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With the present study I investigated the sources of score variance and dependability in a local oral English proficiency test for potential international teaching assistants (ITAs) across four first language (L1) groups, and suggested alternative test designs. Using generalizability theory, I examined the relative importance of L1s (i.e., Indian, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish), examinees, tasks, and ratings to score variability, and estimated dependability across the L1s. The analyses identified examinees as the largest contributor, which is important for high dependability and validity arguments for test scores. Effects of ratings and tasks were small, but L1 effects on score variance were considerable, with the Indian group’s dependability lowest. Unlike previous generalizability theory studies on L1 effects, however, further analyses revealed that the L1 effects highly likely reflect proficiency differences rather than strong bias when comparing the percent agreement of the ratings, external criteria of examinee English proficiency, and underlying score distributions. I discuss the proficiency differences related to varied socio-linguistic contexts of using and learning English. Lastly, I suggest an alternative design with fewer items and one additional rating for improved dependability. Considering multiple test purposes specific to ITA testing (i.e., efficiency, construct representation, formative advantages), I propose a flexible approach.

농약 4종의 비닐하우스 딸기 옆면 잔류량(DFR; Dislodgeable Foliar Residue)과 수확, 이식, 제초작업 동안 농작업자 피부 노출량을 농약 노출평가 모델 OPREC(Occupational Pesticide Re-entry Exposure Calculator)를 이용하여 구하였다. 비닐하우스 딸기 잎의 DFR은 아바멕틴 1.714% 액상수화제의 경우 0.02580~0.00109 μg/cm², 사이안트라닐리프롤 5% 분산성액제는 0.15005~0.00636 μg/cm², 인독사카브 7% 입상수화제는 0.10518~0.00446 μg/cm², 피리다벤 10% 유탁제는 0.30039~0.01273 μg/cm² 이었다. 농작업자 피부 노출량은 아바멕틴 1.714% 액상수화제의 경우 수확, 이식, 제초작업 동안 각각 0.37845~0.01604, 0.07913~0.00335, 0.02408~0.00102 mg/kg/day 이었고, 사이안트라닐리프롤 5% 분산성액제는 각각 2.20078~0.09329, 0.46016~0.01951, 0.14005~0.00594 mg/kg/day, 인독사카브 7% 입상수화제는 각각 1.54261~0.06539, 0.32254~0.01267, 0.09817~0.00416 mg/kg/day, 피리다벤 10% 유탁제는 각각 4.40568~0.18676, 0.92119~0.03905, 0.28036~0.01188 mg/kg/day 이었다. 농작업자 피부 노출량과 무작용량(NOAEL; No Observed Adverse Effect Level)을 비교하여 재출입기간을 설정한 결과, 수확작업의 경우, 아바멕틴 1.714% 액상 수화제는 4일, 사이안트라닐리프롤 5% 분산성액제는 8일, 인독사카브 7% 입상수화제는 11일, 피리다벤 10% 유탁제는 15일이었다.

meso-Aryl dipyrromethanes are important building blocks to create various practical molecules, and the electron-withdrawing effect of the meso-aryls can play an important role in improving/controlling their reactivities in further reactions: meso-Pentafluorophenyl and meso-(2,6-dichlorophenyl) substituted dipyrromethanes towards the associating dipyrrins and other derivatives have been investigated, in which coordination with different transition metals followed by the dissociation of the metal coordination by interruption of proton and halide ions have been verified. Furthermore, simple DDQ-oxidations of the dipyrromethanes have afforded DDQ-dipyrrin adducts which were delivered to distinctly advanced molecular rearrangements in the presence of acid and base. Vinylene bisdipyrrin compounds, obtained in the reactions of DDQ-dipyrrin adducts with a Lewis base triethylamine, have produced expanded porphyrinoid bis-nickel complexes during the metalation procedure with nickel acetate, while a cobalt metalation of the vinylene bisdipyrrin compounds resulted in an isolation of diamagnetic octahedral cobalt(III) complex. Moreover, meso-pentafluorophenyl and meso-(2,6-dichlorophenyl) dipyrromethanes have been useful platforms to accomplish size-controlled series of meso-aryl-substituted expanded porphyrins and easy separation/purification of selective meso-aryl expanded porphyrins, in which advanced metal complexes and various fascinating properties and reactivities admitting moderate functional molecules have arisen.

