School restrictions on outdoor activities and weight status in adolescent children after Japan's 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster: a mid- to long-term retrospective analysis

Objective Radiation fears following Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster impacted levels of physical activity in local children. We assessed the post- versus pre-disaster weight status in school children, and evaluated to what extent school restrictions on outdoor activities that were intended to reduce radiation exposure risk affected child weight. Participants We considered children aged 13–15 years from four of the five secondary schools in Soma City (n=1,030, 99.1% of all children in the city), located in 35–50 km from the Fukushima nuclear plant, post- (2012 and 2015) and pre-disaster (2010). Methods Weight status, in terms of body mass index (BMI), percentage of overweight (POW), and incidence of obesity and underweight (defined as a POW ≥ 20% and ≤ -20%, respectively), were examined and compared pre- and post-disaster using regression models. We also constructed models to assess the impact of school restrictions on outdoor activity on weight status. Results After adjustment for covariates, a slight decrease in mean BMI and POW was detected in females in 2012 (-0.37, 95% CI: -0.68 to -0.06; and -1.97, 95% CI: -3.57 to -0.36, respectively). For male children, obesity incidence increased in 2012 (odds ratio for obesity: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.08). Compared to pre-disaster weight status, no significant weight change was identified in 2015 in either males or females. School restrictions on outdoor activities were not significantly associated with weight status. Conclusions Four years following the disaster, weight status has recovered to the pre-disaster levels for both males and females; however a slight decrease in weight in females, and a slight increased risk of obesity was observed in males one year following the disaster. Our findings could be used to guide actions taken during the early phase of a radiological disaster to manage the post-disaster health risks in adolescent children

Direct guanylation of amino groups by cyanamide in water: Catalytic generation and activation of unsubstituted carbodiimide by scandium(iii) triflate

Guanylation proceeded efficiently upon treatment of the various amines with cyanamide in the presence of catalytic amounts of scandium(III) triflate under mild conditions. The method did not require the guanylation reagents to be preactivated, and the reaction proceeded efficiently in water. The method, therefore, has practical utility for substrates that dissolve only in aqueous solutions, for example, peptides or pharmacologically important compounds. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart New York

Internal Radiation Exposure Dose in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture after the Accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

As a result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) on 11 March 2011, a huge amount of radionuclides, including radiocesium, was released and spread over a wide area of eastern Japan. Although three years have passed since the accident, residents around the FNPP are anxious about internal radiation exposure due to radiocesium. In this study, we screened internal radiation exposure doses in Iwaki city of Fukushima prefecture, using a whole-body counter. The first screening was conducted from October 2012 to February 2013, and the second screening was conducted from May to November 2013. Study participants were employees of ALPINE and their families who underwent examination. A total of 2,839 participants (1,366 men and 1,473 women, 1-86 years old) underwent the first screening, and 2,092 (1,022 men and 1,070 women, 1-86 years old) underwent the second screening. The results showed that 99% of subjects registered below 300 Bq per body in the first screening, and all subjects registered below 300 Bq per body in the second screening. The committed effective dose ranged from 0.01-0.06 mSv in the first screening and 0.01-0.02 mSv in the second screening. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to avoid unnecessary chronic internal exposure and to reduce anxiety among the residents by communicating radiation health risks

