bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of Increasingly Complex Text to Advance ELs’ Knowledge and Academic Language
Authors: O'Brien Lisa M. , Leighton Christine M.
Published: December 2015

This mixed-methods study explored joining use of increasing-complex text with sound instructional practices on English Learners’ (ELs) academic language and conceptual knowledge. Findings showed one-week postintervention, ELs achieved significant academic vocabulary gains such that there were no differences between ELs and general education (GE) students. Moreover, six weeks postintervention, ELs’ academic language and conceptual knowledge closely approximated that of their GE peers. Findings suggest that carefully scaffolded use of increasingly-complex text holds promise in advancing ELs’ conceptual knowledge and academic language. Given the widespread use of simplified text as ELs’ primary reading curriculum—a practice that unintentionally delimits language and knowledge learning opportunities, and in turn, contributes to persistent achievement gaps—efforts aimed at identifying practices that build academic language and conceptual knowledge and in turn, enable access to complex text are of particular importance. If replicated in larger studies, teachers will have a clear alternative to such practices.
Examining the Relative Contributions of Content Knowledge and Strategic Processing to Comprehension
Authors: Aukerman Maren , Brown Rachel , Mokhtari Kouider , Valencia Sheila , Palincsar Annemarie
Published: December 2015

The essays below were prepared following the LRA session organized by Janice Almasi entitled, “Examining the relative contributions of content knowledge and strategic processing to comprehension.” What unites these essays are the personal and historical stances that each writer has taken; in addition, the essays are rich with constructive critique of tensions in the conduct of comprehension instruction (e.g., acknowledging and building on readers’ sensemaking efforts, while encouraging the development of reading expertise and flexibility). There are redeployments of classic theories (e.g., schema theory) and heuristics (e.g., the interactive model of reading) and the call for new lenses with which to inform scholarship on comprehension. Finally, there are invitations to consider new horizons for comprehension research that take into account contemporary contexts and uses for interpreting and learning from text.
Social Scholars
Authors: Wise Julie B. , O’Byrne W. Ian
Published: December 2015

The #WalkMyWorld project was an open, social media experiment developed to provide preservice and in-service teachers and K–12 students with an opportunity to focus on developing media literacies and civic engagement in online spaces. The study employed a basic interpretative qualitative study approach (Merriam, 2002) to examine how online social environments can be used as a vehicle to engage educators in the creation and sharing of online content, as it relates to multimodal meaning making, social scholarship, and identity construction. For this study, identity construction was identified as visually representing an aspect of an individual's life using any preferred medium, and sharing it through Twitter using the #WalkMyWorld hashtag. Results suggest three different categories in which participants viewed the activity of identity construction: (a) embraced similar identities, (b) established separate identities, or (c) resisted creating an online identity. As educators engage students with reading and writing digital content within social and connected learning environments, it is important to consider the creation and curation of an individual’s digital identity in social scholarship practices.
An Examination of the Relations Between Oral Vocabulary and Phonological Awareness in Early Childhood
Authors: Cassano Christina M. , Schickedanz Judith A.
Published: December 2015

This article reports a post hoc analysis conducted as part of a larger study in which 61 typically developing, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds were assessed in phonological awareness (PA), vocabulary (i.e., receptive, expressive, and definitional), and grammatical skill at baseline and 3, 6, and 9 months later. The larger study’s purpose was to shed light on the theory of lexical reorganization claim that increases in receptive vocabulary provide the basis for PA development. Its results showed that expressive vocabulary accounted for additional PA growth in 4- and 5-year-olds but not in 3-year-olds. The post hoc study involved a closer analysis of PA growth in relation to expressive vocabulary. Its results suggest that increases in receptive vocabulary might be necessary as a foundation for initial PA development but that expressive-level vocabulary might be needed to hold words in memory to perform complex manipulations required in higher level PA tasks.
Developing Mentoring Practices Through Video-Focused Responsive Discourse Analysis
Authors: Mosley Wetzel Melissa , Maloch Beth , Hoffman James V. , Taylor Laura A. , Vlach Saba Khan , Greeter Erin
Published: December 2015

This study is part of a larger longitudinal, multiphase study on the development of literacy mentoring practices that seeks to bring attention to the learning of cooperating teachers. In this paper we concentrate on how cooperating teachers (CTs) engage in responsive Critical Discourse Analysis while viewing and discussing videos of their coaching conversations with their preservice teachers (PTs). Our research was guided by the following question: In what ways do teachers engage in responsive CDA while watching videos of post-conferences between CTs and PTs with their colleagues? For our analysis, we examined the discourse turn by turn; focusing on interactional coaching moves and discourses of coaching using Fairclough's (1993, 2013) framework of genre, discourse, and style. Across the examples of responsive CDA the teachers used in Retrospective Coaching Analysis (RCA) for coaching, a process we developed based on Goodman's RMA, we found examples we identified as either deconstructive or reconstructive/positive discourse analysis. Thus, engaging in the work of both deconstructive and reconstructive CDA, teachers are developing tools to generate and rehearse new possibilities for their practice, both as teachers and as coaches. As a result, this collaborative work supports CTs as they become more integrated members of the university teacher preparation program.
When a Topic Matters to You, Does It Matter if You Read About It in a Second Language?
Authors: Na Bokhee , Schallert Diane L. , Jee Eunjeong
Published: December 2015

