262 research outputs found

    Sorption-desorption column tests to evaluate the attenuation layer using soil amended with a stabilising agent

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    Sorption-desorption column tests using acrylic columns (ϕ 5 cm × h 10 cm) were employed to evaluate the sorption performance of an attenuation layer against geogenic contamination. The attenuation layer material was silica sand amended with 1, 5, or 10% of a stabilising agent. The main component of the agent was magnesium oxide. The sorption behaviour of the materials was determined by a fluoride solution (C₀ = 80 mg/L F-), while the desorption behaviour was determined by distilled water. Breakthroughs (C/C₀ > 0.05) occurred after approximately 1, 20, and 50 PVF for stabilising agent contents of 1, 5, and 10%, respectively. The one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation modelled the breakthrough curves obtained from the tests. The predictions gave unrealistic estimates, especially for the breakthrough point where C/C₀ = 0.05. For the 1% agent content, approximately 20% of the sorbed mass, Ss, was desorbed, but the percentage of desorbed mass, Sd, was much smaller for the higher agent contents. The difference between the sorbed and desorbed masses was defined as the immobilised fraction, Ss - Sd. For the 5% agent content, Ss - Sd = 4.0 mg/g. The results suggest that when silica sand is amended with magnesium oxide as an agent, the mixture can immobilise the fluoride in the attenuation layer

    The inhibitory effects of a RANKL-binding peptide on articular and periarticular bone loss in a murine model of collagen-induced arthritis: a bone histomorphometric study

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    Showing the effects of OP3-4 on the proliferation and differentiation of cartilage cell line ATDC5. A Results of proliferation assay on day 1 with the noninduction medium. B Alcian blue-positive area ratio in the cartilage induction medium on day 10. **p <0.01 vs. vehicle control, #p <0.05 vs. 100 ÎźM OP3-4. (JPEG 384 kb

    A Report on Hydrographic Activities Following the Great East Japan Earthquake

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    The Great East Japan Earthquake (Mw9.0) on 11 March 2011 accompanied with a huge tsunami of more than 10 meters in height devastated many cities and ports along the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan, and claimed nearly 20,000 lives with many of them still missing. This report reviews actions taken by the Japan Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department (JHOD) after this unprecedented disaster. Immediately after the earthquake, the JHOD carried out hydrographic surveys for the urgent need to help clear the passage in ports due to sunken debris swept away by the tsunami. These surveys have enabled the vessels with relief supplies on board for the affected areas to enter the ports. The JHOD revisited the affected ports for the next stage of hydrographic surveys. These surveys will contribute to revised nautical charts based on new data collected after the earthquake, and includes the ongoing restoration and reconstruction work of quays and port facilities. This stage includes the re-determination of the datum level of the affected ports, which is necessary because of large subsidence being reported in the areas. All of these efforts by the JHOD clearly demonstrate the significance of the hydrographic activities in case of the post-quake emergency situation, not only for the safety of navigation but also for economic recovery

    Spanish Influenza in Japanese Armed Forces, 1918–1920

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    Medical records of Japanese army hospitals show high death rates during the first influenza pandemic

    Polypharmacy and Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

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    BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy is a common problem among patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) who often have multiple comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to define the number of medications at hospital discharge and whether it is associated with clinical outcomes at 1 year. METHODS: We evaluated the number of medications in 2578 patients with ADHF who were ambulatory at hospital discharge in the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure Registry and compared 1-year outcomes in 4 groups categorized by quartiles of the number of medications (quartile 1, ≤ 5; quartile 2, 6-8; quartile 3, 9-11; and quartile 4, ≥ 12). RESULTS: At hospital discharge, the median number of medications was 8 (interquartile range, 6-11) with 81.5% and 27.8% taking more than 5 and more than 10 medications, respectively. The cumulative 1-year incidence of a composite of death or rehospitalization (primary outcome measure) increased incrementally with an increasing number of medications (quartile 1, 30.8%; quartile 2, 31.6%; quartile 3, 39.7%; quartile 4, 50.3%; P < .0001). After adjusting for confounders, the excess risks of quartile 4 relative to those of quartile 1 remained significant (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: In the contemporary cohort of patients with ADHF in Japan, polypharmacy at hospital discharge was common, and excessive polypharmacy was associated with a higher risk of mortality and rehospitalizations within a 1-year period. Collaborative disease management programs that include a careful review of medication lists and an appropriate deprescribing protocol should be implemented for these patients

    Ethylene regulation of fruit softening and cell wall disassembly in Charentais melon

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    Cell wall disassembly in ripening fruit is highly complex, involving the dismantling of multiple polysaccharide networks by diverse families of wall-modifying proteins. While it has been reported in several species that multiple members of each such family are expressed in the same fruit tissue, it is not clear whether this reflects functional redundancy, with protein isozymes from a single enzyme class performing similar roles and contributing equally to wall degradation, or whether they have discrete functions, with some isoforms playing a predominant role. Experiments reported here sought to distinguish between cell wall-related processes in ripening melon that were softening-associated and softening-independent. Cell wall polysaccharide depolymerization and the expression of wall metabolism-related genes were examined in transgenic melon (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis Naud.) fruit with suppressed expression of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO) gene and fruits treated with ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). Softening was completely inhibited in the transgenic fruit but was restored by treatment with exogenous ethylene. Moreover, post-harvest application of 1-MCP after the onset of ripening completely halted subsequent softening, suggesting that melon fruit softening is ethylene-dependent. Size exclusion chromatography of cell wall polysaccharides, from the transgenic fruits, with or without exogenous ethylene, indicated that the depolymerization of both pectins and xyloglucans was also ethylene dependent. However, northern analyses of a diverse range of cell wallrelated genes, including those for polygalacturonases, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases, expansin, and b-galactosidases, identified specific genes within single families that could be categorized as ethylene-dependent, ethylene-independent, or partially ethylene-dependent. These results support the hypothesis that while individual cell wall-modifying proteins from each family contribute to cell wall disassembly that accompanies fruit softening, other closely related family members are regulated in an ethylene-independent manner and apparently do not directly participate in fruit softening
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