Anchietins A-E: 30-norfriedelane-type triterpenes from Anchietea pyrifolia.

Five undescribed norfriedelane triterpenoids, anchietins A-E, along with three known norfriedelane triterpenoids, 21β-hydroxycaloncobalactone, and welwitschiilactones B and C, were isolated from the vine of Anchietia pyrifolia. The compounds were characterized by spectroscopic and crystallographic methods, including 2D NMR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray crystallography. The isolated compounds were evaluated for the cytotoxic activity against HeLa and HL60 cells and for the inhibitory activity against lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production.

Constituent elements and their distribution in the radioactive Cs-bearing silicate glass microparticles released from Fukushima nuclear plant.

Microparticles of radioactive cesium (Cs)-bearing silicate glass emitted from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were investigated mainly using state-of-the-art energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in scanning transmission electron microscopes. Precise elemental maps of the particles were obtained using double silicon drift detectors with a large collection angle of X-rays, and qualitative elemental analysis was performed using high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with a microcalorimetry detector. Beside the substantial elements (O, Si, Cl, K, Fe, Zn, Rb, Sn and Cs) as previously reported, Mn and Ba were also common, though their amounts were small.

Cesium adsorption/desorption behavior of clay minerals considering actual contamination conditions in Fukushima.

Cesium adsorption/desorption experiments for various clay minerals, considering actual contamination conditions in Fukushima, were conducted using the (137)Cs radioisotope and an autoradiography using imaging plates (IPs). A 50 μl solution containing 0.185 ~ 1.

Needle-like grains across growth lines in the coral skeleton of Porites lobata.

The skeletal texture and crystal morphology of the massive reef-building coral Porites lobata were observed from the nano- to micrometer scale using an analytical transmission electron microscope (ATEM). The skeletal texture consists of centers of calcification (COCs) and fiber area. Fiber areas contain bundles of needle-like aragonite crystals that are elongated along the crystallographic c-axis and are several hundred nanometers to one micrometer in width and several micrometers in length.

[In vitro induction of chlorhexidine- and benzalkonium-resistance in clinically isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa].

A study was made on the MIC distributions of chlorhexidine and benzalkonium chloride against clinically isolated 178 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to find out the existence of strains resistant to those disinfectants and also on the in vitro induction of resistance to both drugs. The MIC of chlorhexidine gluconate was found to be distributed from 78 to 625 micrograms/ml with a single peak at 312 micrograms/ml. All 178 strains of clinical isolates were sensitive to chlorhexidine and none could be induced to become chlorhexidine resistant in vitro, suggesting that P.