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This study investigated factors that might influence Japanese university students’ expository writing in English. We examined 70 students of low‐ to high‐intermediate English proficiency along a variety of dimensions, namely, second language (L2) proficiency, first language (L1) writing ability, writing strategies in L1 and L2, metaknowledge of L2 expository writing, past writing experiences, and instructional background. We considered these multiple factors as possible explanatory variables for L2 writing. Quantitative analysis revealed that (a) students’ L2 proficiency, L1 writing ability, and metaknowledge were all significant in explaining the L2 writing ability variance; (b) among these 3 independent variables, L2 proficiency explained the largest portion (52%) of the L2 writing ability variance, L1 writing ability the second largest (18%), and metaknowledge the smallest (11%); and (c) there were significant correlations among these independent variables. Qualitative analysis indicated that good writers were significantly different from weak writers in that good writers (a) paid more attention to overall organization while writing in L1 and L2; (b) wrote more fluently in L1 and L2; (c) exhibited greater confidence in L2 writing for academic purposes; and (d) had regularly written more than one English paragraph while in high school. There was no significant difference between good and weak writers for other writing strategies and experiences. On the basis of these results, we propose an explanatory model for EFL writing ability.

The present study investigated the changes in Japanese students' English writing behaviors over a 3.5-year period using multiple data sources including written texts, videotaped writing behaviors, and stimulated-recall protocols. Data from student interviews supplemented the analyses. Because 6 (henceforth, English as a second language [ESL] students) out of the 11 participants spent 2 to 8 months in English-speaking environments, the study was also able to examine the effects of such overseas experiences. The results revealed that over the observation period (a) both the English as a foreign language (EFL, remaining in Japan) and the ESL students improved their English proficiency, English composition quality/fluency, and confidence in English writing; (b) the ESL students' overseas

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This study was a comparison of the changes in English writing behavior of 7 Japanese university students (the study-abroad group) who spent 4 to 9 months in English-speaking countries with those of 6 counterparts majoring in British and American studies (the at-home group) who remained in Japan. The study aimed at confirming the results of Sasaki (2004), who investigated similar students' English-writing behavior over 3.5 years. After a 1-year observation period, (a) both groups improved their general English proficiency; (b) only those in the study-abroad group improved their second language (L2) writing ability and fluency; (c) unlike Sasaki's participants, the study-abroad group made more local plans and the at-home group fewer; (d) at the end of the study, both groups translated their ideas into the L2 as often as they did at the beginning of the study; and (e) only the study-abroad group became more motivated to write better L2 compositions.THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSED ON THE effects of study-abroad experiences on the writing behavior of Japanese students of English as a foreign language (EFL) as analyzed through various types of data. This study was motivated by previous research (Sasaki, 2004), in which I observed 11 Japanese university students, focusing on changes in their English as a second language (L2) proficiency, the quality of their L2 writing (argumentative exposition), their L2 writing fluency, their L2 writing strategy use, and their L2 writing styles over a 3.5-year period. Using data from the participants' interviews in this initial study, I also examined changes in their L2 writing confidence and motivation. Through such analyses, I intended to investigate, in a rather exploratory manner, the possible changes in the participants' writing after completing two semesters of process writing instruction in their first year at the university. In addition to this original research purpose, because 6 (henceforth, the ESL group) of the 11The Modern Language Journal, 91, iv, (2007) 0026-7902/07/602-620 $1.50/0 C 2007 The Modern Language Journal participants happened to spend 2 to 8 months in English-speaking environments during the observation period, I was also able to assess the effect of their overseas experiences. Among the results were that (a) both the group that remained in Japan (henceforth, the EFL group) and the ESL group (who spent some time abroad) improved their L2 proficiency, L2 writing ability/fluency, and confidence in L2 writing; and (b) the ESL group became more motivated to study the L2 in general, as well as to write compositions with better content than the EFL group. The data from the student interviews further indicated that the overseas experience was the best explanatory factor in accounting for improving the ESL group's L2 proficiency, L2 writing ability, L2 writing fluency, and use of some effective L2 writing strategies, regardless of the length of stay.I designed the present study so that I could confirm the results of the exploratory study just described regarding the dif...

