Application of Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) in defining groundwater-withdrawal-related subsidence, Diamond Valley, Nevada

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Rader (InSAR) technique has been recently used in detecting and monitoring ground displacements such as volcanic activities, earthquakes, landslides and surface deformations caused by fluid extraction. Ground subsidence related to groundwater withdrawal has occurred in many places such as urban areas and large scale agricultural areas. This study utilizes interferometry to detect ground subsidence in an agricultural field, where a large volume of groundwater has been pumped for decades, in Diamond Valley, Nevada. InSAR has proven to have great potential to detect and quantify ground subsidence caused by aquifer system compaction. It mapped ground deformation signals with high spatial detail and resolution of displacement, developed in a groundwater basin in the area, using radar data collected from the ERS-1/ERS-2 and Envisat satellites. The subsidence signal at the south part of the valley, where irrigation wells exist, shows a minimum of 37.6 cm of cumulative subsidence between July 17, 1992 and November 27, 1999 and a 17.5 cm of cumulative subsidence between October 16, 2004 and December 15, 2007.The profile views of the subsidence signals assist in visualizing the deformation geometry which indicates that the subsurface lithology can increase or decrease the deformation. The subsurface model estimated from the history of water table decline and the subsurface lithology distribution approximately correlate with the subsidence signals. Poor correlation occurred where limited availability of good subsurface data and limited spatial coverage of well logs existed

Factors Influencing Patients and Employee Satisfaction

本論文の目的は、多面的なアウトカム指標である患者満足度と従業員満足度について、それらへの影響要因を明らかにすることである。この目的を達成するために、メディネット社によって収集された11病院の患者満足度／従業員満足度のサーベイデータに基づいた分析を実施した。具体的には、それぞれを被説明変数としたときの影響要因を階層線形モデルによって明らかにしている。また、病院別に同様の回帰分析を行うことによって、病院ごとの影響の相違点も確認している。結果として、設備や職務充実といった個別の満足度が総合満足度に与える影響が明らかとなった。しかし、これら結果は、病院別に多様であり、病院にとってはローカルなエビデンスとなる点も明らかとなった

Effects of maternal bisphenol A diglycidyl ether exposure during gestation and lactation on behavior and brain development of the offspring

Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is an epoxy resin used for the inner coating of canned food and beverages. BADGE can easily migrate from the containers and become a contaminant. In this study, we examined the effects of BADGE exposure to the dams on the behavioral, structural, and developmental abnormalities in the offspring. Female pregnant mice were fed with a diet containing BADGE (0.15 or 1.5 mg/kg/day) during gestation and lactation periods. In an open field test, the time spent in the corner area significantly increases in male mice of high-dose BADGE group at 5 weeks old. The histological analysis using offspring brain at postnatal day 1 delivered from BADGE (1.5 mg/kg/day)-treated dams demonstrates that positive signals of Forkhead box P2- and COUP-TF interacting protein 2 are restricted in each cortical layer, but not in the control brain. In addition, the maternal BADGE exposure reduces nestin-positive fibers of the radial glia and T-box transcription factor 2-positive intermediate progenitors in the inner subventricular zone. Furthermore, a direct BADGE exposure promotes neurite outgrowth and neuronal connection in the primary cultured cortical neurons. These data suggest that maternal BADGE exposure can accelerate neuronal differentiation in fetuses and induce anxiety-like behavior in juvenile mice

STING signalling is terminated through ESCRT-dependent microautophagy of vesicles originating from recycling endosomes

STING炎症シグナルの終結分子機構 --新規細胞内分解システムの発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-03-14.Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is essential for the type I interferon response against a variety of DNA pathogens. Upon emergence of cytosolic DNA, STING translocates from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi where STING activates the downstream kinase TBK1, then to lysosome through recycling endosomes (REs) for its degradation. Although the molecular machinery of STING activation is extensively studied and defined, the one underlying STING degradation and inactivation has not yet been fully elucidated. Here we show that STING is degraded by the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT)-driven microautophagy. Airyscan super-resolution microscopy and correlative light/electron microscopy suggest that STING-positive vesicles of an RE origin are directly encapsulated into Lamp1-positive compartments. Screening of mammalian Vps genes, the yeast homologues of which regulate Golgi-to-vacuole transport, shows that ESCRT proteins are essential for the STING encapsulation into Lamp1-positive compartments. Knockdown of Tsg101 and Vps4, components of ESCRT, results in the accumulation of STING vesicles in the cytosol, leading to the sustained type I interferon response. Knockdown of Tsg101 in human primary T cells leads to an increase the expression of interferon-stimulated genes. STING undergoes K63-linked ubiquitination at lysine 288 during its transit through the Golgi/REs, and this ubiquitination is required for STING degradation. Our results reveal a molecular mechanism that prevents hyperactivation of innate immune signalling, which operates at REs