News─────────
The 43rd Scientiﬁc Advisory Committee Meeting
Workshop─────────
Storage and Use of Biosamples Workshop
Science Articles─────────
Association of Acute Radiation Syndromes and Rain after
the Bombings in the Atomic-bomb Survivors

Table of Contents
From the Editors ......................................................................................................................................... 1
RERF News
Report on the 43rd Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting ................................................................ 2
Sixth Public Lectures Held in Nagasaki and Hiroshima ....................................................................... 6
Media Forums Held in Nagasaki and Hiroshima .................................................................................. 7
Filmmakers Study A-bombing Health Effects for Documentary of Nuclear Testing onAustralia’s Aboriginal Lands ............................................................................................................. 8
Sixth ABCC-RERF History Forum Held at Hiroshima, by Dr. Hiroaki Katayama .............................. 9
Staff News ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Greetings and Farewells .................................................................................................................. 10First Group of Trainees for RERF Training Recruited through Homepage .................................... 14
Looking Back
Revisiting ABCC-RERF Memories ................................................................................................ 15
Dr. Michael D. Danzig, Janice Danzig ............................................................................................ 16
Dr. Thomas T. Aoki and Family ...................................................................................................... 17
Conference and Workshop Reports
Report on RERF Workshop (Niwa Study Group sponsored by MHLW):
Storage and Use of Biosamples, by Atsuko Sadakane .................................................................... 17
Science Articles
Association of Acute Radiation Syndromes and Rain after the Bombings in the
Atomic-bomb Survivors, by Kotaro Ozasa...................................................................................... 20
Progerin, the protein responsible for the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, increases
the unrepaired DNA damages following exposure to ionizing radiation, by Asao Noda ............... 22
Creation of mice bearing a partial duplication of HPRT gene marked with a GFP gene anddetection of revertant cells in situ as GFP-positive somatic cells, by Asao Noda ........................... 23
A Bayesian semiparametric model for radiation dose-response estimation,
by Kyoji Furukawa .......................................................................................................................... 24
Circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in aging atomic bomb survivors,
by Seishi Kyoizumi ......................................................................................................................... 26
Human Interest Notes
Memories of My Struggles in England, by Hiromi Sugiyama .............................................................28
Facts and Figures
Report on NEWS (2nd in series) RERF Epidemiological Study of Health Effects
in Fukushima Emergency Workers, by Toshiteru Okubo ................................................................ 30
Research Protocols and Publications
Research Protocol Approved in November 2015–April 2016 ............................................................. 33
Recent Publications ............................................................................................................................. 33
Publications Using RERF Data ........................................................................................................... 34

update 1

From the Editors

From the Editors
Welcome to the Summer issue of Update for2016. This will be the last issue with the current
Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Harry M. Cullings, at thehelm. Starting with the next Update, the Winter2016 issue, Dr. Eric J. Grant, the Radiation Effects
Research Foundation (RERF)’s new Associate
Chief of Research (ACOR), will take over theeditorship duties. Mr. Jun Kitamura, Mr. Yutaka
Ogasawara, and Ms. Sayaka Green, all staff in
the Public Relations and Publications Office,joined the team earlier in the year as Technical
Editors to replace previous editors who weretransferred elsewhere within RERF or moved
from Hiroshima due to family considerations. In
addition to the news that Dr. Grant has left his
longtime post in the Epidemiology Department
to become the ACOR, other news is that Mr.
Douglas C. Solvie, another long-time employee
at RERF, was appointed to serve as RERF’s first
U.S. Chief of Secretariat.
Right now, as we finish up our final bit ofediting, is the most beautiful time of year in
Hiroshima, spanning Golden Week at the beginning of May and the onset of rainy season in early
June. We have had a typical spring this year interms of weather, although the gentle climate waspunctuated by a violent series of earthquakes in
the Kumamoto region of Kyushu, the southernmost major island of the Japanese archipelago,
with the major quakes occurring on April 14 and
16. Although a disaster in Kumamoto, the tremors
were only mildly perceptible here in Hiroshima
and did not affect in any substantial way ourHarry Cullings, Editor-in-Chieflaboratory in Nagasaki, which is located relatively
close to Kumamoto.
The seismic-reinforcement and electrical-system overhaul and construction projects are being
completed at the Hiroshima laboratory, and weare back to our usual state of affairs with theremoval of most of the temporary structures. The
major piece of news this spring so far has beenthat U.S. President Barack Obama came to visit
Hiroshima, the first sitting American president todo so. He did not visit us here at RERF, undoubtedly for a number of reasons, but his coming
to this A-bombed city has gone a long way toincreasing our visibility in the U.S. and othermedia (please see a PBS video at http://www.pbs.
org/video/2365764140/ and a Los Angeles Times
article at http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fghiroshima-researchers-20160519-snap-story.html;

This newsletter is published twice a year by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF;
formerly the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission), established in April 1975 as a private, nonprofit Japanese foundation. It is supported by the government of Japan through its Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare and by the United States through its Department of Energy (DOE), inpart by DOE contract DE-HS0000031 with the National Academy of Sciences. RERF became apublic interest incorporated foundation on April 1, 2012.
RERF conducts research and studies—for peaceful purposes—on medical effects of radiation
and associated diseases in humans, with a view to contributing to maintenance of the health andwelfare of the atomic-bomb survivors and to enhancement of the health of all humankind.
Editor-in-Chief: Harry M. Cullings, Chief, Department of Statistics
Technical Editors: Jeffrey L. Hart, Chief, Jun Kitamura, Yutaka Ogasawara, Sayaka Green, Public Relations & Publications Office
Editorial Policy
Contributions to RERF Update receive editorial review only and do not receive scientific peer
review. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect
RERF policies or positions.
Contact: Mailing address: RERF Public Relations & Publications Office, 5-2 Hijiyama Park,
Minami-ku, Hiroshima 732-0815 Japan
Telephone: 81-82-261-3131; Facsimile: 81-82-263-7279
Internet: http://www.rerf.jp/ (Access RERF’s Facebook page here.)
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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 2

RERF News
these links have also been posted on RERF’s Facebook page). We have a full issue as usual, including
greetings from Dr. Grant and Mr. Solvie, a reviewof the 43rd Scientific Advisory Committee meeting
held in March, accounts of a number of public relations activities, a report on a Biosample Workshop
in which we obtained expert advice and discussion
related to our new Biorepository and Research
Resource Center, and the usual complement of science articles.
We hope you enjoy this, my final, issue!

June 1, 2016

Harry M. Cullings
Editor-in-Chief
Technical Editors
Jeffrey L. Hart
Jun Kitamura
Yutaka Ogasawara
Sayaka Green

Report on the 43rd Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting
March 2–4, 2016
The 43rd meeting of the Radiation
Effects Research Foundation (RERF)
Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)
was held March 2–4, 2016, at Hiroshima
RERF, Japan. The 10 SAC members werejoined by two Special Scientific Advisors,
Dr. Hirotsugu Ueshima and Dr. Marjan
Boerma, added for their expertise inepidemiological research and radiation
cardiac toxicity, respectively. This year’s
in-depth review focused on the Department of Clinical Studies.
Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, RERF Chairman,
43rd Scientific Advisory Committee meeting, at Hiroshima RERF
opened the meeting on Wednesday March2, with a high-level overview of RERF as
ings, interactions, and collaborations for performa public interest incorporated foundation and of its
ing research within the new “research cluster”
organizational structure focused on clinical studies
system. The prioritization of research projects due
and support services. He addressed the changing
to resource limitations was described next. Dr.
environment and the outside pressures that RERF
faces and stressed the importance of transparency
Ullrich’s vision for establishing a stronger compuand accountability for the foundation. Consistenttational biology emphasis includes strategic colwith RERF’s objective to conduct research studies,laborations. The plans for maximizing the study ofhe provided a leader’s view of the Foundation’s
novel biospecimens include exploration of collaborations with Japanese companies and institutions as
future plans.
Recently, RERF initiated a major restructuring
well as selected external collaborators, such as thethat has involved the merging of the Radiobiology/
U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and theMolecular Epidemiology and Genetics departments
National Cancer Institute (NCI), but clearly within
into the new Molecular Biosciences Department
guidelines for sample-sharing that respect A-bomb
and the formation of a scientific structure comprised
survivor sensitivities. The efforts to strengthen theof “research clusters.” This year, 2016, marks the
Research Resource Center were also described.
first year this change has been fully implemented.
In his presentation, Dr. Ullrich addressed all of
While it may be premature to judge the impact ofthe 2015 SAC comments and summarized RERF
restructuring, the SAC indicated that it appreciates
research achievements during the course of 2015.
the substantial effort this change represents, viewing
These achievements included the following:
it as a positive response to some of the shortcomings• A comprehensive analysis to update radiation
risk estimates for cancer incidence throughthe committee had previously identified.
Dr. Robert L. Ullrich, Vice Chairman and Chief2009 was completed using updated individualof Research, reported next on RERF researchdoses and information on lifestyle factors
developments following the initial restructuring
such as smoking in collaboration with theby departmental merger (Molecular Biosciences
U.S. NCI.
Department) and the use of multidisciplinary meet• A detailed analysis of mortality risk and dose
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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

RERF News
responses of heart-disease subtypes in separate observation periods from 1950 to 2008
was conducted in collaboration with the Cardiovascular Disease Research Cluster and
Department of Clinical Studies.
• A first-author paper on the association ofradiation dose with the prevalence of thyroid
nodules among Adult Health Study (AHS)
subjects exposed at younger ages was published.
• Two first-author papers on the effects ofdemographic factors and radiation on the age
trend of cognitive function between 1992 and2011 among subjects exposed at ≥13 years ofage were published.
• A paper on cancer and non-cancer mortality
risks among the children of the atomic bomb
survivors during 1946–2009 was published.
• The RERF Statistics and Epidemiology
departments revised location estimates forindividual survivors resulting from recent
map work by the Master File Section, as well
as revised and improved input data on terrain
shielding at those new locations resulting inchanges in survivors’ DS02 dose estimates.
An overview presentation by Dr. Waka Ohishi,
Chief, Department of Clinical Studies, followed.
The responses to SAC comments were provided
and later fortified by examples in subsequent
individual presentations. Dr. Ikuno Takahashi,
Research Scientist, Department of Clinical Studies, presented on radiation and cardiovasculardisease, and Dr. Daisuke Haruta, Research Scientist, Department of Clinical Studies (Nagasaki),focused on chronic renal disease in exposed individuals. Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, Dean/Professor,
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki
University, of the SAC provided comments for
improving the working hypothesis slides to eliminate ambiguity. Dr. Ayumi Hida, Chief, Division of
Medicine, Senior Scientist, Department of ClinicalStudies (Nagasaki), summarized the ophthalmology studies, and Dr. Kazunori Kodama, Chief
Scientist, provided information on the Fukushima
nuclear emergency workers health study (known as
the NEW Study, or NEWS) and the many difficulties encountered in locating subjects and obtaining
their agreement to participate.
Dr. Kotaro Ozasa, Chief, Department of Epidemiology, presented that department’s overview andaddressed all of the prior SAC comments and concerns. Dr. Harry M. Cullings, Chief, Department of
Statistics, provided that department’s overview andfocused on the aging research staff and needs forrecruitment of researchers. Dr. Hiroaki Katayama,
Chief, Department of Information Technology,
provided his department’s overview, which also
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update 3
was marked by an aging staff and resource limitations. Dr. Yoichiro Kusunoki, Chief, Departmentof Molecular Biosciences, completed the departmental presentations with an overview of the new
department.
On Thursday, March 3, Dr. Yoshiaki Kodama
presented a Biosample Center update and Dr.
Niwa addressed RERF’s future plans. A discussion
with the SAC provided some of the issues to beaddressed. The SAC members visited the departments Thursday morning and the Resource Centerin the afternoon, followed by in-depth reviews, in
preparation for discussions and report preparation.
After this thorough review the SAC provided
overall recommendations for RERF as well as
more specific recommendations for each department. The key written recommendations for RERF
are given below:
1. The SAC recognized and expressed its appreciation for the organized meeting materials
provided to SAC members. It also appreciatedthe enormous amount of work and resources
involved in managing this RERF annual meeting and raised the question as to whether thislarge commitment of resources and investigator time might be better spent on research
activities. Several SAC members have suggested that a biennial review cycle be considered. In alternate years, a written progress
report, reviewed administratively, may suffice
to monitor progress. Several others considered these annual reviews to be appropriate intheir current format. RERF administration
was encouraged to discuss these options with
the U.S.-Japan official representatives.
2. Several presentations expressed concerns that
the RERF investigators are aging, the facilities need investment, and the future of thefoundation is in flux. The SAC discussed
these concerns and recognized the need for
RERF leadership to initiate the processes
needed to develop a strategic plan for RERF’s
future.
3. RERF’s primary directive was to perform epidemiological studies of subjects exposed toatomic bomb radiation. To this end, the carcinogenesis studies have provided outstanding
data to advance the understanding of radiation
effects in humans. Furthermore, the F1 generation studies will provide answers to criticalquestions about the potential trans-generational effects of human radiation exposures.
Much of the recent research has focused on
non-cancer studies of low-level radiation. The
findings have been less convincing and moredifficult to support, since the rationale for
performing studies has been based on highdose, clinical exposures (published literature),
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 4