Readers’ emotions often become engaged while reading and can sometimes enhance and sometimes skew text comprehension, with most research focused on reading texts in one’s native language. This project extended the work of Gaskins to explore how adolescents’ culturally constructed emotions affected their reading comprehension, and how this effect varied when reading in their first (Korean) or second (English) language. Students ( N = 477) in a Korean high school read short paragraphs on four expository topics counterbalanced to represent both languages and both an emotional and neutral version of each topic. Results were that participants were more emotionally engaged and performed better on comprehension assessments when reading emotional than neutral texts. Thus, unlike Gaskin’s study, these results indicated that emotions were generally helpful for comprehension, whether the text was in the reader’s first language or a learned language, possibly by way of increasing attention and engagement with the text.
Thresholds of Possibility—Mindful Walking, Traditional Oral Storytelling, and the Birch Bark Canoe
Authors: Honeyford Michelle A.
Published: December 2015

The chapter explores the relationships of the material and discursive in an afterschool arts space devoted to creating an “ideal city” out of recyclables. Intrigued by the making of a homeless shelter by a Grade 5 student and a teacher candidate, the author turns to intra-activity as a theory—and ethic-onto-epistemological framework—through which to read and analyze the intra-actions between the human and nonhuman, the material and discursive and the natural and cultural factors in the practices of designing and making the home. For this literacy researcher, this required a methodological and ontoepistemological re-orienting, a poststructuralist move to enter into the theoretical threshold and to produce knowledge differently. Drawing on three thresholds—mindful walking, traditional oral storytelling, and the making of the birch bark canoe—the author suggests new possibilities for thinking with intra-activity as a theory in the study, illustrating how Indigenous ways of knowing and being have always included an ethics of living in relationship with the natural, spiritual and physical forces of the material world. This process opens up new insights and questions about the ways of knowing that inspired and informed the creation of the “home for the homeless”, as well as new considerations about the ontoepistemological frameworks used in literacy research.
Toward Dialogic Literacy Education for the Internet Age
Authors: Wegerif Rupert
Published: December 2015

In order to reconceptualize literacy education for the Internet Age, we first need to understand the extent to which our thinking has already been shaped by literacy practices. I begin this article with an exploration of the relationship between ways of communicating, ways of thinking, and the way in which we understand education. Face-to-face dialogue, for example, means that thought is experienced as somebody’s voice. It is not surprising then that oral cultures tend to understand education as initiation into a living relationship with voices. Literacy, by contrast, especially print literacy, has tended to afford the rather different idea that thought can be dissociated from voices and represented by signs and symbols. Under the regime of print literacy, education has often been understood as first providing access to the collective store of knowledge represented in books and then transmitting this knowledge across generations. Although the Internet preserves some of the affordances of print literacy, it also returns us to some of the affordances of oracy, since it supports two-way participation. In the second half of the article, I outline a possible response to the challenge of the Internet Age. This response is not another “new literacy” but the proposal that we locate literacy education within a larger context, the context of dialogue, not only dialogue with specific others but also with generalized others and ultimately with the Infinite Other.
Literacy and Race
Authors: Willis Arlette Ingram
Published: December 2015

The coupling of literacy and race emphasizes their historic and contemporaneous intersection in literacy research. In this article, I draw on my scholarship and use three counternarratives to articulate how literacy and race significantly influence access, equity, and freedom. First, I examine access within the sociohistoric context of African Americans attending Calhoun Colored School. Second, I explore equity in a review of the sociohistoric context of Brown v Board and the Civil Rights Act as well as two federal studies of reading research, National Assessment of Educational Progress reading data, and the No Child Left Behind Act. Finally, I investigate freedom by demystifying linkages among the privatization and corporatization of education and reading achievement under Race to the Top's expansion of charter schools, Common Core State Standards, National Council on Teacher Quality, and their funding sources. I conclude with a call to action to courageously pursue a more educationally and socially just literacy research agenda.
Vibrant Matter
Authors: Thiel Jaye Johnson
Published: December 2015

Drawing from the theories of feminist new materialism, this article looks closely at the ways children and things, particularly fabric remnants, work together to coconstruct stories. The data presented are part of a yearlong ethnographic study in the multimodal literacy play work of three early childhood aged children from working poor families. The data were collected during summer enrichment and an after-school program at a community center in the Southeastern United States located in the children’s neighborhood. Findings argue that children are more deeply and intellectually engaged when given access to a broader range of materials and opportunities to perform and participate in literacy practices.
Miscue Analysis
Authors: Goodman Yetta M.
Published: December 2015

