Increased concentrations of atmospheric CO 2 are predicted to reduce the content of essential elements such as protein, zinc, and iron in C 3 grains and legumes, threatening the nutrition of billions of people in the next 50 years. However, this prediction has mostly been limited to grain crops, and moreover, we have little information about either the underlying mechanism or an effective intervention to mitigate these reductions. Here, we present a broader picture of the reductions in elemental content among crops grown under elevated CO 2 concentration. By using a new approach, flow analysis of elements, we show that lower absorption and/or translocation to grains is a key factor underlying such elemental changes. On the basis of these findings, we propose two effective interventions—namely, growing C 4 instead of C 3 crops, and genetic improvements—to minimize the elemental changes in crops, and thereby avoid an impairment of human nutrition under conditions of elevated CO 2 .

To elucidate the biological effect of static magnetic fields (SMF), we measured lipid peroxidation in the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and brain of mice exposed to SMF and also evaluated the combined effect of SMF exposure on the hepatotoxicity induced by treatment with carbon tetrachloride (CC14). Lipid peroxidation in the liver was significantly increased by exposure to 4.7 T of SMF for 3, 6, 24, or 48 h, whereas that in the kidneys, heart, lungs and brain was not changed compared to the control. The combination of CC14 injection and SMF exposure caused an increase in lipid peroxidation in the liver exceeding that caused by either treatment alone. Furthermore, the increase in activities of both GOT and GPT caused by CC14 administration were also enhanced by SMF exposure. These results indicate that the exposure to strong SMF induces lipid peroxidation in the liver of mice and enhances the hepatotoxicity caused by CC14 administration.

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Objectives: Ketamine hydrochloride (KT) is a secondary amine that has been safely used as an injectable anesthetic and analgesic to avoid the production of nitroso compounds in the stomach. However, ketamine in the tablet form has recently become an abused, recreational drug. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotoxic effects of N-nitrosoketamine (NKT) and KT on the basis of an in vitro micronucleus (MN) test using a Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell line (CHL/IU).Methods: NKT was synthesized from KT in our laboratory. In the MN tests, CHL/IU cells were continuously treated with either NKT or KT for 24, 48, or 72 hours without the S9 mix. The cells were also treated with NKT or KT with or without the S9 mix for 6 hours, followed by a recovery period of 18, 42, or 66 hours (short-term treatment). The results were considered to be statistically significant when the p-values of both Fisher's exact test and the trend test were less than 0.05.Results: After the short-term treatment with either NKT or KT with and without the S9 mix, the frequency of micronuclei significantly increased. However, the frequency of micronuclei did not significantly increase after the continuous treatment with either NKT or KT. Both NKT and KT were determined to be genotoxic in the short-term treatment with or without the S9 mix, but they were determined to be nongenotoxic in continuous treatment.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that NKT has a stronger genotoxic effect than KT.