RERF Newsand RERF observations of non-cancer diseases may be confounded by the aging process of subjects.
4. More involvement of the Department of Statistics at the early stage of research proposal
design was recommended. The Statistics
Department has been contributing to “afterthe-fact” data analyses for many RERF studies in the other departments. The SAC
strongly recommended that at least one Statistics Department member participates in thedesign stage of each research proposal. All
new and continued Research Protocol (RP)’sshould have a clear working hypothesis with
the indication of expected statistical power
and feasibility for the experimental design.
5. Similarly, the SAC urged the involvement ofat least one member from the Epidemiology
Department in the discussions, design, andanalyses of these studies to ensure that thecohort data will be utilized appropriately.
6. The SAC recognized the increase in collaborations and communication that have been led
by young scientists within RERF. The SAC
recommended increasing the visibility of suchactivities within RERF as well as to the public. This may serve to attract more highly

qualified candidates for recruitment to RERF.
Academic positions for young scientists arelimited in Japan so it is not clear why there
are not more applications for positions at
RERF.
An important recommendation for the ClinicalStudies Department, which was the primary focusof review this year, is shown below:• The equipment and resources have been purchased and are in place for completing thecataract study. It was somewhat disconcertingthat only four participants can be evaluated
per week per city for data collection due to ashortage of ophthalmologist time availability.
This allocation of resources should be
reviewed and the data collection accelerated,to complete this study in a timely fashion.
In summary, the SAC recognized the importantand unique contributions that RERF makes to science as well as to the determination of radiation
risks. Recognizing these important roles that RERF
currently plays on the world stage, the SAC madethe key suggestion to develop a strategic plan for
the future of RERF covering the next 20–30 years.

Participants of 43rd Scientific Advisory Committee meeting, at Hiroshima RERF

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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

RERF News

update 5

Scientific Advisors
Dr. Anatoly Dritschilo, Professor and Chairman, Department of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown
University School of Medicine, Co-chairperson
Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, Trustee, Vice President, Nagasaki University, Co-chairperson
Dr. Yoichi Gondo, Team Leader, Mutagenesis and Genomics Team, RIKEN BioResource Center
Dr. Michiaki Kai, Professor, Environmental Health Science, Department of Health Sciences,
Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences
Dr. Kazuo Sakai, Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University
Dr. Tomotaka Sobue, Professor, Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Graduate
School of Medicine, Osaka University
Dr. David G. Hoel, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, and Principal Scientist, Exponent Inc.
Dr. Michael N. Cornforth, Professor and Director of Biology Division, Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas Medical Branch
Dr. Francesca Dominici, Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Biostatistics; Senior Associate Dean for Research, Office of the Dean, Harvard School of Public HealthDr. Jonine Bernstein, Attending Epidemiologist, Co-Program Leader, Survivorship, Outcomes
and Risk Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Special Scientific Advisors
Dr. Hirotsugu Ueshima, Professor Emeritus, Shiga University of Medical Science and Special
Contract Professor, Center for Epidemiologic Research in Asia, Shiga University of Medical ScienceDr. Marjan Boerma, Associate Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences,
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Radiation Health

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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 6

RERF News

Sixth Public Lectures Held in Nagasaki and Hiroshima
important to UNSCEAR and the international scientific community because data obtained from A-bomb
survivors and their children serve as the “gold standard” for establishing radiation protection standards.
He added that while the radiation exposures from theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and thenuclear accident in Fukushima differ significantly
in terms of physics, there are some similarities interms of societal and psychological impacts as well as
effects on the human body. He
also emphasized the importance of not losing objectivGiving their presentation, Ms. Saki Anzai
ity and maintaining a holistic(right), Ms. Minori Saito, Fukushima Highperspective.
SchoolThe second talk, titled“RERF Research Results,
Involvement with Fukushima,
RERF held its sixth public
and Future Outlook,” waslecture event in Nagasaki at thepresented by Dr. Kazunori
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
Kodama, RERF Chief ScienHall, on November 28, 2015. The
tist. He outlined what has beenlecture series is designed to enhancelearned from RERF studies
communication by conveying inforon radiation health effects andmation to the general public, includ- Mr. Malcolm Crick, Secretary, United Nations
what needs to be investigateding atomic bomb survivors and their Scientific Committee on the Effects ofchildren, about results from RERF’s Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) (left), Dr. further. He also introduced the
Kazunori Kodama, Chief Scientist, RERF
activities in which RERF has
long-standing research on A-bomb
engaged since the Fukushimaradiation health effects.
nuclear plant accident, with special focus on a study
This most recent public lecture event wasinvolving about 20,000 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
designed to introduce to Nagasaki citizens RERF’s
plant emergency workers that RERF initiated approxresearch results, involvement with Fukushima, futureimately one year ago in collaboration with other
outlook, and how its scientific findings are utilizedorganizations. Lastly, he explained the future outlook
throughout the world, as well as details about a radiaregarding remaining questions and issues.
tion study conducted by high school students. The
The last presentation, titled “Project for Indievent was attended by more than 100 people.
In his opening greetings, RERF Chairman
vidual Dose Measurement of High School Students
Ohtsura Niwa remarked, “This year [2015], theInside and Outside of Fukushima,” was made by
70th since the atomic bombings, is a milestoneMiss Minori Saito and Miss Saki Anzai, students
for passing down our knowledge gained from thefrom Fukushima Prefectural High School, and theirexperience of the atomic bombings to future genteacher, Mr. Takashi Hara. They presented theirerations. For this, we need debate from multiple
research project, which looked into when, where,
perspectives. On this occasion of our public lectureand how much radiation individuals were exposed
event, I look forward toreceiving candid opinionsfrom people with different backgrounds, especially
young people.”
The event’s first speaker,
Mr. Malcolm Crick, Secretary, United Nations Scientific Committee on the
Effects of Atomic Radiation(UNSCEAR), presented alecture titled “The World and
RERF.” He explained how
RERF studies are crucially
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A choir toofTableNagasakiJunshin GirlsHigh School students perform withwishes for peace

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 7

RERF Newsto on the basis of the collation of information on
their daily activities along with a record of hourly
radiation dose readings using a dosimeter called“D-Shuttle.” Time and date information at thetime of each reading was additionally provided.
They also described the hardships Fukushima
now faces and called for broad understandingof the actual situation in Fukushima based on
scientific facts. This project was carried out incollaboration with high school students insideand outside of Fukushima as well as overseas.
The results were published in the Journal ofRadiological Protection (http://iopscience.iop.org/
article/10.1088/0952-4746/36/1/49) and have beenpresented in not only Japan but also France and Italy.
Following the lecture and presentations, there
was a question-and-answer session with the audience chaired by Mr. Takanobu Teramoto, RERF
Executive Director.
As 2015 marked the 70th year since the atomic
bombings and the 40th anniversary of the foundingof RERF, remarks of gratitude to A-bomb survivors
and their children for their participation in RERF’s
studies were read aloud by an RERF staff member.
In addition, a choir comprised of Nagasaki Junshin
Girls High School students performed songs to
express heartfelt condolences to those who perished in the atomic bombings and their desire forthe realization of a world free of nuclear weapons.
The event concluded with closing remarks byVice Chairman Robert L. Ullrich, who expressed
his gratitude in Japanese to the audience for their
participation in the Nagasaki public lecture and thevaluable opinions expressed therein.

ture event at the International Culture Hall on thefirst basement floor of the main building of theHiroshima YMCA International Culture Center on
November 29, 2015. Despite the cold weather, theevent was attended by 143 people.
Following opening greetings by Chairman
Niwa, guest greetings were provided by Mr. Sunao
Tsuboi, Chairman, Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Once again, remarks of gratitude to A-bomb survivors and their children for their participation in
RERF’s studies were read aloud by a Hiroshima
RERF staff member. Three presentations werethen provided by RERF’s Dr. Kodama, Fukushima
Prefectural High School’s Super Science Club, and
UNSCEAR’s Mr. Crick. Between the presentations, students from Hiroshima Municipal Funairi
High School performed a musical interlude toexpress their sincere condolences to those who diedas a result of the atomic bombings.
Prior to the public lecture event in Hiroshima,a gathering that featured an A-bomb survivor’s
testimony was held at a different venue in thesame building. At the gathering, Mr. Tsuboi—who
was exposed to the atomic bombing in Hiroshima
at the age of 20 and has long engaged in peace
activities while struggling with numerous healthissues—talked about his extraordinary experiences
to those in attendance, including the Fukushima
High School students, their teacher Mr. Hara, andMr. Crick from UNSCEAR.
Mr. Teramoto chaired a question-and-answer
period, which followed the final and third presentation. Vice Chairman Ullrich once again closed thelecture with his closing remarks in Japanese.

In Hiroshima, RERF held its sixth public lec-

Media Forums Held in Nagasaki and Hiroshima
RERF held media forums on April 13, 2016,
at Nagasaki RERF and on April 18 in Hiroshima.
The Nagasaki forum, convened in the conference
room on the 3rd floor of the Nagasaki Laboratory,gathered 11 media representatives from eight organizations. The Hiroshima forum, which took placein the Auditorium of the Hiroshima Laboratory,
hosted 13 reporters from seven media outlets.
The purpose of the annual media gathering isto present new research achievements and increase
understanding among media representatives about thestudies conducted over a period of nearly 70 years at
ABCC-RERF. In this way, the forums provide knowledge the media can use to better inform the public
about the health effects from A-bomb radiation.
At both the Nagasaki and Hiroshima forums,
Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, Chairman, opened this event
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Media Forum at Nagasaki RERF, with Hiroshima RERF
researchers attending via TV conferencing (at rear)—his first, as he was appointed to the post in June
2015—by providing greetings and his impressions of RERF’s operations in a general sense. Dr.
Kazunori Kodama, Chief Scientist, followed by
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

RERF News
giving an extensive presentation titled “Overview
of RERF research,” including the topics of RERF
research issues and policies.
Mr. Takanobu Teramoto, in charge of public relations as the Executive Director, closed the presentations by speaking on the topic “FY2016 plans forevents/projects.” Mr. Teramoto described the major
events scheduled for both Nagasaki and Hiroshima
in the upcoming fiscal year, including the OpenHouse events in August, the Local Liaison Council
meetings in both cities in September, and the public
lectures scheduled for some time in the fall.
At the forums, media participants raised ques-

update 8
tions regarding the Epidemiological Study ofHealth Effects in Fukushima Emergency Workers(NEWS) and its progress, about the new RERF
“research cluster” concept, and for further clarification of RERF epidemiological findings.
Compared with the same event last year, thenumber of media representatives in 2016 was almost
double (11 vs. seven in 2015 in Nagasaki; 13 vs. six
in Hiroshima), perhaps indicating their heightenedinterest in listening to Chairman Niwa for the firsttime in such a setting, or perhaps signaling increased
interest among the media in this informal gathering.

Media Forum held in Hiroshima, with Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, Chairman, giving opening greetings(at rear)

Filmmakers Study A-bombing Health Effects for Documentary of
Nuclear Testing on Australia’s Aboriginal Lands
John Mandelberg, an award-winning documenJapan, and health effects found by ABCC-RERF intary filmmaker from Australia who has produced
the offspring of survivors.
and directed film and television for 25 years and is
According to Mandelberg, who also teaches
a founder/producer at Blue Water Productions, visat the Waikato Institute of Technology (Winited Hiroshima RERF on April 11, 2016,
together with his crew. His film team
hoped to obtain background information
on RERF’s findings for production of adocumentary covering British nuclear
testing on Aboriginal lands in Australia
in the 1950s and early 1960s.
To inform their filmmaking, thegroup interviewed Dr. Harry Cullings,
Chief, Statistics Department, about
RERF findings regarding health effects
from radiation and the aftermaths of theHiroshima and Nagasaki A-bombings.
The interview included questions about
the size of the atomic weapon that was
exploded over Hiroshima in terms of
TNT equivalency, prevalent types of Mr. John Mandelberg of Australia media team interviewing Dr. Harry Cullings,
cancers in atomic bomb survivors in Chief, Statistics Department (Photo source: Nicholas Sherman, ACS)
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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

RERF Newstec) School of Media Arts & Moving Image in
New Zealand, the group visited RERF because“Filming in Hiroshima will give us context for thestart of the nuclear age and the effects of this tragedy,” in reference to the atomic bombings. The film

update 9
will conclude with a description of the situation in
Fukushima and a discussion of the future of nuclear
energy and nuclear weapons, Mandelberg said.
Blue Water Production’s documentary, “Totem& Ore,” is set to be released some time in 2018.