When a reader produces a response to a written text (the observed response) that is not expected by the listener, the result is called a miscue. Using psychosociolingustic analyses of miscues in the context of an authentic text, miscue analysis provides evidence to discover how readers read. I present miscue analysis history and development and the foundational principles that led to understanding the reading process. The miscue analysis data used represents actual readers with a range of backgrounds, languages, ages and proficiencies. Teachers involved in miscue research develop their own knowledge about reading in order to develop curriculum and instruction to support readers' meaning making. When teachers engage readers in conversations about reading (retrospective miscue analysis), readers examine their own miscues and build concepts that allow them to discover their own reading strengths which leads them to revalue their abilities to make sense of print.
Human Connection: Uncharted Territory for Value Creation
Authors: Fairfield Michelle
Published: December 2015

This article introduces an area of value creation seldom considered in the strategic sense in business: value creation from human connections. And given the number one reason for customers leaving a business is a feeling of indifference from a company representative, this is an area that holds a great opportunity for companies to really stand out from their competition. This article examines where business has come from, where we are now and why the critical need to revamp our way of thinking. When a company transforms into a customer-centric organization, a collective mindset to design for the desired outcome of customer emotion emerges. The context for thought is creating value for the customer and is expressed in changes to processes, products/services and people. When an employee transforms into being customer focused, the individual mindset of paying attention to how he leaves a person feeling begins to develop. This shift from task to the customer lays the foundation for developing human connection skills. Customer value creation becomes a common language of understanding with different expressions of it for company and individuals. The reader will discover why traditional soft skills training has failed to bring about lasting behaviour changes and offers an alternative, based on the insights provided in recent years from neuroscience.
Creating Customer Value in a Digitally Transformed Future
Authors: Connor Michael
Published: December 2015

Today’s market is being driven by continually accelerating innovation. Much of that innovation is being driven by the Internet, which has become a global platform for innovation and engagement. Through it we can connect people, processes, data, systems and devices faster, more effectively and more powerfully and innovate faster because of it than at any time in history. That capability and the innovation it enables are rapidly changing what customers value and are blurring the boundaries between how we create products and services as well as companies, and how we engage customers. Those changes are leading us into a market composed of digital ecosystems and intelligent products that anticipate and facilitate high-value customer/user outcomes based on the users context. To compete in the digitally transformed future will require not just understanding the technology, but also being immersed in the cultures creating it, and working collaboratively with customers and other participants in the digital ecosystems to identify and create new breakthrough value. For products and services to be competitive they must be highly personalized for users and contextualized based on their location and needs at the moment. Transforming your company into an organization that can compete and lead in that future is critical to your success. It requires a top-down commitment from your most senior executives. And it requires working collaboratively with your most visionary customers and partners to create a digital vision and a continually adaptive strategy and transformation plan. This article provides a series of questions and recommended action items to help you develop that vision and strategy and to help you become a vibrant part of that digital future.
What Every CEO Needs to Know about Digital Marketing
Authors: O’Connor Brian
Published: December 2015

During the last five years marketing underwent a sea change. It adopted more tools, applications and data than ever before. It is not unusual to see marketing teams use 70 software applications and publish hundreds of messages daily.

By their nature, digital marketers interact with millions of customers and prospects daily. Their work shapes customers’ and prospects’ perceptions of your products and services. In the Internet era, they are your frontline employees.

But recent studies point to a troubling gap: digital marketers believe their companies are only 34 per cent proficient (effective) at digital marketing. Which chief executive officer (CEO) would want efficiency if that creates a frontline function that, by its own account, is effective less than 50 per cent of the time?

Just like a CEO would work with their service, sales or manufacturing functions to improve effectiveness, they must also work with their chief marketing officer (CMO’s) to improve digital marketing’s effectiveness. To do this, a CEO must understand digital marketing’s levers, what does a best-in-class organization do and the steps their organization can take to become more effective.
On ‘Value’ and ‘Performance’
Authors: Pinder David
Published: December 2015

This article reminds readers that the terms ‘value’ and ‘performance’ are used so routinely that we risk losing sight of their meanings, which results in a risk that Value Measurement and Performance Management become confused. A basic definition of value is provided—benefits minus costs—and discussed, making the point that tangible (rational) and intangible (emotional and social) issues must be taken into account. The work of Jean Baudrillard is referenced to help explain some of the complexity around buying value perceptions and decisions. A four-step process is outlined to help readers develop value assessments in a business context: (a) Value Hypotheses; (b) Sources of Value Flowcharts; (c) Value Word Equations; and (d) Value Models. An established means used by medics to evaluate pain is referenced to demonstrate the measurement of intangible factors. The information is then put into context with performance: What is Performance Management? And what does it mean for the multiple trade-offs that every business has to make every day? The article concludes with a summary and suggested action steps.
Dealing with the ‘Alignment Problem’
Authors: Peppers Don
Published: December 2015

