Fine soil particle aggregation in ultra-fine bubble irrigated paddy fields

The flotation method of ultra-fine bubbles (UFB) aims to address pollution and has been used for combating the undesirable reducibility of paddy soils. Hence, water containing UFB is gaining increasing attention for potential agricultural applications. Although certain hypotheses have been proposed, such as the collection of ions in water through the electrical characteristic of UFB, no clear experimental data have been provided. We found that improvement in turbidity may cause the adsorption of fine soil particles in the water by the UFB, thereby improving the quality of the water. The data from the paddy field showed that a decrease in turbidity (below 2 nephelometric turbidity units) occurred over a short period of time (3 days). UFB concentration is directly related to turbidity with a coefficient of determination of 0.93. This phenomenon was also observed through the distribution of bubbles and soil particles, where the average particle size increased because of the aggregation of soil particles and the decrease in turbidity in the paddy field, indicating that UFB collect soil particles and thereby improve water quality. Therefore, UFB are highly effective in cleaning rice field water and will be a preferred method for purifying the environment in the future

電子マネーの適正な金融システム構築のための公開情報に関する研究

金沢大学人間社会研究域経済学経営学系本音度は、渋谷、大宮、スインドン、ラースフェンブルグなど、世界各地で本実施を想定した電子マネーの実証実験が展開された.これに合わせ、各国で電子マネーを想定した金融法制度が検討されている.しかし、金融論の理論経済学では、ハイエクの「貨幣発行自由化論」で、適切な情報公開と市場競争による自然淘汰が有効と言われている。電子マネーも、社会に定着する金融システムとなるためには、こうした自然な競争による淘汰が望ましい姿であり、国や中央銀行が政策的に統制することは望ましくない.この観点で、このような情報を公開すれば、適切な電子マネーの市場競争が起きるかを検討する研究を行った.昨年の調査やモデル構築研究により、電子マネーの流量を現金準備高や電子マネーの発行高を公表することによって制御できることが明らかになり、普通預金と同じ支払準備率として制御するのも一つの方策であることが分かった.本年度は、さらに、国際間取引による為替変動、金利相違などを組み込み、考察を深めた.一方、各地の実験で思うように利用者が増えないという事実があり、普及のための戦略検討が火急の課題となった.このため、一般利用者を対象にした意識調査をアンケートにより実施した.この結果、女性は割引きを、男性、特に35歳以下では利便性を顕著に望み、手数料より年会費を、また安全性を非常に重要視していることなどが分かった.なお、これら研究成果は本研究室の成果報告書としてはまとめたが、外部発表は3月以降順次、学会発表、論文発表を行う.研究課題/領域番号:09780371, 研究期間(年度):1997 – 1998出典：「電子マネーの適正な金融システム構築のための公開情報に関する研究」研究成果報告書　課題番号09780371（KAKEN：科学研究費助成事業データベース（国立情報学研究所））（https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-09780371/)を加工して作

Universality test of the charged Higgs boson couplings at the LHC and at B factories

Many extensions of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics predict the existence of charged Higgs bosons with substantial couplings to SM particles, which would render them observable both directly at the LHC and indirectly at B-factories. For example, the charged Higgs boson couplings to fermions in two doublet Higgs models of type II, are proportional to the ratio of the two Higgs doublet vacuum expectation values (tan(beta)) and fermionic mass factors and could thus be substantial at large tan(beta) and/or for heavy fermions. In this work we perform a model-independent study of the charged Higgs boson couplings at the LHC and at B-factories for large values of tan(beta). We have shown that at high luminosity it is possible to measure the couplings of a charged Higgs boson to the third generation of quarks up to an accuracy of 10%. We further argue that by combining the possible measurements of the LHC and the B-factories, it is possible to perform a universality test of charged Higgs boson couplings to quarks.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, LaTeX (style changed to PRD format, text expanded, references added

Long-Term Persistent GBV-B Infection and Development of a Chronic and Progressive Hepatitis C-Like Disease in Marmosets

It has been shown that infection of GB virus B (GBV-B), which is closely related to hepatitis C virus, develops acute self-resolving hepatitis in tamarins. In this study we sought to examine longitudinally the dynamics of viral and immunological status following GBV-B infection of marmosets and tamarins. Surprisingly, two of four marmosets but not tamarins experimentally challenged with GBV-B developed long-term chronic infection with fluctuated viremia, recurrent increase of alanine aminotransferase and plateaued titers of the antiviral antibodies, which was comparable to chronic hepatitis C in humans. Moreover, one of the chronically infected marmosets developed an acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis as revealed by biochemical, histological, and immunopathological analyses. Of note, periodical analyses of the viral genomes in these marmosets indicated frequent and selective non-synonymous mutations, suggesting efficient evasion of the virus from antiviral immune pressure. These results demonstrated for the first time that GBV-B could induce chronic hepatitis C-like disease in marmosets and that the outcome of the viral infection and disease progression may depend on the differences between species and individuals

