Partially Penalized Immersed Finite Element Methods for Elliptic Interface Problems

This article presents new immersed finite element (IFE) methods for solving the popular second order elliptic interface problems on structured Cartesian meshes even if the involved interfaces have nontrivial geometries. These IFE methods contain extra stabilization terms introduced only at interface edges for penalizing the discontinuity in IFE functions. With the enhanced stability due to the added penalty, not only these IFE methods can be proven to have the optimal convergence rate in the H1-norm provided that the exact solution has sufficient regularity, but also numerical results indicate that their convergence rates in both the H1-norm and the L2-norm do not deteriorate when the mesh becomes finer which is a shortcoming of the classic IFE methods in some situations. Trace inequalities are established for both linear and bilinear IFE functions that are not only critical for the error analysis of these new IFE methods, but also are of a great potential to be useful in error analysis for other IFE methods

Histone H3 Lysine 9 Methyltransferase DIM5 Is Required for the Development and Virulence of Botrytis cinerea

Histone methylation is widely present in animals, plants and fungi, and the methylation modification of histone H3 has important biological functions. Methylation of Lys9 of histone H3 (H3K9) has been proven to regulate chromatin structure, gene silencing, transcriptional activation, plant metabolism and other processes. In this work, we investigated the functions of a H3K9 methyltransferase gene BcDIM5 in Botrytis cinerea, which contains a PreSET domain, a SET domain and a PostSET domain. Characterization of BcDIM5 knockout transformants showed that the hyphal growth rate and production of conidiophores and sclerotia were significantly reduced, while complementary transformation of BcDIM5 could restore the phenotypes to the levels of wild type. Pathogenicity assays revealed that BcDIM5 was essential for full virulence of B. cinerea. BcDIM5 knockout transformants exhibited decreased virulence, down-regulated expression of some pathogenic genes and drastically decreased H3K9 trimethylation level. However, knockout transformants of other two genes heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) BcHP1 and DNA methyltransferase (DIM2) BcDIM2 did not exhibit significant change in the growth phenotype and virulence compared with the wild type. Our results indicate that H3K9 methyltransferase BcDIM5 is required for H3K9 trimethylation to regulate the development and virulence of B. cinerea

El efecto del apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online sobre la autorregulación mediada por su autoeficiencia

This study explored the relationships among online English learners’ perceived teacher support, self-efficacy, and self-regulation in online learning based on social cognitive theory. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping estimation was conducted using data from 220 online English learners engaged in blended learning on the Chinese University MOOC platform. The results showed that online English learners’ perceived teacher support positively influenced their self-efficacy and self-regulation. Moreover, self-efficacy was found to mediate the relationship between their perceived teacher support and self-regulation. On the whole, the findings detailed the effect of English learners’ perceived teacher support on their self-efficacy and self-regulation, as well as empirically identifying the mediation effect of self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived teacher support and self-regulation in an online learning environment. Related pedagogical implications for teacher online teaching, students online learning, and the Chinese University MOOC platform, and limitations were discussed.En el presente estudio, basado en la teoría social cognitiva, se explora la relación entre el apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online, la autoeficiencia y la autorregulación en el aprendizaje online. Se realizó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (MES), con la estimación Bootstrap utilizando los datos de 220 alumnos de inglés online de una universidad politécnica que participan en el aprendizaje combinado en la plataforma MOOC de las Universidades Chinas. Los resultados mostraron que el apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online influenció positivamente su autoeficacia y autorregulación. Además, se descubrió que la autoeficacia de ellos podía mediar la relación entre el apoyo docente percibida y la autorregulación. En general, los resultados describieron con detalle el efecto del apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online sobre su autoeficacia y autorregulación, e identificaron empíricamente el efecto mediador de la autoeficacia en la relación entre el apoyo docente percibido y la autorregulación en un entorno de aprendizaje online. Por último, se discutieron las implicaciones pedagógicas para la enseñanza online de los profesores, el aprendizaje online de los alumnos y la plataforma MOOC de las Universidades Chinas, así como las limitaciones del estudio

