Fukui Prefecture Special Education Center

The marine Tanytarsini genus Yaetanytarsus Sasa, 1990 has been distinguished from Pontomyia Edwards, 1926 by the number of posterior parapod claws and the tapered form of abdominal segment VIII in the larval morphology. To evaluate these diagnostic characteristics, we identified the larvae of the three Yaetanytarsus species using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA barcoding and subsequently examined their morphology. In total, 13 larvae and eight adults were analyzed. Larval sequences clustered unambiguously with conspecific adults, showing intraspecific K2P distances of 0.0–1.7% and interspecific distances exceeding 10%. The larvae of the three species (Y. boodleae (Tokunaga, 1933), Y. iriomeneus (Sasa & Suzuki, 2000), and Y. lamnicaudus (Tokunaga, 1964)) were examined and exhibited similar morphologies. Morphological comparison revealed that Y. lamnicaudus (Tokunaga, 1964) has 39–61 posterior parapod claws, which overlaps with the range in Pontomyia and indicates this characteristic is not uniformly reliable for separating these genera. Here, we provide the first detailed larval descriptions of these three species of Yaetanytarsus and demonstrate that COI barcoding is a robust tool for species identification in maritime Tanytarsini.

Abstract This study introduces a novel and extremely simple way for suppressing the self-absorption effect in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) by utilizing a defocusing laser irradiation technique. It is claimed that defocusing laser irradiation produces more uniform laser plasma due to lower fluence than tight focus laser irradiation, hence greatly lowering the effect of self-absorption in the laser plasma. KCl and NaCl pellet samples were used to demonstrate this achievement. When the defocus position is adjusted to – 6 mm for KCl and NaCl samples, the self-reversal emission lines K I 766.4 nm, K I 769.9 nm, Na I 588.9 nm, and Na I 589.5 nm vanish. Meanwhile, the FWHM values of K I 766.4 and K I 769.9 nm are 0.29 nm and 0.23 nm, respectively, during -6 mm defocus laser irradiation, as opposed to 1.24 nm and 0.86 nm, under tight focus laser irradiation. Additionally, this work demonstrates that when the laser energy is changed in between 10 to 50 mJ, no self-reversal emission occurs when -6 mm defocus laser irradiation is applied. Finally, a linear calibration curve is generated using KCl at a high concentration ranging between K concentration from 16.6–29%. This simple change of defocus laser irradiation will undoubtedly contribute to the suppression of the self-absorption phenomenon, which disrupts LIBS analytical results.

Invasive gallbladder carcinoma generally presents as nodular-sclerosing growth. Recently, "polypoid invasive carcinoma (PICA)" showing grossly visible polypoid neoplasm and histologically invasive carcinoma with no adenomatous components was proposed as a neoplastic polyp of the gallbladder. We herein report five cases of PICA collected from 49 cases of invasive gallbladder carcinoma in comparison with another polypoid preinvasive neoplasm of gallbladder, intracholecystic papillary neoplasm (ICPN). Polypoid invasive carcinomas were composed of four males and one female with an average age of 74years. Polypoid lesions were sessile (height ranging from 6 to 10mm and the largest diameter ranging from 12 to 40mm), and histologically, polypoid neoplasms presented papillary configuration containing tubular and cribriform components with thin inflammatory, fibrotic stroma. Polypoid carcinoma invaded directly and continuously into the gallbladder wall with destruction of the muscle layer. These patterns of PICA were different from ICPN, showing papillary patterns containing tubular components with fine fibrovascular stalks and with occasional focal stromal invasion but with preserved muscle layer. Post-operative outcome was not favorable in PICA but was favorable in ICPN. Polypoid invasive carcinoma shared several pathological features with ICPN, such as intraluminal polypoid pattern with papillary configurations, but PICAs were invasive adenocarcinoma with destruction of muscle layer while ICPNs were preinvasive neoplasm with occasional focal stromal invasion, thus both should be differentiated from each other.

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, artificial radionuclides such as radioactive cesium and iodine were released into the environment. It caused great anxiety not only in the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station but also in other regions of Japan. Some members of the Japan Health Physics Society (JHPS) which is a leading academic society in Japan in the field of radiation protection volunteered to establish the website called “Question and Answer about radiation in Daily Life” just after the accident to reduce the anxiety of the residents about the health effects of radiation. After that, Committee of “Question and Answer about radiation in Daily Life” was established in August 2011 in JHPS, and this activity had been carried out under the responsibility of the society that answered with sincerity against questions from the public as specialists until February 2013. The number of questions on the website had gradually decreased as time passed; therefore, the Committee members decided to end these activities in February 2013. In this paper, following contents were shown; the activities of the Q&A website for about two years, the issues of the stance on our activities, the information related to the website activities and the analysis of Twitter data. Based on the experience and the knowledge obtained from these activities, the issues and experiences that can be utilized in the initial response to emergencies for radiation protection experts as well as other fields are presented.

