bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultimate
L2
Attainment and
ESOL
Authors: Chan Derek Ho Leung
Published: January 2018

Ultimate attainment becomes increasingly relevant in second language acquisition theory and practice, as the rise of English as a global lingua franca continues apace. The reality is less rosy, however. Many L2 learners struggle to make enough progress toward ultimate attainment. These observations are supported by empirical findings that age, aptitude, and bilingualism are robust factors predicting ultimate L2 attainment, or the lack of it. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed, with a focus on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in domains of L2 phonology (including pronunciation, speaking, and listening) and morphosyntax. It is suggested that ESOL learners can generally benefit from age‐appropriate and aptitude‐matched instruction in English classes.
Benefits of Language Assessment
Authors: Gitsaki Christina , Robby Matthew A.
Published: January 2018

This entry provides an overview of the key benefits of language assessment and evaluation. Through an exploration of different types of assessment often used in a language learning program, the important benefits of language assessment are discussed relative to teaching, learning, and the curriculum. While the discussion of the different types of assessment is brief, the benefits associated with each are examined from a variety of perspectives (e.g., the teacher, the student, the curriculum developer, the program evaluator, the institution, etc.). Implications for TESOL professionals and language programs are provided in an effort to promote best practices in language assessment and evaluation.
Myths and Misconceptions About the
NNEST
Movement and Research
Authors: Selvi Ali Fuad
Published: January 2018

The unprecedented attention and recognition that the NNEST movement (and pertinent research) received in the past couple of decades is a testament to the paramount importance attached to the issues surrounding non‐native speakers in TESOL. However, this growing trend also sparked a number of myths and misconceptions about the intellectual parameters of the movement and research. Reviewing, clarifying, and challenging these unfounded beliefs will shed a brighter light onto the past, present, and future of the NNEST movement, and enhance theoretical, professional, and pedagogical bases of TESOL, as a profession, as an activity, and as an area of scholarly inquiry.
Task Development: Collaborative Writing
Authors: Kim YouJin , Chiesa David Lawrence
Published: January 2018

Collaborative writing has been increasingly explored in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and second language (L2) writing. From a sociocultural perspective, it offers learners an opportunity to co‐construct knowledge in L2 with their peers while composing a text, and may encourage learners to produce a better quality of text than individual writing. The uniqueness of collaborative writing is that writers work toward a jointly shared writing output, and the writing process is usually facilitated by face‐to‐face or computer‐mediated interaction. In order to maximize the benefits of interaction during collaborative writing, collaborative writing tasks need to be carefully designed and implemented in such a way that all participants have a role for contributing to the process and the product of writing.
Discourse Studies and Technology
Authors: Lee Joseph J.
Published: January 2018

Technology has played a crucial role in the analysis of spoken and written discourse. Not only has it impacted how discourse data are collected, transcribed, and analyzed, but it has also crucially changed the types of social interactions and texts that are examined. Utilizing technological tools to capture and investigate language in use, the field of discourse studies has profoundly transformed our views of human communication, communicative repertoire needed to interact effectively in various discourse domains, and approaches to language teaching and learning.
Popular Approaches to
EAL
Instruction
Authors: Rose Heath
Published: January 2018

The rise of English as an international language (EIL) has had massive implications on approaches to EAL (English as an additional language) instruction. While notions of preparing students to join a native English‐speaking community have underpinned traditional EAL instruction, this is no longer true of instructional goals in today's globalized world. Nowadays, students are learning English to use in diverse global communities of practice, where the language is used as the main lingua franca. Research in the interrelated fields of EIL, World Englishes, Global Englishes, and English as a lingua franca have been influential in shifting approaches to EAL instruction to better prepare students for their new needs. There is currently a paradigm shift in English language teaching, where a number of dimensions are changing, including teaching approaches, language norms, cultures, teachers, models, and target interlocutors in EAL classrooms.
Incidental Learning of Vocabulary
Authors: Cervatiuc Andreea
Published: January 2018

There are several factors that affect incidental learning of vocabulary, which may explain why second language (L2) learners pick up vocabulary at different rates. Some of these factors are: lexical difficulty level of texts, word repetition, generative word uses, contextual richness, and salience. Beginning L2 learners should focus on intentional vocabulary learning, intermediate learners on vocabulary learning strategies so that they can effectively learn from contexts, and advanced learners on incidental vocabulary learning from extensive reading. In order to acquire vocabulary incidentally from reading and listening, L2 learners need to understand at least 98% of the words in written texts and spoken language. Teachers can increase their students' rates of incidental vocabulary learning, by exposing them to written and spoken texts that are level‐appropriate, clear, rich, and supportive and that provide enough repetition of the new words.
Teacher‐Fronted Classes
Authors: Balasubramanian Chandrika , Shunnaq Susanne Ramadan
Published: January 2018

