Occurrence and Distribution of Microcystins in Lake Taihu, China

The occurrence and distribution of microcystins were investigated in Lake Taihu, the third largest lake in China. An extensive survey, larger and broader in scale than previous studies, was conducted in summer 2010. The highest microcystin concentration was found at southern part of Taihu, which was newly included in this survey. In northern coastal areas, total cellular concentrations of 20 to 44 μg/L were observed. In northern offshore waters, levels were up to 4.8 μg/L. Microcystin occurrence was highly correlated with chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a. Extracellular/total cellular microcystin (E/T) ratios were calculated and compared to other water quality parameters. A higher correlation was found using E/T ratios than original microcystin values. These results show that algal blooms are having a severe impact on Lake Taihu, and further and extensive monitoring and research are required to suppress blooms effectively

Squid adjust their body color according to substrate

Coleoid cephalopods camouflage on timescales of seconds to match their visual surroundings. To date, studies of cephalopod camouflage-to-substrate have been focused primarily on benthic cuttlefish and octopus, because they are readily found sitting on the substrate. In contrast to benthic cephalopods, oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana species complex) are semi-pelagic animals that spend most of their time in the water column. In this study, we demonstrate that in captivity, S. lessoniana Sp.2 (Shiro-ika, white-squid) from the Okinawa archipelago, Japan, adapts the coloration of their skin using their chromatophores according to the background substrate. We show that if the animal moves between substrates of different reflectivity, the body patterning is changed to match. Chromatophore matching to substrate has not been reported in any loliginid cephalopod under laboratory conditions. Adaptation of the chromatophore system to the bottom substrate in the laboratory is a novel experimental finding that establishes oval squid as laboratory model animals for further research on camouflage

Occurrence and Distribution of Microcystins in

The occurrence and distribution of microcystins were investigated in Lake Taihu, the third largest lake in China. An extensive survey, larger and broader in scale than previous studies, was conducted in summer 2010. The highest microcystin concentration was found at southern part of Taihu, which was newly included in this survey. In northern coastal areas, total cellular concentrations of 20 to 44 g/L were observed. In northern offshore waters, levels were up to 4.8 g/L. Microcystin occurrence was highly correlated with chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a. Extracellular/total cellular microcystin (E/T) ratios were calculated and compared to other water quality parameters. A higher correlation was found using E/T ratios than original microcystin values. These results show that algal blooms are having a severe impact on Lake Taihu, and further and extensive monitoring and research are required to suppress blooms effectively

The linkage between medical student readiness for interprofessional learning and interest in community medicine

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between medical student readiness for interprofessional learning and interest in community medicine prior to incorporating community-oriented interprofessional education into the curriculum. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to students at Nagasaki University School of Medicine in Japan during each of three consecutive years (N=2244). The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was administered in addition to a questionnaire to evaluate interest in community medicine. The Kruskal-Wallis and Steel-Dwass tests were used to determine differencesbetween school years. Correlation between the RIPLS score and interest in community medicine was evaluated with Spearman\u27s rank correlation coefficient. Relationships between RIPLS score and demographic parameters, and interest in community medicine were evaluated with multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Eighty-four percent (1891/2244) of students responded. The RIPLS score was highest in school year 1, followed by year 6, year 5,year 3, and years 4 and 2. Interest in community medicine correlated with the RIPLS score (rs = 0.332, p < 0.001),but less in year 1 (rs = 0.125, p = 0.002) than in other years. RIPLS score was significantly associated with gender, age, school year, interest in community medicine, but not the year that the survey was conducted. Conclusions: Community-oriented interprofessional education has the potential to improve attitudes towards interprofessional learning. When introducing this promising education into the curriculum from year 1, attracting students\u27 interest in community medicine should be considered

嫌気性廃水処理における微生物活性に関する基礎的研究

第1章 序論 第2章 嫌気性廃水処理にかかわる微生物に関する従来の研究 第3章 基質要求性を利用した活性微生物量の評価方法に関する検討 第4章 完全混合槽内の浮遊微生物中の活性微生物量の推定 第5章 嫌気性流動床内の付着微生物による基質分解特性とその活性に関する検討 第6章 結論Made available in DSpace on 2012-07-10T07:02:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 kuba1.pdf: 12916567 bytes, checksum: 39c6ecc97d3292319c2d5e2d3caa4a56 (MD5) kuba2.pdf: 14709223 bytes, checksum: 6f3c6a3fab6643c02e1ef178a62c8fce (MD5) kuba3.pdf: 8704517 bytes, checksum: e3b41d3227b5cf56ec71c3a44c8e64da (MD5) Previous issue date: 1993-03-26主1-参1工学_環境都

