A method using granulated coal ash for disposal of the sludge carried by tsunami

Large amounts of sludge and debris accumulated on agricultural and residential areas after the Great East\ud Japan Earthquake. Since the sludge carried by the Tsunami has high contents of unstable-form organic matter ???UFOM???\ud (burned at 300??C), this sludge is considered to be the origin of malodorous gas generation that affects human activities.\ud Therefore, disposal of the sludge plays an important role in the reconstruction effort. Previously, it is obvious that\ud granulated coal ash (GCA) comprised of silica (44%), calcium oxide (21%) and aluminum oxide (13%) improves the\ud organic condition of sewage sludge. For example, the generation of malodorous gases, e.g. hydrogen sulfide and\ud ammonia, was greatly reduced after mixing GCA with the sewage sludge. In this study, we aim to propose a method\ud using GCA to disposal the sludge carried by Tsunami. For this purpose, changes in organic conditions and malodorous\ud gas generation of the sludge after mixing GCA are investigated based on laboratory experiments. In the laboratory\ud experiments, the sludge was mixed with GCA, and then was burned at 200??C to 600??C (intervals of 100??C) in 4 hours at\ud each temperature step. Furthermore, other experiments were conducted to measure amounts of gas generated from the\ud sludge in the absence and the presence of GCA. It was found that ignition behaviors of the sludge with and without\ud GCA were different, namely, the ignition loss at 300??C of the sludge mixing with GCA was lower than that of the sludge\ud without mixing GCA. This ensures that organic conditions (e.g. decreases in amounts of UFOM) of the sludge changes\ud after mixing GCA. Moreover, it was also found that malodorous gases did not generate from the sludge mixing with\ud GCA, indicating that GCA affects the digestion process of organic matter. It is expected that our proposed method is\ud also useful for the capitalization of dredged soil and the development of lowland

A method for investigation of sediment retention in sandy tidal flats

Recently, coastal environmental engineers have made attempts to understand the role of sediment (particulate organic matter adsorbed on fine soil particles, diameter range 1???100 ??m) in subsurface environment which is considered to be related to the biodiversity of estuaries. Since the retention amount of sediment is one of important factors in considering the biodiversity, understanding sediment retention is vital to good management of the estuarine environment. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to propose a model for investigating the sediment retention based on variations of water head in a sand bed. Field observations were also conducted to verify the validity of the proposed model. From laboratory experiments, variations of water head in the sand bed could be represented by our proposed model with a maximum relative error of 3%. As the proposed model takes the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity of the sand bed into account, sediment retention in the sand bed can be evaluated on the basis of variances in the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity when variations of water heads at the boundary and in the sand bed are known. A method was proposed to measure variations of river water head and water head in a tidal flat. Furthermore, sand material of the tidal flat was sampled in order to determine the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity of the tidal flat. Based on the observation results, the variation of water head in the tidal flat could be reproduced by the proposed model when the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity of the tidal flat were applied into the model. In other words, the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity of the tidal flat can be predicted by the proposed model when variations of river water head and water head in the tidal flat are measured, leading to the understanding of sediment retention in the tidal flat from temporal changes in the porosity and the hydraulic conductivity

Why is Behavioral Game a Game for Economists? : The concept of beliefs in equilibrium

The interdisciplinary exchange between economists and psychologists has so far been more active and fruitful in the modifications of Expected Utility Theory than in those of Game Theory. We argue that this asymmetry may be explained by economists' specific way of doing equilibrium analysis of aggregate-level outcomes in their practice, and by psychologists' reluctance to fully engage with such practice. We focus on the notion of belief that is embedded in economists' practice of equilibrium analysis, more specifically Nash equilibrium, and argue that its difference from the psychological counterpart is one of the factors that makes interdisciplinary exchange in behavioral game theory more difficult.Peer reviewe

Sry delivery to the adrenal medulla increases blood pressure and adrenal medullary tyrosine hydroxylase of normotensive WKY rats

BACKGROUND: Our laboratory has shown that a locus on the SHR Y chromosome increases blood pressure (BP) in the SHR rat and in WKY rats that had the SHR Y chromosome locus crossed into their genome (SHR/y rat). A potential candidate for this Y chromosome hypertension locus is Sry, a gene that encodes a transcription factor that is responsible for testes development and the Sry protein may affect other target genes. METHODS: The following study examined if exogenous Sry would elevate adrenal Th, adrenal catecholamines, plasma catecholamines and blood pressure. We delivered 10 μg of either the expression construct, Sry1/pcDNA 3.1, or control vector into the adrenal medulla of WKY rats by electroporation. Blood pressure was measured by the tail cuff technique and Th and catecholamines by HPLC with electrochemical detection. RESULTS: In the animals receiving Sry there were significant increases after 3 weeks in resting plasma NE (57%) and adrenal Th content (49%) compared to vector controls. BP was 30 mmHg higher in Sry injected animals (160 mmHg, p < .05) compared to vector controls (130 mmHg) after 2–3 weeks. Histological analysis showed that the electroporation procedure did not produce morphological damage. CONCLUSION: These results provide continued support that Sry is a candidate gene for hypertension. Also, these results are consistent with a role for Sry in increasing BP by directly or indirectly activating sympathetic nervous system activity

