Second language learning may delay decline of or even improve congitive functions in elderly

I like learning foreign languages, mostly English, since young days. I am not sure what I have achieved with it, though. The other languages than English, like German, French, Russian or Spanish, seem to end in failure with me so far. I still go on struggling with German in order to listen to and understand Matthew's Passion etc.

At this age in mid 70s, unless making efforts to resist it, I feel knowledges of English are lost day by day. It is an aging process and quite physiological. Training with any second language may, however, delay aging or even improve our cognitive functions. The review shown below concerning the papers regarding the aging cognitive decline with learning a second language seems to support the hypothesis told above, even if the results are not consistent and they should be confirmed further with imaging studies. It may be necessary to study this subject with the same cohort longitudinally for years. Of course, comparison with the group without second language learning may be informative.

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34867264/ 

As for my own experience, it is always stimulating to read certain paper or book written in English. When confronting any ununderstandable word or phrase, I would imagine what it means considering the context or the related lexicology. Even when looking up for that in a dictionary, I always go on expecting the answer. It is often not tiring but interesting to me. When I imagined or expected it right, it gives me a rewarding sensation. Intellectual pleasure, however small it may be for me.   

I recently realized that rewarding sensation is identical or, at least, close to that I feel in the QSOs on CW. That process has been repeatedly described in this blog. Morse code is only a system of symbols, but not a language with its specific grammar as often mistaken. But the relationship between certain language, that is, always English, and Morse code is quite strong. Something like abbreviations inherent to Morse code or sounding characteristics of certain words suggestive of its language counterpart etc. There could be inseparable bonding between these two.

If the hypothesis in the previous paragraph is correct, CW conversation might be of help to resist intellectual aging process or to improve our cognitive ability. Simple correspondence of Morse code to the character won't make it, I am afraid.

So too bad I could not practise CW at present. Instead, I would carry on reading papers and books in English. I am reading Merkel's autobio English version titled as "Freedom". Very attractive one. 

This post should be the very last one in this blog this year. Thanks for visiting. Again, I wish you all peace and good health in the coming new year.

Chicken meat cooked with salted malt

Malt is a material made from crops like rice fermented by Koji mold, that is in academic term, Aspergillus oryzae. It is surprising such fermented material could be used as seasoning in cooking etc while other generera of Aspergillus could be higly pathognic for human being especially in critical condition.  

This dish is cooked chicken meat processed with salted malt and potato starch. Lightly salty and thick flavored with malt. In refrigerator, it could be preserved for a few days. A good source of protein. We, old goats, need daily intake of high quality protein like this in order to prevent from frail or sarcopenia in the elderly. If this salted malt is available there, try it!

You, the believer of single malt, this is not the material for whisky! 

 

Former President Jimmy Carter has passed away

I believe Jimmy Carter has embodied the best part of the US as conscience and good will on behalf of the people. He has let us believe politics could be reliable. RIP President Carter.

Barack Obama's words of condolence for him;

 For decades, you could walk into Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia on some Sunday mornings and see hundreds of tourists from around the world crammed into the pews. And standing in front of them, asking with a wink if there were any visitors that morning, would be President Jimmy Carter – preparing to teach Sunday school, just like he had done for most of his adult life.

Some who came to hear him speak were undoubtedly there because of what President Carter accomplished in his four years in the White House – the Camp David Accords he brokered that reshaped the Middle East; the work he did to diversify the federal judiciary, including nominating a pioneering women’s rights activist and lawyer named Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the federal bench; the environmental reforms he put in place, becoming one of the first leaders in the world to recognize the problem of climate change.

Others were likely there because of what President Carter accomplished in the longest, and most impactful, post-presidency in American history – monitoring more than 100 elections around the world; helping virtually eliminate Guinea worm disease, an infection that had haunted Africa for centuries; becoming the only former president to earn a Nobel Peace Prize; and building or repairing thousands of homes in more than a dozen countries with his beloved Rosalynn as part of Habitat for Humanity.

But I’m willing to bet that many people in that church on Sunday morning were there, at least in part, because of something more fundamental: President Carter’s decency.

Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. And he did – advocating for the public good, consequences be damned. He believed some things were more important than reelection – things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image.

Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values. He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. In his Nobel acceptance speech, President Carter said, “God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.” He made that choice again and again over the course of his 100 years, and the world is better for it.

Maranatha Baptist Church will be a little quieter on Sundays, but President Carter will never be far away – buried alongside Rosalynn next to a willow tree down the road, his memory calling all of us to heed our better angels. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from this remarkable man.

Again the ancient tomb named Bentenyama

I have had a few chances to visit my former office in the next town south to ours for the past week. 

On the way, there is an ancient tomb named Bentenyama among the farm fields. I used to see it everyday on the way to and from the office. I have written about it once or twice in this blog. It will have been 30 years next spring since I first started commuting to the office, even though I put an end to it 12 years ago. Time sure flys fast but also I feel it was dauntingly long time ago.

The tomb is believed to be built by a powerful family in this area even though the name is unknown. It was 4th or 5th century, they say. There are a number of same kind of ancient tombs around this area. This one is rather a small one. The diameter is about 10 meters. A few meters high. A small shrine is on the top to enshrine the ancestors, which must be placed there later. 

Whenever I see this tomb, two things come up in my mind.  

                                                            

Firstly, the man of power might want to convey his power to the others in the area. At the same time, the guy might be concerned about the world after death and prepared for that with this tomb. He must owned some kind of religiousness, even though it is a question if it was right attitude or not. 

Secondly, the people, the descendants, in this area must first worshipped the anscestor buried in this tomb and then started worshipping as an object of their primitive religion. This ethos must have been delivered from generation to generation. The tomb is well maintained by the people in the area. The grass grown on it has been cut and the tomb still looks neat. Even though the worshipping is declined. They sure has lost faith in ancestors but still may have a religious attitude toward this tomb.    

Thinking of these, I am kind of relieved as if I were told I would return to the soil as the ancestors have done. There is a serene and quiet stage waiting for me. I am not sure what it is but would let me rest away from all the worries and anxieties in the world. 

On the way commuting to and from the office, I often kept the roof window wide open and listened to this piano trio by Ropartz. I might have already mentioned aboout this music before. Listening to it, I felt as if I were flying freely over the rice paddies. 

 

On Christmas

On Christmas in 1979, I and my wife have headed to a festive reunion with family and those who had been involved with the sanatorium my aunt managed around WWII. A couple of dozens of people have attended it at parent's home, maternal, not too far from this present place. 

We have just started our residency at a med school hospital nearby. It took only 20 minutes to drive from the dorm we lived to that parent's home. We didn't have a car those days and should come there by train and bus. It took almost a couple of hours. I would like to attend that meeting in order to introuce my wife to them. We were in honey moon period. I was a kind of proud of her and of starting career as a doctor.

We should walk about 15 minutes from the bus stop to maternal parent's home on a street, unpaved those days. Walking on the way, we could see the mountain range in Nikko area, about 40 or 50km west of there, over harvested farms. This photo was taken about 20 years ago, much later than that trip. I believe the mountains were snowed like in this photo.   

We didn't expect what would happen to us then. Only describable in more than tens of pages here. We were rather optimistic and hopeful for our future. 

Even reaching the last chapter of my life, in this season, I always recall that beautiful mountains shown on the photo. Even if our lives have not been as what we dreamed of those days, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to family, people around me and the supreme being. Even if I would writhe on the ground from now on, I would not forget what I thought in Christmas in 1979. 

In Christmas, another thing I always remember is the famous Christmas Concerto by Corelli. I have mentioned of this concerto grosso in a previous post. I have played this music a number of times. In some occasions as a solist of cello. In a year or two since I started practising cello, I have had a chance to play it with some orchestral members. It was a Christmas party at a women's university, with which our orchestra cooperated. At the student hall, the trees in the campus and a few buildings were seen in the darkness. Very chilly without heating or with inefficient heating, I believe. Of course, our mind was invariably warmed. When the last movement of pastorale was over, having cleaned up the hall, we went back home in clusters of close friends. 

