The purpose of this study was to examine how water movements and carrying distances affect physical exertion, tiredness, and trunk movements of elderly females carrying 3-liters of water in water bags with different capacities on their backs. The participants were 15 early elderly females (median age 71, range 67-74). The cardio vascular responses and the trunk movements of four different carrying conditions were measured for the distance of 500 meters in an indoor hallway. Three of the four conditions were carrying 3 liters of water in bags with different capacities (3-liter, 6-liter, and 10-liter), and the fourth condition was carrying nothing. The average carrying speed for all conditions turned out to be 1.4 meters/second and the ratings of perceived exertion on the Borg scale was 11 (fairly light). However, the relative heart rates varied from 77.1 to 80.3 (%HRmax), which we considered to be a little intense. For the 10-liter water bag, the trunk movements from the starting point to the 35-meter point was significantly less than the other water bags (p<0.05). What affected the physical exertion and the tiredness was the carrying distance. It was clear that the differences in capacity of water bags affect the trunk balances right after people start walking.

　This study examined the effectiveness of collaborative evaluation learning within the Japanese II class (52students), a second semester first-year course at an institution of higher education. Interviews were conducted after the class and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. As a result, the process of knowledge acceptance, knowledge digestion, deep learning, and continuous learning was confirmed. On the other hand, we also observed a rejection of the knowledge without accepting it, failing to reach the stage of knowledge acceptance, knowledge digestion. Reflections on their studies by the students suggested that they had acquired a collaborative spirit, a budding interest in classical works, and a sense of autonomy and continuity.

　The central element of chiasmus has the function of indicating the climax. In this paper, an analysis of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short story "The Spider's Thread" was conducted to determine if it follows the structure of chiasmus and whether the central element of the story could indeed be considered a climax. As a result, it was confirmed that "The Spider's Thread" follows the chiasmus structure, and its central element serves as the climax. Considering this climax in comparison with the generally accepted range of climaxes revealed some minor differences, but overall, they were found to be largely the same. According to the discussion in this paper, it was revealed that the choice of whether Kandata accepts the paradox presented by Oshaka-sama is positioned within the central element of the chiasmus, indicating its significance in determining the climax of the work. This paper is also a tentative essay that offers a new methodology for the analysis of Japanese novels.

　The development of private schools at the basic education level in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was analyzed based on various statistics to determine the reasons for their development and the differences between states/regions. Private schools developed rapidly, especially in the high school program until 2019/20. The matriculation examination pass rate of private school students was almost double that of public school students, indicating that the expectation of students and parents was to prepare for the matriculation examination. After the military took power in 2021, the number of students in private schools declined the most in the high school program, however the same was true for public schools. As indicated by the decrease in the number of students taking the matriculation examinations, the main reason for this decline may be that there was less demand for students to go to university.

This paper compares two distinct ideas on ethical liberty inherent in two versions of womanhood in Enlightenment France, one championed by republican motherhood, focusing on the reproductive function of women, the other derived from Doux commerce theory, highlighting the benevolent social influence of women. More specifically, such thinkers as Montesquieu and Hume considered the art of conversation as practiced by female hostess of French salons one of the sources of social morality, as they function as peacemakers who reconciles the various opinions of her male audience. By contrast, Rousseau opposed this idea and considered the reproductive function of women as the very basis of their social morality, updating the discourse on Republican motherhood. Wollstonecraft took Rousseau’s ideas on womanhood one step further and considered motherhood as rooted in the biological perspective of womanhood, the very moral foundation for women’s political right. As a result, Wollstonecraft’s theory of women’s rights can be seen a political thought with republican tendencies that places constraints on women’s civil rights, as it potentially lacks the perspective of women’s ethical freedom in reproduction from our contemporary perspective.

