The Amur River is the international river which forms the border between China and Russia. The floods often occur in the mid Amur River basin. In this study, statistical analyses of the floods were conducted, using the precipitation data and the discharge data obtained at the Khabarovsk Observatory Station. The landform map and the wetland map were made to grasp which landform had the capacity of the flood control basin. The probability precipitation of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 years were calculated. The relationship between the precipitation and the discharge was in accord with the logistic curve. When the precipitation is over 96.5 mm/month, the flood theoretically occurs. In consequence, the floodplain had much flood control function.

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In the central Andes of Peruvian South America, a vast upland called Puna or altiplano with high altitude over 4000 m a.s.l. is spectacular. Puna, however, is deeply incised by canyons and gorges. These contrasting topographies are considered to have affected the development of local livelihood and cultures involving settlement location, agriculture and pastoralism since the Inca or the pre-Inca period. In particular, large landslides are developed on the side slopes of deep valleys and gorges, and these landslides provide gentle features that have been selectively utilized for settlement and cultivated field. In this paper, the author focuses on large landslides that have played an important role in the development of contrasting topographies in Cotahuasi and Puica of Arequipa Province in southern Peru. He also describes the geology and geomorphology of large landslides and their influence on human life.

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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the environmental problem of secondhand smoke in contemporary Japan. It investigates the people who suffer from environmental tobacco smoke in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka from 2007 through 2008. As a result, it has become clear that they are damaged by passive smoking in daily spaces and thereby their comfortable places are very limited. This paper concludes that smoke-free measures are insufficient in Japan and that the smoking ban which improves social environment is immediately enacted.

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[in Japanese]

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