アメリカにおけるバリュールーブリックの活用動向

本稿では,アメリカにおけるバリュールーブリックの活用動向について,実践事例の紹介を通じて明らかにすることを目的としている。検討の結果,次の5点が明らかとなった。第1に,評価規準を作成する際に,客観的な表現を使用したということである。第2に,評価の観点で示された能力を身につけていない評価基準としてレベル0を設定したことである。第3に,学士課程教育段階の学生に通常想定される能力を超えるような評価規準を設定しないということである。第4に,個々の授業のねらい等に応じて評価の観点の一部を見直したということである。そして第5に,これらの4点を踏まえ,授業で使用する学習教材それぞれについて,事前に評価の観点を細かく設定することで,書き換えたバリュールーブリックを活用する意義がより明確になるということである。The purpose of this investigation is to introduce the trend of the practical use of Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) rubric in the United States of America, quoting the case using the Quantitative Literacy (QL) VALUE rubric at University of Arkansas, Central Washington University, and Hollins University. In this research, the author introduces the outline of QL VALUE rubric, the case using the QL VALUE rubric, actual condition how the QL VALUE rubric was rewritten to QL Assessment Rubric (QLAR), and the circumstances how the QLAR was practically used. The obtained results are as follows;1. In making evaluation criterion, it was important to use the objective terms.2. Achievement level 0 as evaluation standard was set to show the inability related to the standpoint of evaluation.3. Achievement level 4 was removed. Level 4 as evaluation standard exceeded the ability of usual undergraduate students.4. Some of the standpoints of evaluation were revised in accordance with the goal of each classes, courses, and institutions.5. When setting the standpoint of evaluation in detail for each instructional material, based on the above 4 points, it became clear to use QLAR practically

アメリカにおけるバリュールーブリックの動向

本稿では,アメリカにおけるバリュールーブリックの動向を紹介することを目的としている。目的の解明にあたり,AAC&Uのウェブサイトとバリュープロジェクトの関係スタッフの論考等を引用しながら,バリュールーブリック開発の背景,バリュープロジェクトとバリュールーブリックの概要を取り上げた。その結果,次の3点が明らかとなった。第1に,CLAやMAPPのような標準化されたテストでは学生の多面的な学習成果の評価が困難であることを受け,バリュールーブリックが開発された。第2に,バリュープロジェクトでは,多くの高等教育機関からの協力を得て,バリュールーブリックの開発が進められた。また,同プロジェクトは,学生の学習成果を評価する際に,eポートフォリオの活用を推奨している。第3に,バリュールーブリックは15種類作成されており,活用に際しては個々の機関・プログラム・授業の文脈に即して表現を書き換えることが求められている

Effects of nicotianamine on iron in the small intestine

Iron is an essential metal for all living organisms that is absorbed in the intestinal cells as a heme-chelated or free form. It is unclear how important plant-derived chelators, such as nicotianamine (NA), an organic small molecule that is ubiquitous in crops, vegetables, and various other foods, contribute to iron bioavailability in mammals. We performed electrophysiological assays with Xenopus laevis oocytes and radioactive tracer experiments with Caco-2 cells. The findings revealed that the proton-coupled amino acid transporter SLC36A1 (PAT1) transports iron in the form of NA-Fe (II) complex in vitro. Decreased expression of hPAT1 by RNA interference in Caco-2 cells reduced the uptake of NA-59Fe (II) complex. The uptake of inorganic 59Fe (II) was relatively unaffected. These results imply that PAT1 transports iron as a NA-Fe (II) complex. The rate of 59Fe absorption in the spleen, liver, and kidney was higher when mice were orally administered NA-59Fe (II) compared with free 59Fe (II). The profile of site-specific PAT1 expression in the mouse intestine coincided with those of NA and iron contents, which were the highest in the proximal jejunum. Orally administered NA-59Fe (II) complex in mice was detected in the proximal jejunum by thin layer chromatography. In contrast, much less 59Fe (or NA) was detected in the duodenum, where the divalent metal transporter SLC11A2 (DMT1) absorbs free Fe (II). The collective results revealed the role of PAT1 in NA-Fe (II) absorption in the intestine and potential implication of NA in iron uptake in mammals

Age-dependent plasticity in the superior temporal sulcus in deaf humans: a functional MRI study

