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PurposeWhat does it take to successfully implement new educational innovation in schools, and what roles does lesson study play there? In order to answer this question, this study investigated the implementation of Sesame Street's Dream–Save–Do (DSD) curriculum that was designed to help children in a Japanese elementary school learn to pursue their own dreams.Design/methodology/approachThe authors first reviewed available documents on the DSD curriculum in the district, and then conducted DSD class observations. The authors also interviewed the students, teachers, the principal, the lead teacher at the school, the school district staff in charge of the operation as well as the Sesame Japan staff in order to collect the data for the study.FindingsThe study found that students were highly engaged in open-ended discussions about their future dreams and how to achieve them in observed DSD classes. The implementation of the new curriculum benefited from utilizing lesson study as the main arena for curricular innovation. A further analysis of the data suggests that the success of the curricular innovation owed much to an inside-out implementation process that situated the iterative lesson study cycle of the teachers as the key driver of change while external actors supported the lesson study process in an inside-out fashion.Research limitations/implicationsThe study implies that guiding an educational innovation to success requires not only institutionalized lesson study, but also cross-institutional collaborative dialogues to support the lesson study process with mutually established trust among key players of the innovation. Further studies are needed to investigate how this model sustains as principals and how this model works (or do not work) in other pilot schools and beyond.Practical implicationsThis study implies that what matters most is that the school embodies a vision shared among teachers, school leaders and external curriculum developers, all working together across institutions in a spirit of collaboration. This type of inside-out implementation would be a path to ensure and sustain the success for those who plan any new educational innovation.Social implicationsWhat matters most was found to be that the school embodies a vision shared among educators, school leaders and external curriculum developers working together across institutions in a spirit of collaboration.Originality/valueGuiding an educational innovation to success requires not only new ideas and effective curriculum plans but also a social structure that allows teachers to engage in effective implementations of the desired curriculum. Lesson study is often considered to be a within-school or school-to-school collaborative process. It is rarely connected to outside agents that bring in new ideas for educational innovation. This study found how inside- and outside-school actors can work together to actualize educational innovation, and what roles lesson study play there.

What does it take for teachers to effectively teach inquiry-based lessons? We videotaped a series of mathematics lessons that involve whole class consensus building discussions (neriage) taught by leading teachers at Japanese elementary schools followed by teacher interviews. The triangulated data analysis revealed that the teachers facilitated class discussions to achieve the lesson goals effectively, but they made modifications to their lesson plans on the spot to bring all the students together while promoting their whole person development. Based on these, we argue that the teacher expertise to teach inquiry-based lessons effectively involves holistic envisioning, adaptability and inclusiveness.

The energy loss of an HTS power transmission line is highly correlated to the properties of the vacuum thermal insulation. However, the proper evacuation of the very long cryostat requires a number of equally spaced pumping stations. The distance between pumping stations is determined by the pumping speed, the conductance of the cryostat, and the outgassing rate from inner surfaces. In this paper, the pumping of long cryostat is considered in the example of the Ishikari-2 project, Japan. This 1000-m-long HTS dc test facility rated for 50 MW was developed in order to obtain data for the next generation of power transmission lines. The vacuum pumping of the cryogenic pipe is carried out through ports located at the pipe ends. A 475-m-long straight section No. 1 is equipped with a heat radiation shield providing excellent thermal insulation of the cable pipe, whereas 137-m-long U-bend section No. 2 and 379-m-long straight section No. 3 are protected with conventional multilayer insulation. Experimental data allow us to estimate the lower limit of the pumping length. When using a cryogenic pipe with heat radiation shield "as is,'' it is possible to provide the required level of vacuum for a length of about 8 km in the nighttime and about 5 km in the daytime, because outgassing rate correlates well with the temperature of the outer pipe, varied from 4 °C to 41 °C. Therefore, if we take measures against the heating of the outer pipe by direct sunlight, and redesign the radiation shield to improve pipe conductance, the possibility to evacuate 10-km-long cryostat by two vacuum pumps installed at the ends can be achieved.

