Predictors of folate status among pregnant Japanese women: the Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health, 2002-2012.

The International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects, Surveillance and Research reports a rise in the prevalence rate of spina bifida in Japan. We determined first-trimester folate status of Hokkaido women and identified potential predictors. Participants were 15 266 pregnant women of the Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health Cohort.

Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids and allergic diseases in early childhood.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are persistent organic pollutants that are detected in humans worldwide. Laboratory animal studies have shown that PFAAs are associated with immunotoxic effects. However, epidemiological studies investigating the role of PFAAs, in particular PFAAs with longer chains than perfluorooctanoic acid, are scarce.

Ten years of progress in the Hokkaido birth cohort study on environment and children's health: cohort profile--updated 2013.

The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health is an ongoing cohort study that began in 2002. The study consists of two prospective birth cohorts, the Sapporo cohort (n = 514) and the Hokkaido large-scale cohort (n = 20,940). The primary goals of this study are to first examine the potential negative effects of perinatal environmental chemical exposures on birth outcomes, including congenital malformations and growth retardation; second, to evaluate the development of allergies, infectious diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders and perform longitudinal observations of the children's physical development to clarify the causal relationship between these outcomes and environmental chemicals; third, to identify individuals genetically susceptible to environmental chemicals; finally, to identify the additive effects of various environmental factors in our daily life, such as secondhand smoke exposure or low folate intake during early pregnancy.

Glycerol kinase activity and glycerol kinase-3 gene are up-regulated by acclimation to 5 degrees C in diapause eggs of the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

With initiation of diapause, glycogen is converted into sorbitol and glycerol in eggs of the silkworm Bombyx mori. At diapause termination promoted by incubation at 5 degrees C, sorbitol and glycerol are utilized. Although sorbitol utilization is triggered by NAD-sorbitol dehydrogenase induced by acclimation to 5 degrees C, the initial enzyme utilizing glycerol remains unclear.

Removal of heavy metals in rinsing wastewater from plating factory by adsorption with economical viable materials.

The removal of heavy metals from plating factory wastewater with economical materials was investigated by the column method. Montmorillonite, kaolin, tobermorite, magnetite, silica gel and alumina were used as the economical adsorbents to wastewater containing Cd(II), Cr(VI), Cu(II) and Pb(II). This removal method of heavy metals proved highly effective as removal efficiency tended to increase with increasing pH and decrease with increasing metal concentration.

Removal of organic polyelectrolytes and their metal complexes by adsorption onto xonotlite.

Natural organic polyelectrolytes (humic and fulvic acids) and their metal complexes were removed by adsorption onto xonotlite. The removal percentages of humic and fulvic acids by xonotlite were approximately 80% and 30%, respectively. Humic acid removal from solution by adsorption onto xonotlite took place more readily than fulvic acid removal.