Again, I wish you all the best for this season, either in good shape or not. Let's believe something good is prepared for us next year. Even without it, let's remember anything blessing us. Thanks for visiting this blog in this passing year. You will be welcomed anytime here. 

 

A problem is solved

Today was the day to have my former office delivered from the borrower to me. I have known him, a pediatrician, through a music circle. When I was thinking to retire and asked him to let me know whoever would take over my office. He answered me he himself would do. Everything went smooth after that. I don't know why but have not seen him in person for the past 12 years while he rented it. 

The office was modified a little bit by himself but sure reminded me of the days when I was working there. I had worked there for 17 years before retirement. It was almost perfectly well preserved even after having been in use for the past 12 years by the borrowing pediatrician. It was no sweat for us to determine what item should be discarded. To my unexpected pleasure, he and his wife were grateful to me. They have given me a bottle of wine and confection for souvenir. He has had a health issue for a year or so and has been wondering when he should retire. The reason why he cared for the office so carefully must not only because it was a rent office but also he would go on working there further. Anyhow, he decided to retire this month. Considering of what conflict he has had in his mind before deciding retirement, I had only few words to cast to him. I only thanked him for having used it in such a  wonderul way. It is me who should thank him.

So one of my problems which should be answered this year is solved. I would look for anyone who would take it over for now. Having built it for almost 30 years, I was thinking to pull it down. But as it is maintained in very good condition, I would not do that. In addition, it was a building which I was involved with from scratch. Moreover, my father was so pleased to see me working at own practice. It has been his dream to work with me. He has worked at various medical facilities before retirement. 

When construction of the office has started, he regularly visited there as if it had been his own office. Actually, he has attended to the office a few times in a week and has done a simple work on behalf of the clerk in lunch break.

My father standing at the building in construction.

Even though it was not intended in the beginning, I could do a bit of so called filial piety. It might not be correct. I was helped by him.

This is the newly built office in 1995.

Season's Greetings 2024

It is already the winter solstice today. Freezing cold but still sunny outside. It is the time for me to summarize things in this passing year and to prepare Season's Greetings for friends. With time flying away so fast, I feel more distance from what's going on around me as well as in the world. I am afraid this greetings might sound manneristic to you but, as a milestone of life, I would do it here again.

I was blessed with good health throughout the year, which enabled me to have studied and practise organic/natural farming. Even though the farm size is small, it has been a hard work for me. But it was a pleasure. Having cropped a lot of vegetables, I could deliver some of them to friends and family members even it it was not much enough. I have been anxious about what went on with this property since no one would take it over. Recalling young toddler days at this place, I was convinced that it would only return to a forest breezy and rich with wild animals. That thought has soothed me a lot. This is a step for me to leave this world.

Together working in the farm, I have studied a bit about organic/natural farming. Mostly on the theoretical aspects. Certain amount of knowledges is now accumulated in that field even though there are a lot to be investigated, for example, on the soil bacteria and their functions. It is amazing that the relationship between plants and the environment, especially, the soil has been thrown light to with science. The microbacteria in the soil and their close relationship with plants are definitively important in growth of plants/vegetables, they say. I was surprised to know microbiome is in the roots of plants and even in their seeds. I could not help comparing it with mitochondria, an important organelle responsible for energy metabolism in eukaryote animals including human beings, which are believed to originate from certain microorganism invaded in the cells in the process of evolution. Synbiosis between them is crucial. We could not live without that interdependent relationships. This fact may give a key for solution to a lot of problems in the world.

It was a bit too late for me to learn about it. But I still would like to practise the organic/natural farming in the tiny farm so far as I could. "The stronger prey the weaker" society and world won't last long, I am afraid. It is not sustainable. Synbiosis should be the motto in every aspect in our lives, I believe. 

An egg plant has bloomed in this summer. I love those vegetables/plants. Maybe, I look like a dad looking at his children when I see them in the farm.

It takes a few years to have the ground soil suitable for organic farming. I wish I could start it a bit earlier. But they say it is never too late. I would go on fertilizing the soil with grasses and compost produced at the same place. 

