Essential and Instructive Roles of GATA Factors in Eosinophil Development

GATA transcription factors are major regulators of hematopoietic and immune system. Among GATA factors, GATA-1, GATA-2, and GATA-3 play crucial roles in the development of erythroid cells, hematopoietic stem, and progenitor cells, and T helper type 2 (Th2) cells, respectively. A high level of GATA-1 and GATA-2 expression has been observed in eosinophils, but their roles in eosinophil development remain uncertain both in vitro and in vivo. Here we show that enforced expression of GATA-1 in human primary myeloid progenitor cells completely switches myeloid cell fate into eosinophils. Expression of GATA-1 exclusively promotes development and terminal maturation of eosinophils. Functional domain analyses revealed that the COOH-terminal finger is essential for this capacity while the other domains are dispensable. Importantly, GATA-1–deficient mice failed to develop eosinophil progenitors in the fetal liver. On the other hand, GATA-2 also showed instructive capacity comparable to GATA-1 in vitro and efficiently compensated for GATA-1 deficiency in terms of eosinophil development in vivo, indicating that proper accumulation of GATA factors is critical for eosinophil development. Taken together, our findings establish essential and instructive roles of GATA factors in eosinophil development. GATA-1 and GATA-2 could be novel molecular targets for therapeutic approaches to allergic inflammation

Relationship between Protection against Cold and the Physiological Index during a Cold Environment

A snow cave is a bivouac shelter used in mountain climbing that is widely used as a shelter against the cold during winter. In the outdoors, wind velocity and air temperature have an influence on temperature change. It could stabilize body temperature if it can control the convection of ambient air. This paper could develop a theory focusing on the relation between physiological indexes and the protection against the cold while staying in a snow cave. For example, protection against the cold could be thermal insulation underwear, thermal insulation gloves, thermal insulation socks, a steam warmed temperature sheet and a rescue sheet. Measurement items were heart rate, blood pressure, rectal temperature, score of a subjective thermal sensation and the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. It was clarified that the protection against the cold could be effective for the decrease of the physiological index. These field studies suggest that they would enable the adaptation in the adjustment range of the autonomic nervous system given these protections against the cold

Dealing with Disasters: Environmental History of Early Modern Cities (Edo, Istanbul, London, Pest, and Prague)

List of ContributorsForeword Introduction The Ordinary and the Extraordinary in Early Modern Cities / Koichi Watanabe trans. by Hisashi Kuboyama Part I: Aspects of Urban Disasters Chapter 1 Typhoon Damage in 1856 Edo: Integrating Archaeology, Climatology and History / Koichi Watanabe, Junpei Hirano, Hiroyuki Ishigami, and Masumi Zaiki trans. by Hisashi Kuboyama Chapter 2 The Great Flood in Pest, 1838 / Csaba Katona Chapter 3 Fire Disasters in European Cities, 1600-1800 David Garrioch Comment Disaster of Beijing in the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911 / Akira Horichi trans. by Yoko Onodera Part II: Disasters and Responses Chapter 4 Prevent the Big Water. Flood Control Measures in Prague (Bohemia) Issued by Public Administrative Bodies in Late 18th Century / Ondřej Hudeček Chapter 5 Citizens’ Awareness of Firefighting in Edo: Analysing Eighteenth-Century Textbooks on Firefighting / Reiji Iwabuchi trans. by Hisashi Kuboyama Part III: Infrastructure as Artificial Nature Chapter 6 The Ordinary Made Extraordinary: The Archaeology of Water Management in a Global City / Sophie Jackson Chapter 7 Management and Civil Engineering of Urban Water Supply and Sewage System in Edo as Seen from Archaeological Excavation / Hiroyuki Ishigami trans. by Mina Ishizu Chapter 8 Dredging the Edo Castle\u27s Moat: a Case of the Okayama-Domain Dredging in 1765 / Reiji Iwabuchi trans. by Naoko Nomoto Chapter 9 Canal, Dredging and Sedimentation in the Lowland Area of East Edo: Considering Physical and Spatial Characteristics of Canals in a Historical Context / Genki Takahashi trans. by Hisashi Kuboyama Part IV: Hinterland and Nature Chapter 10 Flooding in Edo and the Tone-gawa River and Tama-gawa River Systems / Koichi Watanabe trans. by Hisashi Kuboyama Chapter 11 The Great Edo Flood of 1742 and the Okutama Valley / Koichi Watanabe trans. by Hisashi Kuboyama Chapter 12 The Deluge of Istanbul in 1563: a Case of Flood Where There Was No River / Kazuaki Sawai trans. by Yoko Onodera Chapter 13 Storms, Flooding and the Development of London 1300-1500 / Matthew Davies Chapter 14 Bridging London’s River’s General Situation of London, the Thames, the Bridge / Vanessa Hardin

