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Can Japan compete ?
Michael E. Porter, Hirotaka Takeuchi & Mariko Sakakibara
 Japan defeated by Anglo-Saxon capitalismFallen behind the United States of America in these areas: wireless communications, multimedia, software, microprocessor, networkingThe Japanese government model
Activist, central government with a stable bureaucracy (almost all by MITI, Ministry of International Trade and Industry)Targeting of priority industries to enhance economic growthAggressive promotion of exportsExtensive 'guidance', approval requirements, and regulationsSelective protection of the home marketRestrictions on foreign direct investmentLax antitrust enforcementGovernment-led industry restructuringOfficial sanctioning of cartelsHighly regulated financial markets and limited corporate governanceGovernment-sponsored cooperative R&D projectsSound macroeconomic policiesTwo important areas to be looked into. The service and multimedia markets.
Service Markets (Listed companies) in Japan
Valueclick JapanZEROTOSEMET'SLivin' on the EDGEXNETDIGITAL DESIGNMultimedia Markets
Computers -personal computers -Workstations
-LAN
Mobile tools -PDA-Auto navigation systems
Info-electric home applicances-TV games
-CD-ROM
-Video games for business use
-Digital cameras, Instant photo-stickers
-Digital videos
-DVDs
-Digital video cameras
-Digital broadcasting
-Network terminals, karaoke, etc....
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Advantages of Green Tea
I think the most promising areas of green tea research right now is in treating arthritis. The antioxidant power of the green tea's polyphenols blocks the pathway of the Cox-2 enzyme, which is a major cause of the inflammation and pain of arthritis. The ployphenols work in very much the same way as the new, heavily advertised antiarthritis drugs such as CelebrexR, except that the tea doesn't have the side effects--or a high cost.Tea also has strong antibacterial effect. Drinking a cup of tea after a meal helps prevent cavities and gum disease because the polyhenols kill the bacteria that cause these diseases. We know from other research that there's a high correlation between gum disease and heart disease. Could that be one reason for the lower heart risk among tea drinkers?Recently published studies in Australia by the CSIRO have confirmed what Chinese and Japanese scientists & doctors have known for years - green tea is good for you! All tea (deriving from camellia sinensis) contains various anti-oxidant compounds which are beneficial in fighting certain cancers and reducing the effects of aging. Green tea, being less processed than black or oolong teas, contains more of these anti-oxidants. While all tea is good for you, green tea is the most potent. (It is a little like the difference between cooked and raw vegetables - all are good for you, but the raw vegetables retain more of their anti-oxidant properties). December 14, 1998. Green tea, which some prostate cancer patients switch to as part of a healthy diet, has new evidence to back the claim that it contains an anti-cancer agent. Purdue University researchers Dorothy Morre and D. James Morre have found that EGCg, a compound in green tea, inhibits an enzyme called tNOX, which is required for cancer cell growth. The researchers claim that this is the first scientific finding to explain precisely how this compound works inside a cell to ward off cancer. They also say that their study showed that EGCg can kill cultured cancer cells with no ill effect on healthy cells.The results were presented at the 38th annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco. "Our research shows that green tea leaves are rich in this anti-cancer compound, with concentrations high enough to induce anti-cancer effects in the body," says Dorothy Morre, professor of foods and nutrition in Purdue's School of Consumer and Family Sciences. Drinking more than four cups of green tea a day, she says, could provide enough of the active compound to slow and prevent the growth of cancer cells.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Green More Potent Than Black Tea
Although all teas come from the same botanical source, green tea differs from black tea or other teas because of the way the tea leaves are processed after they are picked. For black tea, freshly picked leaves are "withered" indoors and allowed to oxidize. With green tea, the leaves are not oxidized, but are steamed and parched to better preserve the natural active substances of the leaf. Experts who compare patterns of disease frequency around the world have found that people who drink more than four cups a day of green tea seem to have a lower overall risk of cancer. But scientists did not know for sure how the tea produced these effects. Morre and her husband, who is the Dow Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Purdue, show in their independent study how green tea interacts with an enzyme on the surface of many types of cancer cells including breast, prostate, colon and neuroblastoma. This enzyme, called quinol oxidase, or NOX, helps carry out several functions on the cell surface and is required for growth in both normal and cancerous cells.
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Blocks Tumor Cell Growth
"Normal cells express the NOX enzyme only when they are dividing in response to growth hormone signals," Dorothy Morre says. "In contrast, cancer cells have somehow gained the ability to express NOX activity at all times." This overactive form of NOX, known as tNOX -- for tumor-associated NOX -- has long been assumed to be vital for the growth of cancer cells, because drugs that inhibit tNOX activity also block tumor cell growth in culture. After hearing a researcher discuss green tea's anti-cancer potential on a television show, the couple set out to investigate whether tea infusions -- made when the compounds of tea leaves leach into hot water -- would have an effect on tNOX enzyme activity. In studies of cultured cells and isolated membranes of cells, they found that black tea could inhibit tNOX activity at dilutions of one part tea to 100 parts of water. The green tea infusions, however, were 10 to 100 times more potent, inhibiting the activity of tNOX at dilutions ranging from one part tea per 1,000 to 10,000 parts water. "This finding suggested that green tea leaves are rich in a compound that inhibits tNOX," Dorothy Morre says. "With concentrations of the active compound at these levels, drinking several cups of green tea per day might inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the body."
