draw on original data from the GCRF-funded ReFashion project, a longitudinal study tracing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on a cohort of 200 garment workers in Cambodia over 24 months. We use this rich and grounded data to develop an emic perspective on social protection programming that shows how, in the absence of a robust social protection floor, gendered norms in Cambodia compel women to fill the gaps in social protection programming by the state. Women workers in the garment sector effectively fund a social safety net for family members through remittance transfers. However, garment sector salaries alone are insufficient for this task, leading to a “debtfare” (Soederberg 2014) model, in which workers finance these costs through increasing resort to personal debt. The result is a crisis of over-indebtedness among workers in the garment industry that undermines the achievement of Decent Work in the sector. We suggest that Covid-19 offers a moment for reflection, like that which followed the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and inspired the SPRF itself, to learn from the vulnerabilities exposed by the pandemic and recentre a radical vision of social protection that delivers for all
Bioinstructive polymer fibre mats to reduce bacterial pathogen colonisation
Get PDFHealthcare associated infections are widely reported to cost the European economy alone over £20 billion per year and cause an estimated extra 25 million hospital days considerably increasing patient morbidity and mortality. Implanted medical devices have previously been developed without the consideration of their potential to harbour pathogens at their surface, and this has resulted in many devices that suffer from bacterial biofilm colonisation and fibrotic foreign body responses that cause inflammation and inhibit wound healing. Here we report the development of a fibrous bioinstructive co-polymer mat that reduces biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus by 84% and 59% respectively compared to poly(lactic acid) fibres. The fibres also promote proliferation of fibroblast cells by 2.2-fold over 3 days compared to 1.2-fold for poly(lactic acid) samples, showing that the fibres promote a wound healing environment. Through the development of new materials for bioinstructive meshes, this work aims to develop new materials that can be used for surgical meshes that can prevent infections without the need for antimicrobials or toxic leaching compounds
The IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY in 2026
Get PDFThe IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (GtoPdb, https://www.guidetopharmacology.org) is an open-access database of expert-curated, high-quality pharmacological data. It provides succinct overviews and key references for pharmacological targets and their recommended experimental ligands, alongside detailed information about ligand-target activities. It includes 3103 protein targets and 13 260 ligand molecules, including approved drugs, small molecules, peptides, and antibodies. Here, we report recent improvements to the resource and describe expansion in content over the seven database releases made during the last two years. We describe developments in antibacterial pharmacology, work that has been supported through our collaboration with AntibioticDB and Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership. We discuss recent areas of curation, including natural products and nucleic acids, and describe an improved presentation of our approved drugs set that contains new therapeutic targets and ligands that are proposed as modulators with clinical potential. This is a useful new resource, both in being continuously updated and having coverage across multiple approval agencies. Maintaining strong links to external resources, such as PubChem, remains an important feature of GtoPdb, and here we highlight their value and utility in being a FAIR-compliant resource. We also present a comparison of our data coverage with ChEMBL and BindingDB
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