Characterization of sulfate mineral deposits in central Thailand

In this paper we present petrographic and geochemical data of sulfate mineral deposits in northeast Nakhon Sawan, central Thailand, and provide new constraints on their age. The deposits are made up mainly of strongly deformed nodular and massive gypsum in the upper part, and less deformed layered anhydrite in the lower part. They are intruded by andesitic dikes that contain Middle Triassic zircons (ca 240 Ma). These dikes are probably part of the regional magmatic activity of the Sukhothai Arc during the Early to Middle Triassic. Sulfur (δ34S) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotopic compositions of the sulfates range from 15.86‰ to 16.26‰ and from 0.70810 to 0.70817, respectively. Comparisons with the Phanerozoic seawater isotopic evolution curve indicate that those values are best explained by precipitation of the sulfates from Carboniferous seawater, in particular seawater of late Mississippian age (ca 326 Ma), and this would be consistent with previous studies of calcareous fossils in the limestones that crop out around this site. Our interpretation is that evaporitic gypsum was originally precipitated from hypersaline seawater on a shallow lagoon or shelf on the Khao Khwang Platform during the Serpukhovian, and that this gypsum changed to anhydrite during early burial. The anhydrite was then cut by andesitic dikes during the Middle Triassic, and more recently the upper part of which was rehydrated during exhumation to form secondary gypsum near the surface

Immune State Conversion of the Mesenteric Lymph Node in a Mouse Breast Cancer Model

Secondary lymphoid tissues, such as the spleen and lymph nodes (LNs), contribute to breast cancer development and metastasis in both anti- and pro-tumoral directions. Although secondary lymphoid tissues have been extensively studied, very little is known about the immune conversion in mesenteric LNs (mLNs) during breast cancer development. Here, we demonstrate inflammatory immune conversion of mLNs in a metastatic 4T1 breast cancer model. Splenic T cells were significantly decreased and continuously suppressed IFN-gamma production during tumor development, while myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) were dramatically enriched. However, T cell numbers in the mLN did not decrease, and the MDSCs only moderately increased. T cells in the mLN exhibited conversion from a pro-inflammatory state with high IFN-gamma expression to an anti-inflammatory state with high expression of IL-4 and IL-10 in early- to late-stages of breast cancer development. Interestingly, increased migration of CD103(+)CD11b(+) dendritic cells (DCs) into the mLN, along with increased (1 -> 3)-beta-D-glucan levels in serum, was observed even in late-stage breast cancer. This suggests that CD103(+)CD11b(+) DCs could prime cancer-reactive T cells. Together, the data indicate that the mLN is an important lymphoid tissue contributing to breast cancer development

The Shock State of Itokawa Sample

One of the fundamental aspects of any astromaterial is its shock history, since this factor elucidates critical historical events, and also because shock metamorphism can alter primary mineralogical and petrographic features, and reset chronologies [1]. Failure to take shock history into proper account during characterization can result in seriously incorrect conclusions being drawn. Thus the Hayabusa Preliminary Examination Team (HASPET) made shock stage determination of the Itokawa samples a primary goal [2]. However, we faced several difficulties in this particular research. The shock state of ordinary chondrite materials is generally determined by simple optical petrographic observation of standard thin sections. The Itokawa samples available to the analysis team were mounted into plastic blocks, were polished on only one side, and were of non-standard and greatly varying thickness, all of which significantly complicated petrographic analysis but did not prevent it. We made an additional estimation of the sample shock state by a new technique for this analysis - electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) in addition to standard petrographic techniques. We are also investigating the crystallinity of Itokawa olivine by Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD)

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July

Analysis of the Nutrient Intake and the Nutritional and Health State of the people in a Nepalese Mountainous Village:Dithal VDC

【目的】世界辺境地区の一つであるネパール山間地方の住民の摂取栄養と健康状態について解析した。【方法】神戸常盤大学を中心に共同調査プロジェクト(JICA 草の根事業)を編成し、ネパールデタール村でのフィールドワークを行った。住民208名(年齢5～82歳、男女比82:126)の健康調査を施行し、身体計測とBIA法を用いた体構成成分測定、および血液検査(TP、Albumin、GPT、BUN、Ca)を行った。また住民の内科診療を行い、下痢などの消化管疾患の有無を調査した。さらに、一般家庭における日々の食事内容をデジタルカメラに撮影し、摂取熱量、摂取栄養素を計測すると同時に、村の採水所30ヵ所での飲水を含めた生活用水の細菌学的検査を行った。【結果】身体計測上、BMI<18.5の比率が50%を超え、12歳以下の子供では80%近くに及んだ。体構成成分測定では、特に子供で体内脂肪、筋肉量の減少と、体内水分量の増加が見られた。また一見肥満体系であっても、栄養障害による浮腫や、筋肉量の減少による下腹部の突出(クワシオルコル)を示す症例も、12歳以下の子供で見られた。血液検査は、血清総タンパク、アルブミンの低下以外は、ほぼ正常値内であった。食事は、ネパール特有のダル・バート・タルカリという炭水化物が中心の料理で、摂取栄養素の80%を占めた。1日2食が標準である現地人の平均摂取熱量は800～1000kcal程度と推計された。飲料水の細菌学的検査では、大腸菌、及び大腸菌群が80～100%の頻度で検出された。【結論】未だカースト制度の現存するネパールの山間地方における栄養状態と衛生環境は劣悪であったが、これは過去に先進国が経た道であり、自らの事として手を差しのべる必要があると考えられた。The research team jointed with Kobe Tokiwa University, Kobe University, and Nepal Medical College has been organized to implement the fieldwork at Dithal Village in Nepalese mountainous area for JICA Kusanone Project. In the fieldwork, the nutritional and health state of 208 village inhabitants (5 to 82 years old : 82 of male and 126 of female) were investigated, and their daily dietary foods were analyzed intake of calories and nutrients. The state of hygiene was also studied including of checking the contamination of drinking water microbiologically. The results showed that the high presence of over 50% of thinness, which is defined as less than 18.5 of BMI, was estimated in all age-groups, however among the age group under 12 years, the rate was much higher up to 75~80%. In body component analysis, the decreased fat and muscle volume and increased body water volume were manifested in children. Some of the children showed the distended abdomen, which is the typical sign of Kwashiorkor type malnutrition. The average calorie intake of daily diet was estimated about 800～1000kcal, and the content of it was 80% of carbohydrate, 10% each of fat and protein. The contaminations of Coliform bacilli and E. coli could be detected 80 to 100% of drinking water at 30 water places. The internal medical check revealed the prevalence of water-borne digestive diseases with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The deteriorated nutritional and public health state in Nepalese mountainous area could be disclosed in this study, but these are the similar paths on which the advanced countries have gone through in their past. We are entrusted to give our hands to them

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month