How did Japanese teachers deal with COVID-19 in their lessons?: The case studies of two teachers

This article illustrates how two Japanese teachers design and implement a unit related to COVID-19 for promoting teaching controversial issues in Japan. We discovered the following two implications for achieving the aim: (a) improving teachers’ abilities of explaining how the issues are necessary and important in school education and (b) enhancing the ability of gatekeeping of teachers. Particularly, the ability of curriculum management is significant for teaching controversial issues.本研究は，JSPS科研費19K14239の助成，および令和二年度教育学部共同研究プロジェクト「ポストコロナの学校教育」の提起する学術知共創の可能性と課題」の支援を受けたものである

Study of the ηπo\eta\pi^o system in the mass range up to 1200 MeV

The reaction $\pi^-p \to \eta\pi^o n$ has been studied with GAMS-2000 spectrometer in the secondary 38 GeV/c $\pi^-$-beam of the IHEP U-70 accelerator. Partial wave analysis of the reaction has been performed in the $\eta\pi^o$ mass range up to 1200 MeV. The $a_0(980)$-meson is seen as a sharp peak in S-wave. The $t$-dependence of $a_0(980)$ production cross section has been studied. Dominant production of the $a_0(980)$ at a small transfer momentum $t$ confirms the hypothesis of Achasov and Shestakov about significant contribution of the $\rho_2$ exchange ($I^GJ^{PC}=1^+2^{--}$) in the mechanism of $a_0(980)$ meson production in $t$-channel of the reaction.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, talk given at HADRON'9

Epidemiological Survey of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus in Ticks in Nagasaki, Japan

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging disease endemic in East Asia. Transmitted to other organisms by infected ticks, the SFTS virus (SFTSV) and is endemic to Nagasaki in western Japan. However, epidemiological information regarding SFTSV in Nagasaki ticks has not been available to date. In this study, we began by examining the sensitivities of SFTSV gene detection by real-time RT-PCR and virus isolation in cultured cells and mice. These methods could detect SFTSV in the samples containing more than 4 × 10° ffu. Next, we attempted to isolate SFTSV and to detect viral gene in 2,222 nymph and adult ticks collected from May to August 2013 among seven regions of Nagasaki. However, neither virus isolation nor viral gene detection were confirmed in the tick pools. SFTSV positivity rates are considered to be very low in ticks, and viral loads are also very limited. Further investigations increasing the number of ticks and including larval samples as well as improved detection methods, may be required to find SFTSV-positive ticks in this region

Australia: A Continent Without Native Powdery Mildews? The First Comprehensive Catalog Indicates Recent Introductions and Multiple Host Range Expansion Events, and Leads to the Re-discovery of Salmonomyces as a New Lineage of the Erysiphales

In contrast to Eurasia and North America, powdery mildews (Ascomycota, Erysiphales) are understudied in Australia. There are over 900 species known globally, with fewer than currently 60 recorded from Australia. Some of the Australian records are doubtful as the identifications were presumptive, being based on host plant-pathogen lists from overseas. The goal of this study was to provide the first comprehensive catalog of all powdery mildew species present in Australia. The project resulted in (i) an up-to-date list of all the taxa that have been identified in Australia based on published DNA barcode sequences prior to this study; (ii) the precise identification of 117 specimens freshly collected from across the country; and (iii) the precise identification of 30 herbarium specimens collected between 1975 and 2013. This study confirmed 42 species representing 10 genera, including two genera and 13 species recorded for the first time in Australia. In Eurasia and North America, the number of powdery mildew species is much higher. Phylogenetic analyses of powdery mildews collected from Acalypha spp. resulted in the transfer of Erysiphe acalyphae to Salmonomyces, a resurrected genus. Salmonomyces acalyphae comb. nov. represents a newly discovered lineage of the Erysiphales. Another taxonomic change is the transfer of Oidium ixodiae to Golovinomyces. Powdery mildew infections have been confirmed on 13 native Australian plant species in the genera Acacia, Acalypha, Cephalotus, Convolvulus, Eucalyptus, Hardenbergia, Ixodia, Jagera, Senecio, and Trema. Most of the causal agents were polyphagous species that infect many other host plants both overseas and in Australia. All powdery mildews infecting native plants in Australia were phylogenetically closely related to species known overseas. The data indicate that Australia is a continent without native powdery mildews, and most, if not all, species have been introduced since the European colonization of the continent

Leukotriene biosynthesis inhibition ameliorates acute lung injury following hemorrhagic shock in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hemorrhagic shock followed by resuscitation is conceived as an insult frequently induces a systemic inflammatory response syndrome and oxidative stress that results in multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome including acute lung injury. MK-886 is a leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitor exerts an anti inflammatory and antioxidant activity.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>The objective of present study was to assess the possible protective effect of MK-886 against hemorrhagic shock-induced acute lung injury via interfering with inflammatory and oxidative pathways.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>Eighteen adult Albino rats were assigned to three groups each containing six rats: group I, sham group, rats underwent all surgical instrumentation but neither hemorrhagic shock nor resuscitation was done; group II, Rats underwent hemorrhagic shock (HS) for 1 hr then resuscitated with Ringer's lactate (1 hr) (induced untreated group, HS); group III, HS + MK-886 (0.6 mg/kg i.p. injection 30 min before the induction of HS, and the same dose was repeated just before reperfusion period). At the end of experiment (2 hr after completion of resuscitation), blood samples were collected for measurement of serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The trachea was then isolated and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was carried out for measurement of leukotriene B₄(LTB₄), leukotriene C₄(LTC₄) and total protein. The lungs were harvested, excised and the left lung was homogenized for measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) and the right lung was fixed in 10% formalin for histological examination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MK-886 treatment significantly reduced the total lung injury score compared with the HS group (<it>P </it>< 0.05). MK-886 also significantly decreased serum TNF-α & IL-6; lung MDA; BALF LTB₄, LTC₄& total protein compared with the HS group (<it>P </it>< 0.05). MK-886 treatment significantly prevented the decrease in the lung GSH levels compared with the HS group (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of the present study reveal that MK-886 may ameliorate lung injury in shocked rats via interfering with inflammatory and oxidative pathways implicating the role of leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic shock-induced lung inflammation.</p

Observation of vertex factorisation breaking in central pp interactions

Central \pipi events produced in pp interactions are studied in terms of correlations between the outgoing protons. It is observed there is more $\rho^{0}$(770) and \fmeson production in reactions where the outgoing protons %fastest and slowest particles in the laboratory frame are on opposite sides of the beam. This effect is not attributable to the trigger or the experimental acceptance, and suggests that the vertices do not factorise

Plexin-B2 Negatively Regulates Macrophage Motility, Rac, and Cdc42 Activation

Plexins are cell surface receptors widely studied in the nervous system, where they mediate migration and morphogenesis though the Rho family of small GTPases. More recently, plexins have been implicated in immune processes including cell-cell interaction, immune activation, migration, and cytokine production. Plexin-B2 facilitates ligand induced cell guidance and migration in the nervous system, and induces cytoskeletal changes in overexpression assays through RhoGTPase. The function of Plexin-B2 in the immune system is unknown. This report shows that Plexin-B2 is highly expressed on cells of the innate immune system in the mouse, including macrophages, conventional dendritic cells, and plasmacytoid dendritic cells. However, Plexin-B2 does not appear to regulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines, phagocytosis of a variety of targets, or directional migration towards chemoattractants or extracellular matrix in mouse macrophages. Instead, Plxnb2−/− macrophages have greater cellular motility than wild type in the unstimulated state that is accompanied by more active, GTP-bound Rac and Cdc42. Additionally, Plxnb2−/− macrophages demonstrate faster in vitro wound closure activity. Studies have shown that a closely related family member, Plexin-B1, binds to active Rac and sequesters it from downstream signaling. The interaction of Plexin-B2 with Rac has only been previously confirmed in yeast and bacterial overexpression assays. The data presented here show that Plexin-B2 functions in mouse macrophages as a negative regulator of the GTPases Rac and Cdc42 and as a negative regulator of basal cell motility and wound healing

A kinematical selection of glueball candidates in central production

A study of central meson production as a function of the difference in transverse momentum ($dP_T$) of the exchanged particles shows that undisputed $q \overline q$ mesons are suppressed at small $dP_T$ whereas the glueball candidates are enhanced