Local Prefecture Research Articles

Analysis of Land Price Changes Before and After Designation as Tsunami Disaster Alert Areas

Learning from the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Japanese government enacted the “Tsunami Disaster Prevention Community Development Law.” Following the law’s enactment, local prefectures could designate areas that required special preparation for tsunami disasters as “tsunami disaster alert areas.” However, more than 10 years after the law’s enactment, only about half of the prefectures with estimated tsunami inundation have designated disaster alert areas. One reason for this lack of progress is that it is difficult to reach a consensus owing to concerns regarding falling land prices caused by rumors. Thus, this study presents an empirical analysis of the impact of designating tsunami disaster alert areas on land prices. The difference in land prices between designated tsunami disaster alert areas and other areas is analyzed using the difference-in-difference and propensity score matching methods, using data on 26 prefectures. The eight prefectures in the “treatment group” were designated as tsunami disaster alert areas before 2018. The other prefectures are assigned to the “control group.” The results show a significant difference between designated tsunami disaster alert areas and other locations. The results are confirmed in kernel matching bandwidths of 0.06 for the entire sample, sample of only residential use, and sample of an estimated tsunami inundation depth below 2 m. Thus, this study concludes that before designating tsunami alert areas, local prefectures must carefully consider the impact of such designation on land prices.

Factors That Attract the Population: Empirical Research by Multiple Regression Analysis Using Data by Prefecture in Japan

The development of the local economy and correcting the concentration in the capital city have long been the target for many countries. Furthermore, in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the momentum for rural migration has been increasing to prevent the risk of infection with the help of the rise of remote work. However, there is not enough debate about what kind of land will attract the population. Therefore, in this paper, we performed correlation and multiple regression analyses, with the inflow rate and the net inflow rate of the population as the dependent variables, using the average values of government statistics for each prefecture in 2010 and 2017. As a result of the analyses, in addition to economic factor variables, variables of climatic, amenity, and human factors correlated with the inflow rate, and it was shown that the model had the greatest explanatory power when multiple factors had been used in addition to specific factors. It indicated that local prefectures were required to take regional promotion measures focusing not only on economic factors but also on multifaceted factors to attract the outside population. In addition, when the dependent variable was replaced with the 2020 population inflow rate, the model in which human factors were used as the independent variable showed the largest improvement in explanatory power. Therefore, it was shown that human factors have become more important in attracting people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patient attendance at a pediatric emergency referral hospital in an area with low COVID-19 incidence.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of individual infection control measures and physical distancing on pediatric medical care in a local prefecture in Japan, where the incidence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in pediatric patients was extremely low. We extracted data from hospital records on the number of outpatients, inpatients, infectious disease consultations, and consultations for representative pediatric diseases. We compared attendance in 2017–2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, with 2020, when COVID-19 spread to Japan. There were no COVID-19 patients in the pediatric department during the study period. The total number outpatient visits decreased by 24.4%, and the number of hospital admissions, excluding neonatal care unit admissions, decreased by approximately 35%. There was a marked reduction in the number of hospitalizations for infectious diseases such as influenza (−74.8%) and respiratory syncytial virus infection (−93.5%), and the number of hospitalizations for bronchitis/pneumonia, Kawasaki disease, and bronchial asthma decreased. In contrast, the number of clinical psychological interventions and cases reported to the child guidance center increased. In the context of pandemic infectious diseases, it is important to control the spread of problematic infectious diseases by individual infection control measures and physical distancing. However, it is necessary to maintain social life as much as possible for the mental health and physical development of children.

Assessment of Critical Care Surge Capacity During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan.

