Radiocesium concentrations in invertebrates and their environmental media at two distances from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant during 3-6 years after the 2011 accident.

Activity concentrations of the radioactive cesium (Cs and Cs) were investigated in invertebrates at two sites of moderately high and higher air radiation dose rates, 14 km and 11 km distances, respectively, from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) from 2013 to 2016. At a14-km point, the Cs concentrations of soils in coniferous and broadleaf forests increased from 2013 to 2014, and thereafter declined until 2016. The Cs concentrations of the phytophagous beetle Anomala cuprea (Hope) rapidly decreased by 76.

Analysis of the conformation and thermal stability of the high-affinity IgE Fc receptor β chain polymorphic proteins.

The high-affinity IgE Fc receptor (FcεRI) β chain acts as a signal amplifier through the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif in its C-terminal intracellular region. Polymorphisms in FcεRI β have been linked to atopy, asthma, and allergies. We investigated the secondary structure, conformation, and thermal stability of FcεRI β polymorphic (β-L172I, β-L174V, and β-E228G) proteins.

Quantitation of Oxidative Modifications of Commercial Human Albumin for Clinical Use.

We investigated the quantitation of oxidative chemical modifications, such as thiol oxidation and carbonylation, in medical-grade human serum albumin (HSA) preparations, in comparison with those of healthy and diseased subjects. Four kinds of HSA products were obtained from three major suppliers in Japan. Eight male collegiate students and six healthy male volunteers were recruited as the young (21.

Elevated oxidative stress monitored via the albumin-thiol redox state is correlated with matrix metalloproteinase-3 elevation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and oxidative stress contribute to joint destruction. However, little is known about the relationship between MMP-3 and oxidative stress in RA.

Methods: We measured the albumin-thiol redox state as a marker of oxidative stress, MMP-3, and the DAS-28 score calculated using CRP values among forty-seven patients (9 males and 38 females) with RA.

Comparative studies on the heterogeneity of plasma-derived and recombinant human albumins in laboratory use.

We investigated the thiol-redox state, and the relationship between structural characteristics, such as thermal stability, and functional properties, such as cell growth activity, of commercial plasma-derived (pHSA) and recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA) products. In this study, 5 pHSA products (A1653, A9511, A1887, A8763, and A3782) and 2 rHSA products (A9731 and A9986) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. Among them, three kinds of HSA products [A1653 (an initial fractionation product), A3782 (a final purified product), and A9731 (recombinant albumin expressed in rice)] were selected for experiments on the thermal stabilities, analyzed by thermal denaturation curves, and cell growth activities of U937 and THP-1 cell lines using the WST-1 reagent.