Almost any production and consumption activity generates waste directly or indirectly over its supply chain. This paper is concerned with identifying the product origins of waste or waste footprint ...of products. It uses the waste input-output (WIO) data recently developed and published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment (MOE), which is, to date, one of the publicly available WIO data with the highest resolution in products and waste. Results show that footprint calculation can identify factors behind the waste flows that otherwise would not be recognizable. The amount of waste for landfill is smaller than that for incineration only because around 80% of potential waste for landfill, mostly construction waste, is absorbed by recycling, attributed to public capital formation. Without this massive demand for recycling, the amount of waste sent to landfill would have been five to six times larger than the actual one, exceeding incineration. Footprint analysis of plastic waste reveals that targeting only postconsumer plastics waste is misleading, because most plastics waste has its origins in production. Service industries are found to be a major contributor to waste incineration and landfill in terms of footprint, whereas their contribution is minor in direct discharge.
Porphyra-334 is a member of natural UV-screening compounds named mycosporine-like amino acids found in several marine organisms. The UV excited porphyra-334 has been identified to deexcite quickly by ...puckering the intramolecular cyclohexenimine ring; however, the reason for such a ring-puckering occurrence is yet unclear. In this study, we show the ring-puckering to be the relaxation pathway of the UV excited π electron which shifts from the in-ring bond to the out-of-ring bond. The ring-puckering is characterized by the torsion among the in-ring and out-of-ring bonds. Since the π electron shift is possible in two different directions at the Franck–Condon UV excited state, it enables two ring-puckering pathways: the previously reported pathway and another one newly identified at present. We also examine the ring-unpuckering pathways which are an analogy of cis/trans photoisomerization, and we find them to be not suited for the π electron shift character of the UV excited state and thus not related to the deexcitation pathway. The present study provides insight into how porphyra-334 exerts the UV-screening ability based on its cyclohexenimine ring structure.
No definitive comparisons of surgical morbidity between segmentectomy and lobectomy for non–small cell lung cancer have been reported.
We conducted a randomized controlled trial to confirm the ...noninferiority of segmentectomy to lobectomy in regard to prognosis (trial No. JCOG0802/WJOG4607L). Patients with invasive peripheral non–small cell lung cancer tumor of a diameter ≤2 cm were randomized to undergo either lobectomy or segmentectomy. The primary end point was overall survival. Here, we have focused on morbidity and mortality. Predictors of surgical morbidity were evaluated by the mode of surgery. Segmentectomy was categorized into simple and complex. Simple segmentectomy was defined as segmental resection of the right or left segment 6, left superior, or lingular segment. Complex segmentectomy was resection of the other segment. This trial is registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network--Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN000002317).
Between August 10, 2009, and October 21, 2014, 1106 patients (lobectomy n = 554 and segmentectomy n = 552) were enrolled. No mortality was noted. Complications (grade ≥ 2) occurred in 26.2% and 27.4% in the lobectomy and segmentectomy arms (P = .68), respectively. Fistula/pulmonary-lung (air leak) was detected in 21 (3.8%) and 36 (6.5%) patients in the lobectomy and segmentectomy arms (P = .04), respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that predictors of pulmonary complications, including air leak and empyema (grade ≥ 2) were complex segmentectomy (vs lobectomy) (odds ratio, 2.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-3.88; P = .023), and > 20 pack-years of smoking (odds ratio, 2.61; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-5.97; P = .023).
There was no difference in almost any postoperative measure of intraoperative and postoperative complication in segmentectomy and lobectomy patients, except more air leakage was observed in the segmentectomy arm. Segmentectomy will be a standard treatment if the superior pulmonary function and noninferiority in overall survival are confirmed.
The 2 phase III trials, JCOG0802/WJOG4607L and JCOG0804/WJOG4507L, were based on JCOG0201. Display omitted
The optimal mode of surgery for ground-glass opacity dominant peripheral lung cancer defined with thoracic thin-section computed tomography remains unknown.
We conducted a single-arm confirmatory ...trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sublobar resection for ground-glass opacity dominant peripheral lung cancer. Lung cancer with maximum tumor diameter 2.0 cm or less and with consolidation tumor ratio 0.25 or less based on thin-section computed tomography were registered. The primary end point was 5-year relapse-free survival. The planned sample size was 330 with the expected 5-year relapse-free survival of 98%, threshold of 95%, 1-sided α of 5%, and power of 90%. The trial is registered with University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry, number University Hospital Medical Information Network 000002008.
