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In this study, we explore the teaching motivation of two experienced South Korean teachers of English from an Activity Theory perspective. In the fall semester of 2013, we interviewed two female teachers with a similar amount of teaching experience in comparable school districts as study participants in an in-depth qualitative inquiry. Our findings indicated that teachers' beliefs about effective teaching methods functioned as a crucial mediational tool for their teaching motivation, and that the two teachers' motivation levels progressed differently depending on how each of them exercised agency as a teacher. This study implies that, like L2 learning motivation, L2 teacher motivation also changes over time via dynamic interactions between the agents and contextual factors in an activity system. Pedagogically, the implication is that school administrators should be required to help teachers adjust to students' differing needs by providing a supportive learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the longitudinal trajectories of two Korean ESL immigrants' L2 learning motivation from an Activity Theory perspective. Two highly skilled immigrants participated in monthly semi-structured interviews over a period of 10 months. The research questions are as follows: (1) How does the relationship between ESL learners and their perceived social contexts affect and shape the way in which their ESL learning motivation develops? (2) How can the factors affecting the changes in ESL learning motivation be explained from an Activity Theory perspective? The recurring themes in the monthly interview data were coded and aligned to Engeström's (1999a) activity-system model; important interactions among the subcomponents of the model are presented and discussed. The results indicate that (1) the dynamism in ESL learning (de)motivation can be coherently explained in a series of longitudinal activity-system models; and (2) that it is not the ESL context per se but each participant's recognition of it that plays a pivotal role in creating, maintaining, and terminating ESL learning motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We characterized the cytogenetic changes and prognostic characteristics of 133 Korean patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), focusing on 5q− syndrome and MDS with chromosome abnormalities involving 5q deletion according to World Health Organization 2008 classification. In all patients, G banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization for 5q were performed, and in MDS patients with 5q deletion, the deleted region on chromosome 5 was mapped with fluorescence in situ hybridization for EGR1, CSF1R, and PDGFRB. The frequency of isolated del(5q) syndrome and 5q deletion was 2.2% (3 of 137 patients) and 15.3% (21 of 137 patients), respectively. International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) groups were low risk (5.8%), intermediate 1 (51.1%), intermediate 2 (27.8%), and high risk (15.3%). The patients with del(5q) were significantly older (62 years) and showed an unfavorable survival compared to patients without del(5q). Half (53%) of the patients with del(5q) also had complex chromosome abnormalities, including chromosome 7 abnormalities. Of the patients with del(5q), 93.3% were deleted for all three regions on 5q, compared to 66.7% of patients with isolated del(5q). Marker chromosomes proved to be chromosome 5 with interstitial deletion of q arm by fluorescence in situ hybridization in three patients. The biological characteristics of MDS in Korea seem to be markedly different from those of Caucasians, with Koreans having a younger age, lower frequencies of 5q− syndrome, higher frequencies of complex cytogenetic abnormalities including del(5q), and poorer prognosis. We infer that additional chromosome abnormalities contribute to the adverse prognostic impact in patients with del(5q). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Serum phosphorus concentrations are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in patients with renal insufficiency. This association has also been reported in Western individuals without chronic kidney disease (CKD)., Objective: It is unclear, however, whether this correlation occurs in Korean individuals without CKD, who usually ingest less phosphorus than do Western individuals., Design: We reviewed the findings in 402 healthy Korean adults with a mean (±SD) age of 50.8 ± 8.5 y (n = 257 men and 145 women) and a glomerular filtration rate of 83.5 ± 14.1 mL/min, who underwent health screening with electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT). The study population was separated into 4 groups on the basis of the coronary calcium concentration (Agatston score: 0, >0 to ≤10, >10 to ≤100, and >100). Mean serum phosphorus concentrations, measured ≥10 y before EBCT, were compared., Results: Multivariate analysis showed that age (P = 0.001), male sex (P = 0.002), family history of CVD (P = 0.006), serum glucose (P = 0.003), and serum phosphorus >3.6 mg/dL (P = 0.008) were significant factors influencing the coronary calcification group with an Agatston score >100, when those with an Agatston score of 0 were considered as the reference group. Compared with the group with a serum phosphorus concentration ≤3.3 mg/dL, the OR of an Agatston score >100 in individuals with a serum phosphorus concentration >3.6 to ≤3.9 mg/dL was 3.89 (95% CI: 1.43, 10.63; P = 0.008) and in those with a serum phosphorus concentration >3.9 mg/dL was 3.17 (95% CI: 1.19, 8.41; P = 0.021)., Conclusion: A lower concentration of serum phosphorus within the normal range could be associated with less calcification of the coronary artery in Koreans with normal renal function.