Analysis of School Oral History : Curriculum Development and Innovation of Project-Based Learning in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the multiple processes of curriculum development and innovation of Inquiry-based learning by Japanese school teachers in secondary education. In Japan inquiry-based learning, especially Problem-based Learning and Projectbased Learning, are currently receiving considerable attention for addressing the rapid-social changes anticipoted in the knowledgebased society by the year 2030 and beyond. The curriculum based on the educational policy, the curriculum experienced by students, and the reality of the curriculum mended and experienced by teachers have not been adequatly studied. This paper presents the multiple aspects of the the curriculum development by teachers by collecting narratives from the teachers themselves as one of the research projects of the Japan Innovative Schools Network supported by OECD. The project provides a means by which both teachers and researchers can work together to develope innovative curricula

Ultra-high-molecular-weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) Wing Method for Strong Cranioplasty

We developed a new cranioplasty method that utilizes artificial bone made of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, with a wedge-shaped edge (UHMWPE Wing). This study shows the methods and data of case series and finite element analyses with the UHMWPE Wing. A circumferential wing was preoperatively designed for a custom-made artificial bone made of UHMWPE to achieve high fixed power and to minimize the usage of cranial implants. Here, we present 4 years of follow-up data and finite element analyses for patients treated with the UHMWPE Wing between February 2015 and February 2019. Eighteen consecutive patients underwent cranioplasty using our UHMWPE Wing design. There were no postoperative adverse events in 17 of the patients for at least 18 months. One case of hydrocephalus experienced screw loosening and graft uplift due to shunt malfunction. Placement of a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt immediately returned the artificial bone to normal position. Finite element analyses revealed that a model using the UHMWPE Wing had the highest withstand load and lowest deformation. This is the first report on the UHMWPE Wing method. This method may enable clinicians to minimize dead space and achieve high strength in cranioplasty

Detection of deviance in Japanese kanji compound words

Reading fluency is based on the automatic visual recognition of words. As a manifestation of the automatic processing of words, an automatic deviance detection of visual word stimuli can be observed in the early stages of visual recognition. To clarify whether this phenomenon occurs with Japanese kanji compounds-since their lexicality is related to semantic association-we investigated the brain response by utilizing three types of deviants: differences in font type, lexically correct or incorrect Japanese kanji compound words and pseudo-kanji characters modified from correct and incorrect compounds. We employed magnetoencephalography (MEG) to evaluate the spatiotemporal profiles of the related brain regions. The study included 22 adult native Japanese speakers (16 females). The abovementioned three kinds of stimuli containing 20% deviants were presented during the MEG measurement. Activity in the occipital pole region of the brain was observed upon the detection of font-type deviance within 250 ms of stimulus onset. Although no significant activity upon detecting lexically correct/incorrect kanji compounds or pseudo-kanji character deviations was observed, the activity in the posterior transverse region of the collateral sulcus (pCoS)-which is a fusiform neighboring area-was larger when detecting lexically correct kanji compounds than when detecting pseudo-kanji characters. Taken together, these results support the notion that the automatic detection of deviance in kanji compounds may be limited to a low-level feature, such as the stimulus stroke thickness.Peer reviewe

“Transmantle sign”を示す限局性皮質異形成における神経細胞の成熟と分化の未熟性：層特異的マーカー発現による解析

Transmantle dysplasia is a rare type of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) characterized by expansion of the cortex from the deep white matter to the surface and in which there is a FCD IIA or IIB pathologic pattern. To characterize possible mechanisms underlying this regional disorder of radial migrating cells, we studied the expression patterns of neocortical layer-specific markers using immunohistochemistry in surgical specimens from 5 FCD IIA and 4 FCD IIB cases in children. All neuronal cells expressed the mature neuron marker MAP2/2B but not the microglia markers Iba-1 and CD68. Some layer-specific markers showed distinct expression patterns. TBR1-positive, SATB2-positive, and FOXP1-positive cells were diffusely distributed in the cortex and/or the white matter. TBR1-positive and FOXP1-positive cells were generally more numerous in FCD IIB than in FCD IIA and were mostly in the cortical molecular and upper layers. FOXP1-, FOXP2-, and CUTL1-positive cells also expressed the immature neuron marker, Nestin/PROX1, whereas TBR1-, CTIP2-, and SATB2-positive cells only expressed MAP2/2B. These data highlight differences between FCD IIB and FCD IIA with more cells having the immature marker in upper layer markers in the former. By analyzing layer-specific marker expression patterns, we identified apparent neuronal maturation differences between FCD IIA and FCD IIB in cases of transmantle dysplasia.博士（医学）・乙第1312号・平成25年5月29

How the Emotions of Teachers Influence Their Autonomous Professional Development:The Cognitive Appraisal Style Used by High School Teachers with Different Teaching Goals

