ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction: concept of TAIGA --- Geochemical constraints on potential biomass sustained by subseafloor water-rock interactions --- Microbial cell densities, community structures, and growth in the hydrothermal plumes of subduction hydrothermal systems --- Systematics of distributions of various elements between ferromanganese oxides and seawater from natural observation, thermodynamics, and structures --- Evaluating hydrothermal system evolution using geochronological dating and biological diversity analyses --- Quantification of microbial communities in hydrothermal vent habitats of the Southern Mariana Trough and the Mid-Okinawa Trough --- Development of hydrothermal and frictional experimental systems to simulate sub-seafloor water–rock–microbe interactions --- Experimental hydrogen production in hydrothermal and fault systems: Significance for habitability of subseafloor H2 chemoautotroph microbial ecosystems --- Experimental assessment of microbial effects on chemical interaction between seafloor massive sulfides and seawater at 4℃ --- A compilation of the stable isotopic compositions of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in soft body parts of animals collected from deep-sea hydrothermal vent and methane seep fields: variations in energy source and importance of subsurface microbial processes in the sediment-hosted systems --- Tectonic background of four hydrothermal fields along the Central Indian Ridge --- Indian Ocean hydrothermal systems: seafloor hydrothermal activities, physical and chemical characteristics of hydrothermal fluids, and vent-associated biological communities --- Petrology and geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts from the southern Central Indian Ridge --- Petrology of peridotites and related gabbroic rocks around the Kairei-hydrothermal field in the Central Indian Ridge --- Distribution and Biogeochemical Properties of Hydrothermal Plumes in the Rodriguez Triple Junction --- Vent fauna in the Central Indian Ridge --- The mantle dynamics, the crustal formation, and the hydrothermal activity of the Southern Mariana Trough back-arc Basin --- Seismic structure and seismicity in the Southern Mariana Trough and their relation to hydrothermal activity --- Electrical resistivity structure of the Snail site at the Southern Mariana Trough spreading center --- Asymmetric seafloor spreading of the southern Mariana Trough back-arc basin --- Geochemical characteristics of active backarc basin volcanisms at the southern end of Mariana Trough --- Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal minerals collected from hydrothermal vent fields in the Southern Mariana spreading center --- Dating of hydrothermal mineralization in active hydrothermal fields in the Southern Mariana Trough --- Intra-field variation of prokaryotic communities on and below the seafloor in the back-arc hydrothermal system of the Southern Mariana Trough --- Vent fauna in the Mariana Trough --- Population history of a hydrothermal vent-endemic snail Alviniconcha hessleri in the Mariana Trough --- Hydrothermal activity in the Okinawa Trough backarc basin -geological background and hydrothermal mineralization- --- Active rifting structures in Iheya Graben and adjacent area of the mid-Okinawa Trough observed through seismic reflection surveys --- ESR dating of barite in sea-floor hydrothermal sulfide deposits in the Okinawa Trough --- Fluid geochemistry of high-temperature hydrothermal fields in the Okinawa Trough --- Sediment‒pore water system associated with native sulfur formation at Jade hydrothermal field in Okinawa Trough --- Comparative investigation of microbial communities associated with hydrothermal activities in the Okinawa Trough --- In situ determination of bacterial growth in mixing zone of hydrothermal vent field on the Hatoma Knoll, Southern Okinawa Trough --- Vent Fauna in the Okinawa Trough --- Brief report of side-scan sonar observations around the Yokoniwa NTO massif --- Examination of volcanic activity: AUV and submersible observations of fine-scale lava flow distributions along the Southern Mariana Trough spreading axis --- Brief report of side-scan sonar imagery observations of the Archaean, Pika, and Urashima hydrothermal sites --- The Yoron Hole: the shallowest hydrothermal site in the Okinawa Trough --- The Irabu Knoll: Hydrothermal site at the eastern edge of the Yaeyama Graben --- Tarama Knoll: Geochemical and biological profiles of hydrothermal activity --- Petrography and geochemistry of basement rocks drilled from Snail, Yamanaka, Archean, and Pika hydrothermal fields at the Southern Mariana Trough by Benthic Multi-coring System (BMS) --- Pore fluid chemistry beneath active hydrothermal fields in the mid-Okinawa Trough: Results of shallow drilling by BMS during TAIGA11 cruise --- The characteristics of the seafloor massive sulfide deposits at the Hakurei Site in the Izena Hole, the Middle Okinawa Trough --- Occurrence of hydrothermal alteration minerals at the Jade hydrothermal field, in the Izena Hole, mid-Okinawa Trough --- Geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids collected from active hydrothermal systems in the southern Mariana Trough backarc spreading center --- Gamma ray doses in water around sea floor hydrothermal area in South Mariana --- 226Ra-210Pb and 228Ra-228Th dating of barite in submarine hydrothermal sulfide deposits collected at Okinawa Trough and South Mariana Trough --- OSL dating of sea floor sediments at the Okinawa Trough --- Immediate change of radiation doses from hydrothermal deposits --- Periodic behavior of deep sea current in the Hatoma Knoll hydrothermal system --- The gelatinous macroplankton community at the Hatoma Knoll hydrothermal vent

