Preservation and Restoration of the International House of Japan

The International House of Japan (I-House) in Tokyo is a non-governmental organization that has promoted rich international intellectual exchanges. Designed by three young, up-and-coming architects Kunio Maekawa, Junzo Sakakura, and Junzo Yoshimura, the building of I-House in an exquisite modern Japanese style was built in 1955, but due to financial difficulties, the building was threatened with demolition. The Architectural Institute of Japan scrambled to assemble a special panel to present a conservation plan in 2004. Ultimately, the Board of Trustees decided to follow the panel’s proposal. This paper introduces the process of the restoration activities, discusses what were the driving forces of the preservation and restoration actions, and gives some lessons from the project

Meso-chlorination of chlorophyll a in the course of pigment extraction

AbstractHPLC analysis has shown that the meso δ-carbon of chlorophyll (Chl) a undergoes chlorination to give δ-chloro Chl a (Cl-Chl a), possibly by an enzymatic reaction with chloride ion in the wet medium of crushed plant tissue. A sizeable amount, occasionally a 1% fraction, of the whole Chl a is chlorinated during tissue crushing/pigment extraction. The chlorination can be neatly or completely suppressed if plant materials are kneaded with a sufficient amount of a desiccant or with Cl−-scavenging silver ion before pigment extraction

Comprehensively Structured Teaching Method for an Adult Individual with Autism

In this study, the effectiveness of a comprehensively structured teaching method for an adult with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) (age 37) complicated with severe intellectual disability (ID) who had `refusal\u27 and `deviate\u27 behaviors during his tasks at the institution was discussed. The main components in this study were 1) physical structure, 2) structured work, 3) schedule systems, 4) positive behavior support (PBS), and 5) setting support guidance for staff. The number of `one-day tasks\u27 and `refusal\u27 and `deviate\u27 behaviors a day before and after intervention were compared. Prior to the intervention, the number of `one-day tasks\u27 was 3 to 7. After the intervention, 10 to 27 were observed (SD=5.96) and they were increasing. The number of `refusal\u27 and `deviate\u27 behaviors was 3 to 5 before intervention, and after it became 7.67 to 2 (SD=1.34) and they were decreasing. As a result, we clarified that a comprehensively structured teaching method was effective in increasing for an adult individual with ASD those task performances and reducing those inappropriate behaviors. In addition, it is assumed that these approaches to the comprehensively structured teaching method could be helpful for weak central coherence and executive dysfunction well known as ASD\u27s cognitive developmental disorder

A glomerular permeability factor produced by human T cell hybridomas

A glomerular permeability factor produced by human T cell hybridomas. T cell hybridomas derived from the T cells of a patient with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) made a glomerular permeability factor (GPF). Sufficient quantities of GPF were available for further analysis and characterization. We obtained four stable clones of human T cell hybridomas which produced a glomerular permeability factor. When this factor was injected intravenously into rats, significant proteinurias were induced, and in normal human lymphocyte culture, GPF enhanced Concanavalin-A (Con-A) induced lymphocyte histogenesis by greater than ten fold. GPF was cytotoxic to tumor cell lines of epithelial origin, but only cytostatic to tumor cells of hematopoietic origin. Electron microscopy studies, with polyethyleneimine (PEI) staining, indicated that GPF induced the changes in the arrangement of PEI particles and partial fusion of glomerular epithelial cells in the rats given this factor intravenously. The molecular weight of GPF were estimated to be between 60,000 and 160,000 daltons. The molecular weight of the factor and its TNF like activity, we speculated that the factor was a lymphokine, like lymphotoxins