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New Acronyms to Learn -- EGCg Inhibits tNOX
To pinpoint the active compound, Morre and her husband tested a number of compounds found in tea. Among them, they tested epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCg, a primary component of green tea already linked to anti-cancer effects. Their studies, done with cultured cells and with purified NOX protein in solutions, found that EGCg was capable of inhibiting the tNOX activity of cancer cells at low doses -- requiring only several cups of green tea per day -- but did not inhibit the NOX activity of healthy cells. The Morres also found that EGCg inhibits the growth of, and kills, cancerous human mammary cells in culture, but does not kill cultured, non-cancerous human mammary cells. The Purdue team also determined how the cancer cells died. "In the presence of EGCg, the cancer cells literally failed to grow or enlarge after division," Dorothy Morre says. "Then, presumably because they did not reach the minimum size needed to divide, they underwent programmed cell death, or apoptosis." Others who worked on the research are Andrew Bridge, a premed student at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.; Peichuan Sun, a graduate student supervised by Dorothy Morre; and Lian-Ying Wu, a research technologist at Purdue. Dorothy Morre says that further work is needed to understand how tNOX works in cancer cell growth. "For now, it is sufficient to know that when tNOX activity is inhibited, the cancerous cells eventually die," she says.
April 1998. Green tea contains compounds that kill prostate cancer cells. Most people in the USA and around the world drink black tea, if they drink tea at all. Only about a quarter of all tea drunk is green. Both kinds of tea leaves are from the same plant, the evergreen shrub Camellia sinens. Black tea is made from the withered, fermented leaves. The leaves sold as green tea have been steamed after picking, and are not fermented. This makes a difference. Green tea, evidence suggests, is more potent in anti-cancer ingredients.
All plants contain compounds called polyphenols. These are especially high in tea, coffee, red grapes, kidney beans, raisins, prunes, and red wine. In December 1997 researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reported that an ingredient in the polyphenols in green tea kills cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. The researchers tested this ingredient, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, on human and mouse prostate cancer cells and on normal human skin cells. It caused apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. A report is in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Dec 17, 1997). The scientist in charge, Hasan Mukhtar, says the compound kills cancer cells by fragmenting their DNA - typical of apoptosis. Apoptosis happens all the time in a healthy body. Mukhtar says: "It is likely that this compound conveys a message to cancer cells through a highly ordered and well-regulated signal transduction pathway.... " The chemical messenger tells the cells "'You must commit suicide (programmed cell death) or I am going to kill you.' The cells then decide that instead of being murdered, they will commit suicide." Mukhtar believes study of green tea will lead to fuller understanding of the process of apoptosis. Researchers will try to decipher the molecular mechanism of green tea's protective effects. They will try to find out how to interfere with cancer development by adminstering purified polyphenolic derivatives, said Mukhtar. "Green tea appears to be potentially an ideal agent for chemoprevention." The investigators want to run clinical trials to see if indeed green tea can prevent cancer in humans. A nutritional trial for prostate cancer including green tea in the diet is ongoing at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York.Smooth tasting organic Japanese green tea is considered a gourmet treat by many tea drinkers. Japanese green tea can provide a satiating effect that enables people to reduce their caloric intake.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quotes
Ahmad N, Feyes DK, Nieminen AL, Agarwal R, Mukhtar H: Green tea constituent epigallocatechin-3-gallate and induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human carcinoma cells.
J Natl Cancer Inst; 89(24):1881-6 1997 "Green tea may protect against cancer by causing cell cycle arrest and inducing apoptosis [programed cell death]. It needs to be evaluated in human trials."
Carlin BI, Pretlow TG, Pretlow TP, Resnick MI: Green tea polyphenols inhibit growth of prostate cancer xenograft CWR22: implications for prostate cancer chemoprevention (Meeting abstract). Proc Annu Meet Am Assoc Cancer Res; 37:A1915 1996
Mohan RR, Khan SG, Agarwal R, Mukhtar H: Testosterone induces ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and mRNA expression in human prostate carcinoma cell line LNCaP: inhibition by green tea (Meeting abstract). Proc Annu Meet Am Assoc Cancer Res; 36:A1633 1995
Liao S, Umekita Y, Guo J, Kokontis JM, Hipakka RA: Growth inhibition and regression of human prostate and breast tumors in athymic mice by tea epigallocatechin gallate. Cancer Lett; 96(2):239-43 1995
Don't want to wrestle with abstracts about "athymic mice"? Here's an ordinary language version ...
