Cultural Lag, Anomie, and Single Women in Japan

This study uses Japan as a case study and seeks to contribute to a better understanding and theorizing of the phenomenon of marriage decline in the industrial world. Guided by a theoretical framework that synthesizes the life course perspective, William Ogburn's hypothesis of cultural lag, and Emile Durkheim's concepts of anomie and egoism, this study hypothesizes cohort differences in causes of increased singlehood. Employing mixed methods, four hypotheses that predict cohort differences in marriage age norms and conceptions of gender roles are tested by original, in-depth interview research with forty never-married and married women in Japan, and by statistical analysis of the 2005 Japanese General Social Survey (n = 1,167). The research findings support three of the four hypotheses and uncover other important factors such as cohort differences in views of parents' and peer marriages. Reasons for non-marriage differ by cohort, and important causal factors include changes in employment opportunities; lag, adaptation, and erosion of gender culture; and presence of other variables that impede marriage. This study contributes by empowering women, informing better social policies with the potential to enhance the lives of individuals in Japan, and constructing a more applicable theory of non-marriage

Compliments and compliment responses in Japanese conversation

This thesis investigates the acts of giving and receiving compliments in Japanese conversational context. Adopting a conversation analytic methodology, it explicates how conversational participants give and receive compliments in the course of conversation. By employing the notion of initial and non-initial compliments, it reveals how compliment sequences are systematically and collaboratively organised by participants. It also proposes the distinction between substantial and non-substantial target objects of compliments, as a useful device to investigate the development of compliment sequences. While participants proffer initial compliments more often on non-substantial objects, initial compliments on substantial objects are more likely to be followed by subsequent compliments. The design of compliments and compliment responses are also examined. It is found that compliment givers tend to give compliments in a less direct manner. Instead of explicitly expressing their positive evaluation of the referent, participants make use of various devices to reduce the degree of imposition. The design of compliments may reflect the compliment giver's concern for the recipient, in particular, concern for the recipients' personal territory. The analysis of how participants compliment superiors, how they make use of a third party as a mediator, and how laughter appear in compliments all suggest the possibility that the act of giving compliments involves a certain degree of negative politeness. In terms of the design of compliment responses, recipients of compliments make use of various devices to deal with the dilemma caused by conflicting pressures to avoid disagreement, as well as to avoid self-praise. Instead of accepting and rejecting compliments in a direct manner, compliment recipients tend not to display their stance, while showing their concern for compliment givers. These observations indicate that the acts of giving and receiving compliments are deeply involved with interpersonal aspects

Sensitivity improvement of dual-comb spectroscopy using mode-filtering technique

In this study, we demonstrated an improvement in the detection sensitivity of dual-comb spectroscopy using the repetition rate multiplication of optical frequency combs. We compared the dual-comb signals in three dual-comb setups consisting of combinations of two combs with and without mode-filtering, and investigated how the repetition rate influences the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of dual-comb measurements. The dual-comb setups using high-repetition-rate combs enabled the absorption lines of HCN gas to be measured with a high SNR in a short averaging time, and real-time spectral data acquisition was realized using a low-sensitivity and low-resolution RF spectrum analyzer

FON2 SPARE1 Redundantly Regulates Floral Meristem Maintenance with FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER2 in Rice

CLAVATA signaling restricts stem cell identity in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) in Arabidopsis thaliana. In rice (Oryza sativa), FLORAL ORGAN NUMBER2 (FON2), closely related to CLV3, is involved as a signaling molecule in a similar pathway to negatively regulate stem cell proliferation in the floral meristem (FM). Here we show that the FON2 SPARE1 (FOS1) gene encoding a CLE protein functions along with FON2 in maintenance of the FM. In addition, FOS1 appears to be involved in maintenance of the SAM in the vegetative phase, because constitutive expression of FOS1 caused termination of the vegetative SAM. Genetic analysis revealed that FOS1 does not need FON1, the putative receptor of FON2, for its action, suggesting that FOS1 and FON2 may function in meristem maintenance as signaling molecules in independent pathways. Initially, we identified FOS1 as a suppressor that originates from O. sativa indica and suppresses the fon2 mutation in O. sativa japonica. FOS1 function in japonica appears to be compromised by a functional nucleotide polymorphism (FNP) at the putative processing site of the signal peptide. Sequence comparison of FOS1 in about 150 domesticated rice and wild rice species indicates that this FNP is present only in japonica, suggesting that redundant regulation by FOS1 and FON2 is commonplace in species in the Oryza genus. Distribution of the FNP also suggests that this mutation may have occurred during the divergence of japonica from its wild ancestor. Stem cell maintenance may be regulated by at least three negative pathways in rice, and each pathway may contribute differently to this regulation depending on the type of the meristem. This situation contrasts with that in Arabidopsis, where CLV signaling is the major single pathway in all meristems