With language‐teaching methodologies being in constant flux, the roles played by the teacher and student have been frequent subjects of discussion. Older approaches typically involved teacher‐frontedness or centeredness and the learners' role was more passive. This eventually evolved into a more student‐centered approach in which learners take a more active role in the language learning process. In recent years, student‐centered learning has been regarded favorably. However, because of the role English currently plays internationally, traditional distinctions such as native and non‐native and ESL and EFL have been blurred. English today is taught as an international language (EIL) and discussions about the best approach to teach English have pointed to the need to combine aspects of teacher‐frontedness and learner‐centeredness.
Implicit Curriculum
Authors: Li Guofang , Huh Seonmin
Published: January 2018

English as an international language (EIL) is not free from ideologies and worldviews that accompany the dominant English language. There are many underlying implicit curricula (such as L1 user norms, English‐only instruction, gender, class, or racial ideologies) that are being taught and learned, often unrecognized by the language learners, while learning the English language. These implicit curricula of various types of discrimination, socialization, and unstated rules, when accepted without question, can affect success in language learning and teaching. While previous studies have exposed various dimensions of the implicit curriculum in EIL, current research focuses on complex interconnectedness of different linguistic, cultural, social, and individual factors that are shaped and are shaping the implicit curriculum in and out of EIL classroom settings. Future research must be devoted to more explicit investigation of the impact of intersectionality of implicit curricula on language teaching and learning and to more innovative pedagogical practices that can disrupt such impact.
National Curriculum
Authors: Atai Mahmood Reza
Published: January 2018

National curriculum is an official curricular product and a model of curriculum planning and implementation in some countries. As a major policy‐and‐practice document, national curriculum outlines a comprehensive framework for school education and presents the details of goals and values, principles, and assessment for the key stages of education. Language education, including second/foreign language instruction, is an important part of the national curriculum. Second/foreign language education policies and practices are closely linked to the educational orientations and principles of the national curriculum and national language policies of countries. The recent changes in national curricula of some countries have influenced their ELT syllabi, teacher education trends, teaching methods, and tests. It is important to respond to the call for adaptation of national curricula to the realities of local contexts.
Automaticity in Reading
Authors: Ostovar‐Namaghi Seyyed Ali
Published: January 2018

This entry presents a synopsis of theoretical perspectives and empirical findings to draw implications for reading automaticity interventions. Acquisition theories including connection strength theory, instance theory, chunking theory, and attention‐based theory are all relevant to automaticity in reading since they present evidence that strong connection makes attention somewhat redundant; unitization makes reading efficient and effortless; memory retrieval is faster than algorithmic performance; and attentional biases for task‐relevant information makes reading a selective process. Considering the importance of automaticity, practitioners should assure automaticity at the letter, word, and text level to decrease cognitive load and increase comprehension.
Standardized and Proficiency Testing
Authors: Brown James Dean
Published: January 2018

This entry begins by defining the key concepts of standardized test, standardization, and proficiency test. Then a case is made for understanding these concepts within the context of two testing families (and six testing purposes): norm‐referenced (including aptitude, proficiency, and placement testing) and criterion‐referenced (including diagnostic, progress, and achievement testing). The entry then zeroes in specifically on standardized English language proficiency (ELP) tests and their pedagogical implications including the salient characteristics that teachers need to recognize in order to correctly identify ELP tests as well as the five stages (and attendant 15 steps) that teachers should look for in judging the degree to which an ELP test is indeed standardized: designing/creating the test, collecting/analyzing pilot data, establishing norms, equating forms, and validating scores/decisions. The entry then discusses how shifting pedagogical realities have affected the major standardized ELP tests, as well as the ESL/EFL teacher's responsibilities vis‐à‐vis standardized ELP tests.
Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments
Authors: Goertel Rachel Adams
Published: January 2018

Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments (CaMLA) is a joint venture between the University of Michigan and Cambridge English Language Assessment that provides a comprehensive and flexible set of American English language assessments, which were originally developed at the University of Michigan English Language Institute. CaMLA is an independent not‐for‐profit organization located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Open‐Ended Vocabulary Assessments
Authors: Bravo Marco A.
Published: January 2018

Vocabulary knowledge has long been described as constituting various dimensions of knowledge (Scott & Nagy, 1997). Knowing a word's definition is not all that can be learned about a word. Word knowledge can, for example, include understanding other words associated with the target word, knowing the multiple meanings of words, and knowing its grammatical category. Understanding word knowledge from this perspective requires new thinking about how vocabulary is measured. Open‐ended vocabulary assessments offer opportunities to capture these varied understandings about what it means to know a word. In this entry the potential for open‐ended vocabulary assessments is reviewed and pedagogical implications suggested.
Adolescent Students and Teaching Reading
Authors: Ong Justina
Published: January 2018

