Thyroid ultrasound findings in a follow-up survey of children from three Japanese prefectures: Aomori, Yamanashi, and Nagasaki

We conducted ultrasound thyroid screening in cohort of 4,365 children aged between 3 to 18 years in three Japanese prefectures (Aomori, Yamanashi, and Nagasaki) using the same procedures as used in the Fukushima Health Survey. Forty-four children had nodules ? 5.1 mm in diameter or cysts ? 20.1 mm in diameter detected at the first screening, and 31 of these children underwent the second follow-up survey. We collected information from thyroid ultrasound examinations and final clinical diagnoses and re-categorized the thyroid findings after the second examination. Twenty children had nodules ? 5.1 mm in diameter or cysts ? 20.1 mm in diameter at the second examination; of these, one child was diagnosed with a thyroid papillary carcinoma and the remaining 19 children were diagnosed with possibly benign nodules such as adenomas, adenomatous nodules, and adenomatous goiters. A further 11 children were re-categorized as "no further examinations were required." Our results suggest that ultrasound thyroid findings in children may change with a relatively short-term passing period, and that thyroid cancer may exist at a very low but certain frequency in the general childhood population

Thyroid Ultrasound Findings in Children from Three Japanese Prefectures: Aomori, Yamanashi and Nagasaki

Due to the likelihood of physical and mental health impacts following the unprecedented accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the Fukushima prefectural government decided to conduct the Fukushima Health Management Survey to assist in the long-term health management of residents. This included thyroid ultrasound examination for all children in Fukushima. For appropriate evaluation of ultrasound screening of the thyroid, it is important to understand its reference data of thyroid findings in children in general. In order to analyze the frequencies of specific thyroid findings, we conducted ultrasound screening of the thyroid by the same procedures as used in Fukushima in 4,365 children, aged 3 to 18 years, from three Japanese prefectures. Overall, thyroid cysts were identified in 56.88% and thyroid nodules in 1.65% of the participants. Thyroid cysts and nodules with a maximum diameter of more than 5 mm were identified in 4.58% and 1.01%, respectively, and age-adjusted prevalences were 3.82% and 0.99%, respectively. Although the prevalence of cysts and nodules varied among the examination areas, no significant differences were observed among the three examination areas in the prevalence of cysts and nodules with a maximum diameter of more than 5 mm. Also, the prevalence of thyroid cysts and nodules, especially those with a maximum diameter of more than 5 mm, significantly increased with age, and showed a female predominance. We also identified ectopic thymus (1.95%), diffuse goiter (1.40%), ultimobranchial body (0.73%), lymph node swelling (0.21%) and thyroid agenesis (0.05%). This is the first ultrasound description of the age-adjusted prevalence of thyroid cysts and nodules, or of the prevalence of abnormalities other than cysts and nodules, such as ectopic thymus, in relation to age, in the general Japanese child population. We contend that this can provide relevant information for the Fukushima Health Management Survey and future population studies

Persistently strong oceanic CO2 sink in the western subtropical North Pacific

The long-term trend of the partial pressure of CO2 in surface seawater (pCO2sea) in late-January to early-February during the past two decades was examined in the western North Pacific along the repeat line at 137°E from 3°N to 34°N. The growth rate of pCO2 sea at each 1º in latitude ranged from +1.3 ± 0.2 to +2.1 ± 0.3 μatm yr-1, and the average was +1.7 ± 0.2 μatm yr-1. The growth of pCO2 sea is attributable mainly to the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 in surface water and, to a small extent, to the regional changes in sea surface temperature (SST). The net air-to-sea CO2 flux in January–February that accounts for 40 to 60% of the annual flux remained at a similar level in the subtropical regions (7ºN to 34ºN). In the equatorial region (3ºN to 6ºN), however, a slight increase in the CO2 efflux was seen.An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright (2005) American Geophysical Union

Seasonal and Inter-Annual Variations in pCO2sea and Air-Sea CO2 Fluxes in Mid-Latitudes of the Western and Eastern North Pacific during 1999-2006 : Recent Results Utilizing Voluntary Observation Ships

We have investigated the seasonal and inter-annual variations of the difference in partial pressure of CO2 between surface seawater (pCO2sea) and overlying air (pCO2air) and the air-sea CO2 flux in the mid-latitudes of the western North Pacific (WNP; 25-40°N, 140-170°E) and eastern North Pacific (ENP; 25-40°N, 120-150°W) from 1999 to 2006 using the latest voluntary observation ship data. In the WNP and ENP, the area-averaged ΔpCO2 (pCO2air - pCO2sea) was at its minimum in late summer (-4.6 to 6.7 μatm in the WNP and -32.5 to -20.5 μatm in the ENP) and at its maximum in late winter (51.0 to 59.8 μatm in the WNP and 35.1 to 46.2 μatm in the ENP). The WNP acts as a moderate sink for atmospheric CO2 (4.1 to 5.5 mmol m^[-2] d^[-1]), while the ENP acts as a weak sink (1.1 to 1.9 mmol m^[-2] d^[-1]). Because ΔpCO2 is mainly controlled by pCO2sea, we have evaluated the effect of the factors controlling pCO2sea : sea surface temperature (SST), salinity (SSS), dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), and total alkalinity (AT). In the WNP, not only SST but also TCO2 plays an important role in the seasonal pCO2sea variation, while the SST could only explain most of the pCO2sea variation in the ENP. From 1999 to 2006, pCO2sea increased at a significantly lower rate (0.53±0.11 μatm yr^[-1]) than pCO2air (1.81±0.01 μatm yr^[-1]) in the WNP, and at a slightly lower rate in the ENP (1.32±0.16 μatm yr^[-1]). The air-sea CO2 flux increased at a rate of 0.19±0.05 mmol m^[-2] d^[-1] yr^[-1] in the WNP and 0.09±0.03 mmol m^[-2] d^[-1] yr^[-1] in the ENP, suggesting that the WNP is a stronger sink for atmospheric CO2

