Personal visual collecting and self-cataloguing

Chapter 6 analyzes the growing role of the visual in social media practices in terms of tensions between sharing, impression management and self-cataloging

Dopamine D_1 Receptors and Nonlinear Probability Weighting in Risky Choice

Misestimating risk could lead to disadvantaged choices such as initiation of drug use (or gambling) and transition to regular drug use (or gambling). Although the normative theory in decision-making under risks assumes that people typically take the probability-weighted expectation over possible utilities, experimental studies of choices among risks suggest that outcome probabilities are transformed nonlinearly into subjective decision weights by a nonlinear weighting function that overweights low probabilities and underweights high probabilities. Recent studies have revealed the neurocognitive mechanism of decision-making under risk. However, the role of modulatory neurotransmission in this process remains unclear. Using positron emission tomography, we directly investigated whether dopamine D_1 and D_2 receptors in the brain are associated with transformation of probabilities into decision weights in healthy volunteers. The binding of striatal D_1 receptors is negatively correlated with the degree of nonlinearity of weighting function. Individuals with lower striatal D_1 receptor density showed more pronounced overestimation of low probabilities and underestimation of high probabilities. This finding should contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of risky choice, and extreme or impaired decision-making observed in drug and gambling addiction

In Vivo Function and Evolution of the Eutherian-Specific Pluripotency Marker UTF1

Embryogenesis in placental mammals is sustained by exquisite interplay between the embryo proper and placenta. UTF1 is a developmentally regulated gene expressed in both cell lineages. Here, we analyzed the consequence of loss of the UTF1 gene during mouse development. We found that homozygous UTF1 mutant newborn mice were significantly smaller than wild-type or heterozygous mutant mice, suggesting that placental insufficiency caused by the loss of UTF1 expression in extra-embryonic ectodermal cells at least in part contributed to this phenotype. We also found that the effects of loss of UTF1 expression in embryonic stem cells on their pluripotency were very subtle. Genome structure and sequence comparisons revealed that the UTF1 gene exists only in placental mammals. Our analyses of a family of genes with homology to UTF1 revealed a possible mechanism by which placental mammals have evolved the UTF1 genes.This study was supported in part by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and mostly by the Support Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities, 2008–2012. This study was performed as a part of the Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) Agency. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Japanilaisen noviisiopettajan näkökulma japanilaiseen ja suomalaiseen elinikäiseen oppimiseen

Japanilaiset yliopistot panostavat nykyisin aikuisopiskelijoihin kokopäiväopiskelijoina. Japanissa on maailman alhaisin syntyvyys, ja yliopistot kilpailevat uusista opiskelijoista. Noin 80 prosenttia suurten ikäluokkien työntekijöistä, jotka olivat rakentamassa sodan jälkeistä hyvinvointia, haluaisi jatkaa työntekoa eläkeiän jälkeenkin. Ikäihmisille elinikäinen oppiminen on keino pysyä aktiivisina kansalaisina ja tuoda elämään ”ikigai’ta”, elämäniloa. Yliopistot siis ottavat aikuisopiskelijoita niin yhteiskunnallisista syistä kuin lisätäkseen opiskelijamääriään