Reading brings numerous benefits to learners. Yet, despite the benefits of reading, adolescents are not reading enough and reading well. Declining motivation is one primary reason for adolescents' inadequate reading and poor reading competence. Drawing upon motivational theories in education psychology and first language studies, this entry focuses on intrinsic motivation, interest, mastery goal orientations, task values, and self‐efficacy, and their relations with reading competence. Research has shown that all the above constructs are positively related to achievement outcomes. Practical pedagogical suggestions for motivating adolescents are offered. They include fostering learners' autonomy in reading, selecting a variety of reading materials that are of interest, relevance, and novelty to learners, supporting learners in setting, monitoring, and evaluation of goals, emphasizing mastery goals in reading instruction, implementing tasks of appropriate cognitive demands, and providing truthful feedback in consideration of learners' self‐efficacy, and guiding learners in their interpretation of feedback.
Intermediate‐Level Readers
Authors: Yamashita Junko
Published: January 2018

Successful reading comprehension is built upon optimal functioning of numerous component processes, which are both linguistic and nonlinguistic in nature and range from the lower to the higher cognitive levels. The acquisition of fluent reading comprehension needs time commitment and requires massive print processing experience. Difficulties that intermediate‐level readers may experience in the course of development of their second/foreign language (L2) reading can arise from any one of a single or combination of underlying component processes. Based on a summary of L2 reading components and their interactive characteristics that are deemed important for intermediate‐level readers, several guiding principles for teaching L2 reading comprehension are discussed along with current pedagogical recommendations.
Upper Primary School Readers
Authors: Iwai Yuko
Published: January 2018

Reading is a foundation of learning. It is also a complex process that involves the reader, text, and context. Along with the demographic of English language learners (ELLs), this entry discusses characteristics of ELLs' reading, such as limited vocabulary and limited reading comprehension skills. It also describes challenges that upper elementary grade students face when they read. Finally, it offers practical implications for teachers.
Peace Corps Volunteers as Teachers of English
Authors: Clark Bernadine , Clark Kenneth
Published: January 2018

Peace Corps Volunteers have been teaching English in countries requesting training assistance from the United States since the beginnings of the Peace Corps in 1961. The Volunteers, guided by the Peace Corps mission to promote world peace and friendship and three goals linked implicitly to learning and explicitly to intercultural understanding, teach in schools and universities and serve as English language resources in their host communities.

As a collective, Peace Corps Volunteer teachers of English are distinguished from many paid English teachers working internationally. The Volunteers are US citizens whose characteristics include a belief in a humanitarian service, an adaptability for teaching English in under‐resourced settings, and a level of cultural sensitivity and awareness that informs their teaching. Because Volunteers' teaching credentials vary widely, Peace Corps developed a TEFL certificate program to reflect 21st‐century global English‐teaching standards, meet host‐country language learners' needs, and support the ongoing professional development of Volunteer teachers.
Language Attrition
Authors: Park Eun Sung
Published: January 2018

Much research and effort has been devoted to how languages (both first and second) are acquired, but relatively little attention has been paid to language attrition—the gradual decline or loss of language knowledge and skills. This entry provides an overview of language attrition, focusing on different hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the phenomenon as well as other important variables that constitute the attrition context. Linguistic areas and skills most vulnerable to attrition are also addressed. The entry concludes by highlighting recent research developments and methodological issues that should be considered in future research.
Using Corpora to Teach Vocabulary
Authors: Liu Dilin , Lei Lei
Published: January 2018

With rapid advancements in computer technology and corpus linguistics, corpora have become an increasingly popular resource and tool for language learning and teaching. This entry offers a synthesis of how corpora may be used to help teach vocabulary more engagingly and effectively. Besides a brief discussion of what a corpus is and the rationales for using corpora in language teaching, the entry introduces the basic information and skills needed for using corpora to teach various aspects of vocabulary knowledge and skills, including lexical semantic usage patterns, collocations, synonym‐differentiation, and register‐appropriate use of words.
Eclectic Pedagogy
Authors: Turpin Leslie
Published: January 2018

As the TESOL field develops to approach teaching English as an international language, it draws influences from more diverse and contested perspectives. The process of developing an eclectic pedagogy becomes an increasingly challenging one, demanding teachers to be systems thinkers grounded in complex views of learning, language and their particular learners. Eclectic pedagogy requires teachers’ ongoing critical reflection of their work in local contexts. Teachers must also be cognizant of how their teaching practice relates to larger global issues through which all teachers and learners of English are connected. In a field in which change and intercultural contact are unpredictable constants, flexibility, curiosity, inquiry, and intercultural and self‐awareness are essential teacher attributes. The development of these attributes and habits is connected to teacher education programs and the support that teachers receive throughout their careers.
Intensive English Language Programs
Authors: Li Guofang , Fincham Naiyi Xie
Published: January 2018

