Traffic Signals at Tunnel in Japan

Mountains account for about 70 percent of Japan’s land area, so there are a lot of tunnels across the nation. In Japan, the longest tunnels are the Seikan Tunnel (53,850 meters) between Honshu (the main land) and Hokkaido in railroads, and the Tokyo-bound lanes of the Kan-etsu Tunnel (11,055 meters) between Gunma and Niigata Prefectures on the Kan-etsu Expressway in roads for vehicles.

Concrete ceiling panels collapsed in the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture on December 2, killing nine people. The Tokyo-bound lanes of the tunnel, where the accident happened, are 4,784 meters long and opened in 1977. An official of the expressway operator Central Nippon Expressway Co. (NEXCO-Central) said that the aging of the tunnel was one of the strongest triggers of the accident.

The panel was fixed to the top of the tunnel using metal hanger support rods and bolts. Aging degradation may have caused the collapse. There are at least 29 tunnels built in the same way as the Sasago Tunnel on expressways in the nation. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry began nationwide examinations of such tunnels.

Only the Sasago Tunnel has never been checked for any noises by hammering the hanger support rods in five tunnels managed by NEXCO-Central that have the same structure as the Sasago Tunnel, according to Jiji Press.

By the way, you may have seen traffic signals at an entrance to a long tunnel on an expressway.

There was a severe traffic accident in the Nihonzaka Tunnel (2,050 meters at the time) on the Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1979. The crash involving several vehicles led to a fire, killing seven people. (In 1998, the tunnel was reconstructed to ease chronic traffic jam, becoming 2,555 meters long.)

I cannot forget the Nihonzaka Tunnel crash accident. When it happened, I was eight years old. I and my family drove through the tunnel just before the crash. If we had been there a few hours later, we would have been involved in the crash…

Since the accident, traffic signals have been installed at entrances to long tunnels. Of course, if it is red, you must stop immediately even when on the expressway.

The picture above is an entrance to the Enasan Tunnel (8,650 meters) on the Chuo Expressway, showing the signals are yellow: “A traffic jam in the tunnel, so you must drive carefully.”

Amitiza, a new type of laxative launched in Japan

A new type of laxative, lubiprostone (Amitiza®), appeared this November in the Japanese market. It is the first medicine that meets the indication of chronic constipation, characterized by less development of tolerance. Amitiza® can be safely used for a long period. It may also be administered to patients with reduced renal function who cannot use magnesium oxide, which might raise serum magnesium ion levels enough to cause fatal arrhythmia. Speaking of laxatives, many people would have an image of “inexpensive prices.” But a capsule of Amitiza® costs 156.5 yen, much more expensive than existing laxatives. Moreover, it needs to be taken twice a day.

As you can see, the structural formula shows that it is a kind of prostaglandins. Prostaglandin preparations remind us that they are usually expensive. This is true.

Lubiprostone is not metabolized in the small intestine and combines with a type 2 chloride channel (ClC-2) on the apical aspect of gastrointestinal epithelial cells, opening the channel. Chloride ions are pumped out of the cell, which produces a chloride-rich fluid secretion. The secretion softens the stool, increases motility and promotes spontaneous bowel movements. This mechanism is similar to that of a traditional laxative magnesium oxide, which increases the osmotic pressure in the intestine and softens the stool.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry approved manufacturing and distribution of Amitiza® indicated for chronic constipation (excluding constipation caused by structural disease) this July. It is the first laxative that received approval to treat “chronic” constipation, developed by SUCAMPO Pharmaceuticals in Maryland, the U.S. and domestically distributed by ABBOTT JAPAN Co., Ltd. It was released November 22 following the National Health Insurance price listing.

Distribution of the medicine was approved for patients with chronic idiopathic constipation in the U.S. in 2006 and in Switzerland in 2009. Besides, it received approval to treat chronic irritable bowel syndrome in the U.S. in 2008. The medicine is now under application for an indication extended to opioid-induced constipation.

Omega 3 fatty acids don't reduce cerebrovascular risk

Reduced cerebrovascular risk by fish intake not derived from omega 3 fatty acids: 

meta-analysis of 26 prospective cohort studies and 12 randomized controlled studies

Fish is good for the health. This is widely believed over the world. It is thought that Japanese people live the longest because they eat a lot of fish. Long chain omega fatty acids rich in fish are thought to be effective against cerebrovascular risk, which has been denied by a report on the BMJ. The fact will shake medical providers including doctors and pharmacists, and some pharmaceutical companies producing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) as a medication for arterial sclerosis. Many supplements containing EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are available at a drugstore. They are very popular among those who want to keep young and healthy.

