There are two ways of preventing induced cellular mutagenesis. In the first, mutagens are inactivated by ‘desmutagens’ before they can attack the DNA. In the second, ‘bio‐antimutagens’ interfere with cellular fixation processes working on damage in DNA. Examples of modes of action are shown for these inhibitors of induced mutations and implications for reducing genetic damage in man are discussed.

Chomin Nakae (Japanese thinker,1847-1901) has been called “the Rousseau of the East” by both Japanese and Chinese because he translated Jean-Jacque Rousseau, for instance, the Social Contract into Japanese and Chinese. It would be natural to suppose that Chomin read Rousseau’s books as an overseas student in France from 1872 to 1874 after the time of “ the Paris Commune”. It seems that many Chinese overseas students in Japan read Rousseau’s books in Chinese and Japanese translated by Chomin and accepted (...) democratic and revolutionary thoughts originally born in the West and brought them home. Adding to the fact, it is insisted that the substance of Chomin’s thought is rather Confucian-biased democracy to be governed morally by both people and the sovereign than pure popular supremacy, which was gotten through examining the results of the recent research. (shrink)

Recent progress in our understanding of mitotic chromosome dynamics has been accelerated by the identification of two essential protein complexes, cohesin and condensin. Cohesin is required for holding sister chromatids (duplicated chromosomes) together from S phase until the metaphase‐to‐anaphase transition. Condensin is a central player in chromosome condensation, a process that initiates at the onset of mitosis. The main focus of this review is to discuss how the mitotic metaphase chromosome is assembled and shaped by a precise balance between the (...) cohesion and condensation machineries. We argue that, in different eukaryotic organisms, the balance of cohesion and condensation is adjusted in such a way that the size and shape of the resulting chromosomes are best suited for their accurate segregation. BioEssays 23:924–935, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (shrink)

Husserl’s notion of “sense” has often been interpreted through a Fregean lens. I will show that Husserl saw it as an acquaintance with the background or horizon of perceptual objects. He understands reason (Vernunft) as prescribing rules for performance with regard to perceptual objects. Thus Husserl’s view has a wider scope of experience than Kant’s sense of it as a pre-reflective acquaintance with one’s environment. After Ideas I Husserl develops these notions as part of his theory of the intersubjective world. (...) Heidegger takes over the insights of Husserl and brings out the performative turn inherent in phenomenology by critiquing Husserl’s orientation to theoretical perceptual experience. The reference of performative expressions is not determined by the contents but by performance. What is disclosed in the phenomenological notion of sense is the background against which human existence is to be understood. (shrink)

Human B cell stimulatory factor 2 (originally designated BSF2) was initially characterized and isolated as a T cell‐derived factor that caused the terminal maturation of activated B cells to immunoglobulin producing cells. Molecular cloning of the cDNA has revealed that BSF2 is identical with 26 kD protein, interferon β2, plasmacytoma growth factor and hepatocyte stimulating factor and the designation “IL‐6” has been proposed for this molecule. It is now known that BSF2/IL‐6 has a wide variety of biological functions and that (...) abnormal regulation of BSF2/IL‐6 expression may be related to the pathogenesis of certain autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple myeloma. (shrink)

In this paper, I will focus on the phenomenological notion of sense which Husserl calls in Ideen I noematic sense. My reading of Ideen I is based on the interpretation of noema as “object as it is intended”. This notion is developed from “filling sense” in LU. Similar to the Russellian “knowledge by acquaintance”, Husserl means by this notion the direct intuitive acquaintance with an intentional object. However, unlike Russell, Husserl doesn’t restrict this notion to sense data, but extend it (...) to the acquaintance with the perspective way of appearance of an intentional object (Erscheinungsweise, Abschattungen). This is because, unlike Frege, Husserl includes not only intension (Materie), but also illocutionary force (Aktqualität) into his notion of sense (LU, 6. Untersuchung, p. 617). This performative notion of sense requires him to take account of the acquaintance with the background of speech acts as a constitutive part of the broadest notion of sense (Ideen I, p. 233f., 322). If a conjecture e.g. about the back side of a cube: “the back side must be a square”, changes through a perception into a claim about it: “this side is indeed a square”, the change of the illocutionary forces, that is, the “filling sense” of the perception is expressed not by intentional materials (side, square etc.), but by indexicals, modal verbs or tenses, which are understood in a direct acquaintance with the perspective appearance of the cube. Thus, “the changing noematic way of appearance of the whole object as sense” (Husserliana vol. XI, p. 333) is the background or horizon, in implicit acquaintance with which illocutionary forces (Aktqualität in LU, noetischer Charakter in Ideen I) of propositional attitudes towards perceptual objects can be understood. (shrink)

Um encontro com Ferreira Gullar compartilha com os leitores as muitas formas em que uma coisa está em outra. O momento transformador desse encontro marcado entre entrevistador e entrevistado se manifesta aqui em forma de reflexão, diálogo, relato, memória, ensaio fotográfico e, também, poesia.

