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This essay explores the intricate interplay between documentary and narrative elements in the film Funeral Parade of Roses (Bara no Sōretsu, dir. T. Matsumoto, 1969). The film centers on the character of Eddie, a queer individual working as a hostess in a gay bar in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. The narrative intertwines Eddie’s romantic relationship with the bar owner Gonda and his conflict with the establishment’s manager Leda. Flashbacks to Eddie’s childhood and the revelation that Gonda is his long-lost father have led many Western scholars to interpret the film as a loose adaptation of Oedipus Rex. However, this essay challenges such readings, proposing an analysis of the film through the lens of gender and sexual identity in 1960s Japan. The study integrates elements of Western theory (Ch. Baudelaire, W. Benjamin, G. Deleuze, F. Guattari, S. Sontag) with research on the specificity of Japanese culture (D. Desser, A. Jacoby, M.J. McLelland, A.M. Nornes, D. Richie, T. Satō, T. Schmidt, I. Standish), as well as insights from the director (T. Matsumoto) and his interpreters (M. Ko, M. Raine). The chosen methodology facilitates an exploration of the relationship between the individual and reality as depicted in documentary form. By employing the concept of the flâneur to capture the essence of Shinjuku, the author emphasizes the film’s eclecticism, which, through diverse conventions and cultural influences, creates a nuanced portrayal of Japan’s sexual minorities and offers a commentary on the impact of foreign influences on Japanese collective society.

Imagawa-Matsumoto syndrome (IMMAS; MIM #618786) is an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by overgrowth, dysmorphic features, musculoskeletal abnormalities, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. The first case was reported in 2017 and has subsequently been diagnosed in only another 12 patients. We also present the first IMMAS patient from Turkey. A 19-year-old female was admitted to the neurology outpatient clinic due to a behavioral disorder and intellectual disability. Her physical examination revealed macrocephaly and dysmorphic features like a round face, broad forehead, hypertelorism, and variable skeletal anomalies such as flat feet, clinodactyly, and macrocephaly. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed agenesis of the corpus callosum and polymicrogyria. Chromosomal analysis results were consistent with a normal constitutional female karyotype and microarray analysis showed a de novo 1.5-MB size deletion on the long arm of chromosome 17; band q11.2 encompassing the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 Subunit (SUZ12 gene, MIM *606245). This report will contribute to the limited information in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characterization of Finsler spaces with Ricci curvature is an ancient and cumbersome one. In this paper, we have derived an expression of Ricci curvature for the homogeneous generalized Matsumoto change. Moreover, we have deduced the expression of Ricci curvature for the aforementioned space with vanishing the S-curvature. These findings contribute significantly to understanding the complex nature of Finsler spaces and their curvature properties.

The curvature characteristics of particular classes of Finsler spaces, such as homogeneous Finsler spaces, are one of the major issues in Finsler geometry. In this paper, we have obtained the expression for S-curvature in homogeneous Finsler space with a generalized Matsumoto metric and demonstrated that the homogeneous generalized Matsumoto space with isotropic S-curvature has to vanish the S-curvature. We have also derived the expression for the mean Berwald curvature by using the formula of S-curvature.

The SUZ12 gene encodes a subunit of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) that is essential for development by silencing the expression of multiple genes. Germline heterozygous variants in SUZ12 have been found in Imagawa–Matsumoto syndrome (IMMAS) characterized by overgrowth and multiple dysmorphic features. Similarly, both EZH2 and EED also encode a subunit of PRC2 each and their pathogenic variants cause Weaver syndrome and Cohen–Gibson syndrome, respectively. Clinical manifestations of these syndromes significantly overlap, although their different prevalence rates have recently been noted: generalized overgrowth, intellectual disability, scoliosis, and excessive loose skin appear to be less prevalent in IMMAS than in the other two syndromes. We could not determine any apparent genotype–phenotype correlation in IMMAS. The phenotype of neurofibromatosis type 1 arising from NF1 deletion was also shown to be modified by the deletion of SUZ12, 560 kb away. This review deepens our understanding of the clinical and genetic characteristics of IMMAS together with other overgrowth syndromes related to PRC2. We also report on a novel IMMAS patient carrying a splicing variant (c.1023+1G>C) in SUZ12. This patient had a milder phenotype than other previously reported IMMAS cases, with no macrocephaly or overgrowth phenotypes, highlighting the clinical variation in IMMAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recenzja książki: Music as Heritage: Historical and Ethnographic Perspectives, red. Barley Norton, Naomi Matsumoto, London–New York 2019

This study examines utterances--either words, phrases, or sentences--that instructors initiate and students later appropriate for their own purposes and interests in different sequential contexts. We name these utterances "shared codes" because they occur repeatedly in classroom interactions and gradually take on meanings unique to class members. Simply put, they serve as codes, or "keys," for unlocking the interactional history (but not necessarily for explaining the original meaning). Such shared codes were employed for making humor and building relationships. Indeed, students' use of the codes seems to exhibit learner agency in selecting and appropriating utterances. We examined classroom interactions of two English as a second language (ESL) courses, taught by two instructors in university-based English-language programs in the U.S. Following Cameron and Deignan (2006), this study analyzes interactional contexts where shared codes emerge by employing complex dynamic systems theory perspectives. From our corpus of ESL writing classrooms, we selected four utterances that emerged as shared codes by tracking instances longitudinally, visualizing "patterns" among which the codes emerged. We also employed multimodal conversation analysis to "illuminate" processes during which students adapted their teachers' utterances, thus contributing to those utterances becoming temporarily stable, or in an "attractor state" (Larsen--Freeman, 2017).

