Landslide features in the Damji and Gasa District, Gasa Dzongkhag, Northwestern Bhutan

Landslides in the Damji-Gasa district were investigated. Linear depressions, several kilometres long, were discovered on the major ridge and its side slopes. Mesoscale landslides with continuum slopes from the upper shallow concave to the lower gentle convex shapes were also found on the ridge side slopes. Furthermore, many shallow landslides were present beside a forest road. Gneiss is a crucial diathesis as it creates dip-slope conditions favourable for the onset of landslides. High precipitation is also important. Landslides seem to be a potential threat to the Damji-Gasa district. Further data is required to mitigate and prevent geohazards

Biological mechanism and clinical effect of protein-bound polysaccharide K (KRESTIN®): review of development and future perspectives

The mechanism of action of protein-bound polysaccharide K (PSK; KRESTIN®) involves the following actions: (1) recovery from immunosuppression induced by humoral factors such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β or as a result of surgery and chemotherapy; (2) activation of antitumor immune responses including maturation of dendritic cells, correction of Th1/Th2 imbalance, and promotion of interleukin-15 production by monocytes; and (3) enhancement of the antitumor effect of chemotherapy by induction of apoptosis and inhibition of metastasis through direct actions on tumor cells. The clinical effectiveness of PSK has been demonstrated for various cancers. In patients with gastric or colorectal cancer, combined use of PSK with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs survival, and this effect has been confirmed in multiple meta-analyses. For small-cell lung carcinoma, PSK in conjunction with chemotherapy prolongs the remission period. In addition, PSK has been shown to be effective against various other cancers, reduce the adverse effects of chemotherapy, and improve quality of life. Future studies should examine the effects of PSK under different host immune conditions and tumor properties, elucidate the mechanism of action exhibited in each situation, and identify biomarkers

Effect of Hold Time on Low Cycle Fatigue Life of Micro Solder Joint

Effect of holding time and temperature on the fatigue life of micro Sn-Ag-Cu solder joint has been studied with waveform of triangle and trapezoid wave at 298K and 398K. Both the microstructural coarsening and the crack propagation occurred simultaneously and therefore the cyclic load decreased rapidly in the trapezoidal wave at 398K compared with the other conditions. Therefore, under the condition of waveform that includes holding time at high temperature, it is necessary to define fatigue life by considering crack length, although the load drop life definition is typically employed for the low cycle fatigue evaluation. The fatigue life of Sn-Ag-Cu micro solder joints is not strongly affected by temperature and holding time when the crack length is considered to define fatigue life. This is different form the trends in large scale bulk specimen and is attributed to the peculiar microstructure of the Sn-Ag-Cu. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MF200852

Effects of landslides on landscape evolution in alpine zone of mount shirouma-dake, northern japanese alps

This paper describes the characteristics of landslide topographies in the alpine zone of Mount Shirouma-dake based on aerial photo interpretation as well as on-site geological/geomorphological investigations. A comparison between a geomorphological map and a physiographic vegetation map has helped to reveal the relationship between landslide topographies and vegetation patterns. Landslide topographies coincide with vegetation mosaics on and around the landslide masses. It appears that landslide topographies and their development have controlled the microenvironments on and near the ground surface conditions through snow depth, soil moisture, slope processes, and other factors. The importance of landslide activities on landscape development should be studied in greater detail in the Japanese alpine zone

Initiation of alpine grassland and wet meadow soils on snowy high mountains in central japan : a tephrochronological estimate

Initiation ages of peaty and mucky soils on snowy high mountains in central and northern Honshu, Japan, were estimated by tephrochronology and radiocarbon dating. Three typical snowy mountains, Chokai, Gassan and Tairappyo, were selected. To identify tephras in such soils, their stratigraphy and lithofacies were investigated. Petrographic characteristics such as mineral composition and refractive indices of volcanic glass shards and phenocrysts of each tephra were also examined. Principal time-marker tephras identified were as follows: the Asama-Kusatsu or the Asama-YP (ca. 16000 cal yr BP), the Kikai-Akahoya (ca. 7200 cal yr BP), the Myoko-Akakura (ca. 6600 cal yr BP), the Myoko-Otagirigawa (ca. 4700 cal yr BP), the Towada-Chuseri (ca. 6300 cal yr BP), etc. The Pleistocene tephra was found only in basal sand and gravel layers underlying upper soils. Conversely, the Holocene tephras were usually identified in upper soils. Samples from the basal part of humic soils were dated as about 11000, 10000 and 7800 cal yr BP. Occurrence of the time marker tephras in these soils and radiocarbon dates indicate that alpine humic soil formation did not occur at the latest stage of the last glacial in the study mountains. Atmospheric warming and humidification after the Younger Dryas termination (ca. 11000 to 10000 cal yr BP) would have caused new formation of such soils. Alpine grassland and wet meadow soils have been formed since the early to mid Holocene