210 research outputs found
Elementy japońskich wierzeń i obrzędów w mandze Mieruko-chan. Dziewczyna, która widzi więcej Tomoki Izumiego
No full textThe aim of the article is to reflect on religious themes in contemporary Japanese comics. The manga Mieruko-chan by Tomoki Izumi is analyzed. The themes include the Japanese tradition of horror, derived from folk beliefs, as well as Shintō and Buddhist rituals. The author draws attention to religion as an important element of creating cultural reality and its function that makes it more attractive.The aim of the article is to reflect on religious themes in contemporary Japanese comics. The manga Mieruko-chan by Tomoki Izumi is analyzed. The themes include the Japanese tradition of horror, derived from folk beliefs, as well as Shintō and Buddhist rituals. The author draws attention to religion as an important element of creating cultural reality and its function that makes it more attractive
Spin-orbit coupling in a hexagonal ring of pendula
No full textjournal_title: New Journal of Physics article_type: paper article_title: Spin–orbit coupling in a hexagonal ring of pendula copyright_information: © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft license_information: cc-by Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. date_received: 2016-09-30 date_accepted: 2017-04-07 date_epub: 2017-05-1
Ultraviolet light responses in photovoltaic properties of TiO₂ / conducting polymer heterostructure devices
No full textThis article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Tokiyoshi Umeda, Yuuki Hashimoto, Hiroyoshi Mizukami, Tomoki Shirakawa, Akihiko Fujii, and Katsumi Yoshino, Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 3139 (2004) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1804234.Photovoltaic properties of heterostructure devices of titanium oxide (TiO2) and conducting polymer thin films have been studied. Normal photovoltaic properties were stably observed upon the visible light irradiation of the wavelength range corresponding to the absorption of a conducting polymer, and unique photovoltaic properties were also observed upon the ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation of the wavelength range corresponding to the absorption of TiO2. UV light irradiation caused marked increases in the short-circuit current at the visible-wavelength range and in the open-circuit voltage. These properties have been discussed by considering the enhancement of the built-in field which originates from the hole accumulation caused by the trap levels in the TiO2 layer or TiO2 ∕ conducting polymer interface. This work was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
<Review Articles>R.D .Hill. Rice in Malaya : A Study in Historical Geography. Oxford University Press. 1975
No full textこの論文は国立情報学研究所の学術雑誌公開支援事業により電子化されました。Rice in Malaya aims to relate the historical changes and regional diversity of rice cultivation in the Malay Peninsula to the geographical and socioeconomic situation there from prehistoric times to the beginning of the twentieth century. Rice in the prehistoric and early historic cultures of Southeast Asia is described in the first two chapters, which cite archaeological and historical evidence for the age and area of origination of rice cultivation and its spread to the Malay Peninsula. Rice cultivation had become widespread throughout the peninsula by the beginning of the nineteenth century, and chapter 3 illustrates the cycle of operations involved in shifting, semipermanent and permanent cultivation at that time. It also describes land tenure and the gradual changes in the concept of land as real property in Malayan society. As a means to understand the diversity of development of rice cultivation, the author proposes that four major regions of rice cultivation emerged between the nineteenth and the early twentieth century. The first is the northern region centered upon Kedah, the colonized lands of Penang and Province Wellesley, and Kelantan, Trengganu. Perak, apart from the tin-mining areas in the south, is also included and offers a fine example of development under British rule. Second, the southern region includes the plain of Malacca, which is largely non-Minangkabau in its techniques, tradition and law, together with the contrasting Minangkabau lands of Negri Sembilan. The third region, which includes southern Perak, the whole of Selangor and Pahang, comprised the 'marches' areas, where rice-growing was of little importance. The fourth region, that of the hill peoples, was only partly known during the nineteenth century. The remaining chapters focus mainly on the northern and southern centers of rice cultivation, dealing with the traditional or common cultivation methods and their distribution; acreages of paddy fields, with many statistical data on land-ownership and the races engaged in rice-growing; the socioeconomic background; and schemes for expansion of rice cultivation, the motives behind them and the fates they met. The discussion on the expansion of cultivated area in relation to the regional pattern of economic development in a colonized area indicates that large-scale development succeeded more often under Malay initiative than British. Finally, the author proposes a typological scheme which comprehends all the spatial patterns of rice-growing in the Malay Peninsula. The scheme could be used to classify the ecotypically varied pattern of rice-growing, but difficulty remains in its application to evolutional development, because multi-ancestral and different types of rice-growing were introduced into the peninsula in different ages and in different areas. On the origin and dispersion of cultivated rice in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent areas, a more detailed and precise theory should be provided by recent studies in this field. Throughout this volume, the author has successfully combined geographical and historical approaches in depicting rice in Malaya
Adhesion of oxide layer to metal-doped aluminum hydride surface: Density functional calculations
No full textPrimary Roles of Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) and Their Metabolism in Physiology and Metabolic Disorders
