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Homotopy multiplications on H-spaces and homotopy comultiplications on co-H-spaces play an important role in topology for many reasons. They are the duals with each other in the sense of Eckmann and Hilton, and have many kinds of examples to construct a binary operation of homotopy classes on loop multiplications and suspension comultiplications to give the group structure on the set of homotopy classes. In the current work, we investigateevery possibility of homotopy comultiplications and focus on the study of associative and commutative comultiplications on the wedge product of (a sufficiently large number of) spheres as a generalization of the papers [5, 6, 19]. In particular, we observe some patterns on the types of associative and commutative comultiplications on the wedge product of spheres.&nbsp

Purpose: A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the proportion of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System category M (LR-M) in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and non-HCC malignancies and to investigate the frequency of individual CEUS LR-M imaging features.Methods: The MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched from January 1, 2016 to July 23, 2020 for studies reporting the proportion of CEUS LR-M in HCC and non-HCC malignancies. The meta-analytic pooled proportions of HCC and non-HCC malignancies in the CEUS LR-M category were calculated. The meta-analytic frequencies of CEUS LR-M imaging features in nonHCC malignancies were also determined. Risk of bias and applicability were evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool.Results: Twelve studies reporting the diagnostic performance of the CEUS LR-M category were identified, as well as seven studies reporting the frequencies of individual CEUS LR-M imaging features. The pooled proportions of HCC and non-HCC malignancies in the CEUS LR-M category were 54% (95% confidence interval [CI], 44% to 65%) and 40% (95% CI, 28% to 53%), respectively. The pooled frequencies of individual CEUS LR-M imaging features in non-HCC malignancies were 30% (95% CI, 17% to 45%) for rim arterial phase hyperenhancement, 79% (95% CI, 66% to 90%) for early (

This study aimed to explore the linguistic culture of Korean adoles cents by examining their linguistic interactions, focusing on identity con struction and peer group power relationships. The setting for the study was two sixth-grade classrooms in two elementary schools and three sec ond-year classrooms in two middle schools in Korea from August to No vember 2017. In each classroom, we selected four focal students based on Social Network Analysis and analyzed the video files of their peer group interactions, drawing on micro-ethnographic discourse analysis. Findings from observations, video recordings, and interviews with these students revealed that Korean adolescents often construct their identities accord ing to relative evaluations and ratings. In addition, the use of language to reveal one’s identity varied according to gender. Unlike male adolescents, who engaged in superiority language or bluffing, female adolescents pre ferred to lower themselves by using honorific language. With regard to power relationships, the aspects of language used by adolescents varied. Adolescents with high centrality tended to lead communally accepted actions, while adolescents on the periphery tended to conform to and imitate the language use of those with high centrality. This study could contribute to extending our understanding of the dynamic nature of iden tity construction and power relationships within adolescent interactions.

This Study aims to propose a method for debate strategy classes, applying CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach) to teach debate to foreign undergraduates. Originally, CALLA, which was developed by Chamot & O’Mally (1987), is used as an integrated teaching model comprised of content subject instruction, academic language development, and explicit instruction in learning strategies. Instruction based on CALLA has five steps: introduction, preparation, practice, self-assessment, and expansion. Among these five steps, the self-assessment and expansion stages differ from existing activities in communicative language instruction in that they require students to take the lead in the class. In this study, 118 students were surveyed in order to design curriculum based on CALLA in consideration of students’ propensity to learn and their own culture. As a result, ‘practice’ was named as the stage that students most need to perform sufficiently. In addition, when asked what the teacher should dedicate sufficient time to in class, students also placed high emphasis on methods and progress for using debate strategies effectively. On the other hand, one characteristic that we identified was that, for activities which the students perform by themselves, such as ‘self-assessment’, demand proved to be low. According to the students’ needs survey, this study suggests an example of refutation strategy instruction using on 3 sessions. (Korea University)

