海外出産蜂蜜可能有中毒物質

Recently the Asahi News on-line reported the following:

海外産はちみつご用心　花の中毒物質でめまい・血圧低下

2014年1月4日20時54分

　ヘルシーな印象が強い蜂蜜だが、海外産の中にはまれに中毒を起こすものがある。花の中毒物質のせいだ。先月発行の専門誌に、東京の病院の患者発生報告が掲載された。専門家は「冬休みの海外旅行シーズンを機に万一に備えて症状や対処法を知っておくほうが安心だ」と助言している。

　報告によると、東京都内に住む６０歳代の女性が、東南アジアで購入した蜂蜜をお湯に溶かして飲んだ。３０分後、呼吸困難や視覚異常などの状態に陥り、数時間後には歩けなくなったため、救急車を呼んだ。嘔吐（おうと）や下痢はなかった。

　蜂蜜には、ツツジの仲間が持つ中毒物質グラヤノトキシンが入っていることがある。茶さじ数杯程度でめまい、血圧低下、心拍の異常などを起こす。もともと野生の蜂蜜を食べる習慣があるトルコの黒海沿岸部での発生が多く「マッドハニー病」と呼ばれている。患者数の統計はないが、世界中で症例報告があり、トルコなどで生産された蜂蜜が、流通の国際化によって世界各地に広がっていると考えられている。

(試譯文)

     Although honey could give a strong healthy impression, there were some from overseas which might cause poisoning in some rare situations. It was due to the poisonous material in the flower. A hospital report on patients in Tokyo was published at the technical magazine of last month’s issue. A specialist was advising that "it is safer to know the condition and ways of coping in order to prepare for an emergency at the time of traveling-abroad during the season of winter vacation".

     According to the report, a woman in her 60's who lived in Tokyo melted and drank in hot water the honey purchased in Southeast Asia. Thirty minutes afterwards she fell into a state that included breathing difficulty and an abnormal vision, and because she became impossible to walk for several hours an ambulance was called in. There was neither vomiting nor diarrhea.

    Grayanotoxin, a poisonous material which was a member of azalea might be contained in the honey. The abnormalities of giddiness, falling blood pressure, and abnormal cardiac beats etc. could occur with about several teaspoons. Turkey, in the area along the shore of Black Sea, had the custom of eating wild honey and was the first to generate the many so called "mad honey disease". While there were no statistics on the patient load, there were cases reported world wide that the honey produced in Turkey etc. was considered to have spread to every corner of the earth by circulation internationally.

So, better to be careful if want to buy honey.

兒童幸福度日本排第６位

Last week the NHK News on-line reported the following:

子どもの幸福度 日本は先進国で６位

12月30日 6時12分

日本の子どもの幸福度は、教育などの分野で高く、先進国３１か国の中で６位という報告書をＵＮＩＣＥＦ＝国連児童基金と日本の研究所がまとめました。

この幸福度は、「教育」や「健康と安全」、「物質的豊かさ」などの５つの分野で、合わせて２０の指標を基に算出したもので、ことしの報告書では日本を含む３１の先進国を分析しています。
それによりますと、総合１位はオランダ、２位がフィンランドとアイスランド、４位がノルウェー、５位がスウェーデンと北欧の国が上位を占め、日本はそれに次ぐ６位となっています。
日本は、国際的な学力調査の結果や学校に通っている割合などの「教育」と、いじめを受けたことがある割合や、肥満児の割合などの「日常生活上のリスク」の２つの分野で１位でした。
一方、子ども１人当たりの部屋の数などの「住居と環境」が１０位、乳児死亡率や予防接種を受けている率などの「健康と安全」は１６位でした。
さらに、こどもの貧困状態を経済や生活環境などから分析した「物質的な豊かさ」は２１位と下位にランクされました。
国立社会保障・人口問題研究所の阿部彩部長は「総合評価は上位だったが、子どもの貧困状態が順位を押し下げている。貧困の問題は、いずれ学力などの別の分野に悪影響を及ぼす可能性があり、解決に向け早期に取り組むことが求められる」と話しています。

(試譯文)

The degree of happiness of Japanese children was high in the fields such as education; Japan was at the 6th place among the 31 advanced nations in the report compiled by the UNICEF: U.N. Children's Fund, together with a Japanese research institute.

