This article investigates results and antecedents of willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) through 2 separate investigations conducted with Japanese adolescent learners of English. In the first investigation, involving 160 students, a model was We would like to thank Peter MacIntyre for letting us use the communication-related scales that he adapted from McCroskey and Richmond (1991) to refer to second language as well as for his valuable suggestions, and Linda Viswat for her valuable comments. We would also like to express our gratitude to anonymous reviewers for their very helpful suggestions on an earlier version of this article. created based on the hypothesis that WTC results in more frequent communication in the L2 and that the attitudinal construct international posture leads to WTC and communication behavior. This model was tested with structural equation modeling and was found to fit the data well. The second investigation with 60 students who participated in a study-abroad program in the United States confirmed the results of the first. Finally, frequency of communication was shown to correlate with satisfaction in interpersonal relationships during the sojourn.A goal of second language (L2) and foreign language (FL) learning is to facilitate better communication and understanding between individuals who come from different cultural backgrounds and speak different languages. MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei, and Noels (1998) emphasized communicative goals using the conceptual model of willingness to communicate (WTC), in which L2 proficiency is not regarded as the goal of learning an L2 per se but is seen as a means to achieve interpersonal/intercultural goals. Both state and trait variables, including self-confidence, intergroup motivation, intergroup attitudes, and personality, were shown to affect one's WTC in the L2 in a given situation.

New ISN/RPS 2003 classification provided beneficial pathologic information relevant to the long-term renal outcome and the optimal therapy preventing ESRF and/or death in patients with LGN.

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Recent studies have clarified the factor structure of the Career Decision Scale (CDS;Osipow, 1980), thereby permitting the construction of 4 linearly independent scales to measure dimensions of career indecision. The CDS was administered to 465 junior and senior high school students. The study examined whether the CDS total score and the 4 subscales were related to the students' career decision status, grade level, and gender. Data were collected twice, 6 months apart, to study whether changes in decision status were accompanied by changes in the CDS total score and the 4 subscales and whether these changes differed according to gender or grade level. In addition, a subsample was followed for 3 years to examine long-term change. The results demonstrated the utility of using factor-based subscales to create a typology of career indecision. Many significant differences on the various indecision scales were found to be due to gender and to career decision status but not to grade level.

Monocyte/macrophage (Momicron) migration to sites of inflammation is a prerequisite cause of organ fibrosis. The recruitment and activation of Mo are regulated by C-C chemokines, especially monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [(MCP-1)/CC chemokine ligand 2], which interacts with CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2). However, the mechanisms leading to fibrosis via MCP-1/CCR2 signaling in Mo remain to be investigated. The effect of MCP-1 on the expression of MCP-1, CCR2, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), and type I collagen in circulating human CD14-positive Mo was investigated. In addition, the impact of MCP-1-specific or TGF-beta1-specific antisense (AS) phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) was examined to explore the involvement of autocrine/paracrine production of MCP-1 and TGF-beta1 by human CD14-positive Mo. Furthermore, specific CCR2 inhibitors were applied to examine the involvement of CCR2 signaling for the promotion of a fibrogenic response. The stimulation of Mo with MCP-1 increased mRNA levels of TGF-beta1 and a pro-alpha1 chain of type I collagen (COL1A1) as well as protein synthesis. Similarly, the expression of MCP-1 and CCR2 was enhanced by the stimulation with MCP-1 in dose- and time-dependent manners. This positive loop via MCP-1 was reduced by pretreatment with MCP-1-specific AS-ODN. It was also noted that pretreatment with TGF-beta1-specific AS-ODN partially reduced COL1A1 mRNA levels. Finally, transcripts of these molecules were suppressed by pretreatment with specific CCR2 inhibitors. The present study demonstrated that human peripheral CD14-positive Mo contribute directly to fibrogenesis by a MCP-1/CCR2-dependent amplification loop. These data suggest that fibrogenic processes in Mo regulated by MCP-1/CCR2 may be novel, therapeutic targets for combating organ fibrosis.