Aims/introduction Recent data showed that dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors exert a lipid-lowering effect in diabetes patients. However, the mechanism of action is not yet clearly understood. We investigated the effect of anagliptin on cholesterol metabolism and transport in the small intestine using non-diabetic hyperlipidemic animals, to clarify the mechanisms underlying the cholesterol-lowering action. Materials and methods Male apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-deficient mice were orally administered anagliptin in the normal chow. Serum cholesterol levels and lipoprotein profiles were measured, and cholesterol transport was assessed by measuring the radioactivity in the tissues after oral loading of 14 C-labeled cholesterol (14 C-Chol). In additional experiments, effects of exendin-4 in mice and of anagliptin in DPP-4-deficient rats were assessed. Effects on target gene expressions in the intestine were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in normal mice. Results The serum total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations decreased after anagliptin treatment in the ApoE-deficient mice. The cholesterol-lowering effect was predominantly observed in the chylomicron fraction. The plasma 14 C-Chol radioactivity was significantly decreased by 26% at 2 h after cholesterol loading, and the fecal 14 C-Chol excretion was significantly increased by 38% at 72 h. The aforementioned effects on cholesterol transport were abrogated in rats lacking DPP-4 activity, and exendin-4 had no effect on the 14 C-Chol transport in ApoE-deficient mice. Furthermore, significant decreases of the intestinal cholesterol transport-related microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase 2, ApoA2 and ApoC2 messenger ribonucleic acid expressions were observed in the mice treated with repeated doses of anagliptin. Conclusions These findings suggest that anagliptin might exert a cholesterol-lowering action through DPP-4-dependent and glucagon-like peptide 1-independent suppression of intestinal cholesterol transport.

Efficiency of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) devices can be increased by reducing the heat leak into the cold zone through current leads. There are many models of cryogenic current leads; however, the Wiedemann-Franz law severely restricts the possibility of their optimization. According to our experience, the qualitative improvement of the characteristics of the current lead can be achieved using Peltier element as a heat pump, which prevents the penetration of heat inside the HTS device. Test samples of Peltier current leads (PCLs) were mounted on the experimental HTS DC power transmission lines constructed in Japan. Currently we are studying the possibility of increasing the PCL efficiency using water-cooling of the hot side of the current lead.

A cooling and circulation test of a 1000 m class superconducting dc power transmission system constructed for the Ishikari project was performed. The heat leak of the system and the pressure drop over the distance that liquid nitrogen was circulated were measured to evaluate the performance of the system. Two types of cryogenic pipes were developed for the Ishikari project both comprising two inner pipes in a single outer pipe. Smooth pipes were used for both the inner and outer pipes. The heat leak was measured and found to be between 0.886 and 1.47 W/m per two inner pipes, which was dependent on the structures of the cryogenic pipes. The heat leak of the cable system, including the cryogenic pipe and the terminals, was found to be 1.69 kW. At a flow rate of 32 L/min the pressure drop was estimated to be 33 kPa over the 2000 m liquid nitrogen circulation. The data obtained in this study will be used for the design of longer superconducting power transmission systems in the future.

This two-year qualitative inquiry aimed to explore good teaching practices in an action research course that promoted pre-service science teachers’ research ability for improving their own practices. Forty-four participants of this study were from two cohorts of master degree program under the Project for the Promotion of Science and Mathematics Talented Teacher (PSMT), of a public university in Bangkok. To achieve the research aim, data were collected from multiple data sources, including the research skill evaluation form, exit slips, classroom artifacts, videotape of instructions, and instructor’s journal. By assessing the participants’ skills in doing action research, the data from the evaluation forms were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis was used for eliciting good teaching practices in the course. Results show that most of the pre-service teachers have a high ability level in conducting classroom action research after learning through the research course. Findings reveal that good practice for this course is a creation and maintenance of a) positive classroom atmosphere, b) critical friend communities, and c) hands-on activities that allow the leaners to teach their peers. Findings of this study help to fulfill research gap on how to teach pre-service teachers in a way that promotes their self-development.

Accurate and rapid differential diagnosis are required for personalized cancer treatment. However, owing to the numerous molecular tests used for establishing a diagnosis, pathologists need time to investigate and confirm necessary test items. We present a guideline-based decision support system for effective workflow with regards to the molecular tests for pathological differential diagnosis.