The present protocol analysis supplements Sasaki's(1993) study, which used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships among measures of second language proficiency (SLP), foreign language aptitude, and two types of intelligence (verbal intelligence and reasoning). In the present study, 6 participants randomly selected from the same subject pool took different types of SLP tests, a foreign language aptitude battery, and an intelligence test. The researcher attempted (a) to test Bachman and Palmer's (1982) hypothesis that a general SLP factor is related to the amount of information processing required for solving a given item, (b) to compare cognitive processes and strategies employed for different types of aptitude/intelligence tests, and (c) to compare the quality and quantity of test‐taking processes employed by students with different levels of SLP. The results provided important information not captured in the previous product‐oriented psychometric study (Sasaki, 1993). First, Bachman and Palmer's (1982) hypothesis only partly supported the data. The size of the general second language proficiency (SLP) factor effect on test scores did not completely correspond to the amount of information processing required by these tests. Second, the protocol analysis helped to check the validity of the tests. Most of the tests appeared to measure what they were supposed to measure. Lastly, the results revealed differences in information processing between the high and low SLP groups. The high SLP group differed from the low SLP group in assessment, planning, and execution of problem solving processes.

Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6 degrades syringate to 3-O-methylgallate (3MGA), which is finally converted to pyruvate and oxaloacetate via multiple pathways in which protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase, 3MGA dioxygenase, and gallate dioxygenase are involved. Here we isolated the syringate O-demethylase gene (desA), which complemented the growth deficiency on syringate of a Tn5 mutant of the SYK-6 derivative strain. The desA gene is located 929 bp downstream of ferA, encoding feruloyl-coenzyme A synthetase, and consists of a 1,386-bp open reading frame encoding a polypeptide with a molecular mass of 50,721 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence of desA showed 26% identity in a 325-amino-acid overlap with that of gcvT of Escherichia coli, which encodes the tetrahydrofolate (H 4 folate)-dependent aminomethyltransferase involved in glycine cleavage. The cell extract of E. coli carrying desA converted syringate to 3MGA only when H 4 folate was added to the reaction mixture. DesA catalyzes the transfer of the methyl moiety of syringate to H 4 folate, forming 5-methyl-H 4 folate. Vanillate and 3MGA were also used as substrates for DesA; however, the relative activities toward them were 3 and 0.4% of that toward syringate, respectively. Disruption of desA in SYK-6 resulted in a growth defect on syringate but did not affect growth on vanillate, indicating that desA is essential to syringate degradation. In a previous study the ligH gene, which complements the growth deficiency on vanillate and syringate of a chemical-induced mutant of SYK-6, DC-49, was isolated (S. Nishikawa, T. Sonoki, T. Kasahara, T. Obi, S. Kubota, S. Kawai, N. Morohoshi, and Y. Katayama, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:836-842, 1998). Disruption of ligH resulted in the same phenotype as DC-49; its cell extract, however, was found to be able to convert vanillate and syringate in the presence of H 4 folate. The possible role of ligH is discussed.Lignin is the most abundant aromatic compound in nature, and the utilization of lignin for production of chemicals has been expected. One of the practical procedures for utilizing lignin is its conversion to valuable intermediate metabolites using the microbial lignin degradation enzyme systems (22). It is known that the degradation of native lignin is initiated by the attack by lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, and laccase secreted by white rot fungi (14), and bacteria contribute to the process of mineralization of the abundant lignin-derived compounds found in soil (44, 47). In microbial degradation of lignin-derived compounds, vanillate and syringate are the important intermediate metabolites. Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6 is able to utilize these compounds and various ligninderived biaryls as the sole source of carbon and energy (20-22, 29, 30). Vanillate and syringate are O demethylated by this strain to produce protocatechuate (PCA) and 3-O-metylgallate (3MGA), respectively. PCA is further degraded through the PCA 4,5-cleavage pathway. In contrast, it has been found that 3MGA is degraded via multiple pat...

The type and amounts of oxygen adsorption species at various atmospheric humidity levels are important factors in improving the sensitivity to combustible gases and stability to humidity changes of SnO 2 -based resistive-type gas sensors. We investigated the effect of antimony (Sb) doping of SnO 2 nanoparticles on the stability of the sensitivity to humidity changes and oxygen adsorption species under humid atmosphere. No significant degradation of the sensitivity to hydrogen of Sb-SnO 2 sensors was observed between 16 and 96 RH%, while an undoped SnO 2 sensor showed gradually decreasing responses with increasing humidity. An evaluation of oxygen adsorption species under humid atmosphere showed a transition from O 2− to O − with increasing humidity from 16 to 96 RH%. However, the O 2− adsorption sites were maintained on the surfaces of the SbSnO 2 , even as the humidity increased. Moreover, the extent of oxygen adsorption on the Sb-SnO 2 was not obviously changed with increasing humidity. These results indicate that Sb atoms function as hydroxyl absorbers and also generate O 2− adsorption sites in their vicinity. Additionally, Pd loading on the Sb-SnO 2 further enhanced the sensor response under humid atmosphere, while maintaining the stability to humidity changes. Therefore, we successfully imparted stability to the sensitivity of SnO 2 nanoparticles during humidity changes, representing an important improvement with applications to the development of high performance, practical, resistive-type gas sensors.