Relationship between traffic fatalities and drunk driving in Japan

OBJECTIVE: The present study was performed to clarify the relation between alcohol use and traffic fatalities in accidents involving motor vehicles in Japan. METHODS: Data on traffic accidents were collected from Fukuoka Prefectural Police records of traffic accidents which occurred in that prefecture between 1987 and 1996. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of alcohol use on the risk of traffic-accident death. RESULTS: The data showed that 58,421 male drivers were involved in traffic accidents during the 10-year study period, and that 271 of these were killed as a result of the accident. Alcohol use was significantly associated with speed, seat belt use, time, and road form. Among male motorcar drivers, the odds ratio of alcohol use before driving, after adjusting for age, calendar year, time, and road form, was 4.08 (95% confidence interval, 3.08-5.40), which means that about 75% of fatalities (attributable risk percent among exposed) might have been prevented if drivers had not drunk before driving. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use before driving resulted in a 4.08-fold increase in the risk of death in a traffic accident. It is suggested that alcohol use is considered an important risk factor for fatality in traffic accidents.     

Organic pollutants in paper-recycling process water discharge areas: first detection and emission in aquatic environment

In this study, eight compounds have been identified and quantified from the samples collected from paper-recycling process water discharge areas. In particular, five aryl hydrocarbons, including a novel chlorinated aryl ether, were identified for the first time as environmental pollutants. In the effluent stream, concentration levels of up to 1600 microg L(-1) and 190 microg g(-1) were detected in the surface water and surface sediment, respectively. The results of this study have raised concerns regarding the organic chemicals used in thermal paper and the environmental consequences of their release.     

Zinc and copper uptake by plants under two transpiration rates. Part II. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.)

To evaluate the environmental risks of irrigating crops with treated wastewater, a study was undertaken to quantify heavy metal uptake by 4-week old buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.) plants during 18 days of irrigation with 8 different Cu and Zn solutions under two transpiration rates (TR). At 4 weeks, potted buckwheat plants were transferred into one of the two growth chambers, offering either a high or low vapour pressure deficit (VDP) for, respectively, a high or low TR. Triplicate pots received one of the 8 irrigation treatments containing one of two Zn levels (0 and 25 mg/L) combined with one of four Cu levels (0, 5, 10 and 15 mg/L). Daily TR were measured by weighing the evapo-transpired water lost from the planted pot, less was the evaporation loss measured from triplicate non-planted pots. After 0, 6, 12 and 18 days of treatment, the stems and leaves of three randomly selected plants were harvested and after 18 days, the roots were harvested to determine Cu and Zn uptake. The treatments did not affect TR in terms of dry plant mass, indicating the absence of toxic effects. Irrigating with Zn, without Cu, increased dry biomass production, whereas the lowest biomass occurred with 15 and 30 mg/L of Cu with and without 25 mg/L of Zn, respectively, because higher applications of heavy metal significantly reduced soil pH. Plant Cu and Zn uptake increased with TR. With higher levels of Cu, Zn uptake by buckwheat was significantly reduced, while Zn had a slight but non-significant impact on Cu uptake. Previously and in a study exposing wheat plants to the same conditions, Cu significantly increased Zn uptake, while Zn had a slight but insignificant negative effect on Cu uptake. The buckwheat roots contained the greatest levels of Cu and Zn, indicating their role in moderating heavy metal uptake. Also, both Cu and Zn had a synergetic effect on each other in terms of root levels, and a similar observation was made in the earlier similar experiment using wheat plants. Irrigating a buckwheat crop with treated wastewater, with more natural Cu and Zn levels of 0.08 mg/L, could be quite beneficial without endangering the quality of the crop and acidifying the soil pH. The most concentrated experimental solutions contained 300 times more Cu and Zn, to obtain measurable differences.     