Sixth ABCC-RERF History Forum Held at Hiroshima—
with Dr. Hideya Tamagaki, former ABCC physician, as speaker
Hiroaki Katayama, Chief
Department of Information Technology
The sixth ABCC-RERF History Forum washeld at the Hiroshima RERF Auditorium on April
21, 2016, and featured former ABCC physician
Dr. Hideya Tamagaki as speaker. Born in 1922,
Dr. Tamagaki is now 93 years old. In 1949, hestarted his career at a branch office of the Japanese

National Institute of Health (located within ABCC
at that time), and conducted genetics and otherstudies. Over a period of 16 years until 1965, he
was involved in both clinical work and research at
ABCC.
Like Ms. Kiyoko Minato and Ms. Hisae Tanaka,both of whom served as nurses at ABCC and spoke
at a previous History Forum, Dr. Tamagaki conveyed a vivid and detailed account of his memories of his work in the early days of ABCC. He
administered new medicines to leukemia patients
which came from the U.S. and were not yet available in Japan, and treated seriously ill patients at
the ABCC inpatient facilities, some of whom went
home after remission of their conditions. When
Dr. Hideya Tamagaki (right), talking about his pastexperiences at ABCC

Dr. Hideya Tamagaki (first row right); Mr. Takanobu Teramoto (left), Executive Director; (from second row left) Ms.
Nozomi Tamagaki, daughter of Dr. Tamagaki; Mr. Toraji Miyagawa, Historical Material Management Committee
member and former Chief of General Affairs Section; Ms. Hisae Tanaka and Ms. Kiyoko Minato, former ABCC
nurses; Dr. Hiroaki Katayama, Chief of Information Technology Department; Dr. Kazunori Kodama, Chief Scientist; Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, Chairman
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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 10

RERF Newshe examined newborns for the genetic study, theexaminee families were delighted with the soap
and towels given by ABCC for their cooperation.
At the inception of the Adult Health Study, he
had experienced being admonished when visiting
houses to request A-bomb survivors for cooperation for participation in the A-bomb survivor study.
He could not speak English when he joined thedepartment of internal medicine, but one year later,
he was able to communicate in English without
difficulty.
What was the most impressive was Dr. Tamagaki’s
repeated emphasis that ABCC had taught him theimportance of sticking to the basics when performing medical examinations, even though he hadlearned the basics of the examinations at medical
school. His statement shows his sincerity when
he did such examinations. I would like to add, ona slightly off-topic note, that after the forum hetold us with laughter that he still exercises twice a
week, which made me deeply conscious of carelessness about my own health.
To widely promote recognition of RERF’s activities, this forum included media representatives in
the audience. RERF will continue to actively publicize such activities to the extent possible.
RERF still maintains a high participation rateof nearly 80% in the AHS. As Dr. Tamagaki mentioned in his talk, the foundation owes a debt ofgratitude to the hard work of employees who visited people’s homes to request their participation
in RERF’s health examinations. It is not hard to
imagine the hardship they endured in such jobs.
We hope to feature former employees who wereassigned to this duty to talk about their experiencesin the next forum. For details about this most recent
and previous forums, visit RERF’s website (http://
www.rerf.or.jp/history/histforum.html).

Staff News
Benjamin French was appointed as Associate Senior Scientist (fixed-term research scientist),
Department of Statistics, on February 1, 2016.
Caitlin M. Milder, Visiting Research Fellow,
Department of Epidemiology, finished her term of
appointment on February 22. Ayako Takamori,
Visiting Student Fellow, Department of Epidemiology, finished her training at RERF on March 31. Eiji
Akimoto, RERF Chief of Secretariat, resigned on
March 31, and Douglas C. Solvie, Associate Chiefof Secretariat, was appointed to the post of Chiefof Secretariat on April 1. Eric J. Grant, Assistant
Department Chief (Senior Scientist), Departmentof Epidemiology, was newly appointed as Associate
Chief of Research on April 1. Takahiko Ogawa,
Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Molecular

Biosciences, Yasuharu Niwa, Associate Senior Scientist (fixed-term research scientist), Laboratory of
Cell Biology, and Midori Soda, Adjunct Specialist(research scientist), Department of Epidemiology(Nagasaki), all resigned upon expiration of theirterms on March 31. Young Min Kim, research scientist, Department of Statistics, resigned effective
April 20.
The following are a greetings message from Eric
J. Grant, the new Associate Chief of Research,
and a farewell message from Eiji Akimoto, former
Chief of Secretariat, and greetings from Douglas
C. Solvie, newly appointed Chief of Secretariat,
and Benjamin French, Associate Senior Scientist,with a farewell message from Young Min Kim,
former research scientist.

Greetings and Farewells
Greetings from New Associate Chief of Research
Eric J. Grant
Many RERF staff will know me from my longterm service in the Department of Epidemiology,
but for those readers who do not, please let me
introduce myself.
I was originally hired by Dr. Kiyohiko Mabuchi,then Chief, Department of Epidemiology, in 1998
and rose to the rank of Assistant Chief of the
Department in 2012, under the direction of Dr.
Kotaro Ozasa, Chief of the same department. I haveenjoyed working for the many talented researchers at RERF over these years. After Dr. Robert
L. Ullrich was promoted to the post of Chief ofReturn to Table of Contents

New Associate Chief of Research, Dr. Eric Grant

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RERF News
Research, in June 2015, he encouraged me to apply
for the Associate Chief of Research position, towhich I was promoted on April 1, 2016. I therefore
had to say farewell to my colleagues in the Epidemiology Department and move to a different wingof the building within the RERF Secretariat.
Dr. Ohtsura Niwa, who was appointed as
Chairman also in June 2015, Dr. Ullrich, and
Mr. Takanobu Teramoto, Executive Director andthe longest tenured director among the three, aretogether leading RERF during a time of transition. Upon starting my new post, I was assigned tospearhead the Cancer Research Cluster, part of a
new “research cluster” initiative that aims to promote multidisciplinary research within the instituteby organizing research work according to theme
rather than department. It is my hope that I canassist them during this exciting time.
I have also been asked to pilot an effort to
update our data-sharing policies to foster simpler

and more comprehensive collaborations with outside institutes interested in using our data and samples in collaborative research. Another task of mine
is to work together with Dr. Kazunori Kodama,Chief Scientist, and Dr. Hiroaki Katayama, Chief,
Department of Information Technology, to develop
the new RERF “Research Resource Center,” which
is designed to simplify access to RERF data forresearch scientists within the institute.
I realize I have much to learn and continue to be
grateful for the support I receive from my coworkers at RERF. I am hopeful that I will be able to fulfill my responsibilities and reward the confidence
my superiors have shown in me by selecting me
for this challenging position. I ask everyone forcontinued support and patience as I grow into my
new job and role. I look forward to continuing towork with everyone here at RERF and interactingwith the public and other scientists outside of thefoundation.

Greetings from New Chief of Secretariat
Douglas C. Solvie
I begin by extending my greetings to all readersof the RERF Update newsletter.
On April 1 this year, 2016, I assumed the position of Chief of Secretariat at RERF. For a numberof years previous to that, I had been Associate
Chief of Secretariat. I am grateful to RERF for thisnew opportunity and have found the position to beinteresting and invigorating.
RERF faces many obstacles as we move towards
the future. One of great concern to me is the agingof our management and general staff. To secure our
future human resource needs, RERF must continue
to look both inside and out to prepare a younger
generation to take over management duties. I
believe that people of talent and aspiration, regardless of their age, should be given the opportunity tohold leadership positions. This philosophy breaks
somewhat with RERF and Japanese tradition, but
I believe it is essential if we are to reinvigorate
RERF and assure our future.
Another issue we face is that of bureaucracy.
Since RERF became a Public Interest Incorporated
Foundation (PIIF), keeping up with the related
paperwork and rules and regulations has been ahandful for staff, especially those in the Secretariat.
RERF also has many outdated practices and regulations that need to be refined to the extent possible.
We need to uncover inefficiencies and unproductive practices so that we can concentrate on areasof work that directly contribute to RERF’s future.

Return to Table of Contents

New Chief of Secretariat, Mr. Douglas Solvie

As Chief of Secretariat, I plan to implement,with the help of the directors and all other staff,
the changes I feel necessary to make RERF a more
efficient and productive organization. It is important to find a balance between moving too slowly
and moving too fast. To use a baseball analogy, I
feel it is better in the initial innings to hit singles
and doubles, one after another, than to swing forthe fences. Staff will accept changes more easily
if they are carried out in an orderly fashion with aclear path and vision to follow.
In closing, I realize my new responsibilities
at RERF are great. I hope for your support andinput to help me successfully repay the confidence
placed in me in this way.

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RERF News

Farewell Message from the Former Chief of Secretariat
Eiji Akimoto

Former Chief of Secretariat, Mr. Eiji Akimoto

On March 31, 2016, I retired from my position as Chief of Secretariat at RERF and take thisopportunity now to convey my heartfelt message
of farewell.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation
to all those who provided me with such tremendous
support during my tenure at RERF, a period spanning 11 years and nine months since my initial
appointment in July 2004.
Looking back on the time when I first wasappointed to the post, great efforts were made toreach out to various stakeholders to notify themof the importance of continuing the research conducted at RERF, which had celebrated its 30th
anniversary. Those efforts included our working on
the first draft of RERF’s future plans.
Amid such circumstances, I helped reform thepersonnel system through raising employee awareness and developing regulations based on a theory

which holds that organizations reach their peakafter 30 years but then decline if they fail to adapt
to the latest business environment by focusing too
much on only one facet of business.
After that, RERF was thrown into an unprecedented situation in which we needed to considerably shift the way we manage and operate RERF’s
budget, given that the yen rose to more than 80 yen
per U.S. dollar. I am not fully confident that oursuggestions and methods of handling the situation
as the Secretariat were appropriate, but I did mybest to fulfill my duties.
For RERF’s April 2012 transition to a public
interest incorporated foundation, an unprecedented
project team was formed to work on this matter, as
it was thought that the change could greatly affectthe continued existence of the foundation. Transition to a public interest incorporated foundation
was a major systemic reform for RERF, which atthat time was approaching its 40th anniversary.
While at my post, I was fortunate to have had
opportunities to engage in such work as taking
care of the budget, personnel management including staff training, and reform of various systems
in accordance with socioeconomic trends. I would
like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone at
RERF for their heartfelt support. I acknowledge
that a good number of issues remain at RERF, but
I ask everyone’s forgiveness for passing them on to
the new Chief of Secretariat (see the article on previous page for Mr. Douglas C. Solvie’s message).
In closing, I sincerely hope RERF can continue
to shine as a research foundation that produces andconveys to the rest of the world its research findings from the field of radiation science.

Greetings
Benjamin French
On February 1, 2016, I joined RERF as Associate Senior Scientist in the Department of Statistics.
My undergraduate degree in mathematics andthe Norwegian language was awarded in 2001
from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
(Northfield is approximately 120 km from myhometown of Chatfield, Minnesota.) I earned adoctorate in biostatistics from the University ofWashington in Seattle in 2008. After that, I served
as an Assistant and then Associate Professor of
Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia. At RERF, I hope to share my expertise and experience in a prominent, multidisciplinary research environment, while contributing toReturn to Table of Contents

this important binational endeavor.
My research until now has focused on statisticalmethods for analyzing longitudinal data, joint modeling of longitudinal and survival outcomes, andevaluating the accuracy of risk-prediction models.
At RERF, I hope to contribute to epidemiologicalstudies of mortality and cancer incidence, as wellas to clinical studies regarding the effects of radiation exposure, particularly with respect to cardiovascular disease. I also hope to join efforts to use
state-of-the-art scientific tools that make it possible
to understand the mechanisms involved in diseasedevelopment. I look forward to learning from my
new collaborators here at RERF in Hiroshima.
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RERF News

Dr. Benjamin French, Associate Senior Scientist, Department of Statistics

Statisticians play an important role in the designof research studies and the analysis of researchdata. They also help to ensure that a research study
is conducted properly and with scientific rigor.
This is particularly important at RERF, where we
owe so much to the dedication of the atomic bomb
survivors. It is only through their sacrifices that ourwork can contribute new knowledge regarding thehealth effects of radiation exposure.
I am excited to experience life in Japan and tolearn more about Japanese language and culture. In
my free time, I enjoy cooking, reading, and hiking.
If you have any favorite recipes, books, or hiking
trails, please let me know!

