Sequels in July 2018

Thursday, July 26, 2018
Wildfire in Greece

The victims rose to 91 in the wildfire, and 25 are still missing. It records the deadliest wildfire in Europe.

CBC: Death toll rises to 91 in deadly Greece wildfire


Sunday, July 15, 2018
Heatwave in Japan

Also in England, the heatwave is so deadly that people are afraid that food production will be damaged.


Monday, July 9, 2018
Rainfall and flood disaster in Western Japan

Just recently, Western Japan was struck by a typhoon. Fortunately, it seems not to have caused critical damages. We should be cautious about the natural disaster.


Friday, July 6, 2018
Aum Shirikyo leader was executed

Successively, several convicts relevant to the Aum Shinrikyo were executed. The series of execution means the will of the government to overcome the tragedy. On the other hand, it is true that the executions of the criminals made further investigation of the cases difficult.


Monday, July 2, 2018
I got a new desktop PC

The new PC works well. But, Windows 10 itself has several bugs, such as crippled IME and redundant configuration. I am annoyed by the new OS very much.

Game of Throne is going to end

Game of Thrones, an epic fantasy series is going to be completed in the next year, the HBO says.

The Sydney Morning Herald: Final Game of Thrones season to air in 'first half' of 2019, HBO confirms

Game of Thrones is a story around the king of seven kingdoms. Several heroes are competing to gain the throne of the swords.

I watched the season one the other day. To be honest, I have never watched through the season two and three although I possess the DVD boxes.

My past entry: Game of Thrones

The original novel by George R. R. Martin has been completed, as far as I know. But I am not sure about the last scene.

Anyway, I want to watch the whole films after its completion.

Basic principles for stress coping provided by San Fransisco

In the modern era, there is every risk for gaining mental disorders. And, if not always, stress is one of the risk factors for an onset of the mental disorder.

Therefore, good stress-coping strategies are required for safe and effective life. Fortunately, there are many tips to reduce your stress level.

For example, University of California San Francisco provides an online program called emotional brain training for overcoming stress-induced mental troubles, according to the article below.

The Conversation: Reeling from the news? Train your brain to feel better with these 4 techniques

In my sense, the four points the author suggests for stress reduction are rational. Any of them has been established as a psychotherapeutic technique.

Thus, "See stress as a moment of opportunity" is a reframing technique in brief therapy. "Check your stress number" is self-monitoring as a basic process of inducing cognitive behavioral therapy. And, "Update your unconscious expectations" is no other than the cognitive modification in cognitive therapy. At last, "The power of compassion and humor" is not a single technique but fundamental and desirable attitude for the therapist.

I believe this method developed in the University of California San Francisco will be effective for many people suffering from depression, anxiety, and doubtful thoughts influenced by fake news and harmful words from others.

Casino bill approved in Japan

The diet of Japan approved the integrated resort bill, just recently. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, is willing to promote Japanese casinos for improving the economic status.

However, the casino bill is deemed to be unpopular for citizens, according to the media.

The Japan Times: Poll finds nearly two-thirds oppose passage of casino bill; Cabinet’s approval rating falls to 43.4%

Generally, I do not trust such a poll conducted by a company. It is often biased. But I believe that many people dislike casinos, indeed. And, it is a problem in Japan.

In reality, there are enormous pachinko parlors in Japan. Also, many Japanese are indulged in online games some of which has similar characteristics to gambling. Furthermore, FX and cryptocurrency trading are excellent subjects for gamblers.

Thus, the field and opportunity of gambling have been already arranged in Japan. The Japanese government had prohibited gambling behaviors. Therefore, pachinko was not deemed as gambling. It is very ridiculous. What is more absurd is some people opposing to the IR bill claiming the risk of gambling disorder is not against pachinko at all.

On the other hand, the IR bill has many restrictions to the administrator of resorts. They will be disadvantageous for the companies which are planning to introduce gambling facilities in Japan.

In my opinion, the IR bill will make no more impact on Japan's situation, I am afraid.

Samsung will introduce AI speaker

Samsung is going to release a new AI speaker this year.