Radiocesium contamination and estimated internal exposure doses in edible wild plants in Kawauchi Village following the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Kawauchi Village, in Fukushima Prefecture, is located within a 30-km radius of the nuclear disaster site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). “Sansai” (edible wild plants) in this village have been evaluated by gamma spectrometry after the residents had returned to their homes, to determine the residents’ risk of internal exposure to artificial radionuclides due to consumption of these plants. The concentrations of radiocesium (cesium-134 and cesium-137) were measured in all 364 samples collected in spring 2015. Overall, 34 (9.3%) samples exceeded the regulatory limit of 100 Bq/kg established by Japanese guidelines, 80 (22.0%) samples registered between 100 Bq/kg and 20 Bq/kg, and 250 (68.7%) registered below 20 Bq/kg (the detection limit). The internal effective doses from edible wild plants were sufficiently low (less than 1 mSv/y), at 3.5±1.2 μSv/y for males and 3.2±0.9 μSv/y for females (2.7±1.5 μSv/y for children and 3.7±0.7 μSv/y for adults in 2015). Thus, the potential internal exposure doses due to consumption of these edible wild plants were below the applicable radiological standard limits for foods. However, high radiocesium levels were confirmed in specific species, such as Eleutherococcus sciadophylloides (“Koshiabura”) and Osmunda japonica (Asian royal fern, “Zenmai”). Consequently, a need still might exist for long-term follow-up such as environmental monitoring, physical and mental support to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure and to remove anxiety about adverse health effects due to radiation. The customs of residents, especially the “satoyama” (countryside) culture of ingesting “sansai,” also require consideration in the further reconstruction of areas such as Kawauchi Village that were affected by the nuclear disaster

Quantitative assessment of inter-observer variability in target volume delineation on stereotactic radiotherapy treatment for pituitary adenoma and meningioma near optic tract

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To assess inter-observer variability in delineating target volume and organs at risk in benign tumor adjacent to optic tract as a quality assurance exercise.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We quantitatively analyzed 21 plans made by 11 clinicians in seven CyberKnife centers. The clinicians were provided with a raw data set (pituitary adenoma and meningioma) including clinical information, and were asked to delineate the lesions and create a treatment plan. Their contouring and plans (10 adenoma and 11 meningioma plans), were then compared. In addition, we estimated the influence of differences in contouring by superimposing the respective contours onto a default plan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median planning target volume (PTV) and the ratio of the largest to the smallest contoured volume were 9.22 cm³(range, 7.17 - 14.3 cm³) and 1.99 for pituitary adenoma, and 6.86 cm³(range 6.05 - 14.6 cm³) and 2.41 for meningioma. PTV volume was 10.1 ± 1.74 cm³for group 1 with a margin of 1 -2 mm around the CTV (n = 3) and 9.28 ± 1.8 cm³(p = 0.51) for group 2 with no margin (n = 7) in pituitary adenoma. In meningioma, group 1 showed larger PTV volume (10.1 ± 3.26 cm³) than group 2 (6.91 ± 0.7 cm³, p = 0.03). All submitted plan keep the irradiated dose to optic tract within the range of 50 Gy (equivalent total doses in 2 Gy fractionation). However, contours superimposed onto the dose distribution of the default plan indicated that an excessive dose 23.64 Gy (up to 268% of the default plan) in pituitary adenoma and 24.84 Gy (131% of the default plan) in meningioma to the optic nerve in the contours from different contouring.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Quality assurance revealed inter-observer variability in contour delineation and their influences on planning for pituitary adenoma and meningioma near optic tract.</p

Sequencing and Analysis of Approximately 40 000 Soybean cDNA Clones from a Full-Length-Enriched cDNA Library

A large collection of full-length cDNAs is essential for the correct annotation of genomic sequences and for the functional analysis of genes and their products. We obtained a total of 39 936 soybean cDNA clones (GMFL01 and GMFL02 clone sets) in a full-length-enriched cDNA library which was constructed from soybean plants that were grown under various developmental and environmental conditions. Sequencing from 5′ and 3′ ends of the clones generated 68 661 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The EST sequences were clustered into 22 674 scaffolds involving 2580 full-length sequences. In addition, we sequenced 4712 full-length cDNAs. After removing overlaps, we obtained 6570 new full-length sequences of soybean cDNAs so far. Our data indicated that 87.7% of the soybean cDNA clones contain complete coding sequences in addition to 5′- and 3′-untranslated regions. All of the obtained data confirmed that our collection of soybean full-length cDNAs covers a wide variety of genes. Comparative analysis between the derived sequences from soybean and Arabidopsis, rice or other legumes data revealed that some specific genes were involved in our collection and a large part of them could be annotated to unknown functions. A large set of soybean full-length cDNA clones reported in this study will serve as a useful resource for gene discovery from soybean and will also aid a precise annotation of the soybean genome