Does one's dominant concept of self depend on differences in the interpersonal situation?

The Japanese are said to exhibit fundamental differences in their interpersonal attitudes and interpersonal behaviour, according to whether they are interacting as members of an 'in-group', or whether they are interacting with members of an 'out-group'. Markus and Kitayama (1991) advocate the concept of self based on independence, and the concept of self based on interdependence, as conceptual tools with which to account for cultural differences and individual differences in social behavior. The object of this study is to examine how the dominant concept of the self among the Japanese differs with respect to situations involving 'in-groups' and 'out-groups'. In Study 1,we have integrated and refined various existing scales of measurement which determine the type of dominant concept of self (Kitayama et ai., 1991; Morikawa, 1992; Takata, 1992), and have devised a scale for analysing the dominant concept of self, according as it operates in situations involving 'in-groups' and in situations involving 'out-groups'. In Study 2,we set up as a hypothesis an interpersonal conflict situation relating respectively to 'in-groups' and 'out-groups' and investigate the efficacy of the dominant concept of self which influences the evaluation of strategies for coping with the conflict. Generally speaking, in 'in-group' situations, an attitude of compromise is favoured, while in 'out-group' situations, an attitude of 'doing one's own thing'. This tendency was strikingly shown in the category of the concept of self based on interdependence. In addition, we examined the kind of differences that can be found in the concept of self among the Japanese as this affects 'in-group' situations and 'out-group' situations. While the difference of situation did not have influence on the concept of self based on independence, the concept of self based on interdependence showed a striking dominance in situations involving 'in-group', compared with situations involving 'out-groups'

Indoor Environment and Energy Consumption of an Elementary School in a Subtropical Region

Indoor thermal environment and air quality in an elementary school were measured and examined for the basic data of net Zero Energy Buildings (ZEBs) and the adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The target school is located in Okinawa, a subtropical archipelagic region with hot and humid climate in Japan. The school is equipped with air conditioners (ACs) that are sometimes operated without natural ventilation. The measurement results are as follows: (1) The ACs were operated when the daily average air temperature was over 22 C. (2) The ACs in the class rooms were controlled by the teachers individually. The preset temperature was sometimes too low. (3) Direct solar radiation penetrated the class rooms, which increased the heat load. (4) The higher point in the class rooms was the higher temperature when AC was working. (5) The CO2 concentrations in the class rooms were kept under 1000ppm by heat exchange ventilation systems.publishedVersio

Diurnal metabolic regulation of isoflavones and soyasaponins in soybean roots

Isoflavones and soyasaponins are major specialized metabolites accumulated in soybean roots and secreted into the rhizosphere. Unlike the biosynthetic pathway, the transporters involved in metabolite secretion remain unknown. The developmental regulation of isoflavone and soyasaponin secretions has been recently reported, but the diurnal regulation of their biosynthesis and secretion still needs to be further studied. To address these challenges, we conducted transcriptome and metabolite analysis using hydroponically grown soybean plants at 6-hr intervals for 48 hr in a 12-hr-light/12-hr-dark condition. Isoflavone and soyasaponin biosynthetic genes showed opposite patterns in the root tissues; that is, the former genes are highly expressed in the daytime, while the latter ones are strongly induced at nighttime. GmMYB176 encoding a transcription factor of isoflavone biosynthesis was upregulated from ZT0 (6:00 a.m.) to ZT6 (12:00 a.m.), followed by the induction of isoflavone biosynthetic genes at ZT6. The isoflavone aglycone content in the roots accordingly increased from ZT6 to ZT18 (0:00 a.m.). The isoflavone aglycone content in root exudates was kept consistent throughout the day, whereas that of glucosides increased at ZT6, which reflected the decreased expression of the gene encoding beta-glucosidase involved in the hydrolysis of apoplast-localized isoflavone conjugates. Co-expression analysis revealed that those isoflavone and soyasaponin biosynthetic genes formed separate clusters, which exhibited a correlation to ABC and MATE transporter genes. In summary, the results in this study indicated the diurnal regulation of isoflavone biosynthesis in soybean roots and the putative transporter genes responsible for isoflavone and soyasaponin transport

Assembly of Massive Galaxies in a High-z Protocluster

We present the results of wide-field deep JHK imaging of the SSA22 field using MOIRCS instrument equipped with Subaru telescope. The observed field is 112 arcmin^2 in area, which covers the z=3.1 protocluster characterized by the overdensities of Ly Alpha emitters (LAEs) and Ly Alpha Blobs (LABs). The 5 sigma limiting magnitude is K_{AB} = 24.3. We extract the potential protocluster members from the K-selected sample by using the multi-band photometric-redshift selection as well as the simple color cut for distant red galaxies (DRGs; J-K_{AB}>1.4). The surface number density of DRGs in our observed fields shows clear excess compared with those in the blank fields, and the location of the densest area whose projected overdensity is twice the average coincides with the large-scale density peak of LAEs. We also found that K-band counterparts with z_{phot} = 3.1 are detected for 75% (15/20) of the LABs within their Ly Alpha halo, and the 40 % (8/20) of LABs have multiple components, which gives a direct evidence of the hierarchical multiple merging in galaxy formation. The stellar mass ofLABs correlates with their luminosity, isophotal area, and the Ly Alpha velocity widths, implying that the physical scale and the dynamical motion of Ly Alpha emission are closely related to their previous star-formation activities. Highly dust-obscured galaxies such as hyper extremely red objects (HEROs; J-K_{AB}>2.1) and plausible K-band counterparts of submillimeter sources are also populated in the high density region.Comment: 21pages, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Preoperative prognostic nutritional index predicts postoperative infectious complications and oncological outcomes after hepatectomy in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background: In the surgical treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), postoperative complications may be predictive of long-term survival. This study aimed to identify an immune-nutritional index (INI) that can be used for preoperative prediction of complications. Patients and methods: Multi-institutional data from 316 patients with ICC who had undergone surgical resection were retrospectively analysed, with a focus on various preoperative INIs. Results: Severe complications (Clavien-Dindo grade III-V) were identified in 66 patients (20.8%), including Grade V complications in 7 patients (2.2%). Comparison of areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) among various INIs identified the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as offering the highest predictive value for severe complications (AUC = 0.609, cut-off = 50, P = 0.008). Multivariate analysis revealed PNI = 50, n = 142) and a low-PNI group (PNI Conclusion: Preoperative PNI appears useful as an INI correlating with postoperative severe complications and as a prognostic indicator for ICC

The three dimensional distribution of chromium and nickel alloy welding fumes.

In the present study, the fumes generated from manual metal arc (MMA) and submerged metal arc (SMA) welding of low temperature service steel, and the chromium and nickel percentages in these fumes, were measured at various horizontal distances and vertical heights from the arc in order to obtain a three dimensional distribution. The MMA welding fume concentrations were significantly higher than the SMA welding fume concentrations. The highest fume concentration on the horizontal was shown in the fumes collected directly above the arc. The fume concentration vertically was highest at 50 cm height and reduced by half at 150 cm height. The fume concentration at 250 cm height was scarcely different from that at 150 cm height. The distribution of the chromium concentration vertically was analogous to the fume concentration, and a statistically significant difference in the chromium percentages was not found at the different heights. The nickel concentrations were not statistically significant within the welding processes, but the nickel percentages in the SMA welding fumes were statistically higher than in the MMA welding fumes. The highest nickel concentration on the horizontal was found in the fumes collected directly above the arc. The highest nickel concentration vertically showed in the fume samples collected at 50 cm height, but the greater the height the larger the nickel percentage in the fumes.</p