When companies try to become more customer-centric, one of the biggest problems has to do with aligning their internal systems, accountabilities and responsibilities with the needs and interests of individual customers. This ‘alignment problem’ comes in three different forms. ‘Alignment 1.0’ involves coordinating individual business units and divisions to ensure an enterprise-wide view of individual customers. ‘Alignment 2.0’ requires integrating the performance metrics at individual business units with customer-specific tactical goals. And ‘Alignment 3.0’, the most difficult issue, requires a company to reconcile customer-centric metrics, such as satisfaction scores, or the financial asset value of customers, to more traditional financial metrics of success, such as quarterly sales and profits, and shareholder value.
How Best-in-Class Marketers Serve as Value Creators
Authors: Patterson Laura , Rackley Jerry
Published: December 2015

Even though marketers continue to plug away at measurement, marketing leaders still struggle with how to demonstrate the impact of marketing on business. Numerous studies have been conducted on the topic over nearly two decades. Is there anything new left to learn? There is, and as a result, this article shares the insights Demand Metric and VisionEdge Marketing learned from the fourteenth century annual marketing performance measurement and management study conducted with over 360 business executives and marketing professionals from around the world across all industries.

The study sought answers to three questions: How much progress, if any, have marketers made in being able to measure contribution, value and impact? Which marketers are making progress? What are the marketers who are excelling at marketing performance management (MPM), doing better and differently?
Structural basis for PECAM-1 homophilic binding
Authors: Paddock Cathy , Zhou Dongwen , Lertkiatmongkol Panida , Newman Peter J. , Zhu Jieqing
Published: December 2015

Key Points

PECAM-1 is enriched at endothelial cell intercellular junctions, where it regulates leukocyte trafficking and vascular permeability. An atomic-level model of junctional PECAM-1 has been built based on a 2.8-Å resolution structure of its homophilic-binding domain.
Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of GATA2-related myelodysplastic syndromes in children and adolescents
Authors: Wlodarski Marcin W. , Hirabayashi Shinsuke , Pastor Victor , Starý Jan , Hasle Henrik , Masetti Riccardo , Dworzak Michael , Schmugge Markus , van den Heuvel-Eibrink Marry , Ussowicz Marek , De Moerloose Barbara , Catala Albert , Smith Owen P. , Sedlacek Petr , Lankester Arjan C. , Zecca Marco , Bordon Victoria , Matthes-Martin Susanne , Abrahamsson Jonas , Kühl Jörn Sven , Sykora Karl-Walter , Albert Michael H. , Przychodzien Bartlomiej , Maciejewski Jaroslaw P. , Schwarz Stephan , Göhring Gudrun , Schlegelberger Brigitte , Cseh Annámaria , Noellke Peter , Yoshimi Ayami , Locatelli Franco , Baumann Irith , Strahm Brigitte , Niemeyer Charlotte M.
Published: December 2015

Key Points

Germline GATA2 mutations account for 15% of advanced and 7% of all primary pediatric MDS and do not influence overall survival. The majority (72%) of adolescents with MDS and monosomy 7 carry an underlying GATA2 deficiency.
Tooth and scale morphogenesis in shark: an alternative process to the mammalian enamel knot system
Authors: Debiais-Thibaud Mélanie , Chiori Roxane , Enault Sébastien , Oulion Silvan , Germon Isabelle , Martinand-Mari Camille , Casane Didier , Borday-Birraux Véronique
Published: December 2015

Background

The gene regulatory network involved in tooth morphogenesis has been extremely well described in mammals and its modeling has allowed predictions of variations in regulatory pathway that may have led to evolution of tooth shapes. However, very little is known outside of mammals to understand how this regulatory framework may also account for tooth shape evolution at the level of gnathostomes. In this work, we describe expression patterns and proliferation/apoptosis assays to uncover homologous regulatory pathways in the catsharkScyliorhinus canicula.

Results

Because of their similar structural and developmental features, gene expression patterns were described over the four developmental stages of both tooth and scale buds in the catshark. These gene expression patterns differ from mouse tooth development, and discrepancies are also observed between tooth and scale development within the catshark. However, a similar nested expression of Shh and Fgf suggests similar signaling involved in morphogenesis of all structures, although apoptosis assays do not support a strictly equivalent enamel knot system in sharks. Similarities in the topology of gene expression pattern, including Bmp signaling pathway, suggest that mouse molar development is more similar to scale bud development in the catshark.

Conclusions

These results support the fact that no enamel knot, as described in mammalian teeth, can be described in the morphogenesis of shark teeth or scales. However, homologous signaling pathways are involved in growth and morphogenesis with variations in their respective expression patterns. We speculate that variations in this topology of expression are also a substrate for tooth shape evolution, notably in regulating the growth axis and symmetry of the developing structure.
Children’s daily activities and knowledge acquisition: A case study among the Baka from southeastern Cameroon
Authors: Gallois Sandrine , Duda Romain , Hewlett Barry , Reyes-García Victoria
Published: December 2015

Background

The acquisition of local knowledge occurs through complex interactions between individual and contextual characteristics: as context changes, so it changes the acquisition of knowledge. Contemporary small-scale societies facing rapid social-ecological change provide a unique opportunity to study the relation between social-ecological changes and the process of acquisition of local knowledge. In this work, we study children’s involvement in subsistence related activities (i.e., hunting and gathering) in a context of social-ecological change and discuss how such involvement might condition the acquisition of local knowledge during childhood.

