Social Conformity and Response Bias Revisited: The Influence of "Others" on Japanese Respondents This study was undertaken to investigate the impact of other respondents' answers on individual responses in survey studies. The study employed four different conditions and manipulated the direction and the level of social pressure. The results have confirmed that social desirability bias hugely impacts individual answers. It was found that respondents are seven times more likely to choose a socially unacceptable option if majority of the preceding respondents (...) also have chosen the same option. Additionally, the existence of an interviewer during data collection was found to be a factor pressuring respondents to give more socially acceptable responses. (shrink)

In his paper “Non-human moral status: problems with phenomenal consciousness,” Joshua Shepherd emphasized an objectivist understanding of welfare to establish the moral status of non-human entities...

In this paper we give an axiom system of a logic which we call an approximation logic (AL), whose Lindenbaum-Tarski algebra is a strong Bunge algebra (or simply s-Bunge algebra), and show thatFor every s-Bunge algebra , a quotient algebra by a maximal filter is isomorphic to the simplest nontrivial s-Bunge algebra ;The Lindenbaum algebra of AL is an s-Bunge algebra;AL is complete;AL is decidable.

In this paper we shall first show that for every weak DeMorgan algebra $L$ of order $n$ , there is a quotient weak DeMorgan algebra $L{\sim}$ which is embeddable in the finite WDM-$n$ algebra $\Omega $. We then demonstrate that the finite WDM-$n$ algebra $\Omega $ is functionally free for the class $CL$ of WDM-$n$ algebras. That is, we show that any formulas $f$ and $g$ are identically equal in each algebra in $CL$ if and only if they are identically (...) equal in $\Omega $. Finally we establish that there is no weak DeMorgan algebra whose quotient algebra by a maximal filter has exactly seven elements. (shrink)

The largest transcriptome reported so far comprises 60,770 mouse full‐length cDNA clones, and is an effective reference data set for comparative transcriptomics. The number of mouse cDNAs identified greatly exceeds the number of genes predicted from the sequenced human and mouse genomes. This is largely because of extensive alternative splicing and the presence of many non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are difficult to predict from genomic sequences. Notably, ncRNAs are a major component of the transcriptomes of higher organisms, and many sense–antisense (...) pairs have been identified. The ncRNAs function in a range of regulatory mechanisms for gene expression and other biological processes. They might also have contributed to the increased functional diversification of genomes during evolution. In this review, we discuss aspects of the transcriptome of various organisms in relation to the mouse data, in order to shed light on the regulatory mechanisms and physiological significance of these abundant RNAs. BioEssays 26:833–843, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Human brain organoids are three-dimensional masses of tissues derived from human stem cells that partially recapitulate the characteristics of the human brain. They have promising applications in many fields, from basic research to applied medicine. However, ethical concerns have been raised regarding the use of human brain organoids. These concerns primarily relate to the possibility that brain organoids may become conscious in the future. This possibility is associated with uncertainties about whether and in what sense brain organoids could have consciousness (...) and what the moral significance of that would be. These uncertainties raise further concerns regarding consent from stem cell donors who may not be sufficiently informed to provide valid consent to the use of their donated cells in human brain organoid research. Furthermore, the possibility of harm to the brain organoids raises question about the scope of the donor’s autonomy in consenting to research involving these entities. Donor consent does not establish the reasonableness of the risk and harms to the organoids, which ethical oversight must ensure by establishing some measures to mitigate them. To address these concerns, we provide three proposals for the consent procedure for human brain organoid research. First, it is vital to obtain project-specific consent rather than broad consent. Second, donors should be assured that appropriate measures will be taken to protect human brain organoids during research. Lastly, these assurances should be fulfilled through the implementation of precautionary measures. These proposals aim to enhance the ethical framework surrounding human brain organoid research. (shrink)

The notion of the unconscious resulted in a reversal of optics concerning the evidence of consciousness, and the split which Freud created in the analysis of mental activities elicited many reactio...

