bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Domestic Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Internationalisation at Home in Thailand: Conflicts of Recognition Surrounding International EMI Programmes
Authors: Taylor Pimsiri , Tubpun Tida , Burford James
Published: October 2023

In Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, higher education internationalisation agendas have increasingly shifted from studying abroad to offering ‘international’ English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes at home. This qualitative study explores the perceptions of seventeen domestic undergraduate students in the disciplines of Law and Business Studies regarding internationalisation at home (IaH) in Thailand. Findings from the focus group interviews revealed that domestic students positioned international EMI programmes as somewhere in the middle between studying abroad and standard domestic programmes. Moreover, these students associated international EMI programmes in Thai higher education with significant EMI, greater inbound mobility, and different teaching approaches. However, the in-between status of international EMI programmes can lead to conflicts of recognition as to whether such programmes are ‘international enough’. This article offers a close-up investigation of complex meanings that circulate around IaH in the Thai context, contributing to a broader picture of the varied enactments of IaH across higher education institutions.
Cultural Intelligence to Cultural Adaptation of Expatriates in Thailand
Authors: Dsouza June Bernadette
Published: October 2023

Cultural diversity in the 21st century makes it imperative for managers to examine the multidimensional construct of cultural intelligence, aiming to solve cross-cultural problems, mitigate culture shock and promote a harmonious work environment. Using the quota sampling technique, this quantitative paper gathered data from three subgroups in Bangkok: Thai, Chinese and ASEAN employees from two organizations settings, consisting of heterogeneous and homogeneous employees. The relationship between the four dimensions of cultural intelligence proposed by Earley and Ang (2003), to sociocultural adaptation developed by Wilson (2013), and psychological adjustment developed by Demes and Geeraert (2014), was hypothesized. Results of Structural Equation Modeling, Multiple Group Analysis and ANOVA, fully or partially supported the predictions hypothesized, indicating differences on the dimensions of cultural intelligence and cultural adaptation across different sub-groups of expatriates, within a single national culture. The assumption of these findings is that expatriates exposed to a host culture, in contrast to their own, can be coached prior to an international assignment with cross-cultural capabilities, so as to avoid depersonalization while simultaneously mastering diverse skills in a cultural context in order to excel with job accomplishments and integration within a culture. The dual dimensions of sociocultural and psychological adjustment can be conceptualized independently, to procure an in-depth picture of expatriates from diverse cultural backgrounds.
On Course for Change: Self-Reliant Curriculum Renewal
Authors: Watson Todd Richard
Published: October 2023

Typically, large-scale curriculum renewal in countries such as Thailand is led by outside experts specifically brought in for the purpose. Unfortunately, such curriculum renewal often fails. Instead of relying on outside experts, self-reliant curriculum renewal is needed where teachers who will implement the new curriculum are themselves the change agents. This paper presents a case study of self-reliant curriculum renewal at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. The curriculum under consideration is the set of English courses taught as language support to students of science, engineering and technology faculties. The proposed curriculum is task-based but also incorporates selfaccess, projects and content-based learning. To involve the teachers in the curriculum renewal process, a series of input sessions and workshops was held; a reading programme for teacher development was organised; a task-based unit was piloted; teachers were encouraged to undertake action research projects relating to the proposed curriculum; and teacher-led sessions to generate proposals for the curriculum were held. Following this process, self-reliant curriculum renewal is feasible, but all teachers must be involved, and the process should combine staff development with curriculum renewal.
Utilizing Students’ Feedback to Ensure Quality in Teaching and Learning: A Lesson From COVID-19
Authors: Abrahamsen Eirik Bjorheim , Jimarkon Pattamawan , Kvaløy Jan Terje , Abrahamsen Håkon Bjorheim
Published: October 2023

In this article we investigate the impact of COVID-19 on teaching quality and student active teaching. The data used for the analysis is from more than 4,000 students at the University of Stavanger, collected for the Study Barometer, one of the most important metrics for assessing student satisfaction in higher education, in the period 2018-2020. Special attention is given to the teaching quality index and the active student participation in teaching index. Comparisons of the data from 2020 with the data given in the period 2018-2019 show few significant differences. For the Faculty of Health Sciences, however, there are strong significant differences for both the teaching quality index and the student active participation in teaching index. We reflect upon and discuss factors that may have contributed to these differences and show how a large-scale survey can identify drawbacks in teaching and learning in higher education.
In Love and English: A Case of An Extracurricular Activity Conducted in Thailand’s Tertiary Level
Authors: Srithep Siriprapa
Published: October 2023

In Thailand, in-class teaching and learning are regarded as the principal form of obtaining English proficiency in all skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, Thai students are still deficient of the ability to effectively wield the skills in real life. This reflects the inadequacy of the classroom teaching of the language and its lack of practical advantage. Therefore, extracurricular activities have been implemented alongside classroom teaching to enhance learners’ ability to use the language in an authentic context as well as their confidence and self-esteem. Chulalongkorn University in Thailand offers students with a variety of out-of-class activities by making it a requirement that first-year students participate in any of them as they are embedded as part of the score collection. One of them is entitled “Love Guru” which allows students from all faculties and majors to participate in. It is organized three times per semester and has mostly received positive feedbacks so far from students as a novel alternative to learn English which additionally serves to bond them together, boost their self-esteem, and encourage them to use English as a means of discussion about the issues that they can identify with. This article elaborates on the characteristics, implementations and results of the activity based on the teacher’s experiences.
An Analysis of EFL Students’ Writing Needs: Considerations for Writing Task-Based Course Design
Authors: Do Hieu Manh
Published: October 2023

The present study adopts the four-step framework of course development processes proposed by Graves (1996) to develop a writing course for EFL Vietnamese undergraduates. A total of 60 students were asked to take a writing test and a survey about writing problems to identify their “objective needs”. Then “subjective needs” were collected from interviews. In addition, the three language teachers were invited to the semi-structured interviews to collect their perspectives on teaching writing, which were analyzed in parallel with students’ needs. The findings show that students’ writing levels are low-intermediate and intermediate, and they have major problems with the organization of ideas, followed by grammar and idea development. Regarding teaching, students’ main concerns are a lack of writing activities and teacher feedback, which may be due to large classes and heavy workloads. To improve students’ writing problems, more writing tasks are needed, including pre-planning (idea development), performance (writing practice), and post-writing (peer feedback, teacher feedback, final draft). These writing tasks are arranged into different phases to help teachers follow up on students’ writing practice and reduce their workloads. Considering these conditions, a proposed writing task-based course was suitable to develop, including the five components of course design: context; goals and objectives; content; method and material; and assessment, as professional support for EFL or ESL language teachers in designing a writing course that can be used for teaching, training, or coaching in a similar context.
Understanding Plots in Storytelling: An Examination of 9- to 15-Year-Old Thai Children with Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Rungrojsuwan Sorabud
Published: October 2023

Children with intellectual disabilities (CID) are born with incomplete development of intellectual capabilities. This deficit in intellectual competency is said to affect, to some extent, their language development. The present study aimed to investigate CID’s communicative development, namely plot understanding, from their produced narratives. Participants were 29 9- to 15-year-old Thai CID from Chiang Rai Punyanukul School. The story-retelling technique (Reese et al., 2012) together with the picture book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1967) were used for data collection. Building from Freytag (1894), Berman & Slobin (1994), and Rungrojsuwan (2019a), a modified version of narrative macrostructure including onset, problem, problem-solving, and resolution was used as the analytical framework. Results showed that CID of younger ages, 9 to 11 years old, tended to have a wide range of plot understanding. Some could effectively communicate through narratives as early as 9, while others started their journey as late as 11 or 13. However, 15 years of age seems to be a significant period when CID who were once at different developmental paces, converged. In other words, their developmental gaps reduced and most of them could narrate effectively. Compared with normally developing children, CID are later at the beginning stages, but could finally reach the expected goal of narrative communication.
A Needs Analysis for English as a Foreign Language Instruction for Thai Senior Secondary School Students with Hearing Impairment
Authors: Watanapokakul Sasa , Sitajalabhorn Woranon
Published: October 2023

At present, English holds a significant importance in numerous countries worldwide, including Thailand where learning English is compulsory for students. For students with hearing impairment, however, due to their physical limitations, English instruction is different from that of other students. Additionally, students with hearing impairment have different and specific needs for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction. To design and develop an appropriate EFL course for them, we collected 68 questionnaires from Thai senior secondary school students at two schools for the deaf in Bangkok, Thailand, and 15 from stakeholders including Thai EFL teachers and executives at schools for the deaf in Bangkok, sign language interpreters, and Thai officers from the Special Education Bureau. Then, eight senior secondary school students with hearing impairment and six stakeholders were randomly selected for an interview, and eight structured classroom observations were made at the two schools for the deaf in Bangkok. The data were then quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed and reported using a weaving approach. The findings revealed a wealth of both implications and recommendations (i.e., in course content, schedule management, instructional activities, methods and materials, instructional languages, teacher roles, classroom setting and environment, and assessment) useful for developing a proper EFL course for Thai senior secondary school students with hearing impairment.
Towards the Development of a Word List for English Newspapers
Authors: Saeedi Mostafa , Khany Reza , Tazik Khalil
Published: October 2023

