Study Abroad and the Transnational Experience of Japanese Women from 1860s–1920s: Four Stages of Female Study Abroad, Sumi Miyakawa and Tano Jōdai

This article aims to analyse the study abroad and transnational experiences of Japanese women between the 1860s and the 1920s. First, this article analyses the tendencies, periods, agents (both government-funded and privately-funded), aims and subjects studied in female study abroad in the four stages during this period from school history materials of individual institutions which supported female study abroad. In its later stages, female study abroad tended to strengthen the function of raising leaders of girls’ and women’s education, while in its early stages it tended to introduce a variety of Western culture and academic knowledge. Second, the article focuses on the forms of government- and privately-funded study abroad for women by tracing the study-abroad experience of two women educators in the early 20th century. Within government-funded study abroad, academic disciplines studied and students’ experiences were controlled by the government and focused on building a national female educational system. However, privately-funded study abroad possessed wider aims. It allowed female students to study various academic disciplines and introduced new international trends for promoting women’s social participation. Most female students who experienced study abroad became pioneers of female education and/or social activities in Japan as a result of their transnational experiences

New Roles and Areas of Activities for Contemporary Lawyers

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ヤエシマショトウ ノ ノウギョウセイタイケイ ニ オケル リョウセイハチュウルイソウ ニ カンスル ケンキュウ

国内の生物多様性ホットスポットに指定されている琉球列島において，農地化は人為的な環境改変の一つの要因であり，生態系に負の影響を与えてきた可能性がある。一方で，農地は食料生産のみならず生物多様性の保全効果があるなど，農地の多面的機能には近年注目が高まっている。これまで琉球列島では農業生態系における生物多様性調査はほとんど行われていなかったことに加え，従来の生物多様性調査では脊椎動物はカエル類と魚類に限られていた現状がある。農業生態系において両生類と爬虫類はその環境を物語る重要な生物である。これらの種間には生態学的，生理学的に共通する特徴がいくつかあるが，農地拡大のような人為的撹乱に対する適応力には違いがあり，両者は生物多様性評価の指標種として有用であることが示唆されている。本研究は石垣島と西表島の農地（水田とサトウキビ畑）6地点と森林2地点で両生類・爬虫類生息調査を合計61回行い，農地における生物相の特徴を評価した。調査の結果，多くの森林依存性の両生類・爬虫類が両島の農地で確認され，農地間で生物相に違いが見られた。この違いは農地が立地する周辺の森林環境の差異による可能性が示唆された。Hornの重複度指数（R0）に基づく動物群集構造のデンドログラム解析を行ったところ，本研究の調査地は大きく水田クラスターと森林クラスターの2群集に区分された。この結果は水田の存在が群集構成を左右する重要な景観要素であることを示唆している。そして森林クラスターがこれらの島に生息する両生類・爬虫類の本来の生息環境を反映した群集構成と仮定すると，水田クラスターは独自の群集を構成したグループであることが示唆された。本研究による石垣島と西表島の農地に生息する両生類・爬虫類相調査はこれらの島の農地が琉球列島の生物多様性を維持する機能を有した農業生態系である可能性を示した。In the Ryukyu Islands, which is designated as a biodiversity hotspot in Japan, conversion to cropland is one of the factors for artificial environmental modification and may have had a negative impact on the ecosystem. On the other hand, it has been noted in recent years that the agroecosystem is useful for the conservation of biodiversity. Biodiversity has rarely been surveyed in agroecosystems in the Ryukyu Islands. In addition, biodiversity surveys of vertebrates have conventionally been restricted to frogs and fish. Amphibians and reptiles are important taxa that reflect the environment of agricultural land ecosystems. Although these species have some common ecological and physiological characteristics, they differ in their adaptability to anthropogenic disturbances such as agricultural land expansion, and amphibian and reptile species are suggested as useful indicators for biodiversity assessment. In this study, a total of 61 amphibian and reptile habitat surveys were conducted at 6 farmlands (paddy fields and sugar cane fields) and 2 forests on Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island to evaluate the characteristics of fauna on the farmlands. As a result of the survey, many forest-dependent species of amphibians and reptiles were found on the farmlands of both islands, and differences in fauna were observed between farmlands. It was suggested that this difference may be due to the difference in forest environment around the farmlands. A dendrogram analysis of the animal community structure based on Hornʼs multiplicity index (R0) revealed that the study sites of this study were broadly divided into two communities, paddy and forest clusters. This result suggests that the existence of paddy fields is an important factor that influences the composition of the community. Assuming that the observed forest clusters reflect the natural habitat of amphibians and reptiles inhabiting these islands, it was suggested that the paddy clusters were a group of unique communities. The survey of amphibian and reptile fauna inhabiting the agricultural land of Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island for this study showed that the agricultural land of these islands may be an agroecosystem that has the function of maintaining the biodiversity of the Ryukyu Islands