Assessment of the Initial Diagnostic Accuracy of a Fragility Fracture of the Sacrum: A Study of 56 Patients

Study Design Retrospective study. Purpose To investigate the clinical manifestations of a fragility fracture of the sacrum (FFS) and the factors that may contribute to a misdiagnosis. Overview of Literature The number of patients diagnosed with FFS has increased because of extended life expectancy and osteoporosis. Patients with FFS may report nonspecific symptoms, such as back, buttock, groin, and/or leg pain, leading to a misdiagnosis and a delay in definitive diagnosis. Methods Fifty-six patients (13 males and 43 females) with an average age of 80.2±9.2 years admitted to the hospital for FFS between 2006 and 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The following patient data were collected using medical records: pain regions, a history of trauma, initial diagnoses, and rates of fracture detection using radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results Forty-one patients presented with low back and/or buttock pain, nine presented with groin pain, and 17 presented with thigh or leg pain. There was no history of trauma in 18 patients (32%). At the initial visit, 27 patients (48%) were diagnosed with sacral or pelvic fragility fractures. In contrast, 29 patients (52%) were initially misdiagnosed with lumbar spine disease (23 patients), hip joint diseases (three patients), and buttock bruises (three patients). Fracture detection rates for FFS were 2% using radiography, 71% using CT, and 93% using MRI. FFS was diagnosed definitively using an MRI with a coronal short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequence. Conclusions Some patients with FFS have leg pain with no history of trauma and are initially misdiagnosed as having lumbar spine disease, hip joint disease, or simple bruises. When these clinical symptoms are reported, we recommend considering FFS as one of the differential diagnoses and performing lumbar or pelvic MRIs, particularly coronal STIR images, to rule out FFS

Total transferrin in cerebrospinal fluid is a novel biomarker for spontaneous intracranial hypotension

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is caused by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Patients with SIH experience postural headaches, nausea, etc., due to CSF hypovolemia. Imaging studies and clinical examinations, such as radioisotope (RI) scintigraphy, are useful for diagnosing SIH. However, 20-30% of patients do not show typical morphology and clinical test results. We previously reported that CSF contains transferrin (Tf) isoforms:"brain-type" Tf derived from the choroid plexus and "serum-type" Tf derived from blood. We showed that both isoforms increased in the CSF of patients with SIH by Western blotting. In the present study, we demonstrate that conventional ELISA for quantifying total Tf is useful for diagnosing SIH more accurately than Western blotting. In addition, SIH with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) was also accurately diagnosed. Total Tf in the CSF can serve as a useful biomarker for diagnosing SIH with or without CSDH

The tremendous potential of deep-sea mud as a source of rare-earth elements

金沢大学理工研究域地球社会基盤学系Potential risks of supply shortages for critical metals including rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) have spurred great interest in commercial mining of deep-sea mineral resources. Deep-sea mud containing over 5,000 ppm total REY content was discovered in the western North Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima Island, Japan, in 2013. This REY-rich mud has great potential as a rare-earth metal resource because of the enormous amount available and its advantageous mineralogical features. Here, we estimated the resource amount in REY-rich mud with Geographical Information System software and established a mineral processing procedure to greatly enhance its economic value. The resource amount was estimated to be 1.2 Mt of rare-earth oxide for the most promising area (105 km2 × 0-10 mbsf), which accounts for 62, 47, 32, and 56 years of annual global demand for Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy, respectively. Moreover, using a hydrocyclone separator enabled us to recover selectively biogenic calcium phosphate grains, which have high REY content (up to 22,000 ppm) and constitute the coarser domain in the grain-size distribution. The enormous resource amount and the effectiveness of the mineral processing are strong indicators that this new REY resource could be exploited in the near future. © 2018 The Author(s)

On the origin and evolution of the asteroid Ryugu: A comprehensive geochemical perspective

Presented here are the observations and interpretations from a comprehensive analysis of 16 representative particles returned from the C-type asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. On average Ryugu particles consist of 50% phyllosilicate matrix, 41% porosity and 9% minor phases, including organic matter. The abundances of 70 elements from the particles are in close agreement with those of CI chondrites. Bulk Ryugu particles show higher δ18O, Δ17O, and ε54Cr values than CI chondrites. As such, Ryugu sampled the most primitive and least-thermally processed protosolar nebula reservoirs. Such a finding is consistent with multi-scale H-C-N isotopic compositions that are compatible with an origin for Ryugu organic matter within both the protosolar nebula and the interstellar medium. The analytical data obtained here, suggests that complex soluble organic matter formed during aqueous alteration on the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal (several 10’s of km), <2.6 Myr after CAI formation. Subsequently, the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal was fragmented and evolved into the current asteroid Ryugu through sublimation