　This study examines the plausibility of recognizing chiasmus-reversal structures (uragaeshi-kouzou) within non-otherworld visitation narratives by analyzing the structure of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians in the New Testament. In this paper, a new chiasmus model is proposed. This model comprises six corresponding pairs of elements and demonstrates both reverse sequential alignment and oppositional/negative relationships between elements, thereby satisfying the criteria for a reversal structure. The findings reveal that such structures are present in 16 of the 27 books of the New Testament. The results of this study strongly support the high likelihood of reversal structures appearing in non-otherworld visitation narratives.

　On-site childcare providers are expected to engage in community-oriented child-rearing support activities and assume more advanced and diverse roles. In this context, the rapid dissemination of knowledge about developmental disabilities has made addressing the needs of so-called “children of concern,” those who draw attention or raise concerns among childcare providers, a particularly crucial issue in the field.

　This study explored the need for clinical psychological support in childcare by engaging directly with providers and focusing on issues related to “children of concern." Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six frontline childcare providers (three nursery school teachers and three managers). Interview data were analyzed by text mining techniques using KH Coder, including hierarchical clusters, stratified co-occurrence networks, and correspondence analyses. The results of these analyses revealed a number of innovations used by childcare workers in their involvement with “children of concern” and their sense of distress when working with them. In addition, management staff showed support for resolving childcare workers’ concerns, especially in managing the collaboration among multiple job categories and other organizations within the facility. Based on the actual situation at the childcare facility, the following four points were identified as potential contributions of psychologists: (1) collaboration utilizing professional psychological assessment, (2) involvement and suggestions to parents, (3) collaboration with other organizations, and (4) consultation with childcare workers based on this psychological assessment.

　In this study, as a new attempt, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of minimizing counselor factors, using both quantitative and qualitative data to investigate changes in initial interventions when the same counselors implemented three different intervention techniques. Twenty-one men and women aged 20 and older were recruited from the public, and the subjects were equally allocated to each intervention technique. Three clinical psychologists individually conducted interventions using three different approaches. The participants completed questionnaires and interviews before and after intervention.

　As a result, only the scores of the "Common Humanity" and "Mindfulness" subscales of the Self-Compassion scale showed significant differences. From the qualitative data, we were able to identify characteristics of each intervention technique that were not reflected in the quantitative data. These results suggest that if the same counselor is proficient in all three intervention techniques and follows the manual, the differences between the intervention techniques are likely to become more distinct.

　As future tasks, it was considered necessary to increase the number of therapists for further validation, and to study the effects of longer-term interventions.

　In this study, we implemented an experience-based learning model for first-year students at a higher education institution, which aims to cultivate “honorific language skills” through Japanese language courses and provides time for students to think about and practice their own learning goals and learning plans (experiential learning outside of class time) and to collaboratively review their own experiences (collaborative evaluation learning), rather than goals given by instructors. We implemented an experiential learning model. The effectiveness of the practice was measured objectively by the honorifics test administered before and after the class, and subjectively by the class questionnaire administered before and after the class. The results of the survey confirmed both quantitative and qualitative data on the effectiveness of the class, and the descriptive questionnaire results indicated that the students' “ability to speak respectfully” may have been fostered. The students with the highest score increase from the pre-test to the post-test also read the most books in the past month. The correlation between the top 25% of students in the pre-test and the post-test was also confirmed in terms of “the length of time spent working part-time per week,” “the length of time spent talking with people in the community per week,” and "the length of time spent talking with faculty and staff on campus per week.

　Adipocytes synthesize and store triacylglycerols, while secreting bioactive substances that affect systemic energy metabolism and inflammatory conditions. To investigate the mechanisms of metabolic and inflammatory changes caused by adipocyte hypertrophy, we generated a cell line in which perilipin-4, a protein speculated to be involved in triacylglycerol synthesis and degradation on the surface of adipocytes. In this study, the mRNA expression levels of energy metabolism-related proteins and mitochondrial morphology were investigated to determine the effects of perilipin-4 on energy metabolism in adipocytes. In addition, focusing on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) that play an important role in regulating metabolism, the effects of AICAR, the AMPK-activating reagent, on perilipin 4-knockdown cells were investigated.

