Intra-National Regional Heterogeneity in International Trade

We present a two-country model with explicit incorporation of two regions in the home country and one region in a foreign country. Each region consists of two types of workers: skilled workers, freely mobile across domestic regions, are required to set up a firm, whereas unskilled workers are constrained to their own regions. Trade costs accrue both intra-nationally and internationally. International trade costs are assumed to be different among regions. Our model produces a region-based gravity equation and generates heterogeneity among regional exports in terms of responses with respect to economic size. We also find a home-market effect at the regional level. Moreover, we are able to show the relative magnitude of the home-market effect among home regions, in terms of a change in the export share. The magnitude of the home-market effect is larger in a region further away from the foreign country. We empirically test our theoretical hypothesis with an application to the export dataset of Japanese regions. Our empirical results provide strong evidence in support of a region-based home-market effect but weak evidence for a relative home-market effect.Home-market effect, International trade, Regional exports, Regional heterogeneity, Trade cost.

Disorientalism

Panel: Imagination/Fantasy/Realit

Tenascin-C and mechanotransduction in the development and diseases of cardiovascular system

Living tissue is composed of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). In the heart and blood vessels, which are constantly subjected to mechanical stress, ECM molecules form well-developed fibrous frameworks to maintain tissue structure. ECM is also important for biological signaling, which influences various cellular functions in embryonic development, and physiological/pathological responses to extrinsic stimuli. Among ECM molecules, increased attention has been focused on matricellular proteins. Matricellular proteins are a growing group of non-structural ECM proteins highly up-regulated at active tissue remodeling, serving as biological mediators. Tenascin-C (TNC) is a typical matricellular protein, which is highly expressed during embryonic development, wound healing, inflammation, and cancer invasion. The expression is tightly regulated, dependent on the microenvironment, including various growth factors, cytokines, and mechanical stress. In the heart, TNC appears in a spatiotemporal-restricted manner during early stages of development, sparsely detected in normal adults, but transiently re-expressed at restricted sites associated with tissue injury and inflammation. Similarly, in the vascular system, TNC is strongly up-regulated during embryonic development and under pathological conditions with an increase in hemodynamic stress. Despite its intriguing expression pattern, cardiovascular system develops normally in TNC knockout mice. However, deletion of TNC causes acute aortic dissection (AAD) under strong mechanical and humoral stress. Accumulating reports suggest that TNC may modulate the inflammatory response and contribute to elasticity of the tissue, so that it may protect cardiovascular tissue from destructive stress responses. TNC may be a key molecule to control cellular activity during development, adaptation, or pathological tissue remodeling

Characterizing the structure-function relationships of the mouse cervix in pregnancy: Towards the development of a hormone-mediated material model for cervical remodeling.

The timely remodeling of the cervix from a mechanical barrier into a soft, compliant structure, which dilates in response to uterine contractions is crucial for the safe delivery for a term baby. A cervix which softens too early in the pregnancy is implicated in spontaneous preterm births (sPTB). Currently, 15 million babies are affected by PTB annually, early diagnosis is difficult, and 95% of all PTBs are unmanageable by available therapies. These statistics highlight the need to better understand the biological processes involved in cervical remodeling and its downstream effects on material properties. To address this need, we propose the development of a hormone-mediated material constitutive model for the cervix where steroid hormone actions on key tissue constituents are incorporated into a microstructure-inspired material model. As the first steps towards the development of this model, the main objective of this dissertation work is to understand the key structure-mechanical function relationships involved in pregnancy. To understand cervical material property changes, the equilibrium swelling and tensile response of the nonpregnant and pregnant mouse cervix is measured, a porous fiber composite material model is proposed, and the model is fit to the mechanical data then validated. To better understand key tissue constituents involved, the evolution of intermolecular collagen crosslinks is determined in normal pregnancy and the role of the small proteoglycan, decorin, and elastic fiber structure on cervical mechanical function is investigated. The results presented here demonstrate that a porous, continuously distributed fiber composite model captures the three-dimensional mechanical properties of the nonpregnant and pregnant cervix. The material property changes of the cervix in a 19-day mouse gestation is described as a four order of magnitude decrease in the parameter associated with the fiber stiffness. We provide quantitative evidence to demonstrate the role of collagen crosslinks on tissue softening in the first 15 days, but not in the latter stages of a mouse pregnancy. A role of elastic fiber structure on cervical mechanical function is demonstrated, as well as distinct roles of estrogen on elastic fiber structure and progesterone on collagen fibril structure. Lastly, an analysis of the time-dependent response of cervices from nonpregnant, normal pregnant, and induced PTB mice are presented. This dissertation concludes by reviewing the presented data within the context of the proposed framework to suggest future directions towards its development

Regiospecific Profiles of Fatty Acids in Triacylglycerols and Phospholipids from Adzuki Beans (Vigna angularis)

Regiospecific distributions of fatty acids (FA) of triacylglycerols (TAG) and phospholipids (PL) isolated from five cultivars of adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) were investigated. The lipids comprised mainly PL (72.2-73.4 wt-%) and TAG (20.6-21.9 wt-%), whilst other components were detected in minor proportions (0.1-3.4 wt-%). The principal profiles of the FA distribution in the TAG and PL were evident in the beans among the five cultivars: unsaturated FA were predominantly distributed in the sn-2 position, whilst saturated FA primarily occupied the sn-1 or the sn-3 position in the these lipids. The results would be useful information to both producers and consumers for manufacturing traditional adzuki confectionaries such as wagashi in Japan