We study the following conjecture. Conjecture. Let $T$ be an $\omega$-stable theory with continuum many countable models. Then either i) $T$ has continuum many complete extensions in $L_1$, or ii) some complete extension of $T$ in $L_1$ has continuum many $L_1$-types without parameters. By Shelah's proof of Vaught's conjecture for $\omega$-stable theories, we know that there are seven types of $\omega$-stable theory with continuum many countable models. We show that the conjecture is true for all but one of these seven (...) cases. In the last case we show the existence of continuum many $L_2$-types. (shrink)

As kendo continues to gain in international popularity, there are hopes for its adoption in the Olympic Games as an international competitive event, even while moves to further this aim have not necessarily occurred in Japan or elsewhere. One reason for the efforts to achieve a form of globalization of kendo different from Judo is the attempt to adhere to and preserve the unique concepts kendo, the sport embodies by remaining true to the forms of traditional Japanese culture. This is (...) epitomized by the importance given to zanshin (the combination of posture and fighting spirit after striking), one of the key concepts that constitute yuko-datotsu in kendo. Our purpose in this study is to discuss the intersubjective nature of the decisions regarding the conditions for point-scoring in competitive sports. In particular, we will focus on the aesthetics required for zanshin in kendo, focusing on the theory behind yuko-datotsu (point score), which will also considerably influence its international dissemination. Kendo is characterized from the perspective of western rationalism as an appreciation of form and rules of behavior referred to as formalism and, in this respect, it has unique characteristics differing from those of modern sports that are disseminated internationally. In martial arts, besides refinement and proficiency in the rules of behavior by rigidly adhering to form and rules of behavior and repetition, the aim is to transcend said form and the rules of behavior and embody the spiritual nature dwelling in the background. Kendo should remain traditional path and keep zanshin in the value of point (yuko-datotsu) for its virtue. Kendo has not yet developed into an international competitive sport, but it is in the process of traversing that Geido path as a Do for the purpose of character building through it. Throughout life, one should try to devote oneself to kendo with thought for the value of transcending form and the rules of behaviour, and embodying the spiritual nature of the sport that inheres in its background. That is why one may perceive an evident hesitation or indeed negativity regarding the possible internationalization or development as an Olympic event. (shrink)

The notion of quasi-minimal structures was defined by B. Zil'ber as a natural generalization of minimal structures. Inspired by his work, we study here basic model theoretic properties of quasiminimal structures. Main result is the construction of ω-saturated quasi-minimal models under ω-stability assumption.

数理論理学の基本となる命題・述語論理から、チューリング機械・形式手法・ブール代数といった「少し先」の内容までを丁寧に解説。.

We study the following conjecture. Conjecture. Let T be an ω-stable theory with continuum many countable models. Then either i) T has continuum many complete extensions in L1(T), or ii) some complete extension of T in L1 has continuum many L1-types without parameters. By Shelah's proof of Vaught's conjecture for ω-stable theories, we know that there are seven types of ω-stable theory with continuum many countable models. We show that the conjecture is true for all but one of these seven (...) cases. In the last case we show the existence of continuum many L2-types. (shrink)

We show that is a quasi-minimal torsion-free divisible abelian group. After discussing the axiomatization of the theory of this structure, we present its ω-saturated quasi-minimal model.

We investigated the key anatomical structures mediating interhemispheric integration during the perception of apparent motion across the retinal midline. Previous studies of commissurotomized patients suggest that subcortical structures mediate interhemispheric transmission but the specific regions involved remain unclear. Here, we exploit interindividual variations in the propensity of normal subjects to perceive horizontal motion, in relation to vertical motion. We characterize these differences psychophysically using a Dynamic Dot Quartet (an ambiguous stimulus that induces illusory motion). We then tested for correlations between (...) a tendency to perceive horizontal motion and fractional anisotropy (FA) (from structural diffusion tensor imaging), over subjects. FA is an indirect measure of the orientation and integrity of white matter tracts. Subjects who found it easy to perceive horizontal motion showed significantly higher FA values in the pulvinar. Furthermore, fiber tracking from an independently identified (subject-specific) visual motion area converged on the pulvinar nucleus. These results suggest that the pulvinar is an anatomical hub and may play a central role in interhemispheric integration. (shrink)