Methods

We interviewed 98 children from a hunter-gatherer society, the Baka, living in two different villages in southeastern Cameroon and assessed their involvement in daily activities. Using interviews, we collected self-reported data on the main activities performed during the previous 24 h. We describe the frequency of occurrence of daily activities during middle childhood and adolescence and explore the variation in occurrence according to the sex, the age group, and the village of residency of the child. We also explore variation according to the season in which the activity is conducted and to the predicted potential of the activity for the acquisition of local knowledge.

Results

Baka children and adolescents engage in subsistence-related activities (i.e., hunting and gathering) and playing more frequently than in other activities (i.e., traditional tales or schooling). Gender differences in children’s subsistence activities emerge at an early age. Engagement in activities also varies with age, with adolescents spending more time in agricultural activities, modern leisure (i.e., going to bars), and socializing than younger children. When conducting similar activities, adolescents use more complex techniques than younger children.

Conclusion

Subsistence activities, which present a high potential for transmission of local knowledge, continue to be predominant in Baka childhood. However, Baka children also engage in other, non-traditional activities, such as modern forms of leisure, or schooling, with a low potential for the transmission of local knowledge. Baka children’s involvement in non-traditional activities might have unforeseen impacts on the acquisition of local knowledge.
The number of polyploid giant cancer cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins are associated with invasion and metastasis in human breast cancer
Authors: Fei Fei , Zhang Dan , Yang Zhengduo , Wang Shujing , Wang Xian , Wu Zhengsheng , Wu Qiang , Zhang Shiwu
Published: December 2015

Background

Previously, we reported that polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs) induced by cobalt chloride (CoCl2) could have generated daughter cells with strong invasiveness and migration capabilities via asymmetric divisions. This study compared the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, including E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin, between PGCCs and their daughter cells, and control breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. The clinicopathological significance of EMT-related protein expression in human breast cancer was analyzed.

Methods

Western blot was used to compare the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin in breast cancer lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, between PGCCs with budding daughter cells and control breast cancer cells. Furthermore, 167 paraffin-embedded breast tumor tissue samples were analyzed, including samples obtained from 52 patients with primary breast cancer with lymph node metastasis (group I) and their corresponding lymph node metastatic tumors (group II), 52 patients with primary breast cancer without metastasis (group III), and 11 patients with benign breast lesions (group IV). The number of PGCCs was compared among these four groups.

Results

The number of PGCCs increased with the malignant grade of breast tumor. Group IIhad the highest number of PGCCs and the differences among group I, II, III and IV had statistically significance (P =0.000). In addition, the expression of E-cadherin (P = 0.000), N-cadherin (P = 0.000), and vimentin (P = 0.000) was significantly different among the four groups. Group II exhibited the highest expression levels of N-cadherin and vimentin and the lowest expression levels of E-cadherin.

Conclusions

These data suggest that the number of PGCCs and the EMT-related proteins E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin may be valuable biomarkers to assess metastasis in patients with breast cancer.
Inhibition of Oct 3/4 mitigates the cardiac progenitor-derived myocardial repair in infarcted myocardium
Authors: Zhao Yu Tina , Du Jianfeng , Chen Youfang , Tang Yaoliang , Qin Gangjian , Lv Guorong , Zhuang Shougang , Zhao Ting C.
Published: December 2015

Background

Recent evidence has demonstrated that cardiac progenitor cells play an essential role in the induction of angiomyogenesis in infarcted myocardium. We and others have shown that engraftment of c-kit+ cardiac stem cells (CSCs) into infarcted hearts led to myocardium regeneration and neovascularization, which was associated with an improvement of ventricular function. The purpose of this study is aimed at investigating the functional role of transcription factor (TF) Oct3/4 in facilitating CSCs to promote myocardium regeneration and preserve cardiac performance in the post-MI heart.

Methods

c-kit+ CSCs were isolated from adult hearts and re-introduced into the infarcted myocardium in which the mouse MI model was created by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). The Oct3/4 of CSCs was inhibited by transfection of Oct3/4 siRNA, and transfection of CSCs with control siRNA serves as control groups. Myocardial functions were evaluated by echocardiographic measurement. Histological analysis was employed to assess newly formed cardiogenesis, neovascularization, and cell proliferations. Terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT) nick-end labeling (TUNEL) was carried out to assess apoptotic cardiomyocytes. Real time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were carried out to evaluate the level of Oct 3/4 in CSCs.

