Okinawa Christian University

In their article, ‘Vicious Trauma: Race, Bodies and the Confounding of Virtue Ethics’, Terese Lysaught and Cory Mitchell argue that the academic virtue ethics discourse has largely ignored non-White voices, failing to take embodiment seriously. This article attempts to address their concern by proposing a virtue ethics framework that emphasizes the positive role embodiment plays in virtue maintenance and development. Drawing from both ancient and modern virtue ethical discourse, I modify Plato's tripartite soul paradigm to elevate the body's significance. I also employ insights from ante-Nicene Christian theologians, who recognized the moral goodness of the body, to articulate how the body can both hinder and contribute to virtue. The framework is applied to analyze Jesus’ experience in Gethsemane and examine racial trauma. This article argues that a robust theory of embodiment within virtue ethics can address issues like race and trauma, which have been neglected due to the lack of attention to embodiment. By integrating philosophical and theological resources, I aim to provide a nuanced understanding of how the body influences virtue formation and how external forces acting on the body shape virtue development.

High levels of UV radiation in Okinawa contribute to skin damage, photoaging, and inflammation. Calophyllum inophyllum L. (Tamanu) trees are frequently cultivated along roadways in Okinawa. The oil isolated from Tamanu nuts is renowned for antioxidants, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the specific UV-absorbing compounds responsible for its anti-inflammatory activity remain unidentified. This study aimed to isolate, characterize, and evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of UV-absorbing components from Okinawan Tamanu oil. Clinical tests confirmed the UV-protective effects of Tamanu oil, with SPF and PA values of 6.3 ± 0.4 and 2.9 ± 0.6, respectively. UV-absorbing compounds were isolated based on absorbance at 300nm and structurally characterized by mass spectrometry and NMR. The anti-inflammatory effects of calophyllolide (CAL), inocalophyllin A (ICA), and inocalophyllin B (ICB) were evaluated in LPS-stimulated RAW 264 macrophages and UVB-induced HaCaT keratinocytes. The specific absorbance at 300nm of CAL, ICA, and ICB isolated from Tamanu oil (300nm specific absorbance = 28) were = 695, 285, and 378, respectively. All three compounds significantly inhibited nitric oxide production in LPS-induced RAW 264 cells. CAL downregulated TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-1α, while ICA and ICB suppressed IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-1α. In UVB-stimulated HaCaT cells, all compounds reduced IL-1α production. ICA also suppressed TNF-α, HMGB1, and HDAC2, while ICB downregulated CASP1, BAX, NLRP3, HDAC1, and HDAC2 significantly. These findings suggest that CAL, ICA, and ICB have strong anti-inflammatory properties, with ICA and ICB providing additional protection against UVB-induced skin damage via inhibition of necroptosis and inflammatory signaling.

Initial references to sources such as N. Weiner et al. should feature both given and surnames. Thereafter, surname alone. The author uses exclamation points inexplicably, which affect the tone. Some inconsistencies with comma usage are observed. Spacing between words should be consistent throughout. A full stop should appear only at the end of a sentence and after a parenthetical citation. The author observes that, "The line between living and non-living systems is already blurring at the outset," but it's a bit unclear how precisely this is so considering the somewhat abstract discussion of semiosis that immediately precedes this observation. Comments/suggestions on certain passages/rhetorical formulations follow: "a unified framework" of what precisely? Some specification would help clarity. "infused by experts" with what precisely? It's unclear. "the mechanical fundaments" = "the mechanical fundamentals" ?? "the key into which is locked a full-proof" What kind of 'key' precisely? The metaphorical 'key' should be modified with something explicit so readers can connect it to something they recognize.

EDITORIAL article Front. Commun., 19 July 2022Sec. Media Governance and the Public Sphere https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.978082

This interview with globally distinguished Canadian philosopher and author, John McMurtry, presents dialogue discussing capitalism, asymmetrical power relations, life capital, social theory, common life interest, life value, global problems, market theology, media, values of the market and free market ideology today in relation to public education, academia, intellectual fads and the broader intellectual culture in relation to enabling public understanding of meaning-making and power, totalising market culture, climate, dispossession, health, influence, energy, labour, income, slavery, corporate welfare, neo-liberalism, the global ecosystem, and inequalities of class and power.

The lesion size is a risk factor for keloid recurrence after postoperative radiotherapy. However, it remains unclear whether the major axis diameter is the most appropriate parameter to evaluate lesion size, because keloids are often irregular in shape. Additionally, no previous study has investigated computed tomography (CT) densitometry parameters of keloids as potential predictors for recurrence after postoperative radiotherapy. The size and CT densitometry parameters were measured for 74 lesions with CT images of sufficient quality for evaluation. The association between recurrence and size or CT densitometry parameters was analyzed for 64 lesions that could be followed up for 6months or more. The major axis diameter×minor axis diameter×thickness showed the strongest correlation with volume (ρ=0.96, P<.0001). The median follow-up period was 71months, and 17 lesions recurred. The major axis diameter×minor axis diameter×thickness ≥2.5cm3 (hazard ratio=5.9, P=.0052) and volume ≥1.2ml (hazard ratio=4.3, P=.029) were significantly associated with keloid recurrence under multivariate analyses, while the major axis diameter alone were not. The mean and maximum CT values, and the kurtosis and skewness of density histogram were not significantly different between recurrent and non-recurrent lesions. The major axis diameter×minor axis diameter×thickness may be a better parameter than the major axis diameter alone. CT densitometry analyses may not help to predict keloid recurrence after postoperative electron beam radiotherapy.

This chapter introduces the concept of calculability within the context of colonial dispossession. Discussions reflect on calculability, which emphasizes the quantitative aspects of products sold (portion size, cost) and service offered (the time it takes to get the product). This refers to the belief that more is better. If there is a lot of a product, then it must be good. One can grasp the extent of the importance of calculability in Okinawa (as conceived by the central planners) when one examines the plans devised for future economic development of the spaces cleared by the eventual return of land presently occupied by MCAS Futenma. The central aim appears in the realization of an alternative form of colonization disguised as healthcare development.

Electrical resistivity ρ and thermopower S of the pseudo-binary compounds of Y1-xPrxCo2 have been measured in the temperature range between 2 and 300 K under magnetic fields up to 10 T, together with the pressure measurements of ρ and S in Y0.4Pr0.6Co2. The Curie temperature decreases with decreasing x, and vanishes at the critical composition xc ≈ 0.4, where the residual resistivity attains a maximum value. The Curie temperature and the residual resistivity of Y0.4Pr0.6Co2 show the same pressure dependence as those of the heavy-rare-earth based compounds. These behaviors of ρ and S indicate the inhomogeneous distribution of the Co 3d magnetization. The magnetoresistance of the light-rare earth Y1-xPrxCo2 system is negative in the whole range of x, except for x = 0 and 1, which is a characteristic behavior related with magnetic state and magnitude of the effective field acting on the Co 3d subsystem.