Vertebrate haemoglobin (Hb), the oxygen‐carrying protein of the blood, consists of two α‐ and two β‐subunits, each containing one haem, and shows cooperative oxygen binding known as the haem–haem interaction. The amino‐acid sequences of Hbs found in different species have diverged considerably and the homology in the most distantly related ones is only 40%. How can such varied amino‐acid sequences give rise to similar three‐dimensional structures and functional properties? To what extent do amino‐acid replacements affect the structure of haemoglobin? Which (...) mutations are responsible for the functional differences between haemoglobins from different species? Expression of α‐ and β‐globins in Escherichia coli has enabled us to introduce any mutations in the haemoglobin molecule at will. By X‐ray crystallographic and functional studies of the engineered mutants, we are trying to answer these questions. (shrink)

Focus of attention is one of the most influential factors facilitating motor performance. Previous evidence supports that the external focus strategy, which directs attention to movement outcomes, is associated with better motor performance than the internal focus strategy, which directs attention to body movements. However, recent studies have reported that the EF strategy is not effective for some individuals. Furthermore, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the frontal and parietal areas characterize individual optimal attentional strategies for motor tasks. However, whether the (...) sensory cortices are also functionally related to individual optimal attentional strategy remains unclear. Therefore, the present study examined whether an individual’s sensory processing ability would reflect the optimal attentional strategy. To address this point, we explored the relationship between responses in the early sensory cortex and individuals’ optimal attentional strategy by recording steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials and steady-state visual evoked potentials. Twenty-six healthy young participants first performed a motor learning task with reaching movements under IF and EF conditions. Of the total sample, 12 individuals showed higher after-effects under the IF condition than the EF condition, whereas the remaining individuals showed the opposite trend. Subsequently, we measured SSSEP from bilateral primary somatosensory cortices while presenting vibrotactile stimuli and measured SSVEP from bilateral primary visual cortices while presenting checkerboard visual stimuli. The degree of increasing SSSEP response when the individuals in the IF-dominant group directed attention to vibrotactile stimuli was significantly more potent than those in the EF-dominant individuals. By contrast, the individuals in the EF-dominant group showed a significantly larger SSVEP increase while they directed attention to visual stimuli compared with the IF-dominant individuals. Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed such that individuals with more robust IF dominance showed more pronounced SSSEP attention modulation. These results suggest that the early sensory areas have crucial brain dynamics to characterize an individual’s optimal attentional strategy during motor tasks. The response characteristics may reflect the individual sensory processing ability, such as control of priority to the sensory inputs. Considering individual cognitive traits based on the suitable attentional strategy could enhance adaptability in motor tasks. (shrink)

Diese Abhandlung verteidigt gegen die heute vorherrschenden realistischen Interpretationen des kantischen transzendentalen Idealismus eine anti-realistische Zwei-Welten-Interpretation. Durch konkrete Textanalysen wird gezeigt, dass die realistische Interpretation an der Antinomienlehre und dem vierten Paralogismus (A) scheitern muss, während die anti-realistische Interpretation erlaubt, die Kritik der reinen Vernunft im Ganzen zu einer kohärenten Sinneinheit zu strukturieren. Anschließend wird der konkrete Gehalt von Kants anti-realistischer Ontologie der raumzeitlichen Wirklichkeit erhellt. Dafür entwickelt der Verfasser eine intuitionistische Wahrheitskonzeption (ein empirisches Gegenstück der Wahrheitskonzeption des mathematischen Intuitionismus), (...) kombiniert mit der Superassertibilität à la Crispin Wright. Die von Michael Dummett bereit gestellte Begrifflichkeit "Realismus/Anti-Realismus‟ erweist sich als fruchtbar nicht nur für die Analyse der kantischen Position selbst, sondern auch für ein klares Verständnis der mannigfaltigen Interpretationsansätze des transzendentalen Idealismus. (shrink)

古代西洋より伝わったとされる対称美の分析―黄金比。しかし、本書では葛飾北斎、歌川広重など偉大な日本の先人たちはすでに、黄金比を会得していたことを証明しています。なぜ、北斎がすばらしいのか?なぜ、俳句は 5・7・5なのか?富士山はどの角度から眺めるのが一番美しいのか?すべては黄金比を使い、美の世界を数値化することで見える新たな世界。初めて黄金比を用い、実例を分析した本書は日本初の試み。.

