Causal relationship between eWOM topics and profit of rural tourism at Japanese Roadside Stations "MICHINOEKI"

Affected by urbanization, centralization and the decrease of overall population, Japan has been making efforts to revitalize the rural areas across the country. One particular effort is to increase tourism to these rural areas via regional branding, using local farm products as tourist attractions across Japan. Particularly, a program subsidized by the government called Michinoeki, which stands for 'roadside station', was created 20 years ago and it strives to provide a safe and comfortable space for cultural interaction between road travelers and the local community, as well as offering refreshment, and relevant information to travelers. However, despite its importance in the revitalization of the Japanese economy, studies with newer technologies and methodologies are lacking. Using sales data from establishments in the Kyushu area of Japan, we used Support Vector to classify content from Twitter into relevant topics and studied their causal relationship to the sales for each establishment using LiNGAM, a linear non-gaussian acyclic model built for causal structure analysis, to perform an improved market analysis considering more than just correlation. Under the hypotheses stated by the LiNGAM model, we discovered a positive causal relationship between the number of tweets mentioning those establishments, specially mentioning deserts, a need for better access and traf^ic options, and a potentially untapped customer base in motorcycle biker groups

Glucocorticoids strengthen PD-1 effects

The inhibitory co-receptor programmed cell death 1 (PD-1, Pdcd1) plays critical roles in the regulation of autoimmunity, anti-cancer immunity, and immunity against infections. Immunotherapies targeting PD-1 have revolutionized cancer management and instigated various trials of improved cancer immunotherapies. Moreover, extensive trials are underway to potentiate PD-1 function in order to suppress harmful immune responses. Here, we found that both natural and synthetic glucocorticoids (GCs) up-regulate PD-1 on T cells without altering the expression levels of other co-receptors and cell-surface molecules. The GC-induced up-regulation of PD-1 depended on the transactivation of PD-1 transcription mediated through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). We further found that a GC response element (GRE) 2525 bp upstream from the transcription start site of Pdcd1 is responsible for GC-mediated transactivation. We also observed that in vivo administration of GCs significantly up-regulates PD-1 expression on tumor-infiltrating T cells. By analyzing T cells differing in PD-1 expression, we directly demonstrated that the amount of PD-1 on the cell surface correlates with its inhibitory effect. Accordingly, GCs potentiated the capacity of PD-1 to inhibit T cell activation, suggesting that this PD-1-mediated inhibition contributes, at least in part, to the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects of GCs. In light of the critical roles of PD-1 in the regulation of autoimmunity regulation, we expect that the potentiation of PD-1 activity may offer a promising therapeutic strategy for managing inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Our current findings provide a rationale for strategies seeking to enhance the inhibitory effect of PD-1 by increasing its expression level

PD-1 Primarily Inhibits TCR Signal

Cancer-immunotherapy targeting programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) activates tumor-specific T cells and provides clinical benefits in various cancers. However, the molecular basis of PD-1 function is still enigmatic. Especially, it is unclear which signaling pathway PD-1 primarily targets. Besides, the capacity of PD-1 to inhibit the T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent activation of T cells in the presence of co-stimulation is also controversial. Here we used co-culture systems of T cells and antigen-presenting cells with targeted deletion and overexpression of co-receptors and ligands and examined the inhibitory potency of PD-1 against T cell activation upon TCR stimulation with CD28 and ICOS co-stimulation. As an unambiguous criterion of T cell activation, we used the acquisition of cytokine production capacity, which represents one of the most important functions of T cells. PD-1 inhibited functional T cell activation upon TCR stimulation in the absence as well as in the presence of CD28 co-stimulation, indicating that PD-1 can directly inhibit TCR signal. Notably, CD28 co-stimulation rather attenuated the efficiency of PD-1 in inhibiting TCR-dependent functional T cell activation. In addition, PD-1 inhibited TCR-dependent functional T cell activation with ICOS co-stimulation as efficiently as that with CD28 co-stimulation. Furthermore, we found that the maintenance of antigen-induced follicular helper T (TFH) cells that required ICOS co-stimulation was persistently restrained by PD-1 in vivo. These findings indicate that PD-1 primarily targets TCR signal in the inhibition of functional T cell activation. Thus, PD-1 functions as the rheostat of T cell activation rather than an inhibitor of a specific stimulatory co-receptor

PD-1は自己反応性CD８陽性T細胞の活性化経路を遮断して細胞傷害機能の獲得を阻止する

Anti-PD-1 therapy can induce eradication of tumors and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in humans and model animals. However, how anti-PD-1 therapy modifies cellular phenotypes of CD8+ T cells to destroy tumors and damage self-tissues remains to be clarified. Here we performed single-cell mRNA expression profiling of autoreactive CD8+ T cells under or beyond PD-1 suppression in target tissues and reconstructed their activation trajectory. Autoreactive CD8+ T cells went through four activation phases and PD-1 strongly attenuated the transition from the second- to the third-phase, where effector functions were acquired. Shifts in cluster composition of autoreactive CD8+ T cells markedly reflected the severity of autoimmunity. In addition, genes up-regulated along the activation-trajectory in autoimmunity were highly expressed in responders of melanoma patients in anti-PD-1 therapy, suggesting that tumor-specific T cells need to be activated in a similar trajectory to destroy tumors in human patients upon PD-1 blockade. These findings reveal that PD-1 blockade facilitates the activation trajectory of CD8+ T cells to boost their effector functions. Targeted manipulation of the trajectory could lead to new therapeutic opportunities