본 연구는 지방자치단체가 추진하는 외국인주민의 사회통합 현황을 파악하고 효율적인 사회통합정책 구현을 위한 방향성을 제시하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 이를 위하여 지방자치단체 외국인정책 시행계획의 사회통합 프로그램을 분석하였다. 분석의 기준은 통합의 대상, 통합의 영역, 통합의 차원, 조직간 연계성으로 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 사회통합의 대상은 결혼이민자 및 그 가족에 집중되어 있어 추후 보편주의적 접근과 맞춤형 접근에 따라 지원 대상을 확대해야 할 필요가 있다. 둘째, 사회통합의 내용은 양육과 가족 간 관계 및 소통 증진이 약 50%를 차지하고 있으며 공통과제와 자체과제의 중복된 내용도 많다. 지역별 특성을 고려한 차별화된 프로그램의 개발이 필요하다. 셋째, 통합의 차원은 구조적 차원에 집중되어 있어 지방자치단체별 사회통합의 수준을 높이기 위한 다차원적인 통합이 필요하다. 마지막으로 지방자치단체의 프로그램 수행 시 타 기관과 협력관계보다 중앙부처사업의 수행이나 중관관리 역할에 머물러 있어 지방자치단체 주도적 프로그램 개발 및 추진이 필요하다. 지역사회 외국인의 성공적인 정착과 사회통합을 위하여 지방자치단체의 고유한 역할 수립과 자율적인 역할 수행을 기대해 본다.

본 연구에서는 수사구조이론(RST: Rhetorical Structure Theory)을 활용하여 학습자의 텍스트 의미 구성 능력을 진단할 수 있다고 보고, 텍스트 생산자의 의도성이 강한 설득 텍스트를 대상으로 학습자의 의미 구성 능력을 진단할 수 있는 도구의 형식을 탐색하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 진단 도구 개발을 위한 기준과 그에 따른 네 가지 도구의 형식을 설정한 뒤, 초, 중, 고등학교 학습자를 대상으로 네 가지 진단 도구 형식을 적용해 봄으로써 그 타당성을 확인하였다. 그 결과, `진단의 타당성` 측면에서는 네 가지 진단 도구의 형식 모두 학습자들의 중심 내용 설정 능력, 목적과 상황을 고려한 내용 생성 및 조직 능력, 텍스트의 전체 체제와 구조 조망 능력을 진단하는 데 무리가 없는 것으로 확인되었다. 다만, 주어진 내용을 자유롭게 변형할 수 있는 C, D 유형의 결과가 B 유형의 반응과 큰 차이가 없었던 것으로 나타났다. 다음으로 `시행의 용이성` 측면에서는 원고지로 의미 구성 결과를 옮기는 방식을 포함한 C 유형과 D 유형이 A, B 유형에 비해 적합성이 떨어지는 것으로 확인되었다. 즉, 의미 구성 능력을 진단하는 도구를 개발하는 데에 있어서 글쓰기 과정을 포함하는 것이 진단에 직접적인 영향을 미치지 않을 수 있음을 확인하였다. 마지막으로 `자료의 적합성` 측면에서는 A, C 유형이 B, D 유형에 비해 상대적으로 자료 가공이 용이한 것으로 판단되었다. 이상의 결과를 종합해 볼 때, A, B 유형이 C, D 유형에 비해 진단 도구로서 우위를 확보할 것으로 최종 판단하였다.

The purpose of this study is to propose a method of developing a writing textbook focused on a discourse synthesis task for the writing education of foreign undergraduates. The discourse synthesis task is proposed by Spivey, which is the process of reading several texts and producing their own texts related to the reading. The essential writing skill required for academic texts is `a skill to read reference and appropriately quote the necessary content in one`s writing`. In this regard, the discourse synthesis task is the most appropriate writing task to improve academic writing skills. In this paper, based on the discussions of previous studies on discourse synthesis and writing knowledge, the principles and goals of the textbook were set to focus on discourse synthesis. Also, the curriculum of discourse synthesis was proceduralized and subdivided into the topics for each unit. The contents of the unit consist of six steps, “Introduction, Exploration, Check up, Practice 1, Practice 2, Self assessment” which is introduction, presentation, practice, production and wrap up. (Korea University)