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an enzyme involved in folate metabolism and DNA methylation. Studies on MTHFR polymorphism in leukemia have largely focused on the protective role of MTHFR polymorphism in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We evaluated the C677T and A1298C polymorphisms using the TaqMan allelic discrimination assay in various malignancies. The study population included 115 subjects with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), 200 with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), 196 with multiple myeloma (MM) and 434 healthy control subjects. The frequency of 1298CC was statistically significantly higher in subjects with CML than that of the controls (OR=5.12, 95% CI: 1.75-14.9, P-value=.003). Of note, the frequencies of 677CC/1298CC genotype were statistically significantly higher in subjects with CML, AML and MM than that of the controls (OR=8.8, 3.5, 3.83, P-value=.002, 0.036, 0.023, respectively). Our results demonstrate that the MTHFR 1298CC homozygote variant is strongly associated with an increased risk of CML, while MTHFR C677T does not significantly affect the risk of CML. Moreover, we demonstrated that MTHFR 677CC and 1298CC genotype might have combined effect on risk of CML, AML and MM and it is inferred that the A1298C may play a different role in carcinogenesis, depending on the types of organs involved, the types of disease entities and the genotype of C677T.

The most frequent genetic aberrations in multiple myeloma (MM) are 13q deletions and translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGH). There have been no reports on the cytogenetic abnormalities found in Korean patients with MM. We investigated the actual prevalence and prognostic value of cytogenetic changes using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH studies with 12 different specific probes for the regions containing the genes or chromosome regions (13q, 1q, IGH, p53, MLL, p16, CEP 7, CEP 11, and CEP 12) were performed in 128 patients. The most frequent change found was 13q deletion (48%), followed by trisomy 1q (45%), IGH translocation (37%), and trisomy 11 (26%). Among the three different probes used to detect 13q deletion, D13S25 (48/58) was the most sensitive probe compared to RB (43/58) and D13S319 (39/58). Among the patients showing one or more changes by FISH, 75% (82/110) had a 13q deletion, a trisomy 1q, or an IGH translocation. Azotemia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, intramedullary plasmacytosis, and stage were significantly associated with the 13q deletion; serum beta(2)-microglobulin, thrombocytopenia, and intramedullary plasmacytosis were also related to trisomy 1q. The pattern of molecular cytogenetic changes in Korean patients with MM is somewhat different from what has been observed in reported Caucasian populations: 37 versus 50-70% with regard to the IGH translocation. The prevalence of the 13q deletion was similar in Korean and Caucasian populations, 48 versus 30-50%. We suggest that the detection of at least these three genetic changes, 13q- trisomy 1q, and an IGH rearrangement, would be helpful for follow-up of Korean patients with MM.

To evaluate the prognostic significance of submicroscopic deletions of the ABL or BCR gene associated with t(9;22) in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), we investigated the incidence of an ABL or BCR deletion on derivative chromosome 9 using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH was performed using the LSI BCR/ABL dual-fusion translocation probe on bone marrow cells of 86 patients with CML. Of 86 patients, ABL deletion was detected in 13 (15.1%) patients and BCR deletion in 8 patients (9.3%). Patients with ABL deletion showed shorter event-free survival time (EFS) than those without ABL deletion (P = 0.020). Patients with BCR deletion showed significantly short overall survival time (OS; P = 0.039). Patients with ABL and/or BCR deletion (14/86 patients, 16.3%) showed significantly short OS and EFS (median OS, 43.0 months; median EFS, 40.0 months), compared to the patients without any BCR or ABL gene deletions (median OS, 94.0 months; median EFS, 90.0 months; P = 0.041 for OS, P = 0.008 for EFS). All the patients with BCR deletion, except for one, had a concomitant ABL deletion, suggesting that BCR deletion occurs in conjunction with ABL deletion. In patients with ABL deletion only, BCR/ABL rearrangement with b2a2 mRNA type tended to be more frequent than in patients without any deletion of the two genes (P = 0.073). Deletion of any of the BCR or ABL genes on derivative chromosome 9 was associated with both short OS and EFS. We conclude that deletion of not only the ABL gene, but also of the BCR gene, is a poor prognostic marker that indicates rapid disease progression in CML.