Results

Two weeks after engraftment, CSCs increased ventricular functional recovery as shown by a serial echocardiographic measurement, which is concomitant with the suppression of cardiac hypertrophy and attenuation of myocardial interstitial fibrosis. Suppression of Oct 3/4 of CSCs abrogated functional improvements and mitigated the hypertrophic response and cardiac remodeling. Transplantation of c-kit+ CSCs into MI hearts promoted cardiac regeneration and neovascularization, which were abolished with the knockdown of Oct3/4. Additionally, suppression of Oct3/4 abrogated myocyte proliferation in the CSC-engrafted myocardium.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that CSCs-derived cardiac regeneration improves the restoration of cardiac function and is mediated through Oct 3/4.
Value of big data to finance: observations on an internet credit Service Company in China
Authors: Zhang Shaofeng , Xiong Wei , Ni Wancheng , Li Xin
Published: December 2015

Background

his paper presents a case study on 100Credit, an Internet credit service provider in China. 100Credit began as an IT company specializing in e-commerce recommendation before getting into the credit rating business. The company makes use of Big Data on multiple aspects of individuals’ online activities to infer their potential credit risk.

Methods

Based on 100Credit’s business practices, this paper summarizes four aspects related to the value of Big Data in Internet credit services.

Results

1) value from large data volume that provides access to more borrowers; 2) value from prediction correctness in reducing lenders’ operational cost; 3) value from the variety of services catering to different needs of lenders; and 4) value from information protection to sustain credit service businesses.

Conclusion

The paper also discusses the opportunities and challenges of Big Data-based credit risk analysis, which needs to be improved in future research and practice.
The sweet spot: how GAGs help chemokines guide migrating cells
Authors: Monneau Yoan , Arenzana-Seisdedos Fernando , Lortat-Jacob Hugues
Published: December 2015

Glycosaminoglycans are polysaccharides that occur both at the cell surface and within extracellular matrices. Through their ability to bind to a large array of proteins, almost 500 of which have been identified to date, including most chemokines, these molecules regulate key biologic processes at the cell–tissue interface. To do so, glycosaminoglycans can provide scaffolds to ensure that proteins mediating specific functions will be presented at the correct site and time and can also directly contribute to biologic activities or signaling processes. The binding of chemokines to glycosaminoglycans, which, at the biochemical level, has been mostly studied using heparin, has traditionally been thought of as a mechanism for maintaining haptotactic gradients within tissues along which cells can migrate directionally. Many aspects of chemokine–glycosaminoglycan interactions, however, also suggest that the formation of these complexes could serve additional purposes that go well beyond a simple immobilization process. In addition, progress in glycobiology has revealed that glycosaminoglycan structures, in term of length, sulfation, and epimerization pattern, are specific for cell, tissue, and developmental stage. Glycosaminoglycan regulation and glycosaminoglycan diversity, which cannot be replicated using heparin, thus suggests that these molecules may fine-tune the immune response by selectively recruiting specific chemokines to cell surfaces. In this context, the aim of the present text is to review the chemokine–glycosaminoglycan complexes described to date and provide a critical analysis of the tools, molecules, and strategies that can be used to structurally and functionally investigate the formation of these complexes.
When to Treat Adults Like Children: Optimizing Therapy for Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in Young Adults
Authors: O’Dwyer Kristen M. , Advani Anjali S.
Published: December 2015

The Oncology Grand Rounds series is designed to place original reports published in the Journal into clinical context. A case presentation is followed by a description of diagnostic and management challenges, a review of the relevant literature, and a summary of the authors’ suggested management approaches. The goal of this series is to help readers better understand how to apply the results of key studies, including those published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, to patients seen in their own clinical practice.

