Background: Although high doses of ionizing radiation have long been linked to circulatory disease, evidence for an association at lower exposures remains controversial. However, recent analyses suggest excess relative risks at occupational exposure levels.Objectives: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize information on circulatory disease risks associated with moderate- and low-level whole-body ionizing radiation exposures.Methods: We conducted PubMed/ISI Thomson searches of peer-reviewed papers published since 1990 using the terms “radiation” AND “heart” AND “disease,” OR “radiation” AND “stroke,” OR “radiation” AND “circulatory” AND “disease.” Radiation exposures had to be whole-body, with a cumulative mean dose of < 0.5 Sv, or at a low dose rate (< 10 mSv/day). We estimated population risks of circulatory disease from low-level radiation exposure using excess relative risk estimates from this meta-analysis and current mortality rates for nine major developed countries.Results: Estimated excess population risks for all circulatory diseases combined ranged from 2.5%/Sv [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8, 4.2] for France to 8.5%/Sv (95% CI: 4.0, 13.0) for Russia.Conclusions: Our review supports an association between circulatory disease mortality and low and moderate doses of ionizing radiation. Our analysis was limited by heterogeneity among studies (particularly for noncardiac end points), the possibility of uncontrolled confounding in some occupational groups by lifestyle factors, and higher dose groups (> 0.5 Sv) generally driving the observed trends. If confirmed, our findings suggest that overall radiation-related mortality is about twice that currently estimated based on estimates for cancer end points alone (which range from 4.2% to 5.6%/Sv for these populations).
Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter 'D-shuttle' for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the terrestrial background radiation level of other regions/countries.
In its recommendations for the protection of people living in long-term contaminated territories after a nuclear accident, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) emphasizes the effectiveness of directly involving the affected population and local professionals in the management of the situation, and the responsibility of authorities at both national and local levels to create the conditions and provide the means favouring the involvement and empowerment of the population. In this perspective, ICRP initiated in the fall 2011 a dialogue between representatives of the Fukushima Prefecture, local professionals, local communities and representatives of Belarusian, Norwegian and French organisations to find ways to respond to the challenges of the long-term rehabilitation of the living conditions in the territories affected by the Fukushima nuclear power plant. After a first series of twelve “ICRP Dialogue” meetings between 2011 and 2015 closed by an international workshop, a group of local stakeholders took over and organized a new series of eight “Fukushima Dialogue” meetings between 2016 and 2018. The article gives an overview of the dialogue meetings initiated by ICRP in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident.
NK-cell functions are regulated by many activating and inhibitory receptors including KIR3DL1. Extensive allelic polymorphism and variability in expression can directly alter NK-cell phenotype and functions. Here we investigated the KIR3DL1+ NK-cell repertoire, taking into account the allelic KIR3DL1/S1 polymorphism, KIR3DL1 phenotype, and function. All 109 studied individuals possessed at least one KIR3DL1 allele, with weak KIR3DL1*054, or null alleles being frequently present. In KIR3DL1 high/null individuals, we observed a bimodal distribution of KIR3DL1 + NK cells identified by a different KIR3DL1 expression level and cell frequency regardless of a similar amount of both KIR3DL1 transcripts, HLA background, or KIR2D expression. However, this bimodal distribution can be explained by a functional selection following a hierarchy of KIR3DL1 receptors. The higher expression of KIR3DL1 observed on cord blood NK cells suggests the expression of the functional KIR3DL1*004 receptors. Thus, the low amplification of KIR3DL1 high , KIR3DL1*004 NK-cell subsets during development may be due to extensive signaling via these two receptors. Albeit in a nonexclusive manner, individual immunological experience may contribute to shaping the KIR3DL1 NK-cell repertoire. Together, this study provides new insight into the mechanisms regulating the KIR3DL1 NK-cell repertoire.Keywords: Allelic polymorphism · French population · KIR3DL1 · KIR3DL1/S1 allele combinations · NK-cell repertoire Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher's web-site [10]. Within the human population, genomic diversity of the KIR region is achieved on several levels. KIR gene content varies between individuals who can exhibit 7-14 inhibitory and activating KIR genes [11]. Population studies have demonstrated two major KIR haplotypes: A and B [12]. The A haplotypes correspond to 7 KIR genes, including KIR2DS4 as the only activating KIR gene. In contrast, B haplotypes are more diverse and are characterized by the presence of more than one activating KIR gene and the absence of the KIR2DS4 gene [13,14]. KIR gene polymorphism is the largest contributor to KIR region diversity, with multiple alleles defined [15]. While polymorphism is limited in the KIR2DL1 and KIR2DL2/L3 genes, it is much broader for KIR3DL1 and can even alter NK-cell functions [16,17]. Indeed, depending on the KIR3DL1 allele present in a given individual, the level of KIR3DL1 expression differs on the NK-cell surface, i.e. null for KIR3DL1*004, low for KIR3DL1*005 and *007, and high for KIR3DL1*001, *002, *01502, and *008 alleles [18][19][20]. Two KIR3DL1 alleles can be transcribed in one NK-cell clone, and the proportion of clones expressing both alleles is high in comparison to clones expressing only one KIR3DL1 allele. However, based on the phenotypic pattern on all NK cells, only the nature of each allele is marked [19].In addition to allelic polymorphism, the variability in expression levels of KIR3DL1 molecules on the NK-cell surf...
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