Japan has the highest proportion of older adults worldwide but has fewer critical care beds than most high-income countries. Although the COVID-19 infection rate in Japan is low compared with Europe and the United States, by the end of 2020, several infected people died in ambulances because they could not find hospitals to accept them. Our study aimed to examine the Japanese healthcare system's capacity to accommodate critically ill COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. We created a model to estimate bed and staff capacity at 3 levels of pandemic response (conventional, contingency, and crisis), as defined by the US National Academy of Medicine, and the function of Japan's healthcare system at each level. We then compared our estimates of the number of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care at peak times with the national health system capacity using expert panel data. Our findings suggest that Japan's healthcare system currently can accommodate only a limited number of critically ill COVID-19 patients. It could accommodate the surge of pandemic demands by converting nonintensive care unit beds to critical care beds and using nonintensive care unit staff for critical care. However, bed and staff capacity should not be expanded uniformly, so that the limited number of physicians and nurses are allocated efficiently and so staffing does not become the bottleneck of the expansion. Training and deploying physicians and nurses to provide immediate intensive care is essential. The key is to introduce and implement the concept and mechanism of tiered staffing in the Japanese healthcare system. More importantly, most intensive care facilities in Japanese hospitals are small-scaled and thinly distributed in each region. The government needs to introduce an efficient system for smooth dispatching of medical personnel among hospitals regardless of their founding institutions.

Impacts of the Spread of COVID-19 on Tourism Behavior and Residents’ Lifestyle in a Local Prefecture

Impacts of the Spread of COVID-19 on Tourism Behavior and Residents’ Lifestyle in a Local Prefecture

Incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, 1986-2018.

IntroductionSeveral studies have examined the incidence of childhood T1DM in Japan from the 1970s onwards, but none have been long‐term studies using registration data. We estimate the incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) from 1986 to 2018 in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.MethodsWe began a population‐based, long‐term study of childhood T1DM in 1986 involving every hospital paediatrics department in Yamanashi Prefecture. In the Prefecture, every child newly diagnosed with T1DM is referred to a hospital, and therefore, almost 100% of new patients aged <15 years are registered. We calculated the incidence of T1DM among children aged <15 years from 1986 to 2018. All cases met the Japan Diabetes Society diagnostic criteria and were tested for T1DM‐related autoantibodies whenever possible.ResultsNinety‐nine patients (44 boys and 55 girls) were newly diagnosed with T1DM. The annual incidence among 5‐ to 9‐year‐olds increased by 5.35% over the study period (95% confidence interval 2.34%‐8.35%, p = .0005), and there was a trend towards increasing 3‐year incidence (15.52% increase, p = .0516). There were also trends towards increasing annual and 3‐year incidence among 0‐ to 14‐year‐olds. However, there were no changes over time in annual or 3‐year incidence in the 0–4 year or 10–14 year age groups.ConclusionsThe incidence of T1DM in Yamanashi Prefecture increased among children aged 0‐14 years over the study period, with the most significant increase occurring among 5‐ to 9‐year‐olds. These data suggest that the number of children aged <15 years with T1DM is gradually increasing in one of the local prefectures in Japan, Yamanashi Prefecture and that the age of onset is decreasing.

Diluvial nation: building imperial Japan through floods

PurposeThis article assesses the development of flood relief and recovery, and their narratives, as political sites for the central and local governments to negotiate each other's standing and role in imperial Japan.Design/methodology/approachThe article examines local flood narratives, most prominently from Okayama, to assess how imperial Japan's central government intruded into the periphery through disaster relief, and how the localities negotiated and challenged Tokyo's political agenda on the ground and through these narratives.FindingsThe above sources reveal that the national government attempted to use flood experiences to unite the pluralizing society by three main means: building meteorological stations, relief laws, and through the imperial being. The process was systematized gradually, and local prefectures aided and challenged Tokyo's attempts. The prefectures also used disasters to try to bring unity within their community.Originality/valueHistorical flood narratives are often used to mine data from which future preventative and management measures are constructed. The article suggests the narratives' political nature, and hence the nuances that must be considered in these efforts.

Ten-Year Cerebrovascular Disease Trend Occurrence by Population-based Stroke Registry in an Aging Japan Local Prefecture

