The "Historical Materials BAG": A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has recently commissioned the new Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The gain in brightness as well as the continuous development of beamline instruments boosts the beamline performances, in particular in terms of accelerated data acquisition. This has motivated the development of new access modes as an alternative to standard proposals for access to beamtime, in particular via the "block allocation group" (BAG) mode. Here, we present the recently implemented "historical materials BAG": a community proposal giving to 10 European institutes the opportunity for guaranteed beamtime at two X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) beamlines-ID13, for 2D high lateral resolution XRPD mapping, and ID22 for high angular resolution XRPD bulk analyses-with a particular focus on applications to cultural heritage. The capabilities offered by these instruments, the specific hardware and software developments to facilitate and speed-up data acquisition and data processing are detailed, and the first results from this new access are illustrated with recent applications to pigments, paintings, ceramics and wood.

Trends in mercury concentrations and methylation in Minamata Bay, Japan, between 2014 and 2018.

Methylmercury concentrations in Minamata Bay are high, but the cause is unclear. We conducted a basic study on the behavior of methylmercury in Minamata Bay seawater; the findings suggest that mercury methylation may occur throughout the year in Minamata Bay. Seawater temperature, salinity, and concentrations of dissolved organic carbon were the environmental factors that affected methylation, and the degree of methylation was closely related to bacterial community structure. The concentration of methylmercury in suspended particulate matter was highest 10 m below the surface and decreased with greater depths. We did not observe a correlation between methylmercury concentrations in suspended particulate matter and concentrations of dissolved methylmercury.

[Varicella-zoster meningoencephalitis and vasculitis after treatment with amenamevir to herpes zoster in the trigeminal nerve area].

A 78-year-old woman was diagnosed with herpes zoster in the first branch of the trigeminal nerve and was treated with amenamevir. Subsequently, she was hospitalized for postherpetic neuralgia. Fever and unconsciousness were observed, and a diagnosis of varicella-zoster virus meningoencephalitis and vasculitis was made. In addition to the antithrombotic therapy, she was treated with intravenous acyclovir and steroid pulse therapy; however, her unconsciousness persisted. Amenamevir was not transferrable to the spinal fluid and resulted in an incomplete treatment of herpes zoster in the cerebral nerve region, suggesting that this case may be related to the severe course of the disease.

[A case of cerebral infarction in young adult resulting in thrombotic occlusion of vertebral artery due to repeated contact stimulation of cervical rotation accompanied to systemic malformations such as atlantoaxial subluxation and atlas dysplasia].

A 23-year-old man admitted to our hospital with headache and dysarthria. Head MRI showed multiple acute cerebral infarctions in the right posterior circulation. Atlantoaxial dislocation, atlas dysplasia and thrombotic occlusion of right vertebral artery (VA), and blood flow disruption due to cervical rotation was observed. The axial dental process bordered to the right VA, and repeated contact stimulation by cervical rotation may cause intimal damage resulting in thrombotic occlusion. In this case, various systemic malformations such as atrial septal defect, atlas posterior arch hypoplasia, bovine left common carotid bifurcation malformation, double inferior vena cava and horseshoe kidney may have been congenital syndromes. Atlantoaxial dislocation may be an important and under-recognized cause of stroke in young adults.

[Amyloid ß related angitis without marked leukoencephalopathy].

An 86-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with headache and acute detarioration of consciousness. Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) dominated the occipital lobe on the head MRI, revealing white matter lesions. It was accompanied by gadolinium (Gd) imaging effect in the leptomeninges and some CMBs. She was clinically diagnosed with amyloid ß-related vasculitis and a good outcome was obtained with steroid therapy. Even when symptoms re-exacerbated, exacerbation of the contrast effect of CMBs was observed, but no white matter lesions appeared, and leptomeningeal enhancement did not change remarkably throughout the entire course.

Distribution of total mercury and methylmercury around the small-scale gold mining area along the Cikaniki River, Bogor, Indonesia.

This study investigates the distribution of total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in the soil and water around the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) area along the Cikaniki River, West Java, Indonesia. The concentration of T-Hg and MeHg in the forest soil ranged from 0.07 to 16.7 mg kg-1 and from <0.07 to 2.0 µg kg-1, respectively, whereas it ranged from 0.40 to 24.9 mg kg-1 and from <0.07 to 56.3 µg kg-1, respectively, in the paddy field soil. In the vertical variation of the T-Hg of forest soil, the highest values were observed at the soil surface, and these values were found to decrease with increasing depth. A similar variation was observed for MeHg and total organic carbon content (TOC), and a linear relationship was observed between them. Mercury deposited on the soil surface can be trapped and retained by organic matter and subjected to methylation. The slope of the line obtained for the T-Hg vs. TOC plot became larger near the ASGM villages, implying a higher rate of mercury deposition in these areas. In contrast, the plots of MeHg vs. TOC fell along the same trend line regardless of the distance from the ASGM village. Organic carbon content may be a predominant factor in controlling MeHg formation in forest soils. The T-Hg concentration in the river water ranged from 0.40 to 9.6 µg L-1. River water used for irrigation can prove to be a source of mercury for the paddy fields. The concentrations of Hg0 and Hg2+ in river water showed similar variations as that observed for the T-Hg concentration. The highest Hg0 concentration of 3.2 µg L-1 can be attributed to the waste inflow from work sites. The presence of Hg0 in river water can become a source of mercury present in the atmosphere along the river. MeHg concentration in the river water was found to be 0.004-0.14% of T-Hg concentration, which was considerably lower than the concentrations of other Hg species. However, MeHg comprised approximately 0.2% of the T-Hg in paddy field soil. Mercury deposited from the atmosphere and the river water can be subjected to methylation. Paddy fields are very important ecosystems; therefore, the effect of MeHg on these ecosystems and human beings should be further investigated.

Successful percutaneous revascularization in a patient with a chronic totally occluded renal artery in an atrophied kidney.

A 57-year-old man presented with renovascular hypertension with chronic kidney disease. 16-Multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) showed that the left renal artery was totally occluded and the left kidney was atrophied. The left atrophied kidney was hormonally active despite the desolation of glomerular filtration function. Percutaneous renal revascularization was successful for stenting this lesion. The renin activity in the left renal vein was decreased immediately after the procedure. He remained healthy with adequate blood pressure for three years. In this case, MDCT and renal vein renin measurement provided useful information for the decision to perform percutaneous renal revascularization.