Helium isotopes of seawater in the Japan Sea

We have collected fifty-five seawater samples at seven stations at various depths in the Yamato and Japan Basins of the Japan Sea and measured their helium isotopic ratios. The ³He/⁴He ratios vary from 0.997 R_atm to 1.085 R_atm where R_atm is the atmospheric ratio. The maximum ³He excesses about 8%, are observed at mid-depth (1000 m), and these values are significantly lower than those observed in deep Pacific waters. This implies that mantle-derived helium in deep Pacific water cannot enter the Japan Sea since it is an almost landlocked marginal sea. The observed 8% excess ³He may be attributable to the decay product of tritium. Slightly higher ³He/⁴He ratios in the Bottom Water were observed in the Yamato Basin than in the Japan Basin. The ventilation ages of seawater shallower than 1000 m are calculated as about 5 to 20 years, which is consistent with the CFC ages reported in the literature. There is a positive correlation between the apparent oxygen utilization and ³H-³He ages. The estimated oxygen utilization rate from the correlation in a layer between 500 m and 1000 m is about 3 μmol/kg/yr, which is similar to that in the eastern subtropical North Atlantic.     

跨断层桥梁抗震若干问题探讨

从断层时间尺度、活动性、场地效应等方面阐述跨断层桥梁的定义与内涵;从"功能性"、"制约性"、"地表破裂变异性"、"设计缺陷"4方面分析跨断层桥梁"不得不"面临较大的地震破坏风险的原因;最后以1979年Imperial Valley地震中El Centro台阵收集到的强震记录为基础,对断层破裂强震记录特征及地震动传播机理进行分析,研究断层两侧地面运动分布规律,建议跨走滑断层桥梁的地震动输入方向。本文研究结果对促进跨断层桥梁抗震设防具有借鉴意义。     

Effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on liver function and sexual characteristics in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

The effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on liver function and their differences between sexes were analyzed in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to PCB126 or Kanechlor-400 (KC-400) using microarray. PCB exposure induced vitellogenin 1 expression in female medaka while suppressing choriogenin genes, which suggests that the effects of PCBs on estrogen-responsive genes do not occur directly through an estrogen receptor-mediated pathway. Reduction of androgen receptor alpha expression was also observed, and the gene expression pattern in PCB-exposed males changed to become more similar to that of females. Furthermore, changes in glycolysis-related genes indicate that PCB exposure might enhance glucose production via gluconeogenesis in the liver of medaka. Taken together, our results suggest that PCBs disrupt the endocrine system, especially androgen function, and may have the potential to cause demasculinizing effects. Additionally, induction of gluconeogenesis might be a response to maintain glucose levels consumed as a result of PCB exposures.     

Effectiveness of superelastic bars for seismic rehabilitation of clay‐unit masonry walls

This paper presents the results on shaking table tests of half‐scale brick walls performed to investigate the effectiveness of newly developed Cu–Al–Mn superelastic alloy (SEA) bars in retrofitting of historical masonry constructions. Problems associated with conventional steel reinforcing bars lie in degradation of stiffness and strength, or pinching phenomena, under cyclic loading, and presence of large residual cracks in structures during and after intense earthquakes. This paper attempts to resolve the problems by applying newly developed Cu–Al–Mn SEA bars, characterized by large recovery strain, low material cost, and high machinability, as partial replacements for steel bars. Sets of unreinforced, steel reinforced, and SEA‐reinforced specimens are subjected to scaled earthquake excitations in out‐of‐plane direction. Whereas steel‐reinforced specimens showed large residual inclinations, SEA‐reinforced specimens resulted in stable rocking response with slight residual inclinations. Corresponding nonlinear finite element (FE) models are developed to simulate the experimental observations. The FE models are further used to examine the sensitivity of the response with respect to the variations in experimental conditions. Both the experimental and numerical results demonstrate the superiority of Cu–Al–Mn SEA bars to conventional steel reinforcing bars in avoiding pinching phenomena. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Testing local spatial autocorrelation using k-order neighbours

The analysis of local spatial autocorrelation for spatial attributes has been an important concern in geographical inquiry. In this paper, we propose a concept and algorithm of k-order neighbours based on Delaunay's triangulated irregular networks and redefine Getis and Ord's (1992) local spatial autocorrelation statistic as G_i(k) with weight coefficient w_ij(k) based on k-order neighbours for the study of local patterns in spatial attributes. To test the validity of these statistics, an experiment is performed using spatial data of the elderly population in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The difference between the weight coefficients of the k-order neighbours and distance parameter to measure the spatial proximity of districts located in the city centre and near the city limits is found by Monte-Carlo simulation.     

Extending agent-based land-use/-cover change models to tropical deforestation: a focus on farm-based decision making in tropical subsistence farming

Subsistence agriculture continues to be the mainstay activity in most tropical regions, and opinions on how it impacts tropical deforestation vary significantly. The sparse literature available on subsistence farm-based models highlights the existing methodological gap in the ability of present-day agent-based models (ABMs) to simulate the impact of subsistence production on frontier tropical deforestation. Though issues concerning agent specification and its variability have been successfully dealt with, gaps exist in the explicit incorporation and articulation of linkages of subsistence production and consumption theories on the one hand and frontier tropical deforestation on the other hand. This demands explicit determination of the decision-making process and the objective functions for subsistence farmers. Once simulated, the trajectories of deforestation and its trigger mechanisms can be understood. Overall, farm-based ABMs have the potential to allow insightful understanding of the small and slow individual homogeneous subsistence practices that have resulted in massive deforestation in the tropics.     

Ion microprobe U‐Th‐Pb dating and REE analyses of phosphates in the nakhlites Lafayette and Yamato‐000593/000749

Abstract— U, Th, and Pb isotopes and rare earth elements (REEs) in individual phosphate grains from martian meteorites Lafayette and Yamato‐000593/000749 were measured using a sensitive high‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP). Observed U‐Pb data of 12 apatite grains from Yamato (Y‐) 000593/000749 are well represented by linear regressions in both “conventional” 2D isochron plots and the 3D U‐Pb plot (total Pb/U isochron), indicating that the formation age of this meteorite is 1.53 ± 0.46 Ga (2σ). On the other hand, the data of nine apatite grains from Lafayette are well represented by planar regression rather than linear regression, indicating that its formation age is 1.15 ± 0.34 Ga (2σ) and that a secondary alteration process slightly disturbed its U‐Pb systematics as discussed in the literature regarding Nakhla. The observed REE abundance patterns of the apatites in Lafayette and Yamato‐000749, normalized to CI chondrites, are characterized by a progressive depletion of heavy REEs (HREEs), a negative Eu anomaly, similarity to each other, and consistency with previously reported data for Nakhla. Considering the extensive data from other radiometric systems such as Sm‐Nd, Rb‐Sr, Ar‐Ar, and trace elements, our results suggest that the parent magmas of the nakhlites, including the newly found Y‐000593/000749, are similar and that their crystallization ages are ?1.3 Ga.