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Portulaca (Portulaca oleracea cv.), a garden plant, e ciently removes endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) including bisphenol A (BPA) from hydroponic solution. We hypothesized that polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was involved in the initial steps of detoxifying EDCs in portulaca roots. In order to elucidate the molecular basis of portulaca's ability to metabolize EDCs, we rst isolated ve PPO genes (PoPPO1-5) that were expressed mainly in portulaca roots. Among these genes, PoPPO2, PoPPO4 and PoPPO5 were introduced into cultured tobacco cells and expressed as active forms. We found that crude extracts from the cells expressing PoPPO2, PoPPO5, and to a lesser extent PoPPO4, could metabolize BPA. In addition, we found that the BPA metabolites from crude extracts of cells expressing PoPPO2, PoPPO4 and PoPPO5 were identical to those of portulaca. Moreover, PoPPO2 and PoPPO5 also caused hydroxylation of octylphenol, nonylphenol and 17β-estradiol. erefore, these results strongly suggest that PoPPOs signi cantly contribute to the superior ability of portulaca to metabolize EDCs.

spend time in the support-center and why they visit in order to consider what support-center for the elderly should be. We investigated four support-centers and described the behavior of visitors and staff. The visitors' interaction without staff is more independent than the one with staff in terms of recovery of their community, however other support-centers are not necessarily bad because it is effective that staff change how to interact with visitors depending on the progress of the recovery. Also, enough space for staff is necessary in order to prevent staff from staying in the space for visitors.

Support-center for the elderly was legislated for the first time after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This paper clarifies the realities and circumstances of its planning in Iwate Prefecture, and discusses the roles of government.