Currently in Japan, discontinuing an invasive mechanical ventilator (IMV) is illegal; therefore IMV-related decision making is a crucial issue. This study examined IMV decision-making factors and psychological conflict in 50 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The Herth Hope Index was used for the assessment of pre- and post-IMV conflict. Interviews identified some decision-making factors: patient’s decision, patient’s and family’s mutual decision, family’s decision, and emergency-induced without patient’s or family’s consent. Participants who experienced no IMV-related regret received sufficient prior IMV education (...) from physicians and nurses, and time for reflection and family consultation. Their hope was similar to their pre-onset levels. Patients who received no prior IMV education accepted treatment as a natural progression. Their hope levels were lower than pre-onset. Those who received only a brief prior IMV explanation rejected the ventilator, experiencing regret if they were given an emergency IMV. Their hope levels were among the lowest. However, some of these patients managed to overcome their regret through being helped by nurses. Sufficient physician explanation and nursing advocacy for autonomous patient decision making are critical for improving hope in this patient group. (shrink)

All surviving jawed vertebrate representatives achieve diversity in immunoglobulin‐based B and T cell receptors for antigen recognition through recombinatorial rearrangement of V(D)J segments. However, the extant jawless vertebrates, lampreys and hagfish, instead generate three types of variable lymphocyte receptors (VLRs) through a template‐mediated combinatorial assembly of different leucine‐rich repeat (LRR) sequences. The clonally diverse VLRB receptors are expressed by B‐like lymphocytes, while the VLRA and VLRC receptors are expressed by lymphocyte lineages that resemble αβ and γδ T lymphocytes, respectively. These (...) findings suggest that three basic types of lymphocytes, one B‐like and two T‐like, are an essential feature of vertebrate adaptive immunity. Around 500 million years ago, a common ancestor of jawed and jawless vertebrates evolved a genetic program for the development of prototypic lymphoid cells as a foundation for an adaptive immune system. This acquisition preceded the convergent evolution of alternative types of clonally diverse receptors for antigens in all vertebrates, as reviewed in this article. (shrink)

Abstract: Die Geisteswissenschaften grenzen sich von den physikalischen Naturwissenschaften durch ihre Bezogenheit auf das menschliche Leben ab. „Covering laws“ können zwar menschliche Handlungen statistisch erklären, aber dabei wird die Subjektivität einzelner Handelnder nicht berücksichtigt. Dagegen kann die Einfühlung oder der Nachvollzug als hermeneutische Methode der Geisteswissenschaften für eine Theorie der Zuschreibung der Ich-Stellungnahme gehalten werden. Bei dieser Zuschreibung handelt es sich aber nicht um die im solipsistischen Bewusstsein abgekapselte Subjektivität, sondern um die lebensweltliche Subjektivität des im eigenen Leib verkörperten Ichs. (...) Die Lebenswelt lässt sich als intersubjektiv geteilter Hintergrund des Sprechaktes verkörperter Ichs interpretieren. In diesem Sinne basiert die Logik der Geisteswissenschaften auf der lebensweltlichen Subjektivität. (shrink)

This essay examines the political implications of Edo (present-day Tokyo) popular culture in early modern Japan by focusing on the interface between distinct forms of literary and visual representation and the configuration of social order (the status hierarchy and the division of labor), as well as moral and ideological discourses that were conducive to the reproduction of the order. Central to the forms of representation in Edo popular culture was the overarching literary and artistic principle, which I call a phrase (...) adapted from M.M. Bakhtin's work on Fyodor Dostoevsky. By creating a dialogical interaction of divergent voices and perspectives, Edo popular culture created pluralized, contentious images of Tokugawa society, images that underlined contradictory realities that had become widely discernible around the turn of the eighteenth century. The most salient of all the contradictions was the growing disjuncture between the ideological premise of social and economic hierarchies and their actual reversals. The dialogic imagination captured and accentuated the fluid and dynamic social interactions that threw the formal arrangements of social order into disarray, as well as the widely perceived tensions originating from these interactions, by supplying images that sharply contrasted with those that the Tokugawa authorities worked hard to foster and defend: of a harmonious, self-contained, and perfectly functioning society. (shrink)

Was heißt die existenziale Analytik? Um diese Grundfrage der Fundamentalontologie zu beantworten, geht der Autor von der Problematik des Ich-Sagens aus. Während der Marburger Vorlesungen entstand der Begriff Dasein durch Heideggers Umdeutung der aristotelischen Seele anhand des leiblich-lebensweltlichen Subjektivitätsbegriffs Husserls. Dabei entwickelte Heidegger mittels des Diltheyschen Begriffs Bedeutsamkeit das Noema als Zeug hermeneutisch weiter. Um das Sein eines Ich durch Handlungsprädikate auszulegen, ist es notwendig, mit der Bedeutsamkeit der Welt vorbegrifflich vertraut zu sein. Das Verstehen als Weltvertrautheit ist das Existenzial, (...) d. h. die Bedingung der Möglichkeit für das Ich-Sagen. So schlägt der Autor vor, die Schemata: Das Umwillen seiner , das Wovor und das Um-zu als Schematismus der Handlung zu deuten. Darüber hinaus wird untersucht, warum die geschichtliche Rationalität trotz seiner Aufnahme der praktischen Philosophie Aristoteles’ und Kants von Heidegger vernachlässigt wurde. (shrink)

