Influence of earthquake on radon exhalation law at the beach of the uranium tailing reservoir under high temperature environment.

In this paper, the influence of an earthquake on radon exhalation rate of uranium tailings reservoir beach under high temperature environment is studied by using a self-made integrated simulation test device for natural disasters, and a scale model test based on similarity and dimensional laws. The results show that, (1)When the peak acceleration reaches 0.6g, the radon exhalation rate increases sharply with the increase of peak acceleration, and tends to be gentle after 1.0g. (2)Under the action of high temperature, the radon exhalation rate increases rapidly with the increase of high temperature time, and gradually becomes flat after the 4th hour. (3)Compared with loading the earthquake condition only, the coupling effect of high temperatures and earthquakes causes a greater degree of damage to the beach surface of a uranium tailings reservoir under the same acceleration conditions, and the fissure rate and radon exhalation rate of the beach surface are substantially increased.

Factors predicting kidney replacement therapy in pediatric earthquake victims with crush syndrome in the first week following rescue.

Crush syndrome due to traumatic rhabdomyolysis is one of the most significant problems to occur following earthquakes. On February 6, 2023, millions of people in Turkey were affected by two consecutive Kahramanmaras earthquakes. The present study reports the analysis of clinical and laboratory findings of crush syndrome in pediatric earthquake victims admitted to our hospital from our region where the earthquake had a devastating effect. Clinical and laboratory findings concerning earthquake victims with crush syndrome were analyzed within the first week to determine what factors are predictive of kidney replacement therapy (KRT). The data of patients were retrospectively collected from medical records. A total of 310 children were admitted as earthquake victims to the pediatric emergency department. Ninety-seven (31%) of these patients had crush syndrome. Fifty-three (55%) of those with crush syndrome were female. The mean age was 10.9 ± 4.7 years, and the mean time under the rubble was 30.6 ± 23.8 h. Twenty-two patients (23%) required KRT. Hemodialysis was applied to 16 (73%) of them, and hemodiafiltration was applied to the other six (27%) in the pediatric intensive care unit. Regarding creatine kinase (CK) levels, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for predicting KRT was 0.905 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.848-0.963; p < 0.001). The optimal cut-off value was 40,000 U/L with a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 83%. In terms of the percentage of body area crushed, the AUC for predicting KRT was 0.907 (95% CI 0.838-0.976; p < 0.001). The optimal cut-off value was 30% with a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 88%. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that each 10% increase in body area crushed (OR 4.16, 95% CI 1.58-10.93, p = 0.004) and 1 mg/dl increase in the serum phosphorus level (OR 4.19, 95% CI 1.71-10.28, p = 0.002) were significant risk factors for dialysis treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Crush syndrome and kidney problems are common following disasters like earthquakes. Clinical and laboratory findings at admission can predict dialysis requirement in earthquake victims. While CK elevation, body area crushed percentage, and increased phosphorus level were predictive of dialysis treatment, time under the rubble was not. Even if the patients were under the rubble for a short time, acute kidney injury (AKI) may develop as a result of severe hypovolemia due to crush injuries, and patients may need KRT. WHAT IS KNOWN: •Crush syndrome after earthquakes needs to be treated carefully in victims and can cause AKI and mortality when not treated timely and appropriately. WHAT IS NEW: •CK level elevation, body area crushed percentage, and increased phosphorus level are predictive of dialysis treatment. •The time under the rubble may not be predictive of dialysis requirement.

Psychological Support for Earthquake Survivors in Turkey and Syria.

Introduction: Thousands of children and families are in danger after two powerful earthquakes and dozens of aftershocks struck the border between Turkey and Syria. Thus, earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria have an urgent need for psychological help. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the mental health support services offered to people affected by the earthquakes that ravaged parts of Turkey and Syria, (2) discuss the challenges faced by the psychological support services, and (3) highlight recommendations for improving mental health services for earthquake survivors. Methods: A questionnaire with open-ended questions was E-mailed to nongovernmental organizations that provide mental health and psychological support to earthquake-affected individuals in Turkey and Syria. The organizations were requested to describe their activities and the obstacles they had to face to deliver these psychological support services. Using content analysis, the gathered statements were examined. Results: Mental health professionals from 23 nongovernmental organizations responded. The earthquake survivors were mostly provided with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and spiritual support. Human resources and financial issues were the most reported concerns among the organizations that responded to the current study. Conclusions: While dealing with the long-term consequences of a disaster, it is essential to coordinate the efforts of many organizations.

