Human Rights of Prisoners in Japan

In this article the author provides a practitioner perspective on the human rights of prisoners in Japan, with particular reference to the treatment of persons detained pending trial, and to seminal decisions of the Japanese courts in a civil claim against the State for violating the rights of a prisoner to the protection of their human dignity

Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) collected from fruiting bodies of polypores in Sarawak, Malaysia

Additional report of Tenebrionidae collected from fruiting bodies of polypores at eight sites, including seven national parks, in Sarawak, with descriptions of nine new species, Basides nakashizukai sp. nov., Basides ornatimarginatus sp. nov., Basides rhinoceros sp. nov., Boletoxenus persimilis sp. nov., Bolitonaeus grimmi sp. nov., Menimus (Menimus) pygmaeus sp. nov., Menimus (Menimus) sphaericus sp. nov., Neomida sarawakensis sp. nov., Pentaphyllus lambirensis sp. nov.; Three synonyms are proposed: Basides flavofasciatus Pic, 1916 = Basides bifasciatus Motschulsky, 1873; Ischnodactylus sexguttatus Gebien, 1925c = Basides trimaculatus Pic, 1916; Platydema sexpictum Kaszab, 1939 = Basides trimaculatus Pic, 1916

Evaluation of fat-free mass by whole-body counter in Japanese healthy young adults

Whole-body counters (WBCs) are special instruments for measuring internal irradiation doses and are usually housed within or around nuclear facilities in the event of unexpected radiation emergencies. As a substantial proportion of total body potassium (TBK) is found in fat-free mass (FFM), FFM volume can be predicted from WBC-measured 40K. We screened TBK in Japanese healthy young adults using a WBC and found strong linear correlations between TBK and lean body mass (LBM) and body mass index (r = 0.97, P < 0.01 and r = 0.47, P < 0.01, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis, following adjustments for sex, indicates that only LBM has a significant correlation with TBK (P < 0.01). These results strongly support the feasibility of using WBCs for estimating FF

Crystallization of Polymers from Solution under Shearing Stress II Polypropylene

Isotactic polypropylene was crystallized in the form of fibrous crystals from solution under shearing stress. The fibrous crystals consist of the oriented cluster of micro fibrils. From the electron microscopy and the electron diffraction study, it was found that the fine texture of this fibrous crystals is also the two component systems which are composed of the central threads with an extended chain character and the lamellae with a folded chain character deposited on the threads, as in polyethylene. Relatively larger lamellar structure than that of polyethylene was observed. The effect of crystallization conditions to the formation of the fibrous crystals from solution of isotactic polypropylene was described briefly. A characteristic melting behavior due to the melting of the central threads with an extended chain character was observed from the thermogram of differential scanning calorimeter

Modeling of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Derived Radioactive Cesium Dynamics in Grazing Grassland

The damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incurred following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 resulted in serious radioactive pollution of Eastern Japan. In some grasslands of this area, radioactive cesium (Cs) content of grasses exceeded the provisional safety standard for use as feed for dairy and beef cattle of 100 Bq kg–1 fresh weight, and the livestock industry has been seriously affected in numerous ways: needing to dispose of polluted forage, grazing prohibitions, declines in beef prices, suspensions of shipping beef to market, and blanket testing of beef cattle (Manabe et al., 2013). The spatial distribution of radioactive Cs in grasslands was complex in various scales (Tsuiki and Maeda, 2012a; 2012b). So it is difficult to estimate actual pollution level in grassland ecosystems. The transfer of radioactive Cs from soil to plant is affected by soil soluble potassium (K) concentration, pH, clay and organic matter contents (Absalom et al., 2001; Tsuiki et al., 2013). The radioactive Cs dynamics in soil-plantanimal system is complex and modeling is necessary to clarify the relationships. In this study, a model of radioactive Cs dynamics in Zoysia japonica Steud. dominated grazing grassland was developed to predict radioactive Cs concentration of grass and grazing cattle