The development of lessons for socialstudies to foster global citizenship : Through learning of local autonomy to value judgments by the use of role-play

グローバルシティズンシップの育成には，世界的課題に向き合う市民性と，身近な地域における課題に向き合う市民性が必要である。その際，グローバルとローカルの乖離が大きな課題となる。両者をつなぎ，グローバルシティズンシップを育てるため，コミュニケーションツールとして概念を探究する学習が寄与すると考えた。そこで，概念についての価値判断を行うことによって，価値観を再構成する授業開発を行った。地方自治の単元で仮想の村落をめぐる地方創生について，ロールプレイを活用し，異なる価値観をすりあわせる形の協議を行わせた。ワークシートに書かれた生徒の記述から，おおむね地方自治を構成する概念を見いだせたことがわかった。In order to develop global citizenship, both the citizenship which is faced with global issues and the one which tackles our local issues is required. However, the problem is that both of them are very much separated from each other. In order to solve this problem, the authors suppose that learning conceptual-research as a communication tool will contribute to linking those two citizenship. For this reason, we develop lessons for reconstructing values by making value judgments about the concept. In the unit of local authority, we gave lessons about regional revitalization with the use of a virtual village. The students were asked to do a role-playing activity in which they had to discuss and reconcile different values. Judging from their worksheets, we found out that many of the students were able to realize concepts which constitute the local authority

Monitoring immune modulation by nutrition in the general population: identifying and substantiating effects on human health

Optimal functioning of the immune system is crucial to human health, and nutrition is one of the major exogenous factors modulating different aspects of immune function. Currently, no single marker is available to predict the effect of a dietary intervention on different aspects of immune function. To provide further guidance on the assessment and interpretation of the modulation of immune functions due to nutrition in the general population, International Life Sciences Institute Europe commissioned a group of experts from academia, government and the food industry to prepare a guidance document. A draft of this paper was refined at a workshop involving additional experts. First, the expert group defined criteria to evaluate the usefulness of immune function markers. Over seventy-five markers were scored within the context of three distinct immune system functions: defence against pathogens; avoidance or mitigation of allergy; control of low-grade (metabolic) inflammation. The most useful markers were subsequently classified depending on whether they by themselves signify clinical relevance and/or involvement of immune function. Next, five theoretical scenarios were drafted describing potential changes in the values of markers compared with a relevant reference range. Finally, all elements were combined, providing a framework to aid the design and interpretation of studies assessing the effects of nutrition on immune function. This stepwise approach offers a clear rationale for selecting markers for future trials and provides a framework for the interpretation of outcomes. A similar stepwise approach may also be useful to rationalise the selection and interpretation of markers for other physiological processes critical to the maintenance of health and well-bein

Arabidopsis RPT2a, 19S Proteasome Subunit, Regulates Gene Silencing via DNA Methylation

The ubiquitin/proteasome pathway plays a crucial role in many biological processes. Here we report a novel role for the Arabidopsis 19S proteasome subunit RPT2a in regulating gene activity at the transcriptional level via DNA methylation. Knockout mutation of the RPT2a gene did not alter global protein levels; however, the transcriptional activities of reporter transgenes were severely reduced compared to those in the wild type. This transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) was observed for transgenes under control of either the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter or the cold-inducible RD29A promoter. Bisulfite sequencing analysis revealed that both the transgene and endogenous RD29A promoter regions were hypermethylated at CG and non-CG contexts in the rpt2a mutant. Moreover, the TGS of transgenes driven by the CaMV 35S promoters was released by treatment with the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine, but not by application of the inhibitor of histone deacetylase Trichostatin A. Genetic crosses with the DNA methyltransferase met1 single or drm1drm2cmt3 triple mutants also resulted in a release of CaMV 35S transgene TGS in the rpt2a mutant background. Increased methylation was also found at transposon sequences, suggesting that the 19S proteasome containing AtRPT2a negatively regulates TGS at transgenes and at specific endogenous genes through DNA methylation

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

The development of lessons for civics to make students's thought deepen through the visualization of the criteria : The lesson innovation to focus on the exchanging between students making use of Toulmin charts and ICT

知識偏重がいわれる今日の社会科教育において，社会の見方・考え方を深めていくこと，すなわち，社会科における思考の深まりは重要である。本研究においては，生徒がトゥールミン図を作成し，ICTを用いて課題に対する意見を説明をする授業を実施し，生徒の思考の深まりを見取ることができるかどうかを明らかにすることを目的とした。その結果，検証授業の成果物からは，取り扱う授業内容によって大きなちがいがあったものの，単純な事実を基準に結びつけるだけでなく，複数の事実を総合的に考察した基準が見られた。これらのことから，トゥールミン図を利用した授業が，特に身近で考えやすい資料をもとに意思決定を求める授業や，そうでない場合でも継続して利用することで，より思考を深めることができることを明らかにした。In the pedagogy of social studies focused much on knowledge nowadays, it is important to deepen students' thought about their ways of social thinking. This research aimed to reveal if we could grasp how much students deepen their thoughts through the lessons that students make Toulmin charts and express their opinions about a topic of the lesson using ICT. As a result, students' thoughts based on some facts as well as a single fact were shown from their answers on the handout used in the research lesson, although the differences were found out because of the contents of the lessons. From this consequence, Toulmin charts offered to make students' thought deepen, especially in the lesson of determination of students' intents with some data easy to use and if not, by keeping using the Toulmin charts