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This study aimed to examine the trends in grants for STEM/STEAM education in Japan as well as Japanese students’ perception of science learning and future careers. The grants were addressed through analysis of chronological trends, while student perceptions were reviewed through student questionnaires on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011, 2015, and 2019. The results reflect ideas on not only STEM education, which is often treated in the context of workforce development and science/mathematics education in Japan, but also ideas on the rapid expansion of and changes to STEAM education around 2015, which seems to be intended the integration of multiple subjects. In contrast, the results showed that students’ perceptions of science and engineering careers are improving, but there are still challenges. Since subject-integrated learning has already been conducted in Japan, we consider the further discussion required regarding specific objective of STEAM versus STEM education.

Objectives: Mammalian DNA methyltransferases are essential to re-establish global DNA methylation patterns during implantation, which is critical for transmitting epigenetic information to the next generation. In contrast, the significance of methyl-CpG binding proteins (MBPs) that bind methylated CpG remains almost unknown at this stage. We previously demonstrated that Zbtb38 (also known as CIBZ)—a zinc finger type of MBP—is required for mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell proliferation by positively regulating Nanog expression. However, the physiological function of Zbtb38 in vivo remains unclear. Materials and Methods: This study used the Cre-loxP system to generate conditional Zbtb38 knockout mice. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were studied by immunofluorescence staining. Quantitative real-time PCR, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence were performed to investigate the molecular mechanisms. Results: Germline loss of the Zbtb38 single allele resulted in decreased epiblast cell proliferation and increased apoptosis shortly after implantation, leading to early embryonic lethality. Heterozygous loss of Zbtb38 reduced the expression of Nanog, Sox2, and the genes responsible for epiblast proliferation, differentiation, and cell viability. Although this early lethal phenotype, Zbtb38 is dispensable for ES cell establishment and identity. Conclusions: These findings indicate that Zbtb38 is essential for early embryonic development via the suppression of Nanog and Sox2 expression.

Mammalian DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification which is involved in various biological processes, including gene expression regulation. In mice, methyltransferases are responsible for DNA methylation, which are critical for early embryogenesis. However, the significance of methyl-CpG binding proteins (MBPs) that bind methylated CpG remains largely unknown. We previously demonstrated that ZBTB38/CIBZ-a zinc finger type of MBP-is required for ES cell proliferation by positively regulating Nanog expression. However, the physiological function of ZBTB38 remains unclear. In this study, we generated conditional ZBTB38 knockout mice using Cre-loxP technology. Unexpectedly, our results showed that germline loss of the ZBTB38 single allele resulted in decreased epiblast cell proliferation and increased apoptosis shortly after implantation, leading to early embryonic lethality. We found that heterozygous loss of ZBTB38 reduced the expression of Nanog, Sox2, and the genes responsible for epiblast proliferation, differentiation, and cell viability. Despite this lethal phenotype, ZBTB38 is dispensable for ES cell establishment and identity. Together, these findings indicate that ZBTB38 is essential for early embryonic development, providing new insights into the roles of MBP in implantation.

This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of Lesson Study among junior high school science teachers in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, Japan. Using the descriptive-survey research design to the two groups (young teachers and veteran teachers) of all the junior high school science teachers in Fukuyama City, assessment on the successes and challenges on Lesson Study was carried out. A survey questionnaire was used to assess the three categories namely professional development, administrative support, and team cooperation among the teachers, in the implementation of Lesson Study and the deep views and opinions were probed using open-ended questions. Using the Average Weighted Mean, it was found out that science teachers achieved successes or advantages in terms of professional development, administrative support, and team cooperation. However, the challenge faced by teachers in the implementation of Lesson Study is the availability of time and the category on students’ attitude was perceived as neutral which is neither advantageous nor disadvantageous in the implementation of Lesson Study. The t-test of independent means made on the relevant data of the two groups bears no significant difference. This implies that young teachers or those with teaching experience of less than 10 years and veteran teachers or those with teaching experience of 10 years and above are of equal variances in terms of their successes and challenges in Lesson Study. Lesson Study should be promoted and implemented regularly in all schools at all levels from Elementary to College. Further similar study on a bigger scale could be conducted to establish the reliability of the study.

A detailed characterization of plasmon modes is important not only for a deeper understanding of plasmons but also for their practical applications. In this study, we investigated the three-dimensional near-field characteristics of high-order plasmon modes excited in a gold hexagonal nanoplate. From the near-field spectroscopic images, we found that both in-plane and out-of-plane plasmon modes observed near 900 nm were spectrally and spatially overlapped. We performed three-dimensional near-field measurement to reveal the optical characteristics of the overlapped modes in detail. We found that the steric near-field distribution near the nanoplate strongly depended on the plasmon mode, and the out-of-plane mode confines electromagnetic fields more tightly than the in-plane mode. We also found that the in-plane mode was dominantly visualized as the probe tip-sample distance increased. These findings demonstrate that the three-dimensional near-field technique enables selective visualization of a single plasmon mode even if multiple modes are spatially and spectrally overlapped.

