Awareness of disaster preparedness between administrative staff and residents in the vicinity of the Genkai and Ikata nuclear power plants following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.

When considering disaster preparedness, one challenge is mitigating the health impacts of evacuations. Nuclear disaster preparedness has evolved based on past experiences from numerous disasters, including the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reporting on the awareness of administrative staff, medical personnel, and residents in the areas surrounding nuclear power plants (NPPs). This study reports on a survey aimed at gaining insights into the understanding and current state of disaster preparedness and elucidating the differences in perceptions of nuclear disaster preparedness among the relevant stakeholders surrounding NPPs. Interview surveys were conducted from 14 to 16 September 2022 in the area surrounding Kyushu Electric Power's Genkai NPP in Saga Prefecture and from 11 to 13 January 2023 in the area around Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata NPP. The surveys targeted administrative, medical, and nursing care facilities and residents. Responses from 57 participants indicated a lack of awareness of natural and nuclear disasters, challenges in evacuation planning, and a gap between nuclear disaster training and residents' understanding of evacuation protocols. This study highlights inadequacies in nuclear disaster preparedness and the need for a better understanding among residents regarding evacuation procedures. This study identified three key issues: (1) a lack of awareness about disasters, including nuclear disasters; (2) concerns about complex disasters and the difficulties in creating evacuation plans; and (3) a discrepancy between nuclear disaster training and residents' understanding of evacuation procedures. To bridge this gap, it is important to deepen residents' understanding of nuclear disasters, continuously convey the lessons learned from the FDNPP accident, and regularly reassess and update nuclear disaster preparedness strategies.

Enhanced expression of the apoptosis inducing ligand TRAIL in mononuclear cells after myocardial infarction.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family proteins including TNF-alpha and Fas (CD95)-ligand have been implicated in the development of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We studied whether AMI patients displayed up-regulation of another TNF family member, TNF-related-apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We compared expression of TRAIL on PBMCs from 26 patients in the acute phase of AMI with that on PBMCs from 16 healthy control subjects using flow cytometry and RT-PCR. In addition, expression of TRAIL protein on PBMCs from patients in the acute phase of AMI was also compared with that from the same patients 7 days later. Furthermore, we compared the expression of TRAIL protein on CD4+, CD8+, CD14+, and CD19+ cells from patients in the acute phase of AMI with that from control subjects using flow cytometry. Finally, expression of the TRAIL receptors (TRAILR)-1 and TRAILR-2 in human cardiomyocytes was examined immunohistochemically. Expression of TRAIL protein was significantly higher in the acute phase of AMI than in control subjects. Expression of TRAIL protein was significantly higher in the acute phase of AMI than 7 days later. TRAIL mRNA expression in the acute phase of AMI was higher than in control subjects. Expression of TRAIL protein on CD4+ and CD14+ cells from AMI patients was significantly higher than that from control subjects. Expression of TRAILR-1 and TRAILR-2 in human cardiomyocytes was confirmed immunohistochemically. TRAIL on infiltrating CD4 and CD146 cells may be involved in the induction of cardiomyocyte apoptosis after AMI.