Although fear and anxiety have gradually become a shared experience in the time of COVID-19, few studies have examined its content from historical, cultural, and phenomenological perspectives concerning the self-awareness and alterity. We discuss the development of the ubiquitous nature of Taijin-kyōfushō (TKS), a subtype of social anxiety disorder (SAD) originated and considered culturally-bound in the 1930s Japan involving fear of offending or displeasing other people. Considering the historical processes of disease classification, advances in cognitive neurosciences, and the need to (...) better understand the content of suffering, psychiatric nosology for SAD still appears controversial and requires further investigations. (shrink)

After the unification process of 1918, in the former Hungarian State schools Romanian language was introduced as a teaching language. Consequently, the Hungarian as a teaching language was solely pre- served in the vocational schools. The governments showed little understanding toward the minorities’ vocational schools, aiming rather at the unification of the scholar system. The Roman Catholic Church sustained and administrated hundreds of elementary and secondary schools, many of them having a multi-secular history. Based on the documents from the churches’ (...) archives, this study presents the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to preserve and maintain all these schools. (shrink)

The role of religion in the public space is a matter of debate. The public sphere understood as a space oriented to achieving interests of common concern, reaching social and political consensus by means of deliberation has relegated religion to the private sphere. The last decades have attested a revival of the public role of religion, a “de-privatization” of religion. This paper explores the contemporary influence of religious beliefs and liturgical practice on issues of public concern focusing on the statements (...) and liturgical gestures of Pope Francis, notably regarding the disenfranchised and the refugees, as well as his engagement for the environment. The statements and liturgical gestures of Pope Francis have challenged the dissociation between religious practice and social ethics, and have returned religion to the forefront of public debates. A symbolic example is his unconventional practice of a traditional rite, that of the washing of the feet during liturgical celebrations on Holy Thursday. This classical liturgical rite, brought to public attention through the media, has become the vehicle of Francis’ social ethical views, and due to his involvement in the refugee-debate, a powerful political statement. Such statements are not limited to Catholics or individuals of other denominations, but contribute to the agenda of public discussions. (shrink)

Dans quelle mesure peut-on reconnaître certaines influences du naturalisme français, mouvement éminemment représenté par Émile Zola, dans les œuvres romanesques de naturalistes américains tels que Dreiser et Norris? Stephen Crane, l’un de ces derniers, nie l’influence des œuvres romanesques zoliennes sur son chef d’œuvre, Maggie : A Girl of the Streets (1893). Pourtant, en lisant cette nouvelle de l’écrivain américain, on peut bel et bien retrouver des motifs zoliens, ce qui contredirait son affirmation. Il existe, en effet, des rapports d’intertextualité (...) avec certains romans de Zola. En prenant cette idée comme point de départ, nous nous proposons de réfléchir à la représentation de l’espace urbain, notamment à Paris dans L’Assommoir, ainsi qu’aux personnages féminins de ce roman, pour mettre en évidence l’importance de l’idéalisation de la vie rurale. En ce sens, nous voulons prendre ces aspects comme points de comparaison entre Zola et Crane. Comment, chez ce dernier, sont représentées la ville de New-York et les personnages féminins? In fine, cela permettra d’aboutir à une réflexion plus globale, tout en étant précise, sur les particularités de la littérature naturaliste des deux côtés de l’Atlantique. (shrink)

This essay consists of two parts. In the first part we show in general outline the development of modern Japanese philosophy since 1867. And as one of the typical products of that process we analyse in the second part the metaphysics of the late Prof. Nishida.

The paper explores the events that preceded the conclusion of the Concordat between the Holy See and Romania (1927) and its effects. Both the Vatican and the Romanian Monarchy aimed at concluding a Concordat: the first, because the document was expected to provide a legal frame for the life of the Catholic Church, and the second, because such document contributed to its international visibility. Early talks, during the reign of Prince Al. I. Cuza and King Carol I, were eventually unsuccessful. (...) Discussions were resumed after the end of World War I. The Concordat was drafted essentially by the representatives of the Greek Catholic Church, without the consultation of the Latin bishops of Transylvania. The finalization and the ratification of the document were delayed, partly because of the objections of the Orthodox Church, and partly due to the disagreement regarding the fate of the Latin dioceses of Transylvania and the Patrimonium Sacrum. The Concordat was highly contested by the Latin bishops of Transylvania as it produced serious changes and difficulties. It stipulated the merger of the dioceses of Oradea and Satu Mare and caused severe problems concerning the management of Latin Catholic funds, previously administered by the Roman Catholic Status. The Concordat also affected the functioning of the confessional schools. (shrink)

