Political Communication and Disagreement Among Citizens in Japan and the United States

Patterns of interdependence among and between citizens add an additional level of complexity to a comparative analysis of democratic politics. In this article we examine communication and disagreement among citizens in Japan and the United States. We argue that a majoritarian bias in political communication operates in both settings, but it tends to perpetuate a system of one-party dominance in Japanese politics. Comparative studies of democratic citizenship have focused generally on the variation across national contexts in the political beliefs and values held by individuals. Our argument is that citizenship and the alternative cultures of democratic politics have less to do with the idiosyncratic beliefs and values that individuals carry with them and more to do with the contextually embedded nature of political communication. We address these issues using two community-based studies, one conducted in South Bend, Indiana, in 1984 and the other in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, in 1997.     

Orosomucoid 1 phenotyping from human urine by isoelectric focusing

Orosomucoid 1 polymorphism was revealed in human urine by isoelectric focusing and immunoprinting on polyacrylamide gels. The orosomucoid in urine samples was recovered and concentrated by using immobilized allo A lectin. The orosomucoid 1 phenotypes of 60 urine samples correlated with those of the corresponding serum samples.     

Development and application of immunoassay for paraquat: radioimmunoassay

A sensitive radioimmunoassay for paraquat is reported. Anti-paraquat antisera were produced by repeated immunization in rabbits with 1-methyl, 1'-hexanoic acid-4,4'-bipyridinium (MHBP) coupled to bovine serum albumin (BSA). Less than 0.5 ng of paraquat dichloride was detectable by this assay system. These antisera were strongly cross-reactive with the bipyridyl ring and methyl group in either the 1- or 1'-position of paraquat. The determination of paraquat in tissues of paraquat-poisoned cadavers was also carried out.     

A fatal case of oral ingestion of benzine

A young woman committed suicide by ingesting benzine. We report the findings obtained at autopsy and the chemical analyses of the gastric contents, blood, and tissues in this case. Fatal concentrations of n-hexane, benzene, toluene and m-, p-xylene were detected. Pulmonary edema and hemorrhage were caused by the primary effect of the chemicals or secondarily by respiratory depression, suffocation due to volatile fluid, or heart failure. Mild hemorrhage around arterioles and venules in the brain cortex suggest hyperpermeability of the vessels. The fragmentation and waviness of the cardiac myofibrils indicate the presence of hypercontraction and possibly arrhythmia.     

A new method for typing haptoglobin in bloodstains using immobilized allo A lectin

Allo A lectin from the beetle, which is beta-D-galactose specific, reacts to haptoglobin but not to hemoglobin. The use of allo A-Sepharose for typing haptoglobin in bloodstains helped eliminate hemoglobin from the bloodstain extract and presented highly resolved haptoglobin patterns by disc gel electrophoresis. This method is simple and rapid for typing haptoglobin in bloodstains and can be easily used in forensic science laboratories.     

Sudden infant death from atelectasis due to amniotic fluid aspiration

An infant girl, whose hands showed lobster-claw deformity, was found dead in her bed at 17 days of age. Macroscopic and microscopic examination of the lungs showed fatal atelectasis. The alveolar spaces were filled with fluid, epithelial cells, and squamous debris. These were the constituents of amniotic fluid aspirated before birth. The present case suggested that some sudden unexpected deaths in early infancy are delayed deaths caused by amniotic fluid aspiration.     

Classification of alpha 2-HS-glycoprotein (alpha 2HS) types by isoelectric focusing

A sample of 300 sera from unrelated individuals from Northern Japan was examined by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gels. Three common types, alpha 2HS 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2 were differentiated. The frequencies of the alpha 2HS alleles in our sample were found to be: alpha 2HS1 = 0.7250 and alpha 2HS2 = 0.2750. Analysis of 16 parents with 21 children did not show deviations from the expected mode of inheritance.     

Analysis of mutation of the plasma cholinesterase gene in a man who had died following a traffic accident

We analyzed mutation of the butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) gene in a 69-year-old man on whom a forensic autopsy had been performed after he had died following a traffic accident. Extremely low plasma cholinesterase activity had been pointed out by the emergency doctor at the hospital prior to his death and based on this, organophosphorus poisoning had been suspected. However, no pesticides, which could have reduced the plasma cholinesterase activity, were detected by toxicological analysis using GC/MS. Subsequently, one base insertion was found in exon 2. The frame shift mutation had occurred because a homozygous extra T had been inserted between nucleotides 1343 and 1344, resulting in the appearance of a stop codon in codon 454 (AGA454TAA, Arg454stop). This heterozygous frame shift mutation at this point was identified in the man's son. It is likely that there may be many such latent patients with abnormal plasma cholinesterase activity, and accordingly we should always bear this fact in mind and should carry out molecular genetic testing for an accurate diagnosis of this deficiency.     

Distribution of tetracaine and its metabolite in rabbits after high versus normal spinal anesthesia.

High spinal anesthesia is one cause of sudden death associated with the spinal anesthesia. We did animal experiments to verify high spinal anesthesia by analyzing tetracaine and its metabolite, p-butylaminobenzoic acid in tissue samples. Tetracaine (0.25% in 10% glucose solution) 0.21-0.28 mg/kg was administered to two groups of rabbits to induce high and normal spinal anesthesia. Tetracaine and the metabolite in rabbit tissues were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, as a free base for tetracaine and as tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivative for the metabolite. In the group given high spinal anesthesia, levels of the metabolite in the brain stem were higher than in the cerebrum, cerebellum and whole blood. On the other hand, in the group given normal spinal anesthesia, the opposite results were obtained. Therefore, high spinal anesthesia induced by tetracaine can be diagnosed by comparing the concentrations of metabolite in whole blood, cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem.