[en] Static and dynamic erosion characteristics under high-flux plasma irradiation have been examined utilizing an in situ spectroscopic method for high-temperature titanium-carbon composite materials. Clear suppression of erosion of titanium carbide deposited graphite was observed under high-ion flux conditions compared to the conventional ion beam experiments. The dynamic transport of carbon atoms across the multilayered carbide is studied by an analytical approach in the case of rapid diffusion in carbide thin layer. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results of temperature dependencies of erosion behavior gives us an estimation of carbon transport coefficients: segregation and dissolution constants. (author)

[en] The distribution behavior of ion associates of the tetraiodobismate(III) anion, BiI₄^-, with eight quaternary ammonium cations between a chloroform and an aqueous phase was examined, and the extraction constants (log K_ex) were determined. The extractability with long-chain alkyltrimethylammonium cations (group I) is greater than that with symmetrical tetraalkylammonium cations (group II). The contributions of a methylene group in the cations of groups I and II to log K_ex were found to be about 0.54 and about 0.40 on the average, respectively. From the extraction constants obtained, a highly sensitive extraction-spectrophotometric method of bismuth was developed. (author)

[en] A review of the tools for assessing radiation sickness and the results of our research on the pathogenesis and development of novel therapeutics were reviewed. Radiation sickness occurs when serotonin released from the upper gastrointestinal tract by radiation is transmitted to the medullary vomiting center via the 5-HT3 receptor in the vagus nerve endings. The evaluation of vomiting, the evaluation of nausea, the evaluation of vomiting and nausea in non-vomiting rats, and the animal model of radiation sickness using pica behavior as an index were described in this order. Then, the involvement of the glutamate nervous system in the brain in the development of radiation sickness, and prospects for new drugs for radiation sickness were also mentioned. (S.S.)

[en] Using the 2-D data provided by CT-Tomography and MRI-tomography of oral and maxillofacial diseases (cyst, benign tumor, primary tumor and regional lymphnodes of malignant tumor), 3-D images were reconstructed and spatial analysis was attempted. We report the general concepts. The hardware used consisted of the Hewlett-Packard HP-9000/300, which utilizes a 16-bit CPU. A digitizer was used to construct 3-D images from serial CT-tomography and MRI-tomography images. Output was displayed on a color monitor and photographs. The 3 cases on which we used this technique included a 19-year-old male with plunging ranula, a 50-year-old male with maxillary pleomorphic adenoma, and a 58-year-old male with squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus (T₃N₃M₀). As 3-D reconstruction can be done in any arbitrary direction or cross section, it is possible to spatially determine the position of the disease inside the body, its progression, and its relationship with adjacent organs. Through image analysis, it is possible to better understand the volume and surface area of the disease. 3-D image reconstruction is an effective tool in the determination of diagnosis, therapeutic guidelines, and surgical indications, as well as effectiveness of treatment. (author)

[en] Highlights: • First study on small-scale river microplastics pollution and risk assessment • Both the point and non-point land-use sources could release microplastics. • Higher abundances were found with fibers, small microplastics and diverse polymers. • Small rivers loaded large amounts of microplastics to sea as source-to-sink conduit. • High pollution risk was linked to high microplastics abundances and toxic polymers. Rivers are vital for understanding freshwater microplastics pollution, along with the conduits from land-sources to marine-sinks. In this study, we investigated microplastics in the small-scale Awano and Ayaragi rivers, which flow into the Sea of Japan (SJ), and the Asa and Majime rivers, which flow into the Seto Inland Sea (SIS) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Surface water samples were collected from 29 stations. Filtration, wet peroxidation, and density separation methods were employed to extract microplastics. Polymers were identified via attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Microplastics abundances and comparisons among different rivers revealed that these small-scale rivers were highly polluted than others around the world. Characterization demonstrated that small microplastics (<1000 μm) in size, fibers and fragments in shape and the polymers—polyethylene, polypropylene, vinylon, polyethylene terephthalate, and polystyrene were dominant. These small-scale rivers emitted substantially higher quantities of Japan land-sourced microplastics (0.4–154.27 billions/day and 0.01–17.55 tons/day) into the SJ and SIS environments than larger rivers in other countries compared to basin areas. The pollution load index indicated that all the river stations were polluted with microplastics. An assessment of the polymeric and pollution risks revealed variably low to high risks. The higher were the abundances of microplastics and toxic polymers, the higher were the pollution level and risks. The sites at high risk of pollution were regarded as hotspots. Both point and non-point land-uses sources of pollution could release microplastics into the river freshwater environments, affected posing high risks and hotspots. Moreover, the pollution characteristics (shapes-sizes-polymers) indicated serious ecotoxicological threats to these rivers and their downstream environments. This study provided new insights into river microplastics pollution and revealed small-scale rivers to be prominent source-to-sink microplastics conduits. Risk assessments provided a baseline for future comprehensive assessments and developing practical approaches to wards setting water quality criteria, pollution control and management.

[en] To decontaminate radioactive substances on agricultural land and in forests, densification experiments using comminution and pelletization on a laboratory were carried out for woody branches and leaves as primal study. Consequently, densification ratios were ranged from 3.5 to 8.6 by comminution and 9.5 to 27 by pelletization. By mixing the woody portion with leaves and branches, the mixed pellet showed sufficient durability as well as reduced radioactive cesium concentration without decreasing the feed rate. A densification test for herbaceous and woody biomass on a larger scale (200 kg/h of feedstock) is underway at Fukushima prefecture, to design the practical plant. (author)

[en] We estimated the performance of river fish habitat evaluation using width-to-depth ratio (WDR) in comparison with eco-environmental diversity (EED) to propose an inexpensive and easy-to-use habitat evaluation procedure, which is applicable to small river construction works. WDR calculation costs less than that of EED. For verification, 25 stations in eight rivers were selected and fish were captured using electrofishing. pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature, fraction of forest, farmland, and residential area in each basin were measured to examine possible influence of water quality. Results show that there is no major water quality issue in the target rivers. Although fish habitat is classified as good when WDR is higher than 6, it cannot be evaluated by WDR when it is lower than 6. EED has positive relationship with fish habitat for any WDR value. Thus, if a river geometry design in a river work results in WDR higher than 6, no measures need to be taken regarding fish habitat condition; however, if it is less than 6, it is necessary to examine whether the construction work lowers the EED or not.

[en] Highlights: ► ANRIL maps in the strongest susceptibility locus for cardiovascular disease. ► Silencing of ANRIL leads to altered expression of tissue remodeling-related genes. ► The effects of ANRIL on gene expression are splicing variant specific. ► ANRIL affects progression of cardiovascular disease by regulating proliferation and apoptosis pathways. -- Abstract: ANRIL is a newly discovered non-coding RNA lying on the strongest genetic susceptibility locus for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the chromosome 9p21 region. Genome-wide association studies have been linking polymorphisms in this locus with CVD and several other major diseases such as diabetes and cancer. The role of this non-coding RNA in atherosclerosis progression is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the implication of ANRIL in the modulation of gene sets directly involved in atherosclerosis. We designed and tested siRNA sequences to selectively target two exons (exon 1 and exon 19) of the transcript and successfully knocked down expression of ANRIL in human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (HuAoVSMC). We used a pathway-focused RT-PCR array to profile gene expression changes caused by ANRIL knock down. Notably, the genes affected by each of the siRNAs were different, suggesting that different splicing variants of ANRIL might have distinct roles in cell physiology. Our results suggest that ANRIL splicing variants play a role in coordinating tissue remodeling, by modulating the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, extra-cellular matrix remodeling and inflammatory response to finally impact in the risk of cardiovascular disease and other pathologies.

[en] To understand the changes in radiocesium (¹³⁷Cs) concentrations in stem woods after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, we investigated ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in the bark, sapwood, heartwood, and whole wood of four major tree species at multiple sites with different levels of radiocesium deposition from the FDNPP accident since 2011 (since 2012 at some sites): Japanese cedar at four sites, hinoki cypress and Japanese konara oak at two sites, and Japanese red pine at one site. Our previous report on ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in bark and whole wood samples collected from 2011 to 2015 suggested that temporal variations were different among sites even within the same species. In the present study, we provided data on bark and whole wood samples in 2016 and separately measured ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in sapwood and heartwood samples from 2011 to 2016; we further discussed temporal trends in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in each part of tree stems, particularly those in ¹³⁷Cs distributions between sapwood and heartwood, in relation to their species and site dependencies. Temporal trends in bark and whole wood samples collected from 2011 to 2016 were consistent with those reported in samples collected from 2011 to 2015. Temporal variations in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in barks showed either a decreasing trend or no clear trend, implying that ¹³⁷Cs deposition in barks is inhomogeneous and that decontamination is relatively slow in some cases. Temporal trends in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in sapwood, heartwood, and whole wood were different among species and also among sites within the same species. Relatively common trends within the same species, which were increasing, were observed in cedar heartwood, and in oak sapwood and whole wood. On the other hand, the ratio of ¹³⁷Cs concentration in heartwood to that in sapwood (fresh weight basis) was commonly increased to more than 2 in cedar, although distinct temporal trends were not found in the other species, for which the ratio was around 1 in cypress and pine and below 0.5 in oak, suggesting that ¹³⁷Cs transfer from sapwood to heartwood shows species dependency. Consequently, the species dependency of ¹³⁷Cs transfer within the tree appears easily, while that from the environment to the trees can be masked by various factors. Thus, prediction of ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in stem wood should be carried out carefully as it still requires investigations at multiple sites with a larger sample size and an understanding of the species-specific ¹³⁷Cs transfer mechanism. - Highlights: • ¹³⁷Cs concentration in cedar heartwood showed an increasing trend. • ¹³⁷Cs concentration in oak sapwood and whole wood showed an increasing trend. • ¹³⁷Cs distribution pattern between sapwood and heartwood was species dependent.