Intensive English language programs (IELPs) worldwide provide comprehensive and condensed English language training to prepare learners for academic and professional studies in higher institutions where English is the primary medium of instruction and communication. It has been found that the curriculum and pedagogy of IELPs have undergone significant changes informed by ongoing research in second language learning and evolving program and institutional goals in different local contexts, especially in TEIL contexts. While the current emphases of IELPs center on collaboration within and beyond IELPs and use of Internet communication technologies for instruction, program goals, curriculum and instruction, and services of the IELPs will continue to undergo reassessment and readjustment under influences from both global and local contexts. Future development of IELPs must address program objectives, curriculum focus, and faculty professional development.
Performance in Math and Science by English Language Learners
Authors: Reilly Edel M.
Published: January 2018

Today's high tech industries mean the demand for students trained in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields continues to grow. Unfortunately, many English Language Learners (ELLs) are at a disadvantage when it comes to learning math and science. While the number of ELLs in the United States is growing, too many teachers have not been trained in how to work effectively with ELLs. This entry discusses pedagogical practices that can be used to better prepare ELLs for academic success in mathematics and science classes.
Role of Heritage Languages in Mastering English Pronunciation
Authors: Sehlaoui Abdelilah Salim
Published: January 2018

Heritage language plays a role in mastering English pronunciation. The issue of cross‐linguistic influence in the acquisition of phonology in a second language has been an important topic that explored the causes behind negative and positive transfer from first language (L1) to second language (L2). These causes or variables have been classified as being either learner‐specific or language‐specific. Learner‐specific variables include level of proficiency, age, linguistic awareness, language exposure and use, level of L1 literacy, and educational background. Language‐specific variables include language typology, frequency of use of a given linguistic feature and whether it is considered marked or unmarked, and the L1 and L2 phonotactics and phonological rules that govern each language. Applied linguistics methodologies such as contrastive analysis (CA) and error analysis (EA) have been used by researchers in the field to offer a theoretical and practical explanation of language transfer and the role of L1 in the process of second language acquisition.
Teaching Speaking to Middle‐Grade/Adolescent Students
Authors: Bloetner Sonja M.
Published: January 2018

Considering the increase in the number of English learners (ELs) in US schools, content and language teachers must collaborate to ensure that ELs are able to apply their knowledge of the academic language that they encounter in all classroom settings across the curriculum. ELs must master various linguistic components of language orally so that they are effectively able to cite and analyze evidence from texts to support claims; ask and respond to text‐based questions; construct claims using clear reasoning and evidence; and interpret and synthesize information from a variety of resources during academic discourse. Research supports that when ELs master these skills when speaking, they will be able to apply these skills when writing across the curriculum. In light of this, ELs need multiple opportunities to apply these language skills during English language development and content instruction across the curriculum at the middle‐school level.
Reflective Practice for Language Teachers
Authors: Farrell Thomas S. C.
Published: January 2018

Reflective practice occurs when teachers consciously take on the role of reflective practitioner and subject their own beliefs about teaching and learning to critical analysis, take full responsibility for their actions in the classroom, and continue to improve their teaching practice. Teachers who engage in reflective practice can develop a deeper understanding of their teaching, assess their professional growth, develop informed decision‐making skills, and become proactive and confident in their teaching. There are many different ways teachers can reflect on their work, such as individual or group, as well as different issues teachers can reflect on such as teaching metaphors and maxims and teaching beliefs. Teachers can decide which method would be most beneficial to them depending on the purposes of their reflections.
PD forNEST/NNEST ELTTeachers in theEFLSetting
Authors: Ousseini Hamissou
Published: January 2018

Teacher professional development in EFL settings is generally undertaken to ensure knowledge extension, renewal, and career growth. It follows three major trends underpinned by perspectives of applied science, reflective practice, and social justice education. In the applied science model, EFL teacher professional development consists in receiving theoretical knowledge from experts for application in the classroom. This is contrary to the reflective practice model in which EFL teachers use reflection as a means of experimenting with their beliefs and knowledge‐in‐action. In the latter model, professional development becomes an act of building awareness and achieving the aim of social justice.
Developing Comprehensive Professional Development Plans for a District/System/Program
Authors: Díaz‐Rico Lynne T.
Published: January 2018

TESOL educators who work in both English‐as‐a‐second‐language (ESL) and English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language (EFL) contexts can benefit from professional development (PD) to meet the educational needs of international English learners. School reform efforts both in the United States and elsewhere have challenged teachers to continuously upgrade their pedagogy and English skills by engaging in comprehensive PD. Such efforts, whether mandatory or voluntary, must include teacher commitment to acquire specialized strategies for the effective education of CLD learners, such as socioculturally based pedagogy, educational translanguaging, culturally responsive pedagogy, and family involvement, as well as effort to acquire intercultural communicative competence and attention to basic second‐language‐acquisition (SLA) pedagogy, using such formats as professional learning communities, reflective practice, and peer coaching and mentoring teaching. TESOL educators are thus enabled to improve not only their individual teaching practices, but also the general context of instruction for English learners.
Acknowledging Latina/o Student Heterogeneity in Community Colleges
Authors: García‐Louis Claudia
Published: January 2018

