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Collection and cooking of wild vegetables have provided seasonal enjoyments for Japanese local people as provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. However, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011 caused extensive radiocesium contamination of wild vegetables. Restrictions on commercial shipments of wild vegetables have been in place for the last 10 years. Some species, including buds of Aralia elata, are currently showing radiocesium concentrations both above and below the Japanese reference level for food (100 Bq/kg), implying that there are factors decreasing and increasing the 137Cs concentration. Here, we evaluated easy-to-measure environmental variables (dose rate at the soil surface, organic soil layer thickness, slope steepness, and presence/absence of decontamination practices) and the 137Cs concentrations of 40 A. elata buds at 38 locations in Fukushima Prefecture to provide helpful information on avoiding collecting highly contaminated buds. The 137Cs concentrations in A. elata buds ranged from 1 to 6,280 Bq/kg fresh weight and increased significantly with increases in the dose rate at the soil surface (0.10–6.50 μSv/h). Meanwhile, the 137Cs concentration in A. elata buds were not reduced by decontamination practices. These findings suggest that measuring the latest dose rate at the soil surface at the base of A. elata plants is a helpful way to avoid collecting buds with higher 137Cs concentrations and aid in the management of species in polluted regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan, freshwater ecosystems near the site remained contaminated by radiocesium (RCs). Clarifying RCs concentrations in aquatic insects is crucial because fishes consume these insects that transfer RCs into freshwater ecosystems. As aquatic insects are usually measured for radioactivity in bulk samples of several tens of insects, variation in RCs concentration among individuals is not captured. In this study, we investigated the variability in 137Cs activity concentration in individual aquatic insects in detritivorous caddisfly (Stenopsyche marmorata) and carnivorous dobsonfly (Protohermes grandis) larvae from the Ota River, Fukushima. Caddisfly larvae showed sporadically higher radioactivity in 4 of the 46 caddisfly larvae, whereas no such outliers were observed in 45 dobsonfly larvae. Autoradiography and scanning electron microscopy analyses confirmed that these caddisfly larvae samples contained radiocesium-bearing microparticles (CsMPs), which are insoluble Cs-bearing silicate glass particles. CsMPs were also found in potential food sources of caddisfly larvae, such as periphyton and drifting particulate organic matter, indicating that larvae may ingest CsMPs along with food particles of similar size. Although CsMP distribution and uptake by organisms in freshwater ecosystems is relatively unknown, our study demonstrates that CsMPs can be taken up by aquatic insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the authors present a case of a 51-year-old female who was rushed to a clinic due to swelling on the outside of her upper right eye lid after taking corticosteroid inhallation and nasal drops to treat her asthma and rhinitis to discuss the efficacy of the interleukin-4/interleukin-13 inhibitor dupilumab as treatment of igG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). Also cited is the use of dupilumab to treat conditions like asthma, atopic dermatitis, and chronic rhinosinusitis.

To predict the behavior of particulate and dissolved radiocesium (137Cs) in river water, somesoil and land use categories in the watershed should be considered because these may affectthe dissolved 137Cs concentration. This recommendation is based on measurements madeafter the Chernobyl accident (Smith et al., 2004). However, it is difficult to predict thedissolved 137Cs concentration in Japanese rivers based only on studies after theChernobyl accident because 137Cs dynamics differ between the areas surroundingthe Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plants because of climateand soil differences (Evrard et al., 2015; Konoplev et al., 2016). In this study, toinvestigate the factors that affect dissolved 137Cs concentrations in Japanese rivers, wemeasured dissolved 137Cs concentrations in 67 rivers under baseflow conditions 13–280km from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in August and September2017. The watershed area of each sampling point was 3.2–3,600 km2 and the averaged 137Csinventory for each watershed in July 2011 was 4.7–1,700 kBq/m2(calculated from the 137Csinventory distribution map by Kato et al., under review). Land use in the watersheds variedand included forest watershed (up to 99% forest area) and urban watershed (up to 73%building area). To research the influence of water quality on the dissolved 137Csconcentration, we coincidentally measured the main coexisting solutes, pH value,and electric conductivity in the river water. Additionally, to research the effect ofthe 137Cs source, the land use ratio, soil components, and watershed topographicwetness index were calculated from geographic information data published on theInternet. The dissolved 137Cs radioactivity concentrations in river water were 0.10–120 Bq/m3andstrongly depended on the averaged 137Cs inventory in the watershed (r = 0.70, p < 0.01).Therefore, the dissolved 137Cs concentration was normalized by dividing it by theaveraged 137Cs inventory (converted into the range 4.5×10−6–2.2×10−3 m−1) and thecorrelations among these values and each water quality factor and 137Cs source wereanalyzed. Significantly high positive and a negative correlation existed between the normalizeddissolved 137Cs concentration and building area ratio (r = 0.78) and forest area ratio (r =-0.60), respectively. The high concentration of coexisting ions in the water was a cause ofsuch a high correlation because it would impede 137Cs absorption in soil particles because thebuilding area ratio has a high positive correlation with electrical conductivity (r = 0.55). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical features of pediatric patients with lumbar spondylolysis (LS), factors that increase the load during compensatory movements at the lumbar spine, and the outcomes of rehabilitation. Twenty patients were included. Fifteen items were used:fingertip-to-floor distance (FFD), straight leg raising (SLR), heel-to-buttock distance (HBD), tightness of the rectus femoris, the lateral and medial rotator muscles, iliopsoas, tensor fascia lata, adductor muscles, soleus muscle, and latissimus dorsi, and trunk rotation, sit-ups and endurance of the abdominal and back muscles. Initial findings were judged as positive or negative using previously reported cut-off values and were re-evaluated 2 or 3 months later. Positive tests were found for HBD and tightness of the rectus femoris in 85% of the patients, for endurance of the abdominal muscles in 75%, SLR and sit-ups in 70%, and FFD and tightness of the external rotator muscles in 60%. The physical features varied according to the type of sport played, and some patients were refractory to rehabilitation. Only 17.6%, 33.3%, and 40.0% of patients with initially positive findings for HBD, tightness of the external rotator muscles, and endurance of the abdominal muscles, respectively, achieved improvements after rehabilitation. J. Med. Invest. 65:177-183, August, 2018.