Background: Cerebrovascular diseases are a major cause of death for Japanese people, but up-to-date national or prefectural incidences are unknown. We calculated the last 10-year cerebrovascular diseases incidence in an aging local prefecture in Japan with 1.2 million inhabitants and used the data to predict the future incidence. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed inventory surveys from the Iwate Stroke Registry (data from the whole Iwate Prefecture) from 2008 to 2017. We compared age-adjusted and age-specific incidence rates between the first half period from 2008 to 2012 and the last half period from 2013 to 2017. We used the incidence change rate and the forecasted population number to predict the future incidence. Results: In a decade, the age-adjusted cerebrovascular diseases incidence rate per 100,000 person-years in the Japan standard population decreased from 212.1 to 176.8 in men and from 123.1 to 97.0 in women. The age-specific incidence rates and the number of incidences of those younger than 55 years decreased only slightly, but those of people 55 years or older decreased. The total number of incidence in 2040 will decrease to two-thirds of the value in 2015, but the number of incidence of those 85 years and older will increase by 2040. Conclusions: The cerebrovascular diseases rate and number of incidence decreased during the last decade and will decrease in the future, but the incidence in the oldest-old will increase. Specific nursing care and social measures to treat cerebrovascular diseases in the oldest-old will be needed.

Law, Ethics and Tech Aspects for an Irrevocable BlockChain Based Curriculum Vitae Created by Big Data Analytics Fed by Internet of Things, Sensors and Approved Data Sources

Our general idea is to adopt Blockchain Ledger Technology for volunteered recording of business skills to formulate an irrevocable irresistible Curriculum Vitae to be processed by Recruiting agencies. The desperate well-educated jobless people of our times rely on recruiting agencies to analyze their qualification and find them a descent work. The general process starts with personal data feed automatically from sensors to an irrevocable BlockChain. At the final stage recruiting companies read these data, they process and offer a better job. A modified Time-Series is used to store work history and skills as the most important part of a Curriculum-Vitae. Every moment of our work life is recorded accordingly. These data are collected from various IoT sources like; Internet of things, Word, Excel computer file headers, URL fingerprints, Data Centers &amp; Banks Big Data. It looks like self-slavery although according to GDPR the necessary consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. In order to obtain freely given consent, it must be given on a voluntary basis. We attempted a primitive social research. In our University young people, they prefer to follow the blockchain recruiting route at a rate of 96% while in a local prefecture only 1% endorses the technology for unemployment.

Soil Contamination by a Lead Smelter in Brazil in the View of the Local Residents.

A primary lead smelter operated in Santo Amaro City in Brazil from 1960 to 1993, leaving approximately 500,000 tons of industrial dross containing 2–3% of lead and other toxic elements that contaminated the industry grounds and the urban environment. This study aimed to present the local residents’ perception towards soil contamination by the smelter. In a cross-sectional study, 208 residents from randomly selected households were interviewed about dross hazards and proposals for its management. A city map depicts the distribution and concentration of lead, cadmium, arsenic, zinc, nickel, and antimony, measured in the soil of the 39 households with visible smelter dross. Only one site complies with the soil quality reference values; 27 (69.2%) call for preventive measures, and 11 (28.2%) require intervention. The smelter dross continues widely spread over the city. Thirty (76.9%) out of the 39 residents were able to recognize the smelter dross on household surroundings. However, this ability was not associated with the concentrations of toxic elements in the soil of their residences and surroundings. The smelter and the local Prefecture were most frequently held liable for taking soil cleanup actions. The most frequently (38.0%) cited solution for managing the dross found in the households was “to provide the residents with information about health risks related to the dross”.

Detection of West Nile Virus – Lineage 2 in Culex pipiens mosquitoes, associated with disease outbreak in Greece, 2017

During July-October 2017 a WNV outbreak took place in the Peloponnese, Southern Greece with five confirmed deaths. During routine monitoring survey in the Peloponnese, supported by the local Prefecture, we have confirmed the presence of all three Culex pipiens biotypes in the region, with a high percentage of Culex pipiens/molestus hybrids (37.0%) which are considered a highly competent vector of WNV. Kdr mutations related to pyrethroid resistance were found at relatively low levels (14.3% homozygosity) while no mosquitoes harboring the recently identified chitin synthase diflubenzuron-resistance mutations were detected in the region. As an immediate action, following the disease outbreak (within days), we collected a large number of mosquitoes using CO2 CDC traps from the villages in the Argolis area of the Peloponnese, where high incidence of WNV human infections were reported. WNV lineage 2 was detected in 3 out of 47 Cx. pipiens mosquito pools (detection rate = 6.38%). The virus was not detected in any other mosquito species, such as Aedes albopictus, sampled from the region at the time of the disease outbreak. Our results show that detection of WNV lineage 2 in Cx. pipiens pools is spatially and chronologically associated with human clinical cases, thus implicating Cx. pipiens mosquitoes as the most likely WNV vector. The absence of diflubenzuron resistance mutations and the low frequency of pyrethroid (kdr) resistance mutations indicates the suitability of these insecticides for Cx. pipiens control, in the format of larvicides and/or residual spraying applications respectively, which was indeed the main (evidence based) response, following the disease outbreak.

