お知らせ

只今、来週にあるUSCPAの試験対策のため
最後の力を振り絞ってもがいております。
一気に詰め込みすぎで頭の中をうまく
整理し切れていない感じもしますが、
なんとかうまくいってくれないかなぁと
淡い期待を胸に抱いています。

試験は渡米しないと受ることができないため、
恐らく20日くらいまでこのブログの更新は
できないかと思います。

またよろしければ足を運んで下さいませ。


あぁ、あっぷあっぷ。

Departure from locked-in syndrome

A man who had been in vegetable state for five years answered
the questions using only his thought.

Note) If you dont know the difference between vegitable state
and locked-in syndrome, please check here.

The 29-year-old Belgian was able to respond to simple Yes/No
questions such as “Is your father’s name Alexander?” by
changing his brain activity. British and Belgian researchers then
read his response by checking functional magnetic resonance
imaging known as fMRI scans.

In their research, 54 patients who are diagnosed with vegetable
state joined in the examination for their research. The result is
that 5 patients of them were able to respond to simple Yes/No
questions correctly. This means that at least 5 of them are not in
vegetable state but the state which are higher consciousness like
locked-in syndrome.

The researcher seems to develop their research in order to
introduce their technique to reduce misdiagnosis. I think this
achievement is really useful for their original purpose. Patients
took care as a vegetable state might prove they are not. However,
I also think this is the really big one step to achieve to
communicate with patients in locked-in syndrome. I know it still
have long distance to realize this.

However, there is no doubt the result of this research give
momentum to this research area and lead someone to invent a
device which can interpret thought of patients in locked-in
syndrome into something other people can understand. If it is
realized, many patients will be able to express their thought
more than Yes or No. It is clear that this kind of device will be
flame of hope especially for patient in locked-in syndrome.

During researching this subject, I remember the person who
suffered from muscular dystrophy. His name is Masashi Yoshida.
I saw him on TV last summer. He used to strongly disagree with
dignified death. However, He changed his mind to completely
opposite direction after he had seen that his friend, who was also
a patient suffering from the same disease with him, was
gradually losing his working muscle and heading into a locked-in
syndrome. I think this story is really persuasive how locked-in
syndrome is cruel and isolated for him. When he could not move
any muscle other than his cheek, he asked his family to turn off
his artificial ventilator right after he cannot communicate
with others.

I hope the result of this research will be a milestone to lead
patients in locked-in syndrome to be able to communicate others
with hope again.

reference:
Willful Modulation of Brain Activity in Disorders of Consciousness


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The deifferences among some kinds of conciousness

Just out of curiosity, I checked the differences among brain death, vegetable state, locked-in syndrome and coma.

In order to understand the figure above, we need to know the
definitions of “the Level of Consciousness” and “the Content of
Consciousness”. The level of consciousness is related to arousal
and used to determine whether or not patients are awake.
Meanwhile, the content of consciousness is more related to what
we mention a patient is conscious or unconscious. This might be
confusing, so I will give you an example. When you sleep deeply,
of course you are not awake and maybe you are dreaming.
Comparing with this state, if your level of consciousness is same
and your content of consciousness is higher, your new state is
more close to be awake but you are not conscious much.
Therefore, your dream is more vivid and realistic.

Now let us move to main subject; Differences among brain death,
vegetable state, locked-in syndrome and coma.

Vegetable state is the situation that the content of consciousness
is really low or nothing but the level of consciousness is high. It
means that patients in vegetable state look awake – they may
move, cry or laugh – but they are unconscious. However, they
are responsive against external stimulus.

Locked-in syndrome is that patients cannot communicate with
others because their muscle is paralyzed even though both
content and level of consciousness is high. So, they are awake
and conscious but there is no way to convey their thought.

Patients in coma are in a state being not awake and responsive.
Therefore, they do not response to any external stimulus except
stimulus to spinal cord.

You might thought brain death and coma are same when you see
the figure above. Actually I did. However, those are completely
difference. Brain death is diagnosed when all function of brain
stem are lost and does not return to be functional. So, it means
that the patients cannot breathe by themselves without
ventilatory support. Meanwhile, patients who are in coma can
breathe by themselves although their content and level of
consciousness are very low or nothing.

Before I examine these differences in detail, my knowledge
about them is really vague. Now it is clearer. It takes long time to
check what I don’t know. However, making something clear and
simple is really comfortable for me.

I will upload related article with this article tomorrow.

References:
brain imaging: altered states of consciousness
Vegetative state


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Frontier of Emerging Issue

There is a word I have really loved since I had heard.
The word is “Frontier of Emerging Issue”, say in Japanese “Kadai
Shenshi Koku”. Hiroshi Komiyama, the precedent president of
the University of Tokyo, said Japan is one of these countries.
It means that …

Japan has many problems that other countries have yet to face.
However, other counties are expected they will suffer from some
of those problems in near future. Therefore, what we need to do
is find the way to solve the problems that Japan faces now and
send out this solution to the other countries to help. Then, let us
be a leader of the world as a “Frontier of Emerging Issue.”

