A method for the isolation of genomic fragments of RNA virus based on cDNA representational difference analysis (cDNA RDA) was developed. cDNA RDA has been applied for the subtraction of poly(A)+ RNAs but not for poly(A)− RNAs, such as RNA virus genomes, owing to the vast quantity of ribosomal RNAs. We constructed primers for inefficient reverse transcription of ribosomal sequences based on the distribution analysis of hexanucleotide patterns in ribosomal RNA. The analysis revealed that distributions of hexanucleotide patterns in ribosomal RNA and virus genome were different. We constructed 96 hexanucleotides (non-ribosomal hexanucleotides) and used them as mixed primers for reverse transcription of cDNA RDA. A synchronous analysis of hexanucleotide patterns in known viral sequences showed that all the known genomic-size viral sequences include non-ribosomal hexanucleotides. In a model experiment, when non-ribosomal hexanucleotides were used as primers, in vitro transcribed plasmid RNA was efficiently reverse transcribed when compared with ribosomal RNA of rat cells. Using non-ribosomal primers, the cDNA fragments of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and bovine parainfluenza virus 3 were efficiently amplified by subtracting the cDNA amplicons derived from uninfected cells from those that were derived from virus-infected cells. The results suggest that cDNA RDA with non-ribosomal primers can be used for species-independent detection of viruses, including new viruses.

Lack of research on the characteristics of peer assessment in E FL writing may inh ibit teachers from appreciating the utility of this inno vative assessment. This study addr essed the followin g research questions: (1) H ow similar are peer, self-and teacher ratings of E FL writing?; (2) D o students favour peer ratings?; and (3) D oes peer feedb ack influence students' attitudes about peer rating? Forty-seven college students stud ying E nglish writing in a Japanese college were assigned to write two essays. E ach essay was commented on and rated by two teachers, three peers and the writers themselves. Stude nts also completed a five-item qu estionnaire about their attitud es regarding peer rating. Peer and teacher ratings were found to correlate significantly. The results of the question naire indicated that students had favou rable attitudes towards peer rating. A regression analysis suggested that peer feedback did not influ ence stud ents' favour able attitud es abo ut the feedb ack. I IntroductionG rowing inte rest in the use of alternative assessment in the foreign and second language le arning (F/SL) field seems to have stim ula ted publication of resource books (Brown, 1998; O 'Malley and Valdez Pierce, 1996) and a collection of research papers (E kbatani and Pierson, 2000) on this topic. These books give a wide array of examples and offer valuable advice for language teachers employing alternative assessments in an everyday class. E choing this trend, the number of stu dies on peer review and portfolio assessm ent in F/SL writin g has swelled rapidly. In general these stu dies support the benefits of using peer review as an aid in © Arnold 2004 10.1191/1362168804lr133oa A ddress for correspondence: H idetoshi Saito, Hokusei G akuen U niversity, D epartment of E conomics, 2-3-1 O yachi-nishi, A tusbetsuku, Sapporo 004-8631 Japan; e-mail: saitoh@ hokusei.ac.jp L anguage Teaching R esearch 8,1 (2004); pp. 31-54 revision of F/SL writin g. Most studies, however, have not utilize d peer rating; rather they have focused on how much and what kind of peer comments or teachers' comments were incorporated into students' further revision (e.g., Connor and A senavage, 1994; Villamil and D e G uerrero, 1998). A few major differences in the two areas of writing research involving peers should be clarified at the outset. First, while the so-called peer review studies qualita tively analyse peer comments, the studies on peer rating of writin g employ rating scales of some kind, thus producing quantitative data. Secondly, peer review is not necessarily undertaken for use in assessm ent, while peer rating is intended for assessment. In other words, studies of peer review and peer ratin g differ in respect to research purposes and methods, although some overla p does exist.In contrast with the increasing number of studies concerning peer review in L2 writing, research on peer ratin g remains unexamined. Little is known about the characteristics of peer assessment as well as student reaction to this practice, altho...

This study examined the effects of training on peer assessment and comments provided regarding oral presentations in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. In Study 1, both the treatment and control groups received instruction on skill aspects, but only the treatment group was given an additional 40-minute training on how to rate performances. The results of the correlation difference analyses show no significant differences between the treatment and control groups, but the three instructors are misfitting, presumably because the frame of reference is set by the majority of student data. In the second study, the treatment groups received long training. Again, there are no significant correlation differences between the treatment and control groups; however, all the instructors are not misfitting, which indicates that the frame of reference in the data improved in Study 2. Analyses of comments reveal that the treatment groups are superior in both quality and quantity of comments. Along with a meta-analytic summary, it is argued that peer assessment is a robust system in which instruction on skill aspects may suffice to achieve a certain level of correlation with the criterion variable (instructor), but training may enhance student comments and reduce misfitting raters.

Saito, H., Kawai, K., Umino, T. and Imabayashi, H. 2014. Fishing bait worm supplies in Japan in relation to their physiological traits. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 71: 279-287.Market research was conducted from 2009 to 2013 to investigate the supply of live worms for fishing bait in Japan. We obtained 25 types of live fishing bait worms, including 16 species of polychaete, 1 species of echiuran, and 1 species of sipunculid. These were divided into three groups according to their country of origin: 1) worms supplied from native populations, five species (Perinereis wilsoni, Hediste diadroma, Kinbergonuphis enoshimaensis, Pseudopotamilla occelata, and Hydroides ezoensis), 2) worms supplied from both native and non-native populations, three species (Marphysa cf. iwamushi, Halla okudai, and Urechis unicinctus), and 3) worms supplied from non-native populations, 10 species (Perinereis linea, Alitta virens, Nectoneanthes uchiwa, Namalycastis rhodochorde, Glycera nicobarica, Diopatra sugokai, Marphysa cf. tamurai, Marphysa cf. mossambica, Scoletoma heteropoda, and Sipunculus nudus). Salinities in which no mortality of nereid worms occurred was 5-35 psu in Alitta virens, 5-30 psu in Namalycastis rhodochorde, and 10-35 psu in Perinereis linea. Worms living in temperate areas had a wide temperature tolerance of 5-30 °C in Alitta virens, Perinereis linea, Glycera nicobarica, Marphysa cf. iwamushi, and Scoletoma heteropoda. Tropical species (Namalycastis rhodochorde and Marphysa cf. mossambica) could not survive above 20 °C.

This study investigated pragmatic transfer in American learners of Japanese responding to compliments. A closed role play was used to collect interlanguage data from the learners and normative data from Japanese and American native speakers. An Initial Sentence Analysis indicated mat the learners transferred nonuse of avoidance strategies but not of positive strategies. The American normative data suggested a dominant use of positive strategies, whereas a mixture of three strategies was found in the Japanese normative data. A Semantic Formula Analysis further revealed qualitative differences between the learners and the native speakers. Based on the findings, suggestions concerning the instruction of speech act performance are made for second and foreign (L2/FL) language instructors. The study instantiates a utility of pragmatic transfer research for improving instructional approach and course content.