Can the Japanese Educational System Design the Future? The Historical Experience of Universalization in Upper Secondary Education

This paper illustrates the historical process of the prevalence of upper secondary education in Japan focusing on the public and private relationships. After reviewing high school policy at the central administration, actual high school supply at local government levels is examined and the harmonious relationship between public and private sectors is introduced. Japanese private schools must fulfill the same standards of school facilities, teachers’ licenses, and curriculum as those of public schools, under the control of school education laws with a few exceptions. The universal upper secondary education in Japan has been managed with diversities between local prefectures. Japanese education succeeded in the wave of industrialization and constructed a cooperation between public and private high schools. This educational system has supported Japanese development to achieve competent human resources. However, Japan is now facing a new difficulty of determining what further steps to take in the pursuit of top school education in a post-industrialized global world.

Exploring city branding strategies and their impacts on local tourism success, the case study of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

ABSTRACTCity branding is a managerial procedure which offers any given city a distinct identity; providing cities with a chance to present as different, positive and distinguishable from other competitors. In Japan, the use of mascots for city branding is often part of urban planning strategy. Kumamon is the most successful regional mascot in Japan and offers an opportunity to explore the nature of mascot city branding strategies. Employing a large number of promotional strategies, the local prefecture created a unique Kumamon city brand and enhanced the local image, resulting in significant economic benefits. The paper argues that five main factors contributed to the success of Kumamon: government support, power of emotional attachment and anthropomorphism, efficient public transport and tourism services, the mascot branding, and social media. Understanding how Kumamon mascot branding succeeded can assist makers to decide whether to replicate the use of mascot branding in other cities and regions.

Industrial Structure of Prefectures in Japan

I would like to highlight two local prefectures in Japan, Fukui prefecture and Toyama prefecture. I live in Fukui prefecture and it has Toyama as neighbor. This research uses 2011 Input-Out Tables of Fukui and Toyama prefectures and examines the index of power of and the index of sensitivity of of each industry. It also gets production inducement values by consumption, investment, and export (and outflow to other prefectures). With these values, we can compare two prefectures’ industrial structure. The values of index of power of dispersion show some different industries in higher ranked industries, which have bigger economic effect. Moreover, Information and communications industry is ranked at seventh in Fukui and Iron and Steel industry has eighth position in Toyama. On other hand, index of sensitivity of dispersion’s values indicate that industries at higher rank have similarity though rankings are somewhat different. In addition, Finance and insurance is ranked at sixth in both Fukui and Toyama. Real estate industry has seventh and eighth position in Fukui and Toyama respectively. Seeing inducement effect of export and outflow to other prefectures, Fukui’s Electricity, Gas, and Heat supply industry and Toyama’s Chemical products industry have outstanding values. Furthermore, two industries characterize Fukui and Toyama about effect to employment. That is to say, third ranked industries are Textile mill products and Fabricated metal products respectively. Fukui and Toyama are in same area, we call Hokuriku. However, they don’t necessarily have same industrial structure.

Management of and Experiments in a Colonial Industry: Japanese Government-run Fishermen Migration Project in Taiwan during the Late Meiji Period