Description / Table of Contents: Hydrothermally influenced microbial habitats and communities represent a much wider spectrum of geological setting, chemical in-situ regimes, and biotic community than the classical examples from basalt-hosted black smoker chimneys at active mid-ocean spreading centers. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems now include hydrothermally heated and chemically altered sediments, microbiota fueled by serpentinization reactions, and low-temperature vents with unusual menus of electron donors. Novel marine provinces and hydrothermal areas are being charted and explored, such as new hydrothermal vent systems in the Arctic, around Antarctica, in the Western Pacific and in the Indian Ocean. Novel environmental gradients and niches provide habitats for unusual or unprecedented microorganisms and microbial ecosystems. The discovery of novel extremophiles such as Aciduliprofundum and the Nanoarchaeota underscores that hydrothermal vent microbial communities can no longer be characterized as assemblages of only “typical” sulfur oxidizers, methanogens and heterotrophs. Different stages of hydrothermal activity, from early onset to peak activity, gradual decline, and persistence of cold and fossil vent sites, correspond to different colonization waves by microorganisms as well as megafauna. This research topic will continue to stretch the limits of hydrothermal vent microbiology, and also provide a forum for the chemical and microbial linkages of hydrothermal vents to the ocean water column and the ocean crust or sedimentary subsurface.

Description / Table of Contents: Classifications of circulation weather systems have a long history in meteorology and climatology. Starting with manual classifications over specific regions of the globe, these tools (generally called “catalogs of synoptic types”) were restricted mainly to weather forecasting and historical climate variability studies. In the last decades, the advance of computing resources and the availability of datasets have fostered the development of fast and objective methods that process large amount of data. In recent years numerous methods of circulation type classification have been designed, showing their usefulness on a wide range of applications in scientific domains related to weather, climate, and environment. This Research Topic highlights methodological advances in circulation weather types and also their applications to different research areas. The articles included in this research topic show that circulation weather types can be used not only in Europe, where they have been always more frequent, but also applied to other regions of the world.

Description / Table of Contents: Part I The Road to Reconstruction from the Tsunami and Radioactive Contamination: Two and a Half Years On --- 1 Dealing with Disasters of Unprecedented Magnitude: The Local Government’s Tribulations and the Road to Reconstruction (Hidekiyo Tachiya) --- 2 Tokyo University of Agriculture East Japan Assistance Project Assisting with Reconstruction: Guiding Principles, Planning, and Propagation of Benefits (Toshiyuki Monma) --- 3 Characteristics of the Agricultural and Forestry Industries in the Soma Area and Damage Sustained as a Result of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Takahiro Yamada, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- Part II Reconstruction from Tsunami Damage --- 4 Reconstruction Support for the Farmland Struck by Tsunami (Itsuo Goto and Kaisei Inagaki) --- 5 Tsunami Damage to Farming Operations and the New Generation of Farmers and Farm Management (Yukio Shibuya, Takahiro Yamada, Nyamkhuu Batdelger, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Gentaro Suzumura, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- 6 Presenting a Model for Revival of Rural Communities in Japan’s Disaster Zones (Shigeyuki Miyabayashi, Yasushi Takeuchi, Hiromu Okazawa, Tomonori Fujikawa, and Yutaka Sasaki) --- 7 Contributing to Restoration of Tidal Flats in Miyagi Prefecture’s Moune Bay Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (Susumu Chiba, Takeshi Sonoda, Makoto Hatakeyama, and Katsuhide Yokoyama) --- Part III Reconstruction from Radioactive Contamination --- 8 Initiatives by the Soil Fertilization Team to Develop Agricultural Technologies for Paddy Fields with Radioactive Contamination (Itsuo Goto and Kaisei Inagaki) --- 9 The Potential for Producing Rice for Feed and Whole Crop Rice Silage in Radiation-Contaminated Areas (Seiji Nobuoka) --- 10 Developing and Trialing a System to Monitor Radionuclide in Individual Plots of Farmland to Help Reconstruction Farming in Contaminated Areas (Toshiyuki Monma, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Youichi Kawano, Dambii Byambasuren, Yuta Ono, and Quar Evine) --- 11 New Decontamination Methods for Parks and Other Areas in Which Radionuclide Have Accumulated (Mitsuo Kondo and Chizuko Mizuniwa) --- 12 Forest Restoration (Takahisa Hayashi) --- 13 Nuclear Radiation Levels in the Forest at Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture (Iwao Uehara, Tomoko Seyama, Fumio Eguchi, Ryuichi Tachibana, Yukito Nakamura, and Hiroya Obayashi ) --- 14 Radioactive Contamination of Ostriches in a Potentially Permanent Evacuation Zone (Hiroshi Ogawa, Hidehiko Uchiyama, Koji Masuda, Takeshi Sasaki, Tadao Watanabe, Toshiaki Tomizawa, and Schu Kawashima) --- 15 The Radioactive Contamination in Some Arthropod Species in Fukushima (Tarô Adati and Sota Tanaka) --- 16 A Consumer Survey Approach to Reputation-Based Damage Affecting Agricultural Products and How to Overcome It (Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Shizuka Matsumoto, Makoto Hoshi, Sayaka Yamaguchi, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- Part IV Activities and Impressions of Students and Farmers Who Supported the Project --- 17 Staking Recovery Hopes on Soma Revival Rice (Kaisei Inagaki, Tomoko Ninagi, Saburo Sasaki, and Akiko Sato) --- 18 Impression of the Students Participated in the Radioactivity Monitoring System of Farmland (Volodymyr Ganzha, Keiji Kanamori, Hana Fujimoto, and Ryo Itakura) --- 19 Impression of the Forestry managers and students participated in the Radioactivity Damage Investigation of Forests (Eihachi Horiuchi, Kiyoaki Sasaki, Masaaki Itakura, Chisato Yasukawa, and Chihiro Kinoshita)

Description / Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Needs for New Global Strategies --- Part I. Global Business Strategy --- 2. Management Strategies for Global Businesses --- 3. Changes in the Global Economic Environment --- 4. Comparison of Economic Institutions in China and India --- 5. New Business Model as Response to Competition from Emerging Economies --- 6. India’s Neemrana Industrial Park for Japanese Firms --- Part II. Fundamentals Of Strategic Planning --- 7. Alliance-based Global Strategy --- 8. Hitachi Construction Machinery: Becoming a Wholly Owned Chinese Entity --- 9. Marketing Theory in Global Business Context --- 10. Shiseido Marketing in China --- 11. International R&D Management --- 12. Multinationals’ R&D in China and India --- 13. Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency and Japanese Firms --- 14. Suzuki Motor’s Expansion in India --- 15. Strategy Integration at the Global Level

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction: concept of TAIGA --- Geochemical constraints on potential biomass sustained by subseafloor water-rock interactions --- Microbial cell densities, community structures, and growth in the hydrothermal plumes of subduction hydrothermal systems --- Systematics of distributions of various elements between ferromanganese oxides and seawater from natural observation, thermodynamics, and structures --- Evaluating hydrothermal system evolution using geochronological dating and biological diversity analyses --- Quantification of microbial communities in hydrothermal vent habitats of the Southern Mariana Trough and the Mid-Okinawa Trough --- Development of hydrothermal and frictional experimental systems to simulate sub-seafloor water–rock–microbe interactions --- Experimental hydrogen production in hydrothermal and fault systems: Significance for habitability of subseafloor H2 chemoautotroph microbial ecosystems --- Experimental assessment of microbial effects on chemical interaction between seafloor massive sulfides and seawater at 4℃ --- A compilation of the stable isotopic compositions of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in soft body parts of animals collected from deep-sea hydrothermal vent and methane seep fields: variations in energy source and importance of subsurface microbial processes in the sediment-hosted systems --- Tectonic background of four hydrothermal fields along the Central Indian Ridge --- Indian Ocean hydrothermal systems: seafloor hydrothermal activities, physical and chemical characteristics of hydrothermal fluids, and vent-associated biological communities --- Petrology and geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts from the southern Central Indian Ridge --- Petrology of peridotites and related gabbroic rocks around the Kairei-hydrothermal field in the Central Indian Ridge --- Distribution and Biogeochemical Properties of Hydrothermal Plumes in the Rodriguez Triple Junction --- Vent fauna in the Central Indian Ridge --- The mantle dynamics, the crustal formation, and the hydrothermal activity of the Southern Mariana Trough back-arc Basin --- Seismic structure and seismicity in the Southern Mariana Trough and their relation to hydrothermal activity --- Electrical resistivity structure of the Snail site at the Southern Mariana Trough spreading center --- Asymmetric seafloor spreading of the southern Mariana Trough back-arc basin --- Geochemical characteristics of active backarc basin volcanisms at the southern end of Mariana Trough --- Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal minerals collected from hydrothermal vent fields in the Southern Mariana spreading center --- Dating of hydrothermal mineralization in active hydrothermal fields in the Southern Mariana Trough --- Intra-field variation of prokaryotic communities on and below the seafloor in the back-arc hydrothermal system of the Southern Mariana Trough --- Vent fauna in the Mariana Trough --- Population history of a hydrothermal vent-endemic snail Alviniconcha hessleri in the Mariana Trough --- Hydrothermal activity in the Okinawa Trough backarc basin -geological background and hydrothermal mineralization- --- Active rifting structures in Iheya Graben and adjacent area of the mid-Okinawa Trough observed through seismic reflection surveys --- ESR