ナンキョク バイオプロスペクティング カツドウ ノ ジッタイ ニホン ノ ジレイ ヲ チュウシン ニ

南極バイオプロスペクティング(生物探査),すなわち南極の自然界から価値のある遺伝的ないし化学的物質を探し出す活動については,現在,南極条約協議国会議(ATCM)において,その規制の必要性についての重要な政策議論が継続している.そこでは,エンドユーザーの視点から,南極原産の微生物等を利用した特許等のデータを基に,大企業が商業目的で行う活動であるかのような印象が強くもたれていた.本稿は,2007年第48次南極地域観測隊員が,昭和基地周辺の湖沼から土壌を採集し,それから分離した菌株Antarctomyces psychrotrophicus Syw-1から有益な不凍タンパク質を単離することに成功し,隊員の所属機関である産業技術総合研究所などが当該菌株と不凍タンパク質について2009年に特許出願した事例を具体的に検討する.この検討をとおして,本稿は,これまでとは異なり,南極バイオプロスペクティングをアクセスの視点から実態把握することを提案する.その結果,南極バイオプロスペクティングを「商業的」と「科学的」に二分する議論は,同活動の実態を反映しておらず,よって,ATCMでの法的・政策的議論にとって必ずしも適切ではないことが分かる.Antarctic bioprospecting, namely the search for valuable genetic or chemical compounds in Antarctic nature, has been the subject of intense discussion within Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. In this discussion, based on the so-called "end-users view point," utilizing the patent database to see how much Antarctic biological material has been used in patents, Antarctic bioprospecting has been depicted as a lucrative commercial activity operated by big multinational companies. This paper, instead, proposes an "access view point" for Antarctic bioprospecting, by examining a recent Japanese case in which scientists participating in the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 2007 collected some sediment from Antarctic lakes near Syowa Station, isolated and cultured a particular fungus, and found the first evidence of the presence of antifreezing activity in oomycetes. In 2009, the scientists\u27 affiliate institutions, including the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, applied for a patent on Antarctomyces psychrotrophicus Syw-1 and the antifreeze protein obtained from it. A detailed examination of this case demonstrates that the dichotomy of Antarctic bioprospecting into "commercial" and "scientific" does not reflect the reality of bioprospecting activities and, therefore, does not provide an appropriate ground for legal and policy discussion on Antarctic bioprospecting

Regulating Antarctic Tourism:The Challenge of Consensus-Based Decision-Making

In the 2022-2023 season, more than 104,000 tourists visited Antarctica. This represents an increase of more than 40 percent compared to the 2019-20 pre-pandemic season. The diversity of activities is also constantly growing. This note provides an overview of these developments and discusses the extent to which the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties, that govern Antarctica on the basis of consensus, have responded with regulatory action. The analysis shows that little decision-making has taken place and that no consensus could be reached on many policy questions in relation to growing Antarctic tourism. Failure to ensure timely and adequate international responses to environmental challenges poses not only a risk to the Antarctic environment, but could also constitute a challenge to the legitimacy and stability of the Antarctic Treaty governance system. In this light, options are identified for strengthening Antarctic decision-making regarding Antarctic tourism.</p

Coherent-Incoherent Crossover of Charge and Neutral Mode Transport as Evidence for the Disorder-Dominated Fractional Edge Phase

Couplings between topological edge channels open electronic phases possessing nontrivial eigenmodes far beyond the noninteracting-edge picture. However, inelastic scatterings mask the eigenmodes' inherent features, often preventing us from identifying the phases, as is the case for the quintessential Landau-level filling factor v = 2/3 edge composed of the counter-propagating v = 1/3 and 1 (1/3-1) channels. Here, we study the coherent-incoherent crossover of the 1/3-1 channels by tuning the channel length in-situ using a new device architecture comprising a junction of v = 1/3 and 1 systems, the particle-hole conjugate of the 2/3 edge. We successfully observed the concurrence of the fluctuating electrical conductance and the quantized thermal conductance in the crossover regime, the definitive hallmark of the eigenmodes in the disorder-dominated edge phase left experimentally unverified

