X-ray-Fluorescence-Based Screening Method for Uranium in Contaminated Brackish Water Using Graphene Oxide Nanosheets.

In the event of uranium release into the environment due to an accident, confirming the presence of uranium contamination is difficult because uranium is a naturally occurring element. In this study, we developed a method based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for the facile screening of uranium in brackish water samples in the event of an accident in a coastal area. Graphene oxide nanosheets were added to uncontaminated brackish water sampled from different sites to adsorb the uranium present in the samples, if any.

Time-resolved dosimetry with pencil-beam scanning for quality assurance/quality control in particle therapy.

This study aimed to measure dose in a scanning carbon beam-irradiation field with high sampling rate that is sufficient for identifying spots and verifying the characteristics of the scanning beam that cannot generally be derived from the dose. To identify the spot, which is the smallest control unit of beam information during irradiation, effecting measurements with a sampling time of 10 μs or shorter is necessary. The provided dose within a specific time is referred to as time-resolved dose (TRD).

Long-term clinical outcomes after 12-fractionated carbon-ion radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

There are no clinical reports of long-term follow-up after carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) using a dose of 51.6 Gy (relative biological effectiveness [RBE]) in 12 fractions for localized prostate cancer, or of a comparison of clinical outcomes between passive and scanning beam irradiation. A total of 256 patients with localized prostate cancer who received CIRT at a dose of 51.

PEGylation of mRNA by Hybridization of Complementary PEG-RNA Oligonucleotides Stabilizes mRNA without Using Cationic Materials.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery strategies are required to protect biologically fragile mRNA from ribonuclease (RNase) attacks to achieve efficient therapeutic protein expression. To tackle this issue, most mRNA delivery systems have used cationic components, which form electrostatically driven complexes with mRNA and shield encapsulated mRNA strands. However, cationic materials interact with anionic biomacromolecules in physiological environments, which leads to unspecific reactions and toxicities.

Neuroprotective effect of mitochondrial translocator protein ligand in a mouse model of tauopathy.

Background: The translocator protein (TSPO) has been identified as a positron emission tomography (PET)-visible biomarker of inflammation and promising immunotherapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While TSPO ligands have been shown to reduce the accumulation of the toxic Alzheimer's beta-amyloid peptide, their effect on tau pathology has not yet been investigated. To address this, we analyzed the effects of TSPO ligand, Ro5-4864, on the progression of neuropathology in rTg4510 tau transgenic mice (TauTg).

The Emerging Potential of Multi-Ion Radiotherapy.

Research into high linear energy transfer (LET) radiotherapy now spans over half a century, beginning with helium and deuteron treatment in 1952 and today ranging from fast neutrons to carbon-ions. Owing to pioneering work initially in the United States and thereafter in Germany and Japan, increasing focus is on the carbon-ion beam: 12 centers are in operation, with five under construction and three in planning. While the carbon-ion beam has demonstrated unique and promising suitability in laboratory and clinical trials toward the hypofractionated treatment of hypoxic and/or radioresistant cancer, substantial developmental potential remains.

Guidelines for Management of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (Third Edition): Endorsed by the Japanese Society of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

Among the various disorders that manifest with gait disturbance, cognitive impairment, and urinary incontinence in the elderly population, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is becoming of great importance. The first edition of these guidelines for management of iNPH was published in 2004, and the second edition in 2012, to provide a series of timely, evidence-based recommendations related to iNPH. Since the last edition, clinical awareness of iNPH has risen dramatically, and clinical and basic research efforts on iNPH have increased significantly.

National survey of radiation oncologists' practice patterns regarding hormone-naïve prostate cancer with bone metastases.

Objective: To explore radiation oncologists' attitudes and practice patterns of radiotherapy for hormone-naïve prostate cancer with bone metastases in Japan.

Methods: An internet-based survey was distributed to board-certified radiation oncologists of the Japanese Society of Radiation Oncology. Three hypothetical cases were assumed: hormone-naïve prostate cancer with single, three or multiple non-symptomatic bone metastases.

[The Nationwide Survey on Avoidance of Targeted Radionuclide Therapy in Patients with Limited Activities of Daily Living and Those Undergoing Hemodialysis].

Targeted radionuclide therapy with high-dose radioisotopes should be performed in isolation rooms. Patients can be released only after radioactivity remaining in their bodies becomes less than the limits determined by the release criteria in order to secure public protection. Patients are asked to stay in isolation rooms for a few days.

Heavy charged particles for gastrointestinal cancers.

Carbon ion beams constitute the primary delivery method of heavy ion radiotherapy. It offers improved dose distribution, and enables concentration of dose within target volumes with minimal extraneous exposure of normal tissue, while delivering superior biological effect in comparison with photon and proton technologies. Here, we review the application of this technology to various gastrointestinal cancers.

The effects of short-term calorie restriction on mutations in the spleen cells of infant-irradiated mice.

The risk of cancer due to exposure to ionizing radiation is higher in infants than in adults. In a previous study, the effect of adult-onset calorie restriction (CR) on carcinogenesis in mice after early-life exposure to X-rays was examined (Shang, Y, Kakinuma, S, Yamauchi, K, et al. Cancer prevention by adult-onset calorie restriction after infant exposure to ionizing radiation in B6C3F1 male mice.

Glycosylation is a novel TGFβ1-independent post-translational modification of Smad2.

Smad2 is a crucial component of intracellular signaling by transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ). Here we describe that Smad2 is glycosylated, which is a novel for Smad2 post-translational modification. We showed that the Smad2 glycosylation was inhibited upon treatment of cells with 17β-estradiol, and was enhanced in cells in a dense culture as compared to cells in a sparse culture.

Bundling mRNA Strands to Prepare Nano-Assemblies with Enhanced Stability Towards RNase for In Vivo Delivery.

Ribonuclease (RNase)-mediated degradation of messenger RNA (mRNA) poses a huge obstruction to in vivo mRNA delivery. Herein, we propose a novel strategy to protect mRNA by structuring mRNA to prevent RNase attack through steric hinderance. Bundling of mRNA strands through hybridization of RNA oligonucleotide linkers allowed the preparation of mRNA nano-assemblies (R-NAs) comprised of 7.

Radiogenomics Consortium Genome-Wide Association Study Meta-Analysis of Late Toxicity After Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy.

Background: A total of 10%-20% of patients develop long-term toxicity following radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Identification of common genetic variants associated with susceptibility to radiotoxicity might improve risk prediction and inform functional mechanistic studies.

Methods: We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis of six genome-wide association studies (n = 3871) in men of European ancestry who underwent radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

"Redox Imaging" to Distinguish Cells with Different Proliferative Indexes: Superoxide, Hydroperoxides, and Their Ratio as Potential Biomarkers.

The present study was directed to the development of EPR methodology for distinguishing cells with different proliferative activities, using "redox imaging." Three nitroxide radicals were used as redox sensors: (a) mito-TEMPO-cell-penetrating and localized mainly in the mitochondria; (b) methoxy-TEMPO-cell-penetrating and randomly distributed between the cytoplasm and the intracellular organelles; and (c) carboxy-PROXYL-nonpenetrating in living cells and evenly distributed in the extracellular environment. The experiments were conducted on eleven cell lines with different proliferative activities and oxidative capacities, confirmed by conventional analytical tests.

PRELIMINARY TECHNICAL DISCUSSION ON A NEW RADON AND ITS PROGENY CONTINUOUS MONITOR USING TWO-FILTER METHOD.

Focusing on the scalability of Two-Filter Method, we started to develop a monitor for the concentration of radon and its progeny. In this study, we investigated the influence of a high-humidity environment on measuring radon concentration, and the influence of the decay chamber of the monitor on the measurement. In the high-humidity test, the conversion factor of (Bqm-3)/(cpm) tends to raise with increasing humidity.

