Mutations within the Steel and Dominant Spotting loci of mice have led to the recent identification of a growth factor/receptor system required for the normal development of germ cells, pigment cells and hematopoietic cells. Interactions between the products of these genes, Steel factor and c‐Kit respectively, have now been demonstrated to influence various developmental processes, including survival, proliferation, and/or differentiation of cells in a tissue specific manner. In addition, our current understanding of the molecular basis of various Steel and Dominant (...) Spotting alleles coupled with the emerging information on the expression pattern of steel factor and c‐kit transcripts during development, is now beginning to explain the pleiotropic affects of these mutations. (shrink)

自己決定概念は、患者の自律やインフォームド・コンセント、プライバシー概念等の基礎にあり、生命倫理において核となる重要な概念である。しかし、その歴史的由来について、またその概念の意味するところについて、 これまで本巻のように主題的に扱われることはほとんどなかった。ここでの諸論考は、「自己決定権」や「自律」概念の理解にも大いに役立つはずである。.

As kendo continues to gain in international popularity, there are hopes for its adoption in the Olympic Games as an international competitive event, even while moves to further this aim have not necessarily occurred in Japan or elsewhere. One reason for the efforts to achieve a form of globalization of kendo different from Judo is the attempt to adhere to and preserve the unique concepts kendo, the sport embodies by remaining true to the forms of traditional Japanese culture. This is (...) epitomized by the importance given to zanshin (the combination of posture and fighting spirit after striking), one of the key concepts that constitute yuko-datotsu in kendo. Our purpose in this study is to discuss the intersubjective nature of the decisions regarding the conditions for point-scoring in competitive sports. In particular, we will focus on the aesthetics required for zanshin in kendo, focusing on the theory behind yuko-datotsu (point score), which will also considerably influence its international dissemination. Kendo is characterized from the perspective of western rationalism as an appreciation of form and rules of behavior referred to as formalism and, in this respect, it has unique characteristics differing from those of modern sports that are disseminated internationally. In martial arts, besides refinement and proficiency in the rules of behavior by rigidly adhering to form and rules of behavior and repetition, the aim is to transcend said form and the rules of behavior and embody the spiritual nature dwelling in the background. Kendo should remain traditional path and keep zanshin in the value of point (yuko-datotsu) for its virtue. Kendo has not yet developed into an international competitive sport, but it is in the process of traversing that Geido path as a Do for the purpose of character building through it. Throughout life, one should try to devote oneself to kendo with thought for the value of transcending form and the rules of behaviour, and embodying the spiritual nature of the sport that inheres in its background. That is why one may perceive an evident hesitation or indeed negativity regarding the possible internationalization or development as an Olympic event. (shrink)

This study considers food commercials featuring the term otona, meaning ‘adult, mature person’. Although the term is not explicitly gendered, this study demonstrates that food advertising using otona becomes a conduit for the construction of gendered lifestyle formulations via consumption practices offering consumers entrance into a range of gendered adult life stage practices. Unlike the socially aspirational consumption practices described by Agha, the consumption of inexpensive otona-marked products, which cost the same as their non-otona-marked counterparts but are intended by commercial (...) producers to be viewed by prospective consumers as more mature, is linked to the process of entering adulthood. However, whereas male performance of otona masculinity is shown in the commercials to be based on psychological maturity and economic and social independence, female performance of otona femininity is determined by the commercial producers and the product manufacturers to be based on successful performance of external beauty, sexuality and support of male social sphere members. This article shows how otona becomes a catch-all for aspirational gendered performance, arguing that terms like otona are particularly suited for normative gendered performance presentations. (shrink)

This essay aims to deepen our comprehension of the economic ethics of different peoples in Asia, as well as realizing a degree of cultural relativism, in order to enhance amicable economic associations. It counterbalances the conventionally strong West-oriented views which regard exotic features of non-Western economies as backward and illogical elements that disturb smooth and orthodox development and, hence, should be eradicated. The author, first, recalls a number of facts which depict the eruptive economic transformation in Asia. He, then, criticizes (...) the imposition of Western-style development and exploitation without excluding Japan’s colonialism in Taiwan and Korea, and pleads for multiple forms of development and modernity. Economic transactions should be analysed in relation to sociocultural aspects, and, therefore, communities and ethics groups play a substantive role between the public and private sectors, the market, and individuals. For instance, small farmers in Southeast Asia, struggling with the weakness of tenant farmers and pressures of the market mechanism, developed ingenious and participatory forms of survival, increasingly supported by non-governmental organizations. Case studies from Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines give a vivid picture of these activities. Because the developing economies are composed of market and non-market sectors, reasonable attention should be given to theethics beyond market principles, with particular emphasis on community as foundation. (shrink)

Notre article se propose d’articuler au domaine de l’esthétique notre expérience en tant qu’organisateur d’expositions présentant des artistes internationaux dans un centre d’art indépendant au Japon. En nous basant sur une théorie de la réception des œuvres, nous proposerons une lecture des appréhensions habituelles des modalités courantes au Japon par le renvoi aux formules de Nishida concernant l’acte artistique. Dès lors se croisent deux notions de marginalité. La première renvoie à l’opposition entre philosophie analytique et philosophie existentielle, la seconde consiste (...) à minorer les formes d’art qui ne renvoient pas au bien de la communauté. (shrink)