BACKGROUND: Sign-language comprehension activates the auditory cortex in deaf subjects. It is not known whether this functional plasticity in the temporal cortex is age dependent. We conducted functional magnetic-resonance imaging in six deaf signers who lost their hearing before the age of 2 years, five deaf signers who were >5 years of age at the time of hearing loss and six signers with normal hearing. The task was sentence comprehension in Japanese sign language. RESULTS: The sign-comprehension tasks activated the planum temporale of both early- and late-deaf subjects, but not that of hearing signers. In early-deaf subjects, the middle superior temporal sulcus was more prominently activated than in late-deaf subjects. CONCLUSIONS: As the middle superior temporal sulcus is known to respond selectively to human voices, our findings suggest that this subregion of the auditory-association cortex, when deprived of its proper input, might make a functional shift from human voice processing to visual processing in an age-dependent manner

Favorable Outcome of Repeated Salvage Surgeries for Rare Metastasis to the Ligamentum Teres Hepatis and the Upper Abdominal Wall in a Stage IV Gastric Cancer Patient

Gastric cancer with peritoneal metastases is typically a devastating diagnosis. Ligamentum teres hepatis (LTH) metastasis is an extremely rare presentation with only four known cases. Herein, we report salvage surgery of successive metastases to the abdominal wall and LTH in a patient originally presenting with advanced gastric cancer with peritoneal metastasis, leading to long-term survival. A 72-year-old man with advanced gastric cancer underwent curative-intent distal gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection for gastric outlet obstruction. During this procedure, three small peritoneal metastases were detected in the lesser omentum, the small mesentery, and the mesocolon; however, intraoperative abdominal lavage cytology was negative. We added cytoreductive surgery for peritoneal metastasis. The pathological diagnosis of the gastric cancer was tubular adenocarcinoma with pT4aN1pM1(PER/P1b)CY0 stage IV (Japanese classification of gastric carcinoma/JCGC 15th), or T4N1M1b stage IV (UICC 7th). Post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 (TS-1)+cisplatin (CDDP) was administered for 8 months followed by S-1 monotherapy for 4 months. At 28 months after the initial surgery, a follow-up computed tomography (CT) detected a small mass beneath the upper abdominal wall. The ass showed mild avidity on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission (FDG-PET) CT. Salvage resection was performed for diagnosis and treatment, and pathological findings were consistent with primary gastric cancer metastasis. At 49 months after the initial gastrectomy, a new lesion was detected in the LTH with a similar level of avidity on FDG-PET CT as the abdominal wall metastatic lesion. We performed a second salvage surgery for the LTH tumor, which also showed pathology of gastric cancer metastasis. There has been no recurrence up to 1 year after the LTH surgery. With multidisciplinary treatment the patient has survived almost 5 years after the initial gastrectomy. Curative-intent gastrectomy with cytoreductive surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced gastric cancer with localized peritoneal metastasis might have had a survival benefit in our patient. Successive salvage surgeries for oligometastatic lesions in the abdominal wall and the LTH also yielded favorable outcomes

Development of MONSAKUN Touch and Practical Use in Class: Realization of Lesson of Posing of Arithmetical Word Problems

和若しくは差で解ける算数文章問題を対象とした単文統合型の作問学習支援システム“モンサクン”は数年に渡り複数の小学校の授業で利用されている．しかしながら，これらの授業では既に対象領域の学習を終えている2年生以上を対象としていたため，付加的な学習としての位置づけになっていた．本研究では，対象領域を学習中である1年生を対象に，単文統合型の作問の実施を目指した．このためにはシステムと授業の融合が必要となるため，(1) システムの通常教室での利用，(2) 作問状況のリアルタイムでの把握，(3) 作問法の教授，が解決すべき課題となった．本論文ではこれらの課題を解決するために行った，(I) モンサクンのタブレット化，(II) 作問状況モニタリングと集計・可視化機能の実現，(III) 作問法の教授法の考案，を述べる．またシステムを用いた9時限に渡る実践を行い，その分析結果から，システムが十分に利用可能であったこと，学習者の問題解決能力や作問能力の向上が見られたことが確認できたので，これを報告する

Evaluation of Problem Structure Comprehension as Effect of Learning by Sentence Integration Problem-Posing

筆者らは，単文統合型の作問学習支援システムを開発し，このシステムを利用した算数授業を実践的に行っている．本研究では，このシステムを用いた作問学習の効果として期待される，算数の文章題の構造的把握の度合いの測定を，作問学習を行ったグループとそれ以外，及び作問能力が高いグループとそれ以外，の比較において行ったので報告する．算数の文章題を構造的に把握していれば，問題に関する部分的な情報から残りの情報を予測できるであろうと仮定し，算数の文章題に関するプライミングテストを作成・実施した．結果として，作問学習を行ったグループが行わなかったグループより高いスコアを示し，また，作問に関して高い能力を示している場合においても，作問学習の効果が高かったことが示された

