Radiation dose rates were evaluated in three areas neighboring a restricted area within a 20-to 50-km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August-September 2012 and projected to 2022 and 2062. Study participants wore personal dosimeters measuring external dose equivalents, almost entirely from deposited radionuclides (groundshine). External dose rate equivalents owing to the accident averaged 1.03, 2.75, and 1.66 mSv/y in the village of Kawauchi, the Tamano area of Soma, and the Haramachi area of Minamisoma, respectively. Internal dose rates estimated from dietary intake of radiocesium averaged 0.0058, 0.019, and 0.0088 mSv/y in Kawauchi, Tamano, and Haramachi, respectively. Dose rates from inhalation of resuspended radiocesium were lower than 0.001 mSv/y. In 2012, the average annual doses from radiocesium were close to the average background radiation exposure (2 mSv/y) in Japan. Accounting only for the physical decay of radiocesium, mean annual dose rates in 2022 were estimated as 0.31, 0.87, and 0.53 mSv/y in Kawauchi, Tamano, and Haramachi, respectively. The simple and conservative estimates are comparable with variations in the background dose, and unlikely to exceed the ordinary permissible dose rate (1 mSv/y) for the majority of the Fukushima population. Health risk assessment indicates that post-2012 doses will increase lifetime solid cancer, leukemia, and breast cancer incidences by 1.06%, 0.03% and 0.28% respectively, in Tamano. This assessment was derived from short-term observation with uncertainties and did not evaluate the firstyear dose and radioiodine exposure. Nevertheless, this estimate provides perspective on the long-term radiation exposure levels in the three regions.Fukushima nuclear disaster | exposure assessment | Strontium-90 | forest contamination | food duplicate

Synthesized PCs containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA), linoleic acid (LA), and palmitic acid (PA) at known positions in the glycerol moiety were oxidized in liposomes, bulk, and organic solvent. In bulk and organic solvent, the oxidative stability of PC decreased with increasing degrees of unsaturation. However, the degree of unsaturation had little effect on the stability of PC in liposomes. The oxidative stability of PC in liposomes would be affected by the chemical reactivity based on the degree of unsaturation and by the conformation of fatty acyl component in PC bilayers. When the oxidative stability of 1-PA-2-LA-PC or 1-PA-2-AA-PC was compared with that of a 1:1 (mol ratio) mixture of 1,2-diPA-PC + 1,2-diLA-PC, or 1,2-diPA-PC + 1,2-diAA-PC, respectively, the former PC was more oxidatively stable than that of the latter PC mixture in all oxidation systems, although the degree of unsaturation of 1-PA-2-PUFA-PC was the same as that of the corresponding mixture of diPA-PC + diPUFA-PC. The higher oxidative stability of 1-PA-2-PUFA-PC than that of a corresponding mixture of diPA-PC + diPUFA-PC in liposomes was suggested to be due to the different conformation of PC bilayers and the different rate of hydrogen abstraction by free radicals from intermolecular and intramolecular acyl groups.

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Introduction Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) may transition into an end-of-life phase during treatment. Advance care planning (ACP) for this population has not been studied comprehensively, and support for its implementation is insufficient. Objective This study aims to clarify the ACP support needs among critical perioperative patients. Methods In this qualitative descriptive study, semistructured interviews were conducted with patients previously admitted to the ICU. The survey was conducted from September to November 2019. Participants comprised 13 individuals, who were admitted to the ICU for a period of 3 months to 2 years after surgery. Results The average age of the participants was 63.8 years. The average mechanical ventilation duration following surgery was 24.5 h. The interviews focused on the ACP needs from the preoperative period to discharge. About 90% of the patients thought about the possibility of death before surgery and considered giving advance orders (e.g., “I don't want life-sustaining treatment”). The participants discussed inheritance, work-related matters, and household issues with their families but rarely spoke about treatment and care. Although they examined the content of the advance directives, the medical staff was not informed about them. Patients revealed that they wanted to understand the distinction between life-prolonging and life-saving treatments and discuss it with the medical staff, apart from being educated on ACP. Many patients previously admitted to the ICU are unclear about the difference between life-prolonging and life-saving treatments; this is also true for medical staff. Conclusion Patients who had been admitted to the ICU after high-risk surgery thought they needed help with ACP before surgery. Therefore, patients have the right to know about treatment risks; however, medical staff believes that this is difficult to communicate. Thus, medical staff should consider ways to communicate clearly with patients, including discussing the risks associated with surgery.

CD98 is a widely expressed cell surface heterodimetric protein of 125 kDa. Its expression is upregulated during lymphocyte activation induced by mitogen, superantigen, conventional antigen, and a combination of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and ionomycin. However, the role of CD98 in the immune system is not so well understood. The role of CD98 in murine T lymphocyte proliferation was investigated, especially in correlation with the interleukin 2 (IL-2)/interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) system. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against murine CD98 heavy chain (mCD98HC) suppressed the proliferation of lymphocytes stimulated with concanavalin A (Con A). Anti-mCD98HC mAb did not suppress the expression of IL-2Rα. Anti-IL-2Rα mAb, which suppressed DNA synthesis, did not inhibit the expression of CD98HC. Murine IL-2 (recombinant), which induced considerable DNA synthesis by lymphocytes stimulated with a sub-optimal dose of Con A, did not induce CD98HC expression in lymphocytes. In addition, anti-mCD98HC mAb did not inhibit the production of IL-2 by lymphocyte stimulated with Con A. Taken together with these findings, it was speculated that the CD98 system is independent of the IL-2/IL-2R system in murine T lymphocyte activation.

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