FarewellYoung Min Kim
I do not want to say “Good-bye(さよなら), Hiroshima,” but rather “See you later(またね), Hiroshima.”
After three years at RERF, I have decided to return
to my home of Korea.
Hiroshima was the first city I experienced inJapan. Before the on-site interview at RERF, I had
not been to any cities in Japan. My first impressionof Hiroshima was that its people were so kind andhelpful, enabling me to adapt to life in Hiroshima,even though I had problems adjusting to the new
climate with its high temperatures and humidity in
my first year.
Since arriving in Hiroshima, I fell in love withmany kinds of Japanese food, such as sushi, thevarious types of noodles, and the Japanese versionof Western food. I do not think I will be able to eat
such nice sushi, especially considering its price andquality, anywhere outside of Japan. When I returnto Korea and eat sushi there (Korean people also
love the Japanese specialty), I know I will miss
Hiroshima. Moreover, even though I did not likenoodles before I came to Hiroshima, wondering
why I would eat noodles instead of rice as a meal, I
now love their taste. I worry because it is not easy
to find such noodles outside Japan. Finally, eventhough I have always loved Japanese Western food
like tonkatsu (deep fried breaded pork cutlet onrice), omuraisu (omelet filled with rice), hamburger
steak, hayashi rice (hashed beef on rice), and so on,
I have reconfirmed my love of such food.
From the perspective of work, I learned manythings at RERF. I wanted to study long-term radiation effects on humans and nature. However, since
I did not study biology the last 30 years and was
unfamiliar with medical terms, it was not easy tofollow RERF research. But RERF researchers,
especially Statistics Department members, helped
me understand such concepts and follow current
Return to Table of Contents

Dr. Young Min Kim, former research scientist, Departmentof Statistics

RERF research. Only with their help was I able to
make it to the present time. In addition, I was able
to learn the psychology of scientists and researchers during my time at RERF, an understanding thatwill enable me to continue conducting research
as a scientist and statistician. I will thus persist in
conducting long-term radiation-associated researchwhen I return to my home of Korea.
I succeeded in getting a job in Daegu, whichis the third biggest city in Korea and has a sistercity affiliation with Hiroshima. I learned of thisrelationship last year, 2015, when I visited theHiroshima Memorial Museum and saw members ofa team from that city participating in Hiroshima’s
Flower Festival. After RERF, I will start work in
Daegu, a place I have never visited even thoughmany of my friends are from there. I cannot
adequately introduce anything about the city now,
but at some point in the future I will likely discoversuch information and be able to report on it.
I offer my best wishes for the good health andhappiness of all RERF staff, in both private andprofessional lives. I hope to see all my Japanese
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

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RERF News
friends and colleagues again. I truly appreciate
everyone’s kindness and help during my time here

at RERF. I will remember Japan and RERF withfondness wherever I happen to be.

First Group of Trainees for RERF Training Recruited through Homepage
In late November last year, 2015, for about
one month, RERF enjoyed the presence of four
overseas trainees. The four were unique for RERF
in one aspect: they were recruited as a result of
RERF’s first use of its homepage to contact headsof international research organizations asking fortheir trainee recommendations.
The four trainees were: Mr. William Mueller,
formerly, Oversight Analyst, Waste Diversion
Ontario, Canada; Dr. Hyeon Woo Lim, Physician
and Research Scientist, Department of Radiation
Oncology, Korea National Cancer Center, South
Korea; Ms. Min Kyeong Kim, Research Scientist,
Translation Epidemiology Branch, Research Institute, Korea National Cancer Center, South Korea;
and Dr. Gulsym Koshpessova, Senior Scientific
Associate, Scientific Research Laboratory, Scientific Research Institute of Radiation Medicine andEcology (SRIRME), Kazakhstan.
The following is an account by Mr. Mueller,
acting as the representative for the group of four
trainees.
William Mueller (Training period: November
13–December 11, 2015)
As part of RERF’s international exchange

Mr. William Mueller

Return to Table of Contents

program, I spent four weeks working under the
auspices of Dr. Eric J. Grant, then Assistant Chief,
Department of Epidemiology. My research duringthat time involved modeling the incidence of prostate cancer in atomic bomb survivors in RERF’s
Life Span Study (LSS), which started in 1958 as
a 120,000-person cohort study and is among thelongest and largest epidemiological studies in theworld. This work provided me with a valuableappreciation of the myriad factors that contribute tocancer incidence, as well as the challenges inherent in quantifying the contribution of exposure toionizing radiation from the atomic bombings ofHiroshima and Nagasaki.
Prior to visiting RERF in Hiroshima, I was
employed in the environmental field in Toronto,
Canada; however, I decided to pursue my interestin environmental health and enrolled in a Master’s
program in epidemiology at the University of
London. Upon completion of my degree, I spent
two months at the Caribbean Public Health Agency
in Trinidad & Tobago assisting with work on
violence and injury prevention before my visit to
RERF in Japan.
I benefitted greatly from working with Dr.
Grant, as well as from receiving guidance from theother members of the Epidemiology and Statistics
departments, and felt privileged to gain practicalexperience working with such a rich, longstanding
dataset. In addition, while staying in Japan, I wasfortunate enough to visit other areas of the country,
including parts of Hokkaido and Kyushu, to learn
more about fascinating Japanese culture.
During my training at RERF, I was offereda position with Imperial College in London,
England, as a research assistant for an environmental epidemiology study examining the effects
of mobile phone use on cognitive function. Having
the chance to conduct analysis on such a wellestablished study at RERF will certainly help mewith this next endeavor in London. I am thankful to
the Japanese government for funding my exchange
and appreciative of the support I received fromRERF colleagues during my stay. I will miss themall, but look forward to future visits to Japan andhopefully collaboration with RERF.

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

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RERF News

Looking Back
Revisiting ABCC-RERF Memories“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December”–J.M. Barrie
On the afternoon of March 4, the final day of
43rd RERF’s Scientific Advisory Council (SAC)
meeting (please see the article about the SAC on
page 2), several veterans familiar with the ways,
workings, and history of the Atomic Bomb Casualty
Commission (ABCC)-RERF reunited at Hijiyama
Hall over lunch and reminisced over times past.
The organizer of the lunch, Mr. Richard D.
Sperry, was back in Hiroshima for his annual
few months here; he spends the rest of his timein Fairfax County, outside Washington, D.C. Mr.
Sperry worked for 30 years on and off at ABCC
and RERF as the Assistant Chief of Secretariat,
retiring from RERF in 2003. He had arranged tomeet Mr. David Williams, an auditor member ofthe RERF Board of Directors (BOD), which also
met on the final day of the SAC meeting.
Mr. Sperry worked for Mr. Williams for several
years at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)in Washington, D.C., from 1975 to 1988, at whichtime he returned to RERF (formed as ABCC’s succeeding organization in 1975). Mr. Sperry and Mr.
Williams meet frequently in the U.S., but it was thefirst time in several years for them to have met in
Japan.
Also on the guest list was Mr. Michael E. Rappaport,
who helped to direct construction of the ABCC

buildings on Hijiyama beginning in 1946 and later
held the position of Business Administrator until
his retirement in 1988. Mr. Rappaport was responsible for the hiring of Mr. Sperry at ABCC in 1958.
Mr. Rappaport is now 95 and typically helped indaily activities for part of each month by his sonMark, who was a guest at the lunch and now lives
and works as a music producer and critic in Tokyo.
Mr. Shizuo Inoue also attended the meeting.
Mr. Inoue was recruited as an ABCC Motor Pool
Dispatcher in 1949 and later assisted Dr. Itsuzo
Shigematsu, who served as RERF Chairman for 16
years, from 1981 to 1997. Mr. Inoue, who also held
the post of Assistant Chief of Secretariat, retired
from RERF under the mandatory age limit in 1994,
was rehired as an Advisor, and ultimately called it
a career in 1997. Mr. Inoue holds the distinctionof being the longest serving employee of ABCCRERF, working at the two organizations over a
period of 48 years.
Mr. Mark E. Rappaport recalled his time as ayoungster living in Hijiyama Hall. He said they had
lived in the separated living unit in the southeast
corner of the Hijiyama Hall compound for the firsttwo years of his life. He remembered the yard andplaying there more clearly than he did the living
quarters. Some of his later memories include labor(From left) Mr. Shizuo Inoue, Mr. David Williams, Mr. Michael Rappaport, Mr. Mark Rappaport (son of
Mr. Rappaport), Mr. Richard Sperry
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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 16

RERF News
union strikes with placards denigrating his father as
a representative of ABCC management. According
to the elder Rappaport, who smiled as he said, “Markwanted to go beat those guys up.” Mark was quick toadd, however, that whenever he walked by the strikers
they all smiled, waved, and called him “botchan,” aJapanese term of affection for a young boy.
The younger Rappaport also remarked that the
RERF buildings have not changed much since thedays when he would visit his dad’s workplace.
He was impressed by the longevity of the buildings, which went up in 1949 and 1950; the older
Quonset-hut structures never required refurbishing
to protect against earthquakes. But as mentioned in
the previous Update (please see the From
the Editors section, page 1, of the Winter2015 issue), the newer rectangular buildings on the RERF ‘campus’ recently had
to undergo earthquake protection renovations.
During lunch, the reunited grouptalked about old times and mutual friends
and friendships. Upon conclusion of theconfab, Mr. Sperry remarked as he looked
around Hijiyama Hall, “This room has
many nostalgic memories for us.”
In a later email sent to the PR officeat RERF, Mr. Sperry wrote, “Looking
back and seeing the people in this photo(see related photos) in the place that toeach of us is now historic Hijiyama Hall(built under the direction of Mr. Rappaport andwith the name bestowed by former director Dr.
George Darling who instituted so many fundamental changes in the operation of the scientific program at ABCC), I am fully conscious of the debt
I owe to each of them. Working directly under Mr.
Rappaport and Mr. Williams for many years andwith Mr. Inoue who has been such a critical help
to me for even more years…I realize what a heavy
burden of debt I owe to each of them for all their
help and forbearance during these past times.”
At the conclusion of the lunch, the group disbanded and the members went their own way, withpromises to meet again.

Enjoying lunch and old times

Dr. Michael D. Danzig, Janice Danzig—April 8, 2016
Dr. Michael D. Danzig, who worked at ABCC
around the time it transitioned to RERF, visited

Hiroshima RERF with Janice Danzig, his wife,on April 8, 2016. Dr. Danzig worked at ABCC forabout three years (July 1972–June 1975)
as a Research Associate in the clinicaldepartment before returning to the U.S.
Before coming to Japan he worked as aninternist and U.S. Public Health Service
Officer.
The main purpose for his visit to
RERF was to meet Dr. Kazunori Kodama,Chief Scientist, with whom he worked at
the time, and to try to find the house in
Itsukaichi, now a bedroom community
to the southwest of Hiroshima but at thetime a separate town, where he and his
family used to live. His medical specialty
is cardiology and he presently works as
an invasive cardiologist in the U.S. stateof Florida.
(From left) Mrs. Janice Danzig, Dr. Kazunori Kodama, Chief Scientist, Dr.
Michael Danzig

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update 17

RERF News / Conference and Workshop Reports

Dr. Thomas T. Aoki and Family—May 18, 2016
Dr. Thomas T. Aoki, a U.S. Public Health Service Officer at ABCC for two years from July 1966
to July 1968, visited Hiroshima RERF on May 18,
2016, together with his family. Dr. Aoki is now
Emeritus Professor at the University of California,
Davis, where he taught at the medical school.
On his return trip to Japan, Dr. Aoki was accompanied by his wife, Susan, also a physician, his
first daughter, Betsy Aoki, and her husband Jason
McCullough. Betsy and Jason live and work in
Seattle.
Dr. Aoki became a specialist in treatment ofdiabetes based on his experience at ABCC, where
he says his interest was sparked by differences inthe disease experienced by Japanese patients andhis U.S. patients back home. Dr. Aoki developed

and published a treatment for slowing and stopping
the progression of diabetic complications and now
holds over 17 patents, including two in Japan, forthis procedure. He still works five mornings a weekat his private Aoki Diabetes Research Institute in
Sacramento.
Dr. Aoki recalled how his family enjoyed theirstay in Japan, living in a spacious home in Ushita,a neighborhood a couple miles north of the downtown area. He would be taken out by his Japanesecolleagues for sushi and beer, because he was“unusual,” in his words, being a second-generation
Japanese physician. According to the husband andwife, in those days, Hiroshima was a sleepy town,
different from the modern appearance today withmany high-rises dotting the city’s skyline.