Lila Matsumoto reviews Toward. Some. Air.: Remarks on Poetics, edited by Fred Wah and Amy De’Ath (2015); Shalini Sengupta reviews For the Future: Poems & Essays in Honour of J.H. Prynne on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, edited by Ian Brinton (2016).

The characterization of Finsler spaces with Ricci curvature is an ancient and cumbersome one. In this paper, we have derived an expression of Ricci curvature for the homogeneous generalized Matsumoto change. Moreover, we have deduced the expression of Ricci curvature for the aforementioned space with vanishing the S-curvature. These findings contribute significantly to understanding the complex nature of Finsler spaces and their curvature properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preface by Kichiro Matsumoto, President of the Japan Medical Association, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Takemi Program in International Health, established in 1983 at the Harvard School of Public Health. The program has produced over 300 fellows from 60 countries, focusing on diverse health-related fields. The special issue on Digital Health highlights the importance of technological innovations, such as big data and artificial intelligence, in creating a sustainable healthcare system for Japan and globally. [Extracted from the article]

The curvature characteristics of particular classes of Finsler spaces, such as homogeneous Finsler spaces, are one of the major issues in Finsler geometry. In this paper, we have obtained the expression for S-curvature in homogeneous Finsler space with a generalized Matsumoto metric and demonstrated that the homogeneous generalized Matsumoto space with isotropic S-curvature has to vanish the S-curvature. We have also derived the expression for the mean Berwald curvature by using the formula of S-curvature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article responds to a study comparing milk ladder (ML) and early oral immunotherapy (E-OIT) for cow's milk protein allergy in children under 2 years old. The authors discuss the use of ML in Ireland as a successful treatment for cow's milk protein allergy. They highlight the importance of confirming allergies through oral food challenges and caution against labeling interventions as targeting allergic patients without proper confirmation. The authors reflect on their own practices and emphasize the need for accurate diagnosis before implementing dietary advancement therapies. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of single-incision laparoscopic colectomy (SILC) for right-sided colon cancer (CC) using a craniocaudal approach. Patients and Methods: The data of patients who underwent SILC for right-sided CC at our hospital between January 2013 and December 2022 were retrospectively collected. Surgery was performed using a craniocaudal approach. Short- and long-term operative outcomes were analysed. Results: In total, 269 patients (127 men, 142 women; median age 74 years) underwent SILC for right-sided CC. The cases included ileocaecal resection (n = 138) and right hemicolectomy (n = 131). The median operative time was 154 min, and the median operative blood loss was 0 ml. Twenty-seven cases (10.0) required an additional laparoscopic trocar, and 9 (3.3) were converted to open surgery. The Clavien-Dindo classification Grade III post-operative complications were detected in 7 (2.6) cases. SILC was performed by 25 surgeons, including inexperienced surgeons, with a median age of 34 years. The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) was 96.1 (95 confidence interval [CI] 91.3-98.2), and CSS per pathological disease stage was 100 for Stages 0-I and II and 86.2 (95 CI 71.3-93.7) for Stage III. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 90.6 (95 CI 85.7-93.9), and RFS per pathological disease stage was 100 for Stage 0-I, 91.7 (95 CI 80.5-96.6) for Stage II and 76.1 (95 CI 63.0-85.1) for Stage III. Conclusions: SILC for right-sided CC can be safely performed with a craniocaudal approach, with reasonable short- and long-term outcomes. Keywords: Craniocaudal approach, long-term outcomes, right-sided colon cancer, short-term outcomes, single-incision laparoscopic colectomy, Author(s): Mamoru Miyasaka (corresponding author) [1]; Shuji Kitashiro [1]; Mamoru Takahashi [1]; Yuki Okawa [1]; Sho Sekiya [1]; Daisuke Saikawa [1]; Koichi Teramura [1]; Satoshi Hayashi [1]; Yoshinori Suzuki [1]; [...]

Abstract Background Influenza virus transmission may be prevented by infection control measures, including vaccination, wearing a mask, gargling with water, and hand washing. It is unclear, however, whether these measures affect influenza epidemics in school settings. Methods A prospective epidemiological survey in all public elementary schools in Matsumoto City, Japan, during the 2014/2015 season evaluated the number of diagnosed patients in each school and calculated the reproduction number of schoolchildren. At the end of the prospective survey, a cross-sectional survey evaluated the implementation of infection control measures in these schools. Both results were combined and associations among infection control measures including vaccination, mask wearing, hand washing, water gargling, and epidemic level were evaluated. Results Of the 13,217 schoolchildren in 29 schools, 2548 were diagnosed with seasonal influenza. A significant negative association was observed between vaccination coverage and reproduction number at each school, but not between other infection control measures and the reproduction number. A regression curve with exponential function was most predictive. At 0% vaccination, the reproduction number was estimated to be 1.39. Conclusion These findings provide evidence that high vaccination coverage was associated with reduced epidemic levels in schools and suggest the need for increased vaccination of schoolchildren.

Este artigo delieneia algumas das representações de história e da política no anime Uchuu Senkan Yamato, exibido pela primeira vez em 1977, e no Brasil, na década de 1980 pela TV Manchete, como “Patrulha Estelar”. O anime narra as aventuras do navio japonês Yamato, destruído na 2a. Guerra, transformado, no século 23, em uma nave espacial para salvar a Terra de ameaças alienígenas. A análise narrativa dos 77 episódios do anime sugere que o tratamento de questões históricas e políticas acontece de duas maneiras: (1) uma reinterpretação imaginativa da História, particularmente da 2a. Guerra, com o Yamato se juntando ao lado dos “aliados”; (2) uma crítica ao consumismo e materialismo, bem como ao militarismo, mostrados em oposição a valores como amizade e entendimento. Esses pontos são discutidos a partir dos estudos recentes sobre entretenimento e política.