My wife has attained a pace in her life since having retired a couple of years ago. She has been involved in the local community. In addition to working together for various events with the people in the community, she has worked distributing pumphlets etc from the local government. Of course, I am employed sometimes. If it is said favorably, the community bonding is so tight. Since the average age of the habitants is increasing year by year, however, I doubt this system could persist for a long time. Actually, such an old fashioned relationship in the community could hardly be found in the city area. 

My brother, working as a psychiatrist in Tohoku area, is going to retire possibly next year. He seems to be perplexed at how and where he should go on after retirement. He and his wife will be visiting here in the New Year's holidays. I am not sure what I could advise him but would tell him we would suppport him whatsoever in the next step of life. Possibly, as if our parents were still alive.

I have been relieved a lot by classical music. As written in the recent post, I have been listening to Nocturnes by Faure at night. It covers almost his whole life as a composer. We could listen and understand how he has lived his life from these works. Nocturne is not a strict form of music but is suitable to express own thoughts straightly. We could hear romantic songs in the early ones but later more sufferings, pains or even anger. Typically with Nr 1 and 11, there is a basso continuo of sorrow. I bet even though he has lived in the social circles at least for some part of his life, he has had depressive state, even not pathological. I have not conquered all of the piano sonata of Beethoven yet as planned in the beginning o this year. Still wondering what pianist is the best. I should decide it before getting too old. Studying Matthew's Passion remains an assignment given to myself early this year. It may take me a long time to accomplish it but is still worth doing.   

Ham radio...I am often told to come back on the air. But, honestly, I am inclined to ask myself what it is for me. I would come back to this old hobby with a smaller set up later. I won't depict about it precisey here but the licensing system in our country is becoming extremely contrary to what it should be. I just wonder when people realize that it is causing absolute decline of ham radio. It seems it's an aspect of the decline due to corruption and collusion among politicians, bureaucrats and business. This ham radio related matter might be only a light problem compared with the others so serious.

Well, it is enough for now. I only wish all of you good health and pleasant holiday season. If you would keep in touch with me through this blog or in facebook, it is more than the most pleasant thing for me. 

Yours, 

Shin Onisawa

Pianist Kazutaka Tsutsui

I have acquainted with this pianist about a quarter century ago. It was at a piano circle based on the internet regularly held for amateur pianists and, in some cases, for chamber music string players in Tokyo.

At one of such a meeting, I could not forget him playing the famous Barcarolle by Chopin. Grand scaled, gorgeous rendition. At a time, I asked him to play the 1st movement of the 2nd piano trio by Brahms. Even though I was ashamed to be far from his viruosity, I have enjoyed that ensemble. His pianism was light touched and transparent. While playing in the trio, I was really surprised to listen him playing the complex texture of music of Brahms in that way.

He was from a science field in his academic career. He was a laureate of the 1st prize at a concours for amateur pianists when he was young. He used to play a Beethoven's concert with an orchestra. Now he seems concentrated on performance with antique as well as old pianos.  

 

At the page of his profile in his site, he says his motto is to convey compassion and gentleness to people. These are apt to be forgotten in the modern mechanized society, as he says. 

With a fine copy of the prototype piano, Cristofori's piano, he plays a baroque piece, Sounata III by L. Giustini. You may hear his motto in this performance.

Here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65uPK7tFTqA&t=2s

He has posted a lot of his performances in addition to other topics in his blog as follows, even though in Japanese. You may enjoy listening his perormances.

Here.

https://bergheil.air-nifty.com/blog/

Through outward shape to the essence

A trivial topic on Morse code...

 In Dec of 2014, I have posted the following sentences in facebook. 

 I have enjoyed QRQ navigation with Mitch WB0GKH and Bill W6QR on 40m this evening. About 35WPM. QRQ seems to effectively activate my brain. We should synchronize thinking with the movement of fist in QRQ. Much fun. I should sometimes train myself with that speed, even though I won't take it like a sport. I have forgotten that fun for a while. I have finished the session tonight with a bit slow bug with Don WB6BEE as usual haha.

