Aliovalent metal cation doping of LaTiAgOS particles for improved photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting.

The doping of photocatalytic LaTiAgOS particles with aliovalent metal cations was investigated. The incorporation of lower-valence Al cations at Ti sites improved the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. In addition, the anodic photocurrent during oxygen evolution was increased upon adding higher-valence Ta ions.

Variable Strength in Thoron Interference for a Diffusion-Type Radon Monitor Depending on Ventilation of the Outer Air.

Thoron interference in radon measurements using passive diffusion radon detectors/monitors is a crucial problem when it comes to assessing the internal exposure to radon precisely. The present study reported, as one of the potential factors, the effects of air flow conditions on changes in thoron interference. Rates of thoron infiltration (as thoron interference) into the diffusion chamber of the monitor were evaluated.

Interactive effect of sleep duration and physical activity on anxiety/depression in adolescents.

Although effects of sleep duration and physical activity (PA) have been demonstrated on mental health in adolescents, their interactive effect has not been studied. This cross-sectional study first examines this interactive effect on anxiety/depression in adolescents. A total of 983 Japanese students aged 12-17 were studied, using a self-report questionnaire.

Support for Patients Who Have Difficulty Quitting Smoking: A Review.

Smoking cessation plays a crucial role in reducing preventable morbidity and mortality. However, some smokers find smoking cessation difficult, despite receiving treatment. This includes heavy smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, smokers with a psychiatric disorder, and female and underage smokers.

The association between changes in depression/anxiety and trajectories of psychotic-like experiences over a year in adolescence.

Background: Recent cross-sectional studies suggest that psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are associated with depression and anxiety in adolescents. While longitudinal studies have observed that adolescents suffer more severe symptoms of depression/anxiety when PLEs persist, it remains unclear whether depression/anxiety worsens or improves with PLE emergence or remission, respectively. In this prospective school-based study, we investigated the association between longitudinal changes in depression/anxiety and one-year PLE trajectories in adolescence.

Investigation of Natural Radioactivity in a Monazite Processing Plant in Japan.

Monazite is a naturally occurring radioactive material that is processed for use in a variety of domestic applications. At present, there is little information available on potential radiation doses experienced by people working with monazite. The ambient dose rate and activity concentration of natural radionuclides in raw materials, products, and dust in work sites as well as the Rn and Rn concentrations in work sites were measured in a monazite processing plant in Japan.

Annual longitudinal survey at up to five time points reveals reciprocal effects of bedtime delay and depression/anxiety in adolescents.

Objective: To investigate the longitudinal relationship between sleep habits and mental health in adolescents.

Methods: Multipoint observation data of up to five years were employed from a prospective cohort study of sleep habits and mental health status conducted from 2009 to 2013 in a unified junior and senior high school (grades 7-12) in Tokyo, Japan. A total of 1078 students answered a self-report questionnaire, including items on usual bed and wake-up times on school days, and the Japanese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

Enzymatic characterization and gene identification of aconitate isomerase, an enzyme involved in assimilation of trans-aconitic acid, from Pseudomonas sp. WU-0701.

Unlabelled: trans-Aconitic acid is an unsaturated organic acid that is present in some plants such as soybean and wheat; however, it remains unclear how trans-aconitic acid is degraded and/or assimilated by living cells in nature. From soil, we isolated Pseudomonas sp. WU-0701 assimilating trans-aconitic acid as a sole carbon source.

Estimating Annual Individual Doses for Evacuees Returning Home to Areas Affected by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident.

To contribute to the reconstruction and revitalization of Fukushima Prefecture following the 2011 nuclear power disaster, annual individual doses were estimated for evacuees who will return home to Tamura City, Kawauchi Village, and Iitate Village in Fukushima. Ambient external dose rates and individual doses obtained with personal dosimeters were measured at many residential and occupational sites throughout the study areas to obtain fundamental data needed for the estimation. The measurement results indicated that the ratio of individual dose based on a personal dosimeter to the ambient external dose measurement was 0.

The most recent international intercomparisons of radon and thoron monitors with the NIRS radon and thoron chambers.

The fifth international intercomparison for radon and fourth for thoron monitors were conducted at National Institute of Radiological Sciences (Japan) with the radon and thoron chambers. The tests were made under two different exposures to radon and two exposures (in two rounds due to limited space in the thoron chamber) to thoron. In these most recent intercomparisons, two new graphical methods recommended by the ISO standard, Mandel's h statistic and the Youden plot, were implemented to evaluate the consistency between laboratories and within laboratories.

Effects of school-based mental health literacy education for secondary school students to be delivered by school teachers: A preliminary study.

Aims: Improving knowledge and beliefs about mental health (or mental health literacy [MHL]) may promote appropriate help-seeking by adolescents who are suffering from mental health problems. We developed a concise, school-staff-led MHL program and examined its effects.

Methods: The participants comprised 118 grade-9 students (61 boys and 57 girls).

Natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rates in man-made tiles used as building materials in Japan.

Man-made tiles frequently used in Japan were collected, and activity concentrations and radon ((222)Rn) exhalation rates in these tiles were measured. Dose estimations for inhabitants living in houses built using these tiles were also carried out. The activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (228)Ra and (40)K in the man-made tiles were 31-170, 35-110 and 260-980 Bq kg(-1), respectively.

Distribution of uranium, thorium and some stable trace and toxic elements in human hair and nails in Niška Banja Town, a high natural background radiation area of Serbia (Balkan Region, South-East Europe).