This entry provides a critical perspective of how the social construction of race and ethnicity reinforces a flawed notion of Hispanic identity in the United States. Community colleges are enrolling Latina/o students at unprecedented rates but few are graduating. This article argues that colleges need to disaggregate Hispanic ethnicity in order to best serve their diverse needs. It also highlights the negative impacts such an approach has on AfroLatina/o students' sense of belonging and academic persistence, and within‐group prejudices based on skin tone gradients. Further, acknowledging the heterogeneity of Latina/o students is underscored and pedagogical are provided for community college faculty, staff, and administrators.
Advantages to Using Young Adult Literature in the English Language Classroom
Authors: Wender Emily , Powell Trisha
Published: January 2018

This entry explores how and why young adult literature can be used in the language classroom. With short chapters and simple language, young adult literature (YA) is often accessible for language students, yet the genre's key features—distinctive first person narrators, complex themes, multimodality, and diverse sentence structures—lend themselves to central goals for many language programs: building vocabulary knowledge, developing reading proficiency, expanding cultural awareness, and engaging students as readers. The authors explain why becoming familiar with YA titles and their pedagogical possibilities should be a core component of teacher education.
Accreditation and the Professional Development of Teachers
Authors: Kaufman Dorit
Published: January 2018

Schools in the United States have become increasingly diverse requiring reformulation of teacher preparation programs to ensure that teachers know and are able to perform in diverse educational settings to help all students succeed. State, national, and professional standards were developed to provide a roadmap and guidelines for the preparation of teachers. Accreditation of teacher education programs has become a major factor in providing oversight and quality assurance, promoting a sustained evidence‐based culture, and enhancing accountability and transparency in the professional development of teachers. Accreditation is a force for accountability, yet, it also leverages new opportunities and stimulates innovative and transformative educational environments that shape the preparation of prospective teachers.
Professional Development and Online Technology
Authors: Whelan Ariza Eileen N.
Published: January 2018

Professional technological development for novice and veteran language teachers is a critical component of sustaining current instructional competency. Educators are expected to be flexible and embrace a variety of teaching platforms using contemporary resources and best practices in language teaching and learning. One aspect of the use of technology is to go from face‐to‐face learning to online learning, yet for a variety of reasons (e.g., fear, anxiety, or unfamiliarity with this type of technological setting) teachers often hesitate to make the leap into online learning. This entry discusses a variety of pertinent issues and the evolving stages in the acceptance, conception, evolution, and resources concerning online courses for language teachers.
Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants
Authors: Reid Lynn
Published: January 2018

“Digital native” and “digital immigrant” are terms used to describe a person's fluency with technology based on their age. Digital natives are part of the generation born after 1980 who are assumed to be tech savvy, while digital immigrants are older and often less proficient users of technology. Though these terms have been widely adopted, a great deal of scholarship has criticized the construction of digital natives and digital immigrants as overly simplistic. Counterarguments suggest that access to technology is influenced by factors including socioeconomic status, race, linguistic ability, gender, and other demographic markers. This entry concludes with some pedagogical suggestions for engaging students with technology, while at the same time avoiding assumptions about their abilities based on a false “digital native/digital immigrant” dichotomy.
Preserving the Home Language: Implications for
ELT
Pedagogy
Authors: Kaufman Dorit
Published: January 2018

Immigrant communities bring a rich diversity of linguistic and cultural resources to neighborhoods and schools, yet these are fast depleting. Loss of the home language is inextricably linked to an increased use of another language. It is further hastened, especially among pre‐adolescent immigrant children, by their assimilative and integrative orientation, reduced communication opportunities in the home language, and their growing proficiency in the new language. Teacher education programs are key to preparing educators for pedagogical approaches that ensure successful acquisition of the new language and academic achievement, while providing opportunities to preserve, scaffold, and further enhance the students' home languages. Partnering with families and communities is key to understanding the students' backgrounds, experiences, and intergenerational communication patterns in the home, and to promote home language literacy practices to preserve the rich linguistic and cultural heritage that immigrant students bring.
Dual Role of Subphthalocyanine Dyes for Optical Imaging and Therapy of Cancer
Authors: van de Winckel Eveline , Mascaraque Marta , Zamarrón Alicia , Juarranz de la Fuente Ángeles , Torres Tomás , de la Escosura Andrés
Published: January 2018