What are omega 3 fatty acids?

 

The chemical structural formula above of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)(20:Δ5c,8c,11c,14c,17c), one of essential omega 3 fatty acids, meaning that it has five double bonds at the 5^th, 8^th, 11^th, 14^th and 17^th carbons of the whole carbon chain. Chemists number carbons from the carbonyl carbon (blue), but physiologists do from the ω carbon (red). The first double bond appears at the 3^rd carbon from the ω carbon in EPA, which is called ω-3.

Fish is one of the foods which have an effect on cardiovascular protection. Benefits brought by eating fish are thought to be derived from ω-3 unsaturated fatty acids. Rajiv Chowdhury and his colleagues of University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, however, performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled studies, revealing that cerebrovascular event risk significantly dropped with increased fish intake, but ω-3 fatty acids themselves did not significantly provide any benefits. The paper was published on the British Medical Journal online on October 30, 2012.

The full text is available at:

http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e6698

豊川信用金庫立てこもり事件

豊川信用金庫蔵子（ぞうし）支店、立てこもり事件。びっくりです。

Arachanが生まれ育った豊川ですから。当時住んでいた家から徒歩で15分くらいでしょうか。

夕方からTVで盛んに報道されていました。すぐに解決されると思いきや、日付をまたいだ未明に犯人確保。長かった。人質の皆さん、この終末ゆっくり休んでください。しっかり残業手当をもらってください。これも仕事の一環です。

この豊川信用金庫、1973年に起きた「豊川信用金庫事件」で有名。

当時僕は3歳だったので記憶にございませんが、大学の一般教養「心理学」の授業で取り上げられました。

下校途中の女子高生が電車内で発した何気ない一言を発端に、取り付け騒ぎにまで発展したという事件。

もちろんデマです。

なぜ、特別に有名なのかというと、デマがどのように伝わって数千人に及ぶほどの騒動になったのか詳細に解明されたため。

以下のリンクWikipediaに記載のある、「交差ネットワークによる二度聞き効果」（別々の人から同じ情報を聞くことで、それに信憑性があるものと思い込んでしまう現象）は、なるほどな～、身に覚えがある･･･と感じました。

みなさん、デマには気をつけましょう！

この取り付け騒ぎから時がたち、状況は異なりますが、今は今で、ネットで様々な情報が手に入ります。ある意味新たなデマ騒ぎが起きても不思議ではありません。

怪しい情報があれば裏をとりましょう。

「wikipedia：豊川信用金庫事件」のページへJUMP！

Jack and Jill

I've heard that an effective way to learn another language is to find some movies you really like and watch them repeatedly without Japanese subtitles.

One of my favorite films is “Jack and Jill,” which was criticized as “worst.” It was the 32^nd Annual RAZZIE Awards “Winner” for Worst Picture 2011. I have no idea why it was treated as the worst movie. Some people said that it was a plagiarism or remake of “Glen or Glenda,” which was also ranked as one of The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. That might have been one of the reasons Jack and Jill received negative reviews.

Despite such stern criticism, I really like it. It is a simple comedy film that makes me laugh a lot every time I watch it.

Story:

A successful executive of an ad agency, Jack (Adam Sandler), who has a beautiful wife and children in Los Angeles, has to experience an annual event, Thanksgiving, when his twin sister, Jill (also Adam Sandler), comes to his home. Her visit forces him to have a hard time...

Finished Watching the "Saw" Series

I finished watching the entire series of a scary movie Saw: Saw 1-6 and the Final.

A friend of mine has lent me the DVDs, which froze me in horror.

It was way too scary to understand its full details.

Actually, I wasn't able to partly watch terrifying scenes.

In each series, people who don’t value their lives are confined by a leading character Jigsaw, who imposes atrocious games for survival on them as punishment.

Although he has fatal brain tumor, he inflicts cruel punishments on them.

To survive, 

  they will be cutting part of their body themselves...

  they will have to resolve difficult questions Jigsaw gives...

  and more...

If they fail to win the games, they will be killed one by one in cruel ways.

In the middle of the series, Jigsaw dies of the disease. But later he is still alive. I wasn't able to understand why he was alive again, filling me with question marks...

I think scenes go and come between the past and the present.

Furthermore, a detective is involved in Jigsaw’s actions.

The stories are too complicated for me. I need to watch them again and again to grasp the details.

