同志社女子大学

This study explores how humane entrepreneurship fosters employee innovation by linking organizational culture, employee competencies, and entrepreneurial readiness. Using survey data from 297 full-time employees, it examines how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and humane entrepreneurial orientation (HEO) influence skills, mindsets, and readiness for both start-ups and intrapreneurship. Structural equation modeling (SEM) shows that EO enhances skills and individual EO, which strongly predict start-up and intrapreneurial readiness. HEO promotes skills and individual HEO and directly increases intrapreneurial readiness, underscoring its unique contribution to internal innovation. Skills significantly predict intrapreneurial but not start-up readiness, suggesting that psychological factors may play a larger role in external entrepreneurship. These findings extend humane entrepreneurship theory by clarifying the mechanisms through which EO and HEO affect entrepreneurial outcomes and offer actionable insights for managers and policymakers seeking to foster innovation and support multiple entrepreneurial pathways within and beyond organizations.

This study investigated the effects of seven-day oral supplementation with menthol crystals on thermoregulatory responses in young Japanese women following cold-water hand immersion. Peripheral skin temperature, blood flow, and subjective thermal sensation were assessed. Menthol ingestion did not affect the recovery of skin temperature or blood flow at the fingers and wrists. However, skin temperature at the toes was significantly higher in the menthol group during cold exposure, indicating an enhanced peripheral thermal response in the distal regions. Subjective thermal sensation at the feet was also significantly higher in the menthol group than in the control group. These findings suggest that short-term menthol supplementation may have region-specific effects, helping to maintain warmth perception in the extremities. Although the underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified, menthol ingestion could potentially alleviate cold sensitivity in susceptible individuals.

With the increasing adoption of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum in Japan, actively promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), there is a need to understand its impact on educators. This study explores how teaching within IB contexts shapes the educational philosophies of Japanese teachers. Through semi-structured interviews with two experienced Japanese language teachers—one from the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and one from the Middle Years Programme (MYP)—this research investigates the influence of the IB framework on their professional beliefs and practices. Reflective thematic analysis of the interview data reveals three core themes: (1) the enrichment of life through learning, where education is seen as a means to cultivate curiosity and see interconnectedness in the world; (2) the development of lifelong learners, a goal that teachers apply not only to their students but also to their own professional growth; and (3) a belief in the potential of the IB to foster holistic development by focusing on “how to learn.” The findings suggest that the IB curriculum influences teachers to develop a more student-centered, long-term, and reflective approach to education. This study also indicates that prior teaching experience can be an asset for successfully integrating the IB philosophy and highlights the importance of reflective practice. These insights have implications for teacher training programs and educational policy as Japan continues to expand its IB offerings.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 6 (TRPV6) is a highly Ca2+-permeable cation channel predominantly expressed in the intestinal epithelium. It plays a crucial role in maintaining systemic calcium homeostasis by regulating Ca2+ absorption in the intestine. However, its local physiological and pathophysiological roles in the intestine remain unexplored. The exact cause of inflammatory bowel disease is not fully understood; however, disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier is a key pathogenic mechanism. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of TRPV6 in the pathogenesis of colitis. Experimental colitis was induced in TRPV6-deficient [knockout (KO)] and wild-type (WT) mice by administering 2% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution in drinking water for 7 days. DSS treatment resulted in weight loss, diarrhea/bloody stool, histological colonic injury, and colon shortening. The systemic symptoms and colonic injury were significantly worse in TRPV6KO mice than in WT mice. DSS treatment increased tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 mRNA expressions, and myeloperoxidase activity, and these responses were significantly enhanced in TRPV6KO mice compared with WT mice. Under normal (no DSS-treated) conditions, TRPV6KO mice exhibited increased intestinal permeability compared with WT mice. No difference was observed in the number of goblet cells between WT and TRPV6KO mice; however, the expression of intercellular junction proteins, including E-cadherin, claudin-3, and occludin, was significantly suppressed in TRPV6KO mice compared with WT mice. These findings suggest that TRPV6 protects against DSS-induced colitis, potentially by regulating epithelial barrier function through intracellular junction protein expressions.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to reveal the local role of TRPV6 in the intestine. TRPV6KO exacerbated dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis and increased intestinal permeability compared with wild-type mice. Furthermore, intercellular junction protein expression was lower in TRPV6KO mice. TRPV6 protects against colitis by maintaining epithelial barrier function by regulating intercellular junction protein expression. Thus, TRPV6 may be a novel therapeutic candidate for treating inflammatory bowel disease.

It has been proposed that in the absence of a blood supply and any direct innervation, the lens utilizes a variety of mechanosensitive ion channels to transduce changes to its internal and external environments into the activation of signaling pathways that alter fiber cell structure and hence overall lens function. One such mechanosensitive channel is Piezo1, the activation of which has been shown to phosphorylate Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and increase the expression of Transglutaminase 2 in fiber cells. To complement these functional studies, we have conducted a comprehensive mapping of the distribution of Piezo1 and Piezo2, the other member of this protein family, throughout all regions of the mouse lens. Using Western blotting, we first show that in addition to Piezo1, the mouse lens also expresses Piezo2. Using immunohistochemistry, we then show that both proteins are present throughout all regions of the lens, but are more concentrated in a discrete zone of high intensity labelling in mature fiber cells in the inner cortical region of the adult mouse lens. Despite being localized to the same localized ring the two proteins exhibited distinctly different subcellular distributions. In the outer cortex Piezo1 was more localized to the membrane, while Piezo2 was predominantly located in the cytoplasm of differentiating fiber cells. To determine at what stage of development this prominent ring of Piezo1/2 labelling was formed, immunohistochemistry was performed at different stages of embryonic and postnatal development. We found Piezo1 and Piezo2 to be both first expressed in the lens vesicle at E10, with both proteins exhibiting a constant level of cytoplasmic labelling across the whole lens throughout embryonic development and up to P6. This pattern of localization changed from cytoplasmic to membranous at around P15 when the tunica vasculosa lentis was almost fully regressed and eye opening occurred. Our findings suggest that Piezo1/2 recruitment to the plasma membrane is developmentally regulated and associated with a key transitional stage of lens fiber cell maturation.