Development of Methods to Evaluate Several Levels of Uranium Concentrations in Drainage Water Using Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Technique.

As a country's law stipulates the effluent standard uranium concentration in drainage water, the uranium concentration must be determined when drainage water is released from a uranium handling facility, such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The maximum allowable limit for uranium release at each facility is defined taking into consideration the situation of the facility, such as 1/10 to 1/100 of this effluent standard value. Currently, the uranium concentration of drainage water is commonly determined by α-particle spectrometry, in which several liters of drainage water must be evaporated, requiring about half of a day followed by 2-3 h of measurements, due to the low specific radioactivity of uranium.

Induced packaging of mRNA into polyplex micelles by regulated hybridization with a small number of cholesteryl RNA oligonucleotides directed enhanced in vivo transfection.

There has been a progressive interest in the molecular design of polymers and lipids as synthetic carriers for targeting therapeutic mRNA in vivo with the ability to circumvent nuclease attack for treating intractable diseases. Herein, we developed a simple approach to attain one order of magnitude higher nuclease tolerability of mRNA through the formation of polyplex micelles (PMs) by combining ω-cholesteryl (ω-Chol)-poly (ethylene-glycol) (PEG)-polycation block copolymers with mRNA pre-hybridized with cholesterol (Chol)-tethered RNA oligonucleotides (Chol (+)-OligoRNA). Even one or a few short Chol (+)-OligoRNA anchors harboring along the 46-fold longer mRNA strand was sufficient to induce tight mRNA packaging in the PM core, as evidenced by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurement as well as by a longitudinal relaxation time (T) measurement using NMR.

Salvage Carbon-ion Radiotherapy for Isolated Lymph Node Recurrence Following Curative Resection of Esophageal Cancer.

Aim: Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of carbon-ion radiation therapy for isolated lymph node recurrence following curative resection of esophageal cancer.

Materials And Methods: Ten cases with lymph node recurrence after esophageal cancer surgery were treated with carbon-ion radiation therapy. A total of 48.

Use of F-FDG PET/CT texture analysis to diagnose cardiac sarcoidosis.

Purpose: F-fluorodeoxyglocose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) plays a significant role in the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). Texture analysis is a group of computational methods for evaluating the inhomogeneity among adjacent pixels or voxels. We investigated whether texture analysis applied to myocardial FDG uptake has diagnostic value in patients with CS.

Rapid detection of heavy elements in blood extracted from wounds using x-ray fluorescence analysis.

In radiation emergency situations involving persons having plutonium (Pu)-contaminated wounds, rapid assessment of the degree of Pu contamination is required to determine the appropriate course of treatment. Currently, rapid on-site detection of Pu is usually performed by analysis of α-particles emitted from the adhesive tape peeled off the wound. However, the detection of α-particles is difficult, especially in traumatic skin lesions with oozing blood, because of the low permeability of α-particles in blood.

Short-course carbon-ion radiotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A multi-institutional retrospective study.

Background & Aims: Carbon-ion radiation therapy has shown encouraging results in hepatocellular carcinoma patients in single-centre studies. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of short-course carbon-ion radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in a multicentre study conducted by the Japan Carbon Ion Radiation Oncology Study Group.

Methods: Consecutive hepatocellular carcinoma patients who were treated with carbon-ion radiation therapy in four or fewer fractions at four Japanese institutions between April 2005 and November 2014 were analysed retrospectively.

Secondary bone/soft tissue sarcoma in childhood cancer survivors: a nationwide hospital-based case-series study in Japan.

Background: Secondary cancer is the most life-threatening late effect of childhood cancer. We investigated the clinical features of secondary bone/soft tissue sarcoma among childhood cancer survivors (CCSs).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-series study of 10 069 CCSs newly diagnosed with cancer between 1980 and 2009 across 15 Japanese hospitals.