Social Mentality in Contemporary Japan : Quantitative Social Consciousness Studies

Osaka University Humanities and Social Sciences Series『現代日本の「社会の心」－計量社会意識論』の英語

コロナ カ ハ シャカイ イシキ ヲ カエタカ ２０２０ネン ３ガツ チョウサ ト ２０２１ネン ３ガツ チョウサ ノ ヒカク ブンセキ

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to enforcing various restrictions in the daily lives of Japanese people. The catastrophe is ongoing with no foreseen end. The negative infl uence of the pandemic is signifi cant in social institutions. Therefore, many believe that it has also transformed people’s phycological functioning. This paper provides survey-based evidence to evaluate how the COVID-19 disease has transformed the state of social consciousness. I examined the twelve months from the early stage of the outbreak to the continuation period in Japan. Relying on comparative nationwide time series web surveys conducted in March 2020 and March 2021, I examined the temporal change in various aspects of attitudes; psychological distress (K6 scale), life satisfaction, status identification, subjective health, trustfulness, anxiety about the future, and social disparity awareness. The analyses focus on (1) how signifi cant the size of the attitude change during the continuation of the pandemic is, and (2) how the disease transforms the variance of attitudes regarding social attribution, such as gender, age, and education. For the first question, preceding studies demonstrate that the temporal diff erences in attitudes are not as large as predicted by researchers, and the direction of change is not consistently negative. I confirm that such rumbling tendencies are also observed throughout the period I examined. For the second question, I apply a general linear model focusing on the temporal change of the mean variance of each attitude scale among social segments constructed with gender, age, and education. Occupation, job position, household income, marital status, family size, and residential area are introduced to the model as control variables. The results for the eight attitude scales show that the interaction eff ects of the survey period and segments, which I considered, are not statistically significant. This is because the size of the temporal change is not large enough to modify the order of mean diff erences among social segments. I conclude that the COVID-19 disease does not consistently show a negative influence on people’s subjectivity in Japan during the continuation period, and that it has not transformed the societal composition of people’s mentality. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly affects people’s lifestyle. A notable transformation of psychological functioning must be observed, especially when we focus on those suffering from adverse circumstances. However, we should be mindful not to overestimate the transformation of social consciousness when we provide diagnostics for the COVID-19 disease concerning society as a whole

チホウ ニ オケル ジンコウ シャカイゲン ノ セイタイケイ シマネケン ノ コンナン

地方創生がいわれる中、島根県は人口減少に「島根創生」を掲げて取り組んでいる。本稿ではまず、地域の課題を扱う研究のあり方として、客観的で距離を置いた視座から社会全体の構図を捉える「生態系」観察アプローチを提案する。続いて、これを用いて島根県が直面している人口社会減の構造を整理し、人口社会減に関与するステイクホルダーの実践を検討し、解決の困難な課題状況を明らかにする。最後に、地方県島根における人口社会減の構図を「バスタブモデル」として提示する。Rural area in recent Japan is generally facing difficulties arise from population decline. I propose an ‘ecosystem’ observation approach as a way of conducting studies on each particular regional issue. It enables researchers to maintain a broad and objective perspective. In this study, I focus on the case of Shimane Prefecture, which is tackling population decline under the banner of ‘Shimane Creation.’ I examine the practices of the stakeholders involved in the outflow of younger population, and I clarify the complexed situations that are difficult to reach a simple solution. Finally, I present a ’bathtub model’ in which the structure of population decline in Shimane Prefecture is illustrated.特集：人口減少への共創的アプローチ論文Research Articl

A variant Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1) positive chronic myelocytic leukemia.

A rare case of variant Philadelphia (Ph1) chromosome positive [46, XX, t (9; 22) (q34; q11), inv (9) (9q22; 22q13)] chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) was described. The patient, 73 years old female, was hospitalized to our hospital because of leukocytosis. Hematological findings corresponded to those of CMLs. However, this case lacked hepatosplenomegaly. Southern blot analysis using a 3 breakpoint cluster region (bcr) probe revealed a bcr rearrangement. The patient has been in the chronic phase for sixteen months without treatment. Clinical and chromosomal changes are under observation in order to get accumulate data for a pathophysiological analysis of variant Ph1 positive CMLs.</p

Contribution of Caspase(s) to the Cell Cycle Regulation at Mitotic Phase

Caspases have been suggested to contribute to not only apoptosis regulation but also non-apoptotic cellular phenomena. Recently, we have reported the involvement of caspase-7 to the cell cycle progression at mitotic phase by knockdown of caspase-7 using small interfering RNAs and short hairpin RNA. Here we showed that chemically synthesized broad-spectrum caspase inhibitors, which have been used to suppress apoptosis, prevented the cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, and that the subtype-specific peptide-based caspase inhibitor for caspase-3 and -7, but not for caspase-9, inhibited cell proliferation. It was also indicated that the BIR2 domain of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein, functioning as an inhibitor for caspase-3 and -7, but not the BIR3 domain which plays as a caspase-9 inhibitor, induced cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, flow cytometry revealed that the cells treated with caspase inhibitors arrested at G2/M phase. By using HeLa.S-Fucci (fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicator) cells, the prevention of the cell proliferation by caspase inhibitors induced cell cycle arrest at mitotic phase accompanying the accumulation of the substrates for APC/C, suggesting the impairment of the APC/C activity at the transition from M to G1 phases. These results indicate that caspase(s) contribute to the cell cycle regulation at mitotic phase

Extraabdominal fibromatosis in retroperitoneal space

Abstract Background Fibromatosis or desmoid tumor covers a broad spectrum of benign fibrous tissue proliferations. It is characterized by infiltrative growth and a tendency towards recurrence; however, unlike sarcoma, it never metastasizes. Case presentation We report on a case of extraabdominal fibromatosis originating from the retroperitoneal space in a 43-year-old woman. Seven years earlier she had undergone ureterolysis and ureteroureterostomy for ureteral obstruction. Computed tomography revealed a tumor between the iliocostalis and the psoas muscle. Histopathological evaluation revealed uniform proliferation of spindle cells, with a moderate amount of collagen fibers, suggesting extraabdominal fibromatosis (desmoid tumor). The tumor was surgically resected, and since then, the patient has remained asymptomatic without any restrictions of daily living activities and without any signs of tumor recurrence during the two-year follow-up. Conclusions Complete resection is the treatment of choice. Adjuvant therapy using non steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, tamoxifen, interferon, anti-neoplastic agents, and radiotherapy, either alone or in combination finds application for unresectable or recurrent cases.</p