Between May 2009 and April 2011, 333 patients were enrolled from 51 institutions. Median age was 62 years (interquartile range, 56-68), and 109 were smokers. Median maximum tumor diameter was 1.20 cm (1.00-1.54). Median maximum tumor diameter of consolidation was 0 (0.00-0.20). The primary end point, 5-year relapse-free survival, was estimated on 314 patients who underwent sublobar resection. Operative modes were 258 wide wedge resections and 56 segmentectomies. Median pathological surgical margin was 15 mm (0-55). The 5-year relapse-free survival was 99.7% (90% confidence interval, 98.3-99.9), which met the primary end point. There was no local relapse. Grade 3 or higher postoperative complications based on Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Effect v3.0 were observed in 17 patients (5.4%), without any grade 4 or 5.
Sublobar resection with enough surgical margin offered sufficient local control and relapse-free survival for lung cancer clinically resectable N0 staged by computed tomography with 3 or fewer peripheral lesions 2.0 cm or less amenable to sublobar resection and with a consolidation tumor ratio of 0.25 or less.
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Flood risk management (FRM) has repeatedly evolved through paradigm shifts in human history. In modern FRM, a design flood, which reflects the protection standard or safety level of the FRM, is one ...of the most important elements. It has been historically revised and increased to reflect the sociohydrological situation of each era. Through this study we aimed to identify these changes to FRM and their reasons (after the advent of the modern society in Japan), focusing on the design flood revision triggers in 109 river basins. We extracted all these triggers through critical reviews of governmental reports (and other historical resources), then tried to identify and divide this time period into a few eras, based on these shifts. In addition, we performed a quantitative trend analysis of several sociohydrological variables that contributed to (or refracted) the shifts and conducted a qualitative analysis of their sociohydrological backgrounds. The revision triggers could be classified into five categories: “national policy change,” “mega flood,” “dam construction,” “economic growth,” and “others.” From the transition of triggers, the Japanese modern history of FRM was divided into three eras: “Era 1: 1910–1935, changing society,” “Era 2: 1935–1970, response to mega floods,” and “Era 3: 1970–2010, response to economic growth.” The paradigms shifted in each era due to variations in both socio‐hydrological events and backgrounds. The results showed that the Japanese FRM paradigm has shifted from “green society” to “technological society,” with respect to human‐technology‐flood evolution.
Key Points
We extracted all design flood revision triggers in 109 basins in the Japanese modern era through critical reviews of governmental reports
The revision triggers can be categorized into five types: policy change, mega floods, dam construction, economic growth, and others
The flood risk management paradigm can be divided into three eras: changing society, response to mega floods, and response to economic growth
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•Up to 50% of steel consumed today lost in obsolete stocks or landfills by 2100.•Trade-off between low losses and high-quality applications of steel was quantified.•Reduced steel ...losses during recycling lead to higher secondary steel exports.•Current loss rates, lifetimes, and trade patterns impede closure of metal cycles.•Results obtained with MaTrace Global, a Markov-chain model of steel consumption.
Substantial amounts of post-consumer scrap are exported to other regions or lost during recovery and remelting, and both export and losses pose a constraint to desires for having regionally closed material cycles. To quantify the challenges and trade-offs associated with closed-loop metal recycling, we looked at the material cycles from the perspective of a single material unit and trace a unit of material through several product life cycles. Focusing on steel, we used current process parameters, loss rates, and trade patterns of the steel cycle to study how steel that was originally contained in high quality applications such as machinery or vehicles with stringent purity requirements gets subsequently distributed across different regions and product groups such as building and construction with less stringent purity requirements. We applied MaTrace Global, a supply-driven multiregional model of steel flows coupled to a dynamic stock model of steel use. We found that, depending on region and product group, up to 95% of the steel consumed today will leave the use phase of that region until 2100, and that up to 50% can get lost in obsolete stocks, landfills, or slag piles until 2100. The high losses resulting from business-as-usual scrap recovery and recycling can be reduced, both by diverting postconsumer scrap into long-lived applications such as buildings and by improving the recovery rates in the waste management and remelting industries. Because the lifetimes of high-quality (cold-rolled) steel applications are shorter and remelting occurs more often than for buildings and infrastructure, we found and quantified a tradeoff between low losses and high-quality applications in the steel cycle. Furthermore, we found that with current trade patterns, reduced overall losses will lead to higher fractions of secondary steel being exported to other regions. Current loss rates, product lifetimes, and trade patterns impede the closure of the steel cycle.
Theoretical study is presented on the wetting behaviors of water droplets over a lotus leaf. Experimental results are interpreted to clarify the trade-offs among the potential energy change, the ...local pinning energy, and the adhesion energy. The theoretical parameters, calculated from the experimental results, are used to qualitatively explain the relations among surface fractal dimension, surface morphology, and dynamic wetting behaviors. The surface of a lotus leaf, which shows the superhydrophobic lotus effect, was dipped in ethanol to remove the plant waxes. As a result, the lotus effect is lost. The contact angle of a water drop decreased dramatically from 161° of the original surface to 122°. The water droplet was pinned on the surface. From the fractal analysis, the fractal region of the original surface was divided into two regions: a smaller-sized roughness region of 0.3–1.7 μm with D of 1.48 and a region of 1.7–19 μm with D of 1.36. By dipping the leaf in ethanol, the former fractal region, characterized by wax tubes, was lost, and only the latter large fractal region remained. The lotus effect is attributed to a surface structure that is covered with needle-shaped wax tubes, and the remaining surface allows invasion of the water droplet and enlarges the interaction with water.