Long-term (9 years from 2011) and spatial (106 points in 2012 and 2013) observation of water temperature and electric conductivity were conducted for groundwater and river water throughout the Kurobe River basin to clarify the recharge area and recharge situation for the safety use of groundwater resources. The results of these observations show that the water temperature of the river rose in the lower basin (0.3 °C/100 m), but that the temperature of the coastal area was lower than the annual average. The EC rises further away from the river, indicating that Kurobe River water have been infiltrated into ground and the interaction with the rocks is progressing. Most groundwater in the alluvial fan was recharged from the top of the fan; however, the coastal area was recharged from a river about 142–450 mASL (about 13–34 km from an estuary of the Kurobe river).

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We developed new F1 hybrids of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) that allow cultivation earlier in spring without heating by introducing extremely late-bolting alleles at two homologs of the flowering repressor Flowering Locus C (BrFLC2 and BrFLC3) from non-heading ‘Leafy Green Parental Line No. 2’. These new F1 hybrids were produced by the following four steps. First, the extremely late bolting selected lines were developed. These selected lines headed in spring after overwintering cultivation, whereas the conventional F1 cultivars flowered. Secondly, an investigation of the three plantings showed that our F1 hybrids formed heads when seeds were sown from mid-February to early March, whereas the conventional F1 cultivar did not form heads because of premature bolting. Thirdly, we identified some F1 hybrids with extremely late bolting during early spring cultivation in an investigation of many F1 hybrids. Finally, based on an investigation across four cold regions for 2 years, we compared the commercialization rate, defined as the proportion of plants greater than 2000 g in weight and with a flowering stalk less than 10 cm long. Then we identified a F1 of MS02 × 12-04 which had a high commercialization rate on average (92%), whereas the rates of three conventional F1 cultivars were only 0–2%. In the near future, these F1 hybrids will be valuable late-bolting cultivars despite climate change, permitting stable cultivation and harvest over wide regions.

This study explored the latent class of the structure of Japanese students’ interest in science and scientific literacy based on the result of PISA2006. As the result of this analysis suggested, Japanese students could be divided into two latent classes that differed in terms of the direct effect of instrumental motivation to learn science (F6) on scientific literacy (F7).

1. Towards Cultural Indicators of Science with Global Validity Martin W. Bauer, Rajesh Shukla and Nick Allum 2. The Culture of Science and the Politics of Numbers Benoit Godin Section 1: Longitudinal Analysis 3. Attitudes Toward Science in France: 1972-2005 Daniel Boy 4. American Public Understanding of Science: 1979-2006 Susan Carol Losh 5. The Image of Science in Bulgaria and UK, 1992-2005: Does Generation Matter? Kristina Petkova and Valery Todorov 6. The Changing Culture of Science Across Old Europe: 1989 to 2005 Martin W. Bauer 7. Knowledge of Science and Technology in Japan: IRT Scores for 1991 and 2001 Kinya Shimizu and Takuya Matsuura 8. Adult Scientific Literacy and Its Surveys in China Since 1992 Ke Wang, Fujun Ren, Wei He and Chao Zhang Section 2: Cross-National Comparisons 9. Comparing the Public Understanding of Science Across China and Europe Xuan Liu, Shukun Tang and Martin W. Bauer 10. Information and Attitudes towards Science and Technology in Iberoamerica Carmelo Polino and Yurij Castelfranchi 11. The Science Culture Index (SCI): Construction and Validation Rajesh Shukla and Martin W. Bauer 12. A Comparative View on Adolescents' Attitudes to Science Svein Sjoberg and Camilla Schreiner Section 3: Measurement Issues 13. The Sources and Impact of Civic Scientific Literacy Jon D. Miller 14. Latent Trait Models to Assess Cross-National Scales of the Public's Knowledge About Science and Technology Sally Stares 15. Statistical Modelling of Public Understanding Science Anil Rai and Rajesh Shukla 16. The Cultures of Public Understanding of Science - Defining Cultural Distance Gauhar Raza and Surjit Singh Section 4: Cultural Aspects of Sensitive Topics 17. Beliefs About Astrology Across Europe Nick Allum and Paul Stoneman 18. The Human-Animal Boundary in Switzerland: A Cross-Cultural Perspective Fabienne Crettaz von Roten 19. Religious Belief and Attitudes About Science in the US Scott Keeter, Gregory Smith and David Masci 20. Worldviews and Perceptions of Stem Cell Research Across Europe Rafael Pardo Section 5: Complementary Datastreams 21. Measuring PEP/IS, A New Model for Communicative Effectiveness of Science Hak-Soo Kim 22. Suggesting Cultural Indicators Derived from Exhibitory Science Bernard Schiele 23. Building a Science News Media Barometer - SAPO Carlos Vogt, Yurij Castelfranchi, Sabine Righetti, Rafael Evangelista, Ana Paula Morales and Flavia Gouveia 24. Validating Survey Measures of Scientific Citizenship Niels Meijgaard and Sally Stares 25. Benchmarking Climate Indicators for Science Communication and Public Engagement Across Europe Steve Miller 26. Monitoring Science in the Public Sphere: The Case of Italy Massimiano Bucchi and Federico Neresini