(From left) Mr. Jason McCullough (married to Betsy), Ms. Betsy Aoki (daughter), Dr. Thomas
Aoki, and Mrs. Susan Aoki

Report on RERF Workshop(Niwa Study Group sponsored by MHLW):
Storage and Use of Biosamples
Atsuko Sadakane
Research Scientist, Biosample Center
Acting Chief, Pathology Laboratory
Department of Epidemiology
Hiroshima Laboratory
As part of the activities of the Niwa Study
Group, which is developing methods for long-termpreservation and utilization of biosamples, an RERF
workshop addressing the storage and use of suchbiosamples was held on February 3, 2016, at the
Return to Table of Contents

Auditorium of the Hiroshima Laboratory. With thegoal of ensuring appropriate preservation and useof biosamples at the Biosample Center, which wasestablished at RERF in April 2013, the workshop
presented the experiences and knowledge of leadRERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Conference and Workshop Reports
ing investigators currently engaged in “biobank”
operations in Japan who have expertise in international trends in biobanking. The workshop was also
designed to obtain advice regarding RERF’s future
direction.
Opening the workshop was Dr. Yoshiaki
Kodama, Director, RERF Biosample Center, whoprovided background information: the basic outlines of the research activities at RERF, the objectives for establishing the Biosample Center andits organization, and tasks in which the Biosample Center is currently engaged. Dr. Y. Kodama
mentioned that a new robotic biorepository had
been introduced to the Hiroshima Laboratory forsecuring additional biosample space as well as
for safeguarding and efficiently managing biosamples. He emphasized the importance of ethicalconsiderations in the use of biosamples, statingthat renewed efforts were required to obtain theunderstanding of study participants and local communities.
Dr. Yohei Miyagi, General Manager, Kanagawa
Cancer Center Research Institute (hereinafter:
Kanagawa Cancer Center), concurrently assigned
as Chief, Molecular Pathology and Genetics Division, described his experiences of, under the initiative of the Kanagawa Cancer Center, creatinga structure to organize academic institutions andcorporations hoping to use biosamples collectedby the cancer center and other organizations, aswell as providing samples and information to theseacademic institutions and corporations. Throughthis project, samples were collected and used on
the basis of comprehensive consent obtained fromresearch participants and provided to public- andprivate-sector users at no charge.
The Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank
Organization (ToMMo) was established after theGreat East Japan Earthquake in 2011, with the aimof providing health support to the affected people,
reconstructing medical systems, and developing next-generation human resources. ToMMoembarked on cohort studies of the Tohoku area’s
residents and established a biobank for samples
to be collected through the relevant cohort studies. Dr. Naoko Minegishi, ToMMo Professor, whoprovided useful information at a similar workshop last year, reported
on current progress being
made in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project.
Dr. Minegishi explainedthat enrollment of cohort
members was mostly completed; that biosamples had
been collected from about
120,000 cohort members;
and that automated proWorkshopReturn“Storage
Use
Biosamples”
toand
Table
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held at Hiroshima RERF

update 18
cessing procedures and the Laboratory Information
Management System (LIMS) had been introducedfor quality assurance and quality assessment of
biosamples, respectively. She also reported that
ToMMo was aiming at becoming a biobank open
to outside researchers, using numerous examples
such as that ToMMo had released the results of
its ‘omics’ analyses and called for applications
relating to sample provision and/or collaborative
projects.
As biobanking has improved, the importanceof biosample quality has gained recognition, andinvestigators have become more focused on securing quality rather than simply quantities of samples. Dr. Koh Furuta, Director, Division of ClinicalTechnology, Kanagawa Cancer Center, delivered apresentation focused on quality control and utilization of biosamples at biobanks. He noted that theinternational community is currently proceedingwith standardization of data, samples, and human
work required to secure quality of such biosamples.
He also explained a new idea—that of the “active
biobank,” which is expected to serve as a venue forresearch and development.
Subsequently, Dr. Eisaburo Sueoka, Professor,
Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saga
University, concurrently assigned as Chief, Clinical Research Division, Clinical Research Center,
Saga University Hospital, explained an initiative
to create a biobank at Saga University. He reported
that the intended purposes of samples and information to be collected by the proposed biobank had
already been specified; that other projects addressing effective management of patient informationand collection of side-effect information wereinvolved; and that, using the project’s status as auniversity hospital-affiliated biobank to full advantage, the biobank’s plans call for the establishmentof a workable link via electronic health record
systems with clinical information accumulated thus
far.
Dr. Tohru Masui, Professor, Center for Medical Genetics, Keio University School of Medicine, made recommendations about how to utilize
biosamples in a socially acceptable manner byclarifying the characteristics inherent in biobanking and medical research. He stated that biobanks

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Conference and Workshop Reports
should collect samples for comprehensive purposes
because the value of the biosamples might not berecognized immediately, and their actual use mightoccur only in the future. Dr. Masui also presented
several examples showing that although genome
information belonged to individuals, such information could also be considered as belonging to all of
humanity, and that biosamples obtained throughclinical practice might be used for ongoing or
future studies conducted remotely from patients.
Based on these statements, he concluded that we all
should sincerely consider what is required in ourcurrent work from different scientific, legal, andethical perspectives for future generations.

The workshop generated practical opinionsfrom investigators with experience and expertisein biobanking, those now collecting informationand samples via biobanks, and those working on
biobank creation. Discussions about the latest
trends in biobanking and related ethical issues
were also held. Each investigator showed deep
interest in RERF’s biosamples and spoke about hisor her experiences, discussed cases he or she had
encountered, and presented the gathering with useful knowledge. In closing, we would like to express
our heartfelt appreciation to all the workshop participants for their suggestions regarding the potential of RERF’s biosamples.

Participants of “Storage and Use of Biosamples” workshop

Return to Table of Contents

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 20

Science Articles

Association of Acute Radiation Syndromes
and Rain after the Bombings in the
Atomic-bomb Survivors*
Kotaro Ozasa
Department of Epidemiology, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Kotaro Ozasa, Ritsu Sakata, Harry M. Cullings, Eric J. Grant: Association of Acute Radiation
Syndromes and Rain after the Bombings in the Atomic-bomb Survivors. Radiat Res 2016
(June); 185(6):604-15 (doi: 10.1667/RR14038.1)

Study Findings
Association between exposure to rain that fellsoon after the atomic bombings and development of acute symptoms was examined based on
responses to interview surveys of Life Span Study(LSS) members conducted during the 1950s.
Although the frequency of development of such
acute symptoms was slightly higher in those whoreported exposure to rain, the association was notthought to be caused by uniform radioactivity inthe rain with potential effects equivalent to a levelof several hundred milligray (mGy); rather, recall
bias, and other factors, were thought to be moreplausible explanations. Nevertheless, such issues as
insufficient data available for use in the study limited the effectiveness of the study analysis.
Explanation
1. Study purpose
Based on various experiences of atomic bomb
(A-bomb) survivors, it has been thought that
acute radiation syndrome, which includes symptoms such as epilation and bleeding that appeared
after the bombings, was associated with exposure
to radiation from rain that fell soon thereafter.
However, an epidemiological analysis had notbeen conducted. The association was examined bycomparison of information involving exposure torain soon after the bombings and development of
acute symptoms. This information was obtained
in interviews of Life Span Study (LSS) membersin the 1950s, with direct radiation effects from the
A-bombings taken into consideration.
2. Study methods
Several interviews of LSS members were conducted in the late 1940s to collect information
regarding their situation at the time of the bombings, and in the 1950s the interviews included
Return to Table of Contents

questions about exposure to rain that fell soon after
the bombings and development of acute radiation
symptoms. The responses obtained consisted of:“was exposed” (in this case, information on location at exposure was requested), “not exposed,” and“unknown.” This study analyzed typical acute radiation symptoms such as epilation, bleeding, andoropharyngeal lesions in relation with responses toquestions regarding exposure to rain.
3. Study results
The frequency of the development of acute
symptoms differed significantly among levels of
direct radiation from the A-bombings: 30–80% at
the level of 3 Gy or higher, 1–6% at around 100
mGy, and 0.04–2% at less than 5 mGy, for a variety
of symptoms. At the same level of direct radiation,
the reported frequency of the development of acute
symptoms was slightly higher in those who indicated they had been exposed to rain than in those
who did not, both in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The
frequency of many acute symptoms, however, wassignificantly lower in those who were exposed torain and to direct radiation of <5mGy than in those
who were not exposed to rain but exposed to direct
radiation of 100–500 mGy. Thus, it is unlikely thatthe rain contained uniformly high levels of radiation to produce effects equivalent to those experienced at a level of several hundred mGy.
Odds ratio (OR) was used to evaluate, in thisstudy, the association between exposure to rain
and frequency of development of acute symptoms(i.e., what percentage increase), and a larger OR
indicates a stronger association. The OR of reporting exposure to rain somewhere in Hiroshima was
1.19 (p = 0.08) among those who developed severe
epilation (defined as >2/3 of scalp), 1.23 (p < 0.01)
in cases of at least slight epilation (>1/4 of scalp),
1.48 (p < 0.01) for bleeding, and 1.47 (p < 0.01) for
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Science Articles
oropharyngeal lesions. The ORs in Nagasaki were1.76 (p = 0.11), 2.10 (p < 0.01), 2.01 (p < 0.01),
and 2.46 (p < 0.01), respectively. As for survivor
location at exposure to rain in Hiroshima, the OR
was largest for those who reported exposure to rain
in an area southeast of the hypocenter. The ORs for
those who indicated they had been exposed to rainin the areas where rainfall was reported, i.e., clockwise from west-southwest to northeast, including
the west-southwest area beyond 2 km that included
the Koi/Takasu districts where high residual radiation was detected, were similar to the OR for exposure to rain somewhere in Hiroshima. In Nagasaki,
the ORs tended to be bigger for those who reported
exposure to rain in the western half of the area
centered on the hypocenter than for those in theeastern half. The frequency of acute symptoms was
not high among those who had reported exposure
to rain in the area beyond 2 km from the hypocenter to the east that included the Nishiyama district,
where heavy rainfall and high residual radiation
were observed soon after the bombing.

Study SignificanceThe association between radiation exposureand development of acute symptoms was, in general, strongest for severe epilation and weakest
for epilation of lesser degrees, as well as bleeding and oropharyngeal lesions, because the latter
symptoms contained a larger number of cases notcaused by radiation exposure. In this study, reportsof exposure to rain were associated with development of symptoms other than severe epilation;
this association was similar to, or slightly stronger
than, the association with severe epilation. Also,
the association tended to be stronger in those who

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update 21
were exposed to rain in areas where there were few
reports of rainfall than in those who were exposed
to rain in areas where rainfall was frequently
reported. The association was not stronger in theareas where ground residual radiation levels werehigh in post-war surveys than in other areas. This
trend in association is thought to be somewhat
inconsistent with the hypothesis that acute symptoms developed due to radiation exposure fromrain.
Potential reasons for the observed association
between exposure to rain and development of acute
symptoms included: a strong radioactive fallout
contained in the rain and a high radiosensitivityof the individuals exposed to the rain; synergistic
effects between radiation and poor hygienic conditions; as well as inaccuracies and recall bias inmemories and in reports of locations at the timeof the bombings and exposure to rain and timing
related to the development of symptoms (recall
bias is the tendency for people to believe theymight have developed acute symptoms because
they had been exposed to rain, or vice versa).
Although there may have been some individual
cases of development of acute symptoms causedby radioactive fallout in rain, the overall trend in
the results is inconsistent with the conclusion that
acute symptoms were generally caused by radioactive fallout in rain. Rather, recall bias, and otherfactors, were thought to be more plausible explanations for the association. However, insufficient
data imposed limits on the assessment of whether
the reports of rainfall after the A-bombings anddevelopment of acute symptoms were attributed
to actual radioactive fallout or uncertain memories
and other such factors.