The following paper examines the course in which the colonial hierarchy of violence is internalized as multi-layered racism through the experiences of the soldiers from Okinawa and the Korean guards at Japanese POW camps during WWII. Although the Korean guards oversaw Allied prisoners of war in Japan’s WWII camps, they were under watch themselves by their Japanese counterparts and superiors. In a somewhat similar way, the soldiers from Okinawa contributed to Japan’s colonial rule in East Asia while being subject to Japan’s “internal colonialism.” I will describe the nature of their two-sided involvement as “victimhood implicated in perpetration of violence”, and I will seek ways to liberate their experience from the relations that are colonized and institutionalized. What lies within the purview of this paper are the experiences of (1) the people from Okinawa who were gunzoku-militarized personnel of the Japanese imperial army-and (2) the Korean guards who oversaw the Allied prisoners of war in Southeast Asia between 1942 and 1945. In addition, the literary work, testimonies, and other written accounts of institutionalized life in the years that followed will also be examined. The first case to be examined is Yi Yŏngkil (李永吉), a Korean guard at the Japanese POW camp whose Japanese name was Yoshimoto Nagayoshi (慶本永吉), for which his writings as well as the testimonies of his coworkers will be analyzed. During the course of his life, Yi was taken from the POW camp to a detention center, and was eventually placed in a psychiatric ward, being faced with a number of different forms of institutionalization in conjunction with colonization. Yi’s case is followed by the analysis of the series of fictional and archival writings that reveal the course in which the Korean and Okinawan gunzokus in Southeast Asia came to participate in the independence movement in Indonesia after 1945. By comparing Okinawan writer Ōta Ryōhaku’s Black Diamond (1949) with the Korean guards’ written accounts, I attempt to question whether it is possible that decolonization of one colonized community lead to decolonization of other colonized communities. The goal of this paper is to seek how the Korean and the Okinawan people-the people who are marked by “victimhood implicated in perpetration of violence”-can truly be liberated from the post-concentration camp institutionalization and the colonization that persists even in the aftermath of colonialism through the case of what I call “concomitance of two independences.” By drawing connections among various “abjects”, my intention is neither to keep their experience as abject nor to request their inclusion in the conventional space of historiography, but to suggest a new imaginary where a series of abjected experiences become connected in unexpected ways.

A low spin state and diamagnetic CoIII complex 1 possessing pyrrolopyrrolizine ligands formed with dicyanovinylene-bis-(meso-aryl)dipyrrin was synthesized via the thermally activated metalation with CoCl2 and isolated via column chromatography. The nuclear magnetic resonance of complex 1 revealed diamagnetism, thereby confirming the structure of the octahedral CoIII-complex of strong-field ligands. The resulting molecular structure of 1 was elucidated by the X-ray diffraction analysis. An arrangement of two pyrrolizine-ligands for the metal chelation was found in the AB–BA order, which was distinct from the case observed during the formation of bis-NiII-expanded porphyrinoids.

Genome editing using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system has greatly facilitated the genetic analysis of fungal pathogens. The head blight fungus, Fusarium graminearum, causes destructive losses of economically important cereal crops. The recent development of the CRISPR-Cas9 system for use with F. graminearum has enabled more efficient genome editing. In this study, we described a CRISPR-Cas9-based genome-editing tool for the direct delivery of preassembled Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) into the protoplasts of F. graminearum. The use of RNPs significantly increased both the number of transformants and percentage of transformants in which the target gene was successfully replaced with a selectable marker. We showed that a single double-strand DNA break mediated by the Cas9 ribonucleoprotein was sufficient for gene deletion. In addition, short-homology recombination required only 50 base pair regions flanking the target gene. The high efficiency of Cas9 RNPs enables large-scale functional analysis, the identification of essential genes, and gene deletion that is difficult with conventional methods. We expect that our approach will accelerate genetic studies of F. graminearum.

Fungal sexual reproduction requires complex cellular differentiation processes of hyphal cells. The plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum produces fruiting bodies called perithecia via sexual reproduction, and perithecia forcibly discharge ascospores into the air for disease initiation and propagation. Lipid metabolism and accumulation are closely related to perithecium formation, yet the molecular mechanisms that regulate these processes are largely unknown. Here, we report that a novel fungal specific bZIP transcription factor, F. graminearum perithecium overproducing 1 (Fpo1), plays a role as a global transcriptional repressor during perithecium production and maturation in F. graminearum. Deletion of FPO1 resulted in reduced vegetative growth, asexual sporulation and virulence and overproduced perithecium, which reached maturity earlier, compared with the wild type. Intriguingly, the hyphae of the fpo1 mutant accumulated excess lipids during perithecium production. Using a combination of molecular biological, transcriptomic and biochemical approaches, we demonstrate that repression of FPO1 after sexual induction leads to reprogramming of carbon metabolism, particularly fatty acid production, which affects sexual reproduction of this fungus. This is the first report of a perithecium-overproducing F. graminearum mutant, and the findings provide comprehensive insight into the role of modulation of carbon metabolism in the sexual reproduction of fungi.

