Arrays of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) with controllable geometries and occupancies are prepared by acoustic trapping and used to implement chemical signaling in protocell colonies and protocell/living cell consortia.

No abstract

An ultrasound‐based platform is established to prepare homogenous arrays of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) or red blood cell (RBCs), or hybrid assemblies of GUV/RBCs. Due to different responses to the modulation of the acoustic standing wave pressure field between the GUVs and RBCs, various types of protocell/natural cell hybrid assemblies are prepared with the ability to undergo reversible dynamic reconfigurations from vertical to horizontal alignments, or from 1D to 2D arrangements. A two‐step enzymatic cascade reaction between transmitter glucose oxidase‐containing GUVs and peroxidase‐active receiver RBCs is used to implement chemical signal transduction in the different hybrid micro‐arrays. Taken together, the obtained results suggest that the ultrasound‐based micro‐array technology can be used as an alternative platform to explore chemical communication pathways between protocells and natural cells, providing new opportunities for bottom‐up synthetic biology.

This article is part of a longitudinal study of American college students studying Mandarin in China. Its main data are drawn from monthly speaking events (four sessions with each student) conducted in Chinese with each of 29 participants in a study‐abroad program in China. The study yielded these results: (a) Students made significant progress in their fluency development, especially during the first month; (b) speaking Chinese both inside and outside of class helped fluency; (c) students who consistently spoke Chinese in class and out of class made more progress than those who did not; and (d) time on task, the amount of time that students spent using Chinese, was the most important factor in determining fluency development. The quantitative analysis that is the focus of this article is supplemented by qualitative data from individual students, reflecting the position that only a combination of quantitative and qualitative data can reveal a complete picture of the nature of language acquisition during study abroad. The article concludes with implications for the design and conduct of programs in China.