BackgroundEmotional regulation is important for adolescents’ adaptive development. Preventive interventions for anxiety and depression are necessary for reducing the development of disorders later in life, and emotional regulation is a potentially relevant factor.ObjectiveWe investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based psychological education and prevention program [the Mindfulness and Awareness Program ] on the mental health of junior high school students in Japan.MethodsOur MAP primarily focused on mindfulness meditation to improve emotional regulation, thereby reducing depression and anxiety. The MAP comprised eight sessions (...) administered by a school counselor in a school setting. All participants were 12–13-year-old adolescents from nine classes in two Japanese schools. The program was provided to the intervention group, wherein students were educated on emotional expression, emotional cognition, and emotional regulation. The control group received regular school counseling services.ResultsCompared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in emotional regulation and a decrease in depression and generalized anxiety. The effect was greater at the follow-up assessment than at the immediate post-intervention assessment, and greater in female students.ConclusionOur mental health prevention program exhibited efficacy in reducing depression and anxiety and enhancing emotional regulation in early adolescence. Further, it appeared to be more effective for female adolescents. (shrink)

Previous studies have suggested that musical training in childhood is beneficial for sociability. However, it remains unclear how age of onset of group music lessons is associated with the late sociability of children from a long-term perspective. This study investigated associations between group music lessons conducted at a music school and children’s levels of sociability by focusing on the age of onset of the lessons. We conducted a survey of 276 children aged 4–5 years (M = 58.5 months) and 6–7 (...) years (M = 82.7 months) who commenced music lessons at ages 1, 2, 4, and 6 years. We found that (1) the empathy scores of children aged 6–7 years who began lessons when 1-year-old were greater than those who began lessons when 4-years-old, (2) the communication scores of children aged 4–5 years who began lessons when 1-year-old were greater than those who began lessons when older than 1 year, and (3) the empathy and extraversion scores were high in those aged 6–7 years who began lessons in that age range. The results suggest that early onset of music lessons could positively influence children’s sociability; in contrast, after about age 7 years, children who already had high sociability may be more inclined to select group music lessons. By focusing on the impact of regular group music lessons from a very young age on later levels of sociability, these results further elucidate the effects of musical lessons. In sum, participation in group music lessons 2–4 times per month can be effective social training for very young children and foster their later sociability. (shrink)

While empathy is considered a critical determinant of the quality of medical care, growing evidence suggests it may be associated with both one’s own positive and negative moods among healthcare professionals. Meanwhile, sense of coherence plays an essential role in the improvement of both psychological and physical health. Reportedly, individual SOC reaches full stability after around age 30. The aim of this study was first to evaluate the mediatory role of SOC on the association between empathy and individual moods among (...) 114 healthcare professionals in a general hospital, and then to examine the moderating effect of age on this association. Participants completed a range of self-report demographic questionnaires, Empathy Process Scale, the 13-item Antonovsky’s SOC, and Profile of Mood States. Findings showed that SOC mediated the relations between empathy and both POMS-Vigor and POMS-Depression. Notably, moderated mediation analysis revealed that there was a significant interaction on self-vigor mood in healthcare professionals. The indirect effect of empathy on self-vigor mood through SOC was significant at over mean age “32.83.” Although there was no significant interaction with age regarding the indirect effect of empathy on self-depression mood, in the sub-category level analysis of empathy, we found a significant interaction item [age × empathy for other’s negative affect ] on SOC. This indirect effect was also significant at over mean age “32.83.” Taken, together, the current study highlighted the significant mediator of SOC on that empathy amplifies self-vigor mood and attenuates self-depression mood as a protective factor among the Japanese healthcare professionals. Some components of these processes may depend on the moderating role of age, indicating that we may need to consider the SOC development with age for more effective empathy performance interventions among healthcare professionals. (shrink)

Right-ear advantage refers to the observation that when two different speech stimuli are simultaneously presented to both ears, listeners report stimuli more correctly from the right ear than the left. It is assumed to result from prominent projection along the auditory pathways to the contralateral hemisphere and the dominance of the left auditory cortex for the perception of speech elements. Our study aimed to investigate the role of attention in the right-ear advantage. We recorded magnetoencephalography data while participants listened to (...) pairs of Japanese two-syllable words. The amplitudes of the stimuli were modulated at 35 Hz in one ear and 45 Hz in the other. Such frequency-tagging allowed the selective quantification of left and right auditory cortex responses to left and right ear stimuli. Behavioral tests confirmed the right-ear advantage, with higher accuracy for stimuli presented to the right ear than to the left. The amplitude of the auditory steady-state response was larger when attending to the stimuli compared to passive listening. We detected a correlation between the attention-related increase in the amplitude of the auditory steady-state response and the laterality index of behavioral accuracy. The right-ear advantage in the free-response dichotic listening was also found in neural activities in the left auditory cortex, suggesting that it was related to the allocation of attention to both ears. (shrink)