Forestry Education Support by a Forest Research Institute : High Schools

Mariko Inoue,Yasuhiko Oishi,Tomoyuki Fujii,Hiroyuki Kobayashi 강원대학교 산림과학연구소 2008 Journal of Forest Science Vol.24 No.3

Forestry education in vocational high schools is one of the fundamental keys for achieving sustainable forest management. However, support systems for forestry education have not been well developed in Japan. Forest research institutes, which have accumulated relevant information, should have sufficient ability to develop new educational programs in this field. This study examined the possibility of support systems for forestry technical education by a research institute. Educational programs for vocational high schools were developed, and the programs were examined for their practical applications through a workshop for these teachers. We set the following five requirements for the programs: They should 1) incorporate new contents related to sustainable forest management, 2) be based on forestry education textbooks, 3) meet recent demands of the schools and society, 4) allow participants to learn through actual practice and experience, and 5) utilize readily available teaching materials. With these criteria, we developed the following two educational programs: (a) Forest management program to teach advanced techniques, (b) A timber-program to teach about biomass resources. The workshop was held on July 28th, 2007 with ten teachers attending. The programs were very interesting, who gave them high average evaluation of 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5. Only a few issues need to be resolved before classroom instruction can begin, such as making wood structure easier to understanding for some teachers, and obtaining base maps of school forests. In conclusion, forest research institutes can effectively support forestry education by providing and implementing programs based on scientific information.

A Corpus-based Approach to the Register Awareness of Asian Learners of English

( Yuichiro Kobayashi ),( Mariko Abe ) 범태평양응용언어학회 2016 범태평양응용언어학회지 Vol.20 No.2

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of learners` L1s and proficiency levels on their written production. This study also examined the influence of speech upon their writing. The following research questions were explored: (a) How do L1 and proficiency levels of learners affect their degrees of register awareness? (b) Which linguistic features distinguishing writing and speech registers are characteristic of each Asian learner group? This study draws on four sub-corpora of the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE), which is considered to be the largest East Asian composition database. Using the methodology originally developed by Biber (1988) to analyze the differences in the spoken and written registers of English, this study investigated the differences in a wide range of linguistic features among Asian learners of English. The results suggest that the L1s of learners affect the degree of their register awareness. Hong Kong learners display a set of stylistically appropriate features, such as nominalizations, predictive modals, and conjuncts, in their academic prose whereas Japanese learners exhibit many of informal features, such as first person pronouns, private verbs, and independent clause coordination, in their written production. Besides, Korean and Taiwanese learners show several features typical of speech, including second person pronouns, in their writing. In addition, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of Biber`s list of linguistic features in the study of spoken nature in L2 writing.

Forestry Education Support by a Forest Research Institute: Development of Forestry Educational Programs for Vocational High Schools

Inoue, Mariko,Oishi, Yasuhiko,Fujii, Tomoyuki,Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Institute of Forest Science 2008 Journal of Forest Science Vol.24 No.3

Forestry education in vocational high schools is one of the fundamental keys for achieving sustainable forest management. However, support systems for forestry education have not been well developed in Japan. Forest research institutes, which have accumulated relevant information, should have sufficient ability to develop new educational programs in this field. This study examined the possibility of support systems for forestry technical education by a research institute. Educational programs for vocational high schools were developed, and the programs were examined for their practical applications through a workshop for these teachers. We set the following five requirements for the programs: They should 1) incorporate new contents related to sustainable forest management, 2) be based on forestry education textbooks, 3) meet recent demands of the schools and society, 4) allow participants to learn through actual practice and experience, and 5) utilize readily available teaching materials. With these criteria, we developed the following two educational programs: (a) Forest management program to teach advanced techniques, (b) A timber-program to teach about biomass resources. The workshop was held on July $28^{th}$, 2007 with ten teachers attending. The programs were very interesting, who gave them high average evaluation of 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5. Only a few issues need to be resolved before classroom instruction can begin, such as making wood structure easier to understanding for some teachers, and obtaining base maps of school forests. In conclusion, forest research institutes can effectively support forestry education by providing and implementing programs based on scientific information.

Determining NOEL/NOAEL in Repeated-dose Toxicity Studies, When the Low Dose Group Shows Significant Difference in Quantitative Data

Katsumi Kobayashi,K. Sadasivan Pillai,Mathews Michael,K.M. Cherian,Mariko Ohnishi 한국실험동물학회 2010 Laboratory Animal Research Vol.26 No.2

In repeated-dose 28-day oral toxicity study design, the low dose is fixed as the no observed effect level (NOEL). But, in practice the low dose usually shows significant difference in few measurable items in most of the studies. We investigated 109 of repeated-dose 28-day oral toxicity studies in rats conducted according to the Chemical Substance Control Law, Japan and examined the measurable items (functional observational battery, urinalysis, hematology, blood chemistry and absolute and relative organ weights) of the low dose group which showed a statistical significant difference (P<0.05) compared to the respective control groups. The investigation revealed that, 205/12,167 (1.6%) measurable items showed a significant difference in the low dose groups. The significant difference shown by urinalysis was high (3.3%), followed by clinical chemistry parameters, hematology, relative organ weights and absolute organ weights (1.8-1.1%). We conclude from the investigation that the low dose may be considered as NOEL, if the significant difference of measurable items of it is about 2% (maximum <5%), compared to the control. However, due consideration may be given to the clinical relevance of the items that showed a significant difference.

