Estimation of microplastic emission and transfer into Tokyo Bay, Japan, using material flow analysis.

To reduce microplastic (MP) discharge into the aquatic environment, it is necessary to properly identify its sources and amounts. Here, specific MP sources, i.e.

Relationships among creativity indices: Creative potential, production, achievement, and beliefs about own creative personality.

Although creativity has been measured in various ways (ideas, products, achievements, and personality), the relationships between these measurements remain unclear. The current study examines whether divergent thinking predicts creative behavior (i.e.

Biosynthesis and accumulation of GABA in rice plants treated with acetic acid.

Rice seedlings () that have died from drought cannot be rescued by watering afterward, but pre-treatment with exogenous acetic acid enabled the plants to produce shoots again after being watered (hereinafter referred to as "drought resilience"). To elucidate the metabolism of acetic acid, we treated rice plants with C-labeled acetic acid and traced C-labeled metabolites using LC-MS and C-NMR techniques. The LC-MS and C-NMR spectral data of the root extracts indicated that the acetic acid treatment was absorbed into the plants and then was metabolized to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) by glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD).

Impact of the elder abuse prevention and caregiver support law on system development among municipal governments in Japan.

Objectives: Japan enacted the elder abuse law in April 2006. The present study was aimed to examine the progress of systems development and difficulties with implementing activities in municipal governments for dealing with elder abuse after the law.

Methods: Between 11 and 22 December 2006 a paper questionnaire was sent to all 1840 Japanese municipalities and received 917 responses (49.