Among the many modifications of superconducting power transmission lines, hybrid lines stand out for their originality. Their design implies the joint transmission of cold liquid fuel through the pipe and electricity through the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable cooled by this fuel directly or indirectly. Currently, the critical temperatures of HTS materials are low and that means that only liquid hydrogen can be the “cooling fuel”. It is known that natural gas is a viable alternative to hydrogen as a chemical fuel for many reasons. Since its boiling temperature is too high, the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in hybrid lines is considered only in the future when suitable HTS materials will be discovered. Assuming that LNG cannot be used to cool HTS cable over the coming years, we propose to combine the LNG pipeline and the cable pipelines cold by liquid nitrogen in the common heat-insulating pipe. In addition to the considerable economic effect due to the common thermal insulation, the LNG cold will be utilized to cool the radiation shield that prevents the penetration of heat to the cable pipes.

In Western cultures, subjectivity has often been seen as the “black sheep” of educational research because of its heavy emphasis on objectivity. Consequently many research initiatives in education share the assumption that objective reasoning should play a central role. However, mentoring teachers’ practice improvement research often requires us to go beyond the objective dimension and encompass the subjective dimension of the research process such as teachers’ intuition, tacit knowledge and personal meaning-making. The challenge that lies in front of us is how to mindfully make sense of the role of subjectivity in teacher expertise development. This paper examines this issue in terms of three case studies of in-service teachers’ action research projects and points to what it takes for us to mindfully embrace subjectivity in mentoring teachers’ practice improvement research.

We developed the wet cover method, which retains original surface water of wet specimens, providing a way to introduce and subsequently image the specimens that are sensitive to evaporation within a SEM, while preventing evaporation-related damage, and to observe interesting specimen-water interactions., Wet specimens are notoriously difficult to image in scanning electron microscopes (SEM) owing to evaporation from the required vacuum of the specimen chamber. Traditionally, this issue has been addressed by increasing the specimen chamber pressure. Unfortunately, observation under high specimen chamber pressure cannot prevent the initial evaporation effects. The wet cover method, where the original surface water is retained (and, therefore, considered wet), provides a way to introduce and subsequently image specimens that are sensitive to evaporation within a SEM, while preventing evaporation-related damage, and to observe interesting specimen–water interactions.

Reduction of heat penetrating into the cryogenic region is the important method of optimization of superconducting devices. In the cases of short-range power transmission lines and compact HTS devices like magnets, the heat leakage through current leads is relatively large. In order to decrease this contribution, current leads equipped with Peltier elements can be used. The mentioned technology is being actively developed in the Chubu University. Commercial samples of Peltier current leads are installed at the terminals of 500-meter DC HTS cable in Ishikari (Hokkaido). This cable is designed for 5 kA. The inner conducting layer consists of 37 DI-BSCCO HTS tapes from Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. with a critical current of 180 A; and the outer one consists of 35 tapes of the same type. Each end of the cable's tape is connected to the individual Peltier current lead. Accordingly, each of the two terminals is equipped with 72 Peltier current leads, 144 pieces in total. In order to examine behavior of the current leads in detail, each piece is supplied with two thermocouples; there are also voltage taps on feedthrough and on HTS tape end. In addition, current through Peltier current lead can be measured by means of individual current transformer. The hardware part of the data acquisition system includes four Keithley 3706A multimeters equipped with 60-channel model 3724 FET multiplexer cards. Therefore, 144 data blocks are formed. Furthermore, there are 72 measurements of a voltage drop across HTS tape. Sampling period is set to be 3 s. The program part of the data acquisition system was written using LabVIEW software solution (National Instruments Corp.).

The present study proposes a new indentation method to predict the viscoplastic properties of polymeric materials utilizing three different indentation experiments. Numerical experiments with finite element method (FEM) are first carried out to simulate response of materials with various elastic and viscoplastic properties. The strain rate is featured by a loading rate of indentation, and the hardening rate can be captured through variations of the indenter shape. Next, a parametric FEM study is conducted to build the relationship between indentation load-depth curves and material parameters. Dimensionless analysis is employed to represent the relationship with simple formulae, through which, a reverse algorithm is proposed to extract the viscoplastic properties. Finally, both numerical and experimental investigations are performed to verify the proposed method.

