Landfill gases at an abandoned open dump: a case study at Udapalatha/Gampola site in the Central Province of Sri Lanka

There are very limited studies on landfill gas on uncontrolled open dumps in developing countries. In this study, landfill gas samples at 1 m depth from an abandoned open dump (AOD) in the Central Province of Sri Lanka (N 7º 09', E 80º 35') were collected and the typical landfill gas composition such as O2, N2, CH4, CO2, H2, H2S, and N2O were measured. Buried waste samples at 1 m depth were also taken from the site and organic carbon and nitrogen contents in the residue (< 2 mm) were measured. The samples were taken from some marked plots inside the dump with waste ages of around 0.5 and 7 years (AOD0.5 and AOD7) and outside intact (AODint). Measured CH4 concentration for AOD0.5 and AOD7 ranged in 19–58 % and 0–12 %, respectively, suggesting that the dumped waste at 1 m depth was in the process to be the ‘stabilization phase’ at least 7 years after dumping. This is likely to be a much shorter time period to reach the phase after dumping than those in mid-latitude regions (typically in several decades). The carbon contents in the waste residue in AOD0.5 and AOD7 were 151±67 and 29±7 mg g-1, respectively, implying that high waste decomposition and leaching of organic compounds might have been enhanced due to high temperature and precipitation at the site. A further study for the landfill gas and waste quality in the deeper layer is required to judge whether whole of the dumpsite had reached the stabilization phase rapidly

Spatial variation in landfill gas composition under different precipitation condition and waste age in Sri Lanka

A study was conducted to assess the effect of precipitation and age of waste on the stabilization of the dumped waste. Landfill gas samples at 1-m depth were collected from 13 waste landfill sites in Sri Lanka with different annual precipitation ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 mm and waste age ranging from 1 to 120 months. Typical landfill gases O2, N2, CH4 and CO2 were measured quantitatively by a gas chromatograph. Buried waste samples at 1-m depth were also taken from all locations to determine organic carbon contents in the residue (< 2 mm). With the age of wastes, the measured O2 and N2 concentration (ranged in 1 - 20% and 2 - 80% respectively) in collected landfill gas samples were increased and the CH4 and CO2 concentration (ranged in 0-60% and 1-68%, respectively) decreased, implying the buried wastes are getting stabilized within 120 months after dumped (typically in several decades in mid-latitude regions). However, the correlations between measured gas concentrations and the annual precipitations at the sampling site show no definite results. Organic carbon contents in the waste residues (ranged in 24-236 mg g-1) were not fully related to the waste age and the precipitation amount, while significant time-dependent decreases of the organic carbon contents can be observed in some investigated landfill sites. Further studies are needed with continuous monitoring of rainfall with gas emission

Expression Profiling of PBMC-based Diagnostic Gene Markers Isolated from Vasculitis Patients

Vasculitis (angiitis) is a systemic autoimmune disease that often causes fatal symptoms. We aimed to isolate cDNA markers that would be useful for diagnosing not only vasculitis but also other autoimmune diseases. For this purpose, we used stepwise subtractive hybridization and cDNA microarray analyses to comprehensively isolate the genes whose expressions are augmented in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) pooled from vasculitis patients. Subsequently, we used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) to examine the mRNA levels of each candidate gene in individual patients. These analyses indicated that seven genes exhibit remarkably augmented expression in many vasculitis patients. Of these genes, we analyzed G0/G1 switch gene 2 (G0S2) further because G0S2 expression is also enhanced in the PBMCs of patients with systemic lupus erythematodes (SLE). We generated G0S2 transgenic mice that ubiquitously overexpress human G0S2. Although we did not observe any obvious vasculitis-related histopathologic findings in these mice, these mice are unhealthy as they produce only few offspring and showed elevated serum levels of two autoimmunity-related antibodies, anti-nuclear antibody, and anti-double strand DNA antibody. Thus, our large-scale gene profiling study may help finding sensitive and specific DNA markers for diagnosing autoimmune diseases including vasculitis and SLE

27ヒドロキシコレステロールはエストロゲン受容体を介してヒトSLC22A12の発現を制御する

The excretion and reabsorption of uric acid both to and from urine are tightly regulated by uric acid transporters. Metabolic syndrome conditions, such as obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and insulin resistance, are believed to regulate the expression of uric acid transporters and decrease the excretion of uric acid. However, the mechanisms driving cholesterol impacts on uric acid transporters have been unknown. Here, we show that cholesterol metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC) upregulates the uric acid reabsorption transporter URAT1 encoded by SLC22A12 via estrogen receptors (ER). Transcriptional motif analysis showed that the SLC22A12 gene promoter has more estrogen response elements (EREs) than other uric acid reabsorption transporters such as SLC22A11 and SLC22A13, and 27HC-activated SLC22A12 gene promoter via ER through EREs. Furthermore, 27HC increased SLC22A12 gene expression in human kidney organoids. Our results suggest that in hypercholesterolemic conditions, elevated levels of 27HC derived from cholesterol induce URAT1/SLC22A12 expression to increase uric acid reabsorption, and thereby, could increase serum uric acid levels.博士（医学）・甲第772号・令和3年3月15日© 2020 The Authors. The FASEB Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes

SecA, a remarkable nanomachine

Biological cells harbor a variety of molecular machines that carry out mechanical work at the nanoscale. One of these nanomachines is the bacterial motor protein SecA which translocates secretory proteins through the protein-conducting membrane channel SecYEG. SecA converts chemically stored energy in the form of ATP into a mechanical force to drive polypeptide transport through SecYEG and across the cytoplasmic membrane. In order to accommodate a translocating polypeptide chain and to release transmembrane segments of membrane proteins into the lipid bilayer, SecYEG needs to open its central channel and the lateral gate. Recent crystal structures provide a detailed insight into the rearrangements required for channel opening. Here, we review our current understanding of the mode of operation of the SecA motor protein in concert with the dynamic SecYEG channel. We conclude with a new model for SecA-mediated protein translocation that unifies previous conflicting data