N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene polymorphisms in Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. The molecular basis of this neural death is unknown, but genetic predisposition and environmental factors may cause the disease. Sequence variations in N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene leading to slow acetylation process have been associated with PD, but results are contradictory. METHODS: We analyzed three NAT2 genetic variations, c.481C>T, c.590G>A (p.R197Q) and c.857G>A (p.G286E), which are known to result in a slow acetylator phenotype. Using validated PCR-RFLP assays, we genotyped 243 healthy unrelated Caucasian control subjects and 124 PD patients for these genetic variations. Further, we have undertaken a systematic review of NAT2 studies on PD and we incorporated our results in a meta-analysis consisting of 10 studies, 1,206 PD patients and 1,619 control subjects. RESULTS: Overall, we did not find significant differences in polymorphic acetylation genotypes in PD and control subjects. In the meta-analysis of slow acetylators from 10 studies and representing 604/1206 PD vs. 732/1619 control subjects, a marginally significant odds ratio (OR) of 1.32 (95% CI 1.12–1.54, p < 0.05) was obtained. Re-analysis of the data to exclude the only two studies showing positive association of slow acetylators to PD, resulted in a non-significant OR (1.07, 95% CI 0.9–1.28). Furthermore, meta-analysis of studies for c.590G>A, where both allele and genotype frequencies in PD vs. control subjects were analyzed, did not give significant summary odds ratios as well. CONCLUSION: We found little evidence for differences in polymorphic acetylation genotypes in PD and control subjects. Results of the meta-analyses did not also provide conclusive evidence for an overall association of NAT2 slow acetylator genotypes to PD

Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans

Dopamine is an important neuromodulator in both vertebrates and invertebrates. We have found that reduced dopamine signaling can cause a distinct abnormality in the behavior of the nematode C. elegans, which has only eight dopaminergic neurons. Using an automated particle-tracking system for the analysis of C. elegans locomotion, we observed that individual wild-type animals made small adjustments to their speed to maintain constant rates of locomotion. By contrast, individual mutant animals defective in the synthesis of dopamine made larger adjustments to their speeds, resulting in large fluctuations in their rates of locomotion. Mutants defective in dopamine signaling also frequently exhibited both abnormally high and abnormally low average speeds. The ability to make small adjustments to speed was restored to these mutants by treatment with dopamine. These behaviors depended on the D2-like dopamine receptor DOP-3 and the G-protein subunit GOA-1. We suggest that C. elegans and other animals, including humans, might share mechanisms by which dopamine restricts motor activity levels and coordinates movement

Patterns and flow in frictional fluid dynamics

Pattern-forming processes in simple fluids and suspensions have been studied extensively, and the basic displacement structures, similar to viscous fingers and fractals in capillary dominated flows, have been identified. However, the fundamental displacement morphologies in frictional fluids and granular mixtures have not been mapped out. Here we consider Coulomb friction and compressibility in the fluid dynamics, and discover surprising responses including highly intermittent flow and a transition to quasi-continuodynamics. Moreover, by varying the injection rate over several orders of magnitude, we characterize new dynamic modes ranging from stick-slip bubbles at low rate to destabilized viscous fingers at high rate. We classify the fluid dynamics into frictional and viscous regimes, and present a unified description of emerging morphologies in granular mixtures in the form of extended phase diagrams

Cerebrospinal Fluid Concentration of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Cognitive Function in Non-Demented Subjects

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an activity-dependent secreted protein that is critical to organization of neuronal networks and synaptic plasticity, especially in the hippocampus. We tested hypothesis that reduced CSF BDNF is associated with age-related cognitive decline.CSF concentration of BDNF, Abeta(42) and total tau were measured in 128 cognitively normal adults (Normals), 21 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and nine patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Apolipoprotein E and BDNF SNP rs6265 genotype were determined. Neuropsychological tests were performed at baseline for all subjects and at follow-up visits in 50 Normals. CSF BDNF level was lower in AD patients compared to age-matched Normals (p = 0.02). CSF BDNF concentration decreased with age among Normals and was higher in women than men (both p<0.001). After adjusting for age, gender, education, CSF Abeta(42) and total tau, and APOE and BDNF genotypes, lower CSF BDNF concentration was associated poorer immediate and delayed recall at baseline (both p<0.05) and in follow up of approximately 3 years duration (both p<0.01).Reduced CSF BDNF was associated with age-related cognitive decline, suggesting a potential mechanism that may contribute in part to cognitive decline in older individuals