Evaluation of forest decontamination using radiometric measurements

An experiment has been conducted to evaluate the additional dose reduction by clear felling contaminated forestry in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, and using the timber to cover the areas with wood chips. A portable gamma spectrometry system, comprising a backpack containing a 3x3” NaI(Tl) detector with digital spectrometer and GPS receiver, has been used to map dose rate and radionuclide activity concentrations before, after and at stages during this experiment. The data show the effect of the different stages of the experiment on dose rate at different locations around the site. The spectrometric data have allowed the assessment of the contributions of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides to the dose rate at different parts of the site before and after the experiment. This has clearly demonstrated the value of radiometric methods in evaluating remediation, and the effect of other environmental processes. The value of spectrometric methods which directly measure radionuclide concentrations has also been shown, especially through the identification of the contribution of natural and anthropogenic activity to the measured dose rate. The experiment has shown that clearing trees and applying wood chips can reduce dose rates by 10-15% beyond that achieved by just clearing the forest litter and natural redistribution of radiocaesium

Targeted reversion of induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with human cleidocranial dysplasia improves bone regeneration in a rat calvarial bone defect model

BackgroundRunt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) haploinsufficiency causes cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) which is characterized by supernumerary teeth, short stature, clavicular dysplasia, and osteoporosis. At present, as a therapeutic strategy for osteoporosis, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation therapy is performed in addition to drug therapy. However, MSC-based therapy for osteoporosis in CCD patients is difficult due to a reduction in the ability of MSCs to differentiate into osteoblasts resulting from impaired RUNX2 function. Here, we investigated whether induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) properly differentiate into osteoblasts after repairing the RUNX2 mutation in iPSCs derived from CCD patients to establish normal iPSCs, and whether engraftment of osteoblasts derived from properly reverted iPSCs results in better regeneration in immunodeficient rat calvarial bone defect models.MethodsTwo cases of CCD patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (CCD-iPSCs) were generated using retroviral vectors (OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC) or a Sendai virus SeVdp vector (KOSM302L). Reverted iPSCs were established using programmable nucleases, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas-derived RNA-guided endonucleases, to correct mutations in CCD-iPSCs. The mRNA expressions of osteoblast-specific markers were analyzed using quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. iPSCs-derived osteoblasts were transplanted into rat calvarial bone defects, and bone regeneration was evaluated using microcomputed tomography analysis and histological analysis.ResultsMutation analysis showed that both contained nonsense mutations: one at the very beginning of exon 1 and the other at the initial position of the nuclear matrix-targeting signal. The osteoblasts derived from CCD-iPSCs (CCD-OBs) expressed low levels of several osteoblast differentiation markers, and transplantation of these osteoblasts into calvarial bone defects created in rats with severe combined immunodeficiency showed poor regeneration. However, reverted iPSCs improved the abnormal osteoblast differentiation which resulted in much better engraftment into the rat calvarial bone defect.ConclusionsTaken together, these results demonstrate that patient-specific iPSC technology can not only provide a useful disease model to elucidate the role of RUNX2 in osteoblastic differentiation but also raises the tantalizing prospect that reverted iPSCs might provide a practical medical treatment for CCD

看護基礎教育における無線LAN環境の構築と活用

“eポートフォリオによる自己教育力の育成 : モバイル端末を活用した参画型看護基礎教育で培うキャリア形成”が文部科学省平成20年度「質の高い大学教育推進プログラム」に選定され、キャンパス館内に無線ローカルエリアネットワーク（LAN）環境を構築した。それにより、平成21年4月から、従来の設置型パソコンを用いた有線LANに加え、モバイルパソコンを用いた無線LANの活用が可能となった。今回は、島根県立大学短期大学部・出雲キャンパスにおいて構築した無線LANの概要とその環境下における看護基礎教育における活用について紹介する

看護基礎教育における自己教育力育成に向けた“だんだんeポートフォリオシステム”の開発

“eポートフォリオによる自己教育力育成”が文部科学省平成20年度「質の高い大学教育推進プログラム」に選定された。eポートフォリオとは、パソコンを使い学習の記録や写真等、広範囲にわたる情報を電子的に取り込んだり、保管したポートフォリオで、webベースの情報管理ツール・統合データベースである。今回開発した“だんだんeポートフォリオンステム”は、主に16の機能があり、「プロフィール」「学びの蓄積」「課題提出」「その他」に分類される。この機能を、学生や教員の固有情報を基に利用者個々に対応した登録や参照ができるシステムである。この取組みを展開することで、様々な効果が期待される

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERUM TOTAL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS BEFORE CALVING AND OCCURRENCE RATE OF DISEASES AFTER CALVING IN HOLSTEIN HEIFERS AND COWS

The relationship between serum total cholesterol levels 20 days before calving and disease occurrence rate in relation to milk producing capacity after calving was investigated. In cases where peak daily milk yield were below 30kg, the disease occurrence rate in cows with total cholesterol levels between 120-170mg/dl and those with levels below 120mg/dl were 22.6% and 63.9%, respectively. The disease occurrence rate in cows with total cholesterol levels less than 120mg/dl was significantly higher (P<0.01). Similar observation was made in cows with peak daily milk yield of over 30kg. In this group moreover, cows with total cholesterol levels of more than 170mg/dl have significantly lower disease occurrence rate as compared to those with total cholesterol levels less than 120mg/dl (P<0.01). From these results, the prophylactic diagnosis using total cholesterol level and peak milk yield was found useful as an indicator to predict the occurrence of diseases after calving on farms with average milking yield between 5,000kg to 6,500kg/year

Performing a sperm DNA fragmentation test in addition to semen examination based on the WHO criteria can be a more accurate diagnosis of IVF outcomes

Abstract Background We analyzed the sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and general semen test based on the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and compared the two tests using semen factors. In addition, we examined whether DFI is a reliable parameter associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Methods Sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) and general semen tests were conducted in accordance with the WHO 2010 guidelines, and correlations between the two tests were investigated. The WHO criteria were set as the cutoff values for each of the following factors: semen volume, concentration, total sperm count, motility, and normal morphology, and compared with the DFI results. Results The subjects had a mean sperm DFI of 15.3% ± 12.6%, and the DFI increased with age. In contrast, motility and normal morphology decreased as the DFI increased. Patients who satisfied the WHO criteria in terms of concentration, total sperm count, and motility had a significantly lower DFI than those who did not satisfy the criteria. Therefore, evaluation with a general semen test based on the WHO criteria should be regarded as a qualitative evaluation of all factors other than semen volume and normal morphology. Conclusions High DFI (≥ 30%) caused a low blastocyst development rate following intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Male infertility due to DFI should be suspected when IVF results are poor despite normal semen findings based on the WHO criteria. The results of this study suggest that the SCD test may more accurately evaluate the correlation between IVF clinical outcomes and male infertility. Therefore, it is important to focus on DFI measurements