Microscopic synchrotron X-ray analysis of mercury waste in simulated landfill experiments

Mercury enters into the environment or waste streams because it is present as an impurity in natural minerals. Mercury must be appropriately managed as an hazardous waste. In this study, a waste layer of artificial mercury sulfide mixed with incinerator ash and sewage sludge compost in a simulated landfill experiment for 5 years was analyzed using microscopic synchrotron X-ray to obtain basic knowledge of mercury behavior in a landfill. Mapping by synchrotron X-ray revealed the distribution of mercury-containing particles in the waste layer. In most cases, the movement of mercury sulfide was not considered significant even within a microscopic range; however, water flows could enhance the movement of mercury sulfide particles. When disposing of mercury sulfide, “concentrated placement” or solidification, rather than mixing with other wastes, was more effective at preventing mercury leaching in lysimeters. The chemical form of mercury sulfide in each lysimeter was confirmed by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis, which showed that most of the mercury was present as metacinnabar and had not undergone any changes, indicating that it was extremely stable. The microscopic synchrotron X-ray analysis proved very useful for studying the behavior of mercury waste in a simulated landfill experiment

Comparison of Conventional 2D CC (Cranio-Caudal) + MLO (Medio-Lateral Oblique) Bi-Directional Photography and 2D-MLO + DBT-MLO (Digital Breast Tomosynthesis) in Mammography Examination

Introduction: Mammography (MMG) is an excellent examination for breast cancer detection and is widely used in both screening and clinical practice. However, the breast thickness and background the concentration of the mammary gland is large among individuals, and the mammary gland and cancer may overlap and it may not be possible to point out a lesion. In recent years, digital breast tomosynthesis (hereinafter referred to as DBT) has been introduced to solve these problems, and its usefulness has been reported in clinical practice. Therefore, in anticipation of a higher cancer detection rate etc., we compared the conventional 2D CC + MLO 2-way MMG examination with 2DMLO + DBTMLO 2-way MMG examination.Materials and Methods: The combination of 2D CC + MLO and 2DMLO + DBTMLO was read for 95 cases of breast cancer taking 2D CC and MLO and DBT MLO from May 2016 to October 2017. It was judged that the category 3 or more required detailed examination, cancer detection, and cancer detection rates were compared. Subjects were 28 to 87 years of age (median: 55 years), breast composition: high concentration 15.8% (15 cases), heterogeneous high concentration 47.4% (45 cases), mammary gland 28.4% (27 cases), Fatty was 8.4% (8 cases).Results: The cancer detection rate was 87% for the 2D CC + MLO combination and 94% for the 2DMLO + DBTMLO combination in 95 cases of breast cancer. The interpretation time was 95 minutes for the 2D CC + MLO combination and 110 minutes for the 2DMLO + DBTMLO combination.The breast cancer detected only by the combination of 2D CC + MLO was scattered in 1 case and was classified as Category 3 by FAD. Breast cancer detected only by the combination of 2DMLO + DBTMLO: 8 cases with uneven distribution of breast composition, 3 cases with scattered mammary gland, 3 cases with 5 cases with disordered construction, Category 4 with 3 cases with FAD was.Conclusion: Both 2D CC + MLO combination and 2DMLO + DBTMLO combination are considered useful for screening MMG examination. In particular, we would like to consider the introduction to medical examinations for the addition of MMG in DBT, but the issue of the amount of image information, the problem of exposure to radiation, the direction of imaging, the establishment of interpretation methods etc. are future issues

On-The-Fly Observing System of the Nobeyama 45-m and ASTE 10-m Telescopes

We have developed spectral line On-The-Fly (OTF) observing mode for the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m and the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment 10-m telescopes. Sets of digital autocorrelation spectrometers are available for OTF with heterodyne receivers mounted on the telescopes, including the focal-plane 5 x 5 array receiver, BEARS, on the 45-m. During OTF observations, the antenna is continuously driven to cover the mapped region rapidly, resulting in high observing efficiency and accuracy. Pointing of the antenna and readouts from the spectrometer are recorded as fast as 0.1 second. In this paper we report improvements made on software and instruments, requirements and optimization of observing parameters, data reduction process, and verification of the system. It is confirmed that, using optimal parameters, the OTF is about twice as efficient as conventional position-switch observing method.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

A sperm-activating peptide controls a cGMP-signaling pathway in starfish sperm☆

AbstractPeptides released from eggs of marine invertebrates play a central role in fertilization. About 80 different peptides from various phyla have been isolated, however, with one exception, their respective receptors on the sperm surface have not been unequivocally identified and the pertinent signaling pathways remain ill defined. Using rapid mixing techniques and novel membrane-permeable caged compounds of cyclic nucleotides, we show that the sperm-activating peptide asterosap evokes a fast and transient increase of the cGMP concentration in sperm of the starfish Asterias amurensis, followed by a transient cGMP-stimulated increase in the Ca2+ concentration. In contrast, cAMP levels did not change significantly and the Ca2+ response evoked by photolysis of caged cAMP was significantly smaller than that using caged cGMP. By cloning of cDNA and chemical crosslinking, we identified a receptor-type guanylyl cyclase in the sperm flagellum as the asterosap-binding protein. Sperm respond exquisitely sensitive to picomolar concentrations of asterosap, suggesting that the peptide serves a chemosensory function like resact, a peptide involved in chemotaxis of sperm of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. A unifying principle emerges that chemosensory transduction in sperm of marine invertebrates uses cGMP as the primary messenger, although there may be variations in the detail