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There has long been interest in the effect of stay abroad on pragmatic development in second language (L2) pragmatics research. However, few testing instruments exist to assess pragmatics learning in stay abroad and provide information about learners’ development to help institutions evaluate the success of stay abroad programs. In this study, we describe the adaptation and validation of Roever’s (2005) test of second language routine formulae to be used large-scale with Japanese stay-abroad learners. We follow Kane’s (2006) argument-based approach to validation, evaluating the first four inferences: Domain description, Evaluation, Generalization, and Explanation. We also investigate the test’s practicality within the institutional setting of intended use. We find evidence supporting the use of the test for providing information on pragmatics learning during stay abroad. The test can differentiate between low- and high-ability learners, shows adequate reliability, and reflects the roles of proficiency and exposure in pragmatics learning in stay abroad contexts. The test is also practical and requires few resources. Further steps, such as the investigation of the Extrapolation and Decision inference, are discussed.

Organizing the demand for oral healthcare is a big challenge for the oral health teams, because it needs careful planning and requires time and communication with other professionals. The present study aims to describe the organization of the demand for oral health treatment in primary care units in Brazil. In this descriptive and qualitative study, the workflow processes during the demand organization were mapped out according to the information from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with open-ended question; and described using a business process management modelling tool. The care routine was at first described as the “AS IS” model, which was evaluated by the oral team professionals, rearranged, and further described as the “TO BE” model. The model describing the “AS IS” situation was used for a global view of the process to optimize the resources, redistributed tasks and reduced waste and repetitions based on the resulting workflow obtained with the study. It was also taken in consideration the fact that the unit faced a significant increase in the demand of patients due to restrictions offered by the dental service in addition to non-urgent treatments being avoided by patients during COVID-19 pandemic. In the present study, structuring the work processes in a visual way using modelling tools was useful to picture the entire treatment process and adjust when needed. The use of the modelling tool was useful to understand and reorganize the workflow of the demand organization and ultimately improve the efficiency of the resources. The use of such managerial tools helped the oral health professionals to efficiently rearrange their tasks and set priorities to meet their needs. With the use of management tools, each unit can readjust its structures and ways of working, aiming to improve the quality of public health care services provided to patients.

This study proposes a new method of visualizing the ambient dose rate distribution using artificial neural networks (ANNs) from airborne radiation monitoring results. The method was applied to the results of the airborne radiation monitoring which was conducted around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant by an unmanned aerial vehicle. Much of the survey data obtained in the past were used as the training data for building a network. The number of training cases was related to the error between the ground and converted values by the ANN. The quantitative evaluation index (the root-mean-square error) between the ANN-converted value and the ground-based survey result converged at 200 training cases. This number of training case was considered a rough criterion of the required number of training cases. The reliability of the ANN method was evaluated by comparison with the ground-based survey data. The dose rate map created by the ANNs method reproduced ground-based survey results better than traditional methods.

We conducted a randomized experiment targeting 322 Japanese high school students to examine the impacts of a newly developed English-language learning program. The treated students were offered an opportunity to communicate for 25 minutes with English-speaking Filipino teachers via Skype several times a week over a 5-month period as an extracurricular activity. The results show that the Skype program increased the interest of the treated students in an international vocation and in foreign affairs. However, the students did not improve their English communication abilities, as measured by standardized tests, probably because of the program's low utilization rate. Further investigation showed that the utilization rate was particularly low among students demonstrating a tendency to procrastinate. These results suggest the importance of maintaining students’ motivation to keep using such information and communication technology-assisted learning programs if they are not already incorporated into the existing curriculum. Having procrastinators self-regulate may be especially crucial.

Air dose rates within a range of 80 km from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant measured via car-borne surveys using the KURAMA systems from 2011 to 2018 were analyzed. The ratio of the air ...

