Review seminar of educational progressivism, cultural encounters and reform in Japan (I) : record of speeches

This paper is a record of the review seminar on Educational Progressivism, Cultural Encounters and Reform in Japan (Oxon: Routledge, 2017), held on 15th October 2022 at Kobe University, Japan. It consists of an opening address, a transcript of speeches and a closing address. Throughout this paper, the transcript is subject to additions and deletions based on future research presentations. The seminar was made possible after we asked Dr Patrick Shorb and Dr Karsten Kenklies, the book reviewers, to deliver a lecture and they kindly agreed. We would like to thank them both sincerely. The record was emailed to all participants, including the two speakers, for confirmation before publication. It reflects requests for correction, but the final responsibility lies with Kawaji, the editor of the record. For some Japanese terminology, the editor has added English translations and explanations, whilst the original Japanese word is in square brackets ([]). We would like to thank Dr Shorn and Dr Kenklies for their presentations and would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants

Localization and Quantum Hall Effect in Two-Dimensional Systems Under Strong Magnetic Fields(Transport and Fermiology)

Experimental researches of quantum transport properties of semiconductor two-dimensional electron systems in Si-MOSFETs and GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures in high magnetic fields up to 27 T and at low temperatures down to 20 mK are performed. Analysis of the Hall conductivity of Si-MOSFETs based on a mobility edge model shows that the temperature dependence of the mobility edge can not be explained by existing theory of localization. The fractional quantum Hall effect is observed at the filling factor of 1/7 in heterostructures. Sample size dependence and magnetic field dependence of the breakdown of the integral quantum Hall effect in heterostructures reveal that the Hall current is carried not by the edge states but by the extended states in the localization in the bulk of the two-dimensional systems

APOBEC3B is preferentially expressed at the G2/M phase of cell cycle

APOBEC3B (A3B) is a cytosine deaminase that converts cytosine to uracil in single-stranded DNA. Cytosine-to-thymine and cytosine-to-guanine base substitution mutations in trinucleotide motifs (APOBEC mutational signatures) were found in various cancers including lymphoid hematological malignancies such as multiple myeloma and A3B has been shown to be an enzymatic source of mutations in those cancers. Although the importance of A3B is being increasingly recognized, it is unclear how A3B expression is regulated in cancer cells as well as normal cells. To answer these fundamental questions, we analyzed 1276 primary myeloma cells using single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and found that A3B was preferentially expressed at the G2/M phase, in sharp contrast to the expression patterns of other APOBEC3 genes. Consistently, we demonstrated that A3B protein was preferentially expressed at the G2/M phase in myeloma cells by cell sorting. We also demonstrated that normal blood cells expressing A3B were also enriched in G2/M-phase cells by analyzing scRNA-seq data from 86, 493 normal bone marrow mononuclear cells. Furthermore, we revealed that A3B was expressed mainly in plasma cells, CD10+ B cells and erythroid cells, but not in granulocyte-macrophage progenitors. A3B expression profiling in normal blood cells may contribute to understanding the defense mechanism of A3B against viruses, and partially explain the bias of APOBEC mutational signatures in lymphoid but not myeloid malignancies. This study identified the cells and cellular phase in which A3B is highly expressed, which may help reveal the mechanisms behind carcinogenesis and cancer heterogeneity, as well as the biological functions of A3B in normal blood cells

Structure and properties of densified silica glass: characterizing the order within disorder

世界一構造秩序のあるガラスの合成と構造解析に成功 --ガラスの一見無秩序な構造の中に潜む秩序を抽出--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-12-25.The broken symmetry in the atomic-scale ordering of glassy versus crystalline solids leads to a daunting challenge to provide suitable metrics for describing the order within disorder, especially on length scales beyond the nearest neighbor that are characterized by rich structural complexity. Here, we address this challenge for silica, a canonical network-forming glass, by using hot versus cold compression to (i) systematically increase the structural ordering after densification and (ii) prepare two glasses with the same high-density but contrasting structures. The structure was measured by high-energy X-ray and neutron diffraction, and atomistic models were generated that reproduce the experimental results. The vibrational and thermodynamic properties of the glasses were probed by using inelastic neutron scattering and calorimetry, respectively. Traditional measures of amorphous structures show relatively subtle changes upon compacting the glass. The method of persistent homology identifies, however, distinct features in the network topology that change as the initially open structure of the glass is collapsed. The results for the same high-density glasses show that the nature of structural disorder does impact the heat capacity and boson peak in the low-frequency dynamical spectra. Densification is discussed in terms of the loss of locally favored tetrahedral structures comprising oxygen-decorated SiSi4 tetrahedra

Expansion of the Hexagonal Phase-Forming Region of Lu_1–<i>x</i>Sc_<i>x</i>FeO₃ by Containerless Processing

Hexagonal Lu_1–<i>x</i>Sc_<i>x</i>FeO₃ (0 ≤ <i>x</i> ≤ 0.8) was directly solidified from an undercooled melt by containerless processing with an aerodynamic levitation furnace. The hexagonal phase-forming region was considerably extended compared to that of the conventional solid-state reaction (<i>x</i> ∼ 0.5). Synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the crystal structure of the hexagonal phase was isomorphous to hexagonal ferroelectric RMnO₃ (R = a rare earth ion) with a polar space group of <i>P</i>6₃<i>cm</i>. As <i>x</i> increased, the <i>a</i>-axis lattice constant decreased linearly, strengthening the antiferromagnetic interaction between the Fe³⁺ ions on the <i>a–b</i> plane. Accordingly, the weak ferromagnetic transition temperature increased from 150 K for <i>x</i> = 0 to 175 K for <i>x</i> = 0.7. These transition temperatures were much higher than those of hexagonal Lu_1–<i>x</i>Sc_<i>x</i>MnO₃. The results indicate that hexagonal Lu_1–<i>x</i>Sc_<i>x</i>FeO₃ is a suitable alternative magnetic dielectric for use at higher temperatures