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Prior research showed that interleaved practice (studying multiple skills at once) is more effective than blocked practice (studying only one skill at a time). This study aims to replicate the benefits of interleaved practice on the proceduralization of second language (L2) syntax and further examines the role of working memory (WM) in different practice schedules. Sixty English learners studied five types of relative-clause constructions under either blocked- or interleaved-practice conditions. The blocked-practice group engaged in systematic form-focused speaking practice with exemplars blocked by syntactic category, while the interleaved-practice group received mixed exemplars from the different categories. The proceduralization of grammatical knowledge was measured by analysing the accuracy and speed indices from a picture description test, which was administered immediately and one week after the training session. Learners' WM capacity was measured using a listening-span task. Results showed that interleaved practice led to more accurate performance on both immediate and delayed posttests than blocked practice. The advantage of interleaved practice was less pronounced for the speed dimension of performance. Furthermore, interleaved practice facilitated skill development regardless of learners' WM capacity, whereas in the blocked-practice condition, learners with higher WM capacity benefited more than those with lower WM capacity in speeding up of relative clause use, which presumably reflects the proceduralization--automatization stage.

Isolates of the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex from grape ripe rot in Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 2016–2017 were identified and their morphology, virulence, and fungicide sensitivity clarified. Based on phylogenetic analysis of the ApMat locus, 80 isolates were identified as belonging to four species, C. perseae (17.5%), C. viniferum (8.8%), C. fructicola (7.5%), and C. gloeosporioides sensu stricto (2.5%) and another species designated Clade V (63.8%). Clade V was the most important pathogen in Nagano Prefecture because of its predominance and high virulence. Colletotrichum perseae and C. fructicola both had a sexual stage and were often found to be resistance to QoI fungicides; they were dominant in the northern region of Nagano Prefecture in 2016. These four species and Clade V can be distinguished by the growth rate of their colonies and morphology of their conidia and ascospores. The results of this study suggest that identification of dominant species in each field is necessary to determine the most suitable fungicide application for disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Interstitial pneumonia (IP) is a chronic progressive interstitial lung disease associated with high mortality and poor prognosis. However, the pathogenesis of IP remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells in SSc patients with IP.Methods. The proportion of CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and serum sialylated carbohydrate antigen (KL-6) levels were determined. GeneChip analysis was performed with CD161− and CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells. Cytokine and chemokine expression from CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells was measured and used to evaluate the effect of culture supernatant on fibroblast proliferation.Results. The proportion of CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells was significantly higher in SSc than healthy controls (HCs) and correlated negatively with serum KL-6 levels in IP-positive SSc patients. The gene and mRNA expression level of chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3) was markedly higher in CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells than in CD161− Vδ1+ γδ T cells. CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells in IP-positive SSc patients showed higher production of CCL3 and lower production of IFN-γ than in HCs. Culture supernatant derived from IP-negative and IP-positive SSc patients promoted fibroblast proliferation, whereas that from HCs did not.Conclusion. The small proportion and the altered cell functions of CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells among PBMCs in SSc patients play a role in the pathogenesis of IP. These findings suggest that CD161+ Vδ1+ γδ T cells may play a regulatory role in the pathogenesis of IP in SSc patients via IFN-γ production. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective. To characterize the epidemiology of Sjögren's syndrome (SS), including prevalence, disease type, extra-glandular involvement, satisfaction of diagnostic criteria sets, and treatment used in Japan. Methods. The Research Team for Autoimmune Diseases, the Research Program for Intractable Disease by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare conducted primary and secondary surveys on epidemiology of SS in 2011. The primary survey covered 4,729 out of 14,095 Japan-wide Hospital Departments to investigate the prevalence of SS. The secondary survey encompassed 214 Hospital Departments that agreed to the survey, to characterize disease type, extra-glandular involvement, satisfaction of diagnostic criteria sets, and treatments. Results. The number of patients with SS in Japan estimated by the primary survey was 68,483. The secondary survey involving data collected from 2,195 SS patients from 98 Hospital Departments showed that the mean age of patients was 60.8 ± 15.2 years, male/female ratio was 1/17.4, primary/secondary SS was about 60%/40% and glandular/extra-glandular form in primary SS was about 70%/25%. The satisfaction rate was 53.8% for the 1999 revised Japanese Ministry of Health criteria for the diagnosis of SS, 47.7% for the 2002 American-European Consensus Group classification criteria for SS and 49.6% for 2012 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SS. Corticosteroids were used by 752 of 2,195 patients (34%), immunosuppressants by 358 patients (16%), biologics by 68 patients (3%) and secretagogues by 695 patients (32%). Conclusion. The surveys provided valuable information on the epidemiology of SS including prevalence, disease type, extra-glandular involvement, satisfaction of diagnostic criteria sets and treatments used today in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]