International audience; The homogeneous and quick treatment of 100 keV class electron beam irradiation (EBI) improved the resistance to impact fatigue indicated by the critical collision number (Nc) of impact fracture of PZT (Pb(Nb2/3Ni1/3)O3-Pb(Zr1/3Ti2/3)O3) ceramics, although an additional dose decayed them. An optimal dose of 0.086 MGy-EBI apparently improved the Nc and ECi of PZT. It could be explained by shortening the lattice constant after the collision for the PZT irradiated with the optimal dose.

Cross-cultural experiences can offer unique opportunities to examine our assumptions that underlie our worldviews. This paper discusses a cross-cultural action research program in which US and Japanese university students mutually presented and discussed their action research projects in Tokyo. Planning and organizing the program involved a series of dialogues with the Japanese partner that had led to mutual agreement to frame the cross-cultural exchange as ba, a Japanese cultural concept that implies intersubjective and open communicative arena to co-develop a new understanding. This paper discusses what the US students and faculty group experienced and learned in the cross-cultural program. Through the program, the students encountered different styles of communicating meanings and epistemology and made sense of new ways of viewing the world. During the program, the US faculty group experienced an unanticipated disconnect with the Japanese partner about restructuring the discussion format to elicit more participations of the Japanese students, but it was eventually overcome though a series of reflective dialogues regarding the nature of silece and voicing one’s opinions. This paper discusses how encountering different modes of communications and social dynamics in cross-cultural dialogues can help us become aware of various assumptions that underlie our action research endeavers.

This paper examines the experience of an action research ‘Study Day’ to investigate development of a culture of reflective practice among educators. Shared recognition of the importance of reflecti...

Engineering polymers generally exhibit asymmetric yield strength in tension and compression due to different arrangements of molecular structures in response to external loadings. For the polymeric materials whose plastic behavior follows the Drucker–Prager yield criterion, the present study proposes a new method to predict both tensile and compressive yield strength utilizing instrumented spherical indentation. Our method is decomposed into two parts based on the depth of indentation, shallow indentation, and deep indentation. The shallow indentation is targeted to study elastic deformation of materials, and is used to estimate Young's modulus and yield strength in compression; the deep indentation is used to achieve full plastic deformation of materials and extract the parameters in Drucker–Prager yield criterion associated with both tensile and compressive yield strength. Extensive numerical computations via finite element method (FEM) are performed to build a dimensionless function that can be employed to describe the quantitative relationship between indentation force-depth curves and material parameters of relevance to yield criterion. A reverse algorithm is developed to determine the material properties and its robustness is verified by performing both numerical and experimental analysis.

Electric potential mapping of degraded dielectric layers of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) was carried out using Kelvin probe force microscopy in order to clarify their degradation mechanism under conditions of an accelerated lifetime test condition. In the cross sections of the degraded and as-prepared dielectric layers, a significant electric field concentration was found in the vicinity of the anode of the degraded dielectric layer, in contrast to a homogeneous concentration found throughout layers of the samples before the accelerated lifetime test.

We performed first-principles calculations to examine the interaction among rare-earth (RE), alkaline-earth (AE) elements and oxygen vacancy (VO) in BaTiO3, in order to clarify the combined effects of VO trapping by two different elements. It was found that there is a synergistic effect of VO trapping by RE at Ba site and AE at Ti site, so that the co-doping is effective to improve insulating reliability of BaTiO3. We also verified that the local atomic structures around dopants obtained by calculations well agree with that obtained experimentally by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analyses. The present work is the first one to clarify the structural environment around dopants including VO by both theoretical and experimental approaches.

One danger of integrating inquiry-based problem-solving activities into mathematics lessons is that different strategies could be accepted without in-depth discussions on the cogency and efficiency of the strategies. To overcome this issue, Japanese teachers typically go through a series of lesson-study-based teacher learning sessions and learn how to help students build consensus on the best mathematical strategy and think deeply about problem solving (neriage in Japanese). Assuming that this can also be an effective model in other cultural contexts, a video-based lesson study was conducted for a group of US teachers to effectively incorporate consensus building discussions in their mathematical inquiry lessons. Through the lesson study, the teachers learned to release control of class discussions to their students and help them discuss and examine different strategies. This article concludes with various aspects that the teachers learned for effectively implementing neriage in their lessons.

This case study describes the process education faculty went through to craft a response to a school‐wide international experience initiative. Analysis revealed three competing frames that shaped individual faculty members’ expectations. This made developing an internationalization requirement in graduate teacher education multifaceted, often ambiguous, and at times contentious. Failure to acknowledge and reconcile the tensions of these competing frames limited the efficacy of the policy. This is a cautionary tale providing lessons learned from one university’s experience.

The effect of rare earth (Ln = Gd, Dy, Y and Yb) and Mg ions on the microstructure and reliability of BaTiO3-based monolithic ceramic capacitors (MLCs) with Ni electrodes was investigated. The X-ray diffraction results about the lattice volume of sintered specimens suggested that Gd and Dy ions predominatly substituted into the Ba-site, Yb ions gave exclusive substitution at the Ti-site, while Y ions occupied either the Ba- and Ti-site. The reliability of ceramic capacitors was increasing with increasing the ionic radius of the rare earths in this study. The nonlinearity coefficient() etsimated from the leakage currents and the lifetime measured from the highly accelerated lifetime testing (HALT) showed a negative correlation which was observed only from Dy and Y ions doped specimens. The quantity of Ln and Mg in the grains tended to increase with increasing the Ln ionic radius. In order to improve the reliability and the insulation property of BaTiO3 based MLCs with Ni electrodes, it is important that acceptor ions at the Ti-site compensate donor ions which are rare earth ions at the Ba-site, so the overall quantity of the dopants required for the charge compensation with acceptor and donor ions increases accordingly.

To determine the role of cholesterol synthesis in pancreatic b-cells, a transgenic model of in vivo activation of sterol-regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2) spe- cifically in b-cells (TgRIP-SREBP-2) was developed and ana- lyzed. Expression of nuclear human SREBP-2 in b-cells resulted in severe diabetes as evidenced by greater than 5-fold elevations in glycohemoglobin compared with C57BL/6 controls. Diabetes in TgRIP-SREBP-2 mice was pri- marily due to defects in glucose- and potassium-stimulated insulin secretion as determined by glucose tolerance test. Isolated islets of TgSREBP-2 mice were fewer in number, smaller, deformed, and had decreased insulin content. SREBP-2-expressing islets also contained increased esteri- fied cholesterol and unchanged triglycerides with reduced ATP levels. Consistently, these islets exhibited elevated ex- pression of HMG-CoA synthase and reductase and LDL re- ceptor, with suppression of endogenous SREBPs. Genes involved in b-cell differentiation, such as PDX1 and BETA2, were suppressed, explaining loss of b-cell mass, whereas IRS2 expression was not affected. These phenotypes were dependent on the transgene expression. Taken together, these results indicate that activation of SREBP-2 in b-cells caused severe diabetes by loss of b-cell mass with accumula- tion of cholesterol, providing a new lipotoxic model and a potential link of disturbed cholesterol metabolism to impair- ment of b-cell function.—Ishikawa, M., Y. Iwasaki, S. Yatoh, T. Kato, S. Kumadaki, N. Inoue, T. Yamamoto, T. Matsuzaka, Y. Nakagawa, N. Yahagi, K. Kobayashi, A. Takahashi, N. Yamada, and H. Shimano. Cholesterol accumulation and diabetes in pancreatic b-cell-specific SREBP-2 transgenic mice: a new model for lipotoxicity. J. Lipid Res. 2008. 49: 2524-2534.

