Near-Infrared II Photobiomodulation Preconditioning Ameliorates Stroke Injury via Phosphorylation of eNOS.

Background: The current management of patients with stroke with intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy is effective only when it is timely performed on an appropriately selected but minor fraction of patients. The development of novel adjunctive therapy is highly desired to reduce morbidity and mortality with stroke. Since endothelial dysfunction is implicated in the pathogenesis of stroke and is featured with suppressed endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) with concomitant nitric oxide deficiency, restoring endothelial nitric oxide represents a promising approach to treating stroke injury.

Natural radionuclides and radiological risk assessment in the stream and river sediments of a high background natural radiation area Kanyakumari, India.

The Kanyakumari coast is known to be a high background natural radiation area due to the placer deposits of heavy minerals such as ilmenite, monazite, and rutile. The Kanyakumari river sediments that could be the source of the elevated amounts of natural radionuclides in the coastal sands have been studied in this paper. The activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides Ra, Th, and K were determined using high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometry.

Distribution of naturally occurring radionuclides and gamma dose rate assessment in the soils of high background natural radiation area Odisha, India.

A study on the activity concentration of primordial radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K was carried out on the surface soil samples collected from the coastal villages between Chhatrapur and Gopalpur regions of high background natural radiation area Odisha, India, using high purity germanium gamma spectroscopy. The mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to be 231, 1692 and 250 Bq/kg, respectively. The total mean absorbed dose owing to the presence of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K was 1139 nGy/h.

U/U disequilibrium and U/U ratios measured using MC-ICP-MS in natural high background radiation area soils to understand the fate of uranium.

The Chhatrapur-Gopalpur coastal area in Odisha, India is a well-known natural high background radiation (HBRA) area due to the abundance of monazite (a thorium bearing radioactive mineral) in beach sands and soils. Recent studies on Chhatrapur-Gopalpur HBRA groundwater have reported high concentrations of uranium and its decay products. Therefore, the soils of the Chhatrapur-Gopalpur HBRA are reasonably suspected as the sources of these high uranium concentrations in groundwater.

[Study on the Concentration of Radioactive Cesium in the Environment after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident].

The Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 and the resulting tsunami caused the loss of many people and extensive damage in a wide area. Among the anthropogenic radionuclides dispersed from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Cs and Cs have very long half-lives of approximately 2 years and 30 years, respectively, and there are concerns about their uptake into soil and living things. This paper describes a study conducted by the authors' group on radiocesium activity concentrations in the environment.

[Questionnaire Survey of Japanese Medical Physicists on Working Conditions in 2020].

The questionnaire survey was conducted in 2020 to investigate the working conditions of qualified medical physicists in Japan. We developed a web-based system for administering the questionnaire and surveyed 1,228 qualified medical physicists. The number of received responses was 405.

DISTRIBUTION OF GAMMA RADIATION DOSE RATE AND ACTIVITY CONCENTRATION IN SOIL RELATED WITH NATURAL RADIONUCLIDES ON TAIWAN MAIN ISLAND.

To enable precise assessment of health impacts following a nuclear power plant accident, extensive and detailed data on environmental radiation levels are needed. This study was undertaken to investigate the air and the soil radiation levels using a car-borne survey on the main island of Taiwan where no extensive environmental radiation distribution survey had been conducted before. The mean air absorbed dose rate on this island was 57 ± 10 nGy h-1.

[PET Research in Clinical Oncology].

Positron emission tomography (PET) in nuclear medicine is especially used for diagnosis in clinical oncology, and PET/CT examination using F-FDG is very useful for staging and therapy evaluation of cancer. The excellent property of PET diagnosis is that the functional information of cells can be evaluated quantitatively, but it also has the problem that its quantitative value fluctuates depending on image reconstruction conditions and body movements/respiratory movements. In this paper, we summarize the PET research that has been conducted so far in clinical oncology, and also introduce our researches for improve the quantitativeness.

Topical pH Sensing NIR Fluorophores for Intraoperative Imaging and Surgery of Disseminated Ovarian Cancer.

Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) aids surgeons with real-time visualization of small cancer foci and borders, which improves surgical and prognostic efficacy of cancer. Despite the steady advances in imaging devices, there is a scarcity of fluorophores available to achieve optimal FGS. Here, 1) a pH-sensitive near-infrared fluorophore that exhibits rapid signal changes in acidic tumor microenvironments (TME) caused by the attenuation of intramolecular quenching, 2) the inherent targeting for cancer based on chemical structure (structure inherent targeting, SIT), and 3) mitochondrial and lysosomal retention are reported.

Environmental Enrichment Increases Radiation-induced Apoptosis Not Spontaneous Apoptosis in Mouse Intestinal Crypt Cells.

Background/aim: An enriched environment (EE) modifies apoptotic cell death and promotes cell proliferation in the central nervous system (CNS) in mice. However, few studies have examined the effects of an EE on apoptosis in non-CNS organs in model orgamisms. In addition, the intestinal tract is one of organs at high-risk of carcinogenesis after radiation exposure.

Fast and Durable Intraoperative Near-infrared Imaging of Ovarian Cancer Using Ultrabright Squaraine Fluorophores.

The residual tumor after surgery is the most significant prognostic factor of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence-guided surgery is actively utilized for tumor localization and complete resection during surgery. However, currently available contrast-enhancing agents display low on-target binding, unfavorable pharmacokinetics, and toxicity, thus not ideal for clinical use.