Vocabulary knowledge has been recognized as a crucial component in learning and teaching of both native and non-native learners, text understanding, and educational success (Coxhead, 2018; Saeedi et al., 2023; Schmitt et al., 2021), leading to the development of word lists for different purposes. Hence, this study aimed at developing a newspaper word list including the most frequent words which are highly applicable and useful for understanding different sections of English newspapers. In doing so, a corpus of 1,221,970 words was compiled and analyzed. Based on the three criteria, i.e., frequency, range, and specialization, a word list containing 858-word families was obtained. A combination of the current word list and the general words accounted for 94.64% of tokens (the total number of running words) in the corpus. The results have practical applications for EFL/ESL (English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language) learners as well as readers and writers of English newspapers.
Teachers’ Voices When Giving Feedback: Causes of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Feedback Strategies to Reduce Students’ FLCA
Authors: Dobson James Anthony , Sojisirikul Phanitphim
Published: October 2023

This study aimed to identify teacher perceptions of the causes of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) through feedback, and what feedback strategies teachers use to reduce FLCA. Feedback can be both a cause of FLCA and help to reduce FLCA. It is therefore important for teachers to understand how their feedback can affect FLCA. In the present study, three non-Thai teachers of English at a university in Bangkok were asked 51 structured interview questions on their perceptions of feedback on FLCA. The questions focused on what types of feedback the teachers perceive to cause FLCA and what strategies they use to reduce FLCA when giving feedback. The data was analysed using a thematic framework. The results show that receiving negative feedback, immediate feedback during speaking activities, individual feedback, feedback that is not understood, and an insufficient amount of feedback, were all perceived to increase FLCA levels. The participants reported three functions of feedback strategies used to reduce FLCA. Firstly, feedback strategies used to create a positive atmosphere were giving praise, giving enough feedback, and using friendly gestures and tone of voice. Secondly, embarrassment avoidance strategies were giving group feedback, giving individual feedback in private, not singling out students, and giving delayed feedback in speaking activities. Finally, strategies used to give understandable feedback were speaking clearly and using L1. The results of this study can be used by present teachers to identify how to reduce FLCA when giving feedback, and, by future researchers to examine the effectiveness of these FLCA reducing feedback strategies.
MALLO: A New Paradigm for Ubiquitous Language Learning
Authors: Sukavatee Pornpimol , Khlaisang Jintavee
Published: October 2023

One of the greatest advantages of mobile language learning is its ease of access, especially to learners in the 21st century who have the option of selecting any learning content that matches their preferences or language development goals, anywhere and at any time. Mobile-assisted language learning or MALL takes learning beyond the classroom, which imposes spatial and temporal constraints. This study aims to investigate components of language learning with a mobile-assisted design, and develop and evaluate a mobile-assisted English language learning and teaching innovation, namely Mobile-Assisted Language Learning in Open Resources Environment or MALLO for high-school English as a foreign language (EFL) students. MALLO is a research-based application which employs Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) in its development to identify significant components. The participants in this study consist of two sample groups: 1,500 high school students from six regions of Thailand to explore the components; and 300 students to examine MALLO users’ satisfaction Both were selected via the stratified sampling method. After that, nine experts evaluated MALLO in terms of its components, its support for English language learning, its functions, and its application for English language learning. The results indicate that MALLO is comprised of four important components: mobile English learning resources, the use of MALL, mobile technology, and portal collective tools. The results also show the satisfaction of learners as users of the MALLO application at high levels with an average of 4.05 to 4.15. In the final stage, the MALLO application was evaluated by nine experts and the results were also in the range of high or very high levels across all aspects, with an average rating of 4.444.72.
Rethinking (Non)Nativeness Among English-Speaking Teachers in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Chi Hong , Nguyen Nhi Xuan
Published: October 2023

In Vietnam, foreign language teaching and learning have recently been a concern of not only educators and language learners but also parents and families who have school-aged children. When finding a suitable language course, language learners and their families tend to ask questions about the nativeness of the teachers and their language fluency. Foreign teachers’ actual proficiency and educational qualifications may come in second place. This situation may lead to poorly qualified language teaching courses and unequal treatment of qualified non-native language-speaking teachers. To confront this problem, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has tightened the job entrance requirements for foreign English-speaking teachers, especially those who apply for work as English lecturers at university. Foreign teachers’ identities and qualifications matter to learners’ choices of whom they want to study with. This literature review reflects on MOET’s ambivalent approach to recruiting qualified human capacity building for the national English development project and developing and retaining English-speaking Vietnamese lecturers. This paper argues that the influence of monolingual ideologies in language teaching and learning in Vietnam that was encountered at schools and universities some years ago has now shifted to a more open but competitive ambiance for national integration into the global market. In this sense, teaching English is not an apolitical activity. It is a politically designated career in this socialist market-oriented economy.
EFL Teachers’ Perceptions Towards Multicultural Classrooms: The Role of Intercultural Sensitivity in Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence
Authors: Cancino Marco , Nuñez Issis
Published: October 2023