Effect of simulated earthquake loading on radon exhalation from uranium tailings dam.

Uranium tailings sand will continuously release radon-222. When the external condition changes, the exhalation of radon will also change. Thus, radon is being recommended as a tracer for dam damage assessment. When an earthquake is simulated on the uranium tailings dam with a shaking table test and the change in radon concentration is measured, it is observed that the earthquake causes micro-fissures in the uranium tailings dam, which aggregate to form fractures. During the process, the radon concentration will climb dramatically, as will the radon exhalation rate. To verify that the radon monitoring date is accurate, the acceleration response, surface displacement, and interior displacement are all monitored. The results show that radon can be utilized as a tracer to evaluate uranium tailings dam damage.

A holistic assessment of the use of emerging recycled concrete aggregates after a destructive earthquake: Mechanical, economic and environmental.

This study aims to examine the mechanical, environmental, and economic properties of recycled aggregate concretes produced using emerged recycled concrete aggregates from the buildings that were demolished in a controlled way after the 24 January 2020, Elazig-Sivrice earthquake. For this purpose, 24 series of recycled aggregate concretes were produced, water-to-cement ratios of 0.30-0.35-0.40-0.45-0.50, and cement dosages were chosen as 320-370-420 kg/m3. 100% recycled concrete aggregate was used in the prepared concrete mixtures. Analyses were made on the response surface method using the mixture ratios and test results of 24 series. The effectiveness of the developed models was examined on 6 Control recycled aggregate concrete. Then, Energy Consumption, Global Warming Potential, Waste Generation, and Abiotic Depletion were considered to assess the environmental impacts of recycled aggregate concretes. In order to make environmental and economic comparisons of recycled aggregate concretes and natural aggregate concretes according to these impact categories, 4 different scenarios were developed. Then, a detailed feasibility analysis was made for 4 different scenarios, and the economic results of recycled aggregate concretes and natural aggregate concretes were evaluated. Regarding the arisen millions of tons of waste materials and newly constructed buildings after the earthquake, recycling waste materials is considered crucial. Therefore, a holistic assessment was taken with this study, and the usability of recycled concrete aggregates was examined in detail.

Post-Earthquake Building Evaluation Using UAVs: A BIM-Based Digital Twin Framework.

Computer vision has shown potential for assisting post-earthquake inspection of buildings through automatic damage detection in images. However, assessing the safety of an earthquake-damaged building requires considering this damage in the context of its global impact on the structural system. Thus, an inspection must consider the expected damage progression of the associated component and the component's contribution to structural system performance. To address this issue, a digital twin framework is proposed for post-earthquake building evaluation that integrates unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery, component identification, and damage evaluation using a Building Information Model (BIM) as a reference platform. The BIM guides selection of optimal sets of images for each building component. Then, if damage is identified, each image pixel is assigned to a specific BIM component, using a GrabCut-based segmentation method. In addition, 3D point cloud change detection is employed to identify nonstructural damage and associate that damage with specific BIM components. Two example applications are presented. The first develops a digital twin for an existing reinforced concrete moment frame building and demonstrates BIM-guided image selection and component identification. The second uses a synthetic graphics environment to demonstrate 3D point cloud change detection for identifying damaged nonstructural masonry walls. In both examples, observed damage is tied to BIM components, enabling damage to be considered in the context of each component's known design and expected earthquake performance. The goal of this framework is to combine component-wise damage estimates with a pre-earthquake structural analysis of the building to predict a building's post-earthquake safety based on an external UAV survey.

Phenological and seismological impacts on airborne pollen types: A case study of Olea pollen in the Region of Murcia, Mediterranean Spanish climate.