Stabilities of 58 volatile organic compounds in fused-silica-lined and SUMMA polished canisters under various humidified conditions

Fused-silica-lined (FSL) canisters and SUMMA polished (SUMMA) canisters were compared for the recoveries and the stabilities of 58 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at low ppbv (volume/volume) levels under various humidified conditions using a three-stage preconcentration method followed by GC-MS analysis. The target VOCs included non-polar VOCs (e.g. halogenated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons) and polar VOCs (e.g. alcohols, ketones, esters, ethers, nitriles and thiols). The three-stage preconcentration method was initially optimized for simultaneous analysis of non-polar and polar VOCs because determination of canister stability is dependent on the accuracy of analytical measurements. The method showed good linearity over the concentration range from 1 to 25 ppbv for all target analytes, and the correlation coefficients were higher than 0.9974. The method detection limits ranged from 0.023 to 0.39 ppbv. The test mixtures loaded in both type of canisters (n = 3) had concentrations of 1.7-2.5 ppbv per compound at ambient pressure under various humidified conditions (%RH = 1.6, 8.0, 27, 39, 53 and >99% with excess water present). All canister samples were initially analyzed on day 0 (after 6-12 h). The effect of competitive adsorption of water vapor and polar VOCs on active sites of interior surface was remarkably observed for SUMMA canisters. Polar VOCs had a greater requirement for water vapor to be present. The RH percentages that ensured good recovery on day 0 were RH > 8% for non-polar VOCs and RH > 27% for polar VOCs (except alcohols under the condition of RH > 99%). All thiols were not recovered from SUMMA canisters under all conditions. FSL canisters showed good recoveries of more than 86% for all VOCs under all conditions on day 0 (except alcohols under the condition of RH > 99%). The recoveries of alcohols in both canisters under the condition of RH > 99% displayed relatively low recoveries in the range 25-76% because of the partitioning effect into condensed water. The canister samples under the conditions of RH 8.0, 27, 53 and > 99% were analyzed for the stability test on days 3, 7, 14 and 28 after loading. All non-polar VOCs were reasonably stable in the FSL canisters under all examined conditions over 28 days. However, several polar VOCs that have relatively lower vapor pressure, e.g. MIBK, butyl acetate and alcohols except ethanol, showed unstable characteristics under relatively dry conditions (RH 8 and 27%) during 28 days. RH > 53% was needed to ensure good stabilities of all analytes except thiols with the recoveries of > 80% over 28 days for both canisters. Although the FSL canister showed good recoveries of more than 86% for thiols on day 0, drastic degradations were observed after day 3 and they were not detected after day 14.     

Does the housing market respond to information disclosure?: Effects of toxicity indices in Japan

The policy instruments that provide information on a firm’s or facility’s environmental performance, such as the U.S. Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register system (PRTRs) used in some European countries and Japan, play an important role in encouraging firms or facilities to improve their environmental performance, if investors, consumers and residents recognize their environmental performance. This study uses a hedonic approach to explore how the Japanese rental housing market responds to carcinogenic risk arising from releases and transfers of chemical substances produced and used at close facilities. We found that residents do not perceive carcinogenic risk generated more than 1.0 km away from their residence and that they seem to recognize the increased carcinogenic risk at distances from 0.5 km to 1.0 km away; a 1% increase in carcinogenic risk reduces the average rent by 0.0007%. The distance at which residents perceive the risk arising from such facilities is less than in previous studies. This suggests that the risk perception recognized in previous studies may capture the other externalities in addition to the chemical risk because the risk is measured by the distance.     

Prenatal diagnosis of tyrosinase-negative oculocutaneous albinism by an electron microscopic dopa reaction test of fetal skin

