Stress, coping behavior, and social support in Japan and the United States.

The purpose of this research is to examine cultural similarities and differences in perceptions of stress, coping behavior, and social support within the theoretical framework of two cultural factors (individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance) and five individual factors (self-construals, certainty/uncertainty orientation, tolerance for ambiguity, self-esteem, and gender). Based on a literature review and a pilot study in Japan and the United States, a questionnaire was developed to assess the patterns of coping with stress, including stress level, four types of coping behavior (avoidance-related, active-positive, problem-focused, and emotion-focused), and three types of social support (family, same-sex friends, and opposite-sex friends). Data were collected from 269 Japanese students and 256 American students. A one-way between-groups multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted to examine the influence of cultural and individual factors on the process. The results of the cultural-level analysis suggest that, compared to Japanese college students, American college students experience less stress, engage more in avoidance-related and problem-focused coping behavior, and receive more social support from family and from friends of the opposite-sex. The results of the individual-level analysis indicate that self-construals, tolerance for ambiguity, and self-esteem have different impacts on stress, coping behavior, and social support. For example, stress is influenced by the independent self-construal, tolerance for ambiguity, and individual self-esteem. Active-positive coping is influenced by self-construals and self-esteem, while avoidance-related coping is influenced only by self-construals. Social support from friends of the same-sex is influenced by self-construals and collective self-esteem, while social support from friends of the opposite-sex is influenced by tolerance for ambiguity and collective self-esteem. Among these individual factors, the interdependent self-construal is found to be the strongest factor in influencing the process of coping with stress; stress and social support from friends of the opposite-sex are not affected by the interdependent self-construal. The results also suggest that female college students engage less in avoidance-related coping and more in active-positive coping and emotion-focused coping than male college students, and that they receive more social support from family and from friends of the same-sex than do male college students. The results of the correlation analysis on key research variables show many interrelationships among the variables. Seventeen relationships show significant correlations in both Japan and the United States. Five relationships show significant correlations in Japan (but not in the United States) and fourteen relationships show significant correlations in the United States (but not in Japan). Finally, some theoretical implications of key findings are suggested in terms of the relationship between cultural individualism/collectivism and individual/collective self-esteem, the relationship between the cultural and the individual factors, the concept of avoidance in coping, the relationship between self-esteem and social support, the relationship between gender and social support from friends, the influence of self-construals on the process of coping with stress, the culture-general and the culture-specific interrelationships between research variables, and the importance of choosing comparable concepts in cross-cultural research. Additionally, practical implications for college students under stress are suggested based on the difference in coping with stress in the two cultures, the importance of social support from significant others when dealing with stress, and the average score for the stress scale for college students in the two cultures

Intercultural Collaborative Learning: Using Role-Play as a Tool

This study examines the nature of intercultural collaborative learning. The concept of intercultural collaborative learning involves two types of learning: intercultural learning and collaborative learning. Intercultural learning generally refers to understanding different cultures by subscribing to a philosophy of cultural relativism. Collaborative learning is characterized by cooperating creatively with others in an atmosphere filled with mutual esteem; effective communication; successful utilization of fellow students as resources; an equitable division of labor; divergent and daring thinking; a high degree of interaction; mutual trust, influence, acceptance and support; emotional involvement; and coordination of effort. In this study, cross-cultural training using roleplay is analyzed from the point of view of activity theory. Through this analysis, role-play is found to be a useful tool to promote intercultural collaborative learning in effective and creative ways. Intercultural collaborative learning may help to build a multicultural symbiotic community to foster creative and innovative activity in the global village

DeepSaucer: Unified Environment for Verifying Deep Neural Networks

In recent years, a number of methods for verifying DNNs have been developed. Because the approaches of the methods differ and have their own limitations, we think that a number of verification methods should be applied to a developed DNN. To apply a number of methods to the DNN, it is necessary to translate either the implementation of the DNN or the verification method so that one runs in the same environment as the other. Since those translations are time-consuming, a utility tool, named DeepSaucer, which helps to retain and reuse implementations of DNNs, verification methods, and their environments, is proposed. In DeepSaucer, code snippets of loading DNNs, running verification methods, and creating their environments are retained and reused as software assets in order to reduce cost of verifying DNNs. The feasibility of DeepSaucer is confirmed by implementing it on the basis of Anaconda, which provides virtual environment for loading a DNN and running a verification method. In addition, the effectiveness of DeepSaucer is demonstrated by usecase examples