This article reports on two quasi-experimental studies that investigated the possible development and transfer of audience awareness in novice EFL writers as they engaged in online writing tasks through a Social Networking Service (SNS). Japanese students from two universities were asked to write, read, and comment on other students’ writing once a week. The two studies were arranged sequentially so as to capture in an exploratory but jointly illuminating manner whether and how the “elusive” (Hyland, 2005) construct of “sense of audience” can develop and transfer across genres. The results of both studies suggest that the SNS environment can help L2 writers develop audience awareness and transfer that awareness across genres when two conditions are met: (1) the genre of the SNS tasks should be perceived as similar to that for which transfer was expected; and (2) the students did not develop a sense of audience in previous writing instruction.

The Fukushima nuclear accident of 2011 raised awareness of the importance of radioactive deposition processes, especially for proposing aerosol measures against possible air pollution. However, identifying these types of processes is often difficult due to complicated terrains. This paper presents an application study for identifying radioactive deposition processes by taking advantage of visual interaction with topographic data. The idea is to visually investigate the correspondence of the spatial positions to the air dose rate along with relevant attributes. This is accomplished by composing scatterplots of pairwise attributes, onto which we project terrain areas to interactively find specific patterns of such attributes. We applied our approach to the analysis of air dose rate distribution data around the Fukushima nuclear plant after the accident. Our visualization technique clearly distinguished contamination areas derived from different deposition processes and thus is useful for elucidation of the deposition process.

Pinacidil, a nonselective ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel opener, has cardioprotective effects for hypertension, ischemia/reperfusion injury, and arrhythmia. This agent abolishes early afterdepolarizations, delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs), and abnormal automaticity in canine cardiac ventricular myocytes. DADs are well known to be caused by the Na+/Ca2+ exchange current (INCX). In this study, we used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique and Fura-2/AM (Ca2+-indicator) method to investigate the effect of pinacidil on INCX in isolated guinea pig cardiac ventricular myocytes. In the patch-clamp study, pinacidil enhanced INCX in a concentration-dependent manner. The half-maximal effective concentration values were 23.5 and 23.0 μM for the Ca2+ entry (outward) and Ca2+ exit (inward) components of INCX, respectively. The pinacidil-induced INCX increase was blocked by L-NAME, a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor, by ODQ, a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, and by KT5823, a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKG) inhibitor, but not by N-2-mercaptopropyonyl glycine (MPG), a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger. Glibenclamide, a nonselective KATP channel inhibitor, blocked the pinacidil-induced INCX increase, while 5-HD, a selective mitochondria KATP channel inhibitor, did not. In the Fura-2/AM study pinacidil also enhanced intracellular Ca2+ concentration, which was inhibited by L-NAME, ODQ, KT5823, and glibenclamide, but not by MPG and 5-HD. Sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor, increased further the pinacidil-induced INCX increase. Sodium nitroprusside, a NO donor, also increased INCX. In conclusion, pinacidil may stimulate cardiac Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX1) by opening plasma membrane KATP channels and activating the NO/cGMP/PKG signaling pathway.

Airborne radiation monitoring was conducted in order to evaluate the influence of radionuclides emitted by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident throughout Japan. Carrying out airborne radiation monitoring using manned and unmanned helicopters, the we have developed and established an analysis method concurrently with the development of this monitoring method. In particular, because the background radiation level differs greatly between East and West regions of Japan, we have developed a discrimination method for natural radionuclide and cosmic rays using the gamma energy spectra. The reliability of the airborne radiation monitoring data was validated through comparison with large amounts of ground measurement data. The ecological half-lives of short and long components for decline of the ambient dose equivalent (air dose rate) were 0.61 years and 57 years, respectively, based on the results of air dose rate of airborne radiation monitoring using manned helicopter. These results indicate the importance of airborne monitoring to evaluate and predict the radiation exposure of residents.

The competing demands of teaching, research, and service seem to never end. Consequently, as academics, we often find ourselves feeling unable to realize our professional goals while also maintaini ...