Bruce Carlin found that in mice high doses of green tea polyphenols prevent prostate cancer cells from growing. Tea had this effect even on cells exposed to testosterone, the male hormone, which normally stimulates prostate cancer. The effect depended on the dose of polyphenols.
Not everyone finds green tea delicious, it's an acquired taste like any other. You might like it with splash of soy milk. Many pill forms are avialable for those who prefer. As part of a healthy diet together with exercise and medical checkups, green tea may give extra protection against cancer including prostate cancer. Whether anything in tea is powerful enough to stop established cancer from progressing (or to slow it down) is a different story, not yet unravelled.
Evidence about the effects of diet on cancer has been gathered from broad analysis of global eating habits plus ultra-precise study of cells. The effects of food chemicals on cells are studied using advanced techniques, such as flow cytometry. A lot of work lies ahead to boil this down to what the patient wants to know, will it help me? Indications are encouraging, though.
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Can It Do Harm?
You can't harm yourself by drinking green tea unless you take it scalding hot - bad for this kind of tea as well as for your mouth and throat. As for caffeine, green tea contains a lot less than coffee; and decaf green tea is available. If you're taking radiation therapy or chemotherapy, it is important to chask your oncologist about any antioxidants you are taking. Green tea would count as an antioxidant. Some beneficial substances can be counterproductive while you're on cancer therapy.
Nothing suggests that green tea cures prostate cancer. Carlin's study used a strong concentration of active ingredients - about a hundred times what the Lipton company estimates is in one cup of tea. Carlin states: "Green tea is non-toxic, readily available, and inexpensive; it may be effective in the chemoprevention of prostate cancer." HUman studies are needed to see if indeed green tea extracts really can prevent cancer or slow the growth of existing tumors.
Moderate consumption of green tea appears safe. There is some evidence that green tea may prevent the occurrence of some forms of cancer ... Preliminary evidence exists of the potential effectiveness of green tea as a treatment of cancer. Further research into the effects of green tea and some of its constituents would be worthwhile.
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Task Force of Unconventional Therapies (Canada) 1998 (link below)
If drinking tea for refreshment makes sense to you, you may also want to learn more about balancing a low fat diet rich in vegetables and fruit, cereals, and soy milk and tofu.
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Green Tea Is Known For The Following Attributes:
Lowers the risk of many diseases including cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Inhibits abnormal clot formation. Lowers blood pressure Lowers blood sugar levels Inhibits viruses ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lowers The Risk of Cancer
Epidemiological studies show that people who drink green tea have significantly lower risks of many diseases including cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Lab studies show that green tea extract protects against many common degenerative diseases.
The ability of green tea to prevent cancer is so well established that new studies are testing green tea as a potential cancer therapy. Green tea may be especially protective against lung cancer in former and current cigarette smokers. Its lung cancer protective effects are of significant importance based on new sutdies showing that former smokers are at greater risk for developing lung cancer than was previously thought.
Green tea has been shown to counteract both the initiation and promotion of carcinogenesis. Some studies have shown that green tea blocks the formation of certain tumors. If green tea's only benefit were to reduce the risk of cancer, it would be well worth taking as a beverage or supplement.
Green Tea polyphenols are potent antioxidants, especially in the brain. Some studies show that the polyphenols most prevalent in green tea (the catechins) are far more potent in suppressing free radicals than vitamins C or E.
Lowers cholesterol and triglyceride Levels
Green Tea has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and serum triglyceride levels. The potent antioxidant effects of green tea inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the arteries. The oxidation of LDL cholesterol plays a major contributory role in the formation of atherosclerosis.
The formation of blood clots (thrombosis) is the leading cause of heart attack and stroke, and green tea has been to exhibit abnormal blood clot formation as effectively as aspirin. When looking at coagulation risk factors in the blood, green tea specifically inhibits platelet aggregation and adhesion via effects that differ from those of aspirin.
Green tea also has been shown to elevate levels of HDL, the good cholesterol that helps remove atherosclerotic plaque from arterial walls.
Note that aspirin has some anti-thrombotic effects that differ from green tea, such as ingibition of cyclooxygenase. If you are taking low-dose aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke, you should continue doing so even if you also consume green tea.
If you are going to use green tea to lower cholesterol, triglycerides or thrombotic risk factors, make sure you have your blood tested and evaluated by a competent medical professional.
Lowering blood pressure
A significant cause of hypertension is an enzyme secreted by the kidneys called angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE). By blocking the effects of ACE, blood pressure os reduced significantly in most hypertensives. Green tea is a natural ACE inhibitor. Published studies show lowered blood pressure in animals and humans given green tea extracts.
If you are going to use green tea to treat hypertension, do so only under the supervision of a competent medical professional who can evaluate whether it is working for you. Regular blood-pressure testing is mandatory.
Green tea has been known to lower blood sugar levels. It can also kill certain bacterias and is effective against staph. Green tea inhibit s several viruses including viral hepatitis.
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