No full textLeucine, isoleucine, and valine are collectively known as branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) and are often discussed in the same physiological and pathological situations. The two consecutive initial reactions of BCAA catabolism are catalyzed by the common enzymes referred to as branched chain aminotransferase (BCAT) and branched chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase (BCKDH). BCAT transfers the amino group of BCAAs to 2-ketoglutarate, which results in corresponding branched chain 2-keto acids (BCKAs) and glutamate. BCKDH performs an oxidative decarboxylation of BCKAs, which produces their coenzyme A-conjugates and NADH. BCAT2 in skeletal muscle dominantly catalyzes the transamination of BCAAs. Low BCAT activity in the liver reduces the metabolization of BCAAs, but the abundant presence of BCKDH promotes the metabolism of muscle-derived BCKAs, which leads to the production of glucose and ketone bodies. While mutations in the genes responsible for BCAA catabolism are involved in rare inherited disorders, an aberrant regulation of their enzymatic activities is associated with major metabolic disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Therefore, an understanding of the regulatory process of metabolic enzymes, as well as the functions of the BCAAs and their metabolites, make a significant contribution to our health
Commune-Level Estimation of Poverty Measure and its Application in Cambodia
No full textOne of the major limitations in addressing child malnutrition is lack of information that could be used to target resources. By combining demographic and health survey (DHS) and population census data, the author disaggregates the estimates of the prevalence of child malnutrition in Cambodia from currently available 17 DHS strata into 1,594 communes. The methodology is built on the small-area estimation technique developed by Elbers, Lanjouw, and Lanjouw. The author extends it to jointly estimate multiple indicators and to allow for a richer structure of error terms. Average standard errors for the commune-level estimates in this study were about 4 percent, a magnitude comparable to those for stratum-level estimates derived from DHS only. The author demonstrates three applications of these estimates. First, he explores the relationship between malnutrition, consumption poverty, and inequality. The nonlinear effects of consumption on nutritional status of children are a key component of the relationship. Second, he conducts a decomposition analysis of health inequality and finds that the between-location share of health inequality is lower than with consumption inequality. Finally, he evaluates the potential gains from geographic targeting. The author finds that the savings in the cost of a nutrition program from commune-level targeting is on average at least two to three times higher than that from stratum-level targeting when the per capita cost of the program is fixed
Micro-level estimation of child malnutrition indicators and its application in Cambodia
No full textOne of the major limitations in addressing child malnutrition is lack of information that could be used to target resources. By combining demographic and health survey (DHS) and population census data, the author disaggregates the estimates of the prevalence of child malnutrition in Cambodia from currently available 17 DHS strata into 1,594 communes. The methodology is built on the small-area estimation technique developed by Elbers, Lanjouw, and Lanjouw. The author extends it to jointly estimate multiple indicators and to allow for a richer structure of error terms. Average standard errors for the commune-level estimates in this study were about 4 percent, a magnitude comparable to those for stratum-level estimates derived from DHS only. The author demonstrates three applications of these estimates. First, he explores the relationship between malnutrition, consumption poverty, and inequality. The nonlinear effects of consumption on nutritional status of children are a key component of the relationship. Second, he conducts a decomposition analysis of health inequality and finds that the between-location share of health inequality is lower than with consumption inequality. Finally, he evaluates the potential gains from geographic targeting. The author finds that the savings in the cost of a nutrition program from commune-level targeting is on average at least two to three times higher than that from stratum-level targeting when the per capita cost of the program is fixed.
Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) mediates radiation-induced mitochondrial fission by regulating the phosphorylation of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) at serine 616
No full textMitochondrial dynamics are suggested to be indispensable for the maintenance of cellular quality and function in response to various stresses. While ionizing radiation (IR) stimulates mitochondrial fission, which is mediated by the mitochondrial fission protein, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), it remains unclear how IR promotes Drp1 activation and subsequent mitochondrial fission. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate these concerns. First, we found that X-irradiation triggered Drp1 phosphorylation at serine 616 (S616) but not at serine 637 (S637). Reconstitution analysis revealed that introduction of wild-type (WT) Drp1 recovered radiation-induced mitochondrial fission, which was absent in Drp1-deficient cells. Compared with cells transfected with WT or S637A Drp1, the change in mitochondrial shape following irradiation was mitigated in S616A Drp1-transfected cells. Furthermore, inhibition of CaMKII significantly suppressed Drp1 5616 phosphorylation and mitochondrial fission induced by IR. These results suggest that Drp1 phosphorylation at S616, but not at 5637, is prerequisite for radiation induced mitochondrial fission and that CaMKII regulates Drp1 phosphorylation at 5616 following irradiation. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
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