This is the way to thinking of him. I already told you, but I repeat
that. I really like his way to thinking. It is so positive.
In general thinking of Japanese, problem is just a problem and we deal with this problem just as a big burden.
However, his way to thinking let us have an idea that
there is a true chance when we are in a problem.

Now, let us check one example what kind of problem Japan
struggle with. Actually, I think there are many… but I pick one
from them. I think the issue of declining birthrate and an aging
society is a good example.

Comparing with 20% in U.S., the percentage of children who are
younger than 15 in Japan is 13%, which has declining for 35
years. This is the lowest among the 31 major countries, trailing
Italy and Germany. The number of people 65 and
older has reached 22.5%. Sorry to say, but the actions that
Japanese government took have yet to finish in good result.
However, I expect that china and India will have a same problem
when those country catch up with advanced country. I hope we
could finds good solution by the time.

If you interested in the word "Frontier of Emerging Issue",
you can read the interview with Mr. Komiyama here.
And I check the data of aging society here.


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What would you do, if...

You are asked by a pedestrian on a road, “What time is it now?”
but you don’t have a watch. What would you do?
This is the story when I was in Portland, OR.

It was the second or third day since I started to live in
United States for studing English.
That day I left my watch in my apartment. Although I really need
to know the time, there was no big clock around me.
There was no way to know the time. As a last resort, I asked a
woman the time with my all courage I had.
I can remember she was blond and beautiful and
I guess she was in her mid 20th.

She checked her wrist and looked like she remembered
she had also left her watch somewhere same as me.
Then she moved into the shocking action, at least for me.
She suddenly shouted,

“Hey, what time is it now? He wants know!!”

I was so surprised because I had not expected at all she would do
it when I asked her. But, surprising part was not over.

Almost simultaneously, several people responded from
respective directions.

“2:34!!”
“2:34!!!”
“2:35!!!!”

It was just like an echo in a mountain.
I was shocked and at the same time I said in my mind, “Wow,
they are kind and interesting.” I realized I was in United States.

I thought I had to express my appreciation. So, I also shouted,
“Thank you very much!!” That time, it was so embarrassing.

Oh, it is good memory of my life in Portland. I can remember as
if it were yesterday.

So, what I want to say is that Portland is good place to visit.
People are nice and kind. Put this city into your want to visit list.
I am really sorry no catchy punch line in this story.


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6, 300, 1000 and more?

What do you think this numbers are?
Be ready to be surprised.
When I knew it, I was really surprised.

Those numbers are how many boars are killed in Japan
as a harmful animal in each year. The first number 6 is
the data in 1994. The second number 300 is in few years ago
and last one 1000 is in last year.
It is really easy to understand the damages to crops
by boars are getting bigger and wider year after year.
I knew those numbers from my ex-boss’s blog.
He is a kind of educator to teach how great to stay in woods
to children. Therefore, he knows many things
related to nature.

I used to work as a volunteer under his instruction
for two months. That time was really joyful for me.
I learned many things there.

Anyway, what he wants is not only to inform us
the fact many boars are caught,
but also to suggest “We should eat them, if killing them.”
If you want to know more about this in detail, check here.
You can find the original article.

This article gives me a chance to think deeper about this issue.
Actually, I agree with him with no doubt. We should eat them.
I think killing boars without eating is a sin.
However, I had had no clear reason why I thought so
before knowing these numbers of boars killed in a year.
It is clear that killing other animals is to be satisfied
with predator’s apatite in natural system.
That is the one reason. However, I thought there is
another reason. That is, especially in my case, we thank
and pray for them by eating.
For example, my grandmother said whenever I eat fish
really cleanly, I mean just bones are left, my grandmother said
“they are pleased to be eaten cleanly.”
I also think the action to eat them let us lessen the sin
against killing animals.

What do you think?

I wrote the related article, hunting civil servants.
If you have a time, please read it.


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Matching arrangement by parents

Recently, the number of matching arrangement
parties has increased. In addition, those parties are not
just usual arrangement parties where single people
themselves join in but arrangements parties which are
hold by their parents for their single son/ daughter's sake.

Those parents say that they have a responsibility to deal with
their children’s problem that they cannot find
their future spouse by themselves.
In fact, the data in 2006 provided by Japanese statistic bureau
report that 59% among men in their 20th and 30th
and 47% among women in their 20th and 30th are single.
The data itself is little bit old, but considering
the economic situation we are in now, we can easily imagine
that these rates are even worse. The host of those parties says,
“Young men today are not much aggressive against women
and they are not well to approach. It is natural flow that parents
who worry about their children get together.
Moreover, before their son/daughter start to meet each other,
parents knowing one another makes the arrangement smoother.”

However, even though I can understand the situation we are in,
because I am single too, I think it is weird.
It is just like that parents send application to a company and
take an interview for their children’s sake
instead of their children.

Therefore, I prefer to find my future spouse by myself.
However, now I am saying like this but no one knows future…
My parents might be joining in an arrangement party
in the future for my sake.


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