A 23-year-old man was urgently referred for evaluation of rapidly enlarging cervical lymphadenopathy, progressive dyspnea, fatigue, night sweats, and an unintentional weight loss of 25 pounds. A computed tomography scan of the neck performed 30 days before referral revealed bilateral cervical and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy (6 × 5 cm). A fine-needle aspirate of nasopharyngeal tissue demonstrated fibroadipose tissue. Tissue collected by core needle biopsy of a left internal jugular lymph node demonstrated a reactive lymph node but no malignancy. The patient was admitted to an academic medical center hospital. His physical examination was remarkable for bulky cervical and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. A testicular examination was normal. The patient’s lactate dehydrogenase concentration was 327 U/L (normal range, 118-225 U/L). A positron emission tomography scan revealed bilateral cervical and supraclavicular lymphadenopathy (6 × 5 cm with a standardized uptake value [SUV] of 14), a 1.3-cm subcutaneous nodule in the left thigh (SUV 16), and two 2.7-cm liver lesions (SUV 14). He underwent an excisional lymph node biopsy. The lymph node revealed effacement of the architecture by an interfollicular infiltrate of lymphoid cells ( Fig 1 ). Mitotic figures were abundant (Ki-67 stain 80% to 90% positive) and there were multiple foci of tissue necrosis. The lymphoblasts were examined by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry and expressed the T-cell markers CD2, CD3, CD4, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. A subpopulation of T cells was positive for both CD4 and CD8. Polymerase chain reaction studies revealed a clonal rearrangement of the T-cell receptor γ gene. A marrow aspirate and biopsy revealed normal trilineage hematopoiesis with no evidence of lymphoma and a normal male karyotype (46, XY). A lumbar puncture sample did not contain lymphoma cells. The patient’s diagnosis was T-lymphoblastic lymphoma.
Creating a Global Community of Practice for Oncofertility
Authors: Ataman Lauren M. , Rodrigues Jhenifer K. , Marinho Ricardo M. , Caetano João P.J. , Chehin Maurício B. , Alves da Motta Eduardo L. , Serafini Paulo , Suzuki Nao , Furui Tatsuro , Takae Seido , Sugishita Yodo , Morishige Ken-Ichiro , Almeida-Santos Teresa , Melo Cláudia , Buzaglo Karen , Irwin Kate , Wallace W. Hamish , Anderson Richard A. , Mitchell Roderick T. , Telfer Evelyn E. , Adiga Satish K. , Anazodo Antoinette , Stern Catharyn , Sullivan Elizabeth , Jayasinghe Yasmin , Orme Lisa , Cohn Richard , McLachlan Rob , Deans Rebecca , Agresta Franca , Gerstl Brigitte , Ledger William L. , Robker Rebecca L. , de Meneses e Silva João M. , Melo e Silva Lígia H.F. , Lunardi Franciele O. , Lee Jung R. , Suh Chang S. , De Vos Michael , Van Moer Ellen , Stoop Dominic , Vloeberghs Veerle , Smitz Johan , Tournaye Herman , Wildt Ludwig , Winkler-Crepaz Katharina , Andersen Claus Y. , Smith Brigid M. , Smith Kristin , Woodruff Teresa K.
Published: December 2015

Fertility preservation in the cancer setting, known as oncofertility, is a field that requires cross-disciplinary interaction between physicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, educators, and religious leaders. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Oncofertility Consortium (OC) was formed to be a scientifically grounded, transparent, and altruistic resource, both intellectual and monetary, for building this new field of practice capable of addressing the unique needs of young patients with cancer. The OC has expanded its attention to include other nonmalignant conditions that can threaten fertility, and the work of the OC now extends around the globe, involving partners who together have created a community of shared effort, resources, and practices. The OC creates materials that are translated, disseminated, and amended by all participants in the field, and local programs of excellence have developed worldwide to accelerate the pace and improve the quality of oncofertility research and practice. Here we review the global oncofertility programs and the capacity building activities that strengthen these research and clinical programs, ultimately improving patient care.
Impact of the Bim Deletion Polymorphism on Survival Among Patients With Completely Resected Non–Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma
Authors: Atsumi Jun , Shimizu Kimihiro , Ohtaki Yoichi , Kaira Kyoichi , Kakegawa Seiichi , Nagashima Toshiteru , Enokida Yasuaki , Nakazawa Seshiru , Obayashi Kai , Takase Yoshiaki , Kawashima Osamu , Kamiyoshihara Mitsuhiro , Sugano Masayuki , Ibe Takashi , Igai Hitoshi , Takeyoshi Izumi
Published: December 2015

Purpose

A deletion polymorphism of the Bim gene has been reported to be a prognostic factor for patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the Asian population. We investigated the impact of the Bim deletion polymorphism on survival among patients with completely resected NSCLC.

Patients and Methods

The Bim polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction analysis. We measured overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival rates in 411 patients and postrecurrence survival (PRS) in 94 patients who experienced recurrence and received additional anticancer therapy.

Results

The Bim deletion polymorphism was detected in 61 patients (14.8%). OS rates were significantly lower for patients with the Bim deletion polymorphism than for those with the wild-type sequence. On multivariable analysis, the Bim deletion polymorphism was identified as an independent prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.17 to 3.36; P = .011). Among the 94 patients who experienced recurrence and were treated with anticancer therapy, patients with the Bim deletion polymorphism showed significantly poorer PRS than those with the wild-type sequence (median, 9.8 months v 26.9 months, respectively; P < .001). Multivariable analysis revealed that the Bim deletion polymorphism was an independent predictor of PRS (hazard ratio, 3.36; 95% CI, 1.75 to 6.47; P < .001). This trend remained apparent in subgroup analyses stratified by EGFR status, histology, and therapeutic modality.