The degree of happiness was set in five fields, such as "education", "health, safety", and "material abundance". It was computed based on 20 indexes in total, and in the report this year it analyzed 31 advanced nations including Japan.

According to it, in the 1st place was the Netherlands and the 2nd places were Finland and Iceland, Norway was at the 4th place and Sweden at the 5th place, and thus all the Northern Europe countries occupied the higher ranking. It was followed by Japan which was ranked at 6th.

Japan was at the 1st place in two fields: "education", which was the result of an international academic ability survey and the rate of going to school frequently, and "the risks on everyday life", which was the rate that bullying was received and the percentage of overweight children.

On the other hand, on "the dwelling and environment" such as the rate on the number of the rooms per child Japan had received the 10th place; on "health and safety" such as on the infant death rate and on vaccination, it was at the 16th place.

Furthermore, on "the material affluence" which analyzed the children’s poverty condition due to the economy and living environment etc., it was at a low ranking of 21st place.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research Manager Aya Abe was saying that "although comprehensive evaluation was at a higher ranking, children’s poverty condition is at a low ranking. The problem of poverty may have a bad influence on other fields, such as academic ability; and for that a solution to tackle the problem at an early stage is in need".

It is interesting to note that the Northern Europe countries have occupied the higher ranking.

魚類擁有恋愛神経細胞

Recently the NHK News on-line reported the following:

“恋のスイッチ”の神経細胞 メダカで発見

1月3日 5時59分

メスのメダカがオスに恋心を抱くスイッチとなる神経細胞を、東京大学などの研究グループが見つけました。グループは、同じような細胞を人でも探すことで、人が恋に落ちる仕組みの解明につながるのではないかと期待しています。

東京大学などの研究グループは、メダカのメスとオスを仕切りのあるケースに入れて、数時間、「お見合い」させる実験を行いました。
その結果、メスがオスを記憶し、見知らぬオスの場合と比べて、６分の１の１０秒程度で、オスの求愛を受け入れるようになることが分かりました。
また、オスを記憶する過程では、脳の中にある特定の神経細胞が「恋心のスイッチ」の役割を果たしていることが分かり、この細胞を人工的にコントロールすることで、メスにオスの求愛を受け入れやすくすることにも成功したということです。
東京大学大学院の竹内秀明助教は「いつか、メダカと同じような神経機構が人でも見つかれば、人が恋に落ちる仕組みが分かるかもしれない」と話しています。この研究成果は３日発行のアメリカの科学雑誌「サイエンス」に掲載されます。

(試譯文)

A research group formed by the University of Tokyo etc. found the nerve cell that was used as a switch for the female killifish to hold its love towards a male. It was hoped that by also looking for the same cell in human, this group might lead to the elucidation of the mechanism for people to fall in love.

The research group, including the University of Tokyo, put the female and male killifish into a case with a partition to conduct for several hours an experiment so as to carry out a "formal meeting for engagement".

As a result it was found out that when a female killifish came to accept a male’s courting, comparing the case that it could memorize the male with the case of an unknown male, it was about 1/6 of 10 seconds.

Moreover, it turned out that in the process in which a male was memorized, it was said that the specific nerve cell in a brain had played the role of "a switch of love"; also it was successful to make the male courting easier to be accepted in the killifish by controlling this cell artificially.

Assistant Professor Hideaki Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo graduate school was saying that "if the same nerve mechanism in a killifish could also be found in human, then the mechanism for people to fall in love may be known". This research result was published in the American science magazine the "Science" released on the 3rd.

I think it would be a huge scientific discovery if the same nerve mechanism in killifish could also be found in the human.

三島由紀夫與川端康成同是１９６３年諾貝爾文学獎候選人

Recently the Asahi News on-line reported the following:

三島由紀夫、ノーベル文学賞候補だった　１９６３年推薦

2014年1月3日22時00分

作家の三島由紀夫（１９２５～７０）が、１９６３年にノーベル文学賞候補としてスウェーデン・アカデミーに初推薦され、最終選考リスト一歩手前の候補６人の中に入っていたことがわかった。ノーベル財団が２日、公式サイトで発表した。ノーベル賞の候補者や選考過程は５０年間非公開。その期間が過ぎたことから公開された。