The effect of online English learners’ perceived teacher support on self-regulation mediated by their self-efficacy

This study explored the relationships among online English learners’ perceived teacher support, self-efficacy, and self-regulation in online learning based on social cognitive theory. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping estimation was conducted using data from 220 online English learners engaged in blended learning on the Chinese University MOOC platform. The results showed that online English learners’ perceived teacher support positively influenced their self-efficacy and self-regulation. Moreover, self-efficacy was found to mediate the relationship between their perceived teacher support and self-regulation. On the whole, the findings detailed the effect of English learners’ perceived teacher support on their self-efficacy and self-regulation, as well as empirically identifying the mediation effect of self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived teacher support and self-regulation in an online learning environment. Related pedagogical implications for teacher online teaching, student online learning, and the Chinese University MOOC platform, and limitations were discussed.En el presente estudio, basado en la teoría social cognitiva, se explora la relación entre el apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online, la autoeficacia y la autorregulación en el aprendizaje online. Se realizó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (MES), con la estimación Bootstrap utilizando los datos de 220 alumnos de inglés online de una universidad politécnica que participan en el aprendizaje combinado en la plataforma MOOC de las Universidades Chinas. Los resultados mostraron que el apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online influenció positivamente su autoeficacia y autorregulación. Además, se descubrió que la autoeficacia podía mediar la relación entre el apoyo docente percibido y la autorregulación. En general, los resultados describieron con detalle el efecto del apoyo docente percibido por los alumnos de inglés online sobre su autoeficacia y autorregulación, e identificaron empíricamente el efecto mediador de la autoeficacia en la relación entre el apoyo docente percibido y la autorregulación en un entorno de aprendizaje online. Por último, se discutieron las implicaciones pedagógicas para la enseñanza online de los profesores, el aprendizaje online de los alumnos y la plataforma MOOC de las Universidades Chinas, así como las limitaciones del estudio.North University of China and a provincial research grant (No. J2020180) in Chin

Theories Applied to Multimedia Network Foreign Language Teaching

The widespread application of network information and multimedia technology in teaching brings great changes to foreign language teaching environment and teaching objectives. The traditional teacher-centered teaching mode changes into the learner-centered one. Modern teaching theories provide powerful theoretical support for foreign language teaching in the context of multimedia network information. This paper probes into constructivism theory, communicative teaching theory, input and output hypotheses which are applied in multimedia network foreign language teaching and their practical use in teaching

Circulating adiponectin and cardiovascular mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: evidence of sexual dimorphism

Background: The pathogenesis of cardiovascular (CV) mortality, whose rate is increased in type 2 diabetes, is poorly understood. While high serum adiponectin is associated with increased CV mortality in the general population, no data are available in type 2 diabetes. We here investigated whether this counterintuitive association was observable also in diabetic patients and whether it was sex-specific. Methods: Three prospective cohorts were analyzed: 1) Gargano Heart Study (GHS; 359 patients, 58 events/1,934 person-years; py); 2) Health Professional Follow-up Study (HPFS; 833 men, 146 events/10,024 py); 3) Nurses’ Health Study (NHS; 902 women, 144 events/15,074 py). Results: In GHS serum adiponectin predicted CV mortality in men (hazard ratio, HR, and 95% CI per standard deviation, SD, increment = 1.54, 1.19-2.01), but not women (HR = 0.98, 0.48-2.01). Circulating adiponectin predicted CV mortality in men from HPFS (HR = 1.44, 1.21-1.72), but not in women from NHS (HR = 1.08, 0.86-1.35), used as replication samples. In a pooled analysis, HRs were 1.47 (1.27-1.70) in 1,075 men and 1.07 (0.86-1.33) in 1,019 women (p for HRs heterogeneity across sexes = 0.018). Conclusions: This is the first report showing that high circulating adiponectin predicts increased CV mortality in men, but not in women with type 2 diabetes. Further studies are necessary to unravel the mechanisms through which adiponectin influences CV mortality in a sex-specific manner. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12933-014-0130-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users