关键词： Asian Xenopus conference   Xenopus  

摘要： The first Asian community conference on "Scientific research using Xenopus as an animal model system" was held in Osaka, Japan, from November 24 to 26, 2024. This event was organized by the Korean Society for Xenopus Development of KSMCB (Korean Society for the Molecular and Cellular Biology), Xenopus Community in Japan (XCIJ), KNU G-LAMP Project, National BioResource Project-Clawed frogs/Newts (NBRP), and Osaka University. The conference covered various research topics in biological sciences using Xenopus. The ultimate goal of this conference was to promote collaboration and encourage a new and sustainable relationship among researchers in the Asian region who utilize Xenopus in their studies by sharing scientific findings. The conference not only shared research findings from various biological fields in the Asian region but also provided opportunities to invite global experts in the Xenopus research for "Keynote Lectures" and rising researchers who use other animal models for the "Friends of Xenopus" session to foster interdisciplinary exchange. In addition, organizers planned a luncheon seminar to help trainee students learn how to write a scientific paper and how not to.

关键词： Paleodrainage   fluvial   quartz   conglomerate   gold   placer   flake   Southland  

摘要： The St Bathans paleovalley developed as a major southwest-draining fluvial system during early Miocene rejuvenation of the Central Otago landscape. Rounded quartz pebbles and detrital gold were recycled from Eocene quartz pebble conglomerates into the headwaters of this Miocene paleodrainage system on the northern margin of the Otago Schist belt. Gold particle morphology is mostly irregular and rough, locally with relict gold crystal shapes, plus a minor component of well-defined flakes. Incremental rounding and surface deformation at the 10 mu m scale has occurred through several recycling events in Central Otago, hindering linkage of Miocene and younger placer gold to ultimate basement sources. More intense deformation of the gold, forming thin flakes, occurred in the lower reaches of the Miocene paleodrainage system as gold was transported >100 km to eastern Southland. Hence, the St Bathans paleovalley has been an important source of gold for historic mining in Central Otago and Southland.

关键词： Cooperative learning   English as a Foreign Language university students   Mixed research   Self-regulated learning   Social skills  

摘要： PurposeThis study investigated how cooperative learning (CL) enhanced 21st century skills and knowledge to assure English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' ***/methodology/approachThis mixed experimental study comprised a sample of 64 students enrolled in an EFL program at a private university in Ecuador. The experimental group received CL, while the control group had traditional teaching for 14 *** showed that CL significantly improved 21st century skills, particularly problem-solving and enhanced the academic performance of English learners, which supports their employability. Participants also had a positive view of CL, noting its effectiveness in developing self-regulated learning skills such as task management, seeking help and ***/valueThe originality of this study lies in its specific focus on the impact of CL on English students' self-regulated learning and 21st social skills in the context of Ecuadorian post-Covid-19 lockdown.

关键词： Melanesian Way   politics   arts and cultural festivals   Melanesian Spearhead Group   identity  

摘要： What happens to the Melanesian Way as a shared identity across scale, from people to nation and sub-region? I explore ideas of 'Melanesian-ness', drawing on the early ideas of Kanak independence leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Bernard Narokobi's 1980 conceptualization of 'the Melanesian Way', and institutional interpretations by the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). I examine MSG-led Melanesian arts and cultural festivals (MACFESTs) as state-curated spaces celebrating Melanesian identity and self-representation, reflecting on the 2023 MACFEST held in Vanuatu. I argue that contemporary official 'bounded' Melanesian identity has political utility but retains a strategic flexibility by maintaining an 'unbounded, open' Melanesianism, as characterized by Narokobi and Tjibaou. Recognition of cultural promotion as an expression of sub-regional identity, autonomy, and statecraft aids an understanding of the role MACFESTs play within MSG politics, and the embodiment of the Melanesian Way.

关键词： Optical coherence tomography   Quantitative flow ratio   Non-culprit lesion   Subclinical hypothyroidism   STEMI  

摘要： Background Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH), characterized by normal free tetraiodothyronine (FT4) but high hyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), gains attention for relationship with cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to investigate coronary artery features of non-culprit lesions in SH patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) to understand their intracoronary morphological and functional characteristics. Methods A retrospective study of 1,570 STEMI patients with >= 50% non-culprit lesions analyzed coronary angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, & quantitative flow ratio (QFR) data. Patients were grouped based on SH status. Results Among them, a total of 214 patients had SH. In baseline characteristics, the SH group showed lower male and smoker rates, lower free triiodothyronine (FT3), and higher high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), N terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and TSH levels than the non-SH group. SH group had longer lesions, more micro-vessels, more cholesterol crystals, and lower QFR values for non-culprit lesions. Additionally, SH was an independent predictor for coronary parameters including micro-vessel, cholesterol crystal, and QFR values <= 0.8. And the effect of SH on those coronary parameters did not show any interaction in different subgroups. Conclusions There was an association between SH and specific coronary artery characteristics, including increased plaque inflammation and plaque instability (the increase of micro-vessels and cholesterol crystal detected by OCT) and potential endothelial dysfunction (the decrease of QFR value detected by QFR). Our forthcoming research will prioritize extensive, multi-center prospective studies aimed at elucidating the precise mechanisms and long-term prognosis of SH on coronary artery lesions.

摘要： Metastasis is the leading cause of mortality in breast cancer, with lung metastasis being particularly detrimental. Identification of the processes determining metastatic organotropism could enable the development of approaches to prevent and treat breast cancer metastasis. In this study, we found that lung-tropic and non-lung-tropic breast cancer cells differ in their response to sialic acids, affecting the sialylation of surface proteins. Lung-tropic cells showed higher levels of ST6GAL1, whereas non-lung-tropic cells had more ST3GAL1. ST6GAL1-mediated alpha-2,6-sialylation, unlike ST3GAL1-mediated alpha-2,3-sialylation, increased lung metastasis by promoting cancer cell migration through pulmonary endothelial layers and reducing junction protein levels. alpha-2,6-Sialylated platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM-1) on breast cancer cells facilitated extravasation through the pulmonary endothelium, a critical step in lung metastasis. Knockdown of ST6GAL1 or PECAM-1 significantly reduced lung metastasis. The human pulmonary endothelium displayed high PECAM-1 levels. Through transhomophilic interaction with pulmonary PECAM-1, alpha-2,6-sialylated PECAM-1 on ST6GAL1-positive cancer cells increased pulmonary extravasation in a diapedesis-like, cell-autonomous manner. Additionally, lung-tropic cells and their exosomes increased the permeability of pulmonary endothelial cells, promoting metastasis in a non-cell-autonomous manner. Analysis of human breast cancer samples showed a correlation between elevated ST6GAL1/PECAM-1 expression and lung metastasis. These results suggest that targeting ST6GAL1-mediated alpha-2,6-sialylation could be a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent lung metastasis in patients with breast ***: ST6GAL1-mediated alpha-2,6-sialylation of PECAM-1 dictates lung-tropic metastasis of breast cancer, revealing that the pattern of sialylation of breast cancer cells is a determinant of metastatic organ tropism and a pote