Supplementation with n-3 fatty acids may improve long-term outcomes of renal transplant recipients (RTR). Recent evidence suggests that EPA and DHA have different outcomes compared with α-linolenic acid (ALA). We examined the prospective associations of EPA–DHA and ALA intakes with graft failure and all-cause mortality in 637 RTR. During 3·1 years (interquartile range 2·7, 3·8) of follow-up, forty-one developed graft failure and sixty-seven died. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, EPA–DHA and ALA intakes were not associated with graft failure. EPA–DHA intake was not significantly associated with mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 0·79; 95% CI 0·54, 1·15 per 0·1 energy% difference). ALA intake was significantly associated with mortality (HR 1·17; 95% CI 1·04, 1·31 per 0·1 energy% difference). This association remained following adjustments for BMI, proteinuria and intakes of fat, carbohydrate and protein. RTR in the highest tertile of ALA intake exhibited about 2-fold higher mortality risk (HR 2·21; 95% CI 1·23, 3·97) compared with the lowest tertile. In conclusion, ALA intake may be associated with increased mortality in RTR. Future RCT are needed to confirm these results.

Cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D by exposure to UVB is the principal source of vitamin D in the human body. Our current clothing habits and reduced time spent outdoors put us at risk of many insufficiency-related diseases that are associated with calcaemic and non-calcaemic functions of vitamin D. Populations with traditional lifestyles having lifelong, year-round exposure to tropical sunlight might provide us with information on optimal vitamin D status from an evolutionary perspective. We measured the sum of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3 (25(OH)D) concentrations of thirty-five pastoral Maasai (34 (sd 10) years, 43 % male) and twenty-five Hadzabe hunter–gatherers (35 (sd 12) years, 84 % male) living in Tanzania. They have skin type VI, have a moderate degree of clothing, spend the major part of the day outdoors, but avoid direct exposure to sunlight when possible. Their 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography–MS/MS. The mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations of Maasai and Hadzabe were 119 (range 58–167) and 109 (range 71–171) nmol/l, respectively. These concentrations were not related to age, sex or BMI. People with traditional lifestyles, living in the cradle of mankind, have a mean circulating 25(OH)D concentration of 115 nmol/l. Whether this concentration is optimal under the conditions of the current Western lifestyle is uncertain, and should as a possible target be investigated with concomitant appreciation of other important factors in Ca homeostasis that we have changed since the agricultural revolution.

Gallium-doped zinc oxide spin-coated thin films have been prepared by the sol–gel method. The influence of two solvents, isopropanol and 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME), and two chelating agents, monoethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA), was investigated. X-ray diffraction shows preferential (002) c-axis orientation of the crystallites influenced by the doping content and starting solution composition. Better orientation was obtained with 2-ME as a solvent because of a slower evaporation rate during the spin coating. Better orientation was also obtained using MEA as a stabilizer due to the weaker bonds formed with the Zn2+ ions. Typical film thickness was 550 nm. The transparency of the films was greater than 85% in the entire visible range. A sheet resistance of 68 Ω/□ was obtained for the ZnO film doped with 2 at.% of Ga using 2-ME and MEA as a solvent and stabilizer, respectively. The results show that the denser packing created using a high boiling temperature solvent and a low organic content stabilizer improved the layer’s electrical and optical properties.

Disaster preparedness is one of the national priorities. In Japan, disaster medicine is defined as a part of the national medical plan initiated by Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor. The Japan Medical Association is the largest professional physicians' group in Japan, and has contributed to all kinds of disaster relief work regionally and nation-wide for years. Based on past successes, the Japan Medical Association proposes a new disaster action plan named Japan Medical Association Team (JMAT). The primary mission of JMAT is to deploy to the disaster scene requested and work for disaster relief. JMAT covers the acute to sub-acute phase of disaster response, and also collaborate with other agencies. In the preparation and mitigation phases, the Japan Medical Association work for establishing mutual disaster aid partnerships, disaster plans, networks with other agencies, team building, disaster medicine training and education, etc. In Japan, the Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT) has been established based on the experience of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, when lots of preventable trauma deaths occurred because of delayed medical response. The mission of DMAT is to deploy to the scene immediately and triage/transfer the most serious disaster victims outside the scene for advanced medical care. DMAT covers the first 48 hours of disaster response phase, and then JMAT takes charge of the work. JMAT will also respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters, and international humanitarian work. The present issues of establishing JMAT are 1.training and education for Japan Medical Association members, 2.establising cooperation with other agencies, and 3.having presence at the Central Disaster Committee, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.

Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research has been extensively advanced with the increase of the focusable power on target by the development of glass laser technology and its higher harmonic generation (Yamanaka & Kato et al. 1981) and by CO2 lasers (Yamanaka & Nakai et al. 1981) which cover the wavelength range from 10 μm to 0·25 μm and power densities up to 1017 W/cm2. With improved understanding of the implosion in the fuel pellet, breakeven conditions, or ignition, are expected to be achieved within the 1980's with the construction of lasers in the region of 100 kJ and 100 TW output power.

Design studies of a laser fusion reactor SENRI-I are presented, including the related analyses and experiments. The unique feature of SENRI-I is the utilization of the static magnetic field to control and guide the liquid Li flow. Neutronics calculations (1D–3D) show that the sufficient T breeding ratio is obtained and the streaming neutrons are reduced by a devised design of laser port. Analysis of damage of the wall covered by an inner Li flow shows that the long lifetime is assured.

To clarify the epidemiological relationship between cattle and human infections of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), we studied the duration and magnitude of the excretion of STEC O157 and STEC O26 with rectal faeces from naturally infected cattle at a breeding farm in the Tohoku area of Japan, using microbiological methods. The prevalence of STEC O157 was 3·5% (11/324), whereas that of STEC O26 was 7·9% (14/178). Faecal shedding of STEC O157 persisted for <1 week to 10 weeks, whereas STEC O26 persisted from <1 week to <3 weeks. The magnitude of faecal shedding (per 10 g) ranged from 4 to >110000 c.f.u. for STEC O157 and from 3 to 2400 c.f.u. for STEC O26. All isolates of both STEC serotypes contained the stx1 or stx2 genes. Pulsed-field electrophoretic analysis of both STEC serotypes identified predominantly STEC O157 type III and STEC O26 type I in isolates, suggesting that a single STEC strain may be mutated in the intestinal tract of calves. These results indicate that STEC O157 is secreted for longer periods and in higher numbers than STEC O26 from healthy calves with natural infections, suggesting that STEC O157 may have more opportunities than STEC O26 to induce human disease.

We have discovered 24 K-superconductivity in a family of compounds Ln2−xCexCuO4−y (Ln=Pr, Nd, Sm). Novel feature of the superconductivity in these family of compounds is that superconductivity is produced by electron-doping in sharp contrast with high-Tc cuprates discovered so far. The effect of doping on physical properties particularly the elecronic phase diagram and transport coefficients which indicate symmetry in many respects between electron- and hole- doping is described.