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The present study investigated the effects of different types of form-focused instruction (FFI) on the acquisition of French grammatical gender attribution. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 140 participants in six intact French as a second language (L2) classes. The classes received six 80-minute instructional sessions consisting of FFI on only sublexical cues, FFI on both sublexical cues and pronunciation, or the control condition (two classes per condition). To measure the effects of the instructional conditions, a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest were administered. Results showed that the participants receiving FFI on only sublexical cues showed significant improvement in binary-choice, text-completion, and listening tasks, but not in an oral picture-description task. In contrast, those receiving FFI on both sublexical cues and pronunciation showed significantly higher scores on all tasks after the instructional sessions. The present study highlights the importance of pronunciation instruction in L2 grammar acquisition and its interdependence with lexical and morphological domains.

Clickers are used to improve student learning, motivation, and engagement. Smartphones can serve as clickers; however, instructional use of smartphones may lead to students multitasking between instructional and alternative media. This study investigates whether students are distracted after instructional use of smartphones in a lecture-based classroom. Outcomes were assessed through both self-reported smartphone use and in-class observations of actual smartphone use. Students were observed covertly for 5 minutes following instructional use of smartphones to determine whether multi-tasking distraction occurred and/or persisted following the instructional use of smartphones. Even though the self-reported data indicate that students disagreed to somewhat disagreed that smartphone use was a distraction, our findings show that 42% of students began to use their smartphones for non-instructional purposes immediately following the instructional episode, and 28% of students persisted in this behavior five minutes after the instructional episode ended. The observations contradicted the students' self-reported survey responses, thus emphasizing the need to critically consider self-reported outcomes related to multi-tasking distraction in the classroom. Policies or practices to limit multitasking distraction due to non-instructional use of smartphones in the classroom should be considered in cases where smartphones are being used for instructional purposes.

Data regarding dermatology residency interview patterns can better inform applicants regarding the application process as well as encourage further coordination among programs. Our objective was to describe dermatology residency interview date patterns over the past five applications cycles from 2012 to 2017. A retrospective review of dermatology online forums (the Dermatology Interest Group Association and Student Doctor Network) was performed from 2012 to 2017; these web-based public databases were reviewed for interview dates and interview offer dates. Data from 117 programs per year were obtained. The majority of interview offers arrived in early November (41.5%), followed by late November (40%). Interviews were conducted predominantly in December (25.7%) and January (66.3%). On average, programs scheduled 2.26 (range 1-13) interview dates. Most interviews were held on Thursday (23.9%) and Friday (28.7%). Our results suggest that there is an increasing trend of overlapping interview dates among programs. Being cognizant of dermatology residency interview date patterns can help prepare applicants for interview scheduling while avoiding scheduling conflicts.