dating of barite in sea-floor hydrothermal sulfide deposits in the Okinawa Trough --- Fluid geochemistry of high-temperature hydrothermal fields in the Okinawa Trough --- Sediment‒pore water system associated with native sulfur formation at Jade hydrothermal field in Okinawa Trough --- Comparative investigation of microbial communities associated with hydrothermal activities in the Okinawa Trough --- In situ determination of bacterial growth in mixing zone of hydrothermal vent field on the Hatoma Knoll, Southern Okinawa Trough --- Vent Fauna in the Okinawa Trough --- Brief report of side-scan sonar observations around the Yokoniwa NTO massif --- Examination of volcanic activity: AUV and submersible observations of fine-scale lava flow distributions along the Southern Mariana Trough spreading axis --- Brief report of side-scan sonar imagery observations of the Archaean, Pika, and Urashima hydrothermal sites --- The Yoron Hole: the shallowest hydrothermal site in the Okinawa Trough --- The Irabu Knoll: Hydrothermal site at the eastern edge of the Yaeyama Graben --- Tarama Knoll: Geochemical and biological profiles of hydrothermal activity --- Petrography and geochemistry of basement rocks drilled from Snail, Yamanaka, Archean, and Pika hydrothermal fields at the Southern Mariana Trough by Benthic Multi-coring System (BMS) --- Pore fluid chemistry beneath active hydrothermal fields in the mid-Okinawa Trough: Results of shallow drilling by BMS during TAIGA11 cruise --- The characteristics of the seafloor massive sulfide deposits at the Hakurei Site in the Izena Hole, the Middle Okinawa Trough --- Occurrence of hydrothermal alteration minerals at the Jade hydrothermal field, in the Izena Hole, mid-Okinawa Trough --- Geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids collected from active hydrothermal systems in the southern Mariana Trough backarc spreading center --- Gamma ray doses in water around sea floor hydrothermal area in South Mariana --- 226Ra-210Pb and 228Ra-228Th dating of barite in submarine hydrothermal sulfide deposits collected at Okinawa Trough and South Mariana Trough --- OSL dating of sea floor sediments at the Okinawa Trough --- Immediate change of radiation doses from hydrothermal deposits --- Periodic behavior of deep sea current in the Hatoma Knoll hydrothermal system --- The gelatinous macroplankton community at the Hatoma Knoll hydrothermal vent

Description / Table of Contents: This book covers essential aspects of transmutation technologies, highlighting especially the advances in Japan. The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has caused us to focus attention on a large amount of spent nuclear fuels stored in NPPs. In addition, public anxiety regarding the treatment and disposal of high-level radioactive wastes that require long-term control is growing. The Japanese policy on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle is still unpredictable in the aftermath of the accident. Therefore, research and development for enhancing the safety of various processes involved in nuclear energy production are being actively pursued worldwide. In particular, nuclear transmutation technology has been drawing significant attention after the accident. This publication is timely with the following highlights: 1) Development of accelerator-driven systems (ADSs), which is a brand-new reactor concept for transmutation of highly radioactive wastes; 2) Nuclear reactor systems from the point of view of the nuclear fuel cycle. How to reduce nuclear wastes or how to treat them including the debris from TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power stations is discussed; and 3) Environmental radioactivity, radioactive waste treatment, and geological disposal policy. State-of-the-art technologies for overall back-end issues of the nuclear fuel cycle as well as the technologies of transmutation are presented here. The chapter authors are actively involved in the development of ADSs and transmutation-related technologies. The future of the back-end issues in Japan is very uncertain after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and this book provides an opportunity for readers to consider the future direction of those issues

Description / Table of Contents: Nitrogen is an essential element in biological systems, and one that often limits production in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. Due to its requirement in biological macromolecules, its acquisition and cycling have the potential to structure microbial communities, as well as to control productivity on the ecosystem scale. In addition, its versatile redox chemistry is the basis of complex biogeochemical transformations that control the inventory of fixed nitrogen, both in local environments and over geological time. Although many of the pathways in the microbial nitrogen cycle were described more than a century ago, additional fundamental pathways have been discovered only recently. These findings imply that we still have much to learn about the microbial nitrogen cycle, the organisms responsible for it, and their interactions in natural and human environments. Progress in nitrogen cycle research has been facilitated by recent rapid technological advances, especially in genomics and isotopic approaches. In this Research Topic, we reviewed the leading edge of nitrogen cycle research based on these approaches, as well as by exploring microbial processes in modern ecosystems.

