Correction: Kato et al. Area Dose-Response and Radiation Origin of Childhood Thyroid Cancer in Fukushima Based on Thyroid Dose in UNSCEAR 2020/2021: High 131I Exposure Comparable to Chernobyl. Cancers 2023, 15, 4583.

The authors wish to revise two points in Sections 3 [...].

Area Dose-Response and Radiation Origin of Childhood Thyroid Cancer in Fukushima Based on Thyroid Dose in UNSCEAR 2020/2021: High 131I Exposure Comparable to Chernobyl.

The FMU and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) concluded that the high incidence of thyroid cancer after the Fukushima nuclear accident was not the result of radiation exposure, but rather might have been overdiagnosis based on the low thyroid dose estimated in the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report. In this study, the origin of increased PTC in Fukushima was examined based on the thyroid dose estimated by UNSCEAR. The dose-response relationship of the incidence rate per person-years (PY) was analyzed for four areas in Fukushima prefecture via regression analysis. The linear response of the annual incidence rates to thyroid dose in the first six years showed that the dominant origin of childhood thyroid cancer was radiation exposure. Excess absolute risk (EAR) proportionally increased with thyroid dose, with an EAR/104 PY Gy of 143 (95%CI: 122, 165) in the second TUE (p < 0.001), which is approximately 50-100 times higher than the EAR/104 PY Gy ≒ 2.3 observed after the Chernobyl accident. This suggests an underestimation of the thyroid dose by UNSCEAR of approximately 1/50~1/100 compared with the thyroid dose for Chernobyl. The increased childhood thyroid cancer in Fukushima was found to arise from radioactive iodine exposure, which was comparable to that in Chernobyl.

Inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor pathway suppresses tubulointerstitial injury in renal congestion.

OBJECTIVE: Increased central venous pressure in congestive heart failure is responsible for renal dysfunction, which is mediated by renal venous congestion. Pericyte detachment from capillaries after renal congestion might trigger renal fibrogenesis via pericyte-myofibroblast transition (PMT). Platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs), which are PMT indicators, were upregulated in our recently established renal congestion model. This study was designed to determine whether inhibition of the PDGFR pathway could suppress tubulointerstitial injury after renal congestion. METHODS: The inferior vena cava between the renal veins was ligated in male Sprague-Dawley rats, inducing congestion only in the left kidney. Imatinib mesylate or vehicle were injected intraperitoneally daily from 1 day before the operation. Three days after the surgery, the effect of imatinib was assessed by physiological, morphological and molecular methods. The inhibition of PDGFRs against transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGFB1)-induced fibrosis was also tested in human pericyte cell culture. RESULTS: Increased kidney weight and renal fibrosis were observed in the congested kidneys. Upstream inferior vena cava (IVC) pressure immediately increased to around 20 mmHg after IVC ligation in both the imatinib and saline groups. Although vasa recta dilatation and pericyte detachment under renal congestion were maintained, imatinib ameliorated the increased kidney weight and suppressed renal fibrosis around the vasa recta. TGFB1-induced elevation of fibrosis markers in human pericytes was suppressed by PDGFR inhibitors at the transcriptional level. CONCLUSION: The activation of the PDGFR pathway after renal congestion was responsible for renal congestion-induced fibrosis. This mechanism could be a candidate therapeutic target for renoprotection against renal congestion-induced tubulointerstitial injury.

Impact of preoperative factors on catheter position in peritoneal dialysis: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter malposition is one of the complications of renal replacement therapy. This study aimed to determine the preoperative factors that cause PD catheter malposition. METHODS: The prospective cohort study included patients who underwent PD catheter insertion surgery and had preoperative and postoperative computed tomography scans. We compared preoperative and intraoperative factors between the lower depth catheter group (group L) and upper depth catheter group (group U), and preoperative and intraoperative factors between the posterior catheter group (group P) and anterior catheter group (group A). In addition, PD catheter obstruction requiring surgical intervention in each group was followed up for 1 year. RESULTS: A total of 150 patients were categorized into groups L (n = 77) and U (n = 73), or groups P (n = 107) and A (n = 43). Body mass index (BMI; P = 0.02), subcutaneous fat area (P = 0.02), and rate of previous abdominal surgery (P = 0.01) were significantly lower in group L than in group U. In terms of anterior catheter position, females had more-anterior catheter positions. The time to PD catheter obstruction requiring surgical intervention (P = 0.03) was significantly lower in group U than in group L. CONCLUSIONS: High BMI, high subcutaneous fat area, high subcutaneous fat thickness, and previous abdominal surgery were identified as preoperative factors that cause the PD catheter to have an upper depth. Female sex was a preoperative influencing factor for the anterior PD catheter position.