Electric field induced effects in Y3N@[C80]6- anionic solid

By measuring the i−vi−v characteristics of Y3N@[C80]6− anionic solid at various temperatures and electric field strengths, four conducting phases with i∝vi∝v , i∝v2i∝v2 with low resistance, i∝v4i∝v4 and i∝v2i∝v2 with high resistance were observed. First, at temperatures below 100 K and field strengths below 30 Vcm−1Vcm−1 , the current passing through the sample was a linear function of the d.c. bias voltage due to free moving charges. Second, at the same field strengths, the trapped carrier was thermally activated with activation energies of 13.6 meV for temperature range of 100−250100−250 K and 88.7 meV for 250−450250−450 K. In this conducting phase, the carrier transport was governed by space charge limited conduction mechanism. Third, when the electric field increased from 30 to 120 Vcm−1Vcm−1 , the ii became a quartic function of the vv because the carrier mobility is a quadratic function of the field strength. A conducting phase with high resistance was observed at temperatures below 100 K. The trapped carrier was thermally activated with activation energies of 146.5 meV for temperature range of 100−250100−250  K and 288.5 meV for 250−450250−450  K. Finally, in the electric field strengths of 120−2000120−2000 Vcm−1Vcm−1 , a high resistance phase appeared in the anionic solid at temperatures below 100 K. The current was a quadratic function of the d.c. bias voltage, and the carrier mobility was independent of the field strength

Structural Studies Of Transcriptional Regulation By LysR-Type Transcriptional Regulators In Bacteria

LysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs) comprise one of the largest families of transcriptional regulators in bacteria and control gene expression of various types of metabolic, virulence and physiological functions. LTTRs typically form homotetramers and require an inducer molecule(s) to activate the transcription of target genes. The N-terminal region of LTTRs contains a DNA-binding domain (DBD) with the winged helix-turn-helix motif that specifically binds the promoter region of target genes. The C-terminal region of LTTRs is connected to the DBD by a linker helix and forms the regulatory domain (RD) that contains a binding pocket for inducer molecules. Crystal structures of several LTTR family members together with their biochemical analyses have provided a potential mechanism for the initial process of transcriptional activation by LTTRs. First, helix α3 of the winged helix-turn-helix motif in DBD is supposed to distinguish the recognition binding site (RBS) in the promoter region, resulting in complex formation through interactions between two DBDs in the tetrameric LTTR and RBS. Formation of this complex seems to enable interactions between the other two DBDs in the LTTR tetramer and the activation binding site (ABS) in the promoter region. The binding of the tetrameric LTTR to both the RBS and ABS causes the promoter DNA to adopt a bent structure because the four DBDs in the tetrameric LTTR are arranged in a V-shaped manner at the bottom of the LTTR. Interaction of an inducer molecule(s) with the RD seems to cause a quaternary structural change of the LTTR that relaxes the bending angle of the promoter DNA with a concomitant shift of the bound DBDs at the ABS. These events facilitate recruitment of RNA polymerase to its binding site in the promoter region, which overlaps with the ABS for LTTR

JTP-109192, a novel G protein-coupled receptor 119 agonist, prevents atherosclerosis by improving hypercholesterolemia in congenic spontaneously hyperlipidaemic mice

G protein‐coupled receptor 119 (GPR119) expression in pancreatic β‐cells and intestinal L‐cells is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Previously, we have reported that the GPR119 agonist JTP‐109192 improves glucose metabolism with single and repeated administration. Conversely, overexpression of the Gpr119 gene reportedly regulates cholesterol transporter expression in animal models, and a natural GPR119 agonist, oleoylethanolamide (OEA), improves atherosclerosis. Therefore, improving dyslipidaemia is considered a possible feature of GPR119 agonists. In the present study, the lipid‐lowering effect of JTP‐109192 was examined in BALB/c background spontaneously hyperlipidaemic (SHL) mice with repeated administration, once daily for 12 weeks. On repeated administration, JTP‐109192 revealed a cholesterol‐lowering effect and improved atherosclerosis following histopathological examination. With further investigation, the cholesterol‐lowering effect and subsequent antiatherosclerotic effect of JTP‐109192 was attributed to changes in intestinal cholesterol metabolism gene expression. Based on these results, JTP‐109192 represents a new potential antihypercholesterolaemic agent for the treatment of dyslipidaemia