DISTRIBUTION OF RADIOCESIUM CONCENTRATIONS OF SOILS IN THE EIGHT IZU ISLANDS AFTER THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT.

Large amounts of anthropogenic radionuclides, such as 134Cs and 137Cs(radiocesium), were released into the atmosphere due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1-NPP) accident and were transported into various environments. The soil accumulations of diffused radionuclides are marked by large differences in their horizontal distributions, and the vertical air dose rates vary depending on the topography, altitude and other factors. In this study, soil activity concentrations of eight islands in the Izu Islands, ~334-563 km south of the F1-NPP, were analyzed from both horizontal and vertical perspectives.

[Review of Cohort Studies Among Radiologists, Radiological Technologists, and Nuclear Workers].

A number of epidemiological studies have been conducted to investigate the health effects of low-dose radiation. The author reviewed epidemiological studies among radiologists, radiological technologists, and nuclear workers. Because the results of many epidemiological studies on these subjects have been published, and many studies have measured radiation doses, there is little uncertainty.

Measurements and future projections of Gd-based contrast agents for MRI exams in wastewater treatment plants in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Large amounts of Gd-based contrast agents are used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that are then excreted in urine. These agents are subsequently discharged into the environment because they are difficult to remove by usual sewage treatment techniques. In this study, changes of the Gd anomaly during wastewater treatment processes were determined by analyzing wastewater samples and the possibility for future prediction of the changes was evaluated based on the relationship between the Gd anomaly and the number of MRI devices in use.

ICP-MS Measurement of Trace and Rare Earth Elements in Beach Placer-Deposit Soils of Odisha, East Coast of India, to Estimate Natural Enhancement of Elements in the Environment.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been used to measure the concentration of trace and rare earth elements (REEs) in soils. Geochemical certified reference materials such as JLk-1, JB-1, and JB-3 were used for the validation of the analytical method. The measured values were in good agreement with the certified values for all the elements and were within 10% analytical error.

Brief exposure of skin to near-infrared laser augments early vaccine responses.

Rapid establishment of herd immunity with vaccination is effective to combat emerging infectious diseases. Although the incorporation of adjuvant and intradermal (ID) injection could augment early responses to the vaccine, the current chemical or biological adjuvants are inappropriate for this purpose with their side effects and high reactogenicity in the skin. Recently, a near-infrared (NIR) laser has been shown to augment the immune response to ID vaccination and could be alternatively used for mass vaccination programs.

[Radiation Carcinogenesis in Animal Models: Part 1].

Exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) increases the risk of cancers, as epidemiology studies of atomic bomb survivors and patients who have received radiotherapy show. The carcinogenic effects of IR are well-documented, although the effects of radiation carcinogenesis change in each organ. The mammary gland is known to be highly susceptible to radiation-induced cancer.

Development of mammary cancer in γ-irradiated F1 hybrids of susceptible Sprague-Dawley and resistant Copenhagen rats, with copy-number losses that pinpoint potential tumor suppressors.

Copenhagen rats are highly resistant to mammary carcinogenesis, even after treatment with chemical carcinogens and hormones; most studies indicate that this is a dominant genetic trait. To test whether this trait is also dominant after radiation exposure, we characterized the susceptibility of irradiated Copenhagen rats to mammary carcinogenesis, as well as its inheritance, and identified tumor-suppressor genes that, when inactivated or mutated, may contribute to carcinogenesis. To this end, mammary cancer-susceptible Sprague-Dawley rats, resistant Copenhagen rats, and their F1 hybrids were irradiated with 4 Gy of γ-rays, and tumor development was monitored.

Exome of Radiation-induced Rat Mammary Carcinoma Shows Copy-number Losses and Mutations in Human-relevant Cancer Genes.

Background/aim: Our understanding of cancer risk from neutron exposure is limited. We aimed to reveal the characteristics of mammary carcinomas induced by neutrons.

Materials And Methods: Mammary carcinomas obtained from female Sprague-Dawley rats irradiated at 7 weeks of age with 0.

Distribution of gamma radiation dose rate related with natural radionuclides in all of Vietnam and radiological risk assessment of the built-up environment.

A built-up environment utilizes building materials containing natural radionuclides that will change radiological risks. While radiological risks have been estimated from the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in soil, it is important to evaluate the changes of these risks for the built-up environment using these building materials. Based on the direct measurements of absorbed dose rate in air and calculation of absorbed dose rate in air from activity concentrations in soil for all of Vietnam which has undergone significant economic growth in recent decades, the changes of absorbed dose rate in air and radiological risks before and after construction of many artificial structures were investigated.

Geochemical behavior of uranium and thorium in sand and sandy soil samples from a natural high background radiation area of the Odisha coast, India.

Owing to their natural radioactivity, uranium (U) and thorium (Th) play significant roles in environmental sciences for monitoring radiation dose and in geological sciences for understanding sedimentary processes. The Odisha coastal area, in eastern India, is a well-known high background radiation area that is rich in monazites and rutile. This area was selected to study geochemical characteristics of U and Th in sand and sandy soil samples.

Chemical Separation of Uranium and Precise Measurement of U/U and U/U Ratios in Soil Samples Using Multi Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry.

A new chemical separation has been developed to isolate uranium (U) using two UTEVA columns to minimize iron and thorium interferences from high background area soil samples containing minerals like monazites and ilmenite. The separation method was successfully verified in some certified reference materials (CRMs), for example, JSd-2, JLk-1, JB-1 and JB-3. The same method was applied for purification of U in Fukushima soil samples affected by the Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power station (FDNPS) accident.