Environmental education research and significance of experience: the depth of life history brought about by mutual relationships

This paper describes the correlation between research and researcher and his/her own life story. How is the researcher’s own experience understood, meaningful, and rebuilt?  This paper shows that studying the subject using the life story approach itself makes the biography of the researcher vivid. It points out that the interaction between researchers and subjects is dynamic and suggests that the life story approach may enrich the stage of research in the environmental education area

Phase Shifts of the Circadian Locomotor Rhythm Induced by Pigment-Dispersing Factor in the Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

Pigment-dispersing factors (PDFs) are octadeca-peptides widely distributed in insect optic lobes and brain. In this study, we have purified PDF and determined its amino acid sequence in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Its primary structure was NSEIINSLLGLPKVLNDA-NH2, homologous to other PDH family members so far reported. When injected into the optic lobe of experimentally blinded adult male crickets, Gryllus-PDF induced phase shifts in their activity rhythms in a phase dependent and dose dependent manner. The resulted phase response curve (PRC) showed delays during the late subjective night to early subjective day and advances during the mid subjective day to mid subjective night. The PRC was different in shape from those for light, serotonin and temperature. These results suggest that PDF plays a role in phase regulation of the circadian clock through a separate pathway from those of other known phase regulating agents

Mestizaje/Mesticagem: Racism & Citizenship in Latin America

Maloney Library lecture series, Behind the Bookhttps://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/behindthebookposters/1006/thumbnail.jp

The photosynthetic response of tobacco plants overexpressing ice plant aquaporin McMIPB to a soil water deficit and high vapor pressure deficit

We investigated the photosynthetic capacity and plant growth of tobacco plants overexpressing ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.) aquaporin McMIPB under (1) a well-watered growth condition, (2) a well-watered and temporal higher vapor pressure deficit (VPD) condition, and (3) a soil water deficit growth condition to investigate the effect of McMIPB on photosynthetic responses under moderate soil and atmospheric humidity and water deficit conditions. Transgenic plants showed a significantly higher photosynthesis rate (by 48 %), higher mesophyll conductance (by 52 %), and enhanced growth under the well-watered growth condition than those of control plants. Decreases in the photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductance from ambient to higher VPD were slightly higher in transgenic plants than those in control plants. When plants were grown under the soil water deficit condition, decreases in the photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductance were less significant in transgenic plants than those in control plants. McMIPB is likely to work as a CO(2) transporter, as well as control the regulation of stomata to water deficits

Individuality-Based Identity and Relatedness-Based Identity: An Analysis of the Characteristics of Adolescent Interpersonal Relations

本研究では,近年重要な視点として取り上げられている「個」としてのアイデンティティと「関係性」に基づくアイデンティティから青年理解を試みた。研究Iでは,大学生175名を対象にして,先行研究を参考に「個」と「関係性]の視点を含む新たなアイデンティティ尺度を作成した。因子分析の結果,3因子15項目からなる「個」としてのアイデンティティ尺度と,3因子13項目からなる「関係性」に基づくアイデンティティ尺度が構成された。しかし,「個」としてのアイデンティティと「関係性」に基づくアイデンティティとを完全に分離することは難しいことが示された。研究IIでは,大学生295名を対象にして,作成した2つの尺度の妥当性と信頼性を検討した。作成した尺度を用いてクラスタ分析を行ったところ,4つのクラスタが抽出された。その後,対象者のうち20名を対象にして,対人関係に関する質問項目からなる半構造化面接を行い,4クラスタの実際の対人関係に見られる相違を検討した。結果の整理にはKJ法を用い,最終的に各クラスタ3〜5個のカテゴリーが抽出された。それらを比較・検討した結果,青年期のアイデンティティにおける「個」の側面は,自他の融合感の少なさと幅広い他者との関係を求める傾向として表れること,「関係性」の側面は,他者を自己とは独立した存在として認識し,親密な関係を築くことができる傾向として表れることが明らかになった。The purpose of this study was to understand adolescents in terms of individual-based identity and relatedness-based identity. In Study 1, university students answered a questionnaire regarding their identity. Based on an analysis of these data, a scale was constructed consisting of 15 items related to individuality based identity and 13 items related to relatedness based identity. Differentiation of these two aspects of identity was shown to be difficult. In Study 2, university students completed the questionnaire derived from Study 1, and the scale's validity and reliability were confirmed. A semi-structured interview containing questions related to interpersonal relations was conducted with 20 of the participants from Study 2, to clarify differences between the 4 groups of items formed by cluster analysis. The "KJ" (Kawakita Jiro) Method was used to organize the interview data, and revealed 3-5 categories. The results indicated that in individuality based identity one has little assimilation with others, and seeks wide interpersonal relationships. In contrast, in relatedness based identity one perceives oth ers as independent from oneself and has the ability to from intimate relationships

