民俗社会における身体はどのように文化化・社会化されており、どのような意味づけを行ってきたか。また、そこにはどのような心性が宿っていたかという新しい視点で構想する。.

The exocyst is a conserved octameric complex that physically tethers a vesicle to the plasma membrane, prior to membrane fusion. It is important not only for secretion and membrane delivery but also, in mammalian cells, for cytokinesis, ciliogenesis, autophagy, tumorigenesis, and host defense. The combination of genome editing and advanced light microscopy of exocyst subunits in living cells has recently shown the complex to be much more dynamic than previously appreciated, and exposed how little we still know about its function (...) and regulation. (shrink)

Determinants of synesthetic color choice for the Japanese logographic script, Kanji, were studied. The study investigated how synesthetic colors for Kanji characters, which are usually acquired later in life than other types of graphemes in Japanese language , are influenced by linguistic properties such as phonology, orthography, and meaning. Of central interest was a hypothesized generalization process from synesthetic colors for graphemes, learned prior to acquisition of Kanji, to Kanji characters learned later. Results revealed that color choices for Kanji characters (...) depend on meaning and phonological information. Some results suggested that colors are generalized from Hiragana characters and Arabic digits to Kanji characters via phonology and meaning, respectively. Little influence of orthographic information was observed. The findings and approach of this study contributes to a clarification of the mechanism underlying grapheme-color synesthesia, especially in terms of its relationship to normal language processing. (shrink)

Determinants of synesthetic color choice for Japanese phonetic characters were studied in six Japanese synesthetes. The study used Hiragana and Katakana characters, which represent the same set of syllables although their visual forms are dissimilar. From a palette of 138 colors, synesthetes selected a color corresponding to each character. Results revealed that synesthetic color choices for Hiragana characters and those for their Katakana counterparts were remarkably consistent, indicating that color selection depended on character-related sounds and not visual form. This Hiragana–Katakana (...) invariance cannot be regarded as the same phenomenon as letter case invariance, usually reported for English grapheme-color synesthesia, because Hiragana and Katakana characters have different identities whereas upper and lower case letters have the same identity. This involvement of phonology suggests that cross-activation between an inducer brain region and that of the concurrent area in grapheme-color synesthesia is mediated by higher order cortical processing areas. (shrink)

武士道は思弁的な教条主義を排し、現実重視と結果尊重の立場を貫く。徳川日本の力量示す、その戦略的思考と行動の論理。.

The derivative is a basic concept of differential calculus. However, if we calculate the derivative as change in distance over change in time, the result at any instant is 0/0, which seems meaningless. Hence, Newton and Leibniz used the limit to determine the derivative. Their method is valid in practice, but it is not easy to intuitively accept. Thus, this article describes the novel method of differential calculus based on the double contradiction, which is easier to accept intuitively. Next, the (...) geometrical meaning of the double contradiction is considered as follows. A tangent at a point on a convex curve is iterated. Then, the slope of the tangent at the point is sandwiched by two kinds of lines. The first kind of line crosses the curve at the original point and a point to the right of it. The second kind of line crosses the curve at the original point and a point to the left of it. Then, the double contradiction can be applied, and the slope of the tangent is determined as a single value. Finally, the meaning of this method for the foundation of mathematics is considered. We reflect on Dehaene’s notion that the foundation of mathematics is based on the intuitions, which evolve independently. Hence, there may be gaps between intuitions. In fact, the Ancient Greeks identified inconsistency between arithmetic and geometry. However, Eudoxus developed the theory of proportion, which is equivalent to the Dedekind Cut. This allows the iteration of an irrational number by rational numbers as precisely as desired. Simultaneously, we can define the irrational number by the double contradiction, although its existence is not guaranteed. Further, an area of a curved figure is iterated and defined by rectilinear figures using the double contradiction. (shrink)

Du sollst dir kein Bildnis noch irgendein Gleichnis machen, fordert das zweite der zehn mosaischen Gebote. Aber wir müssen uns Bilder machen, indem wir denken. Das menschliche Denken lebt aus Bildern, es bewegt sich in Bildern, und diese entwickeln dabei ihr eigenes Leben. Wie lassen sich jenes Gebot und diese Notwendigkeit verbinden? Wie lässt sich eine jeweils zeitgemässe Ordnung in diese Bilderflut bringen, ohne sie dauerhaft zu fixieren und damit das lebendige Denken zu töten? In diese Fragen lässt sich die (...) denkerische Lebensaufgabe des Autors Nikolaus von Kues (1401-1464) zusammenfassen. Philosophen und Theologen, Historiker und Bildwissenschaftler versammelten sich im November 2017 im Geburtshaus von Nikolaus am Ufer der Mosel in Kues, um diese Fragen auf den neuesten Stand der Forschung zu bringen. Die Themen reichen von detaillierten Bild-Lektüren einschlägiger Kunstwerke aus West und Ost über Logik, Reichweite und Grenzen des konjekturalen Denkens. Grundzüge einer Mythologie der Vernunft, die elliptische Dis-zentralisierung des ego-zentrischen Denkens sowie die Rolle der Imagination für das Erkennen, bis zu einer Würdigung der einprägsamen Bilder aus der Lebenswelt im Werk des Cusanus und zu seinem neuen Entwurf eines Menschenbildes im Geist der Renaissance im Spiegel des Verborgen bleibenden Gottesbildes. Anlass dieser Sammlung von innovativen Cusanus-Studien war der 70. Geburtstage des japanischen Kollegen und verdienten Cusanusforschers Kazuhiko Yamaki. Yamaki ist Professor em. für Philosophie an der Waseda-Universität Tokyo. Sein Forschungsschwerpunkt liegt in der europäischen Philosophie des MIttelalters, doch seine besondere Liebe und Aufmerksamkeit gehören dem Philosophen Nikolaus von Kues und dessen Bildersprache, die Yamaki stets auch auf ihre Aktualität für unsere Gegenwart hin befragt. (shrink)

