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This qualitative study investigated the washback of performance-based assessment used by three English language teachers in Hokkaido, Japan, each of whom implemented their own course-specific assessments. The study employed qualitative research of an in-depth interview with 15 students and a self-reflective method from 3 teachers. Teachers demonstrated different approaches in implementing performance-based language assessment. However, they agreed that this type of assessment could enhance students' communicative skills and rubrics were crucial in the assessment process. In terms of washback on students, they found that performance-based assessment, with detailed feedback, provided learners with a comfortable and challenging learning environment, leading to self-developed English performances, feelings of accomplishment, and better retention of English used in the presentations. However, some students found performance-based assessment demanding, causing anxiety. The findings suggest that when implementing performance-based assessment teachers should consider different aspects of the assessment to create positive washback.

Purpose: To evaluate the association of platelet (PL) mitochondria respiration with markers of cardiovascular health in children ages 7-10 years. Methods: PL mitochondrial respiration (n = 91) was assessed by high resolution respirometry (HRR): Routine (R) respiration, complex (C) I linked respiration (CI), and maximal uncoupled electron transport capacity of CII (CIIE) were measured. The respiratory control ratio (RCR) was calculated as the ratio of maximal oxidative phosphorylation capacity of CI and CI leak respiration (PCI/LCI). Peak V˙ O2 (incremental bike test) and body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) were measured. Multiple generalized linear regression analysis was used to model the association of measures by HRR with variables of interest: adiposity, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) status (normal vs. elevated) HOMA2-IR, blood pressure status (normal vs. high), and demographics. Results: R and CI-linked respiration positively associated with adiposity, high blood pressure (HBP), and peak V˙ O2. R and CI-linked respiration had inverse association with age and elevated LDL-C. CIIE was higher in children with elevated LDL-C (log-β = -0.54, p = 0.010). HBP and peak V˙ O2 interacted in relation to RCR (log-β = -0.01, p = 0.028). Specifically, RCR was lowest among children with HBP and low aerobic capacity (i.e., mean peak V˙ O2 -1SD). HOMA2-IR did not associate with measures of PL mitochondria respiration. Conclusion: In PL, R and CI-linked mitochondrial respiration directly associate with adiposity, peak V˙ O2 and HBP. Elevated LDL-C associates with lower CI-linked respiration which is compensated by increasing CII respiration. PL bioenergetics phenotypes in children associate with whole-body metabolic health status.

BackgroundNeonatal diet impacts many physiological systems and can modify risk for developing metabolic disease and obesity later in life. Less well studied is the effect of postnatal diet (e.g., comparing human milk (HM) or milk formula (MF) feeding) on mitochondrial bioenergetics. Such effects may be most profound in splanchnic tissues that would have early exposure to diet-associated or gut microbe-derived factors.MethodsTo address this question, we measured ileal and liver mitochondrial bioenergetics phenotypes in male piglets fed with HM or MF from day 2 to day 21 age. Ileal and liver tissue were processed for mitochondrial respiration (substrate only [pyruvate, malate, glutamate], substrate + ADP, and proton "leak" post-oligomycin; measured by Oroboros methods), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and metabolically-relevant gene expression analyses.ResultsNo differences between the diet groups were observed in mitochondrial bioenergetics indices in ileal tissue. In contrast, ADP-dependent liver Complex I-linked OXPHOS capacity and Complex I + II-linked OXPHOS capacity were significantly higher in MF animals relative to HM fed piglets. Interestingly, p53, Trap1, and Pparβ transcript abundances were higher in MF-fed relative to HM-fed piglets in the liver. Mitochondrial DNA copy numbers (normalized to nuclear DNA) were similar within-tissue regardless of postnatal diet, and were ~ 2-3 times higher in liver vs. ileal tissue.ConclusionWhile mechanisms remain to be identified, the data indicate that neonatal diet can significantly impact liver mitochondrial bioenergetics phenotypes, even in the absence of a change in mtDNA abundance. Since permeabilized liver mitochondrial respiration was increased in MF piglets only in the presence of ADP, it suggests that formula feeding led to a higher ATP turnover. Specific mechanisms and signals involved with neonatal diet-associated differences in liver bioenergetics remain to be elucidated.

In an effort to better understand the mechanisms that regulate oil accumulation and packaging in seeds, transgenic cotton lines were generated using a Brassica napus nonfunctional delta-12 fatty acid desaturase (FAD2) gene under control of the phaseolin promoter. Seeds of numerous transgenic plant lines had reduced oil content compared with null-segregating siblings or nontransformed seeds. Seed oil content was quantified by [sup.1]H-NMR, and was reduced to 12% or less of seed weight in transgenics from 20% by weight in nontransformed controls. Light- and electron-microscopic analyses of severely Iowered lines, showed a reduction in overall cotyledon thickness and a disruption in cellular and subcellular organization. Lipid bodies and protein bodies were fewer in transgenics, and their size and distribution in cells was different than that in nontransformed seeds. Coincident with reduced storage reserves, sucrose levels were elevated in transgenic seeds. The overall effect of oil suppression was to selectively reduce the size of the embryo, but the seed coat and fiber properties remained unaffected in seeds. In fact there was a significant increase in lint percentage in all oil-suppressed lines examined. Overall we propose that expression of the nonfunctional Bnfad2 allele in cottonseeds disrupts normal oil biosynthesis and provides for redirection of carbon reserves.

This report examined the benefits and risks of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) in men with hormone receptor‒positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2−negative (HER2−) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Palbociclib was evaluated using three independent data sources: real‐world data from pharmacy and medical claims, a de‐identified real‐world data source derived from electronic health records (EHRs), and a global safety database. From medical and pharmacy records, 1,139 men with MBC were identified; in the first‐line setting, median duration of treatment was longer with palbociclib plus ET (n = 37, 8.5 months, 95% confidence interval (CI), 4.4‒13.0) than ET alone (n = 214, 4.3 months, 95% CI, 3.0‒5.7) and specifically, was longer with palbociclib plus letrozole (n = 26, 9.4 months, 95% CI, 4.4‒14.0) than letrozole alone (n = 63, 3.0 months, 95% CI, 1.8‒4.8). In the EHR‐derived database, 59 men received treatment for MBC; real‐world response across all lines of therapy in the metastatic setting was reported in 4 of 12 patients (33.3%) in the palbociclib plus ET group vs. 1 of 8 (12.5%) patients in the ET group. Review of the global safety database did not identify any new safety signals in palbociclib‐treated men. Real‐world data indicated that men with MBC benefit from palbociclib plus ET, with a safety profile consistent with previous observations in women with MBC. Collective data on palbociclib in women and men in this report, including clinical trial data, real‐world data, and a well‐established risk/benefit profile, led to US approval of an expansion of the palbociclib indication to include men with MBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]