Automated Scoring of L2 Spoken English with Random Forests

( Yuichiro Kobayashi ),( Mariko Abe ) 범태평양응용언어학회 2016 범태평양응용언어학회지 Vol.20 No.1

The purpose of the present study is to assess second language (L2) spoken English using automated scoring techniques. Automated scoring aims to classify a large set of learners` oral performance data into a small number of discrete oral proficiency levels. In automated scoring, objectively measurable features such as the frequencies of lexical and grammatical items are generally used as "exploratory variables" to predict oral proficiency levels, any of which can be used as a "criterion variable" in this study. We have chosen the NICT JLE Corpus, a corpus of 1,281 Japanese EFL learners` speech productions coded into nine oral proficiency levels (Izumi, Uchimoto, & Isahara, 2004). The nine oral proficiency levels were used as the criterion variables and linguistic features analyzed in Biber (1988) as explanatory variables. We employed random forests (Breiman, 2001), a powerful method for text classification and feature extraction, to predict oral proficiency. As a result of random forests with the out-of-bag error estimate, 60.11% of the productions were correctly classified. Compared to the baseline accuracy of the simplest possible algorithm of always choosing the most frequent level (37.63%), our random forests model improved prediction by 22.48 points. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient with human scoring was 0.85. Predictors that showed a clear discrimination of oral proficiency levels were tokens, types, and the frequency of nouns in the order of strength.

Long-term safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in 462 patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease: results from a large real-world observational study

( Yasuo Suzuki ),( Takashi Hagiwara ),( Mariko Kobayashi ),( Kazuo Morita ),( Tomoyo Shimamoto ),( Toshifumi Hibi ) 대한장연구학회 2021 Intestinal Research Vol.19 No.3

Background/Aims: The safety and effectiveness of adalimumab was demonstrated in a phase 3 trial in Japanese patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in Japanese patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease. Methods: This prospective, all-case, post-marketing study was conducted at 254 centers in Japanese patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease receiving adalimumab. The primary endpoint was incidence of adverse drug reactions. Effectiveness endpoints included global improvement rating and change in C-reactive protein levels. Results: Of the 473 registered patients, 462 and 383 included in the safety and effectiveness populations were administered adalimumab for a mean of 515.3 and 579.5 days, respectively. Overall, 395 patients (85.5%) received adalimumab at the recommended dose. Adverse drug reactions and serious adverse drug reactions were reported in 120 (25.97%) and 51 (11.04%) patients, respectively. The incidence of adverse drug reactions was significantly higher in patients with comorbidities (P<0.0001), patients taking concomitant oral corticosteroids (P<0.0001), and those not self-administering adalimumab (P=0.0257). At study end, global improvement rating was “effective” (n=156, 40.7%) or “markedly effective” (n=168, 43.9%) in 324 patients (overall effective, 84.6%). Mean C-reactive protein levels (mg/dL) decreased from 1.96 at baseline (n=324) to 0.58 at week 24 (n=208) and 0.25 at week 156 (n=37). Conclusions: This large real-world study confirmed the long-term safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease. No new safety concerns were identified. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT01960790) (Intest Res 2021;19:301-312)

Long-term safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in Japanese patients with Crohn’s disease: 3-year results from a real-world study

( Tadakazu Hisamatsu ),( Yasuo Suzuki ),( Mariko Kobayashi ),( Takashi Hagiwara ),( Takeshi Kawaberi ),( Haruhiko Ogata ),( Toshiyuki Matsui ),( Mamoru Watanabe ),( Toshifumi Hibi ) 대한장연구학회 2021 Intestinal Research Vol.19 No.4