Individuals are increasingly exposed to diverse cultures in their work, education, and social life. In multicultural classrooms, intercultural sensitivity (IS) and inter cultural communicative competence (ICC) are relevant concepts that allow for an understanding of teachers’ perceptions as they interact with learners from other cultures. However, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) research has not thoroughly addressed the implications of teachers’ attitudes and contextual phenomena in the process of promoting interaction and integration in a multicultural setting. Therefore, the main goals of this mixed-methods study were to explore the relationship between the attitudes of 61 EFL Chilean teachers towards the multicultural EFL classroom and their intercultural sensitivity perceptions, as well as assess how their intercultural sensitivity influenced their perceived ICC in that setting. The teachers completed the Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (TMAS) and the intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS), which was followed by semi-structured interviews with eight teachers. Results revealed high levels of multicultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity displayed by the teachers, but qualitative findings suggested that even though teachers may display high awareness and empathy towards cultural diversity, they may not know how to tackle ICC in the classroom and lack a principled approach to effectively communicate with learners from other cultures. Pedagogical implications in the EFL classroom are also discussed.
Foundation English Course Development for Thai Tertiary Education: Learners’ Perceived Needs and Factor Analysis
Authors: Kanokpermpoon Monthon
Published: October 2023

A challenge to curriculum designers is what to adapt and include in Foundation English (FE) courses for tertiary education. In Thailand, it is important to explore how Thai EFL university students perceive their own needs in terms of English language learning. The present study aims to explore their perceived needs and to make use of the needs to design appropriate components of FE in a public university in Thailand. An online questionnaire comprising self-rated items on English language skills and written responses was used to capture data from 145 randomly selected university students enrolled in an FE course at the university in the second semester of academic year 2022. The results revealed that speaking was the most wanted-to-learn skill for communication. Moreover, seven other factors were found for the design of FE surrounding English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The components of EAP for FE included Academic English Skills, Advanced Reading Skills, and Paragraph Writing. The elements of ESP for FE included Content-based Language Learning and Career English. These findings have implications for the design of FE curriculum and course component development.
Lexical Coverage Required for Minimal and Optimal Levels of Reading Comprehension in the English Tests of the Higher Education Institutions Examination
Authors: Yildiz Mustafa
Published: October 2023

The current research investigates the lexical coverage of reading passages required for achieving the minimal and optimal levels of reading comprehension in a foreign language. More specifically, the aim of the study is to identify the word frequency bands within the reading passages in the English tests of The Higher Education Institutions Examination that surpass the 95% and 98% lexical coverage thresholds needed for minimal and optimal reading comprehension. Fifty reading passages in the exams held in the last decade (2012-2021) were analyzed in the Compleat Web VP system to determine their lexical coverage. The results indicate that when the reading passages are analyzed separately, the vocabulary needed for minimal reading comprehension varies between 2,000 and 18,000 word families. Similarly, the vocabulary required to achieve an optimal level of reading comprehension ranges from 3,000 to 18,000 word families. In addition, upon analyzing reading passages grouped by year, it becomes evident that the word families necessary for achieving minimal and optimal levels of reading comprehension are found in the 4K and 8K word frequency bands, respectively. These findings suggest that when developing a curriculum for the entire high school period, emphasis should be placed on teaching the most frequent 8,000 word families to avoid inconsistency between taught and tested vocabulary. Furthermore, given the substantial number of word families to be addressed, it is important to establish opportunities for both intentional and incidental vocabulary teaching methods. Moreover, it is essential to acquaint learners with vocabulary learning strategies that enable them to acquire vocabulary indirectly.
Hierarchies and networks in applied linguistics
Authors: Watson Todd Richard
Published: October 2023

Methods of representing findings are rarely given careful consideration in applied linguistics. One example is the general preference for hierarchies rather than networks to represent relationships between concepts, largely because of the more easily understandable structure and seeming objectivity of hierarchies. However, the purported objectivity of hierarchies is open to dispute on several grounds. Networks, on the other hand, are the preferred way of representing relationships in much of cognitive psychology, mainly because they fit the research results well and are more empirically valid. Focusing on ways of representing organisation of concepts, this paper compares the use of hierarchies and networks as methods of representing relationships with an example of how each might be used to investigate topical relevance in aphasic discourse. It is concluded that, while hierarchies are clearer and easier to work with, networks provide a more valid method of representation.
Critical thinking and task-based learning: Are they compatible?
Authors: Wiriyakarun Pamararat
Published: October 2023

