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Abstract The carbon stock function of harvested wood products (HWPs) is attracting attention among climate change countermeasures. Among HWPs, particle board (PB) and fiberboard (FB) mainly use recycled materials. This study estimated carbon stocks of PB and FB and their annual changes over the past 70 years in Japan using three methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines: Tiers 1–3. Tier 1 uses first order decay (FOD), a 25-year half-life, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations database. Tier 2 uses FOD, a 25-year half-life, and Japan-specific statistics. Tier 3 uses a log-normal distribution for the decay function and a 38–63-year half-life of building PB/FB. Japan’s PB and FB carbon stocks have increased for the past 70 years. The latest carbon stock in early 2022 and the annual change in carbon stock in 2021 was 21.83 million t-C and 0.42 million t-C/year, respectively for Tier 3. Tier 3 has the highest estimation accuracy by using decay functions and half-lives that match the actual conditions of building PB and FB, whereas Tiers 1 and 2 were underestimates. Approximately 40% of the carbon stock is derived from waste wood, which extends its utilization.

Abstract A close causal relationship has been suggested to exist between cancer and periodontitis. We hypothesized that the immune surveillance system is impaired in patients with periodontitis, which contributes to cancer development and growth. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between immune surveillance mechanisms and periodontitis in cancer patients. The presence or absence of periodontitis was assessed and the peripheral blood (PB) concentrations of IL-6, immunosuppressive cytokines (VEGF, TGF-β1, and CCL22) and proportion of T regulatory cells (Treg, CD3 + CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 +) were measured. Subjects were classified into the following four groups: non-cancer patients without periodontitis (C − P −), non-cancer patients with periodontitis (C − P +), cancer patients without periodontitis (C + P −), and cancer patients with periodontitis (C + P +). The results of a multivariate analysis showed that the PB concentration of IL-6 was significantly higher in C + than in C- and higher in C + P + than in C + P −. The PB proportion of Treg was significantly higher in C + P + than in C + P −, C − P + , and C − P −. The results of this study suggested that the presence of periodontitis and cancer synergistically increased Treg in PB, which may be one of the underlying causes of immunosuppression and immune evasion in cancer. It was also suggested that the presence of periodontal disease and/or cancer also increases IL-6 in PB, which would be associated with cancer progression. These results suggest the possibility that the presence of periodontitis might synergistically contribute to cancer progression.

Abstract In vitro spermatogenesis (IVS) using air–liquid interphase organ culture method is possible with mouse testis tissues. The same method, however, has been hardly applicable to animals other than mice, only producing no or limited progression of spermatogenesis. In the present study, we challenged IVS of rats with modifications of culture medium, by supplementing chemical substances, including hormones, antioxidants, and lysophospholipids. In addition, reducing oxygen tension by placing tissues in an incubator of lower oxygen concentration and/or applying silicone cover ceiling on top of the tissue were effective for improving the spermatogenic efficiency. Through these modifications of the culture condition, rat spermatogenesis up to round spermatids was maintained over 70 days in the cultured tissue. Present results demonstrated a significant progress in rat IVS, revealing conditions commonly favorable for mice and rats as well as finding rat-specific optimizations. This is an important step towards successful IVS in many animal species, including humans.

The carbon stock function of harvested wood products (HWPs) is attracting attention among climate change countermeasures. Among HWPs, particle board (PB) and fiberboard (FB) mainly use recycled materials. This study estimated carbon stocks of PB and FB and their annual changes over the past 70 years in Japan using three methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines: Tiers 1–3. Tier 1 uses first order decay (FOD), a 25-year half-life, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations database. Tier 2 uses FOD, a 25-year half-life, and Japan-specific statistics. Tier 3 uses a log-normal distribution for the decay function and a 38–63-year half-life of building PB/FB. Japan's PB and FB carbon stocks have increased for the past 70 years. The latest carbon stock in early 2022 and the annual change in carbon stock in 2021 was 21.83 million t-C and 0.42 million t-C/year, respectively for Tier 3. Tier 3 has the highest estimation accuracy by using decay functions and half-lives that match the actual conditions of building PB and FB, whereas Tiers 1 and 2 were underestimates. Approximately 40% of the carbon stock is derived from waste wood, which extends its utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topological aspects of electrons in solids can emerge in real materials, as represented by topological insulators. In theory, they show a variety of new magneto-electric phenomena, and especially the ones hosting superconductivity are strongly desired as candidates for topological superconductors. While efforts have been made to develop possible topological superconductors by introducing carriers into topological insulators, those exhibiting indisputable superconductivity free from inhomogeneity are very few. Here we report on the observation of topologically protected surface states in a centrosymmetric layered superconductor, β-PdBi2, by utilizing spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Besides the bulk bands, several surface bands are clearly observed with symmetrically allowed in-plane spin polarizations, some of which crossing the Fermi level. These surface states are precisely evaluated to be topological, based on the Z2 invariant analysis in analogy to three-dimensional strong topological insulators. β-PdBi2 may offer a solid stage to investigate the topological aspect in the superconducting condensate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topological aspects of electrons in solids can emerge in real materials, as represented by topological insulators. In theory, they show a variety of new magneto-electric phenomena, and especially the ones hosting superconductivity are strongly desired as candidates for topological superconductors. While efforts have been made to develop possible topological superconductors by introducing carriers into topological insulators, those exhibiting indisputable superconductivity free from inhomogeneity are very few. Here we report on the observation of topologically protected surface states in a centrosymmetric layered superconductor, β-PdBi2, by utilizing spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Besides the bulk bands, several surface bands are clearly observed with symmetrically allowed in-plane spin polarizations, some of which crossing the Fermi level. These surface states are precisely evaluated to be topological, based on the Z2 invariant analysis in analogy to three-dimensional strong topological insulators. β-PdBi2 may offer a solid stage to investigate the topological aspect in the superconducting condensate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]