Alloying metals are indispensable ingredients of high quality alloy steel such as austenitic stainless steel, the cyclical use of which is vital for sustainable resource management. Under the current ...practice of recycling, however, different metals are likely to be mixed in an uncontrolled manner, resulting in function losses and dissipation of metals with distinctive functions, and in the contamination of recycled steels. The latter could result in dilution loss, if metal scrap needed dilution with virgin iron to reduce the contamination below critical levels. Management of these losses resulting from mixing in repeated recycling of metals requires tracking of metals over multiple life cycles of products with compositional details. A new model (MaTrace-alloy) was developed that tracks the fate of metals embodied in each of products over multiple life cycles of products, involving accumulation, discard, and recycling, with compositional details at the level of both alloys and products. The model was implemented for the flow of Cr and Ni in the Japanese steel cycle involving 27 steel species and 115 final products. It was found that, under a high level of scrap sorting, greater than 70% of the initial functionality of Cr and Ni could be retained over a period of 100 years, whereas under a poor level of sorting, it could plunge to less than 30%, demonstrating the relevance of waste management technology in circular economy policies.
The germ cell lineage ensures reproduction and heredity. The mechanism for germ cell specification in primates, including humans, has remained unknown. In primates, upon implantation the pluripotent ...epiblast segregates the amnion, an extra-embryonic membrane eventually ensheathing an embryo, and thereafter initiates gastrulation to generate three germ layers. Here, we show that in cynomolgus monkeys, the SOX17/TFAP2C/BLIMP1-positive primordial germ cells (cyPGCs) originate from the dorsal amnion at embryonic day 11 (E11) prior to gastrulation. cyPGCs appear to migrate down the amnion and, through proliferation and recruitment from the posterior amnion, expand in number around the posterior yolk sac by E17. Remarkably, the amnion itself expresses BMP4 and WNT3A, cytokines potentially critical for cyPGC specification, and responds primarily to them. Moreover, human PGC-like cells in vitro exhibit a transcriptome similar to cyPGCs just after specification. Our study identifies the origin of PGCs and a unique function of the nascent amnion in primates.
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•A comprehensive analysis of PGC development in cynomolgus monkeys•cyPGCs originate in the nascent amnion prior to gastrulation of the epiblast•The amnion itself expresses and responds to signals for PGC specification•Human PGC-like cell transcriptome is similar to cyPGCs just after specification
How primordial germ cells (PGCs) are specified in primate (including human) development is unknown. Sasaki et al. show that in cynomolgus monkeys, PGCs are specified in the early amnion, which may be an autocrine signaling center for specification. In-vitro-specified human PGCs exhibit a transcriptome similar to that of early monkey PGCs.
Mechanisms underlying human germ cell development are unclear, partly due to difficulties in studying human embryos and lack of suitable experimental systems. Here, we show that human induced ...pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) differentiate into incipient mesoderm-like cells (iMeLCs), which robustly generate human primordial germ cell-like cells (hPGCLCs) that can be purified using the surface markers EpCAM and INTEGRINα6. The transcriptomes of hPGCLCs and primordial germ cells (PGCs) isolated from non-human primates are similar, and although specification of hPGCLCs and mouse PGCs rely on similar signaling pathways, hPGCLC specification transcriptionally activates germline fate without transiently inducing eminent somatic programs. This includes genes important for naive pluripotency and repression of key epigenetic modifiers, concomitant with epigenetic reprogramming. Accordingly, BLIMP1, which represses somatic programs in mice, activates and stabilizes a germline transcriptional circuit and represses a default neuronal differentiation program. Together, these findings provide a foundation for understanding and reconstituting human germ cell development in vitro.
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•Robust induction of hPGCLCs from primed hiPSCs occurs via incipient mesoderm-like cells•EpCAM and INTEGRINα6 are identified as markers for hPGCLC purification•hPGCLCs avoid activation of a somatic program and undergo epigenetic reprogramming•BLIMP1 stabilizes germline transcription and represses neuronal differentiation
Saitou and colleagues report induction of human primordial germ cell-like cells (hPGCLCs) from pluripotent stem cells. hPGCLC and mouse PGC specification rely on similar signaling pathways but utilize distinct transcriptional programs, highlighting differences in PGC induction and demonstrating the utility of hPGCLCs for studying human germ cell development in vitro.
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