Human hair and nails can be considered as bio-indicators of the public exposure to certain natural radionuclides and other toxic metals over a long period of months or even years. The level of elements in hair and nails usually reflect their levels in other tissues of body. Niška Banja, a spa town located in southern Serbia, with locally high natural background radiation was selected for the study.

Influence of humidity on radon and thoron exhalation rates from building materials.

The contributions of radon and thoron from building materials to total radon (thoron) entry rates in dwellings range from almost zero to several percent. It is necessary to measure radon and thoron exhalation rates, among other things, to assess the radiological hazard to human health in a living environment. Brick and granite specimens were used to study the changes of these rates as a function of the relative and absolute humidities.

Activity concentration of natural radioactive nuclides in nonmetallic industrial raw materials in Japan.

Natural materials such as rock, ore, and clay, containing natural radioactive nuclides are widely used as industrial raw materials in Japan. If these are high concentrations, the workers who handle the material can be unknowingly exposed to radiation at a high level. In this study, about 80 nonmetallic natural materials frequently used as industrial raw materials in Japan were comprehensively collected from several industrial companies, and the activity concentrations of (238)U series, (232)Th series and (40)K in the materials was determined by ICP-MS (inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer) and gamma ray spectrum analyses.

Methodological extensions of meta-analysis with excess relative risk estimates: application to risk of second malignant neoplasms among childhood cancer survivors treated with radiotherapy.

Although radiotherapy is recognized as an established risk factor for second malignant neoplasms (SMNs), the dose response of SMNs following radiotherapy has not been well characterized. In our previous meta-analysis of the risks of SMNs occurring among children who have received radiotherapy, the small number of eligible studies precluded a detailed evaluation. Therefore, to increase the number of eligible studies, we developed a method of calculating excess relative risk (ERR) per Gy estimates from studies for which the relative risk estimates for several dose categories were available.

Invited article: in situ comparison of passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors at subsurface workplaces in Hungary.

During a one-year long measurement period, radon and thoron data obtained by two different passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors were compared at subsurface workplaces in Hungary, such as mines (bauxite and manganese ore) and caves (medical and touristic). These workplaces have special environmental conditions, such as, stable and high relative humidity (100%), relatively stable temperature (12°C-21°C), low or high wind speed (max. 2.

Occupational exposure to natural radiation in zirconium refractory plants in Japan.

The authors measured the ambient dose rate and activity concentration of natural radionuclides in raw materials, products, and aerosols on worksites, as well as the (222)Rn and (220)Rn concentrations in an unshaped refractory, a shaped refractory, and an electrocast refractory plant processing zirconium ore in Japan. Estimations were made of the effective doses to plant workers. The activity concentration of the (238)U series in raw materials and products in the refractory plants was higher than the critical values (10 Bq g(-1) for (40)K and 1 Bq g(-1) for all other radionuclides of natural origin) specified in the International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Guide.

Activity concentration of natural radionuclides and radon and thoron exhalation rates in rocks used as decorative wall coverings in Japan.

In Japan, many dwellings have decorative wall coverings made from granite, andesite, tuff, gabbro, and marble. However, information regarding activity concentrations and radon (Rn) and thoron (Rn) exhalation rates for such rocks is very scarce. Therefore, samples of the granite, andesite, tuff, and marble that are used as wall coverings in Japan were collected from mining companies, and their activity concentrations and Rn and Rn exhalation rates were measured.

Sorption-desorption characteristics of uranium, cesium and strontium in typical podzol soils from Ukraine.

Sorption-desorption behaviour of uranium (U), cesium (Cs) and strontium (Sr) was examined by quantification of the solid-liquid distribution coefficients (K(d)) using batch method in typical podzol soils from Ukraine. The effect of different physico-chemical parameters of soil on K(d) values has been discussed. Sorption reversibility has been tested by single extraction test.

Radon and thoron doses in kindergartens and elementary schools.

Exposing the Raduet Rn-Tn solid-state nuclear track detectors, radon (Rn: (222)Rn) and thoron (Tn: (220)Rn) activity concentrations have been measured in 7 kindergartens and 18 elementary schools in Slovenia. Diurnal variations of both gases were monitored using a Rad7 device. The Rn concentration was in the range from 145 to 794 Bq m(-3) in kindergartens and from 70 to 770 Bq m(-3) in schools, and the Tn concentration was in the range from 21 to 73 Bq m(-3) in kindergartens and from 4 to 91 Bq m(-3) in schools.

Thoron experimental room at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Japan.

A new thoron ((220)Rn) experimental room (TER) was established at National Institute of Radiological Sciences in 2011 to respond to the appearance of new passive devices for (220)Rn and its progeny ((212)Pb, (212)Bi) measurement. The room volume is 21.7 m(3) with a low air exchange rate, 0.

Database of the radioactivity of norm used as industrial raw materials.

Most ores used as industrial raw materials are imported mainly because Japan has poor natural resources. The activity concentrations in these materials should be investigated to evaluate the radiation exposure of workers. In this study, imported industrial raw materials were collected, and the activity concentrations in these resources were measured by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and gamma ray spectrometry.

Perceived risk of nuclear power and other risks during the last 25 years in Japan.

The present study described the results of three "fixed-point" surveys on perceived risk related to a list of social and individual risk events during 25 years in Japan. Female clerical staff and researchers were asked to rank 30 items related to various types of technologies and human activities according to their subjective judgments on the order of perceived magnitude of risk in 1983, 1992, and 2007. A similar survey was undertaken for Japanese citizens using web-based questionnaires in 2007.