My place

My place used to be the club room of the orchestra in my med school days.

It was the inpatient/outpatient ward in my trainee days as a pediatrician.

It was a small table and desk for experiment when I was doing medical research.

It was the outpatient room and my own room at my private practice.

And it is the garden at my home now.

 

 

Thyroid gland cancer cases in childhood in Fukushima

Recently, they have published the number of thyroid gland cancer cases in Fukushima. Surveying 174000 people aged less than 18 years with ultrasonography, 12 cases with the disorder were found. Fifteen cases are suspected for the disorder. This data itself won''t necessarily mean they are related with the irradiation at the accident since this kind of cancer is always latent in childhood. We need an age matched normal control study to be compared with them.

Last year, they have made control studies in the different areas away from Fukushima. They have studied 4000 cases for age matched control. The conclusion was that there were no differences in the frequency of cysts or nodules. In the other reports, nodular lesions could be regarded precancerous. This news has given us a bit of relief. But, for a normal control to research such rare disorder as thyroid cancer in this age group, the size is too small. They should extend the study to much more cases.

Unfortunately, they have not measured the I131 irradiation for a couple of weeks after the nuclear plant accident. I131 has rather short half life, so that it is not possible to measure the radiation dose for each of these patients at present. But they could estimate it for each case taking advantage of, for example, I127 in the soil etc. Estimated value of I131 irradiation dose should be published for each case. It may help us to guess any relationship between the disorder and the irradiation.

 A few weeks ago, an organization of the UN has announced there could be least possibility to have cancer cases occur among those irradiated in Fukushima. It is just dependent on an estimation of irradiation. Not based on the real time measurement of irradiation. It is too early to conclude they could be spared for such a disorder.

It has been more than 2 years since the accident. It could be the time perilous for occuring throid gland cancer in childhood after irradiation.

Speculation on non-contesters in the future

The other day, I have called CQ on 40m in vain for almost an hour. In the end, someone sent  "yawn" as soon as I finished calling CQ. Oh, yeah, I knew my CQ had been boring to him. I decided not to repeat calling CQ more than 3 times at that time.

This experience urged me to think of what would go on with non-contesters in the future. The majority of non-contesters are playing contest type QSOs on plain week day. Just exchanging reports and QSLs. There are always dozens of such operators in Japan. They exchange JCC/G number for the QTH. Oddly enough, they have invented other area numbers which stand for the lake or the hot spa they are operating from. Ever lasting inventions of new awards. They may go on in the same way as real contesters since they are not essentially different from each other at all.

Maybe, a software of virtual HF QSOs may replace their real activity on HF to the internet or to the software itself in the future. Yes, some people are already starting QSOs in the  internet. I am sure a software materialize virtual contest style QSOs very shortly. They really don't need the partner. But the virtual station could do with them in software. It may reflect the band condition like QRN, QRM or QSB. It won't be necessary for them to prepare costly big antennas or expensive radio gears. A software may let them enjoy virtual QSOs on a HF band without investing so much money.

Some conversation oriented hams may enjoy QSOs through the internet. It is stable and free from any factors the inosphere determines. There still should be a minority who try to enjoy the old fashioned QSOs on HF bands as they have done in the past. But there should be much less chance to see each other then. They might keep schedule QSOs each other. Or they would fall asleep while calling CQ again and again. I bet such scheduled QSOs might be the only royal road to enjoy ragchewing. So try to find out such a partner in the near future!

Seriously, ham radio would be replaced to the internet communications in the near future. Or it is already in the on going process for now. Yes, ham radio, especially CW communication, would survive despite of that drastic change. The most active areas in the world would be those of developing countries. In the near future, South East Asia and Africa would be the areas where you could hear CW operators conversing most frequently. There could be new ham gear manufacturers in those areas like Kenwood or Yaesu 30 years ago. If ham radio, prefarably CW communication, survives in this way, it looks like one of the best possibilities to me. When I was involved in XU, I always wondered if ham radio won't be able to offer a window to the outer world to those in developing countries. I am sure those without the infrastructure of the internet etc would enjoy communication on HF bands as we did half a century ago. We should be ready for such a movement, I believe. 

So what will happen in the coming decade?  

Contest from the past to the future

WPX CW 2013 is going on right now. I have worked 4 stations in it. It may be all I will have worked in this contest. Yesterday, it was pretty good especially on the higher bands. I could hear all continents on 15m at the same time at midnight here. By early evening here today, PJ6A was sending 3300 plus. They could go over 4500 or even 5000 when the contest is over. On the other hand, big guns have called CQ in vain for 10 or 15 min on 40m this evening. Does it mean that the condition is dropping or that there are less participants in the contest?

I don't know how contests have been started in ham radio. I guess, when it was really hard for them to work with far distance, it was to test how one's set up worked or how the band conditions were etc in the beginning. Later, by mid 50s or so, it has become events of competetion. They have started to set big amps and to install big antennas. The purpose was genuinly to win in the race. Around 1990 and on, the stations were equipped with PC and internet. Since it became quite possible for us to talk to anywhere in the wold at any time, the original end of contests has lost its meaning.

There were two kinds of stations in the participants. One group was the big contesters with the biggest set ups while there were the ordinary stations with modest set ups who won't dare competing in it but just enjoy contests for a while. The former ones have been active throughout the sun spot cycle. But the latter has been so capricious  that, if the condition is not vfavorable to them, they won't join any contest.