Critical thinking has become mandatory in the nationwide curricula under the present educational reform. However, a number of EFL teachers and curriculum developers still seriously doubt whether this skill can be cultivated effectively. How can they develop their students' ability to express critical thinking skills while simultaneously improving their language learning skills? Some researchers claim that critical thinking only seems applicable within content-based instruction. This paper explores its compatibility with other types of pedagogical approach, such as task-based learning, to see whether this approach can promote critical thinking within EFL settings in Thailand.
Surveying students’ recreational use of English with computers
Authors: Chaisaklert Lakkana , Watson Todd Richard
Published: October 2023

Students' recreational use of computers may provide important opportunities for them to learn English incidentally. This paper investigates student's exposure to English while using computers recreationally in two ways. Firstly, a questionnaire was distributed to 80 students at a Thai university to elicit how students use computers. Secondly, the English encountered by four students while using computers for one hour was recorded. The findings show that English is quite important when students use computers recreationally. The English encountered by students consisted primarily of nouns, each encountered only once. Suggestions for how to help students to deal with such exposure to a wide range of vocabulary items are given.
Examining the ‘self’ in self-access materials
Authors: Reinders Hayo , Lewis Marilyn
Published: October 2023

Self-access centres (SACs*) are an increasingly common form of support for language learners. Self-access learning, by its nature, is heavily dependent on the availability of sufficient and relevant materials of a high quality, since students often have little or no access to further support from a teacher. The materials thus have to be very clear, comprehensive, and easy to use. Although more and more publishers now include comments such as ‘suitable for self-access’ in their catalogues, it is not always clear on what basis such comments are made. The majority of purchasing decisions are made by SAC staff without even such basic comments. This article presents the results of an evaluation of a random selection of materials in the SAC at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, using an evaluative checklist developed by the authors. Results from a quantitative analysis show that many materials do not include the types of support needed in a self-access context. Results from a qualitative analysis of the evaluators’ comments show that the features most commented on by teachers (either for their absence or their presence) are ease of access and support for the wider development of students’ language learning strategies.
use of students’ name cards in large classes
Authors: Sojisirikul Phanitphim
Published: October 2023

In teaching classes of 80-120 learners, teachers may be worried about controlling and managing classrooms, communicating with students, and attracting their motivation and interest. One idea to address these problems is for students to wear cards during classes; such cards contain information including students’ names. This article reports on a questionnaire survey that investigates students’ attitudes towards the use of name cards to examine whether they can facilitate classroom management. The subjects were in four large classes: Classes A and B, with name cards, and Classes C and D, without name cards. In the two former classes, based on the information on their cards, the students had to sit in the same place throughout the semester. The findings show that, at the end of the semester, the students with name cards, to some extent, felt that the use of such cards had made them more alert in class and had facilitated classroom activities, including the formation of groups; moreover, they reported that the cards had helped them make new friends.
Effects of Extensive Reading on Students’ Perceptions of Reading Ability and Use of Reading Strategies
Authors: DoHuy Liem , Hull Jonathan , Tepsuriwong Saowaluck
Published: October 2023

This paper investigates the effects of extensive reading on students’ perceptions of their reading ability and on their use of metacognitive and cognitive strategies while reading extensively. The study, conducted in Vietnam over a period of seven weeks, found that the subjects perceived that extensive reading enhanced certain aspects of their reading ability as well as their motivation to read. It also found more reports of the use of reading strategies at the end of the research than at the beginning. This suggests that extensive reading raised the subjects’ awareness of their own reading and thus might have helped them become more autonomous as readers. These findings suggest that extensive reading should be promoted in Vietnam, where the pedagogical tradition of teacher-centeredness has long been dominant.
Using E-mail Consultations in a Large Class
Authors: Keyuravong Sonthida , Maneekhao Kasamaporn
Published: October 2023

This study investigated how technology can be used to help teachers manage a large class while at the same time retaining a high quality of instruction. This research looked at giving online consultations to four groups of roughly 30 students, with one teacher responsible for about 60 students. Students were assigned to use e-mail to share and discuss problems in a task-based curriculum. The findings revealed that students posted an average of 1.65 messages which is considered too low to gain benefits in their learning. Two problems encountered were practical problems, such as limited time, unfamiliarity with the use of technology, and technical problems, and activity-specific problems when the subjects did not have a clear idea of what was expected of them.
BNCC: UM DOCUMENTO NORMATIVO NO CAPITALISMO GLOBALIZADO
Authors: Da Silva Débora Paula
Published: October 2023