　財団によると、三島は６３年、アイルランド出身でフランス在住の劇作家サミュエル・ベケット（６９年受賞者）らと並び、６人まで絞り込まれたリストの中に入った。「仮面の告白」（４９年）「潮騒」（５４年）「金閣寺」（５６年）などを発表し、海外でも知られていた。だが、「ほかの日本人候補と比べて優先されるほどの作家性がまだない」と判断され、３人の最終選考候補からは漏れたという。６３年の文学賞は結局、ギリシャの詩人イオルゴス・セフェリスが受賞している。

　６３年に推薦された候補は８０人。この中には４人の日本人がいた。三島以外の３人は、６１年から推薦されていた川端康成（６８年受賞者）と、５８年から候補リストに名前があった谷崎潤一郎、詩人の西脇順三郎とみられる。８０人のうち２２人は初めて推された人物で、フランスのドゴール大統領（当時）も含まれていた。

(試譯文)

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

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It turned out that writer Yukio Mishima (1925-70) in 1963 was for the first time recommended to the Sweden academy as a candidate for the Nobel Prize for literature, and he was as close as entering into the final selection list that had six candidates. Nobel Foundation announced this at its official site on the 2nd. The candidate names and screening process of the Nobel Prize were not for disclosure for 50 years. It was opened to the public when this period had passed.

     Mishima, according to the Foundation, in 1963 was ranked with others including the dramatist Samuel Beckett (the winner in 1969) who was from Ireland and lived in France. He entered into a list which was narrowed down to six people. He released the "Confession of a mask" (1949), the "Roars of the sea" (1954), the "Kinkakuji Temple" (1956) etc. which were also famous overseas. While it was judged and said that "compared with other Japanese candidates there is still no other creative writing style to the extent that priority should be given", he was dropped from the final selection list that had three candidates. In the end, the literary award for 1963 went to Giorgos Seferis the Greece poet.

    The number of candidate recommended in 1963 was 80 people; there were four Japanese in this list. Other than Mishima the three others were Yasunari Kawabata (winner of 1968) who had been recommended since 1961, together with Jun'ichiro Tanizaki whose name was on the candidate list since 1958, and the poet Junsaburo Nishiwaki. Out of these 80 people, 22 were recommended for the first time, including France's President De Gaulle (at that time).

It was interesting to note that Yukio Mishima was so close to receiving the Nobel Prize award in 1963.

日本冷凍食品有農薬需要回收

Last week the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

たに４件から農薬、最高値は基準の１５０万倍

　

食品大手「マルハニチロホールディングス」（東京都）の子会社「アクリフーズ」群馬工場（群馬県大泉町）で製造された冷凍食品に農薬マラチオンが混入していた問題で、同社が２９日までに苦情を受け、回収して調べていた商品２０件のうち、新たに４件から農薬が検出され、混入が確認された商品は計９件となった。

　９件の製造日は１０月４日～１１月５日。東京、神奈川、静岡、愛知、大阪、福岡の少なくとも６都府県の消費者から回収されていた。

　群馬県は３０日、食品衛生法に基づき工場を立ち入り調査したが、生産ラインが独立していることなどから、「原材料に付着していたり、通常の製造工程の中で混じったりした可能性は低い。故意の混入も否定できない」との見解を示した。苦情のあった商品は、群馬県外に３か所ある同工場の製品保管倉庫すべてから出荷されていた。

　群馬県警は同日、アクリフーズ社員への事情聴取を始めた。同社によると、商品から検出されたマラチオンの最高値は、国の基準値０・０１ｐｐｍの１５０万倍にあたる１万５０００ｐｐｍだった。

（2013年12月30日23時30分  読売新聞）

(試譯文)

On the problem that agricultural pesticide malathion was mixed with the frozen food manufactured by the "AQLI Foods" at the Gumma factory (Oizumi-cho, Gumma), being the subsidiary of a major food company the "Maruha Nichiro Holdings" (Tokyo), among the 20 products which the company had retrieved and investigated up to the 29th after receiving complaints, four products were newly detected with agricultural chemicals; the total number of cases that the product had confirmed mixing became nine.

The date of manufacturing of the nine cases was from October 4 to November 5. It was collected from the consumers from at least 6 prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Osaka, and Fukuoka.