This study explores the effects of various motivational variables operating within 44 English classes on 1-year-long gains in the English reading proficiency of 1,149 Japanese university students. The study adds new knowledge to the recent outcomes of second language (L2) motivational studies in 3 major ways. First, the explanatory variables include the participants' own motivation as well as the class norms (ethos) shared by class members, some of which (e.g., career aspirations) were not directly related to their L2 learning. Second, multi-level modeling enabled a simultaneous analysis of L2 proficiency growth over 1 year at both the individual and the class levels. Third, its explanatory sequential mixed methods design (Cresswell, 2014) demonstrated how the participants' own accounts help to explain the initial quantitative results in ways the researchers' outsider speculations could not. The statistical results indicate that the 44 classes grew in L2 reading abilities at significantly different rates over the year and that these differences can be explained by the students' perceptions of their classmates' normative career aspirations (among other predictors). These results suggest that being surrounded by classmates with high career aspirations may lead to higher motivation to study the L2 even if students are not highly motivated in the beginning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The type and amounts of oxygen adsorption species at various atmospheric humidity levels are important factors in improving the sensitivity to combustible gases and stability to humidity changes of SnO2-based resistive-type gas sensors. We investigated the effect of antimony (Sb) doping of SnO2 nanoparticles on the stability of the sensitivity to humidity changes and oxygen adsorption species under humid atmosphere. No significant degradation of the sensitivity to hydrogen of Sb-SnO2 sensors was observed between 16 and 96 RH%, while an undoped SnO2 sensor showed gradually decreasing responses with increasing humidity. An evaluation of oxygen adsorption species under humid atmosphere showed a transition from O2– to O– with increasing humidity from 16 to 96 RH%. However, the O2– adsorption sites were maintained on the surfaces of the Sb-SnO2, even as the humidity increased. Moreover, the extent of oxygen adsorption on the Sb-SnO2 was not obviously changed with increasing humidity. These results indicate tha...

Pinacidil, a nonselective ATP-sensitive K

After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, the vertical distribution of radiocesium in soil has been investigated to better understand the behavior of radiocesium in the environment. The typical method used for measuring the vertical distribution of radiocesium is troublesome because it requires collection and measurement of the activity of soil samples. In this study, we established a method of estimating the vertical distribution of radiocesium by focusing on the characteristics of gamma-ray spectra obtained via aerial radiation monitoring using an unmanned helicopter. The estimates are based on actual measurement data collected at an extended farm. In this method, the change in the ratio of direct gamma rays to scattered gamma rays at various depths in the soil was utilized to quantify the vertical distribution of radiocesium. The results show a positive correlation between the abovementioned and the actual vertical distributions of radiocesium measured in the soil samples. A vertical distribution map was created on the basis of this ratio using a simple equation derived from the abovementioned correlation. This technique can provide a novel approach for effective selection of high-priority areas that require decontamination.

A 69-year-old woman presented with generalized myasthenia gravis and a left orbital cavernous hemangioma (OCH), which elevated the optic nerve and displaced the external eye muscles. Cyclosporine treatment induced a gradual size reduction in the OCH, and consequently contributed to improved external ocular symptoms in combination with immunosuppressant effects.

The present study investigated the effects of varying lengths of overseas experiences on 37 Japanese students' English writing ability and motivation over 3.5 years. The students were observed at the beginning of their first year and in the middle of their second, third, and fourth years at their university. During the 3.5-year observation period, 28 of the 37 students spent 1.5 to 11 months in English-speaking countries. The results revealed that (1) students' second language (L2) writing ability did not change in a linear way; (2) over the 3.5 years, students who spent some time abroad significantly improved their L2 writing ability whereas those who stayed in Japan did not; (3) many of those students who went abroad formed L2-related imagined communities that possibly motivated them to improve their L2 writing ability; (4) those students who spent more than 4 months abroad improved their L2 writing ability significantly more than the other students; and (5) only those students who spent more than 8 months abroad became intrinsically motivated and voluntarily practiced to improve their L2 writing.

In the present study I describe the 150-year history of school-based English language assessment in Japan. The history is divided into four major periods according to the purposes of English language education set by the government in the different periods: (1) 1860 to 1945, when English was first introduced and taught in schools mainly for elite classes; (2) 1945 to 1970, when English became part of the compulsory education for the first time; (3) 1970 to 1990 when English began to be regarded as the most effective means to communicate with foreign people in the rapidly shrinking world; and (4) 1990 to the present, when several innovative policies have been introduced into classroom measurement systems. I describe how assessment practices for English education at schools in each of these periods were and still are affected by various factors, including political, economic, and demographic changes in society, as well as academic paradigm shifts in the fields of education and applied linguistics.