Aim There is growing evidence that cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) promotes inflammatory responses. This study investigated the relationship between CIRP and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Peripheral blood and synovial fluid were collected from 15 patients with RA and from 16 patients with osteoarthritis (OA). The concentration of CIRP was measured with the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results The concentration of serum CIRP was significantly elevated in the RA patient group (RA patients = 26.39 ± 10.48 pg/mL, OA patients = 17.14 ± 7.24 pg/mL, P = 0.009). Furthermore, the RA patient group had a significantly higher CIRP concentration than that of the OA patient group in synovial fluid (153.56 ± 108.93 pg/mL vs. 23.63 ± 16.18 pg/mL, P < 0.001). The mean synovial fluid concentration of CIRP was significantly higher than that of the serum concentration in the RA patient group (serum concentration = 26.39 ± 10.48 pg/mL, synovial fluid = 153.56 ± 108.93 pg/mL, P < 0.001). Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS28)-ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and DAS28-CRP (C-reactive protein) were positively correlated with the synovial fluid concentration of CIRP (DAS28-ESR: r = 0.582, P = 0.023; DAS28-CRP: r = 0.541, P = 0.037). Conclusion The serum and synovial concentrations of CIRP in the RA patients were increased compared to the OA patients. Additionally, the synovial concentration of CIRP in RA patients correlated well with disease activity, that is, the DAS28-ESR/CRP. Based on these results, CIRP mediates inflammation and is a potential marker for synovial inflammation.

We examined the effect of taurine depletion on hepatic sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism and carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury. Mice were supplemented with β-alanine (3%) in drinking water for one week. β-Alanine intake significantly reduced hepatic taurine levels, but did not influence S-adenosylmethionine, S-adenosylhomocysteine, glutathione levels or methionine adenosyltransferase activity in liver. However, hepatic cysteine levels were significantly elevated by β-alanine administration. Hepatotoxicity caused by carbon tetrachloride (50 μ l/kg, ip) in mice fed β-alanine was decreased, as determined by changes in serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activities. Hepatic glutathione and taurine levels after a carbon tetrachloride challenge were markedly increased by β-alanine exposure. The results suggest that enhanced availability of cysteine for synthesis of glutathione and/or taurine may account for the hepatoprotective effects of β-alanine against carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury.

The growth of ZnO nanowire arrays on a variety of substrates using a chemical wet process is presented. ZnO seeds can act as a nucleation layer for wire growth and ZnO nanowire arrays can have direct contact with a variety of substrates. The structural and optical properties of ZnO nanowire arrays grown at 90°C are investigated. FESEM and X-ray diffraction observations reveal that the crystalline ZnO nanowire arrays are preferentially oriented along the c axis. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements had shown ultraviolet peaks and a deep level peak. After annealing at 900°C for 1 min. by RTA, the deep level peak became much weaker and the band-edge emission PL was much stronger.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignant disease worldwide, and curative treatment remains difficult because the majority of cases are diagnosed in the advanced stage. Sorafenib is the only known effective systemic treatment, but patients rarely achieve complete remission (CR). A 66-year-old man with a history of alcoholic liver cirrhosis with a diagnosis of advanced HCC, was initially treated with transarterial chemoembolization on four occasions. However, the disease progressed with portal vein thrombosis. Therefore, sorafenib was started, and 4 mo later, the patient achieved CR. The treatment was continued for 12 mo, and CR was maintained up to 4 mo after sorafenib discontinuation.

Pericytes physically surround the capillary endothelium, contacting and communicating with associated vascular endothelial cells via cell–cell and cell–matrix contacts. Pericyte–endothelial cell interactions thus have the potential to modulate growth and function of the microvasculature. Here we employ the experimental finding that pericytes can buckle a freestanding, underlying membrane via actin-mediated contraction. Pericytes were cultured on deformable silicone substrata, and pericyte-generated wrinkles were imaged via both optical and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The local stiffness of subcellular domains both near and far from these wrinkles was investigated by using AFM-enabled nanoindentation to quantify effective elastic moduli. Substratum buckling contraction was quantified by the normalized change in length of initially flat regions of the substrata (corresponding to wrinkle contour lengths), and a model was used to relate local strain energies to pericyte contractile forces. The nature of pericyte-generated wrinkling and contractile protein-generated force transduction was further explored by the addition of pharmacological cytoskeletal inhibitors that affected contractile forces and the effective elastic moduli of pericyte domains. Actin-mediated forces are sufficient for pericytes to exert an average buckling contraction of 38% on the elastomeric substrata employed in these in vitro studies. Actomyosin-mediated contractile forces also act in vivo on the compliant environment of the microvasculature, including the basement membrane and other cells. Pericyte-generated substratum deformation can thus serve as a direct mechanical stimulus to adjacent vascular endothelial cells, and potentially alter the effective mechanical stiffness of nonlinear elastic extracellular matrices, to modulate pericyte–endothelial cell interactions that directly influence both physiologic and pathologic angiogenesis., National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER Award), National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems-0644846), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (EY 19533), National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (EY 15125)