Platforms for sharing genomic and phenotype data have been developed to promote genomic research, while maximizing the utility of existing datasets and minimizing the burden on participants. The value of genomic analysis of trios or family members has increased, especially in rare diseases and cancers. This article aims to argue the necessity of protection when sharing data from both patients and family members. Sharing patients’ and family members’ data collectively raises an ethical tension between the value of datasets and the (...) rights of participants, and increases the risk of re-identification. However, current data-sharing policies have no specific safeguards or provisions for familial data sharing. A quantitative survey conducted on 10,881 general adults in Japan indicated that they expected stronger protection mechanisms when their family members’ clinical and/or genomic data were shared together, as compared to when only their data were shared. A framework that respects decision-making and the right of withdrawal of participants, including family members, along with ensuring usefulness and security of data is needed. To enable this, we propose recommendations on ancillary safeguards for familial data sharing according to the stakeholders, namely, initial researchers, genomic researchers, data submitters, database operators, institutional review boards, and the public and participants. Families have played significant roles in genetic research, and its value is re-illuminated in the era of genomic medicine. It is important to make progress in data sharing while simultaneously protecting the privacy and interests of patients and families, and return its benefits to them. (shrink)

The motor modules during human walking are identified using non-negative matrix factorization from surface electromyography signals. The extraction of motor modules in healthy participants is affected by the change in pre-processing of EMG signals, such as low-pass filters ; however, the effect of different pre-processing methods, such as the number of necessary gait cycles in post-stroke patients with varying steps, remains unknown. We aimed to specify that the number of GCs influenced the motor modules extracted in the consideration of LPFs (...) in post-stroke patients. In total, 10 chronic post-stroke patients walked at a self-selected speed on an overground walkway, while EMG signals were recorded from the eight muscles of paretic lower limb. To verify the number of GCs, five GC conditions were set, namely, 25, 20, 15, 10, and 5 gate cycles with three LPFs. First, the number of modules, variability accounted for, and muscle weightings extracted by the NNMF algorithm were compared between the conditions. Next, a modified NNMF algorithm, in which the activation timing profiles among different GCs were unified, was performed to compare the muscle weightings more robustly between GCs. The number of motor modules was not significantly different, regardless of the GCs. The difference in VAF and muscle weightings in the different GCs decreased with the LPF of 4 Hz. Muscle weightings in 15 GCs or less were significantly different from those in 25 GCs using the modified NNMF. Therefore, we concluded that the variability extracted motor modules by different GCs was suppressed with lower LPFs; however, 20 GCs were needed for more representative extraction of motor modules during walking in post-stroke patients. (shrink)

La Ética es la parte de la filosofía práctica que se ocupa del hecho moral y de los problemas filosóficos que nacen de la conducta humana, la bioética resulta la rama de la ética que se dedica a proveer los principios para la correcta conducta humana; respecto a la vida. En el proceso de atención a los pacientes con enfermedades reumáticas se emplean variados procedimientos. Las nuevas tecnologías han mejorado notablemente su tratamiento integral; estos adelantos científicos deben ser empleados con (...) la intención fundamental de no producir daño y previo consentimiento informado; por lo que resulta necesario argumentar acerca de las implicaciones bioéticas que resultan del empleo de los avances científico-tecnológicos en el tratamiento a los pacientes con enfermedades reumáticas. Ethics is the part of Practical Philosophy that deals with moral facts and philosophical problems that have their roots in human behavior. Bioethics is the branch of Ethics devoted to providing the principles for correct human behavior, with respect to life. Various procedures are used when treating patients with rheumatic diseases. New technologies have considerably improved their integral treatment; these scientific advances must be used with the main purpose of causing no harm and with prior informed consent. Therefore, it is necessary to argue on the bioethical implications that turn out from the use of scientific-technological advances in the treatment of patients with rheumatic diseases. (shrink)

The existence of White Hole (WH) has been suggested by Schwarzschild solution to the Einstein field equation as a time-reversed Black Hole (BH), besides there has not been observational evidence for their existence yet. Our idea of the “inverse universe”, in which we introduce the time-reversed kinematics as another geometric state, can explain that WH should appear in such a geometry after a matter falls into a BH. In this work, we present a new operation for WH conversion from BH, (...) and by using it the nearly infinity point on the universe, for instance the inside of BH, is geometrically connected to the inside of WH on the inverse universe. Such a conversion is useful to provide the simple solution to the problem of “information loss” in BH. Furthermore, we find another conversion point as the prior geometric state to the Big Bang, and we propose a new cosmology of cyclic universe. (shrink)

On the theory of Teilhard de Chardin, P.