Studies report that students often fail to consider familiar aspects of reality in solving mathematical word problems. This study explored how different features of mathematical problems influence the way that undergraduate students employ realistic considerations in mathematical problem solving. Incorporating familiar contents in the word problems was found to have only a limited impact. Instead, removing contextual constraints from the problem goal was found to motivate students to validate their problem solving in terms of their everyday experiences. Based on these findings, what determines the authenticity and relevance of a mathematical problem seems to be whether the problem allows students to freely reconstruct the problem situation by making use of their imagination and everyday experiences. In short, the basic principle seems to be “less is more”; that is, fewer constraints in problem goals could function to help students personally associate problem solving with their everyday experiences.

Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1a is a unique membrane-bound transcription factor highly expressed in actively growing cells and involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol, fatty acids, and phospholipids. Because mammalian cells need to synthesize membrane lipids for cell replication, the functional relevance of SREBP-1a in cell proliferation has been considered a biological adaptation. However, the effect of this potent lipid-synthesis activator on cell growth has never been explored. Here, we show that induction of nuclear SREBP-1a, but not SREBP-2, completely inhibited cell growth in inducible Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines. Growth inhibition occurred through G(1) cell-cycle arrest, which is observed in various cell types with transient expression of nuclear SREBP-1a. SREBP-1a caused the accumulation of cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitors such as p27, p21, and p16, leading to reduced cdk2 and cdk4 activities and hypophosphorylation of Rb protein. In contrast to transactivation of p21, SREBP-1a activated p27 by enhancing stabilization of the protein through inhibition of SKP2 and KPC1. In vivo, SREBP-1a-expressing livers of transgenic mice exhibited impaired regeneration after partial hepatectomy. SREBP-1-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts had a higher cell proliferation rate than wild-type cells. The unexpected cell growth-inhibitory role of SREBP-1a provides a new paradigm to link lipid synthesis and cell growth.

In a task choice situation, why do some students spontaneously choose challenging tasks while others do not? In the study, 114 undergraduate students were first asked of their perceived competence and interest in solving number puzzles at both individual and situational levels, and then asked to choose one puzzle from four difficulty levels. They received no performance feedback throughout the session. Regression analyses indicated that the students with higher individual interest levels chose more challenging puzzles, while the students with higher levels of perceived competence and low levels of individual interest did not necessarily choose difficult puzzles. The students who chose more challenging puzzles attributed their choices to interest rather than perceived competence. The study suggests a limitation of relying on students' self-reported confidence in their ability and the importance of conceptualizing individual interest as the reason behind the choice of challenging tasks in a low-pressure task choice environment.

As a result of investigating the relationship between the dielectric properties of BaTiO3-based dielectrics and the microphonics of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), it was confirmed that microphonics, electric-induced strain, and polarization have very high correlation, and piezostriction becomes dominant in electric-induced strain when high DC bias is applied to BaTiO3-based dielectrics in spite of their very low spontaneous polarizations. Dielectrics with a large paraelectric phase area in which rare-earth elements have diffused into BaTiO3 are useful for applications of MLCCs, especially under high DC bias.

The γ-Ga2O3-Al2O3 solid solutions prepared by the glycothermal reaction of the mixtures of aluminum isopropoxide and gallium acetylacetonate had extremely high activities for selective catalytic reduction of NO with methane as a reducing agent (CH4-SCR). With the increase in the Al content incorporated in the spinel structure, the catalytic activity increased. The active sites for this reaction were concluded to be the tetrahedral Ga ions with octahedral Al ions in the next-nearest-neighbor sites. Methane activation on the catalysts was the key-step of CH4-SCR. The solid-solution catalysts showed high durability under steaming conditions.

The reaction of mixtures of aluminum isopropoxide and gallium acetylacetonate in 1,4-butanediol or 1,5-pentanediol at high temperatures (glycothermal reaction) directly gave the γ-Ga2O3–Al2O3 solid solutions, which had high catalytic activities for selective reduction of NO using methane as the reducing agent. However, the reaction with a higher Al/(Ga+Al) charged ratio yielded the glycol derivative of boehmite as a by-product and the catalytic activity of the solid solution decreased. Therefore, synthesis of the solid solution using various glycols was examined and it was found that solid solutions with high Al contents without contamination of the glycol derivative of boehmite were obtained by using 1,6-hexanediol as a reaction medium. The solid solution exhibited a higher NO conversion than that synthesized in other glycols.