Savoring tourism: Exploring basic processes

This study aimed to explore the basic processes underpinning savoring tourism experiences. Specifically, we investigated the content of tourism experiences associated with savoring processes and the interrelationships between each savoring process. Thanksgiving, Basking, Marveling, and Luxuriating, which are all established savoring processes, were examined, and the potential new process of Knowing (knowledge gain) was also considered. The quantitative content analyses identified several key contents of positive tourism that stimulated savoring processes from emotional and experiential perspectives. Moreover, using a rating scale format, our study suggested the co-existence of the savoring processes and their interrelationships, including Knowing. The results increase the field's understanding of tourists' post-travel reflections and connect savoring to research on positive tourism

Salon nail care with superficial self-disclosure vitalizes psychological state

Physical attractiveness has long been established as a desirable trait in society. Physically attractive individuals are considered more competent, successful, and sociable. Numerous studies have examined the influence of makeup on physical attractiveness and its subjective psychological effects. However, the effect of nail care has not yet been examined. This study aimed to explore the psychological effects of nail care. Female Japanese participants (N = 334) completed an online questionnaire. The results showed that nail care positively elevated three aspects: positive emotions, relaxation, and vitalization. Moreover, they confirmed significant differences between receiving nail care from salon manicurists and self-performed nail care in terms of positive emotions and relaxation. The results indicated that nail care altered the appearance of the recipients’ nails and their self-esteem, including their feelings, mood, and motivation. Furthermore, this study indicates that it may be preferable for both manicurists and clients not to self-disclose in-depth, as this would negate the positive effects of nail care. The study concludes with recommendations for future research

Development and Validation of the Japanese Version of the Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI-J).

Savoring is defined as people’s capacity to attend to positive experiences and to regulate positive feelings in response to positive events. The purpose of this study was to develop a Japanese adaptation of the Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI-J). The SBI is a self-report measure designed to assess individuals’ beliefs about their ability to savor positive experience within three temporal orientations involving future-focused anticipation of upcoming positive events, present-focused savoring of ongoing positive moments, and past-focused reminiscence about positive memories. After back-translating the SBI, we used an Internet survey to administer the instrument, along with a set of validational criterion measures, to a sample of 520 Japanese adults. Supporting hypotheses and replicating results with Western samples, confirmatory factor analyses revealed that responses to the SBI-J were best conceptualized in terms of five factors reflecting the three, intercorrelated temporal orientations (anticipating, savoring the moment, and reminiscing), as well as two “method” factors involving positive and negative item-valence. Strong, significant correlations among the three temporal SBI-J subscales also support the use of a total score that provides an overall summary of global savoring ability. Each of the three temporal subscales and total score showed acceptable internal consistency reliability and strong one-month test-retest reliability. Correlations of the SBI-J subscales and total score with criterion measures, and gender differences in mean SBI-J scores, support the convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument. These results indicate that the SBI-J is a valid and reliable tool for assessing savoring ability among Japanese adults

Intra-leaf gradients of photoinhibition induced by different color lights: Implications for the dual mechanisms of photoinhibition and for the application of conventional chlorophyll fluorometers

We studied how different color lights cause gradients of photoinhibition within a leaf, to attempt to resolve the controversy whether photon absorption by chlorophyll or Mn is the primary cause of photoinhibition, suggested by the excess-energy hypothesis or the two-step hypothesis, respectively. Lincomycin-treated leaf-discs were photoinhibited by white, blue, green or red light. Combining a micro-fiber fluorometer, a fiber-thinning technique and a micro-manipulator enabled us to measure the chlorophyll fluorescence signals within a leaf. Photoinhibition gradients were also compared with results from various conventional fluorometers to estimate their depth of signal detection. The severity of photoinhibition was in the descending order of blue, red and green light near the adaxial surface, and in the descending order of blue, green and red light in deeper tissue, which is correlated with the chlorophyll and Mn absorption spectrum, respectively. These results cannot be explained by either hypothesis alone. These data strongly suggest that (1) both the excess-energy and the two-step mechanisms occur in photoinhibition, and (2) fluorometers with red or blue measuring light give overestimated or underestimated Fv/Fm values of photoinhibited leaves compared with the whole tissue average, respectively; that is, they measured deeper or shallower leaf tissue, respectively

International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria for Autoimmune Pancreatitis and Its Japanese Amendment Have Improved Diagnostic Ability over Existing Criteria

Objectives. The recent International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria (ICDC) for autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and its Japanese amendment developed by the Japanese Pancreas Society (JPS 2011) may have overcome the drawbacks of earlier criteria and achieved a higher diagnostic ability for AIP. The aim of the present study is to evaluate this possibility and identify the underlying causes of this change. Methods. We compared the diagnostic abilities of the ICDC and JPS 2011 with those of the Japanese diagnostic criteria 2006 (JPS 2006), Korean diagnostic criteria (Korean), Asian diagnostic criteria (Asian), and HISORt diagnostic criteria in 110 patients with AIP and 31 patients with malignant pancreatic cancer. Results. The ICDC achieved the highest diagnostic ability in terms of accuracy (95.0%), followed by JPS 2011 (92.9%), Korean (92.2%), HISORt (88.7%), Asian (87.2%), and JPS 2006 (85.1%). Nearly all criteria systems exhibited a high specificity of 100%, indicating that the enhanced diagnostic ability of the ICDC and JPS 2011 likely stemmed from increased sensitivity brought about by inclusion of diagnostic items requiring no endoscopic retrograde pancreatography. The diagnostic ability of JPS 2011 was nearly equivalent to that of the ICDC. Conclusions. The ICDC and JPS 2011 have improved diagnostic ability as compared with earlier criteria sets because of an increase in sensitivity.ArticleGASTROENTEROLOGY RESEARCH AND PRACTICE. 2013:456965 (2013)journal articl

Modeling Trajectories and Trajectory Variation of Turning Vehicles at Signalized Intersections

© 2013 IEEE. Information on the trajectories of turning vehicles at signalized intersections can be used in numerous applications, such as movement planning of autonomous vehicles, realistic representation of surrounding vehicle movements in driving simulator and virtual reality applications, and in microscopic simulation tools. However, no proper framework is currently available to realistically model and estimate trajectories of turning vehicles reflecting the intersection geometries, which is critical for the reliability of simulation models. This study explores the applicability of the minimum-jerk principle, which has been initially applied in neuroscience and robotics domains, to model and simulate free-flow trajectories of turning vehicles. The modeling method is validated by comparing model outputs with empirical trajectories collected at several signalized intersections in Nagoya, Japan. The capability of the model in realistically capturing the variations in turning trajectories based on intersection geometry (e.g., intersection angle and turning radius) is also explained. Further, the applicability of the modeling framework at intersections with different geometric features under different speeds and accelerations are also discussed.This work was supported in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) under Grant 19H02261