Do External Funding Sources Affect Research Productivity?: A Departmental-Level Analysis of Seven Former Imperial Japanese Universities

This study examines the research productivity of departments in seven former imperial universities of Japan. We categorize the departments into five academic fields: engineering, health sciences (i.e., medicine, dentistry and pharmaceutical), economics, science, and agriculture. Then, the impact of fundamental and external research funds is examined to see whether they positively affect research productivity—measured by the number of papers accepted in peer-reviewed, international academic journals. Additionally, we investigate whether such external funding sources affect productivity in each of the five fields differently, noting any variation between them. The estimation results reveal that, first, the increase of fundamental and external funds per faculty member is positively correlated with research productivity in the fields of engineering and health sciences. Second, considering the results of further investigation into the effects of external funding, research funding by the public sector can increase productivity in each of the five academic fields. Third, the results pertaining to private research funds show that research funding provided by firms can increase productivity in engineering and health sciences. However, for economics, the increase in external funding from firms is negatively correlated with research productivity. This result might be because the purpose of industry–university collaboration differs according to the academic field. Regarding economics, the output from the resulting collaboration might not result in the production of an academic paper, but rather make policy recommendations or provide consulting using quantitative analysis. This study is the first attempt by any Japanese university to analyze research productivity across several departments. The empirical results show that depending on the discipline, the same resources of research funding impact research productivity differently. Nowadays, the Japanese central government has been about the business of reforming resource allocation systems of universities by evaluating their research performance, basing them more on the quantitative indicators such as the key performance indicators (KPI). However, a key result of this study implies that when a relative evaluation of universities is applied, each university’s situation must be more carefully considered, especially in terms of what kinds of academic departments it has, and which specialties or segments it features

Do External Funding Sources Affect Research Productivity?: A Departmental-Level Analysis of Seven Former Imperial Japanese Universities

This study examines the research productivity of departments in seven former imperial universities of Japan. We categorize the departments into five academic fields: engineering, health sciences (i.e., medicine, dentistry and pharmaceutical), economics, science, and agriculture. Then, the impact of fundamental and external research funds is examined to see whether they positively affect research productivity—measured by the number of papers accepted in peer-reviewed, international academic journals. Additionally, we investigate whether such external funding sources affect productivity in each of the five fields differently, noting any variation between them. The estimation results reveal that, first, the increase of fundamental and external funds per faculty member is positively correlated with research productivity in the fields of engineering and health sciences. Second, considering the results of further investigation into the effects of external funding, research funding by the public sector can increase productivity in each of the five academic fields. Third, the results pertaining to private research funds show that research funding provided by firms can increase productivity in engineering and health sciences. However, for economics, the increase in external funding from firms is negatively correlated with research productivity. This result might be because the purpose of industry–university collaboration differs according to the academic field. Regarding economics, the output from the resulting collaboration might not result in the production of an academic paper, but rather make policy recommendations or provide consulting using quantitative analysis. This study is the first attempt by any Japanese university to analyze research productivity across several departments. The empirical results show that depending on the discipline, the same resources of research funding impact research productivity differently. Nowadays, the Japanese central government has been about the business of reforming resource allocation systems of universities by evaluating their research performance, basing them more on the quantitative indicators such as the key performance indicators (KPI). However, a key result of this study implies that when a relative evaluation of universities is applied, each university’s situation must be more carefully considered, especially in terms of what kinds of academic departments it has, and which specialties or segments it features

Differential scanning fluorimetric analysis of the amino-acid binding to taste receptor using a model receptor protein, the ligand-binding domain of fish T1r2a/T1r3

Taste receptor type 1 (T1r) is responsible for the perception of essential nutrients, such as sugars and amino acids, and evoking sweet and umami (savory) taste sensations. T1r receptors recognize many of the taste substances at their extracellular ligand-binding domains (LBDs). In order to detect a wide array of taste substances in the environment, T1r receptors often possess broad ligand specificities. However, the entire ranges of chemical spaces and their binding characteristics to any T1rLBDs have not been extensively analyzed. In this study, we exploited the differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) to medaka T1r2a/T1r3LBD, a current sole T1rLBD heterodimer amenable for recombinant preparation, and analyzed their thermal stabilization by adding various amino acids. The assay showed that the agonist amino acids induced thermal stabilization and shifted the melting temperatures (T-m) of the protein. An agreement between the DSF results and the previous biophysical assay was observed, suggesting that DSF can detect ligand binding at the orthostericbinding site in T1r2a/T1r3LBD. The assay further demonstrated that most of the tested Lamino acids, but no D-amino acid, induced T-m shifts of T1r2a/T1r3LBD, indicating the broad L-amino acid specificities of the proteins probably with several different manners of recognition. The T-m shifts by each amino acid also showed a fair correlation with the responses exhibited by the full-length receptor, verifying the broad amino-acid binding profiles at the orthosteric site in LBD observed by DSF