A Report on Overseas Teaching Practicum by Graduate Students in Elementary/Secondary Schools in the United States （XII）

This paper reports on the overseas teaching practicum in the U.S., which was supposed to be the 12th time this year. Eight students joined this year’s program and they prepared for the practicum in the U.S. They met regularly to discuss the lesson plans and deepen their understanding on how to create a lesson and what scaffolding steps they should prepare for conveying messages to American children who know little about Japanese culture and having different background from us. Unfortunately, just a few days before the departure, we had to give up our visit to the U.S. since there was a high chance of a hurricane hitting the area we were to visit. Though we could not make our visit in September, instead we held a forum in November and exchanged discussion on the impact of the program to the participants and the schools which accept us. The details of the lesson plans and the forum are reported in this paper

The activation mechanism of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) by molecular chaperone HSP90

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that associates with the molecular chaperone HSP90 in the cytoplasm. The activation mechanism of the AhR is not yet fully understood. It has been proposed that after binding of ligands such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), 3methylcholanthrene (3-MC), or β-naphthoflavone (β-NF), the AhR dissociates from HSP90 and translocates to the nucleus. It has also been hypothesized that the AhR translocates to the nucleus and forms a complex with HSP90 and other co-chaperones. There are a few reports about the direct association or dissociation of AhR and HSP90 due to difficulties in purifying AhR. We constructed and purified the PAS domain from AhR. Binding of the AhR-PAS domain to β-NF affinity resin suggested that it possesses ligand-binding affinity. We demonstrated that the AhR-PAS domain binds to HSP90 and the association is not affected by ligand binding. The ligand 17-DMAG inhibited binding of HSP90 to GST-PAS. In an immunoprecipitation assay, HSP90 was co-immunoprecipitated with AhR both in the presence or absence of ligand. Endogenous AhR decreased in the cytoplasm and increased in the nucleus of HeLa cells 15. min after treatment with ligand. These results suggested that the ligand-bound AhR is translocated to nucleus while in complex with HSP90.We used an in situ proximity ligation assay to confirm whether AhR was translocated to the nucleus alone or together with HSP90. HSP90 was co-localized with AhR after the nuclear translocation. It has been suggested that the ligand-bound AhR was translocated to the nucleus with HSP90. Activated AhR acts as a transcription factor, as shown by the transcription induction of the gene CYP1A1 8. h after treatment with β-NF

A Role for KLF4 in Promoting the Metabolic Shift via TCL1 during Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Generation

Reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is accompanied by morphological, functional, and metabolic alterations before acquisition of full pluripotency. Although the genome-wide effects of the reprogramming factors on gene expression are well documented, precise mechanisms by which gene expression changes evoke phenotypic responses remain to be determined. We used a Sendai virus-based system that permits reprogramming to progress in a strictly KLF4-dependent manner to screen for KLF4 target genes that are critical for the progression of reprogramming. The screening identified Tcl1 as a critical target gene that directs the metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. KLF4-induced TCL1 employs a two-pronged mechanism, whereby TCL1 activates AKT to enhance glycolysis and counteracts PnPase to diminish oxidative phosphorylation. These regulatory mechanisms described here highlight a central role for a reprogramming factor in orchestrating the metabolic shift toward the acquisition of pluripotency during iPSC generation

La vacilación de una 'bruja de mediana edad': "Transformations", de Anne Sexton

In “Transformations”, a work innovatively based on the stories of the Brothers Grimm, Anne Sexton assumes the sarcastic persona of a “middle-aged witch,” a guise taken on to spotlight and criticize the relentless patriarchal themes that permeate the Grimms’ fairy tales. Since the poet’s most creative period paralleled the emergence of the feminist movement in the USA, the appearance of a feminist interpretation of well-known, male oriented folklore can be considered to be a logical occurrence. However, Sexton’s poems concurrently exhibit hesitancy on the part of the “middle-aged witch” in her attempt to revise the prevailing male-centered conception of the world. Her hesitancy suggests a personal reluctance to commit to gender issues and thereby reveals a woman who could not fully free herself from submissiveness to the masculine power. This paper reveals such ambivalent feelings on the part of the poet towards the female status.En “Transformations”, una obra innovadoramente basada en los cuentos de los hermanos Grimm, Anne Sexton asume la “persona” sarcástica de una “bruja de mediana edad,” un disfraz adoptado para destacar y criticar la incesante temática patriarcal que impregna los cuentos de hadas de los Grimm. Como la etapa más creativa de la poeta fue paralela al surgimiento del movimiento feminista en los EEUU, la aparición de una interpretación feminista de un folklore bien conocido orientado a lo masculino puede considerarse lógica. No obstante, al mismo tiempo los poemas de Sexton muestran ciertas dudas por parte de la “bruja de mediana edad” en su intento de revisar la visión predominante, centrada en lo masculino, del mundo. Sus dudas sugieren una renuencia personal a compromenterse con las cuestiones de género, y por tanto revelan a una mujer que no podía librarse plenamente de su sumisión al poder masculino. Este ensayo analiza dichos sentimientos de ambivalencia de la poeta hacia el estatus femenino

Short-Term Reproduction of Active Movement with Visual Feedback and Passive Movement with a Therapist’s Hands

Reproducing instructed movements is crucial for practice in motor learning. In this study, we compared the short-term reproduction of active pelvis movements with visual feedback and passive movement with the therapist’s hands in an upright stance. Sixteen healthy males (M age = 34.1; SD = 10.2 years) participated in this study. In one condition, healthy males maintained an upright stance while a physical therapist moved the participant’s pelvis (passive movement instruction), and in a second condition, the participant actively moved their pelvis with visual feedback of the target and the online trajectory of the center of pressure (active movement instruction). Reproduction errors (displacement of the center of pressure in the medial–lateral axis) 10 s after the passive movement instruction were significantly greater than after the active movement instruction (p p = 0.118). Error of movement reproduction in the anterior–posterior axis after the passive movement instruction was significantly greater than after the active movement instruction, no matter how long the retention interval was between the instruction and reproduction phases (p = 0.025). Taken together, active pelvis movements with visual feedback, rather than passive movement with the therapist’s hand, is better to be used for instructing pelvis movements