Adsorptive removal of cesium from aqueous solution using oxidized bamboo charcoal

In this study, the air oxidized bamboo charcoal (BC) was investigated for cesium (Cs) adsorption from aqueous solution. The physicochemical properties of the adsorbent were evaluated systematically using the different techniques including BET, FESEM, FTIR, XPS and also the pHpzc value. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to determine the effect of contact time, solution pH, initial Cs concentrations, temperature and also the presence of competitive ions on adsorption. The adsorption kinetic parameters confirmed the better fitting of pseudo-second order kinetic model. The isotherm data could be well described by the Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 55.25 mg g−1. The high specific surface area and the porous structure with some acidic functional groups on the surface were obviously responsible for high Cs adsorption onto oxidized-BC. Thermodynamic parameters such as standard enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy were evaluated and it had been found that the adsorption process was favorable, spontaneous and endothermic in nature. In the competitive ions study, the presence of Na and K with their concentrations up to 12 mM did not strongly affect the removal of Cs by oxidized-BC. Therefore, the experimental results suggested that the oxidized-BC could be used as an effective adsorbent for significant Cs removal from aqueous solution considering the high adsorption capacity, short adsorption time and selective removal of Cs ions. Keywords: Bamboo charcoal, Air oxidation, Cesium, Adsorption, Kinetic, Isother

Improvement of Water Quality by Light-Emitting Diode Illumination at the Bottom of a Field Experimental Pond

Remediation of water quality by stimulating algal photosynthesis using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has attracted attention, but few studies have examined this in outdoor freshwater environments. To understand the effects of LED illumination on water quality, the dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, and electric conductivity were monitored over 5 months in three depressions with or without a red/blue LED light at the bottom of an experimental pond. The effects of the blue LED on water quality were evident in the period with less rainfall after the change of water quality to an equilibrium state; DO and pH were higher, and EC was lower for the blue LED than for the control. The diel changes of these variables were also lower for the blue LED. The effects of the red LED on DO and pH were also evident, but to a lesser extent compared to those of the blue LED. A vertical mixing of water associated with a nighttime cooling of the surface water was suggested by a rapid DO increase after a temperature decrease in the control. Such internal water circulation and an inflow of water after rainfall might have obscured the LED effects in the rainy period. The bottom water of the blue LED had a higher density and species richness of phytoplankton than that of the control at the end of the experiment. A lower density of phytoplankton and higher nutrient concentrations in the red LED might have been due to a higher density and feeding activity by zooplankton. Our results confirmed the applicability of LED illumination in stimulating algal photosynthesis, and in improving the oxygen condition of the bottom water in freshwater ponds

Improving Keeping for Octopuses by Testing Different Escape-Proof Designs on Tanks for “Big Blue Octopus” (Octopus cyanea)

Octopus cyanea has a wide range of natural distribution and is interesting for scientific research. However, unlike Octopus vulgaris, the species is poorly studied, and few data exist on best practices for keeping them. One of the most common reasons for losing octopuses in human care is their ability to escape from holding tanks. Adult Octopus cyanea (n = 33) were locally collected in Okinawa throughout the year. All animals were housed at the laboratory facilities at the Marine Station of the Okinawa institute of Science and Technology. Animals were kept in a flow-through saltwater system in three different types of holding tanks ranging from 550 L to 600 L tanks or in 2000 L tanks, all with an environment enriched with clay pots or natural rocks as dens. They were fed a daily diet of dead fish or live or dead crustaceans ad libitum. To characterize the effectiveness of different keeping conditions, we compared escape attempts and non-natural deaths during the animals’ time under human care. We found that two types of tanks, the 600 L transparent acrylic glass tanks with weighted lids and the 2000 L tanks with synthetic grass lined walls, had significantly fewer escapes than the 550 L tanks