As I already wrote here in a post, there are more numbers of contests being held. It is amazing. There are no weekends when we could not hear a contest held anywhere in the world. Some club even holds contests in plain week day. They are often bumping each other in the same week end. It should be called as the inflation of contests. I don't know why they have planned so many contests throughout a year. Maybe, the planners, consciously or unconsciously, feel that there wre less people joining some contest and, if they plan more contests, it will help to recruit new contesters with newly planned contests. I am afraid this trial of recruit especially for young new comers has not been very successful. So far, I believe it results in inflation.

In the future, how shall contests be? I don't know about it, either. One fact is that it is the highest solar activity period right now and the contesters would spend a day or two for the events.  They are becoming older now. I guess the average of the age is around 60 or so. In the next plateau of the solar cycle, they might be over 70 years of age. I wonder if they would spend time for this blood boiling but a little bit tiring event at that time. 

Piano Quintette c minor Op 115 by Faure

Last Sunday, accidentally, the 1st movement of this music has flowed from radio. Viola plays the beautiful theme on the arpeggio by piano. It sounds not only simple and beautiful but also tinted with bitterness. A flow of melodies form this music. No rigid structure like with German music. The texture the melodies form is tender to me.

 

I used to listen to this music in my school days. I repeatedly played a cassette tape of this music by Jean Hubeau as pianist and Via Nova Quartet. I was not bored with it at all. But the beauty in simplicity and bitterness has caught my mind.  The more frequently I listened to it, the more I was attracted by this music.

On the latter part of Faure's life, he has suffered from hearing difficulty. His biography by his son also tells that he believed his works would be forgotten in the future. In such a difficult situation, I am always amazed, how he has composed such a great chamber music! Listen the 4th movement with such vivid and brilliant melodies. It is a miracle.

When I was eager practising cello, I wanted to reach the world of such a music as this one by myself as a cellist. It was quite tough for me and was a pain for me in a sense. But, since I have given it up now, I could enjoy this music with comfort looking back my own life. I decided to spend more time listening this one and the others which used to occupy my mind in my young days.

In 23 years

There was a picture of James, 9V1YC, uploaded in face book a couple of days ago. He seemed to be home in New England right now and to have meeting with ham friends there. He has become a little bit less young than I expected him to be. No wonder, my image on him is till back in 1990 as this QSL shows.

I happened to be the QSL manager for XU8DX, which had been operated by Sokun, a personel of PTT in Phnom Penh Cambodia since the spring in 1989 when the Hungarian team left the radio set up over there. In the summer of 1990, the PA tubes of the amplifier were run out and were needed to be replaced to new ones. No way to send them to Phnom Penh, where the civil war was still going on.

I was on a tight duty at a hospital at that time and could never take a long vacation, even though later in the next year, I managed an 8 days vacation to Cambodia and operated XU0JA as well. I asked James and Atsushi, JF3NRI, to go there bringing those PA tubes. These two young guys readily ansered yes. It was how XU0AA operation came true in Dec of 1990.

They have done a great job. XU was not so popular those days that they have had great pile ups. Despite of military curfew at night and occasional power outage, they have made over 4000 QSOs in a week. Sometimes, there were strange outages when they went for disco, as I knew later.

Atsushi is still going on his profession as a physics researcher and is not able to be on the radio except for guest operation at some big contest stations. James, as everyone knows, has become a famous DXer as well as DX peditioner. He would go for FT/Z next winter. He seems to be quite successful at his job in 9V as well. Sokun is settled down in Australia and has a peaceful family over there after she has experiened the harsh era of Khmer Rouge.

23 years have passed.

 

Would you call me Shin San?

In a domestic mailing list for CW lovers I belong to, it was questioned by a member why we often put "San" after names. Some foreign hams do the same way. On the other hand, in western countries, they won't add Mr. or Mrs. etc, which might be equivalent to San to their names in the QSOs.

It expresses, I believe, an aspect of the difference of cultures on each side. "San" is a polite and courteous term being often used when we call someone in real conversation. Unlike Mr. or Mrs. in English, however, it won't mean a formal relationship. We are scarcely conscious of the formality with the word "San". It sounds fairly friendly as well. When we call the other with San, the reltionship is not very close but in a kind of intimacy. This word means the distance from the others as well as the warm attitude toward the others.

Our culture is composed of fairly monotonous or homogenous culture, even though there are a number of cultures of the minorities. It is assumed, as a kind of common sense, that everyone feels or thinks on something in the same way. Or, maybe, I should say the background of such way of feeling or thinking is believed to be shared by all of us. Globalisation and transfer of goods or of people across the borders have made it undergo a drastic change now. But this culture with a historical backgrpund still seems to determine how we feel or act for someone else in our country. We won't stop using San for somttime.

In the western country, on the other hand, there are people with different racial, cultural or religious background. Or such people are facing each other across the borders. In such a situation, it might be necessary for them to express their friendliness toward the other by some action. In heterogenous societies, it might always be necessary for them to overcome the difference.  Shaking hands, hugging and so forth. Calling someone without formal prefixes like Mr. or Mrs. etc. is not an exception.

It is interesting that apparently trivial manner of QSO is still determined by some culturral thing.