Between Meiji 41 and Meiji 44 (1908–1911), the Japanese colonial government implemented a fishermen migration project in five prefectures and six ports in Taiwan. This was set up earlier than the Japanese migration project for farmers. The latter was not formally kicked off until Meiji 43 (1910). Comparing these two Japanese government-run migration projects also shows the following differences: First, the fishermen migration project started at the time when detailed surveys and assessments of Japanese colonial migration to Taiwan had not yet been completed. Second, the later farmer migration project, unlike the fishermen migration project, was under the leadership of the Taiwan Sōtokufu (Office of the Governor-General, Taiwan). The fishermen migration project was basically an agenda set up by local prefectures. Third, it aimed at improving Taiwan’s coastal fisheries through recruiting Japanese fishermen to migrate to Taiwan. The idea was that these Japanese fishermen would be exemplary fishermen who would generate incentives for Taiwanese to compete with them. Therefore, in contrast to agrarian migrants, fishermen migration was more of an economic colonial project than a political one. Given that the fishermen migration project in Taiwan was initiated by inexperienced local prefectures while the Taiwan Sōtokufu played only a passive role, its limited achievements are not a surprise. The only successful case was in Donggang (東港), where the geographical location and personal cooperation among local and Japanese fishermen helped it become an ideal place for Japanese fishermen migrants. The migration project failed in all the other five ports. In this paper, I will analyze how the fishermen migration project operated. I will show the different governmental strategies implemented between local prefectures and the colonial government at the time when the implementation of fishing reforms was still in the trial-and-error stage of colonial experiments. At the same time, I will argue that the project failed because of the existence of unfavorable structural factors that worked against the development of the migrant industry. The Taiwan Sōtokufu might have been aware of these unfavorable factors in Taiwan, which did not support the promotion of fishermen migration policies focused on coastal fisheries in Taiwan. Out of concern for colonial rationality, the colonial government had to call off the project. Nonetheless, the Taiwan Sōtokufu then expanded spending on fisheries and related industries, and became active in promoting the fishing industry. The industry thus developed during the Japanese colonial era. (This article is in English.)

Toward integrated and sustainable prevention against diabetes in rural China: study rationale and protocol of eCROPS

BackgroundBeing an intermediate stage in the development of diabetes, pre-diabetics were estimated as high as 14% to 63% in China and one to three quarters of them will develop into diabetes within 10 years. It is well established that the risk of diabetes progression can be modified substantially and a whole range of proven guidelines, protocols and methodologies are available. Unfortunately, most proven interventions are seldom used in daily practice and this is especially true in resource poor rural China. This project aims at demonstrating that an evolutionary intervention package featuring low cost, integration with routine services, cultural sensitization and self-optimization, is effective and sustainable in preventing diabetes.Methods/designThis project utilizes a quasi cluster randomized controlled trial and a batched implementation strategy in which villages are recruited in 7 blocks within 7 consecutive years respectively. Block 0 involves 3 villages and provides an opportunity for piloting and refining primitive intervention methodologies and protocols. The following 6 blocks consist of 14 villages each and serve as intervention arm; while all the villages not yet started intervention form the control arm. For each block, measurement happens at baseline and every 12 months (for plasma glucose) or monthly (for body weight and blood pressure) after baseline. These arrangements enable documentation of up to 6 years of consecutive measures and detection of lower incidence of progression into diabetes, improved body max index and blood pressure, and increased service use and involvement in healthy dietary and physical activities among pre-diabetics receiving the experimental intervention compared to themselves at baseline or those in the delayed-intervention control condition.DiscussionChina has a long history of separating disease prevention and treatment systems and there is a clear need to leverages key success factors in a synergetic way toward integrated and sustainable diabetes prevention. This project is owned and managed by local health authorities and utilizes available resources. It introduces a package of long-term incentives, establishes ongoing mechanisms for continuous capacity building and quality improvement, and builds up an operational cycle for catalyzing similar efforts in the local prefecture even throughout rural China.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials: ISRCTN66772711.

Design of Bioethanol Production System Utilizing Restorable Fallow Land

Bioethanol is expected as a prospective alternative to fossil fuels for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The study aims to design bioethanol production system utilizing energy crops in restorable fallow land in Japan and evaluate system performance based on energy balances, costs, and carbon emissions. The energy system has three processes such as cultivation, transportation, and manufacturing. In the analysis, energy potential in the area is calculated considering crop species, yields, chemical components, available land areas, and conversion efficiency. Then, the system performance is derived focusing on a local prefecture as a case study. The result shows that sorghum is expected to have the highest energy potential in most regions except for northern prefectures, and the amount of bioethanol produced from crops in fallow land is estimated to be about 2 million kl. Net energy value reaches -1.09 to 15.9 MJ/l. The total cost producing bioethanol is 2.4 to 8.9 times higher than petroleum fuel on calorific value basis. It is concluded that it is important to improve the productivity of the cultivation process of energy crops and to design optimized energy system to meet social requirements in near future.