Ocean acidification off the south coast of Japan : A result from time series observations of CO2 parameters from 1994 to 2008

Ocean acidification resulting from increases in present and future atmospheric CO2 levels could seriously affect diverse coastal and oceanic ecosystems. In this work, we determine that a significant trend in ocean acidification is superposed on the large seasonal and interannual variabilities of acidity in surface waters off the south coast of Honshu, Japan, based on our repeated observations of partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), total inorganic carbon (TCO2), and pH. Multiple regression analysis of TCO2 as a function of temperature, salinity, and timing of observations shows that TCO2 increased at a rate of + 1.23 ± 0.40 μmol kg^[-1] yr^[-1] for the period 1994-2008, while no long-term change has been determined for total alkalinity calculated from TCO2 and pCO2 in seawater. These results indicate that pH and the aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) are decreasing at a rate of -0.020 ± 0.007 decade^[-1] and -0.12 ± 0.05 decade^[-1], respectively. If future atmospheric CO2 levels keep increasing as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission scenario A1FI, which postulates intensive fossil fuel use associated with very rapid economic growth, a further reduction of -0.8 to -1.0 in Ωarag is likely in the next 50 years. Such a rapid reduction of Ωarag could have negative impacts on a variety of calcareous organisms

超音波法を用いた全身および部位別骨格筋量の推定法と妥当性

The present study was performed to develop regression-based prediction equations for skeletal muscle (SM) mass by ultrasound and to investigate the validity of these equations in Japanese adults. Seventy-two Japanese men (n=38) and women (n=34) aged 18-61 years participated in this study and were randomly separated into two groups: the model development group (n=48) and the validation group (n=24). The total and regional SM mass were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 1.5 T-scanners with spin-echo sequence. Contiguous transverse images (about 150 slices) with a slice thickness of 1 cm were obtained from the first cervical vertebra to the ankle joints. The volume of SM was calculated from the summation of digitized cross-sectional area. The SM volume was converted into mass units (kg) by an assumed SM density of 1.04 kg l^＜-1＞. The muscle thickness (MTH) was measured by B-mode ultrasound (5 MHz scanning head) at nine sites on the anatomical SM belly. Strong correlations were observed between the site-matched SM mass (total, arm, trunk body, thigh, and lower leg) by MRI measurement and the MTH×height (in m) in the model development group (r=0.83-0.96 in men, r=0.53-0.91 in women, P＜0.05). When the SM mass prediction equations were applied to the validation group, significant correlations were also observed between the MRI-measured and predicted SM mass (P＜0.05). The predicted total SM mass for the validation group was 19.6 (6.5) kg and was not significantly different from the MRI-measured SM mass of 20.2 (6.5) kg. Bland-Altman analysis did not indicate a bias in prediction of the total SM mass for the validation group (r=0.00, NS). These results suggested that ultrasoundderived prediction equations are a valid method to predict SM mass and an alternative to MRI measurement in healthy Japanese adults

Antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties of aqueous acetic acid macromolecular extract from Saccharina japonica holdfast and its effects on the caecal microbiota of mice fed a high-sucrose and low-fibre diet

A large quantity of Saccharina japonica holdfast (SjH) is discarded as an unused by-product of the cultivation process. In this study, we isolated a functional fucoidan extract (FE) from SjH as an aqueous acetic acid macromolecular (>3 kDa) fraction. The main compounds in FE were fucoidans and phenolic compounds (phlorotannins). FE demonstrated notable superoxide anion radical-scavenging capacity in vitro, promoted nitric oxide (NO) secretion in RAW264.7 cells in the absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. coli O111, and exerted an inhibitory effect on NO secretion in the presence of LPS. Mice were fed a high-sucrose diet containing no fibre (NF), 0.5% FE (FL) or 1.0% FE (FH) for 14 days. Compared with that in the spleen tissue of NF group mice, pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumour necrosis factor-α were suppressed in FL- and FH-fed mice. Interferon-γ was suppressed by FH. The caecal microbiota was analysed using 16S rDNA (V4) amplicon sequencing. Allobaculum- and Bacteroides acidifaciens–like bacteria were abundant in FL- and FH-fed mice. In contrast, the abundances of Desulfovibrionaceae, which are inflammation- and gut dysbiosis–related microbes, and Prevotellaceae-like bacteria were reduced in FH-fed mice. These results suggest that SjH FE is a functional food with antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties that correlates with beneficial gut microbiota composition