The rationale of this paper was to investigate whether earthquakes impact airborne pollen concentrations, considering some meteorological parameters. Atmospheric pollen concentrations in the Region of Murcia Aerobiological Network (Spain) were studied in relation to the occurrence of earthquakes of moment magnitude (up to Mw = 5.1) and intensity (intensity up to grade VII on the European Macroseismic Scale). In this study, a decade (2010-2019) was considered across the cities of the network. Earthquakes were detected in 12 out of 1535 days in the Olea Main Pollen Season in Cartagena, 49 out of 1481 days in the Olea Main Pollen Season in Lorca, and 39 out of 1441 days in the Olea Main Pollen Season in Murcia. The Olea pollen grains in this network were attributed to the species Olea europaea, i.e., the olive tree, a taxon that appears widely in the Mediterranean basin, in both cultivated and wild subspecies. Differences between the Olea concentration on days with and without earthquakes were only found in Lorca (Kruskal-Wallis: p-value = 0.026). The low frequency and intensity of the earthquakes explained these results. The most catastrophic earthquake felt in Lorca on May 11th, 2011 (IVII, Mw = 5.1, 9 casualties) did not result in clear variations in pollen concentrations, while meteorology (e.g., African Dust Outbreak) might have conditioned these pollen concentrations. The research should be broadened to other active seismological areas to reinforce the hypothesis of seismological impact on airborne pollen concentrations.

Analysis of the intellectual and social structure of health system response plan to earthquake studies adopting word co-occurrence and narrative approaches.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Earthquake is a natural disaster severely affecting the societies' health, hygiene, and welfare as such the most effective method to respond to its damages is to develop a readiness plan. This study aimed to discover thematic patterns and co-author relationships extracted from relevant publications to plan an earthquake response. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study adopted the scientometric approach and used word co-occurrence and social network analysis. The published articles indexed in PubMed were retrieved from 1970 to 2021 using a combination of keywords "earthquake and response." The data were analyzed in VOSviewer, UCINET, and NetDraw software. RESULTS: The following six thematic clusters with a social map were extracted: Initial response of the healthcare system, response to probabilistic risks after the hazard, response to mental health and community resilience, response to public health, response to post-traumatic stress disorders, and staff's response to the needs assessment and continuity of diagnostic treatment services. Moreover, social network analysis revealed the great impact of Japanese and Chinese authors and institutes. CONCLUSION: The present study detected many gaps in the literature on earthquake response, which can contribute to developing a general framework to prepare integrated healthcare earthquake response plans to promote the performance of this system.

Identification of persistent oil residues in Prince William Sound, Alaska using rapid spectroscopic techniques.

Spectroscopic techniques including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) are used to examine oil residues persisting on shorelines in Prince William Sound that originate from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and oil released as a consequence of the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake. When coupled to classification models, ATR-FTIR and XRF spectral data can be used to distinguish between the two sources of oil with 92% and 86% success rates for the two techniques respectively. Models indicate that the ATR-FTIR data used to determine oil source includes the CO stretch, the twisting-scissoring of the CH2 group, and the CC stretch. For XRF data, decision tree models primarily utilize the abundance of nickel and zinc present in the oil as a means to classify source. This approach highlights the utility of rapid, field-based spectroscopic techniques to distinguish different inputs of oil to coastal environments.

Health-Related Rehabilitation after the 2008 Great Wenchuan Earthquake in China: A Ten Year Retrospective Systematic Review.

Being one of the world's seismically hazard-prone countries, the People's Republic of China (PRC) witnessed an 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12th 2008-which was reported as one of the most destructive disasters since its founding. Following this earthquake, rehabilitation was greatly required for survivors to enable them to achieve and maintain optimal independence; functioning; full physical, mental and social ability; inclusion; and participation in all aspects of life and environments. We conducted a systematic review based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to retrospectively identify, in five English databases/sources, the existing evidence about the Health-Related Rehabilitation (HRR) that was rendered to the survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake between 2008 and 2018. Only 11 studies out of 828 initial studies retrieved were included in our study and reported the survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake to have been aged between 10.5 and 55.7, and predominantly diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorders. Their HRR was mainly premised on physical and physiological therapies, as well as traditional Chinese medicine and digital technologies. Although all HRR interventions used were reported to be effective, none was identified as much more effective than the others in the post-earthquake era -which calls for more robust research to build upon our systematic review.

An Observational Study on Acupuncture for Earthquake-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Experience of the Lombard Association of Medical Acupuncturists/Acupuncture in the World, in Amatrice, Central Italy.