Samsung's AI program is called Bixby. How the expected smart speaker works is yet to be revealed.

South China Morning Post: Samsung's entry into AI speaker market will wake up rivals such as Kakao, Google and Amazon

Smart speaker market is very competitive. Currently, Amazon's Echo is dominant as occupying 43.6% share, followed by Google.

The issue is that there are several providers of gadgets which are potentially connected to the AI speaker. It is not sure what kind of electrical devices will obey your voice when you introduce an AI speaker. For example, the TV in front of me will not be controllable with any smart speakers.

Shortly, many devices will adapt to several types of smart speaker, in my prospect. It will resemble standards of DVD-R. Then I will try one.

Wildfire in Greece

When the Japanese are suffering from severe heat stroke, a deadly wildfire robbed dozens of people's life in Greece.

According to the media, it occurred near Athens on July 23th, 2018. At least 74 people were killed by fire so far, and it will be increased because rescue activity has not been completed.

Independent: Greece wildfires: At least 74 dead as blazes rage in holiday resorts near Athens

In this region, wildfire often emerges since the atmosphere is dry and the wind blows strongly. But the authority seems to suspect the possibility of deliberate firesetting of a criminal who intended to conduct a theft.

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, declared the national mourning as well as emergency, calling for help to international aids.

This year, several disasters due to abnormal climate attack the earth. I am afraid there will be more victims.

Relationship between depression and inflammation

Depression is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, as the WHO admits. Up to billions of people suffer from depression at least once in their life, and it causes enormous financial damages. Anti-depressive medications are used to treat depression. But only one-third of patients respond to the first drug, while about 40% become treatment-resistant.

Recently, an experiment with mice suggested that inflammative reaction could cause depression. It was observed that some cytokines were released in the brain tissues of mice after exposing stress. Cytokines are known as a marker of inflammation.

Forbes: Could Depression Be An Immune Response To Stress? A New Study Suggests An Answer

This finding suggests that some kinds of depression occur as a result of an excessive inflammatory reaction in the brain. If true, anti-inflammatory treatment may be a solution to overcome depression.

To be honest, the hypothesis indicating the relationship between depression and inflammation has been discussed for several decades. Fever is often reported in the acute depressive state. And some patients get depressed immediately after infection. Though I am not sure, there might be some studies conducted to treat depressive disorders with anti-inflammatory drugs.

Also, as the author of the article above writes, not all depressions are stress-induced. Some patients feel depressed without preceding stressful events. In my sense, such patients respond to medication well.

Anyway, it is great that new findings are reported regarding depression. I expect research in this region will progress more.

G20 and trade war

The G20 meeting has begun, One of the main themes of this conference is how to deal with the current trend of globalization.

Most nations, especially in the EU, are willing to guarantee open and free trading to defeat protectionism. But the US administered by Donald Trump is against this idea. The conflict became deeper after the US strengthened the tariff against China.

At the same time, Japan made a historic contract with the EU. This EU-Japan economy partnership is expected to reduce a total of one billion Euro in the customs duty.

Independent: EU and Japan say new trade deal is signal to the world that protectionism does not work

Japan is the most significant ally of the US, both in the historical view and political context. However, Japan and the US is sometimes competing in the economic field. Therefore, Japan has to make valuable deals with EU and Asian nations as well.

I do not believe Trump's America First policy will work forever. It seems practical in a short-term but will reduce the principal strength of the US in a longitudinal view. I am not sure which nations will be dominant in the next era.

Open office backlash

Do you work at the office? If so, can you see colleague's faces from your seat? And most importantly, do you wish so?

In the US, Open office architecture was spread in these few decades. Now, 70% of the offices adopt open architecture, according to a statistics. In Japan, open offices are not so popular. On the other hand, many people working in the official sector have no barricades at the side of their desk.

Open office was introduced based on a hypothesis that it would let workers be more collaborative with each other and help them to make innovative ideas through free conversation. It sounds fantastic.

The influence of open architecture has not been examined, however, at least with a structured study. Then, a couple of international companies conduct a series of experiments. They introduced open office architecture. And the workers' movement and behaviors were evaluated for months before and after the installation.