The family of subphthalocyanine (SubPc) macrocycles represents an interesting class of nonplanar aromatic dyes with promising features for energy conversion and optoelectronics. The use of SubPcs in biomedical research is, on the contrary, clearly underexplored, despite their documented high fluorescence and singlet oxygen quantum yields. Herein, for the first time it is shown that the interaction of these chromophores with light can also be useful for theranostic applications, which in the case of SubPcs comprise optical imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT). In particular, the article evaluates, through a complete in vitro study, the dual‐role capacity of a novel series of SubPcs as fluorescent probes and PDT agents, where the macrocycle axial substitution determines their biological activity. The 2D and 3D imaging of various cancer cell lines (i.e., HeLa, SCC‐13, and A431) has revealed, for example, different subcellular localization of the studied photosensitizers (PS), depending on the axial substituent they bear. These results also show excellent photocytotoxicities, which are affected by the PS localization. With the best dual‐role PS, preliminary in vivo studies have demonstrated their therapeutic potential. Overall, the present paper sets the bases for an unprecedented biomedical use of these well‐known optoelectronic materials.
Dependence of Photocurrent Enhancements in Quantum Dot (QD)‐Sensitized MoS2 Devices on MoS2 Film Properties
Authors: Gough John J. , McEvoy Niall , O'Brien Maria , Bell Alan P. , McCloskey David , Boland John B. , Coleman Jonathan N. , Duesberg Georg S. , Bradley A. Louise
Published: January 2018

This report demonstrates highly efficient nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) from alloyed CdSeS/ZnS semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) to MoS2 films of varying layer thicknesses, including pristine monolayers, mixed monolayer/bilayer, polycrystalline bilayers, and bulk‐like thicknesses, with NRET efficiencies of over 90%. Large‐area MoS2 films are grown on Si/SiO2 substrates by chemical vapor deposition. Despite the ultrahigh NRET efficiencies there is no distinct increase in the MoS2 photoluminescence intensity. However, by studying the optoelectronic properties of the MoS2 devices before and after adding the QD sensitizing layer photocurrent enhancements as large as ≈14‐fold for pristine monolayer devices are observed, with enhancements on the order of ≈2‐fold for MoS2 devices of mixed monolayer and bilayer thicknesses. For the polycrystalline bilayer and bulk‐like MoS2 devices there is almost no increase in the photocurrent after adding the QDs. Industrially scalable techniques are specifically utilized to fabricate the samples studied in this report, demonstrating the viability of this hybrid structure for commercial photodetector or light harvesting applications.
4D Biofabrication: 3D Cell Patterning Using Shape‐Changing Films
Authors: Stroganov Vladislav , Pant Jitendra , Stoychev Georgi , Janke Andreas , Jehnichen Dieter , Fery Andreas , Handa Hitesh , Ionov Leonid
Published: January 2018

A novel approach for fabrication of 3D cellular structures using new thermosensitive shape‐changing polymer films with photolithographically patterned surface—4D biofabrication is reported. The surface of shape‐changing polymer films is patterned to selectively adsorb cells in specific regions. The 2D cell pattern is converted to the 3D cell structure after temperature‐induced folding of the polymer films. This approach has a great potential in the field of tissue engineering and bioscaffolds fabrication.
Flexoelectricity in Bones
Authors: Vasquez‐Sancho Fabian , Abdollahi Amir , Damjanovic Dragan , Catalan Gustau
Published: January 2018

Bones generate electricity under pressure, and this electromechanical behavior is thought to be essential for bone's self‐repair and remodeling properties. The origin of this response is attributed to the piezoelectricity of collagen, which is the main structural protein of bones. In theory, however, any material can also generate voltages in response to strain gradients, thanks to the property known as flexoelectricity. In this work, the flexoelectricity of bone and pure bone mineral (hydroxyapatite) are measured and found to be of the same order of magnitude; the quantitative similarity suggests that hydroxyapatite flexoelectricity is the main source of bending‐induced polarization in cortical bone. In addition, the measured flexoelectric coefficients are used to calculate the (flexo)electric fields generated by cracks in bone mineral. The results indicate that crack‐generated flexoelectricity is theoretically large enough to induce osteocyte apoptosis and thus initiate the crack‐healing process, suggesting a central role of flexoelectricity in bone repair and remodeling.
Electrocatalytic Activity of a 2D Phosphorene‐Based Heteroelectrocatalyst for Photoelectrochemical Cells
Authors: Batmunkh Munkhbayar , Shrestha Aabhash , Bat‐Erdene Munkhjargal , Nine Md Julker , Shearer Cameron J. , Gibson Christopher T. , Slattery Ashley D. , Tawfik Sherif Abdulkader , Ford Michael J. , Dai Sheng , Qiao Shizhang , Shapter Joseph G.
Published: January 2018