Doppler ultrasound findings correlate with tissue vascularity and inflammation in surgical pathology specimens from patients with small intestinal Crohn’s disease

BACKGROUND: Crohn’s disease (CD) is routinely evaluated using clinical symptoms, laboratory variables, and the CD activity index (CDAI). However, clinical parameters are often nonspecific and do not precisely reflect the actual activity of CD small-intestinal lesions. The purposes of this prospective study were to compare color Doppler ultrasound (US) findings with histological findings from surgically resected specimens and confirm the hypothesis that color Doppler US can distinguish tissue inflammation and fibrosis. METHODS: Among 1764 consecutive patients who underwent color Doppler US examinations, 10 patients with CD (12 small-intestinal CD lesions) who underwent US examinations before elective small-intestine resection were evaluated in the present study. Areas of thickened intestinal walls were evaluated in terms of blood flow using color Doppler US imaging. The blood flow was semiquantitatively classified as “hyper-flow” and “hypo-flow” according to the Limberg score. Resected lesions were macroscopically and histopathologically processed. Inflammatory cell infiltration, fibrosis and vascularity were evaluated by myeloperoxidase (granulocytes), CD163 (macrophages), CD79a (B cells), CD3 (T cells), Masson’s trichrome (fibrosis), and factor VIII staining (vascular walls). All histopathological images were entered into virtual slide equipment and quantified using a quantitative microscopy integrated system (TissueMorph™). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in disease features or laboratory findings between “hypo-flow” lesions (n = 4) and “hyper-flow” lesions (n = 8). Histopathologically, “hyper-flow” lesions showed significantly greater bowel wall vascularity (factor VIII) (p = 0.047) and inflammatory cell infiltration, including CD163 macrophages (p = 0.008), CD3 T cells, and CD79a B cells (p = 0.043), than did “hypo-flow” lesions. There was no apparent association between the blood flow and CDAI. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, active CD lesions were macroscopically visible in surgical specimens of patients with increased blood flow on preoperative color Doppler US imaging. Additionally, these CD lesions exhibited significantly greater vascularity and numbers of inflammatory leukocytes microscopically. Color Doppler US may predict tissue inflammation and fibrosis in small-intenstinal CD lesions

A recent case of Antarctic bioprospecting from Japan

Antarctic bioprospecting, namely the search for valuable genetic or chemical compounds in Antarctic nature, has been the subject of intense discussion within Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. In this discussion, based on the so-called "end-users view point," utilizing the patent database to see how much Antarctic biological material has been used in patents, Antarctic bioprospecting has been depicted as a lucrative commercial activity operated by big multinational companies. This paper, instead, proposes an "access view point" for Antarctic bioprospecting, by examining a recent Japanese case in which scientists participating in the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 2007 collected some sediment from Antarctic lakes near Syowa Station, isolated and cultured a particular fungus, and found the first evidence of the presence of antifreezing activity in oomycetes. In 2009, the scientists' affiliate institutions, including the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, applied for a patent on Antarctomyces psychrotrophicus Syw-1 and the antifreeze protein obtained from it. A detailed examination of this case demonstrates that the dichotomy of Antarctic bioprospecting into "commercial" and "scientific" does not reflect the reality of bioprospecting activities and, therefore, does not provide an appropriate ground for legal and policy discussion on Antarctic bioprospecting

Japanese Peacekeeping Legislation and Recent Developments in U.N. Operations

On June 15, 1992, the Japanese Diet adopted the Law Concerning Cooperation in U.N. Peacekeeping and Other Operations (Peacekeeping Law). The law, which came into force on August 10 of that year, amended the Self-Defense Forces Law to allow the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to participate in U.N. peacekeeping. Thereafter, Japan took a significantly more active role in U.N. activities. The Japanese government sent three electoral monitors to Angola to participate in the U.N. Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM II), more than 680 personnel including a 600-member SDF ground unit to Cambodia to participate in the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), and a 48-member SDF transport unit to Mozambique to participate in the U.N. Operations in Mozambique (ONUMOZ)