Leveraging Environment and Climate Change Initiatives for Corporate Excellence

This paper reviews selected initiatives taken by Asian countries to comply with emerging global sustainability standards, reporting, and management systems, and tracks the response of Asian businesses to global environmental concerns, examines market based innovations including new regulations that augmented corporate excellence, and identifies future directions for business that lead low carbon society. It recommends governments and business to join forces in supporting low carbon initiatives, drawing upon market mechanisms through reconfiguring national environmental policies and strategies.climate change initiatives; global sustainability standards; low carbon initiatives; environmental policies

Leveraging Environment and Climate Change Initiatives for Corporate Excellence

As an integral part of sustainable development, the impacts from climate change, including increasing water stress, more extreme weather events, the potential for high levels of migration and the disruption of international markets are critical challenges for all Asian countries. With rapid economic growth and modernization, the countries in the region are increasing production and consumption, calling for critical adaption measures. With the Asian countries and the energy sector exceedingly accounting for a large share of CO2 and GHG emissions, businesses in Asia need to increase efficiency in energy use, offset emissions, and use more low carbon or renewable energy resources. Businesses are no longer considered part of the environmental problem as they are progressively becoming part of the solutions, and if furthered by an ideal regulatory disposition this would encourage corporations to strive for zero emissions. To address these issues, this paper reviews selected initiatives taken by Asian countries to comply with emerging global sustainability standards, reporting, and management systems, and tracks the response of Asian businesses to global environmental concerns, examines market based innovations including new regulations that augmented corporate excellence, and identifies future directions for business that lead low carbon society. It recommends governments and business to join forces in supporting low carbon initiatives, drawing upon market mechanisms through reconfiguring national environmental policies and strategies.sustainable development, Climate change, Asian countries, environmental policies, environmental strategies

Biological studies using proton microbeam irradiation system, SPICE

The development of SPICE (Single Particle Irradiation system to Cell), a microbeam irradiation system, has been completed at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS). The beam size has been improved to approximately 2micro in diameter, and the cell targeting system can irradiate up to 400 cells per minute. Cell dish has been specially designed: a 2.5 micro Mylar film stretched by pressing with a metal ring. A dish is placed on a voice coil stage equipped on the cell targeting system, which includes a fluorescent microscope and a CCD camera for capturing cell images. This microscope system captures images of dyed cell nuclei, computes the location coordinates of individual cells, and synchronizes this with the voice coil motor stage and single-particle irradiation system consisting of a scintillation counter and beam deflector. Irradiation of selected cells with a programmable number of protons is now automatable. We employed the simultaneous detection method for visualizing the position of mammalian cells and proton traversal through CR-39 to determine whether the targeted cells are actually irradiated. An Immuno-assay was also performed against gamma-H2AX, to confirm the induction of DNA double-strand breaks in the target cells.第47回日本生物物理学会年

Current status of single particle irradiation system to cell SPICE at NIRS

Single-cell microbeam irradiation systems have become significant tools in the field of radiation biology. Recently, many microbeam facilities have been developed, and are available for biological research. Also in Japan, there are many microbeam facilities with different types of radiation sources that are now available for biological studies [Kobayashi, 2009]. Single particle irradiation system to cell, SPICE [Konishi, 2009] at National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), generates 3.4 MeV protons with an approximately 2 um beam and are successful in targeting individual cells and delivering specified number of protons to targeted cells. SPICE is currently operated for low-dose effects studies, including hyper radio-sensitivity, bystander effects studies using cells.9th International Microbeam Worksho

SPICE-NIRS Microbeam: A Focused Vertical System for Proton Irradiation of a Single Cell for Radiobiological Research

The Single Particle Irradiation system to Cell (SPICE) facility at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) is a focused vertical microbeam system designed to irradiate the nuclei of adhesive mammalian cells with a defined number of 3.4 MeV protons. The approximately 2-micrometer diameter proton beam is focused with a magnetic quadrupole triplet lens and traverses the cells contained in dishes from bottom to top. All procedures for irradiation, such as cell image capturing, cell recognition and position calculation, are automated. The most distinctive characteristic of the system is its stability and high throughput; i.e. 3,000 cells in a 5 mm x 5 mm area in a single dish can be routinely irradiated by the 2-micrometer beam within 15 min (the maximum irradiation speed is 400 cells per minute). The number of protons can be set as low as one, at a precision measured by CR-39 detectors to be 99.0%. A variety of targeting modes such as fractional population targeting mode, multi-position targeting mode for nucleus irradiation and cytoplasm targeting mode are available. As an example of multi-position targeting irradiation of mammalian cells, five fluorescent spots in a cell nucleus were demonstrated using the gamma-H2AX immune-staining technique. The SPICE performance modes described in this paper are in routine use. SPICE is a joint-use research facility of NIRS and its beam times are distributed for collaborative research