Increased Plasma Levels of 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine Are Associated with Development of Colorectal Tumors

Increased oxidative stress is generally thought to be associated with tumorigenesis. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated plasma 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in patients with colorectal adenoma and cancer, as a surrogate marker of oxidative damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). We collected blood samples from 58 patients with adenoma, 32 with early cancer, 25 with advanced cancer, and 36 without polyps or cancer (as controls), and measured plasma levels of 8-OHdG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Univariate analysis by logistic regression showed that an increased level of 8-OHdG was a significant risk for adenoma [odds ratio (OR) 1.393, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.008–1.926, p = 0.045]. In patients with early cancer, univariate analysis revealed significant differences for age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, and 8-OHdG level. Subsequent multivariate analysis revealed that 8-OHdG [OR 1.627, 95% CI 1.079–2.453, p = 0.020] and BMI [OR 1.283, 95% CI 1.038–1.585, p = 0.021] were significant risk factors for early cancer. However, 8-OHdG was not a significant risk factor for advanced cancer. Our results suggest that an increased plasma level of 8-OHdG is associated with development of colorectal adenoma and cancer

Dynamin 1 is important for microtubule organization and stabilization in glomerular podocytes

Dynamin 1 is a neuronal endocytic protein that participates in vesicle formation by scission of invaginated membranes. Dynamin 1 is also expressed in the kidney; however, its physiological significance to this organ remains unknown. Here, we show that dynamin 1 is crucial for microtubule organization and stabilization in glomerular podocytes. By immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy, dynamin 1 was concentrated at microtubules at primary processes in rat podocytes. By immunofluorescence of differentiated mouse podocytes (MPCs), dynamin 1 was often colocalized with microtubule bundles, which radially arranged toward periphery of expanded podocyte. In dynamin 1-depleted MPCs by RNAi, alpha-tubulin showed a dispersed linear filament-like localization, and microtubule bundles were rarely observed. Furthermore, dynamin 1 depletion resulted in the formation of discontinuous, short acetylated alpha-tubulin fragments, and the decrease of microtubule-rich protrusions. Dynamins 1 and 2 double-knockout podocytes showed dispersed acetylated alpha-tubulin and rare protrusions. In vitro, dynamin 1 polymerized around microtubules and cross-linked them into bundles, and increased their resistance to the disassembly-inducing reagents Ca(2+)and podophyllotoxin. In addition, overexpression and depletion of dynamin 1 in MPCs increased and decreased the nocodazole resistance of microtubules, respectively. These results suggest that dynamin 1 supports the microtubule bundle formation and participates in the stabilization of microtubules

Sex-inducing effects toward planarians widely present among parasitic flatworms

Summary Various parasitic flatworms infect vertebrates for sexual reproduction, often causing devastating diseases in their hosts. Consequently, flatworms are of great socioeconomic and biomedical importance. Although the cessation of parasitic flatworm sexual reproduction is a major target of anti-parasitic drug design, little is known regarding bioactive compounds controlling flatworm sexual maturation. Using the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis, we observed that sex-inducing substances found in planarians are also widespread in parasitic flatworms, such as monogeneans and flukes (but not in tapeworms). Reverse-phase HPLC analysis revealed the sex-inducing substance(s) eluting around the tryptophan retention time in the fluke Calicophoron calicophorum, consistent with previous studies on the planarian Bipalium nobile, suggesting that the substance(s) is likely conserved among flatworms. Moreover, six of the 18 ovary-inducing substances identified via transcriptome and metabolome analyses are involved in purine metabolism. Our findings provide a basis for understanding and modifying the life cycles of various parasitic flatworms.journal articl