Background and Objective: Earthquakes are associated with severe psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Current first-line therapies for PTSD have well-known side-effects. Acupuncture is a complementary approach to help patients cope with mental problems after natural disasters and public health events. This article describes an acupuncture intervention conducted by the Lombard Association of Medical Acupuncturists/Acupuncture in the World in the earthquake-stricken area of Amatrice in Central Italy and measures the effect of acupuncture on earthquake-related pain and psychologic symptoms in the victims. Methods: The intervention lasted 5 weeks, from September to October 2016. Adult patients with psychologic symptoms and musculoskeletal pain were included. Treatments were performed by experienced medical acupuncturists. A verbal/numerical scale was developed to quantify the effect of intervention. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of the scores before and after the acupuncture treatment. Results: Of the patients, 68.3% reported having both pain and psychologic symptoms. The most frequently used meridian points were Kidney (13.17%), followed by Large Intestine (12.46%), Spleen (12.04%) and Gall Bladder (10.34%). After 3 treatments performed in daily sessions, 54.05% and 60.6% of patients reported marked improvements in psychologic and pain symptoms, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the scores reported before the first treatment and after the third treatment, both for pain (P = 0.000) and psychologic symptoms (P = 0.000). No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: These results suggest that acupuncture could be a useful tool for reducing pain and psychologic symptoms related to earthquakes, but further research is required in this specific area.

Evaluation of Regional Vulnerability to Disasters by People of Ishikawa, Japan: A Cross Sectional Study Using National Health Insurance Data.

The 2013 Partial Amendment of the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law mandated that a roster of vulnerable persons during disasters be created, and further development of evacuation support is expected. In this study, the number of vulnerable people living in target analytical areas are identified in terms of neighborhood units by using the National Health Insurance Database to create a realistic and efficient evacuation support plan. Later, after considering the "vulnerability" of an area to earthquake disaster damage, a quantitative evaluation of the state of the disaster is performed using a principle component analysis that further divided the analytical target areas into neighborhood units to make a detailed determination of the number of disaster-vulnerable persons, the severity of the disaster, etc. The results of the disaster evaluation performed after considering the vulnerability of an area are that 628 disaster-vulnerable persons live in areas with a relatively higher disaster evaluation value.

Psychosocial factors affecting resilience in Nepalese individuals with earthquake-related spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: One of many types of injuries following an earthquake is spinal cord injury (SCI) which is a life-long medically complex injury and high-cost health problem. Despite several negative consequences, some persons with SCI are resilient enough to achieve positive adjustment, greater acceptance, and better quality of life. Since resilience is influenced by several factors and can vary by context, it is beneficial to explore factors that affect the resilience of people who sustained spinal cord injury from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study included 82 participants from the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Center and communities in Nepal. Participants completed the Demographic and Injury-related Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Moorong Self-efficacy Scale, Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Pearson's correlation and point biserial correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between resilience and independent variables. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to identify the influence of certain factors. RESULTS: Findings indicated significant associations between resilience and social support (r = 0.42, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (r = 0.53, p < 0.001), depressive mood (r = - 0.50, p < 0.001) and demographic variables which included sex (r = 0.47, p < 0.001), employment (r = 0.27, p = 0.016), and current living location (r = 0.24, p = 0.029). There was a non-significant association between resilience and spirituality (r = - 0.12, p > 0.05). In hierarchical regression analysis, an overall regression model explained 46% of the variance in resilience. Self-efficacy (ß = 0.28, p = 0.007) and depressive mood (ß = - 0.24, p = 0.016) significantly determined resilience after controlling the effect of demographic variables. Among the demographic factors, being male significantly explained the variance in resilience (ß = 0.31, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple psychosocial and demographic factors were associated with resilience in people who sustained an earthquake-related SCI. Mental health professionals should demonstrate concern and consider such factors in allocating care in this group. Development of intervention research concerning resilience is recommended to strengthen resilience in order to improve rehabilitation outcomes and enhance reintegration of individuals with SCI into their communities.

Early Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) intervention in a disaster mental health care context.