Nickel norcorrole dimer 3 linked with a phenylene bridge was prepared by a nickel-mediated homolytic cross-coupling of meso-phenylene bisdipyrrin nickel(II) dimer 2b. The structures of 2b and 3 were elucidated by X-ray diffraction analysis. Each nickel norcorrole fraction of the nickel norcorrole dimer 3 exposed a bowl-like structure, which conserved anti-conformation. Structural distinctions between the monomeric and dimeric nickel norcorroles were established by vibrational spectroscopic analysis and assessed with density functional theory calculations. Enhanced flexibility of the norcorrole planes in solution states of monomeric nickel norcorrole was compromised to that of bowl-shaped norcorroles in the solid states of nickel norcorrole dimer 3, where C[Formula: see text] was the formulated conformation. The deformation of the planarity derived from the objection of laser pulses effectuated vibration shifts of specific Raman-active motions toward a higher-frequency region, as associating with a paratropic nature of the [Formula: see text]-electron delocalization circuit of norcorrole. Computational simulation exposed a reliable drift of the Raman frequencies.

Recently, 3D porous scaffolds using naturally derived polymers, i.e. chitosan (CHN), gelatin (GLN), and their blends have attracted attentions for tissue engineering applications. Research on the use of polymers and ceramic composites has been performed to improve biocompatibility of tissue scaffolds. However, calcium phosphate (CaP) coating on CHN/GLN blend scaffolds has not been well studied. In this study, we fabricated CHN/GLN films and scaffolds at various CHN/GLN blending ratios (100/0, 75:25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100) and established optimal CaP coating method on CHN/GLN blends. Increase in GLN content promoted both surface hydrophilicity and Ca/P ratio. The prepared CHN/GLN scaffolds displayed highly porous architecture with elastic nature. The effect of increase in GLN content on osteoblast proliferation was evident but no significant impact on alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. When the CHN/GLN scaffold was coated with CaP film, ALP activity was dramatically improved, and the 75/25 scaffold showed the highest ALP level among all CHN/GLN scaffolds. The present study demonstrated that the combination of CHN, GLN, and CaP coating can generate synergistic effects on the improvement of bioactivity of CHN/GLN scaffold and can be further used for the fabrication of hard tissue scaffolds.

Organic electrode materials for rechargeable batteries have come into the spotlight due to their structural tunability and diversity. In this study, it is found that bisnickel(II) meso-mesityloctaphyrin(1.0.1.0.1.0.1.0) (Oct) is exhibiting multiple oxidation states with extended π-conjugation pathways to afford an active electrode material in Li and Na-organic batteries and secure interactions with Li

There have been no detailed investigations regarding solid-phase-extraction (SPE) optimization and screening for the degradation products of ethyl (1-(diethylamino)ethylidene)phosphoramidofluoridate (A234) in various environmental samples. Therefore, as a first step in the selective SPE of the degradation products of A234, we optimized the SPE adsorption and extraction parameters for the A234 degradation product ethylhydrogen (1-(diethylamino)ethylidene)phosphoramidate (cpd 1). Among various SPE cartridges, the Si cartridge (500 mg, 3 mL) selectively extracted cpd 1 using an elution volume of 4 mL of 25% H2O in acetonitrile, which eliminated most interference without cpd 1 loss during loading and washing. In addition, the sorbent capacity is also critical in the adsorption of cpd 1. The Si cartridge (500 mg, 3 mL) retained cpd 1 in the concentration range 1–10 µg/mL. The linearity of detector response of cpd 1 in deionized H2O was studied in the range of 1.0–100 ng/mL and showed good linearity with γ2 ranging from 0.9979 to 0.996. The limits of detection for cpd 1 are 10 ng/mL in the product-scan mode and 100 ng/mL in the full-scan mode. Also, after we optimized the SPE method, we validated the precision and accuracy of the Si-cartridge extraction method in real soil samples with diverse concentrations. The precision ranged from 2.5% to 5.3%. This newly developed SPE is applicable to the analysis of a degradation product of Novichok A234 in various environmental matrices, such as water, soil and sand, in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) proficiency test and unknown samples collected from suspected sites.

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is highly effective in preventing disease progression of rabies when used in timely and appropriate manner. The key treatment for PEP is infiltration of rabies immune globulin (RIG) into lesion site after bite exposure, besides wound care and vaccination. Unfortunately, however, RIG is expensive and its supply is limited. Currently, several anti-rabies virus monoclonal antibody (mAb) products are under development as alternatives to RIG, and two recently received regulatory approval in India. In this study, fully human mAbs that recognize different rabies virus glycoprotein conformational antigenic site (II and III) were created from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of heathy vaccinated subjects. These mAbs neutralized a diverse range of lyssavirus types. As at least two anti-rabies virus mAbs are recommended for use in human PEP to ensure broad coverage against diverse lyssaviruses and to minimize possible escape variants, two most potent mAbs, NP-19-9 and 11B6, were selected to be used as cocktail treatment. These two mAbs were broadly reactive to different types of lyssaviruses isolates, and were shown to have no interference with each other. These results suggest that NP-19-9 and 11B6 are potent candidates to be used for PEP, suggesting further studies involving clinical studies in human.