Aims Methods and results Conclusions The American Society of Clinical Oncology and College of American Pathologists HER2‐guidelines recommend repeat testing for most grade 1 mammary carcinomas that are HER2‐positive in the core biopsy. This study aimed to assess the value of repeat HER2‐testing and the histological features of HER2‐positive grade 1 carcinomas.A case‐series of HER2‐results of grade 1 carcinomas was conducted of patients with no pre‐operative systemic treatment over a 5‐year period. HER2‐positive carcinomas had histological review. Twelve HER2‐positive carcinomas were initially reported as grade 1. On review, two were reclassified as grade 2. The remaining 10 carcinomas represented 2% of the 508 grade 1 carcinomas. Eight HER2‐positive grade 1 carcinomas from other years were also studied. HER2‐positive carcinomas more often had marked nuclear pleomorphism (50 versus 6%) and were more often oestrogen receptor‐negative (17 versus 0.8%) and progesterone receptor‐negative (28 versus 8%) compared with HER2‐negative grade 1 carcinomas. Six carcinomas that were HER2 3+ in the core biopsy were also 3+ on repeat assessment. Five of seven carcinomas that were 2+ amplified in the core biopsy were also HER2‐positive in the excision.HER2‐positive grade 1 carcinomas are uncommon, and more often have marked nuclear pleomorphism and lack oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor expression compared with HER2‐negative grade 1 carcinomas. A HER2‐poitive result in the core biopsy was confirmed in 11 of 13 tumours that had repeat testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Invasive lobular carcinoma represents a distinct histological type of breast cancer, characterised by morphological, genetic, and behavioural differences from other types. However, the behaviour of invasive lobular carcinomas is not uniform, and some tumours show poor outcome. This may attribute to the presence of aggressive variants. Therefore, we performed detailed investigation of a large series of cases to characterise this aggressive subtype of invasive lobular carcinoma. This subtype, which includes the pleomorphic and high-grade solid variants accounts for 14% of lobular carcinomas. It showed associations with unfavourable prognostic features, poor patient outcomes, and poor response to therapy when compared to classic lobular carcinoma and invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type. Background: Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), the most common special type of breast cancer (BC), has unique clinical behaviour and is different from invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (IDC-NST). However, ILC further comprises a diverse group of tumours with distinct features. This study aims to examine the clinicopathological and prognostic features of different variants of ILC, with a particular focus on characterising aggressive subtypes. Methods: A large (n = 7140) well-characterised and histologically reviewed BC cohort with treatment and long-term follow-up data was investigated. The cohort was classified based on the WHO classification of tumours into main histological subtypes, including ILC and IDC-NST. ILCs were further classified into variants. Clinicopathological parameters and patient outcomes in terms of BC-specific survival (BCSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated. Results: ILC constituted 11% of the cohort. The most common non-classic ILC variants were pleomorphic (pILC) and solid (sILC), constituting 19% of ILC. Compared to classic and related variants (alveolar, trabecular, papillary, and tubulolobular; cILC), pILC and sILC variants were associated with aggressive tumour characteristics. The histologic grade of ILC was an important prognostic variable. The survival patterns identified an aggressive ILC subtype encompassing pILC and high-grade sILC. These tumours, which comprised 14% of the cases, were associated with clinicopathological characteristics of poor prognosis and had high BC-specific death and recurrence rates compared not only to cILC (p < 0.001) but also to IDC-NST (p = 0.02) patients. Contrasting this, cILC patients had significantly longer BCSS and DFS than IDC-NST patients in the first 10 to 15 years of follow-up. Adjuvant chemotherapy did not improve the outcome of patients with aggressive ILC subtypes. Conclusions: pILC and high-grade sILC variants comprise an aggressive ILC subtype associated with poor prognostic characteristics and a poor response to chemotherapy. These results warrant confirmation in randomised clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of different types of corrective feedback (CF) provided during second language (L2) speech perception training. One hundred Korean learners of L2 English, randomly assigned to five groups (n = 20 per group), participated in eight computer-assisted perception training sessions targeting two minimal pairs of English vowels. Four treatment groups each received a different type of CF; three groups received one of three types of auditory CF and a fourth group received a visual type of CF; the control group did not receive CF. Results of pretests, immediate posttests, and delayed posttests showed that, in comparison to the control group, the groups that received auditory CF improved significantly in trained over untrained words, whereas the group that received visual CF fared less well. These results are discussed in terms of the benefits of auditory CF types, especially CF combining target and nontarget forms.

Evolutionary studies necessary to dissect diverse biological processes have been limited by the lack of reverse genetic approaches in most organisms with sequenced genomes. We established a broadly applicable strategy using zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) for targeted disruption of endogenous genes and cis-acting regulatory elements in diverged nematode species.

To what extent do second language (L2) learners benefit from instruction that includes corrective feedback (CF) on L2 speech perception? This article addresses this question by reporting the results of a classroom-based experimental study conducted with 32 young adult Korean learners of English. An instruction-only group and an instruction + CF group were exposed to five 1-hr form-focused lessons that drew learners' attention to the nonnative phonemic contrast /i/-/?/, but only the instruction + CF group was given relevant feedback. Forced-choice identification tasks were completed by participants in a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest. The two groups showed similar accuracy on the pretest; however, the instruction + CF group outperformed the instruction-only group on the immediate and delayed posttests as well as on unfamiliar words. The significant predictors for these differences turned out to be perceptual accuracy vis-à-vis /?/-natural and /?/-synthesized sounds. These findings are discussed in terms of the pivotal role played by CF in developing accuracy in L2 speech perception.