On the 30th based on the Food Sanitation Law etc. Gumma Prefecture officials entered and investigated the factory to check that the factory line had been independent etc. It was shown that "a possibility of having the chemical adhered to the raw materials, or having been mixed during the usual manufacturing process is low. The view that the mixing is on purpose could not be ruled out, either". All the goods with complaints were shipped from this factory’s product storage warehouses located at three places outside the Gumma prefecture.

The Gumma Prefecture Police began its investigation with the AQLI Foods employee on the same day. According to the company, the highest value of malathion detected from goods was 15,000 ppm, which was 1,500,000 times of 0.01 ppm, being the safe standard of the country.

(23:30 on December 30, 2013    Yomiuri Shimbun)

Probably this incident could provide interesting materials for writing a detective story. I am interested to know when and how the Japanese police would crack this case.

2013年日本人口減少24万4,000人

Recently the FNN News on-line reported the following:

日本の人口、24万4,000人の自然減　減少幅は過去最大

2013年1年間に、国内に住む日本人の人口は、24万4,000人減少し、減少幅が過去最大となる、24万4,000人の自然減となることが、厚生労働省の調査でわかった。
厚労省の「人口動態統計」によると、2013年1年間に生まれた赤ちゃんの数は、103万1,000人で、前の年より6,000人ほど減り、過去最少となった。
一方、2013年1年間に亡くなった人の数は127万5,000人で、前の年より1万9,000人ほど増え、戦後最も多くなっている。
これをもとに、出生数から死亡数を差し引いた「自然増減数」は、-24万4,000人となり、過去最大の減少幅となる見通し。
厚労省は、今後も人口の減少幅は拡大していくとみている。

(01/01 10:20)

(試譯文)

It turned out by an investigation of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare that the Japanese population living in the country in the year 2013 had decreased by 244,000 people; the level of natural decline at 244,000 people was the highest ever.

According to the "Demographic statistics" of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of the babies born in the year of 2013 was 1,031,000 people, being about 6,000 fewer than last year and was the lowest figure ever.

On the other hand, as for the number of the people who passed away in the year of 2013, it was 275,000 people, being an increase of about 19,000 compared with the year before and was the highest increase since the post war period.

Based on the "number of natural increase and decrease" which was arrived by deducting the number of death from the number of birth, it would be 244,000 people. This could serve as the highest level of decline so far.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare concluded that the level of decline in population would continue to expand too.

Probably as a solution Japan will allow more foreigners to work in the country.

受日圓貶值影響日本麵類等食品新年後加價

Yesterday the FNN News on-line reported the following:

円安などの影響で小麦粉やチーズなど食品の値上げ相次ぐ

円安などの影響で、小麦粉やチーズといった食品の値上げが、1月も相次ぐ。
製粉大手各社は1月6日から、家庭用の小麦粉の出荷価格を引き上げる。
円安などを受けて、政府が製粉会社などに売り渡す輸入小麦の価格が、2013年10月に引き上げられたためで、日清フーズでは18品目を1%から4%、日本製粉は17品目を1%から3%、昭和産業は4品目を2%から4%値上げする。
また、雪印メグミルクは1月下旬から、「スライスチーズ」や「6Pチーズ」など11品目について、容量を減らし、価格を据え置くことで、実質値上げを行う。
円安や、世界的な乳製品の需要拡大で、輸入チーズの価格が高止まりしているためで、2014年も、身近な食品での値上げの動きが続くことになるとみられる。

(01/01 19:04)

(試譯文)

Under the influence of the weak yen etc., the price of food such as flour and cheese one after another would be increased even in January.

From January 6^th, individual major milling companies had increased the delivery price of home-use flour.

In response to the weak yen etc. the price of the imported wheat which the government sold over to the milling companies etc. was raised in October 2013. Because of that, for the Nissin foods the price of 18 items had been raised between 1% to 4%, for the Nippon Flour Mills the price of 17 items had been raised between 1% to 3%., and for the Showa Sangyo the price of four items was 2% to 4%.

Moreover, from the end of January, 11 items of the Snow Brand Megumiruku such as the "Slice cheese" and the "6P cheese" etc. would have their size reduced. Even keeping the price unchanged it had the effect of a price increase.

Because of the weak yen, the expanding demand for dairy products globally, and the price of imported cheese got stuck at high levels, it was expected that a trend towards price increases in everyday food items would continue in 2014.

Obviously in 2014 people in Japan will feel the effect of inflation, after many years of deflation.