Background/Aims: Crohn’s disease is a chronic disorder; therefore, it is essential to investigate long-term safety and efficacy of treatments. This study assessed the safety and effectiveness of adalimumab for up to 3 years in Japanese patients with Crohn’s disease in real-world settings. Methods: This was a multicenter, single-cohort, observational study of patients with Crohn’s disease. Safety assessments included incidence of adverse drug reactions. Effectiveness assessments included clinical remis-sion, mucosal healing, and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI). Results: The safety and effectiveness analysis populations comprised 389 and 310 patients, respectively. Mean (standard deviation) exposure to adalimumab in the safety analysis population was 793.4 (402.8) days, with a 58.1% retention rate. A total of 105 patients (27.0%) and 43 patients (11.1%) experienced adverse drug reactions and serious adverse drug reactions, respectively, with no patient reporting tuberculosis or hepatitis B. Infections and serious infections were reported in 37 patients (9.5%) and 17 patients (4.4%), respectively. Malig-nancy was reported as an adverse drug reaction in 2 patients (0.5%). Remission rate increased from 37.8% (98/259) at baseline to 73.9% (167/226) at week 4 and remained >70% over 3 years. Proportion of patients without mucosal ulcerations increased from 2.7% (2/73) at baseline to 42.3% (11/26) between years >2 to ≤3. WPAI improvement started at 4 weeks, with the overall work impairment score improving from 42.7 (n=102) at baseline to 26.9 (n=84) at 4 weeks. Conclusions: Results from this study confirm the long-term safety and effectiveness of adalimumab treatment in Japanese patients with Crohn’s disease in the real-world setting. (Intest Res 2021;19:408-418)

Safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in the treatment of ulcerative colitis: results from a large-scale, prospective, multicenter, observational study

( Haruhiko Ogata ),( Takashi Hagiwara ),( Takeshi Kawaberi ),( Mariko Kobayashi ),( Toshifumi Hibi ) 대한장연구학회 2021 Intestinal Research Vol.19 No.4

Background/Aims: Adalimumab has been shown to induce and maintain clinical remission in patients with moderate to se-vere ulcerative colitis (UC). However, no large-scale population-based studies have been performed in Japan. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in clinical practice in Japanese patients with UC. Methods: In this 52-week, prospective, multicenter, single-cohort, noninterventional, observational, postmarketing surveillance study, patients with moderate to severe UC received an initial subcutaneous injection of adalimumab 160 mg, followed by 80 mg at 2 weeks, and then 40 mg every other week. Safety assessments were the incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and seri-ous ADRs. Effectiveness assessments were clinical remission, corticosteroid-free remission, mucosal healing, and change in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels from baseline. Results: Of 1,593 registered patients, 1,523 (male, 57.6%; mean age, 41.8 years) and 1,241 patients were included in the safety and effectiveness populations, respectively. ADRs were reported in 18.1% and serious ADRs in 4.9% of patients. Clinical remission was achieved in 49.7% of patients at week 4, increasing to 74.4% at week 52. Corticosteroid-free remission rates increased over time, from 10.4% at week 4 to 53.1% at week 52. More than 60% of patients demonstrated mucosal healing at weeks 24 and 52. Mean CRP levels (mg/dL) decreased from 1.2 at baseline to 0.6 at week 4 and 0.3 at week 52. Conclusions: This large real-world study confirmed the safety and effectiveness of adalimumab in patients with UC in Japan. No new safety concerns were identified. (Intest Res 2021;19:419-429)

Src Homology 2 and 3 Regions of p120 kDa rasGTPase Activating Protein Induces Morphological Alteration of Rat 3Y1 Fibroblast

Chang, Jong-Soo,Yoon, Ki-Hong,Kobayashi, Mariko,Iwashita, Shintaro Korean Society of Molecular Biology 1995 Molecules and cells Vol.5 No.1

ORiginal Article : Relationships between Genetic Variations of PNPLA3, TM6SF2 and Histological Features of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Japan

( Norio Akuta ),( Yusuke Kawamura ),( Yasuji Arase ),( Fumitaka Suzuki ),( Hitomi Sezaki ),( Tetsuya Hosaka ),( Masahiro Kobayashi ),( Mariko Kobayashi ),( Satoshi Saitoh ),( Yoshiyuki Suzuki ),( Kenj 대한간학회 2016 Gut and Liver Vol.10 No.3

Background/Aims: It is important to determine the noninvasive parameters of histological features in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to investigate the value of genetic variations as surrogate markers of histological features. Methods: The parameters that affected the histological features of NAFLD were investigated in 211 Japanese patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD. The relationships between genetic variations in PNPLA3 rs738409 or TM6SF2 rs58542926 and histological features were analyzed. Furthermore, the impact of genetic variations that affected the pathological criteria for the diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (Matteoni classification and NAFLD activity score) was evaluated. Results: The fibrosis stage of PNPLA3 GG was significantly more progressive than that of CG by multiple comparisons. Multivariate analysis identified PNPLA3 genotypes as predictors of fibrosis of stage 2 or more, but the impact tended to decrease at stage 3 or greater. There were no significant differences among the histological features of the three genotypes of TM6SF2. PNPLA3 genotypes partly affected the definition of NASH by the NAFLD activity score, but TM6SF2 genotypes did not affect the definition of NASH. Conclusions: In Japanese patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, PNPLA3 genotypes may partly affect histological features, including stage of fibrosis, but the TM6SF2 genotype does not affect histological features. (Gut Liver 2016;10:437-445)