Does heavy oil pollution induce bacterial diseases in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus?

As basic research for the effect of heavy oil on the fish immune system, in this study, the number of leukocyte was counted in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus, after exposure to heavy oil at a concentration of 30 g/8L for 3 days. To compare the numbers of bacteria in the skin mucus between oil-exposed and control fish, viable bacteria were enumerated by counting colony forming unit (CFU). Compared with 5.79+/-1.88 x 10(7)leukocytes/mL in the controls, the exposed fish demonstrated higher counts, averaging 1.45+/-0.45 x 10(8)cells/mL. The bacterial numbers of control fish were 4.27+/-3.68 x 10(4)CFU/g, whereas they were 4.58+/-1.63 x 10(5)CFU/g in the exposed fish. The results suggest that immune suppression of the fish occurred due to heavy oil stressor, and bacteria could invade in the mucus, resulting in the increasing leukocyte number to prevent infectious disease.     

Characteristics of Beachrocks: A Review

Beachrocks are calcareous rocks that have been quite recently formed and are found in the intertidal zone on sandy beaches. The authors are developing an artificial rock with self-healing capabilities that can be used in coastal areas to repair the infrastructure of coastal walls. Because beachrocks are formed naturally on beaches, they merit study as a model for artificial rocks. We conducted a bibliographical study in order to gather information about the characteristics of beachrocks, which may aid in the manufacturing of artificial rocks. This study investigated their geographic distribution, formative periods, physical properties, and origins. The study found that over 90 % of beachrocks are found between the latitudes 40°N and the Tropic of Capricorn, and that their formative periods range from 26,000 years to just a few decades ago. We also learned that the cement component of beachrocks mainly consists of either calcium carbonate or silica. The dynamic characteristics of these components have been studied in only three papers, which note that their uniaxial compression strength ranges from as low as 6.0 to 42.0 MPa. Since very limited data are available on beachrocks in Japan where the artificial rock technology will first be deployed, there is a need for collecting additional data on their mechanical properties, elemental composition ratios, and mineral content.     

Spatial distribution of landslides induced by the 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake,Japan

On October 23, 2004, an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.8 occurred in the Chuetsu area of Niigata prefecture in Japan. This earthquake is known as the 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake; the event was followed by severe aftershocks and caused many types of landslides such as surficial slides, shallow slides, and deep slides. A large number of landslides occurred in the upland village of Yamakoshi, destroying the entire village; in addition, a huge number of houses collapsed in Kawaguchi town. This study investigates the correlations between each type of landslide and the bedding plane orientation and dip, and other geomorphologic conditions. The landslide occurrence ratio (LOR) is used as an index to determine the correlation between the 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake-induced landslides and the slope angle, slope aspect, rock type, and bedding plane orientation and dip. This work also proposes a methodology to determine the geometric alignment between the topography and the orientation of geological bedding planes. The method provides an efficient means of estimating the topography/bedding plane relationship over large areas.     

Water and heat fluxes above a lowland dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia

We measured the fluxes of sensible and latent heat between a low‐land dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia and the atmosphere. No clear seasonal or interannual changes in latent heat flux were found from 2003 to 2005, while sensible heat flux sometimes fluctuated depending on the fluctuation of incoming radiation between wet and dry seasons. The evapotranspiration rates averaged for the period between 2003 and 2005 were 2·77 and 3·61 mm day^?1 using eddy covariance data without and with an energy balance correction, respectively. Average precipitation was 4·74 mm day^?1. Midday surface conductance decreased with an increasing atmospheric water vapour pressure deficit and thus restricted the excess water loss on sunny days in the dry season. However, the relationship between the surface conductance and vapour pressure deficit did not significantly decline with an increase in volumetric soil water content even during a period of extremely low rainfall. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-intrusive measurements of crater growth