As a result, the whole productivity was reduced by 15%, surprisingly. Instead, utilization of email was increased. There was no evidence of promoted productive conversations by the open office.

Philosophical Transaction of Royal Society B: The impact of the ‘open’ workspace on human collaboration

It is a terrible outcome. Looking through the published article, this study is rationally constructed.

And the result is compatible with some workers' perception. There are many complaints about open office. People dislike being always looked at by their colleagues. Therefore, they tend to go home as soon as possible even if there are remained tasks. Workers are likely to talk about their family and the weather more frequently than business issues.

In my opinion, there are some conditions to make open architecture work effectively. First, your neighbors should be reliable. If you are afraid that colleagues would report your laziness to your boss, you must be silent whenever at the desk. Second, you can understand your colleague's work at least partially. Then, you can occasionally listen to your colleague's request for help. And of course, you should not too busy to look around the room to find something valuable.

Open office is a valuable structure, I believe. But it is not a magic rod.

Asahara's daughter wants scattering ashes

Just recently, Chizuo Matsumoto, or Shoko Asahara as the leader of a cult, Aum Shinrikyo, was executed for the massacre and several terror crimes as I wrote.

My past entry: Aum Shirikyo leader was executed

And not surprisingly, how to treat Asahara's remain is argued now.

There are still several pupils who believe Asahara is the incarnation of the God. They will promote Aum, or similar cults, using the episode of the execution. Then, the grave of Asahara will become the sanctuary, I am afraid.

For reducing the risk of rising of the successor of Aum, Asahara's fourth daughter asked the government to scatter the ashes of Asahara's remain to the Pacific Ocean. If realized, nobody will be able to get the remain. And there will be no risk of emerging of a particular sanctuary.

Asia One: Daughter of executed Japan cult leader to scatter his ashes at sea

Asahara's fourth daughter had been trusted by Asahara although she did not accept Asahara's destructive ideology, according to the media. I am not sure what happened in his family in these years.

She wants the aid of national power to execute the scatter. Indeed, there are no funeral companies to accept her offer because pupils will revenge the company for dropping Asahara's remain. Asahara's daughter's request seems rational. On the other hand, it seems difficult for the government to execute a particular person's funeral. The negotiation will be prolonged.

I am doubtful the government has not decided the aftercare of the execution. The current situation was expected by many people. Aum Shinrikyo crime cases were the most dread terror crimes in Japan ever before. I truly hope similar tragedies will never occur.

Blockchain will solve property issues

After the rise of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency has attracted significant public attention. Though it is frequently argued about the value of Bitcoin itself, there may be no objection about the innovativeness of blockchain technology. Therefore, many people are considering alternative use of blockchain other than cryptocurrency.

Blockchain is a series of record which is hardly deliberately modified afterward. Thus, official records which should be kept as the original form for a long time are suitable for products with blockchain.

In reality, an attempt to record the land properties with blockchain is ongoing. If realized, the risk of conflict due to incomplete or destroyed official records will be remarkably reduced. The intellectual property will also be applicable to a similar scheme.

The Conversation: Blockchain-based property registries may help lift poor people out of poverty

We expect newly developed technology to make a change of the world dramatically. But, minor improvement of our daily life thanks to innovation is also crucial for the better future.

Heatwave crashes electric devices

In recent days, it is extremely hot in Tokyo.

The temperature suggests 32 centigrades. But the moisture in Japan makes us more annoyed that the temperature.

Also, several electric devices around me got crippled one after another.

My main business PC was frozen. The BIOS did not appear. It suggests that there are some critical errors in the motherboard.

At the same time, my new private desktop PC showed the blue screen error. Fortunately, it recovered shortly.

And today, my smartwatch made thermometer error. It could not be charged anymore.

Electric devices are vulnerable to extreme conditions. Most of them are not made to work well at the extreme heat or coldness.

I am afraid something critical will happen, such as a failure of infrastructure soon.

I expect this summer will pass away as soon as possible.

Comedy competition at Asakusa Little Theater

Yesterday, I went to Asakusa to see a live comedy show.