Despite its complexity, I strongly recommend the Saw series, if you are interested in horror movies.

Click below to see an IMDb search result for Saw:

http://www.imdb.com/find?q=saw&s=all

翻訳勉強に有効な心がけ

このブログの住人(Members of Daily Yomiuri Translation Club)は、英語の勉強に興味があり、特に『翻訳』という観点からの繋がりが強い。そのメンバーのひとりである（YASU）が思うところの、翻訳勉強に有効と思われる心がけを記しておきたい。

• 一緒に勉強する友達を作ること

なぁんだ当たり前すぎて拍子抜けした、と思う人もいるかもしれないが、とっても真面目に最重要事項の一つである。翻訳は孤独な作業だが、仲間と切磋琢磨して技術向上を図ることができればこれほど素晴らしいことはない。英語勉強に必須である『継続性』の観点からも重要だ。

• 毎日、英語および日本語と格闘すること

これまた普通すぎるかもしれないが、日々少しずつでも成長していくことがどれだけ大事かを再認識しておきたい。翻訳技術は、スポーツの技のようなものだ。得意技をどれだけ作れるか（ホームラン？）、苦手なものでも上手く処理できるか（内野安打？）、翻訳神経を毎日、休みなく鍛えていかなければならない。

突き詰めると語学の勉強というのは果てがない。なので、どうしても途中でしんどくなる。歩くのをやめると、前居たはずの場所にさえ居ることができず、どんどん後退していってしまう。でも、進んでいると段々と楽になって、いつの間にか疲れにくくなったり、ペースが少し速くなったりしているものだ。

どこか人生の教訓にも通じるところがあるかもしれない。

My Love for Ramen

“I gotta go…. for Ramen!”, so did I go out of my house in a chilly autumn night to get a bowl of ramen (Japanese soup noodle) after I heard the familiar melody from a pushcart vendor driving near my house.

My wife rolled her eyes, as she saw her husband went out home at 10:30 p.m. BUT, how can a man resist an urge to eat a ramen after repeated failures in the past few weeks to catch up with the pushcart vendor. (you may know how I feel, right?) It didn’t taste like the best ramen in town, but the fact that I took all the trouble to eat for a bowl of ramen (including changing my inner cloth to outer cloth, grabbing coins, and dashing for the pushcart vendor) satisfied me “spritually”.

My quest for ramen will continue…

A Key Step to Complete Eel Cultivation

I really like grilled eel (kabayaki). I’ve heard the number of eels obtained in Japan is decreasing. So, I’m so happy if completely artificial eel cultivation comes true. To my pleasure, I’ve heard news about it. It said it would be an important step to the realization of my hope.

A team including the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology has found that freshly-hatched eel larvae eat dead plankton, called “marine snow,” to grow, which was published Wednesday in the U.K. biological journal Biology Letters online.

This is a key result to realize a complete culture of eels.

There are some hypotheses about food of eel larvae which are one centimeter long and look like a transparent leaf: gelatin-like substance produced by sea squirt, tiny jelly fish, in addition to marine snow, but details remain unknown.

The team analyzed the amount of nitrogen contained in amino acids in the digestive tube, and calculated a figure of “trophic level” showing which level in the food chain the specimen is at. The trophic level found in an analysis with nine larvae of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, obtained in an egg-laying site off the Mariana Islands was 2.4, comparable to oysters and crabs.

New Road Map for Clinical Trials Using iPS Cells

I have been excited at Prof. Yamanaka’s winning of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is not only me. Everyone in Japan has been excited and encouraged. His award gives us a hope even in such a prolonged depression, making me feel like writing about iPS cells.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced Friday a new road map showing target times to practically use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).

The road map, established in 2009 for the first time, has been revised due to advance in research. In addition to renewal of a targeted timing to kick off clinical trials, the new map aims to establish technologies to create three-dimensional organs with tissue structures for the liver and the cornea within five years and for the kidney and the lung within ten years.

Advanced research in creating organs in the past three years has already brought a report of generation of the retina and the pituitary gland with 3-D structures.

Concerning clinical trials, goals have been set for 14 stages including a practical application of retinal cells derived from iPS cells to age-related macular degeneration treatments, being accelerated about two years earlier in research to generate red blood cells. Also in the planned iPS cells storage and supply center, “iPS cells stock,” led by Center for iPS Cell Research and Application of Kyoto University, the revised road map showed that the facility will establish the stock within two years and begin supplying iPS cells and their derivatives in two to three years.