“Myth” comprises the first chapter of the book, The Logic of the Imagination, by Miki Kiyoshi.In this chapter Miki analyzes the significance of myth (shinwa) as possessing a certain reality despite being “fictions.” He begins by broadening the meaning of the imagination to argue for a logic of the imagination that involves expressive action or poiesis (production) in general, of which myth is one important product. The imagination gathers in myth material from the environing world lived by the social (...) collectivity. Its formation of images (Bilder) expresses the pathos of a people vis-a-vis their environment, but myth also contains elements of logos in the form of intellectual representations and figures. And their combination becomes expressed externally by stimulating and guiding action. In this way Miki argues that myths contain both emotive and kinetic elements, which by moving people to action, are capable of making history. Thus rooted in the symbiosis between individual and social and between society and environment, myth possesses a “historical creativity.” And he also argues that myths can be present with a sense of reality at any epoch in history, even today, wherever and whenever their primeval power is felt to function, “drawing out” a new reality, a new world, out of the natural world. (shrink)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reconsider the concept of the right to information privacy and to propose, from a Japanese perspective, a revised conception of this right that is suitable for the modern information society.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the concept of privacy and personal information protection in the information society is briefly explained. After that, confused situations in Japan caused by the enforcement of Act on the Protection of Personal Information are described followed by the analysis of the Japanese socio‐cultural circumstances (...) surrounding privacy. Based on these, the effectiveness of the concept of the right to information privacy in the Japanese socio‐cultural and economic context is examined and the need to rethink the concept of the right to information privacy discussed. Finally, a revised conception of the right is proposed.FindingsIn view of the circumstances in Japan, the concept of the right to information privacy, defined as “an individual's right to control the circulation of information relating to him/herself”, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development's eight principles already become outdated in today's sophisticated information‐communication society. There is a need to control/restrict use of personal information so that individuals' autonomy and freedom is ensured in the current situation and to revise the concept of the right to information privacy based on this idea.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a revision of the concept of the right to information privacy focused on control of, not access to, use of personal information. The revised concept is defined so that individuals' autonomy and freedom is ensured even in the “informational transparent” society. (shrink)

AbstractThe Belmont Report continues to be held in high regard, and most bioethical analyses conducted in recent years have presumed that it affects United States federal regulations. However, the assessments of the report’s creators are sharply divided. Understanding the historic reputation of this monumental report is thus crucial. We first recount the historical context surrounding the creation of this report. Subsequently, we review the process involved in developing ethical guidelines and describe the report’s features. Additionally, we analyze the effect of (...) unfolding events on the subsequent creation of federal regulations, especially on gene therapy clinical trials. Moreover, throughout this paper we evaluate the ethical principles outlined in this report and describe how they overlap with the issue of protecting socially vulnerable groups. Based on the analysis, we conclude that the features of the Belmont Report cannot be considered as having affected the basic sections of the federal regulations for ethical reviews that were made uniform in 1981. Nevertheless, regarding the regulations on gene therapy clinical trials—which were at first expected to be applicable to research involving children—in addition to implementing policies regarding the public review of protocols that passed ethical review, this report’s principles are clearly reflected in the key notes that should have been referred to when the report was created. (shrink)

PurposeThis paper aims to deal with the attitudes towards and social impact of Edward Snowden’s revelations in Japan, taking the Japanese socio-cultural and political environment surrounding privacy and state surveillance into account.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey of 1,820 university students and semi-structured follow-up interviews with 56 respondents were conducted, in addition to reviews of the literature on privacy and state surveillance in Japan. The outcomes of the survey were statistically analysed, and qualitative analyses of the interview results were also performed.FindingsSnowden’s revelations have (...) had little influence over Japanese youngsters’ attitudes towards privacy and state surveillance, mainly due to their low level of awareness of the revelations and high level of confidence in government agencies.Practical implicationsThe study results imply a need for reviewing educational programmes for civic education in lower and upper secondary education.Social implicationsThe results of this study based on a large-scale questionnaire survey indicate an urgent necessity for providing Japanese youngsters with opportunities to learn more about privacy, liberty, individual autonomy and national security.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to investigate the social impact of Snowden’s revelations on Japanese youngsters’ attitudes towards privacy and state surveillance as part of cross-cultural analyses between eight countries. (shrink)

Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics: Progress in Methods and Applications is a collection of 33 selected papers from the scientific contributions presented at the 16th International Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics (QSCP-XVI), held at Ishikawa Prefecture Museum of Art in Kanazawa, Japan, from September 11th to 17th, 2011. The volume discusses the state of the art, new trends, and the future of methods in molecular quantum mechanics and their applications to a wide range of problems in (...) physics, chemistry, and biology. The breadth and depth of the scientific topics discussed during QSCP-XVI appears in the classification of the contributions in six parts: I. Fundamental Theory II. Molecular Processes III. Molecular Structure IV. Molecular Properties V. Condensed Matter VI. Biosystems. Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics: Progress in Methods and Applications is written for advanced graduate students as well as for professionals in theoretical chemical physics and physical chemistry. The book covers current scientific topics in molecular, nano, material, and bio sciences and provides insights into methodological developments and applications of quantum theory in physics, chemistry, and biology that have become feasible at end of 2011. (shrink)

Since the 1980s, a number of discourses have celebrated the coming of the information society in Japan. In those discourses, enabling media interactivity has been emphasized as the objective of tec...

Looking back, the process in which Ulrich Beck’s epoch-making work of Risikogesellschaft was introduced and translated into Japanese attracted great public interest there. This paper revisits the significance of the concept ‘risk society’ in the context of postwar Japan. Facing both the natural and artificial disasters caused by the huge earthquake in Fukushima in 2011, Japanese society was compelled to reconsider its atomic energy policy implemented after the end of the Second World War. While the general public has strongly embraced (...) an anti-nuclear sentiment after witnessing the 3/11 disasters, the government and leading LDP are still eager to restart the atomic plants that have been suspended since the tragedy in Fukushima. Considering those complicated sociopolitical conditions concerning the legitimacy of the atomic energy policy in Japan, Risikogesellschaft redux might be a useful way through which we can envisage a future direction to take. (shrink)

The state of the body is central to guiding motivational behaviours. Here we discuss how afferent information from face and viscera influence the processing and communication of emotional states. We highlight (a) the fine-grained impact that facial muscular and patterned visceral responses exert on emotional appraisal and communicative signals; (b) short-term changes in visceral state that bias brain responses to emotive stimuli; (c) the commonality of brain pathways and substrates mediating short- and long-term bodily effects on emotional processes; (d) how (...) topographically distinct representations of different bodily states are coupled to reported feelings associated with subtypes of disgust; and (e) how pupil signals contribute to affective exchange. Integrating these observations enriches our understanding of emotional processes and psychopathology. (shrink)

“Myth” comprises the first chapter of the book, The Logic of the Imagination, by Miki Kiyoshi. In this chapter Miki analyzes the significance of myth (shinwa) as possessing a certain reality despite being “fictions.” He begins by broadening the meaning of the imagination to argue for a logic of the imagination that involves expressive action or poiesis (production) in general, of which myth is one important product. The imagination gathers in myth material from the environing world lived by the (...) social collectivity. Its formation of images (Bilder) expresses the pathos of a people vis-à-vis their environment, but myth also contains elements of logos in the form of intellectual representations and figures. And their combination becomes expressed externally by stimulating and guiding action. In this way Miki argues that myths contain both emotive and kinetic elements, which by moving people to action, are capable of making history. Thus rooted in the symbiosis between individual and social and between society and environment, myth possesses a “historical creativity.” And he also argues that myths can be present with a sense of reality at any epoch in history, even today, wherever and whenever their primeval power is felt to function, “drawing out” a new reality, a new world, out of the natural world. (shrink)

This article characterizes Florence Nightingale's nursing reform as the cleaning of the Victorian home which she found unheimlich. She laid strong emphasis on an improvement in the hygiene of the house as a significant part of nursing, and, by establishing the nurse as a new occupation, gave the surplus of unmarried women a decent means of escape from the stifling domesticity in which they had been helplessly trapped. Her nursing at once reformed and reinforced the traditional role of woman as (...) a domestic figure, for she created the nurse as a mother figure in charge of the home space. In the Crimean War, Nightingale successfully nursed the idea of England as Home by attending to the dying soldiers at the front. Her crusade to nurse the unhomely space into a home, however, dismissed one uncanny place inside the imperial Home that needed urgent nursing, that is, Ireland, which had been suffering from the Great Famine and its aftermath. Nightingale confronted Irish Sisters of Mercy, who came to the Crimea to save the lives and souls of the Irish soldiers. These Irish nuns not only embodied the memories of the Famine which they had recently relieved, but also threatened Nightingale's single female authority by representing Ireland as a nation through their equally motherly presence. The service of the Irish nuns in the Crimean War was erased from the myth of the Lady with the Lamp. Nightingale could establish herself as an authoritative female subject and assumed the voice of England only by suppressing another female voice which challenged England's competence in Home management. (shrink)