Este trabalho é derivado de pesquisa em andamento no Departamento de Geografia Humana na Universidade de São Paulo na linha de pesquisa Teoria e Método e tem como objetivo responder a pergunta título do capítulo 1, “o que é a BNCC?”. Neste capítulo debateremos as possibilidades qualitativas atribuídas à Base Nacional Comum Curricular, tais como: política pública, artefato cultural e documento normativo, este, neste artigo. Partindo de uma perspectiva crítica referente a sua condição normativa realizamos um debate conceitual e posteriormente teórico em torno das questões relacionadas aos possíveis interesses, dos quais decorrerão práticas pedagógicas. pautadas em seu conteúdo. Comparativamente, dialogamos com autores estrangeiros que, em suas análises das reformas educacionais realizadas há mais tempo em seus países demonstraram forte intervenção de empresas na determinação das diretrizes curriculares, a fim de favorecer demandas emanadas dos setores privados da sociedade. Os diferentes estudos apontam que há submissão teórica também da Base aos interesses mercantis pois a premissa de padronização dos conhecimentos estão voltados para a obtenção de maior controle na execução de tarefas destinadas a produção dos mesmos. Concluímos que o tipo de documento escolhido para redigir o currículo nacional é coerente com os princípios econômicos neoliberais adotados pelo Estado brasileiro pois atua no sentido de padronizar conhecimentos com viés tecnicista, os quais promove a qualificação de estudantes para o mercado de trabalho instrumentalizando-os (as) sob princípios econômicos forjados para exercer maior produtividade e lucro para o setor empresarial nas sociedades capitalistas globalizadas.
Development of Flood-Hazard-Mapping Model Using Random Forest and Frequency Ratio in Sumedang Regency, West Java, Indonesia
Authors: Ismanto Rido Dwi , Fitriana Hana Listi , Manalu Johanes , Purboyo Alvian Aji , Prasasti Indah
Published: October 2023

Flooding, often triggered by heavy rainfall, is a common natural disaster in Indonesia, and is the third most common type of disaster in Sumedang Regency. Hence, flood-susceptibility mapping is essential for flood management. The primary challenge in this lies in the complex, non-linear relationships between indices and risk levels. To address this, the application of random forest (RF) and frequency ratio (FR) methods has been explored. Ten flood-conditioning factors were determined from the references: the distance from a river, elevation, geology, geomorphology, lithology, land use/land cover, rainfall, slope, soil type, and topographic wetness index (TWI). The 35 flood locations from the flood-inventory map were selected, and the remaining 18 flood locations were used for justifying the outcomes. The flooded areas from the RF model were 28.39%; the rest (71.61%) were non-flooded areas. Also, the flooded areas from the FR method were 8.02%, and the non-flooded areas were 91.98%. The AUC for both methods was a similar value – 83.0%. This result is quite accurate and can be used by policymakers to prevent and manage future flooding in the Sumedang area. These results can also be used as materials for updating existing flood-susceptibility maps.
Targeting Ribosome Biogenesis as a Novel Therapeutic Approach to Overcome EMT-related Chemoresistance in Breast Cancer
Authors: Ban Yi , Zou Yue , Lee Sharrell B. , B.Bednarczyk Robert , Sheng Jianting , Cao Yuliang , Wong Stephen T. C. , Gao Dingcheng
Published: October 2023

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes significantly to chemotherapy resistance and remains a critical challenge in treating advanced breast cancer. The complexity of EMT, involving redundant pro-EMT signaling pathways and its paradox reversal process, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), has hindered the development of effective treatments. In this study, we utilized a Tri-PyMT EMT lineage-tracing model and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to comprehensively analyze the EMT status of tumor cells. Our findings revealed elevated ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) during the transitioning phases of both EMT and MET processes. RiBi and its subsequent nascent protein synthesis mediated by ERK and mTOR signalings are essential for EMT/MET completion. Importantly, inhibiting excessive RiBi genetically or pharmacologically impaired the EMT/MET capability of tumor cells. Combining RiBi inhibition with chemotherapy drugs synergistically reduced metastatic outgrowth of epithelial and mesenchymal tumor cells under chemotherapies. Our study suggests that targeting the RiBi pathway presents a promising strategy for treating patients with advanced breast cancer.This study uncovers the crucial involvement of ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) in the regulation of epithelial and mesenchymal state oscillations in breast cancer cells, which plays a major role in the development of chemoresistant metastasis. By proposing a novel therapeutic strategy targeting the RiBi pathway, the study offers significant potential to enhance treatment efficacy and outcomes for patients with advanced breast cancer. This approach could help overcome the limitations of current chemotherapy options and address the complex challenges posed by EMT-mediated chemoresistance.
Acute ampakines increase voiding function and coordination in a rat model of SCI
Authors: Rana Sabhya , Alom Firoj , Martinez Robert C , Fuller David D , Mickle Aaron D
Published: October 2023

