Not so useful KEGG manual:
http://www.kegg.jp/kegg/docs/keggapi_manual.html
More handy perl scripts
Quantum computing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecD6C72gNfs&feature=player_embedded
To be honest, the setting was boring. Bad audio?? He is an excellent and friendly prof.
Finally, dissidents like Paul Woolley are questioning this narrative. “There was a presumption that financial innovation is socially valuable,” Woolley said to me. “The first thing I discovered was that it wasn’t backed by any empirical evidence. There’s almost none.”Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/29/101129fa_fact_cassidy#ixzz16VmUhYXt
“Extrapolations of their results to the present Martian conditions imply that groundwater may currently exist underneath thermally insulating fine-grained sedimentary deposits approximately 120 meters in thickness. Thus, despite large differences in hydrogeologic histories, average surface temperatures, and internal heat flows of Earth and Mars, some areas of Mars might be similar to typical permafrost on Earth, where shallow aquifers are confined by thin layers of icy permafrost.”
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-shallow-groundwater-reservoirs-common-mars.html
Prepare for the risk: Real conservatives ignoring their own principles
A terrific op-ed in WashPost from CAP’s Bracken Hendricks: I stopped reading the WP long time ago but from time to time it surprises me in a good way. Hope more people wake up and listen to him. Japan should do more on alternative energy stuffs.
The best science available suggests that without taking action to fundamentally change how we produce and use energy, we could see temperatures rise 9 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit over much of the United States by 2090. These estimates have sometimes been called high-end predictions, but the corresponding low-end forecasts assume we will rally as a country to shift course. That hasn’t happened, so the worst case must become our best guess….
Today’s conservatives would do well to start thinking more like military planners, reexamining the risks inherent in their strategy. If, instead, newly elected Republicans do nothing, they will doom us all to bigger government interventions and a large dose of suffering – a reckless choice that’s anything but conservative.
Few causes unite the conservatives of the newly elected 112th Congress as unanimously as their opposition to government action on climate change. In September, the Center for American Progress Action Fund surveyed Republican candidates in congressional and gubernatorial races and found that nearly all disputed the scientific consensus on global warming, and none supported measures to mitigate it. For example, Robert Hurt, who won Tom Perriello’s House seat in Virginia, says clean-energy legislation would fail to “do anything except harm people.” The tea party’s “Contract From America” calls proposed climate policies “costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation’s global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures.” Even conservatives who once argued for action on climate change, such as as Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (Ill.), have run for cover. But it’s conservatives who should fear climate change the most. To put it simply, if you hate big government, try global warming on for size. Many conservatives say they oppose clean-energy policies because they want to keep government off our backs. But they have it exactly backward. Doing nothing will set our country on a course toward narrower choices for businesses and individuals, along with an expanded role for government. When catastrophe strikes – and yes, the science is quite solid that it will – it will be the feds who are left conducting triage. My economic views are progressive, and I think government has an important role in tackling big problems. But I admire many cherished conservative values, from personal responsibility to thrift to accountability, and I worry that conservatives’ lock-step posture on climate change is seriously out of step with their professed priorities. A strong defense of our national interests, rigorous cost-benefit analysis, fiscal discipline and the ability to avoid unnecessary intrusions into personal liberty will all be seriously compromised in a world marked by climate change. In fact, far from being conservative, the Republican stance on global warming shows a stunning appetite for risk. When faced with uncertainty and the possibility of costly outcomes, smart businessmen buy insurance, reduce their downside exposure and protect their assets. When confronted with a disease outbreak of unknown proportions, front-line public health workers get busy producing vaccines, pre-positioning supplies and tracking pathogens. And when military planners assess an enemy, they get ready for a worst-case encounter. When it comes to climate change, conservatives are doing none of this. Instead, they are recklessly betting the farm on a single, best-case scenario: That the scientific consensus about global warming will turn out to be wrong. This is bad risk management and an irresponsible way to run anything, whether a business, an economy or a planet.
The 1000 genome paper provides a glimpse of new tools in progress. Check supplemental information. Main points to me are that they did not find any universal method to identify variations. They came to use the consensus of different methods to call SNPs and SV. People should really realize this rather than expecting informaticians to come up with perfect solutions. Too many people are underestimating this; even many people who work this field do not know this and do not know what they are talking about. “Can you just provide us reliable SNPs and CNVs? …” I need more than 2 weeks to find them out.
PEAKING OF WORLD OIL PRODUCTION:
IMPACTS, MITIGATION, & RISK MANAGEMENT
Robert L. Hirsch, SAIC, Project Leader
Roger Bezdek, MISI
Robert Wendling, MISI
February 2005
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The peaking of world oil production presents the U.S. and the world with an
unprecedented risk management problem. As peaking is approached, liquid fuel
prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and, without timely mitigation,
the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation
options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have substantial
impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking.
In 2003, the world consumed just under 80 million barrels per day (MM bpd) of
oil. U.S. consumption was almost 20 MM bpd, two-thirds of which was in the
transportation sector. The U.S. has a fleet of about 210 million automobiles and
light trucks (vans, pick-ups, and SUVs). The average age of U.S. automobiles is
nine years. Under normal conditions, replacement of only half the automobile
fleet will require 10-15 years. The average age of light trucks is seven years.
Under normal conditions, replacement of one-half of the stock of light trucks will
require 9-14 years. While significant improvements in fuel efficiency are possible
in automobiles and light trucks, any affordable approach to upgrading will be
inherently time-consuming, requiring more than a decade to achieve significant
overall fuel efficiency improvement.