Synthesis, X-ray Crystal Structures, and Solid-state Fluorescence Properties of Novel 5,5-Dialkyl-9-dibutylamino-5H-benzo[b]naphtho[1,2-d]furan-6-one and 3,3-Dialkyl-9-dibutylamino-3H-benzo[kl]xanthen-2-one

After publication use "Published in European Journal of Organic Chemistry, Issue 18, 2008, pp. 3085-3094, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Extracting and Mathematical Identifying Form of Stationary Noise in X-ray Images

Image noise may prevent proper diagnostic X-ray imaging. This study is aimed at developing new noise rejection methods using a mathematical model that describes the form of X-ray image noise. Stationary noise is one type of noise found in X-ray images. Stationary noise is nonstochastic and appears independent of the radiographic factors. In this paper, we verify methods for identifying stationary noise using a polynomial regression model, and extracting such noise from X-ray images obtained from a CR system. The results of this study demonstrate that stationary noise can be extracted with high precision using a particular low-pass filter frequency. We found that a regression model for greater than second-degree polynomials can be applied for roughly identifying stationary noise. However, the fitting accuracy of the regression curve is not significantly improved in terms of the amount of multiplication required when increasing the degree of the polynomial regression model

Dual-comb spectroscopy for rapid characterization of complex optical properties of solids

We demonstrate rapid characterization of complex optical properties of solids via dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) in the near-infrared region. The fine spectral structures in the complex refractive index of an Er:YAG are successfully deduced using the developed system and Fourier analysis. Moreover, simultaneous determination of the refractive index and the thickness is demonstrated for a silicon semiconductor wafer through the use of multireflected echo signals. The results indicate the potential of DCS as a powerful measurement tool for the rapid and full characterization of solid materials

Doppler-free dual-comb spectroscopy of Rb using optical-optical double resonance technique

We present a Doppler-free high-resolution dual-comb spectroscopy technique in which a dual-comb system is employed to perform optical-optical double-resonance (OODR) spectroscopy. In our experimental study, Doppler-free high-resolution and high-frequency-accuracy broadband measurements were realized using the proposed OODR dual-comb spectroscopic technique, which does not require high-power-per-mode frequency combs. We observed fully resolved hyperfine spectra of 5P3/2 - 4D5/2, 4D3/2 transitions of Rb at 1530 nm and precisely determined the absolute frequencies of the transitions, with an uncertainty of less than 1 MHz. The variations of the OODR spectral line shapes due to power broadening and alignment and the effects of polarization on the dual-comb OODR spectra were also analyzed. This study provides a widely applicable technique for Doppler-free dual-comb spectroscopy of various gaseous species

High-dose Dexamethasone Therapy as the Initial Treatment for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Protocol for a Multicenter, Open-label, Single Arm Trial

Standard therapy for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has not been established. We are conducting a multicenter, prospective trial to determine the efficacy and safety of short-term, high-dose dexamethasone therapy in ITP patients aged 18-80 years with platelet counts of <20, 000 /μL, or with <50, 000/ μL and bleeding symptoms. The primary endpoints of this trial are the proportion of responses (complete plus partial response) on day 180 (day 46+180) after the completion of the 46-day high-dose dexamethasone therapy. The results of this investigation of the effectiveness and safety of this regimen will be essential for the establishment of standard therapy for ITP