Neurogenic bladder dysfunction causes urological complications and reduces the quality of life in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Glutamatergic signaling via AMPA receptors is fundamentally important to the neural circuits controlling bladder voiding. Ampakines are positive allosteric modulators of AMPA receptors that can enhance the function of glutamatergic neural circuits after SCI. We hypothesized that ampakines can acutely stimulate bladder voiding that has been impaired due to thoracic contusion SCI. Adult female Sprague–Dawley rats received a unilateral contusion of the T9 spinal cord (n = 10). Bladder function (cystometry) and coordination with the external urethral sphincter (EUS) were assessed 5 d post-SCI under urethane anesthesia. Data were compared to responses in spinal-intact rats (n = 8). The ‘low-impact’ ampakine CX1739 (5, 10, or 15 mg/kg) or vehicle (2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin [HPCD]) was administered intravenously. The HPCD vehicle had no discernible impact on voiding. In contrast, following CX1739, the pressure threshold for inducing bladder contraction, voided volume, and the interval between bladder contractions were significantly reduced. These responses occurred in a dose-dependent manner. We conclude that modulating AMPA receptor function using ampakines can rapidly improve bladder-voiding capability at subacute time points following contusion SCI. These results may provide a new and translatable method for therapeutic targeting of bladder dysfunction acutely after SCI.
Acute ampakines increase voiding function and coordination in a rat model of SCI
Authors: Rana Sabhya , Alom Firoj , Martinez Robert C , Fuller David D , Mickle Aaron D
Published: October 2023

Neurogenic bladder dysfunction causes urological complications and reduces the quality of life in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Glutamatergic signaling via AMPA receptors is fundamentally important to the neural circuits controlling bladder voiding. Ampakines are positive allosteric modulators of AMPA receptors that can enhance the function of glutamatergic neural circuits after SCI. We hypothesized that ampakines can acutely stimulate bladder voiding that has been impaired due to thoracic contusion SCI. Adult female Sprague Dawley rats received a unilateral contusion of the T9 spinal cord (n=10). Bladder function (cystometry) and coordination with the external urethral sphincter (EUS) were assessed five days post-SCI under urethane anesthesia. Data were compared to responses in spinal intact rats (n=8). The “low impact” ampakine CX1739 (5, 10, or 15 mg/kg) or vehicle (HPCD) was administered intravenously. The HPCD vehicle had no discernable impact on voiding. In contrast, following CX1739, the pressure threshold for inducing bladder contraction, voided volume, and the interval between bladder contractions were significantly reduced. These responses occurred in a dose-dependent manner. We conclude that modulating AMPA receptor function using ampakines can rapidly improve bladder voiding capability at sub-acute time points following contusion SCI. These results may provide a new and translatable method for therapeutic targeting of bladder dysfunction acutely after SCI.There are limited options for patients with recovery of bladder function following spinal cord injury, with most therapies focusing on treating the symptoms, primarily through catheterization. Here we demonstrate that intravenous delivery of a drug which acts as an allosteric modulator of the AMPA type receptor (an “ampakine”) can rapidly improve bladder function following spinal cord injury. The data suggest that ampakines may be a new therapy for early hyporeflexive bladder states following spinal cord injury.
A neural correlate of individual odor preference in Drosophila
Authors: Churgin Matthew A , Lavrentovich Danylo O , Smith Matthew A , Gao Ruixuan , Boyden Edward S , de Bivort Benjamin
Published: October 2023

Behavior varies even among genetically identical animals raised in the same environment. However, little is known about the circuit or anatomical origins of this individuality. Here, we demonstrate a neural correlate of
Drosophila
odor preference behavior in the olfactory sensory periphery. Namely, idiosyncratic calcium responses in projection neuron (PN) dendrites and densities of the presynaptic protein Bruchpilot in olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) axon terminals correlate with individual preferences in a choice between two aversive odorants. The ORN-PN synapse appears to be a locus of individuality where microscale variation gives rise to idiosyncratic behavior. Simulating microscale stochasticity in ORN-PN synapses of a 3,062 neuron model of the antennal lobe recapitulates patterns of variation in PN calcium responses matching experiments. Conversely, stochasticity in other compartments of this circuit does not recapitulate those patterns. Our results demonstrate how physiological and microscale structural circuit variations can give rise to individual behavior, even when genetics and environment are held constant.
Neural correlates of individual odor preference in Drosophila
Authors: Churgin Matthew A. , Lavrentovich Danylo O. , Smith Matthew A. , Gao Ruixuan , Boyden Edward S. , de Bivort Benjamin
Published: October 2023

Behavior varies even among genetically identical animals raised in the same environment. However, little is known about the circuit or anatomical origins of this individuality. We show individual
Drosophila
odor preferences (odor-vs-air and odor-vs-odor) are predicted by idiosyncratic calcium dynamics in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) and projection neurons (PNs), respectively. Variation in ORN presynaptic density also predicts odor-vs-odor preference. The ORN-PN synapse appears to be a locus of individuality where microscale variation gives rise to idiosyncratic behavior. Finally, simulating microscale stochasticity in ORN-PN synapses of a 3,062 neuron model of the antennal lobe recapitulates patterns of variation in PN calcium responses matching experiments. Our results demonstrate how physiological and microscale structural circuit variations can give rise to individual behavior, even when genetics and environment are held constant.
Novel sterol binding domains in bacteria
Authors: Zhai Liting , Bonds Amber C. , Smith Clyde A. , Oo Hannah , Chou Jonathan Chiu-Chun , Welander Paula V. , Dassama Laura M. K.
Published: October 2023

