A doxycycline-inducible CYP3A4-Caco-2 cell line as a model for evaluating safety of aflatoxin B1 in the human intestine.

Exposure of humans to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) via ingestion of contaminated agricultural products is a major concern for human health throughout the world because epoxidized AFB1, biotransformed from AFB1 by hepatic CYP3A4, is strongly hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic. Intestinal epithelial cells serve as a physical and physiological barrier against xenobiotics via their intercellular tight junction (TJ) seals and the metabolizing enzyme CYP3A4. However, the effect of AFB1 on the intestinal barrier remains unclear. Here, we investigated the influence of AFB1 on these physical and physiological intestinal barriers by means of an in vitro human intestinal model utilizing doxycycline-inducible CYP3A4-expressing Caco-2 cells, in which CYP3A4 activity is comparable to that in the adult human intestine. Cellular toxicity of AFB1 in induced Caco-2 cells (i.e., cells in which expression of CYP3A4 is induced by doxycycline) was approximately 5 times that of uninduced Caco-2 cells. Exposure to 16 µM AFB1 did not decrease the transepithelial electric resistance (TEER; a measure of TJ barrier integrity) in monolayers of uninduced Caco-2 cells to 95.8 % of that in vehicle-treated cells; in contrast, in induced Caco-2 cells, TEER was reduced to 28.8 %. Exposure to 16 µM AFB1 increased paracellular permeation of 4- and 20-kDa dextrans (paracellular permeation markers) through monolayers of induced Caco-2 cells to 5.4 and 5.2 times that through uninduced Caco-2 cells. These results together show that ingested AFB1 can modulate the intestinal barrier, and that inducible CYP3A4-expressing Caco-2 cells are a promising tool for evaluating the safety of food contaminants in the human intestine.

Effects of three iron material treatments on hydrogen sulfide release from anoxic sediments.

In eutrophic coastal regions, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a harmful material released from sediments under anoxic conditions. To suppress its release, we conducted laboratory experiments and assessed the impacts of treatment with three iron materials (Fe, Fe2O3, and FeOOH), focusing on the area-specific H2S release rate. These materials qualitatively exhibited a substantial suppression of H2S release; however, smaller treatment levels (<150 mmol m-2) were ineffective. FeOOH exhibited the best performance, followed by Fe2O3, and Fe. These differences were likely caused by variations in the oxidation or reduction potential of the materials and their reaction rates with H2S. A simplified model suggested that the required minimum Fe2+ concentration was determined using the H2S diffusivity, reaction rate constant, and treatment penetration depth. As the former two are physical constants, the latter must control the H2S release rate. Iron materials were experimentally confirmed to persist for over three weeks, and the effective treatment level was theoretically estimated as being capable of suppressing H2S release for more than a year. Our results will contribute to coastal environmental management and particularly benefit port authorities who manage enclosed and eutrophicated harbors and navigation channels where slag application should be avoided.

Integration of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with regional coastal ecosystem model to simulate the hypoxic conditions.

Regional ocean models require accurate weather data for atmospheric boundary conditions such as air temperature, wind speed, and direction to simulate the coastal environment. In this study, a numerical modelling framework was developed to simulate different physical, chemical, and biological processes in a semi-enclosed coastal ecosystem by integrating the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with a 3D hydrodynamic and ecosystem model (Ise Bay Simulator). The final analytic data of the global forecast system released by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction with a 0.25° horizontal resolution was used as an atmospheric boundary condition for the WRF model to dynamically downscale the weather information to a spatial and temporal fine resolution. This modelling framework proved to be an effective tool to simulate the physical and biogeochemical processes in a semi-enclosed coastal embayment. The WRF-driven ecosystem simulation and recorded Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System (AMeDAS)-driven ecosystem simulation results were further compared with the observed data. The performance of both the recorded AMeDAS and WRF generated weather datasets were equally good, and more than 80% of the variation in bottom dissolved oxygen for shallow water and more than 90% for deep water was reproduced.

Large-scale experiment to assess the collision impact force from a tsunami wave on a drifting castaway.

Although most fatalities in tsunami-related disasters are conjectured to be a result of drowning, injury risk owing to collision with other floating debris or fixed buildings has not been studied sufficiently. In this study, the impact force corresponding to the collision of a concrete block and drifting test body in a tsunami wave was experimentally investigated, and the injury risk was evaluated in terms of different biomechanical indexes; specifically, maximum acceleration, head injury criterion, and impact force. The injury risk indicated by the considered indexes was reasonably low. It was noted that if a healthy adult collided with a concrete wall under a velocity of 2.5 m s-1 and wave height of 0.59 m, the adult would likely not be critically injured. However, a similar collision impact poses considerable risk to infants and children, as well as the more sensitive regions of the adult body. Moreover, in the case of large tsunamis, such as that in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, a drifting person may be at considerable risk for injuries. The collision impact occurring on the tip of a surge flow is notably significantly larger than that on a bore flow. This is because a surge flow, which arrives at the concrete block earlier than a bore flow, forms a certain water layer along the concrete wall and that layer acts as a cushion for any body drifting on the bore flow, indicating the importance of such a buffering effect. These findings can provide practical guidance regarding the formulation of effective tsunami-protection measures.

Potential technique for improving the survival of victims of tsunamis.

We investigated a method for surviving tsunamis that involved the use of personal flotation devices (PFDs). In our work, we succeeded in numerically demonstrating that the heads of all the dummies wearing PFDs remained on the surface and were not dragged underwater after the artificial tsunami wave hit them. In contrast, the heads of all the dummies not wearing PFDs were drawn underwater immediately; these dummies were subsequently entrapped in a vortex. The results of our series of experiments are important as a first step to preventing the tragedies caused by tsunamis.