An experimental technique to measure crater growth is presented whereby a high speed video captures profiles of a crater forming after impact obtained using a vertical laser sheet centered on the impact point. Unlike previous so called “quarter-space experiments,” where projectiles were launched along a transparent Plexiglas sheet so that growth of half a crater could be viewed, the use of the laser sheet permits viewing changes in crater shape without any physical interference to the cratering process. This technique indicates that for low velocity impacts (<300 m/s) into 220 μm glass beads that are without cohesion and where the projectile is not disrupted, craters initially grow somewhat proportionally, but that later their depths remain essentially constant while their diameters continue to expand. In addition, these experiments indicate that as the impact velocity increases, the rate of growth and the transient depth to diameter ratio at the end of ejecta excavation decreases. These last two observations are probably due to the large time of penetration of the projectile, which becomes a significant fraction of the time of crater formation. This is contrary to the expectations for the scaling rules, which assumes a point source. Very high curtain angles (>45°) are also seen, and could be due to the low friction angle of the target. Significant crater modification, which is rarely seen in “quarter-space experiments,” is also observed and appears to be controlled by the dynamic angle of repose of the target. These latter observations indicate that differences in target friction angles may need to be considered when determining near rim ejecta-mass distributions and large-scale crater modification processes on the planets.     

A numerical study on the formation and variation of a clockwise-circulation during winter in the Yellow Sea

In the Yellow Sea, the north-westerly wind dominates in winter and the existence of horizontal clockwise circulation has been suggested (Yanagi and Takahashi, 1993). The formation and variation mechanisms of this clockwise circulation is investigated using the wind forced numerical model which has a simplified basin configuration of the Yellow Sea. The model results show that two vortices (an anticlockwise vortex off Chinese coast and a clockwise vortex off Korean coast) are generated by the uniform north-westerly wind. Both vortices propagate along the shelf slope as the first mode shelf waves. An anti-clockwise vortex can not grow because it does not balance to the wind forcing. On the other hand, a clockwise vortex can grow and it reaches to the equilibrium condition at the northern part of the Yellow Sea, because this circulation can balance to the wind forcing. The time scale to become into the equilibrium condition is about 2 days. From this fact, it is ascertained that a clockwise circulation in the basin is generated periodically according to the variable wind forcing with 4 days period. The steady part of the current field exists with the fluctuating one which is induced by the periodical north-westerly wind.     

Dehydration kinetics of muscovite by in situ infrared microspectroscopy

Dehydration behavior of muscovite flake was investigated at 760–860°C by using in situ high-temperature IR microspectroscopy for the OH absorption band around 3,620 cm⁻¹. Isothermal kinetic heating experiments at each temperature gave detailed decrease curves of the OH band area with time. These curves have been simulated by the first and second order reactions or mono- and two-dimensional diffusion processes. The mono-dimensional diffusion was found to give the best fit to the experimental data and apparent diffusion coefficients D were determined at 760–860°C with the activation energy of 290 ± 20 kJ/mol. The apparent diffusion coefficients D varied with the sample thickness L. This variation can be explained by an m layers model with a unit length of L′ with a constant diffusion coefficient D′. Therefore, the dehydration process might be rate-limited by mono-dimensional diffusion through tetrahedral silicate sheet perpendicular to (001) planes of muscovite with a unit length of L′.     

Summer Water Balance Characteristics of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

The daily water balance for the drainage basin of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, was calculated during the period from August to September 2000. The result shows that 14×10⁶ m³ of meltwater and 2×10⁶ m³ of rainwater entered the basin, while 26×10⁶ m³ of water drained from the basin through proglacial streams. Thus, about ?9×10⁶ m³ of water storage reduction occurred in the basin. Vertical displacements of the glacier surface showed that the volume change due to contraction of subglacial cavities was nearly 20% of the total storage change. The remaining fraction of water storage during the period is thought to be stored in englacial and supraglacial locations. The estimate of water balance components in the early ablation season in 2000 indicates that meltwater was already stored within the glacier before the spring, even during the previous year, and that the stored water drained through the ablation season.     

柱端隔震夹层橡胶垫力学性能试验研究

本文详细地研究了夹层橡胶隔震垫的回转刚性,给出了回转刚性与竖向压力及切变形的相关性能。