Luminosity dependence of the electron temperature in the bright hard state of the black hole candidate GX 339--4

We have analyzed 200 Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the black hole candidate GX 339--4, all from the bright hard state periods between 1996 and 2005. Purpose of our study is to investigate the radiation mechanisms in the hard state of GX 339--4. The broadband 3--200 keV spectra were successfully modeled by a simple analytic model, power--law with an exponential cut-off modified with a smeared edge. The obtained energy cut-off ($E_{\rm{cut}}$) was distributed over 50--200 keV, and the photon index over 1.4--1.7. We found a clear anti-correlation ($E_{\rm{cut}} \propto L^{-0.70\pm0.06}$) between the X-ray luminosity ($L$) in 2--200 keV and $E_{\rm{cut}}$, when $L$ is larger than $7 \times 10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$ (assuming a distance of 8 kpc), while $E_{\rm{cut}}$ is roughly constant at around 200 keV when $L$ is smaller than $7 \times 10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$. This anti-correlation remained unchanged by adopting a more physical thermal Comptonization model, which resulted in the anti-correlation that can be expressed as $kT_{\rm{e}} \propto L^{-0.24\pm0.06}$. These anti-correlations can be quantitatively explained by a picture in which the energy-flow rate from protons to electrons balances with the inverse Compton cooling.Comment: Accepted by PASJ. 15 pages, 8 figure

CD14 upregulation as a distinct feature of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after pancreatoduodenectomy

AIM: To investigate the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). METHODS: A cohort of 82 patients who underwent PD at Okayama University Hospital between 2003 and 2009 was enrolled and the clinicopathological features were compared between patients with and without NAFLD after PD. Computed tomography (CT) images were evaluated every 6 mo after PD for follow-up. Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed on CT when hepatic attenuation values were 40 Hounsfield units. Liver biopsy was performed for 4 of 30 patients with NAFLD after PD who consented to undergo biopsies. To compare NAFLD after PD with NAFLD associated with metabolic syndrome, liver samples were obtained from 10 patients with NAFLD associated with metabolic syndrome [fatty liver, n = 5; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), n = 5] by percutaneous ultrasonography-guided liver biopsy. Double-fluorescence immunohistochemistry was applied to examine CD14 expression as a marker of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-sensitized macrophage cells (Kupffer cells) in liver biopsy specimens. RESULTS: The incidence of postoperative NAFLD was 36.6% (30/82). Univariate analysis identified cancer of the pancreatic head, sex, diameter of the main pancreatic duct, and dissection of the nerve plexus as factors associated with the development of NAFLD after PD. Those patients who developed NAFLD after PD demonstrated significantly decreased levels of serum albumin, total protein, cholesterol and triglycerides compared to patients without NAFLD after PD, but no glucose intolerance or insulin resistance. Liver biopsy was performed in four patients with NAFLD after PD. All four patients showed moderate-to-severe steatosis and NASH was diagnosed in two. Numbers of cells positive for CD68 (a marker of Kupffer cells) and CD14 (a marker of LPS-sensitized Kupffer cells) were counted in all biopsy specimens. The number of CD68+ cells in specimens of NAFLD after PD was significantly increased from that in specimens of NAFLD associated with metabolic syndrome specimens, which indicated the presence of significantly more Kupffer cells in NAFLD after PD than in NAFLD associated with metabolic syndrome. Similarly, more CD14+ cells, namely, LPS-sensitized Kupffer cells, were observed in NAFLD after PD than in NAFLD associated with metabolic syndrome. Regarding NASH, more CD68+ cells and CD14+ cells were observed in NASH after PD specimens than in NASH associated with metabolic syndrome. This showed that more Kupffer cells and more LPS-sensitized Kupffer cells were present in NASH after PD than in NASH associated with metabolic syndrome. These observations suggest that after PD, Kupffer cells and LPS-sensitized Kupffer cells were significantly upregulated, not only in NASH, but also in simple fatty liver. CONCLUSION: NAFLD after PD is characterized by both malnutrition and the up-regulation of CD14 on Kupffer cells. Gut-derived endotoxin appears central to the development of NAFLD after PD