Master of Science

thesisWhile official government photographs from the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II has received scholarly attention, private photographs from the Incarceration are also valuable to the reconstruction of personal Camp memories. Using my family's photographs, I conducted oral history interviews with 5 family members who were incarcerated at Topaz or Amache Camps. My thesis employs a performance studies lens in order to better understand the relationship between memory, identity, agency, and photographs. My approach recognizes that memory, identity, and agency are complex ongoing processes, which are informed by, and inform, one another. In all, through purposeful acts of forgetting in the oral history interviews, my relatives were able to (re)conceive their Camp experiences in ways that fit their present needs. For example, in remembering to forget, the Nisei are able to construct a memory of the Camp experience that supports their identities as Japanese Americans by reinforcing their identity as an American through the depoliticization of Camp memories. Additionally, in order to better make sense of the relationship between photographs and the memory construction process, I provided a binder of family photographs from the Camps for the interviewees to view. My analysis suggests that photographs in the oral history performance are used as a prop that allows for acts of both remembering and forgetting while embracing the fragmented nature of memories. Overall, this study reveals the relationship between identity and memory with implications on how this interaction allows us to remember, forget, or remain silent. In my attempt to understand how my relatives' constructed memories of their Incarceration, I was able to reflect on my own experiences as a Japanese Chinese American. To this end, memories are not only about what is remembered, they are also about how what is forgotten and what is remembered reinforce and are reinforced by identity

New susceptibility and resistance HLA-DP alleles to HBV-related diseases identified by a trans-ethnic association study in Asia

Previous studies have revealed the association between SNPs located on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II genes, including HLA-DP and HLA-DQ, and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, mainly in Asian populations. HLA-DP alleles or haplotypes associated with chronic HBV infection or disease progression have not been fully identified in Asian populations. We performed trans-ethnic association analyses of HLA-DPA1, HLA-DPB1 alleles and haplotypes with hepatitis B virus infection and disease progression among Asian populations comprising Japanese, Korean, Hong Kong, and Thai subjects. To assess the association between HLA-DP and chronic HBV infection and disease progression, we conducted high-resolution (4-digit) HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 genotyping in a total of 3,167 samples, including HBV patients, HBV-resolved individuals and healthy controls. Trans-ethnic association analyses among Asian populations identified a new risk allele HLA-DPB1*09 ratio 01 (P = 1.36 x 10(-6); OR= 1.97; 95% CI, 1.50-2.59) and a new protective allele DPB1*02 ratio 01 (P = 5.22 x 10(-6); OR = 0.68; 95% CI, 0.58-0.81) to chronic HBV infection, in addition to the previously reported alleles. Moreover, DPB1*02 ratio 01 was also associated with a decreased risk of disease progression in chronic HBV patients among Asian populations (P = 1.55 x 10(-7); OR = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.39-0.65). Trans-ethnic association analyses identified Asian-specific associations of HLA-DP alleles and haplotypes with HBV infection or disease progression. The present findings will serve as a base for future functional studies of HLA-DP molecules in order to understand the pathogenesis of HBV infection and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.published_or_final_versio

教員養成課程をもつ大学における音楽教育の一考察(その二)

"音楽的感覚は幼児期から児童期にかけて顕著に発達するため,その時期の音楽教育は重要である。それにもかかわらず,音楽教育に対して多大な関心が寄せられている今日,充分な指導技術や指導力を持たない学生を幼稚園,小学校に送り出すことは,教員養成に携わる我々にとって,実に憂慮すべきことである。そこで豊かな音楽性を持つ教師を育てるために「どのような音楽教育をするべきか」という考えに基づいて,「器楽」の改善案を進めた結果,次のようなことが明らかになった。1)グレード制については,教師,学生両者の賛成が得られた。2)課題レッスンの教材は,バイエルのほかに簡単な歌曲などを使用した方がよい。3)ピアノレッスンと課題レッスンの時間配分に無理があった。以上のことを考慮してさらに練り直した結果,次のような改善案を示した。1)1年次はバイエルを使用し,音階,和音の課題も盛り込む。2)2年次はツェルニー100番。マーチの移調,主に幼児歌曲の伴奏付けと弾き歌いを課題とし,合わせて単旋律の初見課題も行う。3)3年次はツェルニー30番。主に共通教材の伴奏付けと弾き歌いを課題とし,合わせて複旋律の初見課題も行う。本年度は実験授業を中断しているが,上記の改善案をさらに熟考し来年度から実施の予定である。その結果は次の機会に報告させていただく。

GWAS of bipolar disorder

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified several susceptibility loci for bipolar disorder (BD) and shown that the genetic architecture of BD can be explained by polygenicity, with numerous variants contributing to BD. In the present GWAS (Phase I/II), which included 2964 BD and 61 887 control subjects from the Japanese population, we detected a novel susceptibility locus at 11q12.2 (rs28456, P=6.4 × 10−9), a region known to contain regulatory genes for plasma lipid levels (FADS1/2/3). A subsequent meta-analysis of Phase I/II and the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium for BD (PGC-BD) identified another novel BD gene, NFIX (P best=5.8 × 10−10), and supported three regions previously implicated in BD susceptibility: MAD1L1 (P best=1.9 × 10−9), TRANK1 (P best=2.1 × 10−9) and ODZ4 (P best=3.3 × 10−9). Polygenicity of BD within Japanese and trans-European-Japanese populations was assessed with risk profile score analysis. We detected higher scores in BD cases both within (Phase I/II) and across populations (Phase I/II and PGC-BD). These were defined by (1) Phase II as discovery and Phase I as target, or vice versa (for ‘within Japanese comparisons’, Pbest~10−29, R2~2%), and (2) European PGC-BD as discovery and Japanese BD (Phase I/II) as target (for ‘trans-European-Japanese comparison,’ Pbest~10−13, R2~0.27%). This ‘trans population’ effect was supported by estimation of the genetic correlation using the effect size based on each population (liability estimates~0.7). These results indicate that (1) two novel and three previously implicated loci are significantly associated with BD and that (2) BD ‘risk’ effect are shared between Japanese and European populations

Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic : A review of the nature of the virus, impacts and implications for preparedness

Background: COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in different countries across the world, claiming thousands of lives, increasing morbidity and disrupting lifestyles. The global scientific community is in urgent need of relevant evidence, to understand the challenges and knowledge gaps, as well as the opportunities to contain the spread of the virus. Considering the unique socio-economic, demographic, political, ecological and climatic contexts in Africa, the responses which may prove to be successful in other regions may not be appropriate on the continent. This paper aims to provide insight for scientists, policy makers and international agencies to contain the virus and to mitigate its impact at all levels. Methods: The Affiliates of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), came together to synthesize the current evidence, identify the challenges and opportunities to enhance the understanding of the disease. We assess the potential impact of this pandemic and the unique challenges of the disease on African nations. We examine the state of Africa’s preparedness and make recommendations for steps needed to win the war against this pandemic and combat potential resurgence. Results: We identified gaps and opportunities among cross-cutting issueswhich must be addressed or harnessed in this pandemic. Factors such as the nature of the virus and the opportunities for drug targeting, point of care diagnostics, health surveillance systems, food security, mental health, xenophobia and gender-based violence, shelter for the homeless, water and sanitation, telecommunications challenges, domestic regional coordination and financing. Conclusion: Based on our synthesis of the current evidence, while there are plans for preparedness in several African countries, there are significant limitations. A multi-sectoral efforts from the science, education, medical, technology, communication, business, and industry sectors, as well as local communities, must work collaboratively to assist countries in order to win this fight