This short message has brought me back to those days. Happy and pleasant. As if it were endlessly continuing.

A blog post I made in my Japanese blog around the same time as the post shown above reminded me of saying by a good old friend Bob Warmke W6CYX. I was calling CQ on 15m and he called me to tell he could not resist giving me a call when I ran "a bait". A straight key or a bug key sending is so attractive to him. He actually bit the bait at that time. I was almost forgetting this episode but now clearly remembered of that. Actually such a bait was often worth using when the band was deadly silent and there was no answer to CQ with an electric keyer or even a memory keyer!

What do these two episodes tell me? I enjoyed QRQ but was more interested in slow Morse code sent by hand keys. The latter is more unique for the sending individual. It is like agogic in music performance. It makes us more relaxed and feel the sender's personality. Or even the sender's psychological status. There used to be some friends who wanted me to send Morse code with a hand key in QSO with him, whether a straight or a bug. Now I fully understand why they wanted me to change the electrical key to a hand key.

Considering further, I should say what key to use is a kind of external issue. More important is what to talk about. That refers to an inner richness in communication. Del W8KJP used to be a masterful user of bug key years ago. But his health issue made him giving up using that bug key with fluence and fine nuance. He started using a key board. I have enjoyed talking to him even more after that.

Through the simplest system of mode in communication, we enjoy understanding each other and sharing things and experiences. It might be the ultimate goal of Morse code communication.

Being asked if I have achieved that myself, however, I must say I am ashamed and embarrassed to have been away from the goal.

"Is Paris Burning?"

A documentary program titled as "The 20th Century on Film" has been on the air from NHK from 1995 to 1996. It was without any unnecessary direction but in matter of fact style. That style rather impressed us. The first half of the century was a time of war. It has shown millions of people hurt, killed and starved in the war. 

The year 1995 was when I started own practice at a place unfamiliar to me. I made a big debt to a bank for that. For the coming several years, I have worked hard literally without taking a day off throughout a year. Around that time, I was annoyed by malaise such as low grade fever, which later turned out to be male menopause. With the debt and responsibility for work burdened on my shoulders in addition to that unspecified malaise, I have struggled at work. 

It was a few years since the bubble economy had ruptured. Our country was going into deflation, which later lead to the debt monetization by Abe administration. It has piled up an astronomical amount of national debt which could not be easily refunded. Neoliberal economy together with the monetization has caused a big economical disparity among the people, most of them going into poor. It was the time when this economical derangement started.  

Personally, the only good thing we had during the time was that we could live together with my parents. Hopefully, it has been one of the happiest terms in their lives surrounded by us and their grandchildren. It has not lasted too long, though. Father has died in 2004 while mother has in 2011. 

The theme music of the program titled as "Is Paris Burning?" after a renowned film of liberation of Paris in WWII is so poignantly dramatic. Whenever listening to this piece, I remember myself absent-mindedly watching the program on TV as well as what has occured with me and the society around that time. How would this time be recalled by another program "The 21st Century on the Film" in the end of this century? Hopefully, less conflicts and less injustice in the world, even if not completely in justice. 

Cancer in young generation is increasing

A japanese physician in the US has reviewed a few epidemiological studies regarding the occurence of cancer among young generation. 

Here. 

 https://www.mricg.info/single-post/cancer-before-age-49-increases-by-80-over-30-years-revealing-why-younger-cancer-patients-are-on?utm_campaign=00052660-c7c0-4517-9e01-a5d1b72ac75c&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail_lp&cid=cb295832-5da4-4df1-9b7b-5c4884619177

These studies amaze me a lot. Those young generation have been believed to be far from cancer. Developing cancer should be their own problem but also a burden to the society. The patients might need social security for some time in stead of contributing to the society as work force.

Caricinogenesis is not a simple process but a multiple factor event. The cause of this increment of cancer patients among youth should be carefully investigated. As a general rule, they should avoid alcohol, tobacco or prcessed food etc and should be encouraged to do regular exercise and to take balanced kinds of food including vegetables. HPV vaccine should be given them to avoid cervical cancer.   

