Radiation protection at nuclear fuel cycle facilities

Radiation protection methodologies concerning individual monitoring, workplace monitoring and environmental monitoring in nuclear fuel facilities have been developed and applied to facilities in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories (NCL) of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) for over 40 y. External exposure to photon, beta ray and neutron and internal exposure to alpha emitter are important issues for radiation protection at these facilities. Monitoring of airborne and surface contamination by alpha and beta/photon emitters at workplace is also essential to avoid internal exposure. A critical accident alarm system developed by JAEA has been proved through application at the facilities for a long time. A centralised area monitoring system is effective for emergency situations. Air and liquid effluents from facilities are monitored by continuous monitors or sampling methods to comply with regulations. Effluent monitoring has been carried out for 40 y to assess the radiological impacts on the public and the environment due to plant operation.     

Simultaneous alternating and direct current readout of protein ion channel blocking events using glass nanopore membranes

Alternating current (ac) phase-sensitive detection is used to measure the conductance of the ion channel alpha-hemolysin (alphaHL), while simultaneously applying a direct current (dc) bias to electrostatically control the binding affinity and kinetics of charged molecules within the protein lumen. Ion channel conductance was recorded while applying a 10-20 mV rms, 1-2 kHz bias across a single alphaHL protein inserted in a 1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine lipid bilayer that is suspended across the orifice (100-500 nm radius) of a glass nanopore membrane. Step changes in the ac ion channel conductance with a temporal response (t(10-90)) of 1.5 ms and noise amplitude of approximately 2 pA were obtained using a low-noise potentiostat and a lock-in amplifier. These conditions were used to monitor the reversible and stochastic binding of heptakis-(6-O-sulfo)-beta-cyclodextrin and a nine base pair DNA hairpin molecule to the ion channel. Alternating current methodology allows the binding kinetics and affinity between the protein ion channel and analyte to be investigated as a function of the dc bias, including ion channel conductance measurements in the absence of a dc bias.     

Polymeric micelles modified by folate-PEG-lipid for targeted drug delivery to cancer cells in vitro

A novel technique was developed for the formation of ligand-targeted polymeric micelles that can be applicable to various ligands. For tumor-specific drug delivery, camptothecin (CPT)-loaded polymeric micelles were modified by folate to produce a folate-receptor-targeted drug carrier. Folate-linked PEG5000-distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine (folate-PEG5000-DSPE) was added when preparations of drug-loaded polymeric micelles, resulting in folate ligands exposed to the surface. Folate-modified CPT-loaded polymeric micelles (F-micelle) were evaluated by measuring cellular uptake using a flow cytometer, fluorescence microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy, and by cytotoxicity measurement. The results revealed that F-micelle showed higher cellular uptake in KB cells overexpressing folate receptor (FR) and higher cytotoxicity compared with non-folate modified CPT-loaded polymeric micelles (plain micelles) in KB cells, but not in FR-negative HepG2 cells. This result indicated that polymeric micelles were successfully modified by the folate-linked lipid.     

Changes of aquaporin 5-distribution during release and reaccumulation of secretory granules in isoproterenol-treated mouse parotid gland

Water channel aquaporin 5 (AQP5) is present in the apical membrane of the salivary gland acinar cells. We examined changes of AQP5-distribution during the fusion process of secretory granule membranes into the apical membrane and subsequent recovery process in the mouse parotid gland by administering isoproterenol (IPR) in vivo. We performed immunoperoxidase, immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. In the basal state, AQP5 was localized mainly in the apical membrane of the acinar cell. It was also present in the basolateral membrane to a lesser extent. When IPR was administered to mice, dot-like, vesicle-like and vacuole-like labeling for AQP5 was seen in the subapical regions by light microscopy. By immunoelectron microscopy, AQP5 was localized at both the apical and basolateral plasma membranes in the basal state. At 5 and 30 min after the IPR-administration, acinar lumen became enlarged and small invaginations formed by fusion of secretory granules were seen. AQP5 was positive along the apical plasma membrane and its small invaginations. At 60 min, large invaginations of the lumen were formed. AQP5 remained positive in the membrane of these large invaginations. At 6 h, large invaginations disappeared and AQP5 was localized in the apical plasma membrane. AQP5 was restricted to plasma membranes and continuous invaginations formed by the exocytosis of secretory granules. AQP5 was not detected in the cytoplasm. These observations show that AQP5 does not seem to be endocytosed during the membrane recycling process following the exocytosis.     

Development and case study of trend analysis software based on FACT-Graph

This article proposes text mining software to analyze FACT-Graph, and describes a case study using the software. FACT-Graph is a trend graph which visualizes what kinds of topic exist and shows the changes in trends in time-series text data. However, FACT-Graph itself does not have enough environments to analyze trends although it provides clues for a trend. In order to resolve this problem, we developed the software called Loopo. This software provides the functions of adding the considerations of the analyst as the keywords, and operating FACT-Graph itself such as moving, adding, and clearing nodes. The system also allows analysts to refer to an information source, keyword information, and network information in order to analyze and consider FACT-Graph. In a case study about criminal trends using the titles of newspaper articles between 1987 and 2007, we confirmed the usability of this software.     

Aluminum Electroplating on AZ31 Magnesium Alloy with Acetic Anhydride Pretreatment

Magnesium (Mg) alloys for metal electroplating require a surface pretreatment, i.e., the removal of the spontaneously oxidized surface layer (MgO, Mg(OH)₂, and MgCO₃). However, the use of highly toxic and/or corrosive acids in conventional pretreatment processes has become an issue. In this study, a facile and less toxic pretreatment is demonstrated and applied in aluminum (Al) electroplating. The immersion of the AZ31 Mg alloy into acetic anhydride (Ac₂O) removed the spontaneously oxidized surface layer and formed a thin but stable magnesium acetate (Mg(OAc)₂) layer that protects the metal substrate from further oxidation. The Al electroplating bath is a concentrated diglyme (G2)-AlCl₃ organic solution that can readily dissolve Mg(OAc)₂ to enable direct plating onto a metal substrate. The as-deposited Al layer has a compact and crack-free morphology that improves the corrosion resistance and hardness (2.7 GPa). Owing to the lack of an interfacial oxidized layer, heat treatment led to the successful diffusion of Mg and Al atoms, which increased the hardness to 4.4 GPa. The Ac₂O pretreatment of Mg alloys enables the successful Al electroplating and subsequent heat treatment.