Tough Situation of Teachers in Information Technology in Japanese Junior and Senior High Schools

Japan played a major economic growth after the World War II, which could be realized with high industrial skill because of engineering education such as mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. However, in recent years, everyone agrees that the importance of information technology is rapidly increasing, while the industrial technology is also inevitable. Currently in Japan, IT education is responsible for the subject "Technology" in junior high schools and the subject "Informatics" in senior high schools. It is self-evident that excellent education relies heavily on excellent teachers. The recruitment of teachers in Japan is conducted for each prefectural board of education. The authors asked all the boards of education throughout the country to disclose information and investigated the present situation of hiring teachers. As a result, despite the fact that the number of faculty members in "Technology" in junior high schools and "Informatics" in senior high schools is much less than the required number, almost no faculty recruitment has been conducted, and as a result, It is clear that teachers of unrelated subjects doing classes or letting people without teacher\u27s license temporarily take charge of classes. Because such an environment, class content is far from computer science in many cases, education is almost not done such as programming. Fulfilling the teacher recruitment and in-service teacher training and improving Japan\u27s information technology capabilities, the authors are very worried about the future of Japan

All-optical 2R regeneration using the hysteresis in a distributed feedback laser diode

A broadband optical 2R regenerator based on a single distributed feedback laser is demonstrated for nonreturn to zero signals at a bitrate of 10 Gb/s. A semi-analytical approach for the influence of hysteresis on the transfer function of a 2R regenerator is shown

Pré-sal e gastança pública

[Artigo de Opinião

Globalização, competitividade e novas regras de comércio mundial

RESUMO Com a reforma de liberalização comercial de 1990, a indústria brasileira iniciou um profundo processo de reestruturação para aumentar sua integração com a economia mundial. Portanto, é importante entender as forças que atuam na revolução da tecnologia da informação e na globalização como as duas forças mais importantes que impulsionam a transformação do mercado de palavras, definindo uma nova vantagem competitiva

Bayesian Estimation-Based Pedestrian Tracking in Microcells

We consider a pedestrian tracking system where sensor nodes are placed only at specific points so that the monitoring region is divided into multiple smaller regions referred to as microcells. In the proposed pedestrian tracking system, sensor nodes composed of pairs of binary sensors can detect pedestrian arrival and departure events. In this paper, we focus on pedestrian tracking in microcells. First, we investigate actual pedestrian trajectories in a microcell on the basis of observations using video sequences, after which we prepare a pedestrian mobility model. Next, we propose a method for pedestrian tracking in microcells based on the developed pedestrian mobility model. In the proposed method, we extend the Bayesian estimation to account for time-series information to estimate the correspondence between pedestrian arrival and departure events. Through simulations, we show that the tracking success ratio of the proposed method is increased by 35.8% compared to a combinatorial optimization-based tracking method

A Visual Learning Tool for Database Operation

In this paper we propose sAccess, a web-based learning tool for database education. It focuses on introductory computer science education for high school and college. sAccess has an easy-to-use query interface for manipulating databases. Using this tool, students can learn the fundamental knowl- edge of relational database practically. In this paper, we will explain the overview of design and implementation of sAccess

Generalized Reciprocity Relations in Solar Cells with Voltage-Dependent Carrier Collection: Application to p-i-n Junction Devices

Two reciprocity theorems are important for fundamental understanding of the solar cell operation and applications to device evaluation: (1) the carrier-transport reciprocity connecting the dark-carrier injection with the short-circuit photocarrier collection and (2) the optoelectronic reciprocity connecting the electroluminescence with the photovoltaic quantum efficiency at short circuit. These theorems, however, fail in devices with thick depletion regions such as p-i-n junction solar cells. By properly linearizing the carrier-transport equation in such devices, we report that the dark-carrier injection is related to the photocarrier collection efficiency at the operating voltage, not at short circuit as suggested in the original theorem. This leads to the general form of the optoelectronic reciprocity relation connecting the electroluminescence with the voltage-dependent quantum efficiency, providing a correct interpretation of the optoelectronic properties of p-i-n junction devices. We also discuss the validity of the well-known relation between the open-circuit voltage and the external luminescence efficiency. The impact of illumination intensity and device parameters on the validity of the reciprocity theorems is quantitatively investigated

Mutual Effects of Orexin and Bone Morphogenetic Proteins on Catecholamine Regulation Using Adrenomedullary Cells

Orexins are neuronal peptides that play a prominent role in sleep behavior and feeding behavior in the central nervous system, though their receptors also exist in peripheral organs, including the adrenal gland. In this study, the effects of orexins on catecholamine synthesis in the rat adrenomedullary cell line PC12 were investigated by focusing on their interaction with the adrenomedullary bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-4. Orexin A treatment reduced the mRNA levels of key enzymes for catecholamine synthesis, including tyrosine hydroxylase (Th), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanie decarboxylase (Ddc) and dopamine beta-hydroxylase (Dbh), in a concentration-dependent manner. On the other hand, treatment with BMP-4 suppressed the expression of Th and Ddc but enhanced that of Dbh with or without co-treatment with orexin A. Of note, orexin A augmented BMP-receptor signaling detected by the phosphorylation of Smad1/5/9 through the suppression of inhibitory Smad6/7 and the upregulation of BMP type-II receptor (BMPRII). Furthermore, treatment with BMP-4 upregulated the mRNA levels of OX1R in PC12 cells. Collectively, the results indicate that orexin and BMP-4 suppress adrenomedullary catecholamine synthesis by mutually upregulating the pathway of each other in adrenomedullary cells

PCR amplification from single DNA molecules on magnetic beads in emulsion: application for high-throughput screening of transcription factor targets

We have developed a novel method of genetic library construction on magnetic microbeads based on solid-phase single-molecule PCR in a fine and robust water-phase compartment formed in water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. In this method, critically diluted DNA fragments were distributed over the emulsion as templates, where beads crosslinked with multiple primers and other PCR components were encapsulated to form multiple reaction compartments. The delivered DNA was then amplified and covalently immobilized on the beads in parallel, within individual compartments, to construct a genetic library on beads (GLOBE), which was readily applicable to a genomewide global scanning of genetic elements recognized by a defined DNA-binding protein. We constructed a GLOBE of Paracoccus denitrificans and selected gene beads that were bound to the His-tagged transcription factor PhaR by flow cytometry. As a result of flow cytometry screening with an anti-His fluorescent antibody, the PhaR target fragments were enriched 1200-fold from this library with this system. Therefore, this system is a powerful tool for analyzing the transcription network on a genomewide scale