Abstract To map the distribution of feral oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in Japan, we conducted a roadside survey along 19 km of Route 51 for 10 years, from 2005 to 2014. We found more than 2,000 plants in the first 2 years. The number decreased to 150–305 from 2007 to 2010, and to only 27 in 2014, likely owing to extensive road repairs. Three areas of high frequency were found. One area features frequent hills. The second was where the road narrows, likely where seeds spill from trucks as they decelerate or accelerate. The third is in a fenced patch, showing that if spilled seeds fall in places where they cannot be managed, they can perpetuate. Our survey confirms that feral oilseed rape has nearly disappeared from this road. The proportion of genetically modified (GM) oilseed rape in the feral population was low, and it decreased as the total number of rape plants decreased. Therefore, we conclude that the distribution of GM oilseed rape growing along Route 51 has no effect on biodiversity such as suppression of other species' distribution and introgressive hybridization with wild relatives. This is the first report of a long‐term survey on the fate of oilseed rapes growing along transportation route in Japan.

Self-absorption, which is known to severely disturb identification of the emission peak intensity in emission-based spectroscopy, was first studied using ordinary single pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). It was found that severe self-absorption, with an evident self-reversal, occurs in the resonance emission lines of high concentration Na, K, and Al, and thus it is impossible to obtain the linear calibration curve required for quantitative analysis. To overcome this problem, we introduce a double pulse orthogonal technique in which the first laser is fired in a parallel orientation at a varied distance of 2–6 mm from the sample surface. It is well known that the strong shock wave generated by this laser irradiation temporarily creates a vacuum-like condition immediately in front of the sample surface. This action is followed by a second laser irradiation oriented perpendicular to the sample surface. The sample ablated by the second laser irradiation expands following the shockwave excitation process in the vacuum-like air atmosphere created by the first laser. The obtained spectra of the resonance emission lines of high concentration Na, K, and Al are free from the self-reversal and weakly affected by the self-absorption effect. A linear calibration curve that intercepts near zero point for K element over a wide concentration range is also demonstrated in this study. This simple modification is considered notably helpful in overcoming the self-absorption that occurs in ordinary single pulse atmospheric pressure LIBS.

This paper describes Upper Triassic limestone clasts of the polymictic limestone conglomerate (Imogadaira Limestone) of the Mino Belt in the Nanjo Mountains, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan. The Imogadaira Limestone occurs as an isolated block in the Middle Jurassic mélange unit in the upper reaches of the Imogadaira River, Nanjo Mountains. The formation exhibits a prevailing conglomerate fabric, characterized by dense packing of limestone clasts within a sparse matrix. The Imogadaira Limestone has a polymictic clast association, dominated by Permian limestones with lime mudstone and limestone clasts containing thin-shelled bivalves. Neither terrigenous clastic grains nor rock fragments occur in the Imogadaira Limestone. Late Triassic conodonts and Late Triassic and Early Jurassic radiolarians were extracted from whole-rock samples of the Imogadaira Limestone. Further examination revealed that the Late Triassic conodonts and radiolarians occurred within limestone clasts containing thin-shelled bivalves.

An experimental study is conducted in search of the much needed experimental method for practical and minimally destructive analysis of hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) in a nuclear power plant. For this purpose, a picosecond (ps) Nd:YAG laser is employed and operated with 300-500 μJ output energies in a variety of ambient gases at various gas pressures. The sample chamber used is specially designed small quartz tube with an open end that can be tightly fitted to the sample surface. It is found that ambient Ar gas at reduced pressure of around 0.13 kPa gives the best spectral quality featuring fully resolved H and D emission lines with clearly detectable intensities and practically free from surface water interference. The D emission intensities measured from zircaloy plates containing various concentrations of D impurity are shown to yield a linear calibration line with extrapolated zero intercept, offering its potential application to quantitative analysis. The estimated detection limit of less than 10 ppm is well below the sensitivity limit of around 600 ppm required for the regular inspection of zircaloy tubes in a heavy water nuclear power plant. The use of the exceedingly low laser energy is shown to offer an additional advantage of minimum destructive effect marked by the resulted tiny craters of about 5 μm diameter with 25 μm depth. These results promise the potential development of the desired alternative analytical tool for regular in situ and real time inspection of the zircaloy tubes in a heavy water power plant.