Three modern Japanese dissenters: Minobe Tatsukichi, Sakai Toshihiko and Saitô Takao

This inquiry into the thought of three political thinkers in pre-war Japan is motivated by a concern of our own time: the absence of credible opposition in the present-day political system. The widely accepted view is that Japanese society is "conformist", and the pressure for conformity comes from traditions and cultural norms. My general position in this dissertation is that very often conformity is not only a matter of inherent cultural norms but is a political and social force appropriated, strengthened and enforced by those in power: the weak tradition of public debate has historical foundations.However, mainstream historiography (Marxism and the school of modernisation theory), rarely pays attention to one of the most significant motors of dissent, the tension between authority and the individual, especially as it was exacerbated by the Meiji Restoration. I therefore hope to engage with previous accounts in the following ways. The first concerns definitions of modernisation, and the other, methodological, is concerned with the relations between individual and society. To highlight the role of the general populace in the emergence of political modernisation, I borrow from Jiirgen Habermas his concept of a civil society and his investigation of the transformation of the "public" sphere. I also employ methodological perspectives based on the cultural theory of Raymond Williams, with his emphasis on the material dynamics of social change.To examine the mechanics of opposition in pre-war Japan based on this combination of definition and methodology, I focus on the careers of three prominent "dissidents": Minobe Tatsukichi (1873-1948), a constitutional scholar, Sakai Toshihiko (1870-1933), a socialist reformer, and Saito Takao (1870-1949), an opposition member of Parliament. All three were outspoken critics of discretionary power, and realised that the Meiji Restoration by no means ensured a civil society. Nevertheless post-Restoration Japan witnessed drastic changes in the forms of authority and in the people's engagement with them. Hence all three were articulate critics of government, and witnessed, recorded, and participated in those changes through their writings and political activities. The dissertation traces the contributions of each to the emergence of a Japanese civil society, and examines the viability of liberal positions within a period of highly "engineered" social change

Methylation profiles of genes utilizing newly developed CpG island methylation microarray on colorectal cancer patients

Aberrant methylation of DNA has been shown to play an important role in a variety of human cancers, developmental disorders and aging. Hence, aberrant methylation patterns in genes can be a molecular marker for such conditions. Therefore, a reliable but uncomplicated method to detect DNA methylation is preferred, not merely for research purposes but for daily clinical practice. To achieve these aims, we have established a precise system to identify DNA methylation patterns based on an oligonucleotide microarray technology. Our microarray method has an advantage over conventional methods and is unique because it allows the precise measurement of the methylation patterns within a target region. Our simple signal detection system depends on using an avidin–biotinylated peroxidase complex and does not require an expensive laser scanner or hazardous radioisotope. In this study, we applied our technique to detect promoter methylation status of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene. Our easy-handling technology provided reproducible and precise measurement of methylated CpGs in MGMT promoter and, thus, our method may bring about a potential evolution in the handling of a variety of high-throughput DNA methylation analyses for clinical purposes

Discovery of widespread transcription initiation at microsatellites predictable by sequence-based deep neural network

Using the Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) technology, the FANTOM5 consortium provided one of the most comprehensive maps of transcription start sites (TSSs) in several species. Strikingly, ~72% of them could not be assigned to a specific gene and initiate at unconventional regions, outside promoters or enhancers. Here, we probe these unassigned TSSs and show that, in all species studied, a significant fraction of CAGE peaks initiate at microsatellites, also called short tandem repeats (STRs). To confirm this transcription, we develop Cap Trap RNA-seq, a technology which combines cap trapping and long read MinION sequencing. We train sequence-based deep learning models able to predict CAGE signal at STRs with high accuracy. These models unveil the importance of STR surrounding sequences not only to distinguish STR classes, but also to predict the level of transcription initiation. Importantly, genetic variants linked to human diseases are preferentially found at STRs with high transcription initiation level, supporting the biological and clinical relevance of transcription initiation at STRs. Together, our results extend the repertoire of non-coding transcription associated with DNA tandem repeats and complexify STR polymorphism

Meiji at 150 Podcast, Episode 097, Dr. Hiromi Sasamoto-Collins (University of Edinburgh)

In this episode, Dr. Sasamoto-Collins notes tension in Japanese society following the Meiji Restoration between authoritarian state power and political dissenters. We discuss the absolutism of the Meiji state, introduce several prewar political dissidents including Minobe Tatsukichi, map changes in the state/society relationship over the course of modern Japanese history, and question the vibrancy of Japanese civil society today.Arts, Faculty ofHistory, Department ofNon UBCUnreviewedFacult

Methylation status of CpG sites in partially methylated samples (i–iii) were determined by bisulfite sequencing ()

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Methylation profiles of genes utilizing newly developed CpG island methylation microarray on colorectal cancer patients"</p><p>Nucleic Acids Research 2005;33(5):e46-e46.</p><p>Published online 10 Mar 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1064143.</p><p>© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved</p> Probes 2–4 cover the 10 CpG sites in these samples. () The methylation levels detected by the oligonucleotide microarray were compared with those derived from bisulfite sequencing. The methylation levels by bisulfite sequencing was determined by dividing the total number of methylated CpG sites analyzed by the number of CpG sites at that locus and multiplying by 100, whereas the percentage of methylation levels analyzed by microarray analysis was determined by the use of standard curves derived from the aforementioned calibration controls as shown in . The average signal intensity was taken from two spots on four slides proceeded in parallel. The error bars indicate SD