Geography Education in Meiji Japan: Centering upon Elementary Education

In Meiji Japan, there were fewer chances to get higher education, so elementary education was more important than nowadays. Elementary education is not only the first student curriculum, but also the most simplified knowledge and phenomenon was educated to students. Young students were very influenced by this curriculum. This paper examines the geography education in the elementary schools of the entire period of the Meiji era, and discusses the intention and purpose. First, I will examine the history of geography up until the nineteenth century. Next, I will analyze the growth of geography education in the elementary schools in Meiji Japan through looking at the education system, the manuals of education, and textbooks. Finally, I will examine the meaning of geography education in Meiji Japan.東アジアの思想と構

Formation of the World View of Young Chen Duxiu: Centering upon Xiaoxue Wanguo Dili Xinbian

This short paper delves into one of the sources that reveal Chen Duxiu’s（1879‒1942） world view. Xiaoxue Wanguo Dili Xinbian was published as a geographical textbook used in elementary schools, and it was also one of Chen’s earliest writings, finished in 1902. For Chen, geography, especially human geography （political geography） in Japan and China, meant not only knowledge of foreign countries and of the relationships between human beings and nature, but also as a means to teach native people about national crises and Westerninvasion. Since this book is written rather than translated by Chen Duxiu, many of his own ideas are visible therein. What kind of geographical knowledge did Chen choose to accept? Where did it come from? How did he delineate the world with the knowledge? These questions are important and, arguably, serve as the key to Chen Duxiu’s later thought.研究ノー

Chen Duxiu\u27s World View -from 1900 to 1926-

Modernization in East Asia was triggered by Western impact. The traditional world view of East Asia was significantly challenged and altered by the West. There was no alternative for East Asian countries but to concede to Western might. China was one of those countries who recognized a more civilized West, both politically and economically, and thus started its journey of modernization. Chen Duxiu is widely regarded one of China\u27s radicalism favor of communism out of many Western political theories and co-founded the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. However, this paper argues, a different approach to Chen isn\u27t only possible but also necessary as he was not born for establishing the Communist Party for China. As a matter of fact, he held different views of the world at different stages of his life which had his personal originality, and with the passage of the time his world view experienced many changes and finally crystallized

A new ferromagnetic thiospinel CuCrZrS4 with re-entrant spin-glass behaviour

A new thiospinel CuCrZrS4 has been successfully synthesized by a solid-state chemical reaction. This CuCrZrS4 exhibits ferromagnetic properties below the Curie temperature at Tc=60±2 K. The appearance of irreversible effect between field-cooled and zero-field-cooled magnetization is prominent below around 5 K in a magnetic field of less than 150 Oe. The ac susceptibility χAC shows a rapid decrease below about 10 K. This low magnetic-field behaviour indicates the existence of a re-entrant spin-glass phase below about 10 K. The dc magnetic susceptibility above 100 K shows Curie-Weiss behaviour with an effective magnetic moment of 3.61 μB, which is a little less than the spin-only value of 3.87 μB for the Cr3+ ion. The asymptotic Curie temperature &thetas;p is approximately 65 K, which is a little higher than Tc. The valence state is confirmed to be Cu+Cr3+Zr4+S42- on the basis of magnetic properties. The electrical resistivity ρ shows a semiconducting temperature dependence over the temperature range from 4.2 to 280 K with an activation energy of 6.84×10-3 eV in the higher temperature range from 50 to 283

An angiogenic role for adrenomedullin in choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE: Adrenomedullin (ADM) has been shown to take part in physiological and pathological angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ADM signaling is involved in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) using a mouse model. METHODS AND RESULTS: CNV was induced by laser photocoagulation in 8-week-old C57BL/6 mice. ADM mRNA expression significantly increased following treatment, peaking 4 days thereafter. The expression of ADM receptor (ADM-R) components (CRLR, RAMP2 and RAMP 3) was higher in CD31(+)CD45(-) endothelial cells (ECs) than CD31(-)CD45(-) non-ECs. Inflammatory stimulation upregulated the expression of ADM not only in cell lines but also in cells in primary cultures of the choroid/retinal pigment epithelium complex. Supernatants from TNFα-treated macrophage cell lines potentiated the proliferation of ECs and this was partially suppressed by an ADM antagonist, ADM (22-52). Intravitreous injection of ADM (22-52) or ADM neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) after laser treatment significantly reduced the size of CNV compared with vehicle-treated controls (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: ADM signaling is involved in laser-induced CNV formation, because both an ADM antagonist and ADM mAb significantly inhibited it. Suppression of ADM signaling might be a valuable alternative treatment for CNV associated with age-related macular degeneration

Active Transport of Lignin Precursors into Membrane Vesicles from Lignifying Tissues of Bamboo

Lignin is the second most abundant natural polymer on Earth and is a major cell wall component in vascular plants. Lignin biosynthesis has three stages: biosynthesis, transport, and polymerization of its precursors. However, there is limited knowledge on lignin precursor transport, especially in monocots. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the transport mode of lignin monomers in the lignifying tissues of bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens). The growth manners and lignification processes of bamboo shoots were elucidated, which enabled us to obtain the lignifying tissues reproducibly. Microsomal membrane fractions were prepared from tissues undergoing vigorous lignification to analyze the transport activities of lignin precursors in order to show the ATP-dependent transport of coniferin and p-glucocoumaryl alcohol. The transport activities for both precursors depend on vacuolar type H+-ATPase and a H+ gradient across the membrane, suggesting that the electrochemical potential is the driving force of the transport of both substrates. These findings are similar to the transport properties of these lignin precursors in the differentiating xylem of poplar and Japanese cypress. Our findings suggest that transport of coniferin and p-glucocoumaryl alcohol is mediated by secondary active transporters energized partly by the vacuolar type H+-ATPase, which is common in lignifying tissues. The loading of these lignin precursors into endomembrane compartments may contribute to lignification in vascular plants

Dopamine D1 receptors regulate protein synthesis-dependent long-term recognition memory via extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in the prefrontal cortex

Several lines of evidence suggest that extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) and dopaminergic system is involved in learning and memory. However, it remains to be determined if the dopaminergic system and ERK1/2 pathway contribute to cognitive function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The amount of phosphorylated ERK1/2 was increased in the PFC immediately after exposure to novel objects in the training session of the novel object recognition test. An inhibitor of ERK kinase impaired long-term recognition memory 24 h after the training although short-term memory tested 1 h after the training was not affected by the treatment. The dopamine D1 receptor agonist increased ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the PFC in vivo as well as in cortical neurons in vitro. Microinjection of the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist into the PFC impaired long-term recognition memory whereas the D2 receptor antagonist had no effect. Immunohistochemistry revealed that exposure to novel objects resulted in an increase in c-Fos expression in the PFC. Microinjection of the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin into the PFC impaired the long-term recognition memory. These results suggest that the activation of ERK1/2 following the stimulation of dopamine D1 receptors is necessary for the protein synthesis-dependent long-term retention of recognition memory in the PFC