The Impact of Preoperative Risk Factors on Peritoneal Dialysis-Related Peritonitis: A Single-Center Prospective Study in Japan.

Background and Objectives: Peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis is a critical problem. However, preoperative risk factors for PD-related peritonitis have not been established. Thus, we aimed to determine the preoperative risk factors for PD-related peritonitis. Materials and Methods: This is a single-center prospective observational study. All peritonitis episodes during the study period were recorded, and preoperative and intraoperative clinical parameters were compared between patients with and without peritonitis to examine risk factors for PD-related peritonitis. Furthermore, subcutaneous and abdominal fat volumes were evaluated using computed tomography. Results: Among a total of 118 patients, 24 patients developed peritonitis. The proportion of male patients (83% vs. 61%, p = 0.04), body mass index (25 vs. 22 kg/m2, p = 0.04), and subcutaneous fat area (120 vs. 102 cm2, p = 0.01) were significantly higher and the proportion of patients living with family members (75% vs. 94%, p = 0.02) was significantly lower in the peritonitis group than in the non-peritonitis group. There were no significant differences in age, operation method, surgeon experience, previous abdominal surgery, medical history of diabetic nephropathy, serum albumin level, and renal function between the two groups. Conclusions: Male patients with high subcutaneous fat who are living alone might be at higher risk of PD-related peritonitis. These characteristics might be useful in risk assessment and patient education before PD induction.

Molecular dynamics simulation of liquid N2O4<-->2NO2 by orientation-sensitive pairwise potential. III. Reaction dynamics.

The dissociation and association dynamics of N2O4 [see text] 2NO2 in liquid state are studied by classical molecular dynamics simulations of reactive liquid NO2. An OSPP+LJ potential between NO2 molecules, which is a sum of an orientation-sensitive pairwise potential (OSPP) between N-N atoms proposed in Paper I [J. Chem. Phys. 115, 10852 (2001)] and Lennard-Jones potentials between N-O and O-O atoms, has been used in the simulation. The reaction dynamics is studied as a function of well depth De and anisotropy factors of the OSPP potential: Atheta (0< or =Atheta< or =1) for the rocking angle and Atau (0< or =Atau< or =0.5) for the torsional angle of relative NO2-NO2 orientation. The lifetime tauD of initially prepared NO2 dimers is found to increase as De increases, Atheta increases, and Atau decreases. Dissociation and association dynamics are studied in detail around the extreme limit of pure NO2-dimer liquid: De=0.12 x 10(-18) J, Atheta=0.5, and Atau=0.1, which has been found to reproduce both the observed liquid phase equilibrium properties and Raman band shapes of the dissociation mode very well. The dissociation dynamics from microscopic reaction trajectories is compared with the potential of the mean force (PMF) as a function of the N-N distance R. The PMF of reactive liquid NO2 shows a transition state barrier at R=2.3-2.5 A, and NO2-trimer structure is found to be formed at the barrier. Two types of dissociation of the NO2 dimer-the dissociation by collisional activation of the reactive mode to cross the dissociation limit and the NO2-mediated dissociation via bond transfer-are studied. The latter needs less free energy and is found to be much more probable. The dissociation trajectories and PMF in reactive liquid NO2 are compared with those of a reactive NO2 pair in inert solvent N2O4.

Transition state dynamics of N2O4 <==> 2NO2 in liquid state.

Transition state dynamics of dissociation and association reactions N2O4 <==> 2NO2 in liquid state are studied by classical molecular dynamics simulations of reactive liquid NO(2) at 298 K. An OSPP+LJ potential between NO(2) molecules proposed in paper I [J. Chem. Phys. 115, 10852 (2001)], which takes into account the orientational sensitivity of the chemical bond, has been used in the simulation. The trajectory and energy evolution of various reactions are studied in the OSPP+LJ liquid, which reproduces both the observed liquid phase equilibrium constant and Raman band shape of the dissociation mode. It is found that a NO(2) pair in reactive liquid NO(2) is bound when E(T)<0 and dissociates when E(T)>0, and the dissociation of a reactant pair occurs when the transition state (TS) surface of E(T)=0 is crossed from negative to positive, where E(T) is the sum of the potential and kinetic energies of intermolecular motion of the pair. Two types of dissociation are found depending on the source of energy for dissociation; the first type D is the dissociation via collisional activation of the reactive mode by solvent molecules, and the second type T is the dissociation via bond transfer from a dimer to a monomer NO(2) through the TS of NO(2) trimer. It is concluded that the type T dissociation is found to be much more probable than the type D dissociation because of easy energy conservation. The reactant experiences the TS of NO(2) trimer for a long time (1-10 ps) in NO(2) mediated bond transfer reactions, and crossing and recrossing trajectories and dynamics in the TS neighborhood are studied.