Sewage sludge ash contaminated with radiocesium: Solidification with alkaline-reacted metakaolinite (geopolymer) and Portland cement.

This study contributes toward developing measures for the disposal of radiocesium-contaminated sewage sludge ash (SSA). Here, we prepared two types of solidified bodies containing 30 wt% radiocesium-bearing SSA. The material used for the two solidified bodies were alkaline-reacted metakaolinite (geopolymer) and ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Radiocesium in Shiitake mushroom: Accumulation in living fruit bodies and leaching from dead fruit bodies.

In this paper, cesium (Cs) accumulation by the saprophytic fungus Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) was investigated to contribute to the elucidation of radiocesium-cycling mechanisms in forest environments. Although the Cs in the mushroom bed before culture was bioavailable, the transfer factor (TF) of Cs (Cs and Cs) from the mushroom bed to fruit bodies was low (approximately 1) and the TFs of K (5) and Na (1.5) were higher.

Effect of bacterial siderophore on cesium dissolution from biotite.

In this study, the adsorption of cesium (Cs) on biotite and dissolution of Cs from Cs-bearing biotite using a siderophore were investigated aiming to contribute to the elucidation of radiocesium migration mechanisms in the soil environment. Thus, a siderophore was extracted and purified from the culture medium of Pseudomonas sp., and the purified siderophore was used in five consecutive dissolution experiments of biotite samples.

Role of filamentous fungi in migration of radioactive cesium in the Fukushima forest soil environment.

The fate of radioactive Cs deposited after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident and its associated radiological impacts are largely dependent on its mobility from surface soils to forest ecosystems. We measured the accumulation of radioactive Cs in the fruit bodies of wild fungi in a forest at Iitate, Fukushima, Japan. The transfer factors (TFs) of radioactive Cs from soil to the fruit bodies of wild fungi were between 10-2 and 102, a range similar to that reported for the fruit bodies collected in Europe after the Chernobyl accident and in parts of Japan contaminated by the nuclear bomb test fallout.

Complexation of Eu(III), Pb(II), and U(VI) with a Paramecium glycoprotein: Microbial transformation of heavy elements in the aquatic environment.

This study investigated the interaction of inorganic aqueous Eu(III), Pb(II), and U(VI) with Paramecium sp., a representative single-celled protozoan that lives in freshwater. Living and prekilled Paramecium cells were tested.

Direct accumulation pathway of radioactive cesium to fruit-bodies of edible mushroom from contaminated wood logs.

This paper presents the accumulation process of radioactive Cs in edible mushrooms. We here first report the direct accumulation pathway of radioactive Cs from contaminated wood logs to the fruit-bodies of shiitake mushrooms through the basal portion of the stipe. In this pathway, radioactive Cs is not transported through the hyphae.

Effect of minerals on accumulation of Cs by fungus Saccaromyces cerevisiae.

The accumulation of Cs by unicellular fungus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of minerals has been studied to elucidate the role of microorganisms in the migration of radioactive Cs in the environment. Two different types of experiments were employed: experiments using stable Cs to examine the effect of a carbon source on the accumulation of Cs, and accumulation experiments of radioactive Cs from agar medium containing (137)Cs and zeolite, vermiculite, phlogopite, smectite, mica, or illite as mineral supplements. In the former type of experiments, the Cs-accumulated cells were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDS).

Radioactive fallout cesium in sewage sludge ash produced after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

The radioactive fallout cesium (¹³⁷Cs) in the sewage sludge ashes (SSAs) produced in Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident was tested. Five samples of SSAs produced in 2011 and 2012 were tested. Two of the samples contained ¹³⁷Cs (23 and 9.

Endoscopic ultrasonography is useful for monitoring the tumor response of neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Recently, neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT) has been introduced for treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study was performed to investigate the usefulness of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in comparison with EUS findings before and after CRT, and histologic findings.

Methods: There were 33 patients with potentially resectable ESCC who underwent neoadjuvant CRT.

Chemical speciation and association of plutonium with bacteria, kaolinite clay, and their mixture.

We investigated the interactions of Pu(VI) with Bacillus subtilis, kaolinite clay, and a mixture of the two to determine and delineate the role of the microbes in regulating the environmental mobility of Pu. The bacteria, the kaolinite, and their mixture were exposed to a 4 x 10(-4) M Pu(VI) solution at pH 5.0.

[A case of effective multidisciplinary treatment with hepatic resection for synchronous multiple liver metastases from rectal cancer].

A 56-year-old-man complained of abdominal pain, and was diagnosed as having advanced rectal cancer with synchronous multiple metastatic liver cancer (H 3) in July 1999. He underwent low anterior resection and hepatic partial resection (S 1, S 2+S 3, S 5, S 6, S 8) in August 1999. In addition, he underwent hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAI) 6 times at ADM 30 mg+5-FU 1,000 mg+MMC 16 mg between October 1999 and July 2000 for recurrent metastatic liver cancer.

Preoperative assessment of the depth of early gastric cancer invasion by transabdominal ultrasound sonography (TUS): a comparison with endoscopic ultrasound sonography (EUS).

Background/aims: Transabdominal ultrasound sonography (TUS) is considered a useful diagnostic tool ascertaining depth of cancer invasion, but there are few detailed studies on its accuracy in preoperative estimations of depth of invasion in early gastric cancer (mucosal and submucosal cancer). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical efficacy of preoperative evaluation by TUS in early gastric cancer in comparison with endoscopic ultrasound sonography (EUS).

Methodology: A total of 101 patients preoperatively diagnosed as early gastric cancer were enrolled in the current study.

Endosonographic detection of mediastinal lymph node metastasis in superficial carcinoma of the esophagus: assessment by type classification and histogram.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has been shown to be useful for detecting lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer. The evaluation of nodal metastasis requires both objective and subjective analyses. In the present study, mediastinal lymph nodes in superficial esophageal carcinoma (SEC) were examined by both EUS appearance and histography, using NIH image software.

Biologic and imaging diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in esophageal carcinoma.

Background And Objectives: Few reports have described the combined use of biologic and imaging techniques in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis. We prospectively evaluated lymph node metastasis diagnosed by biologic and imaging means in patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Methods: Preoperative ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) examination were performed in 80 patients.

Novel approach for the effective determination of DNA scission site using the Sanger method.

This paper describes the effective determination of DNA scission site using a novel approach that is based on the Sanger method of nucleotide sequencing. The DNA scission site is determined by contrast with the nucleotide sequence of the DNA. Here, instead of the traditional Maxam-Gilbert method for the determination of the DNA sequence, we utilized the Sanger method and studied its effectiveness in the determination of DNA scission sites.