The most used kind of immunoassay is enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); however, enzymes suffer from steric effects, low stability, and high cost. Our research group has been developing quinone-linked immunosorbent assay (QuLISA) as a new promising approach for stable and cost-efficient immunoassay. However, the developed QuLISA suffered from low water-solubility of synthesized quinone labels and their moderate sensitivity. Herein, we developed a new approach for signal multiplication of QuLISA utilizing the water-soluble quinone anthracycline, doxorubicin, coupled with dextran for signal multiplication. A new compound, Biotin-DexDox, was prepared in which doxorubicin was assembled on oxidized dextran 40, and then it was biotinylated. The redox-cycle-based chemiluminescence and the colorimetric reaction of Biotin-DexDox were optimized and evaluated, and they showed very good sensitivity down to 0.25 and 0.23 nM, respectively. Then, Biotin-DexDox was employed for the detection of biotinylated antibodies utilizing avidin as a binder and a colorimetric assay of the formed complex through its contained doxorubicin redox reaction with NaBH4 and imidazolium salt yielding strong absorbance at 510 nm. The method could detect the plate-fixed antibody down to 0.55 nM. Hence, the application of Biotin-DexDox in QuLISA was successfully demonstrated and showed a significant improvement in its sensitivity and applicability to aqueous assays.

Manganese nodules, which are mainly composed of manganese and iron oxide, show the structure of annual rings. Chemical compositions vary widely, such as the concentrations of Co, Ni and Cu, and the relative ratio of Mn/Fe. It may be possible to analyze the old environmental changes from the chemical composition. In this study, characterization of the chemical composition of manganese nodules was performed to find the factors concerning the effect of a changing of environment. In the sample, a characteristic layer was found in a raster image of X-rays by SEM-EDX. In this layer, the abundances of iron and sulfur were high, but manganese was low. In this particular structure, pyrite should be considered to occur as very small particles. Further, manganese nodules were examined along the structure of annual rings in more detail for chemical composition, which confirmed the result of SEM-EDX. The main elements were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), and trace elements were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). As a result, the distribution of the elements changed to 1/3 from 1/2 and 3/4 from the center. The distribution of the elements changed one after another at the former. The latter agreed with the section at which there was sulfur when analyzed by SEM-EDX. The distribution of the elements suddenly changed at the same time at the latter. Therefore, we can guess that the different changes of the environment occurred twice.

To obtain information on the environmental impact of materials eluted from volcanic ashes of Mt. Oyama, Miyake Island, which erupted in July 2000, the dissolution behaviours of heavy metals and rare-earth elements from the volcanic ashes were examined. The most important characteristic of the Mt. Oyama eruption is that sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) gas has been continuously released, and all persons living on Miyake Island have been required to evacuate. To estimate in terms of the volcanic eruption using SO 2 gas, the ash nature in Mt. Usu, Hokkaido, was also examined and compared with that in Mt. Oyama. When rain water mixed the ashes, the water from the ashes of Mt. Oyama became acidic because of the sulphuric acid. Therefore, SO 2 gas in Mt. Oyama can accelerate the dissolution of protons and heavy metals in the ashes, whereas the rain water in Mt. Usu was not acidic and the dissolution of the heavy metals was not so evident compared with that in the case of Mt. Oyama. With this sulphuric acid, heavy metals such as As, Cd, Pb and Hg in the ashes in Mt. Oyama easily dissolved owing to the low pH. The ashes in Mt. Oyama had been released for eight years and the amount of fallen ashes was estimated to be 33 billion tons. The weights of the harmful heavy metals in the volcanic ashes, such as As, Cd, Pb and Hg, were estimated to be 3.8 Â 10 2 , 1.3 Â 10 3 , 1.1 Â 10 3 and 29 kg, respectively, and these heavy metals were dissolved and diluted in seawater. Therefore, the concentration and species (chemical form) of these metals should be carefully monitored in the future. Moreover, SO 2 gas, which has a direct effect on human health and has been monitored continuously, causes other effects, such as facilitation of metal ion elution and rock aeration.

Botryoid odontogenic cyst was first described by Weathers and Waldron in 1973, and only a small num ber of cases have subsequently been reported in the literature.We report a case of a botryoid odontogenic cyst of the mandible in a 59-year-old woman and describe the clinical, radiographic, and histological features.