Contexts for Ethnic Identity of Japanese Canadians

In this paper I reviewed the literature in order to gain a broad understanding of the contexts for ethnic identity of Japanese Canadians guided by the premise that ethnic identity is a situational as well as a primordial phenomenon. Two main areas were reviewed - the pattern of distribution of resources in Canadian society and the particular situation in which Japanese Canadians are placed. In the distribution of material resources, individual meritocracy for mass and social closure for elites exist. In the distribution of non-material resources, cultural pluralism and ethnic status ranking exist. Overall, there exists limited but still prevailing egalitarianism in Canadian society. Japanese Canadians share many experiences with the rest of the "other" ethnic groups. There are, however, some characteristics and experiences particular to Japanese Canadians. The war-time exclusion especially affected them psychologically and speeded up assimilation of the second and subsequent generations. The mainly post-WWII third generation Japanese Canadians are thus culturally assimilated, but they are not necessarily without ethnic consciousness. It is suggested that these contexts for Japanese Canadians need to be considered in understanding the formation of their ethnic identity

子宮内膜症におけるIL-4による3β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (HSD3B2) 発現の制御についての検討

学位の種別:課程博士University of Tokyo(東京大学

Preference of middle-aged Japanese regarding place to receive end-of-life care: a case study of parents of nursing students

Objectives: This study was performed to assess the preference of middle-aged Japanese regarding end-of-life care. 　Methods: A structured, self-administered questionnaire survey regarding preference of place to receive end-of-life care was performed among parents of nursing school students by postal mail. 　Results: A total of 64 （61.5%） participants returned the questionnaire. Some of the major concerns regarding home-based end-of-life care were being a burden on their family and whether their family would accept care at home at the end of their life. The majority of the participants wanted more information regarding financial support system and availability of medical and care institutions and care support services to receive home-based end-of-life care, regardless of the extent of their pre-existing knowledge regarding end-of-life care, and participants with little or no prior knowledge of the end-of-life care were less likely to appreciate the importance of family support system. 　Conclusions: These results suggest that ignorance about end-of-life care produces a narrower range of choices and limits decision making regarding such care, even though most participants would prefer to receive end-of-life care at home

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS

Feasibility of methotrexate discontinuation following tocilizumab and methotrexate combination therapy in patients with long-standing and advanced rheumatoid arthritis: a 3-year observational cohort study

Objectives: Methotrexate (MTX) is associated with extensive side effects, including myelosuppression, interstitial pneumonia, and infection. It is, therefore, critical to establish whether its administration is required after achieving remission with tocilizumab (TCZ) and MTX combination therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, the aim of this multicenter, observational, cohort study was to evaluate the feasibility of MTX discontinuation for the safety of these patients. Methods: Patients with RA were administered TCZ, with or without MTX, for 3 years; those who received TCZ+MTX combination therapy were selected. After remission was achieved, MTX was discontinued without flare development in one group (discontinued [DISC] group, n = 33) and continued without flare development in another group (maintain [MAIN] group, n = 37). The clinical efficacy of TCZ+MTX therapy, patient background characteristics, and adverse events were compared between groups. Results: The disease activity score in 28 joints-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) at 3, 6, and 9 months was significantly lower in the DISC group (P < .05, P < .01, and P < .01, respectively). Further, the DAS28-ESR remission rate at 6 and 9 months and Boolean remission rate at 6 months were significantly higher in the DISC group (P < .01 for all). Disease duration was significantly longer in the DISC group (P < .05). Furthermore, the number of patients with stage 4 RA was significantly higher in the DISC group (P < .01). Conclusions: Once remission was achieved, MTX was discontinued in patients who responded favorably to TCZ+MTX therapy, despite the prolonged disease duration and stage progression

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP survey: Overview and survey design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey