Globalization of the Japanese Startup Ecosystem through Transnational Entrepreneurship

In 2022, Former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled a “new form of capitalism,” aimed at boosting investment in startups. When people think of major Japanese firms, they often envision corporations like Honda and Sony. However, Kishida highlights that these giants were once startups founded by young entrepreneurs, and emphasized the necessity of cultivating such innovation in Japan today. Furthermore, the introduction of a startup visa in 2015 has made it easier for transnational entrepreneurs to establish businesses in Japan. However, there are significant key issues within the Japanese startup ecosystem that make it difficult for foreign entrepreneurs to launch and sustain their business in Japan–whether it be the lack of assistance for startup ecosystems in prefectures outside of Tokyo, or language and cultural barriers that prevent the globalization of the startup ecosystem This research will investigate the experiences of these transnational entrepreneurs and the implications for the globalization of the Japanese startup ecosystem. This research draws on ethnographic research through an internship with STARTUP HOKKAIDO and qualitative interviews with individuals from the Japanese startup ecosystem. In doing so, this paper examines transnational entrepreneurship in the context of the national push for economic development and factors that hinder the development of the Japanese startup ecosystem

Sex Differences in the Effects of Caffeine and Methylphenidate on a Rat Model of ADHD

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects more than 6.5 million children and 15.5 million adults in the US (Danielson, et al., 2024; Staley, et al., 2023). One medication for ADHD is methylphenidate (MPH), a psychostimulant that increases dopamine (DA). Caffeine (CAF) is a more accessible psychostimulant that has unclear effects on ADHD (Perrotte, et al., 2023). To study the effects of CAF and MPH on ADHD, this study utilized a rat model of ADHD called the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR). Rats underwent Barnes Maze testing for Working Memory (WM), Long-Term Memory (LTM), and hyperactivity. It was hypothesized that animals exposed to MPH would perform better on all measures of memory and demonstrate reduced hyperactivity than the CAF group, which in turn would perform better than the saline-exposed group (SAL). For WM, during reversal learning, female (F) rats performed consistently better on WM, and the male (M) CAF and M MPH groups performed better than the M SAL group. For LTM, animals treated with CAF performed the worst during learning, but a pattern following the hypothesis (MPH better than CAF, which was better than SAL) was shown in reversal learning. In the probes, the only differences were by sex, where the males performed better than the females, and the M SAL group performed better than both the M CAF and M MPH groups in reversal learning. For hyperactivity, F SAL and F CAF groups were more hyperactive than M SAL and M CAF, but M MPH was more hyperactive than the F MPH group. Overall, this indicates that sex differences are critical when using SHRs as models of ADHD. In addition, MPH increased hyperactivity instead of reducing it like in humans. Future studies should use caution when applying research using SHRs to both females and males if they do not examine sex differences

Understanding the Impact of Chronic Stress in Cocaine Addiction: How Stress influences the Behavior and Biology of Addiction?

Cocaine addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder influenced by both neurobiological and environmental factors, including stress. This study investigated the impact of stress-induced corticosterone elevation on the expression of key dopaminergic signaling components involved in cocaine reward: dopamine receptors D1 and D2, dopamine transporter (DAT), and protein kinase A (PKA) in a rat model. Using a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm, male rats were divided into four groups: non-stressed control, stressed control, non-stressed CPP, and stressed CPP. Stress was induced using 2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT), a predator odor. Following behavioral testing, nucleus accumbens (NAc) tissue was collected from each side of the brain with one hemisphere analyzed by quantitative PCR and the other reserved for protein-level analysis. PCR results revealed a marked increase in D1 receptor mRNA expression in the stressed groups, with the stressed CPP group exhibiting the highest levels, however, this change was not statistically significant. D2 receptor expression, on the other hand, showed lower expression in the stressed-cocaine group compared to stressed or-unstressed control. DAT and PKA expressions did not follow a consistent pattern. Coomassie staining was performed to assess protein levels but did not show specificity among proteins D1, D2 and DAT. These findings suggest that stress may potentiate the neurobiological response to cocaine by changing the expression of receptors in the dopamine pathway

Creative Practice as a Form of Stress Coping: Psychological and Physiological Mechanisms

The primary purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between perceived stress, cortisol levels, and a creative flow state. A creative flow state is a state in which a person is so engrossed in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; time is irrelevant and seems to pass quickly and the activity holds all attention without distraction or interruption. The primary hypothesis in this study was that regular engagement with flow inducing activities counteracts an increased level of stress as the school semester progresses. Eight participants were recruited and given a preliminary survey where they were asked questions about their perception of stress, perception of their own levels of creativity, and their past experiences with flow. The participants were then asked to engage in a creative practice of their choosing for at least one hour per week for four weeks. The participants also turned in biological samples of saliva, once at the beginning of the testing period and once at the end. These samples were analyzed for cortisol levels using an immunoassay kit. After finding the cortisol levels, several correlations and Paired Sample T-Tests were run to discover relationships between the variables. No significant evidence was found that supported our primary hypothesis, but this could have been due to several limitations that were faced during the course of the study