Description / Table of Contents: Viruses infect numerous microorganisms including, predominantly, Bacteria (bacteriophages or phages) but also Archaea, Protists, and Fungi. They are the most abundant and ubiquitous biological entities on Earth and are important drivers of ecosystem functioning. Little is known, however, about the vast majority of these viruses of microorganisms, or VoMs. Modern techniques such as metagenomics have enabled the discovery and description of more presumptive VoMs than ever before, but also have exposed gaps in our understanding of VoM ecology. Exploring the ecology of these viruses – which is how they interact with host organisms, the abiotic environment, larger organisms, and even other viruses across a variety of environments and conditions – is the next frontier. Integration of a growing molecular understanding of VoMs with ecological studies will expand our knowledge of ecosystem dynamics. Ecology can be studied at multiple levels including individual organisms, populations, communities, whole ecosystems, and the entire biosphere. Ecology additionally can consider normal, equilibrium conditions or instead perturbations. Perturbations are of particular interest because measuring the effect of disturbances on VoM-associated communities provides important windows into how VoMs contribute to ecosystem dynamics. These disturbances in turn can be studied through in vitro, in vivo, and in situ experimentation, measuring responses by VoM-associated communities to changes in nutrient availability, stress, physical disruption, seasonality, etc., and could apply to studies at all ecological levels. These are considered here across diverse systems and environments.

Description / Table of Contents: 1 Introduction: Overview of Our Research on Impacts of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident on Fish and Fishing Grounds --- Part I Seawater and Plankton --- 2 134Cs and 137Cs in the Seawater Around Japan and in the North Pacific --- 3 Temporal Changes in 137Cs Concentration in Zooplankton and Seawater off the Joban–Sanriku Coast, and in Sendai Bay, After the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Accident --- Part II Sediments and Benthos --- 4 Three-Dimensional Distribution of Radiocesium in Sea Sediment Derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- 5 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Organic Fraction of Sea Sediments --- 6 Bottom Turbidity, Boundary Layer Dynamics, and Associated Transport of Suspended Particulate Materials off the Fukushima Coast --- 7 Investigation of Radiocesium Translation from Contaminated Sediment to Benthic Organisms --- Part III Marine Fish --- 8 Detection of 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs Released into the Atmosphere from FNPP in Small Epipelagic Fishes, Japanese Sardine and Japanese Anchovy, off the Kanto Area, Japan --- 9 Radiocesium Concentration of Small Epipelagic Fishes (Sardine and Japanese Anchovy) off the Kashima-Boso Area --- 10 Why Do the Radionuclide Concentrations of Pacific Cod Depend on the Body Size? --- 11 Radiocesium Contamination Histories of Japanese Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) After the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- Part IV Mechanisms of Severe Contamination in Fish --- 12 Evaluating the Probability of Catching Fat Greenlings (Hexagrammos otakii) Highly Contaminated with Radiocesium off the Coast of Fukushima --- 13 Analysis of the Contamination Process of the Extremely Contaminated Fat Greenling by Fukushima-Derived Radioactive Material --- 14 Contamination Levels of Radioactive Cesium in Fat Greenling Caught at the Main Port of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- Part V Freshwater Systems --- 15 Comparison of Radioactive Cesium Contamination of Lake Water, Bottom Sediment, Plankton, and Freshwater Fish Among Lakes of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 16 Radiocesium Concentrations and Body Size of Freshwater Fish in Lake Hayama 1 Year After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- 17 Spatiotemporal Monitoring of 134Cs and 137Cs in Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, a Microalgae-Grazing Fish, and in Their Freshwater Habitats in Fukushima --- 18 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Muscle and Eggs of Salmonids from Lake Chuzenji, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 19 Assessment of Radiocesium Accumulation by Hatchery-Reared Salmonids After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Description / Table of Contents: Part I Basic Research for Innovative Medicine --- 1. Diverting Glycolysis to Combat Oxidative Stress --- 2. Metabolic Regulation by Nuclear Receptors --- 3. Fighting Fire with Fire in Cancer --- 4. Linear Polyubiquitination: a Crucial Regulator of NF-kB Activation --- 5. VCP, a major ATPase in the cells, as a novel drug target for currently incurable disorders --- 6. Roles of E-cadherin in hepatocarcinogenesis --- 7. The Hippo Signaling Pathway: A Candidate New Drug Target for Malignant Tumors --- 8. Inhibitory immunoreceptors on mast cells in allergy and inflammation --- 9. Doxycycline-inducible Autoimmune Blistering Skin Disease Model --- 10. T-cell Senescence and Autoimmunity --- Part II Translational Research for Innovative Medicine --- 11. IL-6: A new era for the treatment of autoimmune inflammatory diseases --- 12. Pathogenesis of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Its