Conclusion

The Bim deletion polymorphism is a novel indicator of shortened PRS among patients with recurrent NSCLC treated with anticancer therapy in the Asian population.
A novel role for ASCL1 in the regulation of mesendoderm formation via HDAC-dependent antagonism of VegT function
Authors: Gao Li , Zhu Xuechen , Chen Geng , Ma Xin , Zhang Yan , Khand Aftab A. , Shi Huijuan , Gu Fei , Lin Hao , Chen Yuemeng , Zhang Haiyan , He Lei , Tao Qinghua
Published: December 2015

Maternally expressed proteins function in vertebrates to establish the major body axes of the embryo, and to establish a pre-pattern that sets the stage for later acting zygotic signals. This pre-pattern drives the propensity of Xenopus animal cap cells to adopt neural fates under various experimental conditions. Previous studies found that the maternally expressed transcription factor, encoded by the Xenopus achaete-scute like gene ascl1, is enriched at the animal pole. Asc1l is a bHLH protein involved in neural development, but its maternal function has not been studied. In this study, we have performed a series of gain and loss of function experiments on maternal ascl1, and present three novel findings. First, Ascl1 is a repressor of mesendoderm induced by VegT, but not of Nodal induced mesendoderm. Secondly, a previously uncharacterized N-terminal domain of Ascl1 interacts with HDAC1 to inhibit mesendoderm gene expression. This N-terminal domain is dispensable for its neurogenic function, indicating that Ascl1 has acts by different mechanisms at different times. Ascl1-mediated repression of mesendoderm genes was dependent on HDAC activity and accompanied by histone deacetylation in the promoter regions of VegT targets. Finally, maternal Ascl1 is required for animal cap cells to retain their competence to adopt neural fates. These results establish maternal Asc1l as a key factor in establishing the pre-pattern of the early embryo, acting in opposition to VegT and biasing the animal pole to adopt neural fates. The data presented here significantly extend our understanding of early embryonic pattern formation.
CORONA, PHABULOSA and PHAVOLUTA collaborate with BELL 1 to confine WUSCHEL expression to the nucellus in Arabidopsis ovules
Authors: Yamada Toshihiro , Sasaki Yusuke , Hashimoto Kayo , Nakajima Keiji , Gasser Charles S.
Published: December 2015

Angiosperm ovules consist of three proximal-distal domains, the nucellus, chalaza and funiculus, each demarcated by developmental fate and specific gene expression. Mutation in three paralogous class III homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-ZIPIII) genes leads to aberrations in ovule integument development. Expression of WUSCHEL (WUS) is normally confined to the nucellar domain, but in this triple mutant expression expands into the chalaza. Micro-RNA induced suppression of this expansion partially suppresses the effects of the HD-ZIPIII mutations on ovule development implicating ectopic WUS expression as a component of the mutant phenotype. bell 1 (bel1) mutants produce aberrant structures in place of the integuments and WUS expresses ectopically in these structures. Combination of bel1 with the HD-ZIPIII triple mutant leads to a striking phenotype where ectopic ovules emerge from nodes of ectopic WUS expression along the funiculi of the primary ovules. The synergistic phenotype indicates that BEL1 and HD-ZIPIII genes act in at least partial independence in confining WUS expression to the nucellus and maintaining ovule morphology. The branching ovules of the mutant resemble branched ovules of some fossil gymnosperms implicating BEL1 and HD-ZIPIII genes as players in evolution of the unbranched ovule form in extant angiosperms.
The Function and Regulation of the GATA Factor ELT-2 in theC. elegansEndoderm
Authors: Wiesenfahrt Tobias , Berg Janette Y. , Nishimura Erin Osborne , Robinson Adam G. , Goszczynski Barbara , Lieb Jason D. , McGhee James D.
Published: December 2015

The GATA-type transcription factor ELT-2 is the major regulator of genes involved in differentiation, maintenance and function of the C. elegans intestine from the early embryo to the mature adult. The elt-2 gene responds to over-expression of the two GATA transcription factors END-1 and END-3 that specify the intestine, as well as to over-expression of the two GATA factors that are normally involved in intestinal differentiation, ELT-7 and ELT-2 itself. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that underlie these interactions, the general mechanisms by which ELT-2 levels are maintained throughout development, or how such systems respond to developmental perturbations. Here, we analyze regulation of the elt-2 gene through transgenic reporter assays, ELT-2 chromatin-immunoprecipitation and characterization of in vivo DNA-protein interactions. Our results lead to a model in which the elt-2 gene is controlled by three discrete regulatory regions conserved between C. elegans and C. briggsae and spanning >4 kb of 5'-flanking sequence. Although superficially the three regions are interchangeable, they have quantitatively different enhancer properties, and their combined activities indicate inter-region synergies. The regulatory activity of each region is mediated by a small number of conserved TGATAA sites that are also largely interchangeable and interact with different endodermal GATA factors with only modest differences in affinity. The redundant molecular mechanism that forms the elt-2 regulatory network is robust and flexible, as demonstrated by the fact that loss of the end-3 gene lowers ELT-2 levels by two-fold in the early embryo but ELT-2 returns to wildtype levels by hatching, several hours later. Finally, we report that when ELT-2 is expressed under the control of end-1 regulatory elements in addition to its own endogenous promoter, ELT-2 is able to replace the complete set of endoderm-specific GATA factors: END-1, END-3, ELT-7 (as well as the probably non-functional ELT-4). Thus, in addition to controlling gene expression during differentiation, ELT-2 is also capable of specifying the entire C. elegans endoderm.