Research into efficient synthesis, fundamental properties, and potential applications of phosphorene is currently the subject of intense investigation. Herein, solution‐processed phosphorene or few‐layer black phosphorus (FL‐BP) sheets are prepared using a microwave exfoliation method and used in photoelectrochemical cells. Based on experimental and theoretical (DFT) studies, the FL‐BP sheets are found to act as catalytically active sites and show excellent electrocatalytic activity for triiodide reduction in dye‐sensitized solar cells. Importantly, the device fabricated based on the newly designed cobalt sulfide (CoSx) decorated nitrogen and sulfur co‐doped carbon nanotube heteroelectrocatalyst coated with FL‐BP (FL‐BP@N,S‐doped CNTs‐CoSx) displayed an impressive photovoltaic efficiency of 8.31 %, outperforming expensive platinum based cells. This work paves the way for using phosphorene‐based electrocatalysts for next‐generation energy‐storage systems.
Targeting a Dark Excited State of HIV‐1 Nucleocapsid by Antiretroviral Thioesters Revealed by NMR Spectroscopy
Authors: Deshmukh Lalit , Tugarinov Vitali , Appella Daniel H. , Clore G. Marius
Published: January 2018

HIV‐1 nucleocapsid (NCp7) is a two Cys2HisCys zinc knuckle (N‐Zn and C‐Zn) protein that plays a key role in viral replication. NCp7 conformational dynamics is characterized by NMR relaxation dispersion and chemical exchange saturation transfer measurements. While the N‐Zn knuckle is conformationally stable, the C‐Zn knuckle interconverts on the millisecond timescale between the major state, in which the zinc is coordinated by three cysteines and a histidine, and two folded minor species (with populations around 1 %) in which one of the coordination bonds (Cys413‐Sγ‐Zn or His421‐Nϵ2‐Zn) is hydrolyzed. These findings explain why antiretroviral thioesters specifically disrupt the C‐Zn knuckle by initial acylation of Cys413, and show that transient, sparsely‐populated (“dark”), excited states of proteins can present effective targets for rational drug design.
Antiphospholipid Antibodies Inhibit Trophoblast Toll‐Like Receptor and Inflammasome Negative Regulators
Authors: Mulla Melissa J. , Weel Ingrid C. , Potter Julie A. , Gysler Stefan M. , Salmon Jane E. , Peraçoli Maria T. S. , Rothlin Carla V. , Chamley Lawrence W. , Abrahams Vikki M.
Published: January 2018

Objective

Women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are at risk for pregnancy complications associated with poor placentation and placental inflammation. Although these antibodies are heterogeneous, some anti–β2‐glycoprotein I (anti‐β2GPI) antibodies can activate Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR‐4) and NLRP3 in human first‐trimester trophoblasts. The objective of this study was to determine the role of negative regulators of TLR and inflammasome function in aPL‐induced trophoblast inflammation.

Methods

Human trophoblasts were not treated or were treated with anti‐β2GPI aPL or control IgG in the presence or absence of the common TAM (TYRO3, AXL, and Mer tyrosine kinase [MERTK]) receptor ligand growth arrest–specific protein 6 (GAS6) or the autophagy‐inducer rapamycin. The expression and function of the TAM receptor pathway and autophagy were measured by quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), Western blotting, and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Antiphospholipid antibody–induced trophoblast inflammation was measured by qRT‐PCR, activity assays, and ELISA.

Results

Anti‐β2GPI aPL inhibited trophoblast TAM receptor function by reducing cellular expression of the receptor tyrosine kinases AXL and MERTK and the ligand GAS6. The addition of GAS6 blocked the effects of aPL on the TLR‐4–mediated interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) response. However, the NLRP3 inflammasome‐mediated IL‐1β response was not affected by GAS6, suggesting that another regulatory pathway was involved. Indeed, anti‐β2GPI aPL inhibited basal trophoblast autophagy, and reversing this with rapamycin inhibited aPL‐induced inflammasome function and IL‐1β secretion.

Conclusion

Basal TAM receptor function and autophagy may serve to inhibit trophoblast TLR and inflammasome function, respectively. Impairment of TAM receptor signaling and autophagy by anti‐β2GPI aPL may allow subsequent TLR and inflammasome activity, leading to a robust inflammatory response.
Molecular Basis for Dysregulated Activation of NKX2‐5 in the Vascular Remodeling of Systemic Sclerosis
Authors: Dritsoula Athina , Papaioannou Ioannis , Guerra Sandra G. , Fonseca Carmen , Martin Javier , Herrick Ariane L. , Abraham David J. , Denton Christopher P. , Ponticos Markella
Published: January 2018

Objective

NKX2‐5 is a homeobox transcription factor that is required for the formation of the heart and vessels during development, with significant postnatal down‐regulation and reactivation in disease states, characterized by vascular remodeling. The purpose of this study was to investigate mechanisms that activate NKX2‐5 expression in diseased vessels, such as systemic sclerosis (scleroderma; SSc)–associated pulmonary hypertension (PH), and to identify genetic variability that potentially underlies susceptibility to specific vascular complications.