Background:In sports psychology research, the Stroop test and its derivations are commonly used to investigate the benefits of exercise on cognitive function. The measures of the Stroop test and the computed interference often have different interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). However, the ICC is never reported in cross-over designs involving multiple variances associated with individual differences.Objective:We investigated the ICC of the Stroop neutral and incongruent tests and interference (neutral test—incongruent test), and reverse Stroop task using the linear mixed model.Methods:Forty-eight young adults (...) participated in a cross-over design experiment composed of 2 factors: exercise mode (walking, resistance exercise, badminton, and seated rest as control) and time (pre- and post-tests). Before and after each intervention, participants completed the Stroop neutral and incongruent, and the reverse-Stroop neutral and incongruent tests. We analyzed for each test performance and interference and calculated ICC using the linear mixed model.Results:The linear mixed model found a significant interaction of exercise mode and time for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks, suggesting that exercise mode influences the effect of acute exercise on inhibitory function. On the other hand, there was no significant effect of exercise mode for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop interference. The results also revealed that calculating both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop interference resulted in smaller ICCs than the ICCs of the neutral and incongruent tests for both the Stroop and reverse-Stroop tasks.Conclusion:The Stroop and reverse-Stroop interferences are known as valid measures of the inhibitory function for cross-sectional research design. However, to understand the benefits of acute exercise on inhibitory function comprehensively by cross-over design, comparing the incongruent test with the neutral test also seems superior because these tests have high reliability and statistical power. (shrink)

This book is an excellent book on business ethics and will be an invaluable resource for all readers who are keen to learn about the business ethics and key characteristics of a successful company. It focuses on the case study of a global company, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which oversees more than 250 operating units throughout the world. Through extensive interviews with top executives at J&J's headquarters, including Masami Atarashi and Mitsuo Hirose and attending workshops, Prof Hiroo Takahashi acquired (...) an in-depth understanding of the management style of J&J, grasped the company's ethics and the code of business conduct which is shared by J&J's members throughout the world. (shrink)

The scientific, ethical, and policy issues raised by research involving the engraftment of human neural stem cells into the brains of nonhuman primates are explored by an interdisciplinary working group in this Policy Forum. The authors consider the possibility that this research might alter the cognitive capacities of recipient great apes and monkeys, with potential significance for their moral status.

Comparative quantifiers, such as more than three books, cannot take scope over any quantifier in subject position if they occupy object position. This is clearly different from the behavior of other quantifiers (e.g., universal quantifiers). This paper argues that this scope puzzle is due to a more complex internal structure of comparative quantifiers than other quantifiers. In the decompositional approach that I pursue, comparative quantifiers are decomposed into two generalized quantifiers (i.e., in the case above, the comparative operator er than (...) three and the DP many books). In this approach, obligatory narrow scope of comparative quantifiers in object position is a consequence of the interplay of the independently motivated principles of grammar that also constrain other quantifiers. On the basis of the scope puzzle, I specifically argue for two constraints on Scope Shifting Operations (SSOs) a locality condition on SSOs and Scope Economy, proposed by Fox (2000), which prohibits SSOs that have no effect on semantic interpretation. Thus, I argue that the apparently peculiar facts of comparative quantifiers are, in fact, additional evidence for the core properties of SSOs. (shrink)

This ethnographic research features Shugendō (mountain asceticism), Japan’s centuries-old, mystical tradition. I and approximately fifty other lay participants took part in a three-day Shugendō program for the secular. The program is physically demanding and takes secular trainees to three holy mountains in Yamagata, Japan, where they take part in the water purification and holy fire rituals in the mountain asceticism tradition. Using the theoretical framework of semiotics, I explicate the visual signifiers of this esoteric mysticism in the context of Shugendō (...) teachings represented in twenty photographs taken during the training. The purpose of this article is to promote semiotics as an analytical standpoint alternative to other approaches to studying culture, in this case, a Japanese religion sourced in my fieldwork. I argue that, living in today’s global age and visual culture, college students can and should benefit from learning about semiotics and developing visual literacy for their future career opportunities. (shrink)

フッサール現象学への批判的検討にはじまり、デリダの脱構築に示唆された鋭い分析力で、〈ロゴス〉という思考原理の現在を解明する、気鋭の第一論集。 目次 第I部 歴史理性暴力 序 一歴史の暴力に直面する理性──フッサール的「危機」の構造 二歴史の暴力に捉えられた理性──フッサール的「排除」の論理 三歴史=理性的〈統合〉と暴力──デ・マルティーノと「想起」の論理 回帰の法と共同体──存在への問いと倫理学のあいだ 一運命という名のテロス 二ロゴスあるいは〈同〉としての〈存在〉 三ロゴスあるいは〈同〉としての〈空〉 《自然》のミトロジー──メルロー=ポンティと構想力の臨界 一根源の〈自然契約〉 二構想力と〈自然の寵児〉 三暴力と〈自然の爆発〉 第II部 コギトの闇と光──デカルトと「主体」の問題 序 一 〈コギト=表象〉説の構造 二悪魔的誇張への意志 三自己触発としてのコギト 四言語・光・沈黙 五もう一つの〈主体化〉を超えて 見えるものと見えないもの──哲学的言説のオプティコ―メタフォリーク 序 一深淵・橋・アナロギア 二メタフォラ・トランスケンデンターリス 三光の言語と言語の光 テクストの解釈学──エクリチュール・モデルの意味するもの 一問題の所在 二エクリチュールとイデア性 三パロールへの還帰とエクリチュール.