キョウイン ヨウセイ カテイ ニオケル リアリスティック アプローチ ドウニュウ ノ リネン ト イギ

本稿は、教員養成課程におけるリアリスティック・アプローチを導入する理念と意義について検討を加えるも のである。リアリスティック・アプローチとはコルトハーヘン（Fred A. J. Korthagen）によって提示されている 教師教育実践のための概念で、教育的実践から効果的な学びを得ようとするものである。現在、教師に求められる資 質の一つに、「学び続ける」ことが含まれているが、それを教員養成段階において修得するために、リアリスティッ ク・アプローチは有効な方法であると言える。教育的な経験を多様な観点から具体的に振り返り、それによって新た な気づきを得ることは、教師自身の内側から生じる学びを可能とする。こうした力は、教師自身が成長をし続けるこ とを支えることが期待される。ただし、同アプローチの受け止め方は学生によって異なるため、それを否定的に受け 止める学生に対して行うべき配慮の仕方を検討したり、また、同アプローチを実践するために教師教育者も自身の経 験を活かした学びができるようになるための取り組みが求められることは留意すべきである。This paper discusses the significance of introducing a realistic approach in teacher education curriculum. The realistic approach is the concept for doing teaching practice presented by Fred A. J. Korthagen, which aims to acquire effectively learning from educational practice. Currently, one of the qualities required of teachers includes the one of the “keep learning”. In order to acquire the quality in a teacher training stage, the realistic approach can be an effective method. Reflecting educational experiences from a variety of viewpoints to earn new recognitions makes teachers learn the inside of the teacher himself. Such power expects teachers to continue to develop themselves. As each student has a different perception of this approach, however, we need to examine how to deal with students who have negative feelings, and also to take the practice to be able to use their own experiences in order to practice the same approach

A multi-ethnic meta-analysis identifies novel genes, including ACSL5, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive motor neuron disease that affects people of all ethnicities. Approximately 90% of ALS cases are sporadic and thought to have multifactorial pathogenesis. To understand the genetics of sporadic ALS, we conducted a genome-wide association study using 1,173 sporadic ALS cases and 8,925 controls in a Japanese population. A combined meta-analysis of our Japanese cohort with individuals of European ancestry revealed a significant association at the ACSL5 locus (top SNP p = 2.97 × 10−8). We validated the association with ACSL5 in a replication study with a Chinese population and an independent Japanese population (1941 ALS cases, 3821 controls; top SNP p = 1.82 × 10−4). In the combined meta-analysis, the intronic ACSL5 SNP rs3736947 showed the strongest association (p = 7.81 × 10−11). Using a gene-based analysis of the full multi-ethnic dataset, we uncovered additional genes significantly associated with ALS: ERGIC1, RAPGEF5, FNBP1, and ATXN3. These results advance our understanding of the genetic basis of sporadic ALS

リアルスティック アプローチ オ モチイタ キョウショク ジッセン エンシュウ ニ ツイテ ノ ケンキュウ

オランダの教育学者であるコルトハーヘンによって提唱されたリアリスティック・アプローチは、経験からの学びを理論に結びつけることによって、教職課程の学びをよリアリスティックに、言い換えれば教職に就いてからの実践に資するものにすることをめざしている。大阪樟蔭女子大学では平成26 年より教職課程の担当教員がリアリスティック・アプローチを軸とした教員養成のあり方について研究会を組織し、教職実践演習の授業をその中核に据え、中高課程と幼小課程の教職担当者がカリキュラム編成と授業方法を協議しながら授業を作り上げている。本研究は、経験とそのリフレクションを一つのユニットとして、7 つのユニットから構成された平成27 年度（一部は平成26 年度も含む）の授業実践について、担当した各教員が具体的な記述を通じてその意義を明らかにするものである。将来教師になる学生の教育にあたる教職課程の授業においては、学生の学びは卒業後に教師となってからようやく評価し得るものと言える。本稿ではこの点の問題提起についても触れていく。Realistic approach, which is advocated by Dutch pedagogist and teacher educator Fred Korthagen, aims to make teacher education programs more realisitic and practical by connecting the experience of students to theories. A study group has been organized in Osaka Shoin Women’s University from 2014. Some teacher educators in this group have a responsibility for the class of “teaching practice training” and discuss the curriculum design and teaching methods of each class, kindergarten/elementary and secondary teacher educa- tion. In this reseach, each teacher educators will describe their concrete practice and show the significance of realsitic learing in the class of 2014 and 2015 which is constituted by the 7 units of experience and reflec- tion. In addition, this research will raise a problem that students’ learing in the teacher education program can not be truly evaluated until they actually work as a teacher

The Complete Plastid Genome Sequence of the Secondarily Nonphotosynthetic Alga Cryptomonas paramecium: Reduction, Compaction, and Accelerated Evolutionary Rate

The cryptomonads are a group of unicellular algae that acquired photosynthesis through the engulfment of a red algal cell, a process called secondary endosymbiosis. Here, we present the complete plastid genome sequence of the secondarily nonphotosynthetic species Cryptomonas paramecium CCAP977/2a. The ∼78 kilobase pair (Kbp) C. paramecium genome contains 82 predicted protein genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, and a single pseudogene (atpF). The C. paramecium plastid genome is approximately 50 Kbp smaller than those of the photosynthetic cryptomonads Guillardia theta and Rhodomonas salina; 71 genes present in the G. theta and/or R. salina plastid genomes are missing in C. paramecium. The pet, psa, and psb photosynthetic gene families are almost entirely absent. Interestingly, the ribosomal RNA operon, present as inverted repeats in most plastid genomes (including G. theta and R. salina), exists as a single copy in C. paramecium. The G + C content (38%) is higher in C. paramecium than in other cryptomonad plastid genomes, and C. paramecium plastid genes are characterized by significantly different codon usage patterns and increased evolutionary rates. The content and structure of the C. paramecium plastid genome provides insight into the changes associated with recent loss of photosynthesis in a predominantly photosynthetic group of algae and reveals features shared with the plastid genomes of other secondarily nonphotosynthetic eukaryotes