Class Practice through Collaborative Problem Solving in Technology and Home Economics

中学校技術・家庭科（技術分野）において，協働的問題解決を通して多様性・協働性・主体性を効果的に伸長させる授業を実践した。一つは，情報セキュリティ対策を題材とした授業で，２時限の知識構成型ジグソー法を用いた。もう一つは，アイディアロボット製作の授業で，18時限を貫いて知識構成型ジグソー法を展開した。協働的に問題解決する活動により，習得させる知識・技能や多様性・協働性・主体性が効果的に育まれ，より工夫された作品やアイディアが創出された。This paper reports a class practice through collaborative problem solving in technology and home economics at junior high school. The learning content involved information technology and information security using the knowledge-constructive jigsaw method for two lesson periods. The practice consisted of producing ideas about using robot technology for energy conversion. The integrated knowledge-constructive jigsaw method was practiced over 16 lesson periods. In solving the problem cooperatively, the students effectively acquired knowledge and learned skills related to technology and home economics. The learning process also involved collaborative efforts on the part of the students and acquiring independence of will. Furthermore, a work devised more was produced

Arithmetic-Like Reasoning in Wild Vervet Monkeys: A Demonstration of Cost-Benefit Calculation in Foraging

Arithmetic-like reasoning has been demonstrated in various animals in captive and seminatural environments, but it is unclear whether such competence is practiced in the wild. Using a hypothetical foraging paradigm, we demonstrate that wild vervet monkeys spontaneously adjust their “foraging behavior” deploying arithmetic-like reasoning. Presented with arithmetic-like problems in artificially controlled feeding conditions, all the monkeys tested attempted to retrieve “artificial prey” according to the quantity of the remainder when the task involved one subtraction only (i.e., “2−1”), while one monkey out of four did so when it was sequentially subtracted twice (i.e., “2−1−1”). This monkey also adjusted his “foraging behavior” according to the quantity of the reminder for a task requiring stepwise mental manipulation (i.e., “(2−1)−1”), though the results became less evident. This suggests that vervet monkeys are capable of spontaneously deploying mental manipulations of numerosity for cost-benefit calculation of foraging but that the extent of such capacity varies among individuals. Different foraging strategies might be deployed according to different levels of mental manipulation capacity in each individual in a given population. In addition to providing empirical data, the current study provides an easily adaptable field technique that would allow comparison across taxa and habitat using a uniform method

Carcinogenicity evaluation for the application of carbon nanotubes as biomaterials in rasH2 mice

The application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as biomaterials is of wide interest, and studies examining their application in medicine have had considerable significance. Biological safety is the most important factor when considering the clinical application of CNTs as biomaterials, and various toxicity evaluations are required. Among these evaluations, carcinogenicity should be examined with the highest priority; however, no report using transgenic mice to evaluate the carcinogenicity of CNTs has been published to date. Here, we performed a carcinogenicity test by implanting multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) into the subcutaneous tissue of rasH2 mice, using the carbon black present in black tattoo ink as a reference material for safety. The rasH2 mice did not develop neoplasms after being injected with MWCNTs; instead, MWCNTs showed lower carcinogenicity than carbon black. Such evaluations should facilitate the clinical application and development of CNTs for use in important medical fields.ArticleSCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 2:498 (2012)journal articl

Investigation into Systematized Teaching Method Between a University and Attached School in Teacher Training for Teaching Technology.

教育実習は教員養成における教科に関しての専門的知識，実践的指導力の育成に大きく関わると考えられている。また，単数の専任教員が指導する技術科において，大学・学部と学校現場の連携は非常に重要である。本研究では，教育実習における技術科教員養成のための体系的な指導方法を検討・試行することを目的とし，到達目標および指導方法の検討と，学生が教育実習時に自己評価するための「授業評価チェックシート」を開発した。授業評価チェックシートは，技術科の教育実習で身に付けられる実践的指導力を整理し，授業観察，学習指導案の作成，模擬授業，授業実践時に用いることができるように構成した。そして，この授業評価チェックシートを用いた指導方法を附属学校で統一し，教育実習関連科目での観察実習や授業実践の場面で実践した。その結果，２期制の教育実習において，附属学校教員がそれぞれの到達目標や方法をもとに学生に指導することができ，それぞれの学校で一貫した指導ができた。「授業評価チェックシート」を用いることで，技術科教員として身に付けるべき資質や能力を学生が自己分析することができ，実践的指導力の向上に貢献できると考えられる。The purpose of this study is to examine the teaching method for student teachers of technology in teaching practice. We developed a “Lesson Evaluation Check Sheet” for student teachers of technology to self-evaluate lessons at the time of educational practice. This sheet was constructed so that practical leadership skills acquired in the teaching practice of the technical department can be categorized and used for lesson observation and lesson practice. We used this sheet in observation practice and teaching practice in the courses related to teaching practice. As a result, attached school teachers were able to instruct students based on our methods in their teaching practice. Furthermore, students were able to self-evaluate the qualities and abilities the students should possess using the “Lesson Evaluation Check Sheet”. We believe that this check sheet will contribute to improving students’ practical leadership skills

Mutant analyses reveal different functions of fgfr1 in medaka and zebrafish despite conserved ligand–receptor relationships