Asakusa Little Theater is called as the smallest theater in Asakusa. Its capacity may be around 60 people. Every day, you can see a series of comedy show played by several comedians. Manzai (talk show by two comedians), Conte (short story), and Pin-gei (amusement show by one person) are popular.

(This picture was shot in another day. You are not allowed to take a picture in the showtime.)

Yesterday, a competition by regular members of this theater was conducted. A total of 21 teams performed the play. And audience and professional judges made a vote to the best comedians.

It was for the first time for me to participate in the judge. It was more difficult than imagined to rank the plays fairly. I had some comedian I like. But I did not vote them because a competitor made better performance. As a result, however, the team I like won the vote.

There are several plays which were very fun. I enjoyed this time very much.

Amazon and Walmart

There are many retailers of products all over the world. Among them, most people will suggest Amazon or Walmart as the top of them. Amazon is the first company which utilized the online internet shopping. On the other hand, Walmart is a leading company providing the real fields of merchandise.

In recent years, Amazon and Walmart are seriously competing, according to the article below. It is not surprising at all. Every company has the mission: gaining the top of share. As customers can choose Amazon or Walmart for purchasing goods, they are always conflicting with each other.

Forbes: Amazon And Walmart: Digital Native Vs. Physical Presence

In Japan, Walmart is not so famous compared to Amazon's good reputation. Walmart bought Seiyu, a famous supermarket brand in Japan, in 2002. Walmart made a great restructured upon Seiyu management for growing the profit. But it seems Walmart's policy was not successful. Just recently, it is guessed that Walmart intends to sell Seiyu's stock, according to the media. In addition, Walmart is struggling to find the buyer despite the popularity of Seiyu. Thus, Walmart is likely to abandon Japan as a target.

Walmart and similar companies have grown with some great advantages such as many shops located in a significant place and continuous trust of citizens around the shop. However, these advantages are not perpetual. Amazon has taken destructive innovation. I hardly believe Walmart will defeat Amazon. And Amazon will be defeated by a new company come from out of our imagination.

Chrome will need more memory

Which is the web browser you usually use?

Window equips Microsoft Edge as the default browser, as the successor of Internet Explorer. Safari is the same position in Mac. But surprisingly, the majority uses Google Chrome on the computer.

Chrome is my favorite browser though I also use Edge, Firefox, and Safari. In recent months, the majority of the viewers of my blog uses Chrome as well.

One of the Chrome's advantages is high synchronicity with Google services. You can run Google Search, Gmail, Calendar, and many other programs on Chrome. Each of them is essential for many users.

However, there is a significant disadvantage in Chrome. Chrome consumes large memory of the PC. The magnitude is much bigger than that of other web browsers as several tests suggest.

Furthermore, Google announced that the latest update would require more memory for a security reason. It is a nightmare for users of an old PC.

Forbes: Google Chrome Has A Nasty Surprise

Android is often said to have a shorter life than iOS. On an aged Android tablet, programs run sluggishly. The main reason seems to be the high occupancy of memory. Perhaps programmers in Google are not good at an efficient use of memory.

Nonetheless, I will continue to use Chrome mainly. There are still many reasons to keep it in the center of PC activity.

Do not fear loneliness

Loneliness is a difficult emotion. In my early life, I seldom felt alone despite having few friends. Now, I feel alone whenever my wife is out.

The modern era is the age of loneliness. It is said that people feeling lonely is rapidly increasing in these decades. It is perhaps because of the decreased number of the family members and increased liquidity of the community.

Nowadays, the internet and social media are so familiar for many people that we feel always connected with others. But they never substitute the stable relationship with your friends and families. Instead, a study suggests that Facebook users feel lonely more frequently.

It is also said that loneliness is contagious. People feeling lonely are unlikely to get new relationships. And also they can hardly trust others. It makes them more isolated from neighbors.

The Conversation: Loneliness is contagious – and here’s how to beat it

To overcome the loneliness, being openminded to others, as well as to consider neutral to unwelcomed events, is essential, according to the article above. I agree with this opinion.

But, some people may feel challenging to give unconditional trust to others. In such a case, you can abandon the goal.