This study was a comparison of the changes in English writing behavior of 7 Japanese university students (the study-abroad group) who spent 4 to 9 months in English-speaking countries with those of 6 counterparts majoring in British and American studies (the at-home group) who remained in Japan. The study aimed at confirming the results of Sasaki (2004), who investigated similar students' English-writing behavior over 3.5 years. After a 1-year observation period, (a) both groups improved their general English proficiency; (b) only those in the study-abroad group improved their second language (L2) writing ability and fluency; (c) unlike Sasaki's participants, the study-abroad group made more local plans and the at-home group fewer; (d) at the end of the study, both groups translated their ideas into the L2 as often as they did at the beginning of the study; and (e) only the study-abroad group became more motivated to write better L2 compositions.

Real-time monitoring of specific gas concentrations with a compact and portable gas sensing device is required to sense potential health risk and danger from toxic gases. For such purposes, we developed an ultrasmall gas sensor device, where a micro sensing film was deposited on a micro heater integrated with electrodes fabricated by the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The developed device was operated in a pulse-heating mode to significantly reduce the heater power consumption and make the device battery-driven and portable. Using clustered Pd/SnO2 nanoparticles, we succeeded in introducing mesopores ranging from 10 to 30 nm in the micro gas sensing film (area: ϕ 150 μm) to detect large volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The micro sensor showed quick, stable, and high sensor responses to toluene at ppm (parts per million) concentrations at 300 °C even by operating the micro heater in a pulse-heating mode where switch-on and -off cycles were repeated at one-second intervals. The high performance of the micro sensor should result from the creation of efficient diffusion paths decorated with Pd sensitizers by using the clustered Pd/SnO2 nanoparticles. Hence we demonstrate that our pulse-driven micro sensor using nanostructured oxide materials holds promise as a battery-operable, portable gas sensing device.

This article reviews the current and potential applications of laser technology in nonsurgical therapy for the treatment of periodontal diseases. Based on its various characteristics, such as ablation or vaporization, hemostasis, and sterilization effect, laser treatment may serve as an adjunct or alternative to conventional, mechanical periodontal therapy. The Carbon dioxide (CO2) and the Neodymiumdoped:Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Nd:YAG) lasers were previously approved for soft tissue treatment in periodontics (1, 2, 4), because of their superior ability of soft tissue ablation, accompanied by strong hemostatic and bactericidal effects (6, 37, 143, 170, 218). However, when these lasers are applied to dental hard tissues the result is major thermal damage, especially at a high-energy output, rendering them unsuitable for hard tissue treatment (56, 214). Recently, the Erbium-doped:Yttrium-AluminumGarnet (Er:YAG) laser was developed in dentistry (71, 85, 87). As it is capable of ablation in both soft and hard tissues, the Er:YAG laser can be used for periodontal hard tissue treatment such as root surface debridement, as well as soft tissue management (78). The use of lasers within the periodontal pocket has become a topic of much interest and is a promising field in periodontal therapy. This article deals with recent advances in nonsurgical laser therapy for periodontal disease, and will briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of various laser types.

The present study investigated the changes in Japanese students’ English writing behaviors over a 3.5-year period using multiple data sources including written texts, videotaped writing behaviors, and stimulated-recall protocols. Data from student interviews supplemented the analyses. Because 6 (henceforth, English as a second language [ESL] students) out of the 11 participants spent 2 to 8 months in English-speaking environments, the study was also able to examine the effects of such overseas experiences. The results revealed that over the observation period (a) both the English as a foreign language (EFL, remaining in Japan) and the ESL students improved their English proficiency, English composition quality/fluency, and confidence in English writing; (b) the ESL students’ overseas experiences were helpful for improving their writing strategy use and motivation to write better compositions; and (c) neither group's abilities or skills became like those of the EFL experts studied in Sasaki (2002).