We investigated cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese color preferences and the ecological factors that might influence them. Japanese and U.S. color preferences have both similarities and differences. Complex gender differences were also evident that did not conform to previously reported effects. Palmer and Schloss's weighted affective valence estimate procedure was used to test the Ecological Valence Theory's prediction that within-culture WAVE-preference correlations should be higher than between-culture WAVE-preference correlations. The results supported several, but not all, predictions. In the second (...) experiment, we tested color preferences of Japanese–U.S. multicultural participants who could read and speak both Japanese and English. Multicultural color preferences were intermediate between U.S. and Japanese preferences, consistent with the hypothesis that culturally specific personal experiences during one's lifetime influence color preferences. (shrink)

The Millennium Development Goals were criticised for failing to address the issue of governance, and the associated notions of responsibility and accountability. The Sustainable Development Goals, we argue, need to recognise the structural constraints facing poor countries – the power imbalances in the global economic system that limit their ability to promote the prosperity and well-being of their people, as was clearly brought out by the Commission on Global Governance for Health, of which we were both members [Ottersen, O. P., (...) J. Dasgupta, C. Blouin, Paulo Buss, Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong, Julio Frenk, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, et al. 2014. “The Political Origins of Health Inequality: Prospects for Change.” Lancet 383: 630–667]. This article is divided into three parts. We begin by making the case for a global justice perspective which emphasises the responsibility – and hence also accountability – of international organisations and rule-making bodies. We next demonstrate the limitations of accountabi.. (shrink)

Graphical Abstract2013 marks the 50th annual Drew festival in Uto City, Japan, celebrating the work of University of Manchester botanist, Dr. Kathleen Drew-Baker. Her insight into the reproductive biology of algae was the key to efficient farming of the seaweed “nori” which is a familiar component of Japanese food.

Internet services, such as review sites, FAQ sites, online auction sites, online flea markets, and social networking services, are essential to our daily lives. Each Internet service aims to promote information exchange among people who share common interests, activities, or goods. Internet service providers aim to have users of their services actively communicate through their services. Without active interaction, the service falls into disuse. In this study, we consider that an Internet service has a network externality as its main feature, (...) and we model user behavior in the Internet service with network externality as a dynamic game. In particular, we model the diffusion process of users of an ISNE as an infinite-horizon extensive-form game of complete information in which: each user can choose whether or not to use the ISNE in her/his turn and the network effect of the ISNE depends on the history of each player’s actions. We then apply Markov perfect equilibrium to analyze how to increase the number of active users. We derive the necessary and sufficient condition under which the state in which every player is an active user is the unique Markov perfect equilibrium outcome. Moreover, we propose an incentive mechanism that enables the number of active users to increase steadily. (shrink)

熊本大学生命倫理論集第3巻のテーマは「生命の価値」そのものである。生命倫理が前提とする生命という価値についての根本的問いかけに、哲学、倫理学、法学、医学、脳科学、生物学等の様々な分野の専門家が本気で取 り組み、学問の境界を越えた議論を展開する。.

Name der Zeitschrift: Das Mittelalter Jahrgang: 19 Heft: 1 Seiten: 146-166.

En raison de son statut de département japonais, la situation postcoloniale vécue par les habitants d'Okinawa reste peu visible de l'extérieur. TI n'en demeure pas moins que la double sujétion de l'île, au Japon et aux États-Unis, suscite depuis 1945 colère et indignation. Mais dans le cadre général de la seconde modernité japonaise, quelle peut être la portée pratique d'une pensée critique ? Cette interrogation­ servira de fil conducteur à notre texte qui se propose de suivre l'itinéraire d'une jeune chanteuse (...) qui, placée au croisement des mondes japonais et okinawais, tente de se frayer une voie qui mène vers des états de paix.Because of Okinawa's particular status as a Japanese constituency, the post-colonial situation experienced by its inhabitants has never been transparent to the outside world, although the island's dual dependency, on Japan and the United States, has been a source of anger and indignation ever since 1945. But in the more general context of Japan's second age of modernity, where does critical thinking lead in practice? This is the underlying thread of our narrative, in which we follow a young singer, caught between her Japanese and Okinawa backgrounds, as she tries to fight her way through to a state of peace. (shrink)