I am concerned about exercise deficit. One of the latest issue of JAMA has published a large scaled paper regarding the relationship between exercise and mortality rate. Of course, regular exercise lowers the mortality rate in every generation whatever the cause might be. It has not investigated on the reason of exercise deficit. I suspect the digitalization of life may deprive them of time/chance for exercising. The virtual world smartphone might make them feel they are living in the real world. 

I really hope some researchers would investigate what brings this low physical activity and on possible relationship with their immersion in the internet. 

It is a kind of self-reflection for myself as a recent post says. Discard smartphone and go outdoor for activity!

Miraculous potatoes

We have already had frost early in the morning for the past couple of weeks. Most vegetables except for onion, spinach or broccoli etc would wither by this time in a year. Potatoes are not exception for that. I have harvested all of the fall potatoes.

But there are a few plants of potatoes standing up and even blooming with green leaves at a corner of the garden farm. They are spontaneously growing there every year. 

                           

They were descendants of potatoes discarded there years ago. With continuos cropping such as potato, there could be proliferation of bacilli harmful to it or deficit of certain nutrients, and eventually the growth of the vegetable won't be good there. It is famous as monocropping difficulty in farming. I am intrigued how this plant of potatoes have not only evaded it but also grown even better than the other ordinarily planted ones. A big puzzle! 

With seed plants, as organic farming texts say, seeds contain microbiome within them, which derive from the soil the seed cropped plants. That is a reason why certain plants could grow better at the place wheere seeds were cropped. I am wondering, even though potato's "fruit" is not really fruit but a portion of root, if the same kind of mechanism is working with this potatoes in our garden farm. How could they be free from monocropping disorders? 

I am only amazed at this potatoes. It is beyond my understanding, and possibly, beyond knowledge of science. I would keep them at that place and see what happens with them next year. 

Our garden farm is almost in hibernation. I still have works to build the farm beds for next season.   

PS;When I looked at the potatoes right now, all of them were withered. The chillness was more than they could put up with and/or it was the time for them to die, I don't know. However, they have definitely lived much longer in this cold weather than the other ordinary plants and it was programmed in nature.

Free from intoxication of the internet for a day

 Yesterday, the internet was shut down at our home. Asked the provider, I was told that the carrier was responsible for that. They promised us to pass along the problem to the carrier today. No reply from either the provider or the carrier this morning. While communicating with the personel at the provider customer center for a few times, I felt desparate at solving the problem. But, all of sudden, while talking to him on the cell phone, without intervention by the carrier, I found the internet line was restored. The same kind of trouble with the internet might happen in the future. How should I do in such a case? I knew the customer center personel was not capable of finding solution to such a problem. I felt the infrastructure of the internet was not very resilient in our country or, at least, with the provider we contract with.

Without surfing the internet last night, I felt a bit helpless being shut down from the information sources. I have spent the evening hours reading a paper on psychopathology, given by a senior psychiatrist, an alumni of the same medical university. In the new classification of diseases, ICD11, he seemed to emphasize humanistic or philosophical psychopathology reinstated its seat in psychiatry. When I was a med student, I was going to major in psychiatry and might have been involved in such a change. 

In the rest of night hours, I listened to the whole nocturnes by Faure. Thirteen of nocturnes were composed spreading from his young age to the last few years in hi life. It is interesting how his style has been changed during that long span of life. Simple monophonic pieces like that of chopin to complicated pieces featuring more of dissonance. Consistently, there seems a feeling of elegy among most of them. Nr1 is typical for elegy beginning with downward melody accompanied with simple harmony in bass. Nr11, composed for a memory of Noeml Lalo, is an elegy itself. Another characteristic of them is that the later pieces sound abstruse in a sense with dissonance use. I used to be surprised the same in the piano part of the 2nd movement in his piano trio. 

Anyway, being free from obsession to wander around the internet, we could spend time for valuable things. The internet gives, on the other hand, a tool to communicate with others like this blog. I won't go away from this intoxicated world. It is still necessary for me to spend some time away from it, though.