Loneliness is a sense of feeling, in reality. You can never be alone. You wear clothes which were made by someone. You eat some processed food. In the modern society, nobody can survive without other people's aid, regardless of the social status.

Thus, you are not alone. Rather, you merely feel alone. It means that you seek someone to listen to me. It is a natural emotion for a human.

When you recognize this fact, be sincere to your desire. You can tell about your self to anyone. Of course, almost all people are indifferent to your life. That is OK. Even if you feel disconnected from anyone, your words reach someone. Never expect a response. It is important for you to have some words you would like to talk.

Heatwave in Japan

In recent years, global warming is progressing, as far as my recognition. Heatwaves are recorded in many regions.

The Guardian: Heatwave sees record high temperatures around world this week

Especially in Japan, it is extremely hot. Approximately 1,500 people were brought to emergency due to heat stroke in this summer. At least six people died, unfortunately.

Traditional Japanese were said to have been with nature's rath, instead of attempting to conquer it. Housing was made to enable the wind to pass through the rooms. Furin and yukata are also items to ease our feeling of heat.

In recent Japan, however, we have no room to enjoy summer. The government announces to citizens not to be patient to the heat because it can be fatal.

It is often said that Japanese has lost the traditional Japanese' mind. I think it is simply because we have to adapt ourselves to the environment which has been completely changed.

Pavlov's alarm clock

Pavlov is a famous physiologist. He detected that animals are accustomed to specific stimuli and acquire conditioned reflex. "Pavlov's dog" is a well-known term as a metaphor for a reaction of instinct.

Recently, an alarm clock named Pavlov was released.

Amazon.com: Pavlok Shock Clock Wake Up Trainer – Wearable Smart Alarm Clock - Never Hit Snooze Again

This clock is shaped like a wristband. And it releases an electric shock when the time has come. Nobody will be able to keep sleeping against the shock.

This wristband can be used to diminish your improper habits. When you notice you are shaking your legs, biting your nail, or gambling, you can activate the electric shock.

This usage looks ridiculous. But in practice, this method is reasonable. Behavioral therapists are engaged in constructing the scheme of behavior modification. An electrical shock will be a good punisher for eliminating bad habits. I expect some therapists will purchase this gadget for medical use.

Horses can identify our facial emotion?

Some kind of animals has been keeping a good friendship with the human. Dogs and cats have evolved for attracting our affirmative attention. And a result of a recent study suggests the possibility of the evolved ability of horses: facial recognition of the human.

In this study, some horses were examined if they can distinguish happy faces from angry faces of a human. The examinees could react properly, according to the author. Furthermore, horses kept the image of the emotional faces of the human for hours.

Current Biology: Animals Remember Previous Facial Expressions that Specific Humans Have Exhibited

Since I cannot read the whole article, I am not sure whether the condition of the experiment was appropriately controlled. There is a popular episode of the biased outcome of an animal experiment, so-called "Clever Hans."

Thus, horses are well known to be good at sensing the atmosphere. Therefore, it is crucial to hide any hints from the horse so that it can guess the answer.

It is possible that some species of animal can read the human mind, in my opinion. But the way may not be limited to read the facial emotion. For example, it is possible that people who get angered effuse a particular smell. How to communicate with animals is still a challenging, and a wonderful issue.

Train baby in Paris get the pass

PARIS (AP) — The Paris public transport company RATP says a baby boy born in a suburban train will get free rides in the French capital until he is 25.

In recent, a baby was born on a train in Paris.

It occurred on June 18. The Paris public transport company RATP broadcasted the scene with Twitter. This wonderful birth made the traffic confused, but the passengers seemed to be patient with pleasure.

Also, RATP decided to give the baby a free passport to ride any trains in Paris until he grows up to 25-year-old.

AP NEWS: Baby born on Paris suburban train gets free rides until 25

According to Parisians, Paris transports are frequently crippled because of strikes and other incidences. Instead, metros and trains in Japan are seldom delayed. Therefore, many Japanese feel annoyed when the train is delayed regardless of the magnitude. I am afraid that some passengers will blame the mother for using the train if the same case occurs. Intolerance is a vice of Japanese, I believe.

Cryptocurrency addition?

