Internal radiocesium contamination of adults and children in Fukushima 7 to 20 months after the Fukushima NPP accident as measured by extensive whole-body-counter surveys

The Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP accident contaminated the soil of densely-populated regions in Fukushima Prefecture with radioactive cesium, which poses significant risks of internal and external exposure to the residents. If we apply the knowledge of post-Chernobyl accident studies, internal exposures in excess of a few mSv/y would be expected to be frequent in Fukushima.Extensive whole-body-counter surveys (n = 32,811) carried out at the Hirata Central Hospital between October, 2011 and November, 2012, however show that the internal exposure levels of residents are much lower than estimated. In particular, the first sampling-bias-free assessment of the internal exposure of children in the town of Miharu, Fukushima, shows that the ¹³⁷Cs body burdens of all children (n = 1,383, ages 6–15, covering 95% of children enrolled in town-operated schools) were below the detection limit of 300 Bq/body in the fall of 2012. These results are not conclusive for the prefecture as a whole, but are consistent with results obtained from other municipalities in the prefecture, and with prefectural data.     

Infrared and Raman investigation of the charge–density-wave state in rare-earth tri-telluride compounds

We summarize our recent efforts in investigating the charge–density-wave (CDW) state of the rare-earth tri-tellurides RTe₃ by means of infrared and Raman techniques. We identify the CDW gap, as order parameter of the broken-symmetry ground state, as well as the collective mode of the CDW condensate.     

Catalytic Enantioselective CH Functionalization of Alcohols by Redox‐Triggered Carbonyl Addition: Borrowing Hydrogen,Returning Carbon

The use of alcohols and unsaturated reactants for the redox‐triggered generation of nucleophile–electrophile pairs represents a broad, new approach to carbonyl addition chemistry. Discrete redox manipulations that are often required for the generation of carbonyl electrophiles and premetalated carbon‐centered nucleophiles are thus avoided. Based on this concept, a broad, new family of enantioselective C? C coupling reactions that are catalyzed by iridium or ruthenium complexes have been developed, which are summarized in this Minireview.     

Selective Growth and Structural Analysis of Regular MnO Nanooctapods Bearing Multiple High‐Index Surface Facets

Although numerous morphologies of MnO nanostructures have been reported, an exact structural analysis and mechanistic study has been lacking. In the present study, the formation of regular MnO octapods was demonstrated in a simple procedure, comprising the thermal decomposition of manganese oleate. Because of their structural uniformity, an ideal three‐dimensional model was successfully constructed. The eight arms protruded from the cubic center with tip angles of 38° and surface facets of {311} and {533} with rounded edges. The concentrations of oleate and chloride ions were the determining factors for the octapod formation. Selective coordination of the oleate ions to the {100} faces led to edge growth along the <111> direction, which was then limited by the chloride ions bound to the high‐index surface facets. These structural and mechanistic analyses should be helpful for understanding the complex nanostructures and for tuning their structure‐related properties.     

Bioremediation of Cd by Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation

Contamination by Cd is a significant environmental problem. Therefore, we examined Cd removal from an environmental perspective. Ureolysis-driven calcium carbonate precipitation has been proposed for use in geotechnical engineering for soil remediation applications. In this study, 55 calcite-forming bacterial strains were newly isolated from various environments. Biomineralization of Cd by calcite-forming bacteria was investigated in laboratory-scale experiments. A simple method was developed to determine the effectiveness of microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP). Using this method, we determined the effectiveness of biomineralization for retarding the flow of crystal violet through a 25-mL column. When the selected bacteria were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, high removal rates (99.95 %) of Cd were observed following incubation for 48 h. Samples of solids that formed in the reaction vessels were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The CdCO₃ compounds primarily showed a spherical shape. The results of this study demonstrate that MICP-based sequestration of soluble heavy metals via coprecipitation with calcite may be useful for toxic heavy metal bioremediation.     

Phase fluctuation of self-phase-controlled stimulated Brillouin scattering waves via K8 glass

As stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) materials, solids have many advantages such as compactness, innoxiousness, and ease of handling. The SBS threshold and reflectivity of K8 glass, a solid material, are investigated. A SBS phase control experiment using K8 glass to achieve coherent beam combination is performed with a self-phase-control technique below the optical damage threshold. The experimental results show that the short-term phase has been stabilized well with λ/33.8 fluctuation during 256 shots (25.6 s), and that the long-term phase change with non-convective K8 glass is much slower than that with convective HT-70 liquid.