Neuronal activities have recently been reported to exhibit power-law scaling behavior. However, it has not been demonstrated that the power-law component can play an important role in human perceptual functions. Here, we demonstrate that the power spectrum of magnetoencephalograph recordings of brain activity varies in coordination with perception of subthreshold visual stimuli. We observed that perceptual performance could be better explained by modulation of the power-law component than by modulation of the peak power in particular narrow frequency ranges. The results (...) suggest that the brain operates in a state of self-organized criticality, modulating the power spectral exponent of its activity to optimize its internal state for response to external stimuli. (shrink)

We investigated how the structure of the brain network relates to the stability of perceptual alternation in binocular rivalry. Historically, binocular rivalry has provided important new insights to our understandings in neuroscience. Although various relationships between the local regions of the human brain structure and perceptual switching phenomena have been shown in previous researches, the global organization of the human brain structural network relating to this phenomenon has not yet been addressed. To approach this issue, we reconstructed fiber-tract bundles using (...) diffusion tensor imaging and then evaluated the correlations between the speeds of perceptual alternation and fractional anisotropy (FA) values in each fiber-tract bundle integrating among 84 brain regions. The resulting comparison revealed that the distribution of the global organization of the structural brain network showed positive or negative correlations between the speeds of perceptual alternation and the FA values. First, the connections between the subcortical regions stably were negatively correlated. Second, the connections between the cortical regions mainly showed positive correlations. Third, almost all other cortical connections that showed negative correlations were located in one central cluster of the subcortical connections. This contrast between the contribution of the cortical regions to destabilization and the contribution of the subcortical regions to stabilization of perceptual alternation provides important information as to how the global architecture of the brain structural network supports the phenomenon of binocular rivalry. (shrink)

The brain is a very complex structure. Over the past several decades, many studies have aimed to understand how various non-uniform variables relate to each other. The current study compared the whole-brain network organization and global spatial distribution of cell densities in the monkey brain. Wide comparisons between 27 graph theoretical measures and cell densities revealed that only participation coefficients (PCs) significantly correlated with cell densities. Interestingly, PCs did not show a significant correlation with spatial coordinates. Furthermore, the significance of (...) the correlation between cell densities and spatial coordinates disappeared only with the removal of the visual module, while the significance of the correlation between cell densities and PCs disappeared with the removal of any one module. Taken together, these results suggested the presence of a combinatorial effect of modular architectures in the network organization related to the non-uniformity of cell densities additional to the spatially monotonic change. (shrink)

This article reports an interesting link between the psychophysical property of intentional control of perceptual switching and the underlying neural activities. First, we revealed that the timing of perceptual switching for a dynamical dot quartet can be controlled by the observers' intention, without eye movement. However, there is a clear limitation to this control, such that each animation frame of the stimulus must be presented for a sufficiently long time length; in other words, the frequency of the stimulus alternation must (...) be sufficiently slow for the control. The typical stimulus onset asynchrony for a 50% level of success was about 275 ms for an average of 10 observers. On the basis of psychophysical property, we designed three experiments for investigating the neural process with a magnetoencephalography. They revealed that: (1) a peak component occurring about 300 ms after a reversal was stronger when the direction of perceived motion was switched intentionally than when it was not switched, and (2) neural components about 30–40 ms and 240–250 ms after the reversal of the stimulus animation were stronger when perception was altered intentionally than when it was switched unintentionally. The 300 ms component is consistent with a previous study about passive perceptual switching (Struber and Herrmann [2002]: Cogn Brain Res 14:370–382), but the intentional effect was seemed to be a different component from the well-known P300 component. (shrink)

Recently, there have been an increasing number of studies on the Buddhist monastic community as a whole and on individual Buddhist monks and nuns in Vinaya literature. However, we do not know much about how a local Buddhist monastic community was administered. In order to consider just an aspect of the administration in a local monastic community, I will in this paper investigate descriptions of agreements that local monastic communities or local Buddhist monks conclude in Vinaya texts belonging to the (...) sarv?stiv?dins. (shrink)