Histological analysis of a growth series of alligator femora tests the correlation between strain milieu and microstructure. From mid-diaphyseal cross-sections of these femora (n = 7), vascular canal orientation and density as well as collagen fibre organization were recorded. Throughout ontogeny, the proportion of transverse-spiral (TS) collagen in the dorsal cortex is significantly greater than it is in the ventral cortex (P = 0.008). This regional difference in the proportion of TS collagen is correlated with a regional difference in the state of peak principal strain (compressive or tensile). Nevertheless, the predominant orientation of collagen fibres is longitudinal, which is inconsistent with biomechanical hypotheses that involve peak principal or shear strains. Although the density and orientation of vascular canals do not show significant regional differences (P = 0.26 and P = 0.26, respectively), as with collagen orientation, the vascular canal orientation is predominantly longitudinal. The longitudinal organization of both the vascular canals and the collagen fibres is probably a consequence of longitudinal shifting of subperiosteal osteoid during femoral lengthening. When taken together, these data suggest that growth dynamics is the dominant influence on the histological organization of primary bony tissues in alligator femora.

Aims: The method of diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has changed since the 1980s. The aim of this audit was to assess changes in the preoperative diagnosis of DCIS since the introduction of needle core biopsy, particularly the proportion with a preoperative biopsy diagnosis of DCIS. Methods and results: The preoperative diagnoses of patients with a final diagnosis of DCIS in the surgical specimen were reviewed (i) in 809 patients who presented through breast screening from 1997 to 2021, and (ii) in all patients in 5 individual years at 5‐year intervals from 2000 to 2020 (254 in total). For screening‐detected DCIS the proportion with a preoperative diagnosis of DCIS increased from 75% to 98% over the study period. In a detailed analysis of all cases of DCIS in 5 separate years the proportion with a preoperative diagnosis of DCIS increased from 68% in 2000 to 96% in 2020. For high‐grade DCIS the proportion increased from 87% to 97%, and for low‐ or intermediate‐grade DCIS from 48% to 93%. The proportion of women who had vacuum‐assisted biopsy increased from 7% in 2000 to 58% in 2015. There was a small increase in the number of biopsies that had basal cytokeratin and oestrogen receptor immunohistochemistry to aid diagnosis. Conclusion: There has been an increase in the preoperative diagnosis of DCIS, particularly of low‐ or intermediate‐grade, over the last two decades. The increasing use of vacuum‐assisted biopsy is likely to be a major contributory factor to this increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Breast pathology is a challenging field, and discrepancies in diagnoses exist and can affect patient management. This study aims to review a breast referral practice and assess the pattern and frequency of breast lesions sent for an external expert review and evaluate potential impacts on patients' care. Methods and results: Seven hundred and forty cases that were referred to Nottingham City Hospital for a second opinion between 2019 and 2022 which have slides and reports were retrieved and reviewed. Reasons for referral, initial diagnosis, proffered specialist opinion and any discrepancy or potential impacts of management were assessed. The most frequent entities were papillary lesions (19%), fibroepithelial lesions (17%), invasive carcinomas that were sent for confirmation of the invasive diagnosis or subtyping of the invasive tumour (17%), intraductal epithelial proliferation with atypia (9%) and spindle cell lesions (8%). Other entities included biphasic tumours such as adenomyoepithelioma, as well as vascular and nipple lesions. Few cases were sent for prognostic classification or comments on the management, and in occasional cases no initial diagnosis was offered. After reviewing the cases by the expert pathologists, the initial diagnosis was confirmed or one of the suggested diagnoses was preferred in 79% of cases, including 129 cases (17%) in which the opinion resulted minor changes in the management. Significant changes in the classification of lesions were made in 132 cases (18%) which resulted in significant change in the patient management recommendation. In 14 cases (2%) a final classification was not possible, and further specialist opinion was obtained. Comments on the differential diagnosis and advice on further patient management were provided in most cases. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the value of external referral of challenging, rare and difficult to classify breast lesions. It also highlights the most common breast lesions that are likely to be challenging, and specialist opinion can refine their classification to improve patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]