The capacity of visual working memory (VWM) refers to the amount of visual information that can be maintained in mind at once, readily accessible for ongoing tasks. In healthy young adults, the capacity limit of VWM corresponds to about three simple objects. While some researchers argued that VWM capacity becomes adult-like in early years of life, others claimed that the capacity of VWM continues to develop beyond middle childhood. Here we assessed whether VWM capacity reaches adult levels in adolescence. Using (...) an adaptation of the visual change detection task, we measured visual working memory capacity estimates in 13 year-olds, 16-year-olds, and young adults. We tested whether the capacity estimates observed in early or later years of adolescence were comparable to the estimates obtained from adults. Our results demonstrated that the capacity of VWM continues to develop throughout adolescence, not reaching adult levels even in 16 year-olds. These findings suggest that VWM capacity displays a prolonged development, similar to the protracted trajectories observed in various other aspects of cognition. (shrink)

Children’s intentions should be respected. Parents are the key persons involved in decision-making related to their children. In Japan, the appropriate ages and standards for a child’s consent and assent, approval, and decision-making are not clearly defined, which makes the process of obtaining consent and assent for clinical research complex. The purpose of this paper is as follows: to understand the attitudes and motives of parents concerning children’s participation in medical research and the factors influencing their decision-making. We also sought (...) to clarify who has the right to be involved in decisions regarding children’s participation in research. A semi-structured Internet survey on parents’ opinions and attitudes and preferences concerning medical research involvement was conducted. Children were divided into three age groups (6–10-year-olds, 11–14-year-olds, and 15–18-year-olds), with three illness severity categories. Possible correlations between the number of children, children’s ages, parents’ educational levels, and parents’ attitudes were examined. Among the participants, 42.3% recognized the term “informed consent.” The proportion of participants who understood “informed consent” increased with educational level. Four out of five participants did not know, or had not heard of, the term “informed assent.” Furthermore, the percentage of those who understood the term “informed assent” increased with academic level. Participants generally believed in prioritizing parents’ opinions over children’s, and that parents and children would ideally reach a joint decision. Although many parents favored collaborative decision-making, they also wanted their own will reflected in the decision and felt they should receive important information before their children do. Decision-making was affected by the condition’s severity and prognosis. This indicates that most Japanese parents believe that their children have the right to know their disease name and treatment; nonetheless, they should be protected. Parents’ values and judgments regarding medical intervention involving their children varied. Children’s ability to consent to treatment and research believed to be in their best interests should be assessed appropriately. They should be permitted to provide consent or assent, and their views should be respected. Involving children in decision-making fosters more open communication and transparency between medical professionals, parents, and children. (shrink)

Many functional glycoproteins are expressed on the lymphocyte cell surface. Some of them carry O-linked oligosaccharides (O-glycans), which are conjugated through serine or threonine residues. During various biological processes, including T-cell activation, a tetrasaccharide on the T-cell surface is dramatically converted to a branched hexasaccharide, called core2 O-glycan. The same structural change in O-glycans is also found on the lymphocytes from patients with immunodeficiency conditions such as Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome and AIDS. Several studies revealing the roles of core2 O-glycans in immune (...) responses show that this is a biologically significant change. In particular, core2 O-glycans expressed on the cell surface reduce cell–cell interactions, thereby regulating immune responses. Furthermore, core2 O-glycan is a key backbone structure in forming selectin ligands. Thus, O-linked oligosaccharides, in particular those containing core2 branches, play vital roles in immune responses and may play dual roles in certain situations. This review will summarize the results obtained from various studies investigating the roles of O-glycans in immunological processes. BioEssays 23:46–53, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

Many functional glycoproteins are expressed on the lymphocyte cell surface. Some of them carry O-linked oligosaccharides (O-glycans), which are conjugated through serine or threonine residues. During various biological processes, including T-cell activation, a tetrasaccharide on the T-cell surface is dramatically converted to a branched hexasaccharide, called core2 O-glycan. The same structural change in O-glycans is also found on the lymphocytes from patients with immunodeficiency conditions such as Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome and AIDS. Several studies revealing the roles of core2 O-glycans in immune (...) responses show that this is a biologically significant change. In particular, core2 O-glycans expressed on the cell surface reduce cell–cell interactions, thereby regulating immune responses. Furthermore, core2 O-glycan is a key backbone structure in forming selectin ligands. Thus, O-linked oligosaccharides, in particular those containing core2 branches, play vital roles in immune responses and may play dual roles in certain situations. This review will summarize the results obtained from various studies investigating the roles of O-glycans in immunological processes. BioEssays 23:46–53, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)