Arsenic speciation in Japanese rice drinks and condiments

Rice has been demonstrated to be one of the major contributors to inorganic arsenic (i-As) intake in humans. However, little is known about rice products as additional source of i-As exposure. In this study, misos, syrups and amazake (a fermented sweet rice drink) produced from rice, barley and millet were analysed for total arsenic (t-As) and a subset of samples were also analyzed for As speciation. Rice based products displayed a higher i-As content than those derived from barley and millet. Most of the t-As in the rice products studied was inorganic (63-83%), the remainder being dimethylarsinic acid. Those who regularly consume rice drinks and condiments, such as the Japanese population and those who follow health conscious diets based on the Japanese cuisine, could reach up to 23% of the World Health Organization's Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake of i-As, by only consuming these kinds of products. This study provides a wide appreciation of how i-As derived from rice based products enters the human diet and how this may be of concern to populations who are already exposed to high levels of i-As through consumption of foods such as rice and seaweed.

Survey of arsenic and its speciation in rice products such as breakfast cereals, rice crackers and Japanese rice condiments

Rice has been demonstrated to be one of the major contributors to arsenic (As) in human diets in addition to drinking water, but little is known about rice products as an additional source of As exposure. Rice products were analyzed for total As and a subset of samples were measured for arsenic speciation using high performance liquid chromatography interfaced with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). A wide range of rice products had total and inorganic arsenic levels that typified those found in rice grain including, crisped rice, puffed rice, rice crackers, rice noodles and a range of Japanese rice condiments as well as rice products targeted at the macrobiotic, vegan, lactose intolerant and gluten intolerance food market. Most As in rice products are inorganic As (75.2-90.1%). This study provides a wider appreciation of how inorganic arsenic derived from rice products enters the human diet. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When terror hits home: Identity Fused Americans who saw Boston bombing victims as “family” provided aid

When tragedy strikes a group, only some group members characteristically rush to the aid of the victims. What motivates the altruism of these exceptional individuals? Here, we provide one set of answers based on data collected before and shortly after the 15 April 2013, Boston Marathon bombings. The results of three studies indicated that Americans who were strongly “fused” with their country were especially inclined to provide various forms of support to the bombing victims. Moreover, the degree to which participants reported perceiving fellow Americans as psychological kin statistically mediated links between fusion and pro-group outcomes. Together, these findings shed new light on relationships between personal and group identity, cognitive representations of group members, and personally costly, pro-group actions.

A Japanese Family with Congenital Erythrocytosis Caused by Haemoglobin Bethesda

We herein present a case of congenital erythrocytosis caused by haemoglobin (Hb) Bethesda in a Japanese family. A 55-year-old asymptomatic man was referred to our hospital for the investigation of erythrocytosis, which was present in other members of his family. The patient's serum erythropoietin level was normal, and the JAK2 V617F mutation was not detected. His P50 value was mildly decreased, thus we suspected the presence of an Hb variant with a high oxygen affinity. The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed an abnormal Hb, and by direct sequencing we identified the Hb Bethesda variant in this patient. For the differential diagnosis, we recommend the estimation of the P50 value as a practical and useful test.

Productive Knowledge of English Binomials by Japanese Learners of English

The purpose of this research is to reveal (1) which English binomials Japanese learners of English have productive knowledge of and (2) what strategies they use to produce English binomials when they do not know the binomials. One hundred and three Japanese learners of English with intermediate proficiency level completed an online survey of 44 binomials. The participants were given the first word of a binomial and asked to type a word following “and”. The target word was provided by more than 75% of participants for 19 of the 44 binomials, meaning that learners have productive knowledge for certain binomials. An analysis of errors suggested that the participants relied heavily on semantic relationships between items in binomials.However, the use of a semantic strategy for producing the second words often leads to non-binomial expressions. From these results we suggest that giving more input to learners, as well as teaching the “Me first” principle (Cooper & Ross, 1975) explicitly would help the learners to develop more accurate and effective strategies for uncertain or unfamiliar binomials.