生殖医療・遺伝子改変等の広範な領域におけるキーコンセプトとしての「ヒト胚の道徳的地位」，種々の宣言等で使用されながら意味が曖昧な「人間の尊厳」を多角的に考察する。.

本書ではデータ解析にもとづく倫理学の理論の概要を述べるとともに，総計6,000名にのぼる高校生等への意識調査の結果を踏まえた，自己決定の時代の現状分析を行っている。現状分析の内容は，マスコミによるイメ ージ操作の検証，個人主義的自由主義の原理であるミルの原理の受容状況や問題点，いじめの分析，他者概念の検討，大人と子供の境界の曖昧化現象の考察等であるが，それらを貫く縦糸は「自己決定」，「自由」である。 また現代は，生命や環境，情報といった領域で，社会のレベルでも自己決定する必要に迫られている。本書の提唱するところの調査にもとづく倫理学の方法は，いわゆる「反省的均衡」の方法を実行可能にするものであり， 社会的自己決定を導く有力な方法である。.

3. Benshōhōteki yuibutsuron e no michi.

The Dominican theologian Albert the Great was one of the first to investigate into the system of the world on the basis of an acquaintance with the entire Aristotelian corpus, which he read under the influence of Islamic philosophers. The present study aims to understand the core of Albert's natural philosophy. Albert's emblematic phrase, “every work of nature is the work of intelligence” , expresses the conviction that natural things are produced by the intellects that move the celestial bodies, just (...) as houses are made by architects moving their instruments. Albert tried to fathom the secret of generation of natural things with his novel notion of “formative power” , which flows from the celestial intellects into the sublunary elements. His conception of the natural world represents an alternative to the dominant medieval view on the relationship between the artificial and the natural. (shrink)

It has been shown that various types of stress initiate different physiological and neuroendocrine disorders. Oxytocin is mainly produced in the supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic OT has antistress effects and attenuates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. One mechanism behind the antistress effects of OT is mediated through the inhibition from GABAA receptors on corticotropin-releasing factor expression at the PVN. Various manual therapies such as acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and massage initiate the stimulation of somatosensory neurons of (...) the body. It is well-known that TENS simulates OT expression, while it inhibits CRF expression at the PVN following chronic stress loading in rodents. Upregulation of OT expression at the hypothalamus is activated by the somatosensory stimulation, which is mediated via the spinothalamic pathway. Thus, somatosensory stimulation is beneficial in treating stress-associated symptoms. Hypothalamic OT is associated with the social behaviors, including maternal care and affiliation. Childhood neglect and/or child abuse are severely responsible for deleterious long-term effects on the cognitive/social activity and behavioral development. At parturition, a profound amount of OT is released into the systemic circulation in response to vaginal and cervical stimulation caused by the body of fetus, which induces the onset of maternal behavior. Peridural anesthesia effectively impairs the sensitivity to vaginal and cervical stimulation at parturition. OT levels in cerebrospinal fluid is significantly reduced following peridural anesthesia. The vaginal delivery mothers had significantly more OT pulses than the caesarian section mothers. Due to low levels of endogenous OT, maternal behavior could be interrupted by epidural anesthesia and CS at parturition because of the reduction of the usual sensory input from the genitalia. (shrink)

Although advance care planning can lead to more patient-centered care, the communication around it can be challenging in acute care hospitals, where saving a life or shortening hospitalization is important priorities. Our qualitative study in an acute care hospital in Japan revealed when specifically physicians and nurses start communication to facilitate ACP. Seven physicians and 19 nurses responded to an interview request, explaining when ACP communication was initiated with 32 patients aged 65 or older. Our qualitative approach employed descriptive analysis (...) to identify major themes, which included “initiation by patients” and “initiation by healthcare professionals.” In the latter case, seven specific triggers were identified: when the patients’ medical condition changed in terms of symptom relief, when the patients’ medical condition changed in terms of prognostic prediction, when serious events occurred, when a choice of treatment was presented, when the location for end-of-life care was chosen, when the patients’ cognitive function deteriorated, and when serious events settled down. Within this group of healthcare professionals, physicians were more focused on changes in their patients’ medical condition, whereas nurses focused more on their patients’ desire for a long-term perspective. Nurses encouraged patients to consider ACP themselves, which developed into an approach to respect patients’ autonomy. In acute care hospitals, it appeared to be desirable to have an early discussion where patients could understand the significance ACP, which would matter even after their discharge from the hospital. (shrink)