Potential Therapeutic Strategies --- 13. Multifaceted translational approach of major mental illness --- 14. Translational research of leptin in lipodystrophy and its related diseases --- 15. Translational research of the activation of the C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP)-guanylyl cyclase-B pathway for skeletal dysplasia --- 16. Clarity and Challenges in Tissue Fibrosis --- 17. TRP Channels: Their Function and Potentiality as Drug Targets --- 18. Autophagic Cell Death and Cancer Chemotherapeutics --- 19. Adrenomedullin as a Potential Therapeutic Agent for Refractory Ulcerative Colitis --- 20. RNA activation --- Part III New Technology for Innovative Medicine --- 21. Cardiac Reprogramming for Heart Repair --- 22. Development of a new in vivo optical probe for biological diagnosis and therapy --- 23. Introduction of mesenchymal stem cells for liver surgery (hepatectomy and transplantation) --- 24. Synaptic and axonal plasticity induction in the human cerebral cortex --- 25. TIM-3 is a novel therapeutic target for eradicating acute myelogenous leukemia stem cells --- 26. TGF-beta LAP degradation products, a novel biomarker and promising therapeutic target for liver fibrogenesis --- 27. Cell-based regenerative therapy for liver disease

Description / Table of Contents: This book covers essential aspects of transmutation technologies, highlighting especially the advances in Japan. The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has caused us to focus attention on a large amount of spent nuclear fuels stored in NPPs. In addition, public anxiety regarding the treatment and disposal of high-level radioactive wastes that require long-term control is growing. The Japanese policy on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle is still unpredictable in the aftermath of the accident. Therefore, research and development for enhancing the safety of various processes involved in nuclear energy production are being actively pursued worldwide. In particular, nuclear transmutation technology has been drawing significant attention after the accident. This publication is timely with the following highlights: 1) Development of accelerator-driven systems (ADSs), which is a brand-new reactor concept for transmutation of highly radioactive wastes; 2) Nuclear reactor systems from the point of view of the nuclear fuel cycle. How to reduce nuclear wastes or how to treat them including the debris from TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power stations is discussed; and 3) Environmental radioactivity, radioactive waste treatment, and geological disposal policy. State-of-the-art technologies for overall back-end issues of the nuclear fuel cycle as well as the technologies of transmutation are presented here. The chapter authors are actively involved in the development of ADSs and transmutation-related technologies. The future of the back-end issues in Japan is very uncertain after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, and this book provides an opportunity for readers to consider the future direction of those issues

Description / Table of Contents: Deep subsurface microbiology is a highly active and rapidly advancing research field at the interface of microbiology and the geosciences; it focuses on the detection, identification, quantification, cultivation and activity measurements of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes that permeate the subsurface biosphere of deep marine sediments and the basaltic ocean and continental crust. The deep subsurface biosphere abounds with uncultured, only recently discovered and – at best - incompletely understood microbial populations. In spatial extent and volume, Earth’s subsurface biosphere is only rivaled by the deep sea water column. So far, no deep subsurface sediment has been found that is entirely devoid of microbial life; microbial cells and DNA remain detectable at sediment depths of more than 1 km; microbial life permeates deeply buried hydrocarbon reservoirs, and is also found several kilometers down in continental crust aquifers. Severe energy limitation, either as electron acceptor or donor shortage, and scarcity of microbially degradable organic carbon sources are among the evolutionary pressures that have shaped the genomic and physiological repertoire of the deep subsurface biosphere. Its biogeochemical role as long-term organic carbon repository, inorganic electron and energy source, and subduction recycling engine continues to be explored by current research at the interface of microbiology, geochemistry and biosphere/geosphere evolution. This Research Topic addresses some of the central research questions about deep subsurface microbiology and biogeochemistry: phylogenetic and physiological microbial diversity in the deep subsurface; microbial activity and survival strategies in severely energy-limited subsurface habitats; microbial activity as reflected in process rates and gene expression patterns; biogeographic isolation and connectivity in deep subsurface microbial communities; the ecological standing of subsurface biospheres in comparison to the surface biosphere – an independently flourishing biosphere, or mere survivors that tolerate burial (along with organic carbon compounds), or a combination of both? Advancing these questions on Earth’s deep subsurface biosphere redefines the habitat range, environmental tolerance, activity and diversity of microbial life.

