Atsushi Okamoto

Abstract The hydrological system within Earth's crust is divided into the permeable zone and the underlying, much less permeable zone. In this study, we investigated the solubility and precipitation kinetics of silica in water under the conditions of the Kakkonda geothermal field, Japan, where well WD ‐1a penetrates the boundary between the hydrothermal convection zone and the heat conduction zone. We found that quartz solubility has a local minimum at the depth of the hydrological boundary, at

This study proposes holographic diversity interferometry (HDI), a system that combines information from spatially dispersed plural image sensors to reconstruct complex amplitude distributions of light signals. HDI can be used to generate four holographic interference fringes having different phases, thus enabling optical phase detection in a single measurement. Unlike conventional phase-shifting digital holography, this system does not require piezoelectric elements and phase shift arrays. In or

Abstract More than one teramole of carbon per year is subducted as carbonate or carbonaceous material. However, the influence of carbonation/decarbonation reactions on seismic activity within subduction zones is poorly understood. Here we present field and microstructural observations, including stable isotope analyses, of carbonate veins within the Higuchi serpentinite body, Japan. We find that the carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of carbonate veins indicate that carbonic fluids originate

Abstract Hydration reactions are direct evidence of fluid–rock interaction during regional metamorphism. In this study, hydration reactions to produce retrograde actinolite in mafic schists are investigated to evaluate the controlling factors on the reaction progress. Mafic schists in the Sanbagawa belt contain amphibole coexisting with epidote, chlorite, plagioclase and quartz. Amphibole typically shows two types of compositional zoning from core to rim: barroisite → hornblende → actinolite in

A micronucleus is a small nucleus-like structure found in the cytoplasm of dividing cells that suffered from genotoxic stress. It is generally hypothesised that micronuclei content is eventually lost from cells, though the mechanism of how this occurs is unknown. If DNA located within the micronucleus is not replicated, it may explain the loss of micronuclei content. Because there had been no compelling evidence for this issue, we have addressed whether DNA located within the micronucleus is rep

NUSAP1 may be a crucial biomarker for OSCC. Moreover, down-regulated NUSAP1 expression suppresses tumor proliferation and also enhances anti-tumor effect of PTX by activating apoptotic pathways. Thus, the present study strongly suggests that regulating NUSAP1 expression should contribute to the therapy for OSCC.

Some epidemiological or association studies suggest that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in breast milk may be a decisive factor in diminishing the risk of allergic diseases during infancy. The observations have prompted us to investigate whether TGF-beta, when taken orally, can affect allergic immune responses. Repeated high-dose ovalbumin peptide (OVA) feeding was previously reported to induce OVA-specific IgE production and an anaphylactic reaction after intravenous challenge of OV