Prefectural branding in Japan – Tourism, National Parks and the Shinshu brand

Japan's rural peripheries have suffered dramatic depopulation in the postwar period as a result of urbanization driven by education and employment. Subsequent attempts at regional revitalization have seen corporate branding techniques increasingly used in regional public diplomacy, although the intangible nature of place branding has undermined attempts to conclusively prove its effectiveness. This contribution re-examines the Japanese place-branding boom through the case study of Nagano prefecture’s Shinshu Brand, raising questions over its portrayal as a success story in previous research. Nagano’s increasingly tourist-based strategy is examined in detail, and the omission of its four national parks (NPs) is discussed. Analysis shows that these parks, by definition the areas with the greatest biodiversity and most spectacular scenery in Nagano, fall under the jurisdiction of disparate agencies of central government and management that is increasingly distanced from the local prefecture. This article proposes that the active incorporation of these existing brands into Nagano’s portfolio is vital to a tourist-based economy and the sustainability of the Shinshu Brand. Just as branding is a two-way process between brand identity and brand image, NPs are also vital regional resources that should be actively included in prefectural brands.

Career redevelopment programmes for inactive nurses in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and problems in using career redevelopment programmes and individual hospital programmes to prepare inactive nurses to re-enter into the workforce in Japan. It is critical to supply sufficient skilled health human resources for medical care. Although, Japan has a mandatory retraining programme for supporting nurses to return to the workplace after a career break, it is unclear to what extent there are benefits to nurses from these programmes. The research of career redevelopment programme was undertaken in three administrative divisions' nurse centres in local prefecture A, B and C. A survey of nurses participating in the programme running in T Hospital was also conducted. The issues examined were the background and motivations of participants, the length of career break, the percentages returning to work and the effectiveness of each programme. The average age of participants was 40 years, ranging widely from the 20-60 years. Local prefecture A tended to have narrower age range than others, namely from the 30-50 years. The average period of career break was around eight years at two of three. Length of experience was quite varied from entry level to 20 or 30 years in nursing. Feedback from nurses in the case study T Hospital suggests that the most effective ways of providing support through the programme was to meet the need for continuing support, including working styles after return to work and using the resources programme in their own area of domicile. In the potential return of the nurse, the following are important: (i) job support system by using social resources effectively in the community level; and (ii) introduction of diverse working styles that take account of varying work-life balance, as well as childcare support, by using existing facilities or human resources.

Regional Trend and Tissue Distribution of Brominated Flame Retardants and Persistent Organochlorines in Raccoon Dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) from Japan

The present study investigated concentrations and patterns of brominated flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), and persistent organochlorines (OCs) in liver and adipose tissues of raccoon dogs (RD: Nyctereutes procyonoides) collected from two metropolises and a local prefecture in Japan during 2001-2006. Relatively high concentrations of PBDEs were found in RD livers, while HBCD levels were the lowest among the measured organohalogen compounds. Among PBDE congeners, BDE 209 was predominant in RDs from all the regions, indicating that pollution derived from the technical decaBDE product is extensive across Japan. On the other hand, concentrations of tetra- to nona-BDE congeners in RDs from a metropolis were significantly higher than those from the other two regions, implying that there were regional differences in the past usage of the technical tetraBDE and octaBDE products. Such a regional difference was also observed for HBCD levels. Lipid-normalized concentration ratios of liver to adipose tissue (L/A ratio) for tri to hepta-BDE congeners were lower than 1.0 in the investigated eight RDs, suggesting lipid-dependent accumulation. However, the LA ratios of BDE 209 exceeded 1.0 in all the specimens, suggesting hepatic retention of this compound. In addition, lipid-dependent accumulation of a-HBCD was observed, but the L/A ratios of gamma-HBCD were greater than 1.0 in some specimens. These results indicate that Japanese RDs have been recently exposed to BDE 209 and gamma-HBCD and accumulated both these compounds preferentially in blood-rich organs, probably due to their binding to proteins and/or rapid biotransformation, as reported in experimental rodents.