Effect of Copper Antifouling Paint on Marine Degradation of Polypropylene: Uneven Distribution of Microdebris between Nagasaki Port and Goto Island, Japan.

Microplastics (MP) encompass not only plastic products but also paint particles. Marine microdebris, including MP, was retrieved from five sampling stations spanning Nagasaki-Goto island and was classified into six types, primarily consisting of MP (A), Si-based (B), and Cu-based (C) paint particles. Type-A particles, i.e., MP, were exceedingly small, with 74% of them having a long diameter of 25 µm or less. The vertical distribution of type C, containing cuprous oxide, exhibited no depth dependence, with its dominant size being less than 7 µm. It was considered that the presence of type C was associated with a natural phenomenon of MP loss. To clarify this, polypropylene (PP) samples containing cuprous oxide were prepared, and their accelerated degradation behavior was studied using a novel enhanced degradation method employing a sulfate ion radical as an initiator. Infrared spectroscopy revealed the formation of a copper soap compound in seawater. Scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis indicated that the chemical reactions between Cl- and cuprous oxide produced Cu+ ions. The acceleration of degradation induced by the copper soap formed was studied through the changes in the number of PP chain scissions, revealing that the presence of type-C accelerated MP degradation.

Evaluation of the Mechanism of Phosphate Removal Using Oyster Shell Powder in Aqueous Environments.

Eutrophication is caused by the inflow of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, into closed waterbodies from wastewater. Calcination of oyster shells greatly increases their capacity for phosphate removal; however, information available on this mechanism and the capacity for phosphate removal under different initial pH values and temperatures is less. Herein, we investigated the utilization of oyster shells for phosphate removal under different pH and temperature conditions. Oyster shell powder (OSP) was calcined in a muffle furnace at temperature ranges of 200-1000 °C. Each OSP sample was added to a phosphate solution and the suspension was shaken under different pH and temperature conditions. The main component of OSP changed from CaCO3 to CaO after calcination at approx. 800 °C. The amount of phosphate removal by the calcined OSPs at 800 and 1000 °C was higher than that removal by the other OSPs. Further, the amount of calcium elution from the OSPs calcined at 800 and 1000 °C was higher than that elution from the other OSPs. This was because the solubility of CaO was higher than that of CaCO3. The amount of phosphate removal by the OSP and calcined OSPs at 200-600 °C was the highest at pH 5-7, and increased with increasing reaction temperature. These findings suggested that the mechanism of phosphate removal may involve adsorption in the OSP and OSPs calcined at 200-600 °C, whereas it is associated with coagulation settling and adsorption in the OSPs calcined at 800 and 1000 °C.

Relationship of masked obesity to self-reported lifestyle habits, ideal body image, and anthropometric measures in Japanese university students: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Masked obesity (MO) is defined as a normal body mass index (BMI) with a high body fat percentage (%BF), and is associated with the onset of lifestyle-related diseases. However, little is known about the current status of MO. Therefore, we investigated the relationship of MO to physical characteristics and lifestyle habits among Japanese university students. METHODS: Between 2011 and 2019, we conducted a survey of 10,168 males and 4,954 females with BMI within the normal range (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m2). MO was defined as %BF ≥ 20% in males and %BF ≥ 30% in females. Students completed a questionnaire containing items about lifestyle habits. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured, and hypertension was defined as systolic above 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships as follows: the relationship of masked obesity to self-reported lifestyle habits, ideal body image, and anthropometric measures; the relationship between hypertension and body indices. RESULTS: The proportion of students with MO in 2019 was 13.4% in males and 25.8% in females, and the proportion of females increased over time. MO was associated with desire for weight loss (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.76, 1.53-2.02), intake of five macronutrients (0.79, 0.67-0.93), rice and wheat intakes (1.22, 1.01-1.47), sleep duration of < 7hr (0.85, 0.74-0.98), and exercise habit (0.71, 0.63-0.81) in males; and with balanced diet intake (0.79, 0.64-0.99) and exercise habit (0.65, 0.51-0.82) in females. There was a significant association of MO with hypertension in males (1.29, 1.09-1.53). CONCLUSION: The percentage of female students with MO increased during the study period, and in males, MO may be a risk factor for hypertension. These results suggest that intervention for MO is needed in Japanese university students.

Adverse event profiles of microscopic colitis in the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database.

Microscopic colitis (MC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that is characterized by nonbloody watery diarrhea. The epidemiology in Japan differs from that in Europe and the United States, but little information is available from epidemiological surveys of MC in Japan. This study aimed to provide a new hypothesis regarding the factors associated with MC by using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report (JADER) database. "Colitis microscopic" (preferred term code: 10056979) cases entered into the JADER database between 2004 and 2021 were analyzed. Of the 246,997 cases in the JADER database, 161 cases were observed to be associated with MC. A Weibull analysis revealed that the median onset duration of MC (interquartile range) was 72.5 (36.0‒125.5) days in lansoprazole users and 116.0 (60.3‒1089.0) days in aspirin users. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that MC was significantly associated with the female sex, as well as ages ≥ 60 years and drugs including lansoprazole, aspirin, and nicorandil. A subset analysis revealed that MC was positively associated with obesity in female cases. Our study cannot demonstrate a causal inference between MC and each drug; however, the findings suggest that MC was associated with nicorandil as well as with lansoprazole and aspirin.

Relationship between Hay Fever and Mineral Concentration in the Hair, Lifestyle or Aging.

It is important to ingest just proportions of minerals to prevent disease, but these minerals are also secreted into the hair. Meanwhile, the number of hay fever patients in Japan is increasing, causing an increase in national medical expenses. In this study, we investigated the relationship between hay fever and mineral concentrations in hair to obtain findings on the risk of developing pollen allergies. A questionnaire survey was conducted for 275 men and 977 women on their lifestyle habits and ten kinds of mineral concentrations present in their hair were measured with subsequent analysis using nominal logistic regression analysis. The results indicated that half the patients in each age group had hay fever, with no significant difference between hay fever and aging, exercise habits, sleep and dietary rhythms. On the other hand, there was a significant difference between hay fever and mineral concentrations in the hair, and in men with hay fever, iron (odds ratio: 0.55, p<0.05) was low, while in women calcium (odds ratio: 0.67, p<0.05), chromium (odds ratio: 0.46, p<0.001), cadmium (odds ratio: 0.68, p<0.01) were low and selenium (odds ratio: 1.78, p<0.01) was high. These results, suggest that measurements mineral concentrations in hair are indicators of hay fever risk.