Nov. 16 Importance of English for science major students
　English is one of the most essential tools in science studies for students in any county as it is the common language used in research papers and at international conference. In the area of my research, publishing papers or giving oral presentations in Japanese wouldn’t count.
　日本語での論文出版やプレゼンの発表は論外である。

　Students majoring in the science, math and engineering fields, especially in their graduate programs, are required to use English on a daily basis, reading and writing papers, in addition to occasionally participating in international conferences.
　科学、数学、工学の分野では、日常的に論文を英語で書いたり、読んだりし、国際会議への参加も英語が要求される。

　Because researchers in the same field share the same kind of knowledge and community, discussing one’s research with fellow international researchers in English is much easier than engaging in regular English conversations. As soon as students realize this, they gain confidence and study English harder.
　研究者が専門とする特定分野での議論というのは、通常の日常英会話に比べて、はるかに簡単なのである。

Nov. 9 Late-night eateries ripe for robbery
　「牛丼スキヤの強盗対策」の記事から、気になる表現をピックアウトしました。

1 a favorite target of robbers 強盗の格好の標的
2 outlet 店舗
3 account for 90 percent of all gyudon diners that were victims of stickups
4 to counter the situation 現状に対処するために
5 late-night clientele 深夜の客
6 Sukiya outlets appear vulnerable 　襲われやすい
7 154 restaurants were held up last year. 強盗に押し入られた
8 Some outlets are suburban and have little foot traffic.人通りが少ない

9 There is enough work late at night, such as checking inventory and cleaning up in preparation for the next day, to justify the added payroll.　深夜の仕事に二人勤務を当てても、在庫整理や清掃などそれに見合うだけの仕事はあります。

10 A Sukiya worker sustained a minor injury when his outlet was robbed in September. 　　　　軽傷を負った

Many gyudon chains forgo the meal-ticket vending machines because they lessen the opportunity of workers and customers to interact.
食券販売機の使用を控えてきたのは、店員とお客が触れ合う機会が減ってしまうからだ。

11 After all, having only one person at an outlet is the worst way to go about it. いずれにしても、従業員を一人しか置かないのが、取組として最も大きな問題だ。

12 Zensho will probably　keep　the　prices　unchanged　for　the　time　being　because　customers　won't　like　the　idea　of　covering the company’s security costs, and Zensho is smart enough to know it. 　　　　　　　ゼンショウもそのことは十分承知している。

Nov. 7　Speech at G-20 by Mr. Noda
　Europe needs to be united in order to over come the current ctisis and take necessary steps to cope with the problems. At the same time each of the G-20 countries has to tackle its own pressing issues while coordinating its efforts with the actions of other nations.
　The priority for Japan is reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake. In order to achieve both fiscal rehabilitation and economic growth, Japan also needs to establish plans for an integrated reform of the social security and tax systems, as well as a growth strategy for revival of its economy. I intend to express our determination to tackle these challenges at the G-20 summit.
　首相のスピーチを英訳したものだろうが、日本語の原文がredundantであることを思わせる英文だ。おそらく原稿を忠実に英訳したのだろう。例えば、赤字部分は、次のように表現できる。
　The G-20 countries have to tackle its own pressing issues while coordinatiing with other nations.
　Japan also needs to reform the social security and tax systems.

Nov. 5 Japanese female political empowerment below curve

　The level of political empowerment of Japanese women is more than two times lower than the world average, according to a report on gender equality released Tuesday by the World Economic Forum.
The influence that Japanese women wield over political decision-making processes is only 7.2 percent of the level of their male counterparts, against a world average of 18.5 percent. “A system where women are not represented at the highest levels is both an unequal and an inefficient system.” Japan ranks 101 out of the 135 countries. From a more general perspective on gender equality, the forum’s Gender Gap Index for 2011 pout Japan in 98th position. The index includes economic, educational and health-related considerations in addition to political empowerment.
　あらゆる面で先進国の仲間入りを果たしていると思われている日本だが、政治中枢機構への女性進出では、世界の中で大きく遅れていることが分かった。なんと、135カ国中101番目である。

・narrow the gender gap 　 　男女格差を埋める
・the gap widened 　　　　　 格差が広がる
・ the situation worsened 　　状況は悪化した

・So women are starting to be as healthy and as educated as men, and yet, are not being channeled into the economy, into decision-making structures.
　医療と教育面では男女格差に大きな改善が見られたが、こと経済や意思決定機構への参入障壁は高いようだ

・The survey shows that a number of relatively poor countries have made major strides to close the gender gap and rank in the top 25.
　比較的貧困国家において、男女格差を埋めようとする動きに著しい進歩がみられる

・They outranked Russia, China and Brazil.
　それらの国々は、ロシア、中国、ブラジルを上回った。

　上の記事とはまったく関係ないが、英検１級の単語を覚えているときに、bludgeonが出てきた。その時、こんな単語覚える必要あるのかなと思ったのだが、昨日の英字新聞の記事で目にした。「棍棒」という意味だが、悲惨なニュースだった。

Nov. 3 FDA approves first artificial aortic heart valve placed without open-heart surgery