　The knockdown of perilipin 4 was performed by transfection of the specific shRNA to 3T3-L1 cells. The knocked down cells were differentiated to adipocytes, cultured for 18 or 30 days and used to mRNA quantification and fluorescence microscopy. Before the experiments, AICAR was added to the medium at 1mM and cultured the cells for 24 hours. Knockdown of perilipin-4 reduced mRNA expression of energy metabolism-related proteins and increased expression of the inflammatory cytokine MCP-1. Mitochondria appeared to be split and present throughout the cells, away from around the lipid droplets in the knockdown cells. Activation of AMPK restored mRNA expression levels of energy metabolism-related proteins and mitochondrial morphology, but not MCP-1 expression levels. These results suggest that the lipid droplet surface protein perilipin 4 may regulate adipocyte energy metabolism via AMPK, and that the increased inflammatory cytokines in perilipin 4-knocked down cells may be caused by a regulatory pathway different from energy metabolism.

　This paper aims to analyze the religious practices of the 18th-century Russian Christian sect, the Skoptsy (Castration Faction), from the perspective of predicate logic, examining how their doctrines were rationalized and contributed to the expansion of their organization, while also considering the issues inherent in contemporary religious criticism. The Skoptsy positioned castration as a means of "liberation from original sin" and "union with God," developing unique teachings that identified testicles and breasts as the "fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" and the penis as the "serpent." This paper analyzes how these doctrines were rationalized through predicate logic and how they facilitated the recruitment of believers and the development of the sect. On the other hand, excessive criticism of cults in modern times also entails a logical fallacy—namely, the misuse of predicate logic leading to generalizations such as "abnormal behavior = danger"—which disregards the internal motivations of faith and risks exacerbating social conflicts. Through the case of the Skoptsy, this paper elucidates how misunderstandings of religious others arise and how exclusionary logic is formed. Furthermore, from the perspective of peace studies, it highlights the importance of understanding belief systems and promoting dialogue rather than merely dismissing religious practices as "abnormal," as a means of preventing social division. Recognizing the dangers of cult criticism based on fallacious applications of predicate logic and advancing a more inclusive understanding of religion may ultimately contribute to the construction of positive peace.

　The migratory behavior of the Salon (Moken) people in the Andaman Sea has been largely ignored and unrecorded in previous ethnographic studies. As a result, the full picture of the Salon lifestyle has remained incomplete.

　Since half of their annual activities consist of migratory behavior at sea, it is impossible to fully understand the Salons without clarifying their migratory behavior. Additionally, as a practical matter, it is impossible to clarify and address issues related to their population, composition, education, healthcare, welfare, and other aspects of survival and daily life.

　This study was conducted with both academic interest and the aim of understanding the migratory behavior that forms the foundation of their practical issues.

　This survey targeted 72 families and 462 individuals in the salon, documenting the entire process from departure to arrival, including navigation routes, the number of days spent in migration, the islands visited, and the estimated shortest migration distance.

　The survey results revealed that the 72 families were divided into nine groups, with each migration lasting between 50 and 110 days, and the shortest migration distance ranging from 500 to 1,600 km. The migration range was defined as east-west between 97°30'E and 98°30'E east longitude and north-south between 9°45'N and 13°05'N+ north latitude, with no instances of straying outside this area.

　The islands visited during migration were also identified, and specific key locations were also determined. We hope that these findings will contribute to population surveys in Salo and improvements in living conditions (education, healthcare, welfare, and the exercise of civil rights) and we anticipate that they will be effectively utilized by relevant parties.

　Anthony Elliott's theory of “The New Individualism” is one of the most recent developments in contemporary self-theory and is well known worldwide. However, there has been little empirical examination of his claims. In this paper, we use data from a web survey conducted in 2025 to address the following research questions regarding the various theses of “The New Individualism.” (1) To what extent are they valid? (2) To what extent are they correlated with one another? (3) Do they generate negative emotional costs? (4) How are they related to social attributes?