Cellular reprogramming can manipulate the identity of cells to generate the desired cell types1– 3. The use of cell intrinsic components, including oocyte cytoplasm and transcription factors, can enforce somatic cell reprogramming to pluripotent stem cells4– 7. By contrast, chemical stimulation by exposure to small molecules offers an alternative approach that can manipulate cell fate in a simple and highly controllable manner8– 10. However, human somatic cells are refractory to chemical stimulation owing to their stable epigenome2,11,12 and reduced plasticity13,14; it (...) is therefore challenging to induce human pluripotent stem cells by chemical reprogramming. Here we demonstrate, by creating an intermediate plastic state, the chemical reprogramming of human somatic cells to human chemically induced pluripotent stem cells that exhibit key features of embryonic stem cells. The whole chemical reprogramming trajectory analysis delineated the induction of the intermediate plastic state at the early stage, during which chemical-induced dedifferentiation occurred, and this process was similar to the dedifferentiation process that occurs in axolotl limb regeneration. Moreover, we identified the JNK pathway as a major barrier to chemical reprogramming, the inhibition of which was indispensable for inducing cell plasticity and a regeneration-like program by suppressing pro-inflammatory pathways. Our chemical approach provides a platform for the generation and application of human pluripotent stem cells in biomedicine. This study lays foundations for developing regenerative therapeutic strategies that use well-defined chemicals to change cell fates in humans. (shrink)

Since motivation determines progress in the class, it has a significant role in the field of learning English as a foreign language, contributing to a successful learning process. Therefore, teachers need to motivate learners to achieve their learning goals and provide them with a meaningful learning process in stressful situations. Two factors are required to successfully overcome challenges in scholastic circumstances, such as academic buoyancy and social support. The former can be a significant element in a psycho-educational setting that helps (...) learners with academic difficulties and the latter is another term that is deemed as an important predictor of academic motivation even when considering perceived support from teachers and peers. The functions of academic buoyancy and social support factors in the process of learning and their association with students’ motivation have not been taken into account so far. As a result, this review has implications for scholars, theorists, and practitioners in quest of better investigating and addressing the roles of buoyancy and social support on students’ motivation. (shrink)

Man [sic.] follows the earth, earth follows the heaven, heaven follows the Tao and the Tao follows nature.– Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)Taoism, as an ancient traditional Chinese philosophy, not only prof...