Surviving the Fukushima nuke crisis : people’s anger, anguish, and alternative actions = 在福岛核泄漏危机中幸存下去：人民的愤怒、伤痛和另类行动

The 2nd worst Nuke Crisis, which has begun 21 month ago in March 11, 2011 from Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Station, has not settled in any sense, but is posing Fukushima people very difficult and unprecedented challenges. This presentation will examine following points: A brief view on the troubled 4 reactors of the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Station, in terms of continuing radiation discharge, on-going but slow dismantling process that takes more than 30-40 years, higher radiation levels in Fukushima Prefecture. etc. The present location of Fukushima people, such as restriction areas (totally, night time etc.), locations and relocations(evacuations) of people, returning plans of some municipalities after decontamination, and ideas of relocating some municipalities. Complicated compensation by TEPCO which often induce new divisions among victims. Farmers’ agony and trials, such as ban of cultivation and sells, and an organic　farmer Kannno’s actions and appeals. Recuperation movement of school children by some NPO and CBO. Near Future of Nuclear Power Generation in Japan and Asia: GOJ’s move to restart other Nuclear Reactors in Japan and moves to export to Asia, People’s persistent movement against Nukes, and Nuke policies of major political parties fighting in the on-going general election in Japan. This presentation will urge peoples in the third world countries, which will be major constructors of new nuclear reactors, to deeper their understanding on the complicated and difficult situations and actions/reactions of people in and around Fukushima. It is executed that, through this deeper understanding, people will be more empowered to avoid such a crisis in future. 21个月前，2011年3月11日发生在日本的福岛第一核电站的核泄露灾难，作为人类历史上第二严重的核危机，至今尚未在任何意义上得到解决，却留给福岛人民（生产与生活上无数的）困难和空前的挑战。 这个发言将（就福岛核危机及福岛人民灾后的行动）审视以下几点： 简要地综述福岛第一核电站目前4个发生问题的反应堆，有关持续的核排放、进行中然而极其缓慢（要经历30到40年）的拆除过程、福岛县及其周围高辐射量等级等一系列的问题。 福岛人民现在的区位分布：比如疏散区的变化（全部、仅仅在夜间时间的等）；居民的居住区域及再安置/疏散区域分布；清理核污染后，20平方公里辐射区内的一些政府机构的回归行动和计划，岩手县和周围其他地区的一些政府机构的迁移想法，以及因为部分人口的疏散行动新造成的家庭的分裂/分离问题。 东京电力公司完成的赔偿情况，赔偿过程中经常诱导导致受害者间的分裂。 农民的苦痛和（重建）尝试, 例如对耕作和贩卖的禁止，及菅野正寿等进行的有机农夫行动和诉求。 基于对政府辐射测量结果的不信任，市民自发组织的监测辐射活动的运动，包括对所以供销售和消费的食品进行辐射检测。 NPO和CBO 组织的学校儿童的休养运动，以及人们关于订立“儿童受害者支持法案”的请求。 日本与亚洲核电一代的不远的将来：日本政府在日本重新开启其他核反应堆的活动以及将核反应堆出口到亚洲的动向，人民对核电的抵制运动，核电政策相关的几个主要政党及他们在日本正在进行中的选举中的争战。 本次发言旨在加深第三世界的人民对福岛复杂并严重的情况和人们的行动和反应的了解。敦促那些第三世界的人们，作为核反应堆的新的将来可能的主要建设者，通过对福岛核危机的深入了解，也许通过反对新核反应堆的建设、中止现在进行的项目、以及采纳“另类”能源的实践等，能够更自信地阻止（将来潜在的）一场核危机

Flow-induced hardening of endothelial nucleus as an intracellular stress-bearing organelle

The mechanical contribution of nucleus in adherent cells to bearing intracellular stresses remains unclear. In this paper, the effects of fluid shear stress on morphology and elastic properties of endothelial nuclei were investigated. The morphological observation suggested that the nuclei in the cytoplasm were being vertically compressed under static conditions, whereas they were elongated and more compressed with a fluid shear stress of 2 Pa (20 dyn/cm(2)) onto the cell. The elongated nuclei remained the shape even after they were isolated from the cells. The micropipette aspiration technique on the isolated nuclei revealed that the elastic modulus of elongated nuclei, 0.62 +/- 0.15 kPa (n = 13, mean +/- SD), was significantly higher than that of control nuclei, 0.42 +/- 0.12 kPa (n = 11), suggesting that the nuclei remodeled their structure due to the shear stress. Based of these results and a transmission electron microscopy, a possibility of the nucleus as an intracellular compression-bearing organelle was proposed, which will impact interpretation of stress distribution in adherent cells. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The platelet activation induced by wheat germ agglutinin

AbstractIn human platelets, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) induced serotonin release without cell agglutination. WGA induced the phosphorylation of both 40-kDa and 20-kDa proteins in a parallel manner, and at least, the phosphorylation of 40-kDa protein was preceded by transient formation of endogenous diacylglycerol (DG) accompanied by a decrease in phosphatidylinositol (PI). Both phosphorylation of these two proteins and serotonin release were inhibited by prior treatment of platelets with dibutyryl cyclic AMP, W-7, or TMB-8. These results suggest that both phosphatidylinositol turnover and Ca2+ mobilization play an essential role in WGA-induced platelet activation