Description / Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Needs for New Global Strategies --- Part I. Global Business Strategy --- 2. Management Strategies for Global Businesses --- 3. Changes in the Global Economic Environment --- 4. Comparison of Economic Institutions in China and India --- 5. New Business Model as Response to Competition from Emerging Economies --- 6. India’s Neemrana Industrial Park for Japanese Firms --- Part II. Fundamentals Of Strategic Planning --- 7. Alliance-based Global Strategy --- 8. Hitachi Construction Machinery: Becoming a Wholly Owned Chinese Entity --- 9. Marketing Theory in Global Business Context --- 10. Shiseido Marketing in China --- 11. International R&D Management --- 12. Multinationals’ R&D in China and India --- 13. Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency and Japanese Firms --- 14. Suzuki Motor’s Expansion in India --- 15. Strategy Integration at the Global Level

Description / Table of Contents: In the last three decades, research has extensively focused on the role of Fe and other mineral nutrients in regulating biological processes, ranging from the surface to the deep ocean. This has produced major breakthroughs in our understanding of the fundamental role of those bioactive elements on the carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycles and ecosystem function. However, biological processes cannot be entirely sustained by that small set of chemical elements, and new scientific evidence suggests that trace metals other than Fe (e.g., Co, Mo and Ni) as well as essential organic growth factors (e.g., vitamins) may also be crucial in most aquatic systems.

Description / Table of Contents: 1 Introduction: Overview of Our Research on Impacts of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident on Fish and Fishing Grounds --- Part I Seawater and Plankton --- 2 134Cs and 137Cs in the Seawater Around Japan and in the North Pacific --- 3 Temporal Changes in 137Cs Concentration in Zooplankton and Seawater off the Joban–Sanriku Coast, and in Sendai Bay, After the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Accident --- Part II Sediments and Benthos --- 4 Three-Dimensional Distribution of Radiocesium in Sea Sediment Derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- 5 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Organic Fraction of Sea Sediments --- 6 Bottom Turbidity, Boundary Layer Dynamics, and Associated Transport of Suspended Particulate Materials off the Fukushima Coast --- 7 Investigation of Radiocesium Translation from Contaminated Sediment to Benthic Organisms --- Part III Marine Fish --- 8 Detection of 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs Released into the Atmosphere from FNPP in Small Epipelagic Fishes, Japanese Sardine and Japanese Anchovy, off the Kanto Area, Japan --- 9 Radiocesium Concentration of Small Epipelagic Fishes (Sardine and Japanese Anchovy) off the Kashima-Boso Area --- 10 Why Do the Radionuclide Concentrations of Pacific Cod Depend on the Body Size? --- 11 Radiocesium Contamination Histories of Japanese Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) After the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- Part IV Mechanisms of Severe Contamination in Fish --- 12 Evaluating the Probability of Catching Fat Greenlings (Hexagrammos otakii) Highly Contaminated with Radiocesium off the Coast of Fukushima --- 13 Analysis of the Contamination Process of the Extremely Contaminated Fat Greenling by Fukushima-Derived Radioactive Material --- 14 Contamination Levels of Radioactive Cesium in Fat Greenling Caught at the Main Port of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant --- Part V Freshwater Systems --- 15 Comparison of Radioactive Cesium Contamination of Lake Water, Bottom Sediment, Plankton, and Freshwater Fish Among Lakes of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 16 Radiocesium Concentrations and Body Size of Freshwater Fish in Lake Hayama 1 Year After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident --- 17 Spatiotemporal Monitoring of 134Cs and 137Cs in Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis, a Microalgae-Grazing Fish, and in Their Freshwater Habitats in Fukushima --- 18 Radiocesium Concentrations in the Muscle and Eggs of Salmonids from Lake Chuzenji, Japan, After the Fukushima Fallout --- 19 Assessment of Radiocesium Accumulation by Hatchery-Reared Salmonids After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Description / Table of Contents: Part I The Road to Reconstruction from the Tsunami and Radioactive Contamination: Two and a Half Years On --- 1 Dealing with Disasters of Unprecedented Magnitude: The Local Government’s Tribulations and the Road to Reconstruction (Hidekiyo Tachiya) --- 2 Tokyo University of Agriculture East Japan Assistance Project Assisting with Reconstruction: Guiding Principles, Planning, and Propagation of Benefits (Toshiyuki Monma) --- 3 Characteristics of the Agricultural and Forestry Industries in the Soma Area and Damage Sustained as a Result of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Takahiro Yamada, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- Part II Reconstruction from Tsunami Damage --- 4 Reconstruction Support for the Farmland Struck by Tsunami (Itsuo Goto and Kaisei Inagaki) --- 5 Tsunami Damage to Farming Operations and the New Generation of Farmers and Farm Management (Yukio Shibuya, Takahiro Yamada, Nyamkhuu Batdelger, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Gentaro Suzumura, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- 6 Presenting a Model for Revival of Rural Communities in Japan’s Disaster Zones (Shigeyuki Miyabayashi, Yasushi Takeuchi, Hiromu Okazawa, Tomonori Fujikawa, and Yutaka Sasaki) --- 7 Contributing to Restoration of Tidal Flats in Miyagi Prefecture’s Moune Bay Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (Susumu Chiba, Takeshi Sonoda, Makoto Hatakeyama, and Katsuhide Yokoyama) --- Part III Reconstruction from Radioactive Contamination --- 8 Initiatives by the Soil Fertilization Team to Develop Agricultural Technologies for Paddy Fields with Radioactive Contamination (Itsuo Goto and Kaisei Inagaki) --- 9 The Potential for Producing Rice for Feed and Whole Crop Rice Silage in Radiation-Contaminated Areas (Seiji Nobuoka) --- 10 Developing and Trialing a System to Monitor Radionuclide in Individual Plots of Farmland to Help Reconstruction Farming in Contaminated Areas (Toshiyuki Monma, Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Youichi Kawano, Dambii Byambasuren, Yuta Ono, and Quar Evine) --- 11 New Decontamination Methods for Parks and Other Areas in Which Radionuclide Have Accumulated (Mitsuo Kondo and Chizuko Mizuniwa) --- 12 Forest Restoration (Takahisa Hayashi) --- 13 Nuclear Radiation Levels in the Forest at Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture (Iwao Uehara, Tomoko Seyama, Fumio Eguchi, Ryuichi Tachibana, Yukito Nakamura, and Hiroya Obayashi ) --- 14 Radioactive Contamination of Ostriches in a Potentially Permanent Evacuation Zone (Hiroshi Ogawa, Hidehiko Uchiyama, Koji Masuda, Takeshi Sasaki, Tadao Watanabe, Toshiaki Tomizawa, and Schu Kawashima) --- 15 The Radioactive Contamination in Some Arthropod Species in Fukushima (Tarô Adati and Sota Tanaka) --- 16 A Consumer Survey Approach to Reputation-Based Damage Affecting Agricultural Products and How to Overcome It (Puangkaew Lurhathaiopath, Shizuka Matsumoto, Makoto Hoshi, Sayaka Yamaguchi, and Toshiyuki Monma) --- Part IV Activities and Impressions of Students and Farmers Who Supported the Project --- 17 Staking Recovery Hopes on Soma Revival Rice (Kaisei Inagaki, Tomoko Ninagi, Saburo Sasaki, and Akiko Sato) --- 18 Impression of the Students Participated in the Radioactivity Monitoring System of Farmland (Volodymyr Ganzha, Keiji Kanamori, Hana Fujimoto, and Ryo Itakura) --- 19 Impression of the Forestry managers and students participated in the Radioactivity Damage Investigation of Forests (Eihachi Horiuchi, Kiyoaki Sasaki, Masaaki Itakura, Chisato Yasukawa, and Chihiro Kinoshita)