An electron microscopic DOPA reaction test of fetal skin was used for the prenatal diagnosis of tyrosinase-negative oculocutaneous albinism (OCA). The subject was a 34-year-old Japanese woman in her second pregnancy. Her first child, born in 1982, had been previously examined and confirmed to have tyrosinase-negative OCA. The parents requested a prenatal diagnosis and we sampled skin from the upper trunk of the fetus. On conventional electron microscopy, the development of melanosomes in interfollicular melanocytes had progressed no further than stage II. Fetal skin samples incubated with L-DOPA solution indicated a lack of tyrosinase activity and showed that the melanosomes had not progressed beyond stage II. In skin samples from the trunks of three Japanese fetuses aborted for other reasons at 19–20 weeks of gestation, most premature melanosomes were further melanized to stage IV after incubation with L-DOPA solution. A prenatal diagnosis of tyrosinase-negative OCA was made. The parents requested a termination and skin biopsies of the abortus confirmed the diagnosis. This study shows that tyrosinase is normally present in melanocytes of the fetal epidermis at 20 weeks' gestation, and that the electron microscopic DOPA reaction test of a fetal skin biopsy specimen is safe and practical, and provides reliable information for making a prenatal diagnosis of tyrosinase-negative OCA in the second trimester.     

Viable chemical recycling of poly(carbonate) as a phosgene equivalent illustrated by the coproduction of bisphenol A and carbohydrate carbonates

Chemical recycling of waste poly(carbonate) (PC) to coproduce bisphenol A (BPA) and carbohydrate carbonates was studied by selecting glycerol (Gly) and glucose (Glu) as model carbohydrates (CHs). In advance of the reaction of PC with CHs, reactions with diphenyl carbonate were examined as a model PC. In dioxane at 100°C using NaOH as catalyst, Gly was converted to cyclic carbonate hydroxymethyldioxolane (HMDO) at 98% and Glu was converted to the dicarbonate (Glu-DC) at 46%, in pyridine, in addition to the production of phenol. Similar treatment of PC with Gly using KOH as a catalyst produced HMDO and BPA at very high yields and treatment with Glu produced Glu-DC and BPA in 38%–42% yields. Chemical Feedstock Recycling & Other Innovative Recycling Techniques 6     

Ubiquity of parasporin-1 producers in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis> natural populations of Japan

Parasporin, a Bacillus thuringiensis parasporal protein, is unique in having a strong cytocidal activity preferential for human cancer cells. In this study, we characterized parasporin activities associated with three novel geographical isolates of B. thuringiensis. Parasporal inclusion proteins of the three isolates were highly toxic to human uterus cervix cancer cells (HeLa), but not to non-cancer uterine smooth muscle cells (UtSMC). Inclusions of the isolates lacked insect toxicity and hemolytic activity against sheep erythrocytes. Ouchterlony immunodiffusion tests revealed that the proteins of the three isolates are immunologically closely related to parasporin-1 (Cry31A), but dissimilar to the three other existing parasporin groups. Our results provide evidence that the parasporin-1-producing organism is a common member in B. thuringiensis populations occurring in natural environments of Japan.     

Size distribution of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fresh combustion smoke and ambient air: A review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and they mostly stem from the imperfect combustion of fossil fuels and biofuels.PAHs are inherently associated with homogenous fine particles or distributed to different-sized particles during the aging of air masses.PAHs carried by fine particles undergo a long-range transport to remote areas while those adsorbed on coarse particles have a shorter lifetime in ambient air.More importantly, PAHs with higher molecular weights ...     

湖泊底泥中17β-雌二醇的生物代谢机制研究

研究了湖泊底泥微生物在好氧、厌氧环境条件下对17β-雌二醇(17β-estradiol, E2)的生物降解特性,探讨了其相应地生物代谢机制.结果表明,好氧条件,反应24h后约99%的E2从液相中消失,中间产物雌激素酮(estrone, E1)随反应进行浓度先增加后从液相中逐渐消失;厌氧条件,96h后约4%的E2仍存在于液相中, E1浓度先增加后降低后又逐渐增加,再降低直至从液相中完全消失.综合分析E2和E1的浓度经时变化认为,好氧条件下, E2被脱氢酶氧化成E1, E1再被体系中存在的其它生物酶氧化,直至被完全矿化;厌氧条件下, E1和E2二者之间存在一种相互转换关系:E2被脱氢酶氧化成E1,同时E1被还原酶还原成E2,在相互转化的过程中,体系中的其它生物酶会逐渐降解E2、E1,直至最终将其完全矿化.与E2相比较, E1更易积累于天然水域中的微生物体内.