'Early psychological intervention' is defined as commencing treatment within three months of the traumatic event, with the aim to prevent or treat posttraumatic stress disorder, ongoing distress or acute stress disorder. In natural disaster situations, specific issues may limit the amount of time available for treatment and the possibility of interventions. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be used without regard to these limits. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of EMDR, Recent Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP) provided within three months of the traumatic event to a large sample of individuals exposed to the earthquake that hit Emilia Romagna Region (Northern Italy) in 2012. This study is based on a retrospective review of medical records collected during the activities of psychological and psychosocial unit in the immediate aftermath of earthquake. In total, 529 participants completed the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R) (pre e post treatment). In order to provide a comparison similar to a waitlist-like control group, a method of cohort analysis was applied. In addition, possible time dependent effect was tested. ET (early-treated sample, participants treated within one month after the earthquake) and LT (late-treated sample, participants treated after the first month from the earthquake) reported at post-treatment an improvement to a level below the IES-R cutoff (65.8% of the ET sample and 64.02% of the LT sample). Control group analogue and time-outcome correlation suggest that positive changes in symptoms were likely due to the treatment provided and not merely to the time lapse from the traumatic event. The results of this study suggest that EMDR is a viable treatment option in response to a disaster crisis and in reducing psychological distress of acutely traumatized individuals within the context of a natural disaster.

The Effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Integrative Group Protocol with Adolescent Survivors of the Central Italy Earthquake.

Earthquakes, which can cause widespread territorial and socio-economic destruction, are life-threatening, unexpected, unpredictable, and uncontrollable events caused by the shaking of the surface of the earth. The psychological consequences, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, are well-known to clinicians and researchers. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the use of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Integrative Group Treatment Protocol on a sample of adolescents, after the earthquake in Central Italy on 24 August 2016. The objective of the EMDR intervention was to reduce PTSD symptoms. Before and after EMDR, specific assessment to find changes in PTSD symptoms was made using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and through the analyses of the Subjective Units of Disturbance. The EMDR treatment was given in three sessions (T1, T2, and T3), each lasting 90 min, and the results at follow-up phase (T4) were also monitored. The results are very encouraging, showing significantly reduced PTSD symptoms in the majority of the subjects. The clinical implications and limitations will be discussed.

Earthquake Damage Visualization (EDV) Technique for the Rapid Detection of Earthquake-Induced Damages Using SAR Data.

The damage of buildings and manmade structures, where most of human activities occur, is the major cause of casualties of from earthquakes. In this paper, an improved technique, Earthquake Damage Visualization (EDV) is presented for the rapid detection of earthquake damage using the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. The EDV is based on the pre-seismic and co-seismic coherence change method. The normalized difference between the pre-seismic and co-seismic coherences, and vice versa, are used to calculate the forward (from pre-seismic to co-seismic) and backward (from co-seismic to pre-seismic) change parameters, respectively. The backward change parameter is added to visualize the retrospective changes caused by factors other than the earthquake. The third change-free parameter uses the average values of the pre-seismic and co-seismic coherence maps. These three change parameters were ultimately merged into the EDV as an RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) composite imagery. The EDV could visualize the earthquake damage efficiently using Horizontal transmit and Horizontal receive (HH), and Horizontal transmit and Vertical receive (HV) polarizations data from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2). Its performance was evaluated in the Kathmandu Valley, which was hit severely by the 2015 Nepal Earthquake. The cross-validation results showed that the EDV is more sensitive to the damaged buildings than the existing method. The EDV could be used for building damage detection in other earthquakes as well.

Systematic Review on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Survivors of the Wenchuan Earthquake.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) widely occurs among victims or witness of disasters. With flashbacks, hyperarousal, and avoidance being the typical symptoms, PTSD became a focus of psychological research. The earthquake in Wenchuan, China, on May 12, 2008, was without precedent in magnitude and aftermath and caused huge damage, which drew scientists' attention to mental health of the survivors. We conducted a systematic overview by collecting published articles from the PubMed database and classifying them into five points: epidemiology, neuropathology, biochemistry, genetics and epigenetics, and treatment. The large body of research during the past 6 years showed that adolescents and adults were among the most studied populations with high prevalence rates for PTSD. Genomic and transcriptomic studies focusing on gene × environment studies as well as epigenetics are still rare, although a few available data showed great potential to better understand the pathophysiology of PTSD as multifactorial disease. Phytotherapy with Chinese herbs and acupuncture are rarely reported as of yet, although the first published data indicated promising therapy effects. Future studies should focus on the following points: (1) The affected populations under observation should be better defined concerning individual risk factor, time of observation, spatial movement, and individual disease courses of patients. (2) The role of social support for prevalence rates of PTSD should be observed in more detail. (3) Efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine should be studied to find potential interventions and effective treatments of PTSD.

