Labial Dissimilation in Shona

　This paper examines labial dissimilation in Shona, a Bantu language spoken in Zimbabwe. Labial consonants cannot appear next to each other. The repair strategies of the labial sequence depend on what consonants follow each other. This paper presents labial dissimilation patterns using passive form derivation. The analysis will be presented in a constraint-based theory, namely Optimality Theory (OT)

The Sound Symbolic Patterns in Pokémon Move Names in Japanese

　In recent years, we have witnessed a dramatically growing interest in sound symbolism, systematic associations between sounds and meanings. A recent case study of sound symbolism shows that in Pok´emon games, longer names are generally associated with stronger Pok´emon characters, and moreover those Pok´emon characters with names having more voiced obstruents are generally stronger (Kawahara et al., 2018b). The current study examined the productivity of these sound symbolic effects in the names of the moves that Pok´emon creatures use when they battle. The analysis of the existing move names shows that the effect of name length on attack values is robust, and that the effect of voiced obstruents is tangible. These sound symbolic patterns hold, despite the fact that most (= 99%) move names are based on real words in Japanese. An additional experiment with nonce names shows that both of these effects are very robust.Overall, the current paper adds to the growing body of studies showing that the relationships between sounds and meanings are not as arbitrary as modern linguistic theories have standardly assumed. Uniquely, the current analysis of the existing move names shows that such non-arbitrary relationships can hold even when the set of words under consideration are mostly existing words (Shih & Rudin, 2019; Sidhu et al., 2019)

Examination of Home Economics Teacher Training Curriculum in Human Life Sciences Education of Hiroshima University: Concepts and results of introduction to clothing, dietary, and living life

In order to reconceptualize the curriculum for home economics teacher training in the Department of Human Life Sciences Education of the Faculty of Education, Hiroshima University, we created and presented a new set of major subjects in the revised curriculum from 2019. As part of this study, we presented the concepts of “Introduction to Clothing Life”, “Introduction to Dietary Life”, and “Introduction to Living Life,” with background sciences and academic disciplines relevant to the three introductions, to the first semester students in 2020. In addition, we analyzed the changes in the views of students concerning life and the three subjects before and after taking each introduction through questionnaires. On the base of these results and the issues highlighted by the faculty members, we improved each introduction. After taking the introductions, the students came to possess the knowledge and skills required to solve their daily life and social problems related to clothing, diet, and living. This is because we have included in the subjects “performance task” to encourage independent learning, and group activities and practical tasks to broaden and deepen students’ awareness and understanding of the issues in their life and society. In addition, the conceptual diagrams with the structure of background sciences, showing the relationship between home economics and other sciences, would help students understand the framework of academic discipline constructing home economics and have a subjective view of home economics.本研究は，JSPS科研費JP19K02814（代表者 鈴木明子）の助成を受けたものである

NINJAL データベースを活用した言語研究の実施について

Graduate School of International Christian UniversityNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsInternational Christian University会議名: 言語資源ワークショップ2022, 開催地: オンライン, 会期: 2022年8月30日-31日, 主催: 国立国語研究所 言語資源開発センター本稿では、国立国語研究所の共同利用型共同研究（登録型）で利用可能な豊富なデータベース（研究資料室収蔵資料：fo0245）を用いたデータ処理方法について紹介する。今回利用したデータベースでは多くのデータへのアクセスが可能な反面、実験全体の録音ファイルのみが利用可能であったため、初めに実験の録音音声をもとに刺激のメタデータを構築し、単語や実験内でのセクション、話者、繰り返しの有無をもとに研究後にも識別可能な刺激のアーカイブIDを作成した。次に、Praatスクリプトを用いて録音全体における刺激間の境界の配置や各刺激へのID の付与、録音音声全体の個別刺激ファイルへの分割を行うことで、分析対象に対するアノテーションの保存を半自動的に可能とした。本研究手順により、録音データベースを用いたより効率的な研究が可能となるだろう。また、処理したデータをアーカイブすることで将来の様々な研究に役立てることができるだろう

Sustained response in early responders to safinamide in patients with Parkinson's disease and motor fluctuations: A post hoc analysis of the SETTLE study

Safinamide is a selective, reversible, monoamine oxidase B inhibitor for the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and motor fluctuations. This was a post hoc analysis of the SETTLE study, in which patients with PD and motor fluctuations were randomly assigned to 24-week treatment with safinamide (50 mg/day for 2 weeks, increased to 100 mg/day if tolerated) or placebo. In the present analysis, responders were defined according to their treatment responses at Week 2 and Week 24 based on changes in ON-time without troublesome dyskinesia from baseline with cutoffs of 1 hour. It was found that 81% (103/127) of the responders at Week 2 maintained the response through Week 24 in the safinamide group. Other outcomes did not necessarily coincide with the ON-time response; however, “Early” responders who showed a treatment response at both Week 2 and Week 24 had substantial improvements from baseline in OFF-time, UPDRS Part II and III scores, and PDQ-39 summary index scores through Week 24. The safinamide group had a higher proportion of early responders than the placebo group (39% vs 20%, p < 0.0001). At baseline, early responders in the safinamide group had significantly higher UPDRS Part II and III scores, shorter ON-time, and longer OFF-time than the other responder populations. In conclusion, the results of the present post hoc analysis suggest that patients with a short ON-time, severe motor symptoms, and highly compromised activities of daily living can benefit from safinamide early in treatment and over the long term

イデン ソウダンシツ ト イデン カウンセリング

Genetic research has advanced rapidly which has enabled us to identify diseases in their early stages, making it easier to accurately predict the prognosis. On the other hand, public alarm is increasing with regard to ethical, legal and social issues. To alleviate and improve this situation, it is necessary to ensure that medical professionals have the relevant training and expertise in order to allay any public fears. For these reasons, the genetic counselling room was opened at Tokushima University Hospital. A Doctor and a Nurse are available for counselling every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. To date they have dealt with 50 cases which were based on various reasons and they encountered no major problems. To deliberate any matters in various aspects and prevent trouble, we make it a rule to decide anything by staff conference. To level up staff, we have performed study sessions. Furthermore, to raise our public profile, we have opened a homepage on the web and issued a brochure. With the expectation that genetic research will certainly advance and subsequently the necessity for counselling will also increase, it is necessary to continue developing our counselling system