Sterol lipids are widely present in eukaryotes and play essential roles in signaling and modulating membrane fluidity. Although rare, some bacteria also produce sterols, but their function in bacteria is not known. Moreover, many more species, including pathogens and commensal microbes, acquire or modify sterols from eukaryotic hosts through poorly understood molecular mechanisms. The aerobic methanotroph
Methylococcus capsulatus
was the first bacterium shown to synthesize sterols, producing a mixture of C-4 methylated sterols that are distinct from those observed in eukaryotes. C-4 methylated sterols are synthesized in the cytosol and localized to the outer membrane, suggesting that a bacterial sterol transport machinery exists. Until now, the identity of such machinery remained a mystery. In this study, we identified three novel proteins that may be the first examples of transporters for bacterial sterol lipids. The proteins, which all belong to well-studied families of bacterial metabolite transporters, are predicted to reside in the inner membrane, periplasm, and outer membrane of
M. capsulatus,
and may work as a conduit to move modified sterols to the outer membrane. Quantitative analysis of ligand binding revealed their remarkable specificity for 4-methylsterols, and crystallographic structures coupled with docking and molecular dynamics simulations revealed the structural bases for substrate binding by two of the putative transporters. Their striking structural divergence from eukaryotic sterol transporters signals that they form a distinct sterol transport system within the bacterial domain. Finally, bioinformatics revealed the widespread presence of similar transporters in bacterial genomes, including in some pathogens that use host sterol lipids to construct their cell envelopes. The unique folds of these bacterial sterol binding proteins should now guide the discovery of other proteins that handle this essential metabolite.
Resistance exercise protects mice from protein-induced fat accretion
Authors: Trautman Michaela E , Braucher Leah N , Elliehausen Christian , Zhu Wenyuan G , Zelenovskiy Esther , Green Madelyn , Sonsalla Michelle M , Yeh Chung-Yang , Hornberger Troy A , Konopka Adam R , Lamming Dudley W
Published: October 2023

Low-protein (LP) diets extend the lifespan of diverse species and are associated with improved metabolic health in both rodents and humans. Paradoxically, many athletes and bodybuilders consume high-protein (HP) diets and protein supplements, yet are both fit and metabolically healthy. Here, we examine this paradox using weight pulling, a validated progressive resistance exercise training regimen, in mice fed either an LP diet or an isocaloric HP diet. We find that despite having lower food consumption than the LP group, HP-fed mice gain significantly more fat mass than LP-fed mice when not exercising, while weight pulling protected HP-fed mice from this excess fat accretion. The HP diet augmented exercise-induced hypertrophy of the forearm flexor complex, and weight pulling ability increased more rapidly in the exercised HP-fed mice. Surprisingly, exercise did not protect from HP-induced changes in glycemic control. Our results confirm that HP diets can augment muscle hypertrophy and accelerate strength gain induced by resistance exercise without negative effects on fat mass, and also demonstrate that LP diets may be advantageous in the sedentary. Our results highlight the need to consider both dietary composition and activity, not simply calories, when taking a precision nutrition approach to health.
Shh from mossy cells contributes to preventing NSC pool depletion after seizure-induced neurogenesis and in aging
Authors: Noguchi Hirofumi , Arela Jessica Chelsea , Ngo Thomas , Cocas Laura , Pleasure Samuel
Published: October 2023

Epileptic seizures induce aberrant neurogenesis from resident neural stem cells (NSCs) in the dentate gyrus of the adult mouse hippocampus, which has been implicated in depletion of the NSC pool and impairment of hippocampal function. However, the mechanisms regulating neurogenesis after seizures remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) from mossy cells is a major source of Shh signaling activity after seizures, by which mossy cells contribute to seizure-induced neurogenesis and maintenance of the NSC pool. Deletion of Shh from mossy cells attenuates seizure-induced neurogenesis. Moreover, in the absence of Shh from mossy cells, NSCs pool are prematurely depleted after seizure-induced proliferation, and NSCs have impaired self-renewal. Likewise, lack of Shh from mossy cells accelerates age-related decline of the NSC pool with accompanying reduction of self-renewal of NSCs outside the context of pathology such as seizures. Together, our findings indicate that Shh from mossy cells is critical to maintain NSCs and to prevent exhaustion from excessive consumption in aging and after seizures.