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 22

Science Articles

Progerin, the protein responsible for the HutchinsonGilford Progeria Syndrome, increases theunrepaired DNA damages following
exposure to ionizing radiation*
Asao Noda
Department of Genetics, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Asao Noda, Shuji Mishima, Yuko Hirai, Kanya Hamasaki, Reid D. Landes, Hiroshi Mitani, KeiHaga, Tohru Kiyono, Nori Nakamura, Yoshiaki Kodama: Progerin, the protein responsible for
the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, increases the unrepaired DNA damages following
exposure to ionizing radiation. Genes and Environment 2015 (October): 37(13):1-12 (doi:
10.1186/s41021-015-0018-4)

Study Findings
We conducted a model-based investigation totest the hypothesis that genomic damage inducedby radiation contributes to abnormal cell nuclear
morphology and premature aging. We identified
advanced nuclear envelope abnormalities andthe expression of markers of premature aging incells with unrepaired DNA double strand breaks(DSBs) induced by radiation exposure. We also
found increased numbers of unrepaired DSBs incells from patients with progeria, a genetic diseaseassociated with rapid aging. Such cells express
progerin, a mutant form of lamin A protein responsible for progeria in humans, and feature abnormal
nuclear envelope structure. We concluded that
nuclear lamin A, a protein thought to cause ageassociated changes in nuclear envelope structure,is related to the formation of radiation-induced
unrepaired DSBs.
Explanation
We attempted to measure unrepaired DSBs as
a new biomarker for detecting tissues previously
exposed to radiation and for estimating the radiation doses to which such tissues were exposed. In
our research, we noticed that cells with unrepaired
DSBs developed abnormal nuclear envelope morphology, with signs of premature aging. This led
us to investigate whether nuclear lamin A could
be involved in DSB repair. Hutchinson-Gilford
progeria syndrome (HGPS) is an extreme example
of aging caused by abnormal nuclear envelope
structure. Cells of HGPS patients express progerin
and have a nuclear envelope that is stiffer and morefragile than normal.
Return to Table of Contents

1. Objectives
The objectives were to evaluate whether nuclear
lamin A, a structural protein in the meshwork of thenuclear envelope, is involved in repairing radiationinduced DSBs and whether the protein acts as a site
for repairing or anchoring DSBs that are particularly resistant to repair.
2. Methods
Radiation-induced unrepaired DSBs and structural changes in the nuclear envelope were measured in cells from healthy humans and HGPS
patients. Effects of farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTI), a new class of cancer drug, were alsomeasured, because FTI suppresses the changes
in nuclear envelope structure caused by progerin.
Finally, unrepaired DSBs and nuclear envelopechanges were assessed following telomerase geneinduction, as telomerase gene induction has been
implicated in rejuvenating cells and making cells
immortal.
3. Results(1) About 1% of radiation-induced DSBs persist
in the cell nucleus as unrepaired DSBs (Nodaet al., J Cell Science 125:5280, 2012). Unrepaired DSBs inhibit cell division, indefinitely
arresting growth and causing premature aging.
The numbers of unrepaired DSBs inducedby radiation were at least two-fold higher in
HGPS cells than in healthy cells. The numbers were even higher in cells with abnormal
nuclear envelope structure.
(2) FTI treatment suppressed the anchoring of

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 23

Science Articles
progerin to the nuclear membrane, thereby
improving the nuclear structure in HGPS cells.
The number of unrepaired DSBs consequently
decreased. Nuclear structure improved andunrepaired DSBs decreased in HGPS cellswith cell division capability restored by telomerase induction. The forced expression of
telomerase suppressed progerin expression andinduced the expression of nuclear lamin B1, a
cousin of lamin A. This expression profile ischaracteristic of young and undifferentiatedcells.
(3) Structural changes in the nuclear envelope andthe numbers of unrepaired DSBs were also
found to be correlated with radiation-inducedpremature aging in normal cells.

Study SignificancePrevious studies indicated that cells bearing
unrepaired DSBs underwent premature senescence,even though this finding was not directly linked tophysiological changes in humans. In this study weshow that the occurrence and anchoring of unrepaired DSBs caused by radiation exposure depend
on nuclear envelope structure.

Creation of mice bearing a partial duplication of
HPRT gene marked with a GFP gene anddetection of revertant cells in situ as
GFP-positive somatic cells*
Asano Noda
Department of Genetics, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Asao Noda, Hirofumi Suemori, Yuko Hirai, Kanya Hamasaki, Yoshiaki Kodama, Hiroshi
Mitani, Reid D. Landes, Nori Nakamura: Creation of mice bearing a partial duplication of
HPRT gene marked with a GFP gene and detection of revertant cells in situ as GFP-positive
somatic cells. PLOS ONE (August 21, 2015): 10(8): e0136041. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.
0136041)

Study Findings
We created transgenic mice that allow in situ
(i.e., in tissue) visualization of mutations in any
cell throughout the body of the animal. The mice
are technically called HPRT-dup-GFP knock-in
mice. We used this knock-in mouse model todetect mutant cells arising in organs, including
the liver, pancreas, small intestine, large intestine,
lungs, thyroid, and testes. Large differences amongindividuals in terms of spontaneous mutation
frequencies were observed in somatic cells. Suchhigh spontaneous frequencies impeded detectionof mutations induced by radiation. Lowering thebackground mutation frequency is the next challenge for better use of this system in radiation
research.

Return to Table of Contents

1. Objectives
One objective was to create mice to assist in thedetection of radiation-induced mutations in somaticand germ-line cells. Cells developing a mutationin this mouse model survive and fluoresce green(because they contain green fluorescent protein,
or GFP). Another objective was to use this mousemodel to observe where radiation-induced mutant
cells occur and grow in the body. The final objective was to establish a system for monitoring thegenetic effects of radiation in individual organisms.
2. Methods
Embryological engineering techniques wereused for manipulating the mouse HPRT gene (astructural gene involved in nucleic acid synthesis)
to be partially duplicated in conjunction with the
GFP gene on the X chromosome, thereby creating
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 24

Science Articles
transgenic mice. Recombination-mediated reversion from the partial duplications of the HPRT (i.e.,
reactivation of gene activity) in the cells of thesemice led to expression of the HPRT-GFP fusion
protein and caused the affected cells to fluoresce
green.
Radiation exposure effects were evaluated using
fluorescence to determine mutation frequency inthe mouse cells after the mice were exposed toradiation.
3. Results(1) We successfully created transgenic mice
(HPRT-dup-GFP mice) by double gene knockin (the insertion of a gene in a specific location
in a chromosome) in mouse embryonic stem
cells (cells from the early embryo that candifferentiate into any cell type). On the HPRTdup-GFP locus of the mice, in vivo arising,
somatic mutant cells, which are revertants fromthe partial duplicated allele of the HPRT gene,
were confirmed as originating from gene deletion via normal homologous recombination
repair. Mutant cells in any of the tissues except
the brain fluoresced green, but the frequenciesof spontaneous mutations differed among tissues.
(2) Large individual differences were seen in thefrequency of somatic cell mutations, even in

the mice not exposed to radiation. Around 1%of the mice developed mutations too numerous
to be countable. We used the term “extreme
jackpot mutations” to describe such cases. The
large differences in mutation frequency amongindividual mice may depend on when during
development and growth cycles mutant cells
arise. The investigation thus can be conceived
as a fluctuation test of mutations at the level ofthe individual.
(3) Somatic cell mutation frequencies were measured in different tissues of mice 3 months
after exposure to a dose of 3 Gy as a model ofradiation exposure. Mutation frequency wasobserved to be little changed in certain tissues (pancreas and lymphocytes) but two-foldhigher in others (e.g., liver, small intestine).

Study SignificanceWe successfully created mice whose living cells
fluoresce when developing a mutation. Although
the model is useful, background noise from spontaneous mutations will have to be reduced for themodel to be a reliable indicator of the effects ofradiation exposure. Our findings strongly suggestthat many of the somatic cells making up our bodies already contain mutations that give us a genetically mosaic appearance.

A Bayesian semiparametric model for radiation
dose-response estimation*
Kyoji Furukawa
Department of Statistics, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Kyoji Furukawa, Munechika Misumi, John B. Cologne, Harry M. Cullings: A Bayesian semiparametric model for radiation dose-response estimation. Risk Analysis 2016 (June); 36(6):1211-23 (doi: 10.1111/risa.12513)

Study Findings
This study proposed a new statistical approach
using a semiparametric model* to estimate thedose-response relationship under a framework of
Bayesian statistics* —one of the primary objectives of radiation risk analysis—with increased
accuracy. Without assuming a specific parametricmodel,* such as the linear non-threshold model,*Return to Table of Contents

this approach can estimate various dose-response
curves with uncertainty more accurately and therefore is expected to be particularly useful in evaluating the risk associated with low-dose exposure.
*Semiparametric model: falls between a parametric model and a nonparametric model,
which assumes no specific form with respect todose response
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 25

Science Articles*Bayesian statistics: generalizes conventional
statistics by introducing a “prior probability”
based on common sense or experiences andenables us to conduct data analysis more
flexibly. The term “Bayesian semiparametricmodel” in the title indicates a semiparametricmodel under this framework of Bayesian statistics.
*Parametric model: describes how risk increases
with dose (x) with a set of parameters (β), suchas the linear non-threshold dose model (β x)*Linear non-threshold model: assumes risk to
be monotonically increasing in proportion to
the increasing dose

1. Study purpose
The main purpose of this study was to showthat a semiparametric dose-response model thatassumes no specific parametric function form canbe an alternative approach that is appropriate for
evaluation of risk associated with radiation exposure, especially at low doses.
2. Study methods
This study considered a semiparametric doseresponse model that has a connected, piecewiselinear dose-response function with a correlation
structure among the random slope coefficientsdefined over closely spaced dose categories, which
was applied to radiation-dose-response estimation. Using simulations under several plausible
dose-response relationships, we evaluated the performance of the proposed approach compared tothose of the conventional parametric approach interms of bias, efficiency, and precision of uncertainty estimation. Also, the proposed approach
was applied to analysis of solid cancer incidence

0.20

Explanation
Characterizing the dose-response relationshipand estimating acceptable exposure levels are theprimary goals of risk assessment. In analyses ofhealth risks associated with exposure to radiation, while there is clear agreement that moderate
to high radiation doses cause harmful effects inhumans, information is limited for understanding the possible biological effects at low doses,
e.g., less than 100 mGy, which is the dose range
relevant to most radiation exposures today. Whilea simple parametric model, such as the linear nonthreshold model, is interpretable and supported
by some biological considerations, risk analysis
based on a simple parametric structure can be misleading in evaluating the risk and its uncertainty
associated with low-dose exposure. In particular, alinear model with a fixed value at the lowest dose(e.g., zero response at zero dose) can only accommodate linear confidence bounds that narrow to apoint at the low-dose end. This study proposed a
new approach using a semiparametric model thatis flexible in regard to the shape of both the mean
response and the confidence bounds and evaluatedits performance in comparison with the conventional approach of parametric models.

0.10
0.00

0.05

Excess relative risk

1.0
0.5
0.0

Excess relative risk

0.15

1.5

Non-parametricLinear non-threshold model
Semiparametric model

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Weighted absorbed colon dose (Gy)

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Weighted absorbed colon dose (Gy)Figure: Excess relative risk (ERR) for all solid cancer in the Life Span Study cohort (1958–1998) in relation toradiation exposure, estimated by the linear non-threshold model (black) and the semiparametric model (red) overthe entire dose range (left) and at 0–0.4 Gy (right). Dashed curves are 95% confidence (or credible) intervals. All
estimates are gender-averaged ERRs at age 70 after exposure at age 30.
Return to Table of Contents

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 26

Science Articles
in the Life Span Study (LSS) cohort of atomicbomb survivors (1958–1998), and the estimateddose-response curves with interval estimates werecompared to those obtained by other approaches.

proposed approach estimated smaller risks withwider interval estimates at low doses, which indicated no clear evidence of an increased risk up to
100 mGy of exposure (Figure).

3. Study results
Our simulation study demonstrated that theconventional approach using parametric models
could be problematic in bias and underestimationof uncertainty when a non-linearity was assumed in
the dose response at a low dose range. In contrast,
the proposed approach produced results that wereoverall less biased and more accurate in uncertainty
estimation. In analysis of the LSS data, comparedto the conventional linear non-threshold model, theStudy SignificanceWith relatively few assumptions and modeling
options to be made by the analyst, the semiparametric model proposed in this study can be flexibly
fitted to data generated by various shapes of doseresponse curves with uncertainty appropriately
handled at any dose range and therefore is expected
to be particularly useful in characterizing risk at alow dose range and accurately estimating acceptable exposure levels.

Circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor
cells in aging atomic bomb survivors*
Seishi Kyoizumi
Department of Radiobiology/Molecular Epidemiology, Hiroshima, RERF
*This article is based on the following publication:
Seishi Kyoizumi, Yoshiko Kubo, Munechika Misumi, Junko Kajimura, Kengo Yoshida,
Tomonori Hayashi, Kazue Imai, Waka Ohishi, Kei Nakachi, Lauren F. Young, Jae-Hung Shieh,
Malcolm A. Moore, Marcel R.M. van den Brink, Yoichiro Kusunoki: Circulating hematopoietic
stem and progenitor cells in aging atomic bomb survivors. Radiat Res 2016 (January):185(1):69–76 (doi: 10.1667/RR14209.1)

Study Findings
Counts of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the blood of atomic bomb
(A-bomb) survivors decreased with age, but no significant association with radiation dose was found.
Explanation
1. Study purpose
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are known tobe highly radiosensitive. Deterioration in hematopoietic function and decrease in peripheral erythrocytes and leukocytes have been reported as some of
the acute effects of radiation observed in A-bomb
survivors. However, as a result of the regenerative
capacity of HSCs, hematopoiesis among A-bomb
survivors was reported to have recovered to aconsiderable extent about 10 weeks after A-bombradiation exposure. Nonetheless, gene abnormalities such as mutations persist in the HSCs of
A-bomb survivors even now, 70 years after radiaReturn to Table of Contentstion exposure. To determine whether or not effectsof radiation persist in the HSC function of A-bomb
survivors, this study examined the counts of circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells perunit volume of blood, as well as their proportions
vis-à-vis all HPSCs in blood, reviewing whether
dose-dependent effects of radiation were observed.
2. Study methods
Peripheral blood was collected from 231
Hiroshima survivors (aged 66–91 years) who hadparticipated in the Adult Health Study (AHS) during the period 2011–2013 and, using a cell sorter,
separated CD34-positive/lineage marker-negative(CD34+Lin-) cells thought to contain HSPCs. The
counts of the following types of colony-forming
units in this cell population were evaluated using
cell culture: cobblestone area-forming cells*; longterm culture-initiating cells*; erythroid burst-forming units*; granulocyte and macrophage colonyRERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Science Articles
forming units*; and T-cell and natural killer cellprogenitors.* Cobblestone area-forming cells andlong-term culture-initiating cells reflect the selfrenewal and the multilineage differentiation functions of HSCs, respectively. Other colony-forming
units reflect lineage-committed hematopoietic
progenitor cells.
Cobblestone area-forming cells: Because thesecells form an undifferentiated, cobblestone-likecolony in the absence of hematopoietic factors
and under the presence of stromal cells, they arethought to originate from self-renewable HSCs.
Long-term culture-initiating cells: Because thesecells can produce erythroid burst-forming units
and granulocyte and macrophage colony-forming units over a prolonged period, they arethought to originate from HSCs with capacity
for multi-lineage differentiation.
Erythroid burst-forming units: Hematopoietic progenitors that can produce erythrocytes
Granulocyte and macrophage colony-forming
units: Hematopoietic progenitors that can produce granulocytes and macrophages
T-cell and natural killer cell progenitors: Hematopoietic progenitors that can produce T lymphocytes or NK lymphocytes
3. Study results(1) Association with age
We found that the counts of CD34+Lin- cells,
which are thought to include all HPSCs in blood,significantly decreased with age per unit volumeof blood (P = 0.0022). Furthermore, the countsof respective colony-forming units significantly
decreased with age (P = 0.0001–0.0047). As forthe proportions of respective colony-forming units
in the CD34+Lin- cell population, only T-cell progenitors decreased with age (P = 0.010), suggesting

Return to Table of Contents

update 27
an aging-related decline in the stem-cell function(capacity) of T-cell differentiation induction, evenamong subjects aged around 70 and older.
(2) Association with radiation doseWith regard to the CD34+Lin- cell populationand colony-forming units, no significant effectsof radiation exposure were observed in either theabsolute cell numbers per unit volume of blood orin their proportions vis-à-vis all HPSCs in blood.

Study SignificanceOur findings showed that aging in HSC function
continued, even among subjects aged around 70
and older. Specifically with regard to T cells, it isbelieved that decline in thymic function induces adecrease in mature peripheral naïve T cells.* This
study, however, revealed that decline in the stemcell function of T-cell differentiation induction due
to stem cell aging was one reason for the aforementioned decrease. This study also suggests that the
numbers and function of HSPCs overall in living
A-bomb survivors have recovered to normal levels
even as the survivors aged over the decades since
A-bomb radiation exposure (compared to the levels
in unexposed individuals of the same ages).
Mature naïve T cells: Different from T-cell progenitors shown in the fifth line of (1) “Association with age” under the section titled “3. Study
results,” these cells are mature lymphocytes thatarise by differentiation from T-cell progenitors
in the thymic environment and differentiate intomemory T cells in response to antigen stimulation in the periphery. This study suggested
the possibility that aging of HSCs decreased
production of T-cell progenitors, resulting in adecrease in thymic production of mature naïve
T cells.

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update 28

Human Interest Notes

Memories of My Struggles in England
Hiromi Sugiyama
Acting Office Chief
Tumor and Tissue Registry Office
Department of Epidemiology
Hiroshima LaboratoryThe following is a record of my days in
England. I stayed in the borough ofColchester in Essex, England for one year
starting in April 2015, with my daughters (eightand four-year olds) and newly born son (sevenmonths). We made the move because my husband,
who is engaged in research on administrative law
at Himeji Dokkyo University, here in Japan, wasappointed to serve as a visiting researcher at the
University of Essex.
In August 2014, I gave birth to my third childand first son. Three months later, I returned towork at RERF. Over the next three months, whileworking on preparations for the Scientific Advisory
Committee (SAC) meeting, which takes place eachyear in March, I had to finish preparations for moving to England, including the handing over of myroutine duties to my colleagues. Those preparations were tough and included obtaining visas forfive people, late-night house-hunting with a local
real-estate agent in England using Skype, findinga school for my daughters, translating vaccinationand medical records of the three children, arrang-

Dr. Sugiyama, learning how to make mincepie for Christmas at British friend’s house
Return to Table of Contents

ing to sign up for national health insurance, and ofcourse, packing.
Unfortunately, we arrived in England during theEaster holidays. All shops were closed, and what
was worse, we could not move into the house I had
finally found via Skype. Under such circumstances,
we had no option but to stay in a hotel for a lengthy
10 days. Upon arriving in England, every day was
full of first-time experiences and therefore confusion.
The best example was our attempt to find aschool for my daughters. Even primary schools in
England do not accept pupils beyond an enrollment
limit. Even though I started looking for a school for
my daughters before leaving for England, things
did not proceed in the desired direction, and I
ended up calling the county council every few days
for a full month upon arriving in England. After adifficult period, my eldest daughter was accepted
into a school. But that was not the end of the story.
Finding a school for my second daughter was muchharder. Due to a lack of vacancies, my second
daughter was assigned to a school 10 kilometers

Roast dinner, made with help from
British friend

In England, it is said “ All swans in
England belong to the Queen ”

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Human Interest Notes
from my first daughter’s school. I decided that wasenough. I made a phone call to the county council
every week but their reaction differed depending on
who answered the phone. At last I got to the point
where I could not take it anymore and shouted on
the phone, “I can’t drop off and pick up my two
daughters at the same time!” Oddly enough, twodays later, my first daughter’s school informed meof the second daughter’s admission.
Unlike Japan, children can neither travel toschool nor play outside by themselves. I thus began
the work of dropping them off and picking them up
by car with my youngest son in tow, whatever theweather.
Food was also a source of trouble. Since we
could barely afford to eat out due to high taxes,
I had to cook three meals every day. Contrary to
London, Japanese ingredients were not available inEssex, and I had no clue as to what to cook at first.
Every day, I searched for recipes on YouTube andcooked different meals using unfamiliar English
ingredients. Ingredients grown domestically weresuitable for English cooking and both my husband
and children enjoyed the fare I managed to comeup with.
What troubled me most, however, was the English language. I found it especially hard to makearrangements for my children’s sleepovers andplaydates with their friends’ parents by telephoneor text messages in English. Fortunately, both of
my daughters’ female teachers were exceedingly

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update 29
kind, enabling my daughters to gradually feel athome even though they did not understand English.
Having experienced English at RERF helped
me a lot, but I did have difficulties becoming
accustomed to British English as well as the unique
Essex dialect. For instance, in Essex they greet
each other by saying “Hiya,” they call dinner “tea,”
and use “lovely” in place of “good.” Also, they
always include their postal codes when stating theiraddresses. The Essex accent is characterized by the
dropping of the letters “r” and “t” in the middle ofa word and pronouncing “th” as “f.” As such, “dateof birth,” often needed for administrative procedures, sounded like [debaf], “water” like [wɔ:ɚ]and “later” like [leɪɚ].
In such circumstances, English ladies fromthe women’s club of the University of Essex andJapanese women who had permanent residence
status warmly taught me about the English lifestyle
as well as how to cook British cuisine. Thanks tothem, my life in Essex got on track. It was such a
blessing that my entire family could live together
for one year; before that, my husband and I had along-distance marriage for 10 years, as we lived
apart for reasons related to our work.
In closing, I would like to express my sincere
appreciation to everyone at RERF, who agreeably
allowed me to leave work for a year in spite of themany extra duties imposed on them, and warmly
accepted me back again at work earlier this year.

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

update 30

Facts and Figures

Report on NEWS (2nd in series)

RERF Epidemiological Study of Health Effects inFukushima Emergency Workers
Toshiteru Okubo
NEWS Principal Investigator
RERF Senior Consulting Scientist
Compared with other nuclear accidents that theworld has experienced, the accident at the Tokyo
Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant (hereinafter referred
to as the “Fukushima nuclear accident”) was anunprecedented disaster involving the simultaneous meltdown of three nuclear reactors. However,
fortunately, no marked acute radiation damage has
been observed among those engaged in emergency
and recovery work following the accident. As was
the case in other accidents in the past, however,prospects for completion of restoration operations
such as retrieval of nuclear fuel from the reactors is
not at all promising.

This is the second of a series of reports on
the Epidemiological Study of Health Effects inFukushima Emergency Workers (called the NEW
Study or NEWS for short, as indicated in the title)
subsequent to the first report appearing in the“Facts and Figures” section of the Winter 2015
issue of RERF Update. There is some overlap withthe first report, but this new article is expected
to provide useful in-depth information about theNEWS program.

