Here Is a Summary of the Materials We Read at the K-SEC Meeting on October 19, 2015

K-SEC

Meeting Summary - October 19, 2015

Here is a summary of the materials we read at the K-SEC meeting on October 19, 2015

Attendees (in ABC order):

Kanzawa, Kotake, Nishimura, Nishiwaki, Sadayasu, Yerazaki, Tomozawa, Tsurumoto,Umemura(Total of9)

Materials read:

Putin’s Syrian Adventure Will Cost Russians Dearly –Pres’t and sum’d by Tsurumoto

This article was taken from the Moscow Times, posted on the Huffington Post on Oct. 6, 2015. The author was Vladimir Ryzhkov, Russian State Duma deputy and now political analyst.

The article talks about the aggravating situation of the domestic economic hardship borne by the Russian people. The number of Russians now living under the poverty line is increasing significantly. More than one in every five adult Russians live under the poverty line.

Local utilities companies in the Altai Republic, for example, refused to turn on their boilers to provide heat to dozens of public buildings, including schools and kindergartens. Many other regions also cut spending on education, health care, etc. The numbers of schools, hospitals, teachers and doctors are being reduced.

Of the population, 69 percent does not support the use of Russian troops in Syria. They oppose putting live Russian soldiers in the path of Arab bullets.

Despite all those obstacles and the opposition, president Putin has ordered Russia to enter into the battle in Syria.

Why?The author mentions two probable reasons: the Russia’s struggles for its greatness and Putin’s imperial ambitions.

A question was raised whether Ryzhkov would be safe to stay in Russia after having published such a point of view. We are not sure about his risk but he, having been deputy of State Duma, must fully be aware of the limited line for his free criticism.

2．The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – Pres’t and Sum’d by Nishiwaki

This article is the press release on Oct. 5 by The Nobel Assembly at KarolinskaInstitutetwhich has decided to award the 2015 Nobel Prize in Psysiology or Medicine with one half jointly to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura and the other half to Youyou Tu.

William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura discovered a new drug, Avermectin, the derivatives of which have radically lowered the incidence of River Blindness and Lymphatic Filariasis. YouyouTu discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from Malaria.

Satoshi Ōmura focused on a group of bacteria, Streptomyces, which lives in the soil and was known to produce a plethora of agents with antibacterial activities. Equipped with extraordinary skills in developing unique methods, Ōmura isolated new strains of Streptomyces from soil samples.

William C. Campbell acquired Ōmura'sStreptomyces cultures and showed that a component from one of the cultures was remarkably efficient against parasites. The bioactive agent was purified and named Avermectin, which was subsequently chemically modified to a compound called Ivermectin which was later tested in humans with parasitic infections and effectively killed parasite larvae (microfilaria).

YouyouTu searched ancient literature on herbal medicine in her quest to develop novel malaria therapies. The plant Artemisia annua turned out to be an interesting candidate, and Tu developed a purification procedure, which rendered the active agent, Artemisinin, a drag that is remarkably effective against Malaria.

Campbell, Ōmura and Tu have transformed the treatment of parasitic diseases. The global impact of their discoveries and the resulting benefit to mankind are immeasurable.

C. Role assignment for November 2, 2015

Umemura

Sadayasu