There are several types of pathological dependence. In the ICD-11 planned to be launched in the next year, Gaming disorder will be included in psychiatric diseases.

Recently, Professor Mark Griffiths at Nottingham Trent University, published a list of the symptoms of Cryptocurrency Addition. Addiction to cryptocurrencies is identified as a sub-type of online day-trading addiction.

Castle Craig Hospital: Addiction to Bitcoin Cryptocurrency day-trading

In his opinion, patients of cryptocurrency addition will meet these criteria.

Spend all their time and money on online trading;
Experience financial problems;
Chase their losses (they spend more to recoup their losses)
Constantly borrow from family and friends, or steal to fund their habit;
Believe a big win is about to happen;
Pawn their belongings to raise funds;
Lie to friends and family about the extent of their losses;
Experience mood swings, depression and hopelessness;
Constantly think about the next investment;
Become restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop;
Deny the problem;
Try many times to control, cut back or stop.

Looking through the description above, this criteria seems not have been authorized by a properly structured study. But in my sense, it is certain that some of the traders of cryptocurrency are suffering from addiction.

On the other hand, cryptocurrency addition is different from gambling disorder, in my opinion. Patients of gambling disorder are ruled by a fantastic idea that they become rich by winning the games. This idea is objectively absurd because almost all gamblings are disadvantageous for any players. However, cryptocurrency is still a developing scheme, and nobody can precisely estimate the magnitude of the market. Some of the traders who get the fortune will be called as innovators, not gambling patients.

On the contrary, I guess the neurochemical reaction occurring in the brain of people engaging in a cryptocurrency trading is quite similar to that of people indulged in an online game. And some of them need medical treatment.

Novichok cases in England

In England, two innocent citizens were victimized by the international conflict, perhaps.

It occurred in Amesbury, where is located near to Salisbury which was the place a former Russian agent was near to assassinated.

And the victims showed the evidence to have been exposed to Novichok, a lethal chemical compound which was suspected to be used before.

Reuters: Two Britons poisoned with Novichok nerve agent near where Russian spy was struck down

Horribly, Novichok is relatively stable substance in cold and dry condition, according to an expert. It is absorbed onto soft surfaces. The victims seemed to have accidentally touched a contaminated object.

Independent: Novichok inventor on Amesbury poisoning: ‘I completely understand panic of those living in Salisbury’

One of the victims was killed, and the other is still in a life-threatening condition.

The UK condemns Russia for having victimized citizens crucially. However, the Russian government completely denies the concern. This incident is no more a fatal accident but a seed of an international conflict.

I am not an expert on this issue. In my impression, Russia is involved in this tragedy. Otherwise, it is impossible that the victims exposed Novichok by chance. Of course, Russia did not intend to kill citizens. But, Russia should be responsible for this case, I believe.

Rainfall and flood disaster in Western Japan

Western Japan was struck by heavy rainfall.

Up to 600mm of rain fell in some regions in Hiroshima prefecture. It was three times of usual magnitude of rain in the whole of July.

This disaster caused floods and landslides in several areas, leading to more than 100 deaths and dozens of missing people.

BBC: Japan floods: 'Extreme danger' amid record rainfall

In Japan, we often experience heavy rain, especially in Summer. But, this disaster was far more serious than our estimation. Compared to the earthquake and typhoon, rainfall is difficult to evaluate the need for evacuation, generally speaking. In some situations, reckless evacuation brings us danger. On the other hand, several houses are isolated from the public help because of the flood, and people staying there have to survive for some days or more without external aids.

I live in Chiba. The height at my home is not so low that I have to be afraid of the tsunami. But, the flood may occur occasionally. I have to be prepared for the disaster.

Owl-type likely to be depressed?

There are several factors to cause depression. Physical exhaustion, psychiatric stresses, poor diet, and some genetic varieties are known as independent risk factors. And also, chronotype seems to contribute to the onset of depression.

The University of Colorado at Boulder and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston gathered over than 30,000 data of nurses to examine the influence of chronotype on depression. As a result, as expected, participants waking at night were likely to become depressive.