本研究は,授業中の感情経験が教師の自律的発達に及ぼす影響を検討するため,異なる授業目標を掲げる高校 教師2名に面接調査を実施した。授業の特定状況に対する認知評価様式から両者の感惰経験を比較した結果,生 徒の学習意欲喚起を授業目標に掲げる教師は教師－生徒間対話成立可能性で状況評価し,生徒の消極的授業参加 行動の生起原因を生徒に帰属していらだちや退屈を経験する傾向が示された。一方,生徒間の学び合う関係形成 を授業目標に掲げる教師は生徒間対話成立可能性で状況評価し,生徒の消極的授業参加行動の生起原因を自己に 帰属して苦しみや困惑を経験する傾向が示された。ただし,教師2名は生徒の行為から生起する快感情,授業方 略の失敗から生起する自己意識感情により実践の省察を行っていたことから,教師はそれぞれ個別の学級生徒の 学習と成長に責任を負う自律性を維持しながら,感情経験を手がかりにして専門的発達を遂げると示唆された。 This study used interviews with two teachers, based on observations of their classes, to explore how the emotions of teachers influence their autonomous professional development. One teacher aimed at creating mutual learning relationships among students, and the other teacher aimed at activating students' motivation for learning. The findings are discussed in what follows. The styles of cognitive appraisal used by these teachers in specific situations were examined and their emotional experiences were compared. The first teacher experienced irritation, which was interpreted as a response to the students' negative participation in the class, whereas the second teacher evaluated his performance from the perspective of generating relevant conversations among students, whereas the second teacher based such evaluations on eliciting appropriate interactions between teacher and students. However, the second teacher experienced distress and embarrassment, which were attributed to his own performance. However, both teachers reflected on their experiences and improved their teaching by increasing their consciousness of the negative emotions emerging from failures in their teaching strategies as well as the positive emotions elicited by the behaviour of students. These results suggest that teachers should reflect on their practice and develop professionally by maintaining autonomous responsibility for their own learning as well as for the growth of their students by attending to subjective emotional experiences

Effects of environmental factors on temporal variation in annual carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions from an unfertilized bare field on Gray Lowland soil in Mikasa, Hokkaido, Japan

Soil is one of the important sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Studies of CO2 and N2O emission from bare soil may explain the annual change of carbon (C) in soil organic matter (SOM) and help analyzing the N2O production from SOM. Therefore, CO2 and N2O emissions associated with the decomposition of SOM from bare soil are important factors for assessing the C budget and N2O emission in agricultural field. We conducted a study over seven years to assess the controlling factors of CO2 and N2O emissions from unplanted and unfertilized soil in Mikasa, Hokkaido, Japan. Carbon dioxide flux increased in the summer, and there were significant positive correlations between the CO2 flux and soil temperature in the first four years. However, apparent relationships between CO2 flux and WFPS, soil NH4 and NO3 concentrations were not observed. The slope of monthly CO2 emission against mean monthly temperature was positively correlated with monthly precipitation. These results suggest that the response of CO2 production to increase in soil temperature becomes more sensitive in wet soils. The average CO2 emission during the study period was 2.53 Mg C ha^[-1] year^[-1], and uncertainty of the annual CO2 emission was 24%. Annual precipitation explained the yearly variation (CO2 emission [Mg C ha^[-1] year^[-1]] = 0.0021 x annual precipitation [mm year^[-1]] -0.0499, R = 0.976, P < 0.001). Nitrous oxide flux increased from July to October, and was positively correlated with CO2 flux. Based on the ratio of N2O-N : NO-N of fluxes, N2O appeared to be the main product of denitrification. The average N2O emission in the study period was 4.88 kg N ha^[-1] year^[-1], and uncertainty of annual N2O emission was 58.5%. Strong relationships between the monthly emissions of CO2 and N2O suggest that N2O production by denitrification is strongly affected by SOM decomposition. Unlike the CO2 emission, the relationship between N2O emission and precipitation was not observed because of the multiple pathways of nitrification and denitrification for N2O production induced by SOM decomposition

Structural studies of the NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase

Information about hydrogen atoms and valence electrons is important to understand functions of electron transfer proteins, because they are directly connected with the reactivity of redox reactions. In the redox proteins, the possibility of quantum tunneling has been discussed on the hydrogen and electron transfer reactions. Therefore, high-resolution structural information is required to detect small structural changes due to the redox reactions. The NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase (b5R) and cytochrome b5 (b5) redox system is involved in various electron transfer reactions, such as lipid unsaturation, cholesterol synthesis and drug metabolism. The X-ray crystal structure of oxidized form of b5R at 0.78 Å resolution clearly visualized valence electron densities of the FAD cofactor. The X-ray crystal structures of the oxidized and reduced forms of b5 shows small structural changes between two redox states. We have recently determined the neutron crystal structures of the oxidized form of b5R at 1.4 Å resolution. In addition, we have determined high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of the reduced form of b5R. The neutron and X-ray structure analyses provide information about the hydrogen transfer pathway in b5R.3rd QST International Symposiu