High SDF-1 Expression in HIV-1 Carriers Does Not Correlate with CD8+T-Cell-Mediated Suppression of Viral Replication

AbstractStromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) inhibits T-cell tropic (T-tropic) HIV-1 infectionin vitro. In this study, we examined the regulatory role of SDF-1 on HIV-1 replication in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HIV-infected individuals. We found that the amount of SDF-1 mRNA in freshly isolated PBMC of HIV-1 carriers was higher than in healthy donors. Moreover, PBMC from some asymptomatic carriers (ACs) exhibited high levels of SDF-1 mRNA expression. The level of SDF-1 expression in PBMC did not correlate with the magnitude of CD8+T cell-mediated suppression of HIV-1 among ACs. SDF-1 inhibited HIV-1 replication at the viral entry step, whereas a single-cycle HIV-1 infection system showed that the major part of the CD8+T-cell-mediated suppression occurs after intracellular penetration of the virus. Our results suggest that SDF-1 acts as a suppressor of virus replication in a CD8+T-cell-independent mechanism in HIV-infected individuals

ASCA Observations of the Sgr B2 Cloud: An X-Ray Reflection Nebula

We present the ASCA results of imaging spectroscopy of the giant molecular cloud Sgr B2. The X-ray spectrum is found to be very peculiar; it exhibits a strong emission line at 6.4 keV, a low energy cutoff below about 4 keV and a pronounced edge-structure at 7.1 keV. The X-ray image is extended and its peak position is shifted from the core of the molecular cloud toward the Galactic center by about 1--2 arcminute. The X-ray spectrum and the morphology are well reproduced by a scenario that X-rays from an external source located in the Galactic center direction are scattered by the molecular cloud Sgr B2, and come into our line of sight. Thus Sgr B2 may be called an X-ray reflection nebula. Possible implications of the Galactic center activity related to this unique source are presented.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, AAS LaTeX, To be published in The Astrophysical Journa

The hardest X-ray source in the ASCA Large Sky Survey: Discovery of a new type 2 Seyfert

We present results of ASCA deep exposure observations of the hardest X-ray source discovered in the ASCA Large Sky Survey (LSS) project, designated as AX J131501+3141. We extract its accurate X-ray spectrum, taking account of the contamination from a nearby soft source (AX J131502+3142), separated only by 1'. AX J131501+3141 exhibits a large absorption of NH = (6 +4 -2)x 10^22 H/cm^2 with a photon index \Gamma = 1.5 +0.7 -0.6. The 2--10 keV flux was about 5 x 10^-13 erg/s/cm^2 and was time variable by a factor of 30% in 0.5 year. From the highly absorbed X-ray spectrum and the time variability, as well as the results of the optical follow-up observations (Akiyama et al. 1998, astro-ph/9801173), we conclude that AX J131501+3141 is a type 2 Seyfert galaxy. Discovery of such a low flux and highly absorbed X-ray source could have a significant impact on the origin of the cosmic X-ray background.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, requires AAS Latex macro v4.0, to appear in The Astrophysical Journal, text and figures also available at http://www-cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp/member/sakano/work/paper/index-e.htm

ASCA Discovery of Diffuse 6.4 keV Emission Near the Sgr C Complex: A New X-ray Reflection Nebula

We present an ASCA discovery of diffuse hard X-ray emission from the Sgr C complex with its peak in the vicinity of the molecular cloud core. The X-ray spectrum is characterized by a strong 6.4-keV line and large absorption. These properties suggest that Sgr C is a new X-ray reflection nebula which emits fluorescent and scattered X-rays via irradiation from an external X-ray source. We found no adequately bright source in the immediate Sgr C vicinity to fully account for the fluorescence. The irradiating source may be the Galactic nucleus Sgr A*, which was brighter in the past than it is now as is suggested from observations of the first X-ray reflection nebula Sgr B2.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, AAS LaTeX, To be published in The Astrophysical Journa

Further studies of 1E 1740.7-2942 with ASCA

We report the ASCA results of the Great Annihilator 1E 1740.7-2942 obtained with five pointing observations in a time span of 3.5 years. The X-ray spectrum for each period is well fitted with a single power-law absorbed by a high column of gas. The X-ray flux changes by a factor of 2 from period to period, but the other spectral parameters show no significant change. The photon index is flat with \Gamma = 0.9--1.3. The column densities of hydrogen N_H is $\sim$ 1.0 x 10^{23} H cm^{-2} and that of iron N_{Fe} is $\sim$ 10^{19} Fe cm^{-2}. These large column densities indicate that 1E 1740.7-2942 is near at the Galactic Center. The column density ratio leads the iron abundance to be 2 times larger than the other elements in a unit of the solar ratio. The equivalent width of the K\alpha-line from a neutral iron is less than 15 eV in 90% confidence. This indicates that the iron column density within several parsecs from 1E 1740.7-2942 is less than 5 x 10^{17} Fe cm^{-2}. In addition, the derived hydrogen column density is about 1/6 of that of giant molecular clouds in the line of sight. All these facts support that 1E 1740.7-2942 is not in a molecular cloud, but possibly in front of it; the X-rays are not powered by accretion from a molecular cloud, but from a companion star like ordinary X-ray binaries.Comment: To appear in ApJ July 20, 1999 issue, Vol. 520 #1, 23 pages LaTeX files, uses aasms4.sty and psfig.sty, also available at http://www-cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp/member/sakano/work/paper/index-e.htm