Religious Beliefs, PTSD, Depression and Resilience in Survivors of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

BACKGROUND: This study examines relationships between religious beliefs regarding the origin of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and posttraumatic symptomatology as well as depressive symptoms and resilience among its survivors. METHOD: We used convenient sampling to recruit participants (n=167). They completed six scales, which had been translated into Haitian Creole, including measures such as the Earthquake Experiences Exposure (EEE), the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI), the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experience Questionnaire (PDEQ), the PTSD Checklist (PTSD-CL), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD- RISC) RESULTS: Among our participants, 51% were male, (mean age=30.5, SD=11.03), 92% (n=155) were believers in some sort of supernatural force and 65% (n=108) endorsed the earthquake as a natural phenomenon. There was significant difference in average scores at peritraumatic distress, PTSD symptoms and Resilience measures between those perceiving a divine origin and/or a punishment through the event and those who did not. Peritraumatic responses were best predictors for PTSD (ß=.366, p<.001) and Depression symptoms (ß=.384, p<.001). Voodoo adherents appeared to be vulnerable to depression, but reported superior resilience factors.

Dynamic transition of chemolithotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in response to amendment with nitrate in deposited marine sediments.

Although environmental stimuli are known to affect the structure and function of microbial communities, their impact on the metabolic network of microorganisms has not been well investigated. Here, geochemical analyses, high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and transcripts, and isolation of potentially relevant bacteria were carried out to elucidate the anaerobic respiration processes stimulated by nitrate (20 mM) amendment of marine sediments. Marine sediments deposited by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 were incubated anaerobically in the dark at 25∘C for 5 days. Nitrate in slurry water decreased gradually for 2 days, then more rapidly until its complete depletion at day 5; production of N2O followed the same pattern. From day 2 to 5, the sulfate concentration significantly increased and the sulfur content in solid-phase sediments significantly decreased. These results indicated that denitrification and sulfur oxidation occurred simultaneously. Illumina sequencing revealed the proliferation of known sulfur oxidizers, i.e., Sulfurimonas sp. and Chromatiales bacteria, which accounted for approximately 43.5% and 14.8% of the total population at day 5, respectively. These oxidizers also expressed 16S rRNA to a considerable extent, whereas the other microorganisms, e.g., iron(III) reducers and methanogens, became metabolically active at the end of the incubation. Extinction dilution culture in a basal-salts medium supplemented with sulfur compounds and nitrate successfully isolated the predominant sulfur oxidizers: Sulfurimonas sp. strain HDS01 and Thioalkalispira sp. strain HDS22. Their 16S rRNA genes showed 95.2-96.7% sequence similarity to the closest cultured relatives and they grew chemolithotrophically on nitrate and sulfur. Novel sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were thus directly involved in carbon fixation under nitrate-reducing conditions, activating anaerobic respiration processes and the reorganization of microbial communities in the deposited marine sediments.

Posttraumatic stress disorder among earthquake survivors of the Wenchuan area (Sichuan, China).

BACKGROUND: On May 12, 2008, an earthquake with a power of 8.0 M on the Richter scale occurred in the Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province in southwest China, which was unprecedented in magnitude and aftermath. Approximately 70,000 people were killed and nearly 20,000 went missing. The earthquake caused a wide number of mental and physical health outcomes among survivors, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was one of the most commonly studied. METHODS: We conducted a systematic overview to assess research achievements about PTSD in the past 6 years after the Wenchuan earthquake, including symptoms and risk factors about PTSD among Wenchuan earthquake survivors, as well as research developments in genetics, molecular biology, and treatment of PTSD. RESULTS: The large body of research conducted after the Wenchuan earthquake suggests that the burden of PTSD among persons with high exposure was substantial. Adolescents and adults were among the most studied populations with high prevalence rates. Phytotherapy with Chinese herbs as well as acupuncture were rarely studied as of yet, although published data indicated promising therapy effects. Genome-wide microarray technologies are widely used in experimental mice and rat models to study PTSD mechanisms as well as in patients suffering from PTSD and other psychosomatic disorders to search for novel biomarkers and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Using genomic and transcriptomic technologies, our future research will focus on the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine to find potential interventions and effective treatments of PTSD.