Independent: WOMEN WHO WAKE UP EARLY LESS LIKELY TO DEVELOP DEPRESSION, STUDY CLAIMS

In this study, all participants were working nurses. Night shift is well known to be a risk of immature death. Thus, it is possible that the participants had a relatively high risk for depression. This idea makes us difficult to interpret the outcome of this study.

By the way, your pattern of the sleep-wakeup cycle is hard to change. If you are an owl-type person, you are a little likely to become depressive. Then, should you attempt to amend your habit? It depends on your status, in my opinion. If you can wake up early in the morning, do it every day. But if you truly suffer from the binding concept to wake up early, I recommend you to adapt your work style to your chronotype, not the opposite.

Can we overcome common cold?

The other day, I heard that anyone solves either cancer or common cold completely would get the Nobel prize. And these issues are still under trial.

The reason why common cold hardly can be cured by medicines is that the common cold is not a single disease. There are over a hundred viruses to cause the common cold. Also, antiviral substances are more difficult to be developed than antibacterial agents.

In recent years, some researchers are struggling to establish the solution for the common cold. Some substances are expected to inhibit the replication of the viruses in the human body. Others study the protective peptides which block the infection itself.

The Conversation: We have a good chance of curing the common cold in next ten years – a scientist explains

They are promised ideas, I feel. But, there is another issue about the medication against the common cold. How can we distinguish cold which can be cured by medicine from many other diseases?

In Japan, many patients want to get medication when getting a common cold despite there is no definite solution. As a result, some physicians are willing to prescribe antibacterial medicines as well as other meaningless pills to the patients. It is no different than a waste of medical resource.

Nowadays, on the other hand, flu can be identified with a test-tool. The development of the toolkit contributed to reducing many inappropriate prescriptions, I guess.
But the specificity is not 100%. Identifying the viruses is a big challenge as well as the solution to eliminate them.

Aum Shirikyo leader was executed

Chizuo Matsumoto, or Shoko Asahara as the leader of Aum Shinrikyo, was finally executed, according to the media.

Asahi Shimbun: Aum Shinrikyo: Japan executes cult leader Shoko Asahara

Matsumoto administered Aum Shinrikyo, which was deemed as a cult with fundamentalism of Buddhist's ideology. He was charged for several crimes and sentenced to capital punishment.

The most impressive case caused by Aum Shinrikyo was the underground sarin attack case occurred in 1995. Thirteen people were killed and thousands were injured by sarin gas brought by the pupil of the cult. This case is counted as the most terrible terror attack in Japan. After this case, commuters became anxious to suspectable objects placed in the platform. And the railway companies got rid of trash boxes from the platform for a while.

Also, Aum annihilated a lawyer and his families because he planned to sue Aum, by the order of Matsumoto.

Thus, it is no doubt Matsumoto was the worst criminal in Japan after the WWII. Although I am against capital punishment, the sentence of the death penalty to him might be unavoidable.

However, it is doubtful if Matsumoto on court maintained the competency to stand trial.

According to the media, Matsumoto had no mental disorders in jail. But some psychiatrists committed that he was in severe psychiatric confusion. In the trial, Matsumoto seldom spoke anything.

In Japan legislation, when the defendant was proved to be lack of competency to stand trial, the trial should be canceled. But, how to treat the defendant is not definitely determined. Therefore, perhaps, it is extremely rare the defendant is identified to lack the competency.

Also, there is another issue. The execution of Matsumoto will ignite the hatred and warship of pupils of him. Aum Shinrikyo had been resolved. But there are some cults which claim to succeed the ideology of Matsumoto. Matsumoto may be juxtaposed to Jesus Christ for the pupils.

Aum Shinrikyo case was a serious trauma for Japan. And the damage has not been cured.

Dog eating day in 2018

The annual Yulin dog meat celebration was performed this year.

In some Eastern nations, dogs have been bred for meat. But, this habit is criticized by mainly Western people. Recently, South Korea officially illegalized the slaughtering dogs for meat.

