Search

Hikikomori has been recognized as a significant social issue in Japan. It is a Japanese term that refers to young people (aged 18-39 years) who have been in an asocial state of social withdrawal and social isolation for over six months. The Cabinet Office of Japan suggests that the number of hikikomori youth has reached approximately 700,000 and is still growing. In addition, recent surveys suggest that hikikomori has a prolonged influence, such that more than 610,000 middle-aged people (aged 40-65 years) have remained in a hikikomori state which began at a younger age. The major challenge of this issue facing experts is that Hikikomori individuals usually repulse external support or interventions, either consciously or unconsciously. Hence, psychological therapies reliant on external interventions have inevitable limitations in curing hikikomori. Our methodology of C-BED (Community-Based Enterprise Development), on the other hand, has proven effective in overcoming this challenge, based on the results of our pilot study supported by Japanese NGO and TOYOTA Foundation. C-BED is a peer-to-peer learning process in which hikikomori share their thoughts with peers in similar situations through online dialogues. In developing the original program, we adopted the Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) to the C-BED and produced 10 online modules for participants to interact by using online SNS group chat. The results of the online workshops (online C-BED) for five Hikikomori youth suggested that their psychological anxiety has been decreased and their willingness to participate socially has been strengthened after attending a 3-course module. In addition, C-BED has incomparable advantages in approaching hikikomori in remote areas at a meager cost, and in bringing positive changes to those who are struggling with psychological problems, no matter their cultural or economic backgrounds.

Cadmium (Cd) concentration in eggplant (Solanum melongena) fruits can be drastically reduced by grafting them with Solanum torvum rootstock. However, mechanisms of Cd uptake in roots and translocation from roots to shoots in both plants are not understood well. We thus characterized symplastic Cd uptake in roots and translocation from roots to shoots via xylem loading process of both plants. Additionally, we also examined effect of other elements in roots uptake and translocation process with the increase of Cd concentration in the medium. Cd concentration in roots of S. torvum was almost similar to that of S. melongena for 7 days. On the other hand, Cd concentrations in the shoots and xylem sap were higher in S. melongena than in S. torvum. A concentration dependent experiment in roots indicated that Km values were almost the same for species, but the Vmax values were 1.5-fold higher in S. melongena than in S. torvum. A concentration dependent experiment in xylem loading process indicated that Km values were approximately 7-fold higher in S. torvum than in S. melongena. These results suggest that xylem loading process is a critical factor for determining Cd accumulation in the shoots of both plants. Several elements concentration in roots and xylem sap of both plants decreased with the increase of Cd concentration in the medium, suggesting that Cd uptake and translocation process are partly mediated by similar transporters involving these elements transport.

In this study, a 2D two-color pyrometer was developed to measure the cathode surface temperature distribution of a high-power hydrogen magnetoplasmadynamic thruster. The developed measurement system consists of an object lens, a beam splitter, bandpass filters, and two cameras. Wavelengths of 950 and 980 nm were selected to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio by reducing the effects of plasma radiation. The cathode temperature distribution was measured in a discharge current range of 6–13 kA during approximately 1 ms quasi-steady operation. A spot-like high-temperature region over 3000 K and an overall low temperature were observed at low discharge currents. The overall cathode tip region was heated to approximately 2800 K at high discharge currents. The temperature distribution with high temperature only near the cathode tip was measured during quasi-steady operation, the duration of which is shorter than the duration of thermal conduction. These results show that the discharge current distribution near the cathode is stable during the time scale of sub-milliseconds. We confirmed that this temperature distribution remains constant during a 1 ms duty cycle through cathode temperature measurements at each operation time with a 0.2 ms exposure time. The measurement error was approximately 10% of the calculated temperature; a cross-check was performed utilizing near-infrared spectrum measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]