Defects in ZnO nanoparticles laser-ablated in water-ethanol mixtures at different pressures

The effect of liquid medium and its pressure on the photoluminescence of ZnO nanoparticles prepared via laser ablation of Zn targets in various water-ethanol mixtures is studied. As the ethanol content increases, the photoluminescence of the product changes, while metallic zinc is observed to emerge in nanomaterials prepared in ethanol-rich environments. The applied pressure had a less profound effect, mainly affecting materials produced in water or water-ethanol, and much less those generated in pressurized ethanol. Tuning the reactivity of the liquid and pressurizing it during laser ablation is demonstrated to be promising for tailoring the emission properties of the product

Perspective Chapter: The Japanese Coal Mining Industry Reconsidered: From Mechanized Longwall Mining to Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

This chapter investigates the role of the Japanese coal mining industry in global coal mining development. In the twenty-first century, the Japanese coal mining industry was a marginal contributor to global production, with an annual domestic production of only 750,000 tons. However, as explained below, Japan has contributed to clean coal technologies and coal mining. The combination of chock shields and a double-ended ranging drum shearer is one of the major mechanized longwall mining systems worldwide. It was developed by the Taiheiyo Coal Mining Company in Japan in the mid-1960s and subsequently spread among major coal-producing countries. Japanese coal production systems and clean coal technologies have been transferred to Asian countries since the late-1980s. Currently, carbon dioxide capture and storage system in a mine under the seabed is being implemented by the Kushiro Coal Mine Company which succeeded the mine of Taiheiyo. In addition, Japan has developed technologies for coal-fired power plants to burn coal more efficiently and contains the world’s most efficient ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, the world’s largest Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle power plants started operating to reconstruct Fukushima and reduce carbon emissions

看護の源泉たる弱さの自覚と共感についての一考察 : 聖隷学園浜松衛生短期大学教育理念から

その他Miscellaneous　聖隷学園浜松衛生短期大学の教育理念には「人の生命は傷つき、病み、死ぬべき弱い存在である。自分と他人とが共有しているこの弱さの自覚と共感と互助こそ、人間理解と愛と感動の基本であって、それが看護の源泉である」と謳われていた。短期大学からクリストファー大学となり、その教育理念は建学の精神である「生命の尊厳と隣人愛」に包含される形になったが、弱さを人間観の根底に据えた教育理念は他大学と一線を画している。そこで弱さの自覚がなぜ看護の源泉になるのか考察した結果、弱さという自己の「不完全性」を認めることは、苦悩へと繋がるがそれを受け入れた先に、ケア者としての真の思いやりが醸成される。また弱さを受け入れることができれば、ケア者と病者が人間としての弱さを抱える者同士としての開かれた地平にあることができ、そこでの真の出会いと、静かな連帯によって「双方の可能性を開く」という意味が含まれていると考えられた

Scaling the stimulated emission of polarization-entangled photons using passive optical components

Bright sources of polarization-entangled photon pairs are essential components for quantum information technologies. In general, it is necessary to introduce a resonator that combines active optical components such as an electric optical modulator to enhance the stimulated emission of polarization-entangled photons. It is technically difficult to perform the time series operation to output the stimulated entangled photons in the resonator by synchronizing laser pulses. In this paper, we propose a scheme to scale up the stimulated emission of polarization-entangled photon pairs using a resonator with only passive optical components. We show the theoretical aspects of the scheme and also perform a proof-of-principle experimental demonstration of the scheme in a double-pass configuration.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Physical Review A to be publishe

予期的社会化プログラムを視野に入れた精神看護学教材の作成と活用の検討 : 看護大学生の特性と眺める対人状況の風景の違いに焦点を当てて

報告Reports　精神看護学の初学者(n=155) の特性を「課題に向かう志向性」「ユーモアに対する態度」「曖昧さ耐性」を指標に把握し、「人」「患者」「精神疾患を抱える人」にかかわることへの自由記述データをテキストマイニングにより学生の眺める「風景」として解析した結果、「人・患者」とかかわることと「精神疾患患者」にかかわることは質的に相違があることが確認された。「曖昧さに耐え支援的ユーモアを用いる傾向が高い学生」は、人や患者とかかわることを面倒】だが【楽しく】【成長】に【必要】なことと捉え、「問題解決志向で攻撃性や皮肉・怒りを含んだユーモアを用いる傾向が高い学生」は、人や患者と関わることを【病】を【支える】【責任】ある【仕事】と捉えていた。【精神】【疾患】患者とかかわることに関しては、どちらの学生も【未知】【不安】で【理解】が【難しく】【怖い】と捉えていた。上記結果をもとに教材を作成し、その活用について検討した