Vanguard: China dog meat fest opens as S. Korea goes the other way

As I wrote in the past, I will never eat dogs. But, to be honest, I believe slaughtering dogs for meat is not a cruel act. Muslims are prohibited to eat porks because they pigs are spiritually dirty. Hindu never eat beef because cows are sacred according to their doctrine. Every religion and culture have their own ideology, any of which should be respected. There are clusters of people who like to eat dogs.

My past entry: Discussion about eating dog meat in China

Some people might think that dogs should not be eaten because they are prettier, or cleverer than cows and pigs. But, I think this idea is improper. Any species have their own lives and spirits. We, humans, deliberately distinguish the value of their lives for convenient reasons. We breed cows for the deliciousness of beef. We plant corns because they are easy to be harvested. We should be aware of the arrogance of ours on the selection of life.

Try another way to counter satiation

There are many things we are accustomed to. As getting familiar, we forget the first impression. In other words, we tend to be satiated.

It means many entertainments lose their brightness. You may have an experience that you noticed not to be so excited compared to the previous occasion when seeing a movie.

Then, try another way to enjoy it, such as eating popcorns with a pair of chopsticks. For your reference, I have never seen a Japanese who used chopsticks for eating popcorns.

The Conversation: Why you should eat popcorn with chopsticks – and other psychological tricks to make life more enjoyable

This concept is applicable to many situations. For example, imagine that you check a document. There may be some typographical errors on the paper. But you hardly notice them. In this situation, I recommend you to read the document from the last paragraph to the first one.

Also, you can go to a store you seldom visit for its distance from your home. It will be a small trip for you. But you may feel refreshed. And if you are lucky, you can get some valuable items there.

Venezuela's inflation up to 40000 percent

Venezuela's inflation rate recorded 40,000 percent, according to a survey.

The Independent: Venezuela's inflation rate tops 40,000 per cent for first time ever

Venezuela is a nation located in Latin America. Socio-economists lead recent administrations. Since 1999, President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías had become hostile to the US. Though Venezuela has made a great deal with the US every year, recently the US blames Venezuela on violating the human right, making economic sanction against Venezuela.

The current administration never makes a practical solution to the financial crisis. As a result, hyperinflation has become common in recent years. Immigrants from Venezuela to the US is rapidly increasing.

On the other hand, Japan was suffering from longitudinal deflation. Therefore, Japan government is planning to cause mild inflation with enhanced economic circulation. Some economists warn this policy will lead to hyperinflation. We Japanese citizens should be aware of the risk.

I got a new desktop PC

My desktop PC at home was seven years old. I constructed it in 2011, maybe. It worked very well, and even now there are no remarkable flaws in ordinary use.

However, it encountered accidental shutdown occasionally when attempting to run a heavy program. I felt it is reaching the mortality. Therefore, I decided to replace it.

For a decade, I had constructed my desktop PC some times. They were better than provider-made PCs because I could choose any parts on my own. But, I was tired to work for the new PC, to be honest.

So, I purchased a PC from DOSPARA. DOSPARA is a famous provider of PC and parts.

It took more than 2,000 USD, so expensive. Instead, I made a choice to continue using the new PC for next several years.

Artificial sweetener may not raise your blood sugar

Nowadays, there are several types of artificial sweetener. They do not include calories or are hard to be absorbed in the human intestines. Therefore, they seemed not to be harmful despite they taste sweet.

However, artificial sweeteners are often criticized recently. Some researchers claim they can raise blood sugar level in spite of they lack energy. Also, insulin is secreted when the brain feels sweet even if there is no sugar to be absorbed from the blood into the tissue, according to another researcher.

Are sweeteners risky for us as well as white sugar? Fortunately, or unfortunately, there is no evidence to support it.

A recent meta-analysis study revealed that combination of recent studies suggested the stability of blood sugar level in taking artificial sweeteners.

Nature: Glycemic impact of non-nutritive sweeteners: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The collected articles in this study were randomized-controlled trials (RCT). Therefore, the result of meta-analysis is relatively trustworthy. As far as I read the article, there are no critical flaws in this article.

It does not mean, however, sweeteners are not harmful at all. There are several possibilities of harm caused by artificial substances. We need not be afraid of them too much. But I recommend you not to depend on artificial sweeteners in your diet.