Two-Fermi-surface superconducting state and a nodal d-wave gap in the electron-doped Sm(1.85)Ce(0.15)CuO(4-d) cuprate superconductor

We report on laser-excited angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) in the electron-doped cuprate Sm(1.85)Ce(0.15)CuO(4-d). The data show the existence of a nodal hole-pocket Fermi-surface both in the normal and superconducting states. We prove that its origin is long-range antiferromagnetism by an analysis of the coherence factors in the main and folded bands. This coexistence of long-range antiferromagnetism and superconductivity implies that electron-doped cuprates are two-Fermi-surface superconductors. The measured superconducting gap in the nodal hole-pocket is compatible with a d-wave symmetry.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let

武庫川女子大学における衣料管理士教育の始まりと歩み

衣料管理士制度が1971年に発足して，被服学を学ぶ学生にとっても教員資格以外の専門資格が得られるようになり，1973年3月に衣料管理士が初めて誕生した。著者はその第1期の1級衣料管理士の1人に当る。当時の本学の被服学教育は科学的な視点が含まれた進歩的なものではあったが，衣料管理士教育の始まりにより，機器類を多く使った実験科目の展開と消費者の視点に立った教育科目が増えることになった。また，その資格取得をめざして学生の意識の高まりがみられるとともに，衣服や繊維材料の試験・検査業務といったそれまでに求人のなかった職域が拡大されることになった。著者は今春3月に定年退職を迎えたが，それに当って講話という形での最終講義をする機会をいただき，テーマとして選んだのが在学中から始まり，定年時まで多くの関りをもった衣料管理士教育について振り返ることである。衣料管理士制度がどのようにして生まれ，衣料管理士の養成がどのように始まり，現在まで歩んできたかについて，特に初期・中期の段階についてはご存知ない先生方も多いので，ここではそのあたりに重きをおいてまとめた。繊維・アパレル産業の衰退している現在，社会に要求される専門家育成は難しい局面を迎えているが，今後の被服学教育を考える一助となれば幸いである

Characterizing the Biomechanical and Biochemical Properties of Mouse Uterine Tissue

For a successful pregnancy, the uterus and the cervix work together as a biomechanical structure to protect the fetus until term. During gestation, typically 37 weeks, the uterus undergoes a growth transformation to accommodate the growing fetus and to prepare for labor. This uterine growth is characterized by an increase of its wet weight, elastin content, and collagen content. Then at parturition, the uterus must contract while the cervix ripens and dilates to allow the passage of the fetus. The transformation mentioned above is believed to be responsible for the contractions, and any deviations from the expected biochemical transformation put both the mother and baby in danger. The goals of this study are to quantify and compare the biochemical and biomechanical properties of uterine tissue from normal and abnormal mouse models of pregnancy. This study utilizes Anthrax toxin receptor 2 knock-out mice (Antxr2 -/-), which exhibit an accumulation of collagen in the cervix and uterus as a result of a defect in the maintenance of their extracellular matrix (ECM). Uterine tissues from nonpregnant Antxr2 -/- and non-pregnant wild type mice (Antxr2 +/+) were tested. Tissue samples were tested for collagen content, collagen crosslink strength (i.e. collagen extractability) and were subjected to tensile mechanical testing. Results from the biochemical assays revealed that the Antxr2 -/- uterine samples had significantly higher levels of collagen. It was also revealed that collagen extractability was region-dependent. Lastly, mechanical testing proved that Antxr2 -/- uterine tissue is mechanically stronger than Antxr2 +/+ (peak stress 0.078 MPa and 0.04 MPa). This study presents one of the first attempts to correlate the biochemical makeup of the uterus to its biomechanical properties

Locally applied cilostazol suppresses neointimal hyperplasia by inhibiting tenascin-C synthesis and smooth muscle cell proliferation in free artery grafts

AbstractObjectiveAccumulation of smooth muscle cells and extracellular matrix in the intima of artery bypass grafts induces neointimal hyperplasia, resulting in graft failure. We investigated the inhibitory effect of locally applied cilostazol, an inhibitor of cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase III, on neointimal hyperplasia and the role of tenascin-C synthesis and smooth muscle cell proliferation in free artery grafts.Methods and resultsWe established a distal anastomotic stricture model of free artery graft stenosis using rat abdominal aorta. In this model, neointimal hyperplasia was observed not only in the distal anastomotic site but also in the graft body at postoperative day 14 and was markedly progressed at day 28. Strong expression of tenascin-C was found in the media and neointima of the graft body. When cilostazol was locally administered around the graft using Pluronic gel, neointimal hyperplasia of the graft was significantly suppressed in comparison with gel-treated control graft. The mean neointima/media area ratio was reduced by 86.6% for the graft body and by 75.8% for the distal anastomotic site versus the control. Cilostazol treatment decreased cell proliferation and tenascin-C expression in the neointima. In an in vitro experiment using cultured smooth muscle cells isolated from rat aorta, cilostazol completely suppressed the tenascin-C mRNA expression induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB.ConclusionA single topical administration of cilostazol may suppress neointimal hyperplasia by inhibiting cell proliferation and tenascin-C synthesis in free artery grafts, presenting the potential for clinical use in vascular surgery