Since the discovery that the characteristics of dreaming sleep are far stronger in Stage 1 rapid eye movement sleep than in any other biological state, investigators have attempted to determine the relative responsibility of the tonic versus the phasic properties of REM sleep for the different characteristics of dreaming–features such as the amount of information in the dream report, the brightness and clarity of the visual images, shifts in thematic continuity, and incongruities of image and meaning. The present experiment is (...) designed to identify dream characteristics that are specifically associated with tonic changes in level of cortical activation within sleep. It samples reports of imagery and thought during spontaneous variations within one phase of the 24-h diurnal rhythm and across the REM-NREM sleep cycle in order to identify the independent and joint contributions of the two cycles to imagery and thought. The rising phase of the diurnal cycle in the late night and morning was estimated from clock time during the late night and early morning and was varied by delaying the sleep onset and waking time of the subjects. Considered together with other studies, the results suggest that the major determinant of vivid visual imagery and enhanced cognitive activity during sleep is a pattern of subcortical and cortical activation that is common to both the REM phase of the REM-NREM cycle and the activated phase of the 24-h diurnal wake-sleep cycle. (shrink)

In this paper, a system called Caretta that integrates personal and shared workspaces to support face-to-face collaboration is described. We use PDAs for individual users' personal workspaces that enable them to reflect on their own idea. A shared workspace has been implemented by using a multiple-input sensing board, which allows a group of users to simultaneously manipulate physical objects. In order to raise the level of awareness among users, we have used augmented reality technologies and created an immersive environment for (...) the users' shared workspace. Users of Caretta can discuss and negotiate with each other in the shared workspace, while they individually examine their ideas in their own personal workspaces. Therefore, Caretta allows users to participate in group activities interchangeably and seamlessly by using both these workspaces. Caretta can be used for several types of group activities. In this paper, it is used for supporting a group of users in urban planning tasks by allowing the users to actually construct a town on the shared space and evaluate the town through computer simulations. User studies to evaluate Caretta were conducted. Usage logs of Caretta, video analyses, and comments from users proved that each user could utilize personal and shared space interchangeably at their own pace and without being hindered by other users. (shrink)

We show that K-generic projective planes have Morley rank either two or infinity. We also show give a direct argument that such planes are not Desarguesian.

In experiments of games, players frequently make choices which are regarded as irrational in game theory. In papers of Khrennikov (Information Dynamics in Cognitive, Psychological and Anomalous Phenomena. Fundamental Theories of Physics, Kluwer Academic, Norwell, 2004; Fuzzy Sets Syst. 155:4–17, 2005; Biosystems 84:225–241, 2006; Found. Phys. 35(10):1655–1693, 2005; in QP-PQ Quantum Probability and White Noise Analysis, vol. XXIV, pp. 105–117, 2009), it was pointed out that statistics collected in such the experiments have “quantum-like” properties, which can not be explained in (...) classical probability theory. In this paper, we design a simple quantum-like model describing a decision-making process in a two-players game and try to explain a mechanism of the irrational behavior of players. Finally we discuss a mathematical frame of non-Kolmogorovian system in terms of liftings (Accardi and Ohya, in Appl. Math. Optim. 39:33–59, 1999). (shrink)

In this work, an intuitionistic propositional logic with a Galois connection is introduced. In addition to the intuitionistic logic axioms and inference rule of modus ponens, the logic contains only two rules of inference mimicking the performance of Galois connections. Both Kripke-style and algebraic semantics are presented for IntGC, and IntGC is proved to be complete with respect to both of these semantics. We show that IntGC has the finite model property and is decidable, but Glivenko's Theorem does not hold. (...) Duality between algebraic and Kripke semantics is presented, and a representation theorem for Heyting algebras with Galois connections is proved. In addition, an application to rough L-valued sets is presented. (shrink)

This paper addresses the conceptual as well as social origins of Mendeleev’s discovery of the periodic law and its reception by the chemical community by taking account of three factors: Mendeleev’s early research and its relevance to the discovery; his concepts of chemistry, especially that of the chemical elements; and the social context of the discovery and the reception in the chemical community. Mendeleev's clear distinction between abstract elements and simple bodies was a departure from Lavoisier’s famous definition of elements (...) as an endpoint of analysis and originated from his research in indefinite compounds. As a comparison, the paper also analyzes Lothar Meyer’s approach to the classification of the elements. Mendeleev’s new concept of chemical elements and the existence of an audience in the form of the newly established Russian Chemical Society, and his ``German connection'', helped Mendeleev in his discovery and its reception. (shrink)