Besides further oil exploration, there are commercial options for increasing world
oil supply and for the production of substitute liquid fuels: 1) Improved Oil
Recovery (IOR) can marginally increase production from existing reservoirs; one
of the largest of the IOR opportunities is Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), which
can help moderate oil production declines from reservoirs that are past their peak
production: 2) Heavy oil / oil sands represents a large resource of lower grade
oils, now primarily produced in Canada and Venezuela; those resources are
capable of significant production increases;. 3) Coal liquefaction is a wellestablished
technique for producing clean substitute fuels from the world’s
abundant coal reserves; and finally, 4) Clean substitute fuels can be produced
from remotely located natural gas, but exploitation must compete with the world’s
growing demand for liquefied natural gas. However, world-scale contributions
from these options will require 10-20 years of accelerated effort.
Dealing with world oil production peaking will be extremely complex, involve
literally trillions of dollars and require many years of intense effort. To explore
these complexities, three alternative mitigation scenarios were analyzed:
! Scenario I assumed that action is not initiated until peaking occurs.
! Scenario II assumed that action is initiated 10 years before peaking.
! Scenario III assumed action is initiated 20 years before peaking.
For this analysis estimates of the possible contributions of each mitigation option
were developed, based on an assumed crash program rate of implementation.
Continue Reading
Some highlights from “Higher Education in Japan Higher Education in JapanHigher Education” They should be able to write better English, though that is not the point of the report.
“Outline of measures for “300,000 International Students Plan”
1. To invite international students to study in Japan
>Motivation for studying in Japan and expansion of the one-stop service>
$ To actively provide information about studying in Japan.
$ To strengthen the consultative function for students willing to study in Japan.
$ To enrich overseas Japanese language education and other measures.2. To improve entrances including entrance examination and admission to university and Japan
>To facilitate studying in Japan>
$ To strengthen universities’ abilities to provide information
$ To promote admission before students’ arrival in Japan.
$ To promote the settlement of various procedures before students’ arrival in Japan.
$ To have universities strictly manage their registrations and simplify immigration inspection etc. and other measures.
3. To promote the globalization of universities etc.
>To make universities more attractive>
$ To predominantly develop Universities as centers for Internationalization (30).
$ To increase courses conducted only in English.
$ To promote double degree programs, short-term overseas study programs and others.
$ To strengthen specialized organizational systems including universities etc. and other measures.
4. To create an acceptance environment
>Efforts to create an environment where students can feel at ease to concentrate on their study.
$ To make it possible to provide students with accommodation for a year or less after their arrival in Japan.
$ To improve and utilize the Japanese government scholarship student system etc.
$ To support and promote exchange activities with local communities, businesses, etc.
$ To enrich Japanese language education in Japan.
$ To give livelihood support to international students etc. and other measures.
5. To promote the social acceptance of students after graduation/completion.
>Globalization of the Japanese society>
$ Industry, government and academia cooperate to support students in seeking jobs or starting enterprises.
$ To consider clarification of the visa status and reworking of students’ permitted period of residence.
$ To enrich follow-up activities after students return to their own countries and other measures.
$ “Outline of measures for “300,000 International Students Plan”
The number of graduate students more than doubled in the past 20 years while the population of that age group decreased significantly. The older generation might question of the qualification and quality of these students. While younger generations argue that they are working harder and smarter, and the advance of technologies gives them greater advantage over their previous generations. This type of generational conflicts probably existed even before human started using fire if they lived long enough. All the generations think they are living in a special moment.
The number of Japanese who study abroad is not decreasing when the number of students is factored into the equation. Over all people are now studying many different places as the price of education in developed countries become prohibitively high. Despite constant political hostility between Asian neighbors, many Japanese find opportunities in these countries.
[PDF] 日本人の海外留学者数 … 76,464 ← 日本人の海外留学者数
[PDF] 日本人学生等の海外留学
Justice in this case is not equivalent to “正義”. If “justice” means “正義” — correct principle, then the discussion is over. “Justice” should be translated to “公平” where acceptable action is determined by people. Justice is not a universal nor God given principle that leaves no room for further discussion. He emphasizes the ambiguous aspects of “justice” and tries to construct a fair consensus among people to maximize common utility. So putting “正義” upfront seems to be odd.
http://www.justiceharvard.org/
http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm
It is probably easier to follow his lectures in English and more meaningful.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/educated-and-fearing-the-future-in-china
Many people argued that Chinese education system is too rigid to produce creative graduates.
A very informative survey on the sequence technologies from investor’s perspective came out. In a sense this report provides colorful illustration on how people are adapting to the sequence technologies.
Next Gen Sequencing Survey What Laboratory Directors Are Saying About Next Generation Sequencing, GWAS and Stimulus: Invester’s perspective
The society are getting more complex day by day and its future even 10 years from now seems like millions light years away. Here is a simple question I like to know. In this uncertain time, how do high school teachers in any field keep themselves motivated to teach students who seem to have no interest in a subject? Motivating students with practical real life experience? As teachers deepen their knowledge of a subject, they may feel contempt toward students who, in teacher’s mind, do not understand even basics of a subject. A teacher cannot build a castle without its foundation. Any case, it seems I cannot be a high school teacher. But there is no easy solution to high schools whose students want to be anywhere but in school. The education system in Holland may give us some insight.