Fusarium graminearum is an important plant‐pathogenic fungus that causes Fusarium head blight on wheat and barley, and ear rot on maize worldwide. This fungus has been widely used as a model organism to study various biological processes of plant‐pathogenic fungi because of its amenability to genetic manipulation and well‐established outcross system. Gene deletion and overexpression/constitutive expression of target genes are tools widely used to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying fungal development, virulence, and secondary metabolite production. However, for fine‐tuning gene expression and studying essential genes, a conditional gene expression system is necessary that enables repression or induction of gene expression by modifying external conditions. Until now, only a few conditional expression systems have been developed in plant‐pathogenic fungi. This study proposes a new and versatile conditional gene expression system in F. graminearum using the promoter of a copper‐responsive gene, designated F. graminearum copper‐responsive 1 (FCR1). Transcript levels of FCR1 were found to be greatly affected by copper availability conditions. Moreover, the promoter (PFCR1 ), 1 kb upstream of the FCR1 open reading frame, was sufficient to confer copper‐dependent gene expression. Replacement of a green fluorescent protein gene and FgENA5 promoter with a PFCR1 promoter clearly showed that PFCR1 could be used for fine‐tuning gene expression in this fungus. We also demonstrated the applicability of this conditional gene expression system to an essential gene study by replacing the promoter of FgIRE1, an essential gene of F. graminearum. This enabled the generation of FgIRE1 suppression mutants, which allowed functional characterization of the gene. This study reported the first conditional gene expression system in F. graminearum using both repression and induction. This system would be a convenient way to precisely control gene expression and will be used to determine the biological functions of various genes, including essential ones., The FCR1 promoter (PFCR1 ) could drive heterologous gene expression in a copper‐dependent manner and enabled functional characterization of an essential gene, FgIRE1, in Fusarium graminearum.

Delivery of synovium-resident mesenchymal stem cells (synMSCs) to cartilage defect site might provide a novel therapeutic modality for treatment of articular cartilage diseases. However, low isolation efficiency of synMSCs limits their therapeutic application. Niche-preserving non-enzymatic isolation of synMSCs was firstly attempted by employing micro-organ culture system based on recapitulating tissue-specific homeostasis ex vivo. The isolated synMSCs retained superior long-term growth competency, proliferation and chondrogenic potential to bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs). It was noted that synMSCs demonstrated 9-fold increase in cartilaginous micro-tissue formation and 13-fold increase in sulfated proteoglycans deposition compared to BMSCs. For delivery of synMSCs, fibrous PLGA scaffolds were specifically designed for full-thickness osteochondral defects in rabbits. The scaffolds provided effective micro-environment for growth and host-integration of synMSCs. Combined delivery of synMSCs with bone morphogenetic proteins-7 (BMP-7) was designed to achieve synergistic therapeutic efficacy. BMP-7-loaded PLGA nanoparticles electrosprayed onto the scaffolds released BMP-7 over 2 weeks to conform with its aimed role in stimulating early stage endochondral ossification. Scaffold-supported combined administration of synMSCs with BMP-7 resulted in high proteoglycan and collagen type II induction and thick hyaline cartilage formation. Intra-articular co-delivery of synMSCs with BMP-7 via fibrous PLGA scaffolds may be a promising therapeutic modality for articular cartilage repair.

CT-P10 is the first biosimilar of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, rituximab. CT-P10 is currently available in over 51 countries worldwide, where it is approved in the same indications as its reference product rituximab. In-use stability studies are conducted for biologics to determine how conditions (e.g., temperature, light, humidity, length of time stored) affect drug quality following dilution and storage in infusion bags. We evaluated the in-use stability of CT-P10 for intravenous infusion stored diluted in infusion bags over longer periods than currently recommended by manufacturer guidelines. CT-P10, within the final month of its 36-month shelf life, was diluted to 1.0 or 4.0 mg/mL and stored at 2–8 °C in polyethylene or polyvinylchloride infusion bags for 2, 4, and 6 weeks. CT-P10 infusion bags were incubated at room temperature for 24 h before analysis. Analyses included detection of sub-visible particles, formation of impurities and determination of charge variants, and heavy- and light-chain content. Cell-based CD20 binding affinity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity were also assessed. Diluted CT-P10 solutions remained clear, colorless, and free of visible particles irrespective of type of infusion bag, target concentration, or timepoint. Protein concentrations, sub-visible particles, pH, osmolality, and molecular weight and charge variants were stable across all timepoints and variables. The binding affinity and potency of CT-P10 remained unchanged, indicating that the efficacy of the antibody was maintained following in-use preparation. We demonstrated that CT-P10 was stable after refrigerated storage for up to 6 weeks followed by incubation at room temperature.