　The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first artificial heart valve that can replace an aortic heart valve damaged by senile aortic valve stenosis without open-heart surgery.
　Senile aortic valve stenosis is a progressive, age-related disease caused by calcium deposits on the aortic valve that cause the valve to narrow. As the heart works harder to pump enough blood through the smaller valve opening, the heart eventually weakens, which can lead to problems such as fainting, chest pain, heart failure, irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), or cardiac arrest.
　Once symptoms of senile aortic stenosis occur, more than half of patients die within two years. To restore normal blood flow, patients with severe aortic valve stenosis need open-heart surgery to replace the diseased valve. However, the procedure is too risky for some patients.
　“Surgery to replace the aortic valve is an effective treatment for severe senile aortic valve stenosis. The Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) is an example of an innovative new device that will provide some people with this condition who can’t undergo open heart surgery with the option of valve replacement,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “The agency remains committed to working with companies who are developing breakthrough treatments that will have a significant impact on patient care in the U.S.”
　The Sapien THV is made of cow tissue and polyester supported with a stainless steel mesh frame. To replace the diseased valve, the Sapien THV is compressed into the end of a long, thin, tube-like device called a delivery catheter. The delivery catheter, which is slightly wider than a pencil, and the Sapien THV are inserted into the femoral artery through a small cut in the leg and threaded to the site of the diseased valve. The heart valve is then released from the delivery catheter and expanded with a balloon and is immediately functional.
　The FDA’s approval of the Sapien THV is based on a study in 365 patients who were not eligible for open-heart surgery. Half of the patients received the Sapien valve. The other study patients received another treatment that did not require open-heart surgery. One alternative procedure involved enlarging the aortic valve opening by stretching it with a balloon (balloon valvuloplasty).
　Patients receiving the Sapien valve experienced two and a half times more strokes and eight times as many vascular and bleeding complications than patients who did not receive the implant; however, they were more likely to survive one year after surgery. After a year, 69 percent of the Sapien patients were alive compared with 50 percent of those who received an alternative treatment.
　Edwards Lifescience, the manufacturer of the Sapien THV, will continue to evaluate the outcomes with the Sapien THV through a national Transcatheter Valve Therapy (TVT) registry. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Cardiology have been working with the FDA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to facilitate the creation of the national TVT registry that will serve as a platform for continued evaluation of post market experience with this and future transcatheter devices and procedures for the treatment of aortic stenosis.
　The most common serious and potentially life-threatening side effects in patients receiving the Sapien valve and the procedure to implant the valve include death, stroke, perforation of the blood vessels, ventricle or valvular structures, damage to the conduction system in the heart, significant bleeding, and leaks around the new valve.
　The Sapien THV is approved for patients who are not eligible for open-heart surgery for replacement of their aortic valve and have a calcified aortic annulus (calcium build-up in the fibrous ring of the aortic heart valve). The product label advises that a heart surgeon should be involved in determining if the Sapien THV is an appropriate treatment for the patient.
　It is not approved for patients who can be treated by open-heart surgery. Patients who have congenital heart valve anomalies, have masses or an infection in their hearts, or cannot tolerate anticoagulation/antiplatelet therapy should not receive the Sapien THV.
　この人工大動脈心臓弁は、老人性大動脈弁狭窄の患者への効果的な治療法の一つだが、「開胸手術ができない、石化大動脈輪の患者」に対して認められている。老人性大動脈弁狭窄は、心臓弁の石灰化により弁が狭くなり、心臓の働きに負担がかかり、弱まることによって、心不全や不整脈や心痛を引き起こす。
　術後の存命期間は他の手術による治療の場合より一年間ほど長く、予後の追跡調査でも69％の患者が生き残っている(他の治療による患者の場合、50％の存命率)。
　しかし、その一方でさまざまな合併症や副作用が報告されている。もっとも深刻で生命にかかわる副作用としては、死亡、卒中、血管や心室や心臓弁膜の穿孔、心臓の伝導系の損傷、重篤な出血、新たな弁周辺での漏れなどがある。

Nov.1　 Wasabi-scented smoke detector

　Genius, as Thomas Edison put it, may be 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, but inventing the groundbreaking wasabi-scented smoke detector, which emit a strong wasabi scent instead of an ear-piercing screech, also involved respiration, and literally a lot of lost sleep, the winner of this year's Ig Nobel Prize in chemistry revealed Wednesday in Tokyo.
　The unique research won Tanemura's team the prestigious award, which "honors achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think," according to the organizer.
　Experiments for the invention began in 2000, with the help of employees of Biwako Hospital in Shiga Prefecture and people with hearing disabilities. A total of 31 people were asked to fall asleep just to have the pungent smell of wasabi wake them up.
　Nailing down the ideal density of the wasabi odor turned out to be the key element, but before it even got to that stage the researchers had to work through a lot of substances before settling on the strong smell of the Japanese horseradish.
　We tried everything in the beginning from the smell of fresh baked bread, coffee, miso soup and peppermint. But no one woke up with those. Many experts warned it is impossible to wake someone up with ordinary scents, because a sleeping person’s sense of smell is also in rest mode. A survey found that more than 40 percent of people with hearing disabilities are concerned about a fire breaking out while they are asleep. As many as 700 million people across the world benefit from the wasabi smoke detector.
　「ワサビの匂い火災報知機」は、イグ・ノーベル賞を受賞したことで世界的に有名になったが、よく考えれば耳の不自由な人たちにとっては、火災から命を守ってくれる装置なのだ。その開発には並々ならぬ努力が注がれたということだが、最初は焼きパン、コーヒー、味噌汁、ミントなどありとあらゆる材料が試された。人体に悪影響を及ぼさないという条件をクリアしなければならず、必然的に食材が試されることになったのだろう。考えてみれば、睡眠中は人間の嗅覚も休んでいるのだから、普通の匂いでは目は覚めるはずはない。
　早くも海外のホテルから、この装置の設置に関する問い合わせが来ているという。