Politics of space by place names in an uncertain world : Scales of geography and situation after "Fukushima"

This paper examines politics of space by the place name Fukushima after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. The author proposes a situation name that is distinct from a place name, and applies a scale viewpoint to the geography of radioactivity. The situation concept means an invisible, uncertain and ongoing crisis. Proper names including place names serve to fix a reference to a specific object or event, according to analytical philosophy. Japanese mass media and government offices have specifically stressed the scale of the Fukushima prefecture. However that scale contradicts the physical geography caused by the nuclear disaster and the diverse ways of life and behavior in the Fukushima situation. Other geographical scales, such as global, national, city, and town, also work in the Fukushima situation. Both geographical and situational scales are expected to separate the people even in the same community of Fukushima. To live Fukushima is not always the same as to live in the Fukushima Prefecture. Understanding several geographical senses of home matters

Magnetic transition due to the inter-singlet spin-exchange interaction and elastic softening by the interplay of electric quadrupoles in the distorted kagome lattice antiferromagnet Tb3Ru4Al12

The distorted kagome lattice antiferromagnet Tb3Ru4Al12 with a hexagonal structure has the Néel temperature TN = 22 K. To clarify the 4 f -electronic state and an influence of electric quadrupoles in Tb3Ru4Al12, ultrasonic measurements on a single-crystalline sample at zero magnetic field and under fields were carried. A characteristic elastic softening of the transverse modulus C66 originating from a quadrupole interaction was found. The crystal electric field parameters were determined to reproduce C66, magnetic susceptibilities, and magnetization curves. The obtained level scheme is that the ground and first excited states are singlets, despite the existence of both the magnetic transition and the quadrupole interaction, indicating that Tb3Ru4Al12 is a curious compound. The positive sign of the quadrupole-quadrupole coupling constant for C66 indicates a ferroquadrupolar-type interaction of the electric quadrupole Oxy or O2 2. The anisotropic magnetic field dependencies of TN in the field along [100] and [001] were also clarified.This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grants No.17H06136, No. 18KK0078, and No. 19K03719. This work was also supported by CResCent (Chirality Research Center) in Hiroshima University (the MEXT program for promoting the enhancement of research universities, Japan) and by JSPS Core-to-Core Program, A. Advanced Research Networks. The work was supported by Projects No. 19-00925S and No. 19-07931Y of the Czech Science Foundation and by MGML within the Program of Czech Research Infrastructures (Project No. LM2018096)

Guideline for Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) 2010 by the Japanese Association for Complement Research - Secondary Publication

ABSTRACTThis guideline was provided by the Japanese Association for Complement Research targeting clinicians for making an accurate diagnosis of hereditary angioedema (HAE), and for prompt treatment of the HAE patient in Japan. This is a 2010 year version and will be updated according to any pertinent medical advancements

Symposium II: Acquirable qualifications at Departments of Geography

金沢大学人間社会研究域人間科学

Induction of hepatocyte growth factor production in human dermal fibroblasts and their proliferation by the extract of bitter melon pulp

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is useful as a potential therapeutic agent for hepatic and renal fibrosis and cardiovascular diseases through inducing proliferation of epithelial and endothelial cells. HGF inducers may also be useful as therapeutic agents for these diseases. However, there have been no reports on induction of HGF production by plant extracts or juices. An extract of bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) pulp markedly induced HGF production. There was a time lag of 72 h before induction of HGF production after the extract addition. Its stimulatory effect was accompanied by upregulation of HGF gene expression. Increases in mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were observed from 72 h after the extract addition. Inhibitors of MAPKs suppressed the extract-induced HGF production. The extract also stimulated cell proliferation. Both activities for induction of HGF production and cell proliferation were eluted together in a single peak with 14,000 Da on gel filtration. The results indicate that bitter melon pulp extract induced HGF production and cell proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts and suggest that activation of MAPKs is involved in the HGF induction. Our findings suggest potential usefulness of the extract for tissue regeneration and provide an insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the wound-healing property of bitter melon

Global Norms, Local Activism, and Social Movement Outcomes: Global Human Rights and Resident Koreans in Japan

The authors integrate social movement outcomes research and the world society approach to build a theoretical model to examine the impact of global and local factors on movement outcomes. Challenging the current research on policy change, which rarely examines the effects of global norms and local activism in one analysis, they argue (1) that global regimes empower and embolden local social movements and increase pressure on target governments from below, and (2) that local activists appeal to international forums with help from international activists to pressure the governments from above. When the pressures from the top and the bottom converge, social movements are more likely to succeed. Furthermore, these pressures are stronger in countries integrated into global society and on issues with strong global norms. The empirical analysis of social movements by resident Koreans in Japan advocating for four types of human rights—civil, political, social/economic, and cultural—demonstrates that the movements produced more successes as Japan\u27s involvement in the international human rights regime expanded since the late 1970s, and that activism on issues with strong global norms achieved greater successes. The analysis also shows that lack of cohesive domestic activism can undercut the chances of social movements\u27 success even with strong global norms on the issue