AbstractMedaka (Oryzias latipes) is a small freshwater teleost that provides an excellent developmental genetic model complementary to zebrafish. Our recent mutagenesis screening using medaka identified headfish (hdf) which is characterized by the absence of trunk and tail structures with nearly normal head including the midbrain–hindbrain boundary (MHB). Positional-candidate cloning revealed that the hdf mutation causes a functionally null form of Fgfr1. The fgfr1hdf is thus the first fgf receptor mutant in fish. Although FGF signaling has been implicated in mesoderm induction, mesoderm is induced normally in the fgfr1hdf mutant, but subsequently, mutant embryos fail to maintain the mesoderm, leading to defects in mesoderm derivatives, especially in trunk and tail. Furthermore, we found that morpholino knockdown of medaka fgf8 resulted in a phenotype identical to the fgfr1hdf mutant, suggesting that like its mouse counterpart, Fgf8 is a major ligand for Fgfr1 in medaka early embryogenesis. Intriguingly, Fgf8 and Fgfr1 in zebrafish are also suggested to form a major ligand–receptor pair, but their function is much diverged, as the zebrafish fgfr1 morphant and zebrafish fgf8 mutant acerebellar (ace) only fail to develop the MHB, but develop nearly unaffected trunk and tail. These results provide evidence that teleost fish have evolved divergent functions of Fgf8–Fgfr1 while maintaining the ligand–receptor relationships. Comparative analysis using different fish is thus invaluable for shedding light on evolutionary diversification of gene function

Giant Molecular Clouds in the Spiral Arm of IC 342

We present results of 12CO (1--0) and 13CO (1--0) observations of the northeastern spiral arm segment of IC 342 with a ~50pc resolution carried out with the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. Zero-spacing components were recovered by combining with the existing data taken with the Nobeyama 45m telescope. The objective of this study is to investigate the variation of cloud properties across the spiral arm with a resolution comparable to the size of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). The observations cover a 1 kpc times 1.5 kpc region located ~2 kpc away from the galactic center, where a giant molecular association is located at trailing side and associated star forming regions at leading side. The spiral arm segment was resolved into a number of clouds whose size, temperature and surface mass density are comparable to typical GMCs in the Galaxy. Twenty-six clouds were identified from the combined data cube and the identified clouds followed the line width-size relation of the Galactic GMCs. The identified GMCs were divided into two categories according to whether they are associated with star formation activity or not. Comparison between both categories indicated that the active GMCs are more massive, have smaller line width, and are closer to virial equilibrium compared to the quiescent GMCs. These variations of the GMC properties suggest that dissipation of excess kinetic energy of GMC is a required condition for the onset of massive star formation.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) mRNA expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and non-cancerous liver tissue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) regulates lipid metabolism in the liver. It is unclear, however, how this receptor changes in liver cancer tissue. On the other hand, mouse carcinogenicity studies showed that PPARα is necessary for the development of liver cancer induced by peroxisome proliferators, and the relationship between PPARα and the development of liver cancer have been the focus of considerable attention. There have been no reports, however, demonstrating that PPARα is involved in the development of human liver cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects were 10 patients who underwent hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. We assessed the expression of PPARα mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and non-cancerous tissue, as well as the expression of target genes of PPARα, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A and cyclin D1 mRNAs. We also evaluated glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, a key enzyme in the glycolytic system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The amounts of PPARα, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA in cancerous sections were significantly increased compared to those in non-cancerous sections. The level of cyclin D1 mRNA tends to be higher in cancerous than non-cancerous sections. Although there was a significant correlation between the levels of PPARα mRNA and cyclin D1 mRNA in both sections, however the correlation was higher in cancerous sections.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present investigation indicated increased expression of PPARα mRNA and mRNAs for PPARα target genes in human hepatocellular carcinoma. These results might be associated with its carcinogenesis and characteristic features of energy production.</p

Effect of CYP2C19 Polymorphism on Treatment Success in Lansoprazole-Based 7-Day Treatment Regimen for Cure of H. pylori Infection in Japan

Recently, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-positive peptic ulcer patients were treated by a 1-week triple therapy [lansoprazole (LPZ) 30 mg, amoxicillin 750 mg and clarithromycin 200 or 400 mg, each twice daily] without the checking CYP2C19 genotype in Japan. This regimen was done to obtain sufficient cure rates for H. pylori infection using a high dose of LPZ (60 mg/day) without the great cost of having to determine the genotype. However, the failure rate for eradicating H. pylori was reported to be 12.5%. The reasons for this were studied in 33 Japanese patients with H. pylori-positive gastric or duodenal ulcer. Blood samples of the patients were collected to determine the genotype of CYP2C19 and plasma concentrations of LPZ and its metabolites at 3 h postdose on the morning of the 7th day of treatment. H. pylori infection was cured in 25 of the 33 patients (75.8%). The cure rate was highest in the group of poor metabolizers (PM), intermediate in the group of extensive metabolizers of the heterozygous type (htEM) and lowest in the group of extensive metabolizers of the homozygous type (hmEM). The relative ratio of mean plasma concentration for LPZ among the 3 groups was 1.00:1.43:2.93 (hmEM:htEM:PM groups). Our data suggest that success of the eradication is dependent on the CYP2C19-related genotypic status or the plasma concentrations of LPZ in a steady state condition after a multiple dosing regimen; that is to say, checking CYP2C19 is necessary even on occasions when treatment is done by H. pylori eradication methods as performed in Japan