Methods

We explored NKX2‐5 expression in biopsy samples from patients with SSc‐associated PH and in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) from patients with scleroderma. Disease‐associated putative functional single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the NKX2-5 locus were cloned and studied in reporter gene assays. SNP function was further examined through protein–DNA binding assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, and RNA silencing analyses.

Results

Increased NKX2‐5 expression in biopsy samples from patients with SSc‐associated PH was localized to remodeled vessels and PASMCs. Meta‐analysis of 2 independent scleroderma cohorts revealed an association of rs3131917 with scleroderma (P = 0.029). We demonstrated that disease‐associated SNPs are located in a novel functional enhancer, which increases NKX2-5 transcriptional activity through the binding of GATA‐6, c‐Jun, and myocyte‐specific enhancer factor 2C. We also characterized an activator/coactivator transcription‐enhancer factor domain 1 (TEAD1)/Yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP1) complex, which was bound at rs3095870, another functional SNP, with TEAD1 binding the risk allele and activating the transcription of NKX2-5.

Conclusion

NKX2-5 is genetically associated with scleroderma, pulmonary hypertension, and fibrosis. Functional evidence revealed a regulatory mechanism that results in NKX2-5 transcriptional activation in PASMCs through the interaction of an upstream promoter and a novel downstream enhancer. This mechanism can act as a model for NKX2‐5 activation in cardiovascular disease characterized by vascular remodeling.
Integration of Gas Enhanced Oil Recovery in Multiphase Fermentations for the Microbial Production of Fuels and Chemicals
Authors: Pedraza‐de la Cuesta Susana , Keijzers Lore , van der Wielen Luuk A. M. , Cuellar Maria C.
Published: January 2018

In multiphase fermentations where the product forms a second liquid phase or where solvents are added for product extraction, turbulent conditions disperse the oil phase as droplets. Surface‐active components (SACs) present in the fermentation broth can stabilize the product droplets thus forming an emulsion. Breaking this emulsion increases process complexity and consequently the production cost. In previous works, it has been proposed to promote demulsification of oil/supernatant emulsions in an off‐line batch bubble column operating at low gas flow rate. The aim of this study is to test the performance of this recovery method integrated to a fermentation, allowing for continuous removal of the oil phase. A 500 mL bubble column is successfully integrated with a 2 L reactor during 24 h without affecting cell growth or cell viability. However, higher levels of surfactants and emulsion stability are measured in the integrated system compared to a base case, reducing its capacity for oil recovery. This is related to release of SACs due to cellular stress when circulating through the recovery column. Therefore, it is concluded that the gas bubble‐induced oil recovery method allows for oil separation and cell recycling without compromising fermentation performance; however, tuning of the column parameters considering increased levels of SACs due to cellular stress is required for improving oil recovery.
Altered functional networks in long‐term unilateral hearing loss: A connectome analysis
Authors: Zhang Yanyang , Mao Zhiqi , Feng Shiyu , Liu Xinyun , Lan Lan , Zhang Jun , Yu Xinguang
Published: January 2018

Introduction

In neuroimaging studies, long‐term unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is associated with functional changes in specific brain regions and connections; however, little is known regarding alterations in the topological organization of whole‐brain functional networks and whether these alterations are related to hearing behavior in UHL patients.

Methods

We acquired resting‐state fMRI data from 21 patients with UHL caused by acoustic neuromas and 21 matched healthy controls. Whole‐brain functional networks were constructed by measuring interregional temporal correlations of 278 brain regions. Alterations in interregional functional connectivity and topological properties (e.g., small‐world, efficiency, and nodal centrality) were identified using graph‐theory analysis. The subjects also completed a battery of hearing behavior measures.

Results

Both UHL patients and controls exhibited efficient small‐world properties in their functional networks. Compared with controls, UHL patients showed increased and decreased nodal centrality in distributed brain regions. Furthermore, the brain regions with significantly increased and decreased functional connections associated with UHL were components of the following important networks: (1) visual network; (2) higher‐order functional networks, including the default‐mode and attention networks; and (3) subcortical network and cerebellum. Intriguingly, the changes in intranetwork connections in UHL were significantly correlated with disease duration and hearing level.

Conclusions

This study revealed connectome‐level alterations involved in multiple large‐scale networks related to sensory and higher‐level cognitive functions in long‐term UHL patients. These reorganizations of the brain in UHL patients may depend on the stage of deafness and hearing level. Together, our findings provided empirical evidence for understanding the neuroplastic mechanisms underlying hearing impairment, establishing potential biomarkers for monitoring the progression and further treatment effects for UHL patients.