A seawater desalination scheme for global hydrological models

Seawater desalination is a practical technology for providing fresh water to coastal arid regions. Indeed, the use of desalination is rapidly increasing due to growing water demand in these areas and decreases in production costs due to technological advances. In this study, we developed a model to estimate the areas where seawater desalination is likely to be used as a major water source and the likely volume of production. The model was designed to be incorporated into global hydrological models (GHMs) that explicitly include human water usage. The model requires spatially detailed information on climate, income levels, and industrial and municipal water use, which represent standard input/output data in GHMs. The model was applied to a specific historical year (2005) and showed fairly good reproduction of the present geographical distribution and national production of desalinated water in the world. The model was applied globally to two periods in the future (2011-2040 and 2041-2070) under three distinct socioeconomic conditions, i.e., SSP (shared socioeconomic pathway) 1, SSP2, and SSP3. The results indicate that the usage of seawater desalination will have expanded considerably in geographical extent, and that production will have increased by 1.4-2.1-fold in 2011-2040 compared to the present (from 2.8×109 m3 yr-1 in 2005 to 4.0-6.0×109 m3 yr-1/, and 6.7-17.3-fold in 2041-2070 (from 18.7 to 48.6×109 m3 yr-1/. The estimated global costs for production for each period are USD 1.1-10.6×109 (0.002-0.019% of the total global GDP), USD 1.6-22.8×109 (0.001-0.020 %), and USD 7.5-183.9×109 (0.002-0.100 %), respectively. The large spreads in these projections are primarily attributable to variations within the socioeconomic scenarios

Electrical reduction of perovskite electrodes for accelerating exsolution of nanoparticles

This work was supported through the Leading Graduate School Program: Academy for Co-creative Education of Environment and Energy Science (ACEEES) funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT, Japan).Growth of finely dispersed nanocatalysts by exsolution of metal nanoparticles from perovskite oxides under reducing conditions at elevated temperature is a promising approach of producing highly active catalytic materials. An alternative method of exsolution using an applied potential has been recently shown to potentially accelerate the exsolution process of nanoparticles that can be achieved in minutes rather than the hours required in chemical reduction. In the present study, we investigate exsolution of nanoparticles from perovskite oxides of La0.43Ca0.37Ni0.06Ti0.94O3-γ (LCTNi) and La0.43Ca0.37Ni0.03Fe0.03Ti0.94O3-γ (LCTNi-Fe) under applied potentials in carbon dioxide atmosphere. The impedance spectra of single cells measured before and after electrochemical poling at varying voltages showed that the onset of exsolution process occurred at 2 V of potential reduction. An average particle size of the exsolved nanoparticles observed after testing using a scanning electron microscopy was about 30–100 nm. The cells with the reduced electrodes exhibited desirable electrochemical performances not only in pure carbon dioxide (current density of 0.37 A cm−2 for LCTNi and 0.48 A cm−2 for LCTNi-Fe at 1.5 V) but also in dry hydrogen (0.36 W cm−2 for LCTNi and 0.43 W cm−2 for LCTNi-Fe).PostprintPeer reviewe

Emergence of Clostridium botulinum type B-like nontoxigenic organisms in a patient with type B infant botulism

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科病態検査学We encountered a patient with infant botulism caused by a single clone of Clostridium botulinum type B. In the early convalescent phase, a C. botulinum type B-like nontoxigenic organism emerged in the feces instead. Growth inhibition of toxigenic strains by nontoxigenic strains was examined

Kank Is an EB1 Interacting Protein that Localises to Muscle-Tendon Attachment Sites in Drosophila

Little is known about how microtubules are regulated in different cell types during development. EB1 plays a central role in the regulation of microtubule plus ends. It directly binds to microtubule plus ends and recruits proteins which regulate microtubule dynamics and behaviour. We report the identification of Kank, the sole Drosophila orthologue of human Kank proteins, as an EB1 interactor that predominantly localises to embryonic attachment sites between muscle and tendon cells. Human Kank1 was identified as a tumour suppressor and has documented roles in actin regulation and cell polarity in cultured mammalian cells. We found that Drosophila Kank binds EB1 directly and this interaction is essential for Kank localisation to microtubule plus ends in cultured cells. Kank protein is expressed throughout fly development and increases during embryogenesis. In late embryos, it accumulates to sites of attachment between muscle and epidermal cells. A kank deletion mutant was generated. We found that the mutant is viable and fertile without noticeable defects. Further analysis showed that Kank is dispensable for muscle function in larvae. This is in sharp contrast to C. elegans in which the Kank orthologue VAB-19 is required for development by stabilising attachment structures between muscle and epidermal cells

CXCR2 deficient mice display macrophage-dependent exaggerated acute inflammatory responses

CXCR2 is an essential regulator of neutrophil recruitment to inflamed and damaged sites and plays prominent roles in inflammatory pathologies and cancer. It has therefore been highlighted as an important therapeutic target. However the success of the therapeutic targeting of CXCR2 is threatened by our relative lack of knowledge of its precise in vivo mode of action. Here we demonstrate that CXCR2-deficient mice display a counterintuitive transient exaggerated inflammatory response to cutaneous and peritoneal inflammatory stimuli. In both situations, this is associated with reduced expression of cytokines associated with the resolution of the inflammatory response and an increase in macrophage accumulation at inflamed sites. Analysis using neutrophil depletion strategies indicates that this is a consequence of impaired recruitment of a non-neutrophilic CXCR2 positive leukocyte population. We suggest that these cells may be myeloid derived suppressor cells. Our data therefore reveal novel and previously unanticipated roles for CXCR2 in the orchestration of the inflammatory response