Lifelong follow-up of approximately 20,000
emergency workers
With the aim of bringing the Fukushima nuclear

Research coordinator meeting of Epidemiological Study for Health Effects in Fukushima Emergency Workers held in Tokyo.
Dr. Toshiteru Okubo, NEWS Principal Investigator (at rear), giving lecture about study policy and medical manual to representatives of collaborating research health organizations
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RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Facts and Figures
accident under control, the radiation limit for emergency workers was elevated from 100 mSv to 250
mSv between March 14 and December 16, 2011.
Those who entered the power plant for any lengthof time during this relevant period are defined as
emergency workers, totaling 19,679 individuals, allof whom are potential NEWS participants.
Pursuant to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare (MHLW) guidelines regarding healthmanagement, all these emergency workers wereregistered in an MHLW database. Registration
cards were issued to the workers, and radiationdose data and results of annual general/special
health examinations are entered into the relevant
database. The aforementioned guidelines alsoprescribe cataract testing for those exposed to atleast 50 mSv and cancer screening for the 174 individuals exposed to more than 100 mSv. The healthexaminations will be performed over the subjects’
lifetimes, and the results will be registered in the
aforementioned database. This study was initiatedafter we were provided with access to the database.
The potential study participants are now dispersedin every prefecture throughout Japan.
Even taking into account radiation exposure
before and after engaging in emergency operations
as well as medical exposure, the subject populationconsists mostly of those exposed to low-dose radiation. Consequently, such reliable epidemiologicalresearch is expected to bring about significant
information about health effects from low-doseradiation exposure, specifically in relation to risk
assessment of cancer development and its mechanisms.
The lower the radiation dose, the more significant the impact of confounding factors is on theeffects of radiation exposure, making difficult thejob of specifying the effects of radiation exposure.
Consequently, this general study will endeavor to
identify confounders such as psychological factors
and work on developing a study of psychologicaleffects, which are thought to impart a significant
impact on the assessment of health-effect indexes.
Regarding access to the aforementioned MHLW
database and provision/receipt of personal information between collaborating research institutes,
this study started by undergoing ethical reviews,
obtained consent from potential study participants,
and finally embarked on health examinations
nationwide. In detail, we explained the significance, objectives, supervising agency, and methodsof NEWS, advantages and disadvantages from collaborating in the study, and the legal rights of thestudy participants. We stated that participants arefree to decide whether or not to participate in the
study and obtained consent for the following items:a) Consent for receipt of information fromother institutes that have existing source
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update 31
materialsb) Consent for participation in the clinical study
including in the health examinationsc) Consent for participation in different planned
research programs in the future
Regarding radiation dose that the subjects
received during the period of emergency operations, actual measurement data are available. Since
necessary devices were not available in the initialdays after the accident occurred, however, radiation dose exposure for the relevant days must be
estimated on the basis of work locations, hours
worked, and types of work performed, using radiation exposure-related primary materials including
job diaries and measurement data of colleagues
and others. Concerning radiation exposure due toradiation-related work before and after engaging
in the emergency operations, the Radiation Effects
Association-affiliated Central Registration Center
will provide data to the NEWS Office.
The breadth of health effects for which theentire subject population will be followed and ofhealth effects to be reviewed in the future in different research plans are shown below:a) Malignant tumors, specifically leukemia,
thyroid cancer, etc.
b) Non-cancer diseases, including circulatory
disease, cataract, and thyroid diseasec) Psychological effects, including PTSD,
adjustment disorder, and depressiond) Biomarkers to assess mechanisms behindradiation’s health effects (immunosenescence and chronic inflammation markers,etc.) and molecular biological markers(SNPs, genome sequencing analysis, andDNA adducts, etc.)e) And, other items that are shown to be necessary during the course of the study

Explanatory letter sent to the entire NEWSsubject population to examine their willingness to participate
NEWS started by sending all subjects a letterto briefly outline the NEWS project and ask theirconsent for participation.
The study population consists mostly of
employees of secondary subcontractors and belowthat have no direct dealings with TEPCO, with thenumber of such subcontractors estimated at morethan 1,000 but less than 2,000. Under such conditions, company efforts are indispensable in encouraging study subjects to participate in the study,
and we therefore decided to utilize the network of
corporate groups. First, to contact such subcontractors via the original contractors, a meeting withthe original contractors was held on July 6, 2015,
with 15 contractors and TEPCO representatives
in attendance (a total of 16 companies). At that
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Facts and Figures
meeting, the participating original contractors wererequested to encourage their respective subcontractors to participate in the later explanatory sessions
held in Tokyo, Fukushima, and Niigata. As a result,
140 persons in charge from such subcontractors
participated in a session held on August 6 at theJapan Football Village (J-Village); 229 on August
18 in Tokyo; 111 on August 27 at the J-Village; and53 on August 28 in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
Furthermore, we sent the aforementioned letter on August 17, 2015, to 2,106 people who did
not belong to any corporate group, with the aimof examining their willingness to participate in the
study.
With regard to emergency workers who
belonged to companies at the time of emergency
operations, their employers held internal explanatory meetings in response to our request made at
the aforementioned explanatory sessions. In synchronized timing, we sent the letter of request to

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update 32
these emergency workers via their respective companies, completing the mailing to 16,743 people by
the end of September. The remaining subjects are
employees of TEPCO, the cooperative frameworkwith which is currently under review separately.
As a result of the mailing, we received 7,203
responses, or 43% of the total, as of December 2,
2015, with 1,360 address-unknown and 8,180 nonresponse cases. From among the responses, 1,890
people, or 26.2%, declined to participate in the
study or returned a blank form. Consequently, for
our FY2016 activities, we decided to contact theremaining 5,313 responders to call for their participation in the health examinations.
The next NEWS article, scheduled to appear
in the Winter 2016 issue of Update, will look intosuch issues as how we handle study participants
dispersed in every prefecture throughout Japan.

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Research Protocols and Publications

Research Protocol Approved in
November 2015–April 2016
RP 6-15 Epidemiological Study of Health
Effects in Fukushima Emergency Workers(Abbreviation: NEW Study)
Toshiteru Okubo, Makoto Akashi, Waka Ohishi,
Ryuji Okazaki, Kotaro Ozasa, Fumiyoshi Kasagi,
Hiroaki Katayama, Osamu Kurihara, Kazunori
Kodama, Hiroshi Sasaki, Jun Shigemura, YumikoSuto, Tomotaka Sobue, Nobuyuki Taniguchi,
Hisanori Hiro, Hokuto Hoshi, Megumi Miyakawa,
Takumaro Momose, Shinji Yoshinaga
The emergency radiation exposure dose limit
for the workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant of the Tokyo Electric Power Company(TEPCO) was raised from 100 mSv to 250 mSv
during the period between March 14 and December
16, 2011. During this period, 174 out of approximately 20,000 emergency workers exceeded thedose limit of 100 mSv imposed for radiation
workers in a consecutive five-year period duringordinary circumstances. The objective of this study
is to clarify the long-term health effects of radiation on those 20,000 radiation emergency workers.
Reliable epidemiological research on the cohortof radiation workers, the majority of whom were
exposed to less than 100 mSv, is expected to lead to
new findings about the risks of low-dose radiation
exposure and its mechanisms. The conventional
knowledge about health risks of radiation exposure
derives from studies of A-bomb survivors, whowere exposed to radiation one time only, while thisstudy involves persistent exposure to mainly lowdose radiation. This study is expected to also bringabout new findings on radiation dose and dose-rate
effect, and the research results may contribute toestablishment of more accurate radiation protection
standards. We will also examine the psychologicaleffects of engaging in such emergency work.

Recent Publications(Japanese): the original article is in Japanese.

Fowke JH et al. (RERF: Ozasa K, Ohishi W, Grant
EJ): Associations of body mass index, smoking,and alcohol consumption with prostate cancer
mortality in the Asia Cohort Consortium. Am J
Epidemiol 2015 (September); 182(5):381-9.
Furukawa K, Misumi M, Cologne JB, Cullings
HM: A Bayesian semiparametric model for radiation dose-response estimation. Risk Anal 2016
(June); 36(6):1211-23.

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update 33
Hirabayashi Y, Tsuboi I, Kuramoto K, Kusunoki Y,
Inoue T: Cell cycle of primitive hematopoietic
progenitors decelerated in senescent mice isreactively accelerated after 2-Gy whole-body
irradiation. Exp Biol Med 2016 (March);
241(5):485-92.
Imaizumi M: Subclinical thyrotoxicosis and heartdisease. Nihon Kojosen Gakkai Zasshi [J Jpn
Thyroid Assoc] 2015 (October); 6(2):91-4.
(Japanese)
Izumi S, Sakata R, Yamada M, Cologne JB: Interaction between a single exposure and age incohort-based hazard rate models impacted thestatistical distribution of age at onset. J Clin Epidemiol 2016 (March); 71:43-50. (RR 5-14)
Joo J, Yoon KA, Hayashi T, Kong SY, Shin HJ,Park B, Kim YM, Hwang SH, Kim J, Shin A,
Kim JY: Nucleotide excision repair gene ERCC2and ERCC5 variants increase risk of uterine cervical cancer. Cancer Res Treat 2015 (June):1-7[Epub ahead of Print].
Kajimura J, Ito R, Manley NR, Hale LP: Optimization of single- and dual-color imunofluorescence
protocols for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded
archival tissues. J Histochem Cytochem 2016
(February); 64(2):112-24. (RR 10-15)
Kerr GD et al. (RERF: Cullings HM, Grant EJ):
Workshop report on atomic bomb dosimetry–
Review of dose related factors for the evaluationof exposures to residual radiation at Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. Health Phys 2015 (December);109(6):582-600.
Key TJ et al.; Endogenous Hormones and Breast
Cancer Collaborative Group (RERF: Grant EJ,
Cologne JB, Ohishi W, Hida A): Steroid hormone measurements from different types of
assays in relation to body mass index and breast
cancer risk in postmenopausal women: Reanalysis of eighteen prospective studies. Steroids 2015
(July); 99(Pt A):49-55.
Kyoizumi S, Kubo Y, Misumi M, Kajimura J,
Yoshida K, Hayashi T, Imai K, Ohishi W,
Nakachi K, Young LF, Shieh JH, Moore MA, vanden Brink MRM, Kusunoki Y: Circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in aging
atomic bomb survivors. Radiat Res 2016 (January); 185(1):69-76. (RR 6-15)
Milder CM, Sakata R, Sugiyama H, Sadakane A,
Utada M, Cordova KA, Hida A, Ohishi W, Ozasa
K, Grant EJ: Initial report for the Radiation
RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

Research Protocols and Publications
Effects Research Foundation F1 Mail Survey.
Asian Pacific J Cancer Prevent 2016 (April);17(3):1313-23. (RR 14-15)
Nezu T, Hosomi N, Takahashi T, Anno K, Aoki S,
Shimamoto A, Maruyama H, Hayashi T,
Matsumoto M, Tahara H: Telomere G-tail length
is a promising biomarker related to white matterlesions and endothelial dysfunction in patientswith cardiovascular risk: A cross-sectional study.
EBioMedicine 2015 (May); 2(8):958-65.
Ozasa K: Epidemiological research on radiationinduced cancer in atomic bomb survivors. J
Radiat Res (Tokyo) 2016 (March):1-6. [Epubahead of Print]
Ozasa K, Sugiyama H, Katayama H, Nakamoto M,
Tsumura H, Nagasaki K, Arita K, Yasui W,
Kajihara H, Usui S: Japan, Hiroshima. Cancer
Incidence in Five Continents Volume X (IARC
Scientific Publications No. 164). Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer, World
Health Organization; 2014, pp 570-1.
Ozasa K, Takahashi I, Grant EJ: Radiation-relatedrisks of non-cancer outcomes in the atomic bomb
survivors. Ann ICRP 2016 (March):1-9. [Epubahead of Print].
Schöllnberger H, Ozasa K, Neff F, Kaiser JC: Cardiovascular disease mortality of A-bomb survivors and the healthy survivor selection effect.
Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2015 (May); 166(14):320-3.
Seed TM, Xiao S, Manley NR, Nikolich-Zugich J,
Pugh J, van den Brink MRM, Hirabayashi Y,
Yasutomo K, Iwama A, Koyasu S, Shterev I,
Sempowski G, Macchiarini F, Nakachi K,
Kunugi KC, Hammer CG, Dewerd LA: An interlaboratory comparison of dosimetry for a multi-

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update 34
institutional radiobiological research project:
Observations, problems, solutions, and lessons
learned. Int J Radiat Biol 2016 (February); 92(2):59–70.
Soda M, Sekine I, Taguchi T, Fukushima K,
Ashizawa K, Suyama A: Japan, Nagasaki Prefecture. Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Volume X (IARC Scientific Publications No. 164).
Lyon: International Agency for Research on
Cancer, World Health Organization; 2014, pp
574-5.
Utada M, Ohno Y, Tamaki T, Sobue T, Endo G:
Global and Japanese trends of intrahepatic andextrahepatic bile duct cancer and factors influencing those trends. JACR Monograph 2015
(November); No.21:3-10. (Japanese)
Yamada M, Landes RD, Mimori Y, Nagano Y,
Sasaki H: Radiation effects on cognitive function
among atomic bomb survivors exposed at orafter adolescence. Am J Med 2015 (October):1-6[Epub ahead of Print]. (RR 8-15)

Publications Using RERF Data
Allodji RS, Schwartz B, Diallo I, Agbovon C,
Laurier D, de Vathaire F: Simulation-extrapolation method to address errors in atomic bomb
survivor dosimetry on solid cancer and leukaemia mortality risk estimates, 1950-2003. Radiat
Environ Biophys 2015 (August); 54(3):273-83.
Hamaoka Y: Reanalysis of data on A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Kagaku [Science] 2015 (September); 85(9):875-88. (Japanese)Peterson LE, Kovyrshina T: Adjustment of lifetime
risks of space radiation-induced cancer by thehealthy worker effect and cancer misclassification. Heliyon 2015 (December):1-51.

RERF Update Volume 27, Issue 1, 2016

www.rerf.jp