The 2005 northern Pakistan earthquake (magnitude 7.6) of 8 October 2005 occurred in the northwestern part of the Himalayas. We interpreted landslides triggered by the earthquake using black-and-white 2.5-m-resolution System Pour l'Observation de la Terre 5 (SPOT 5) stereo images. As a result, the counts of 2,424 landslides were identified in the study area of 55 by 51 km. About 79% or 1,925 of the landslides were small (less than 0.5 ha in area), whereas 207 of the landslides (about 9%) were large (1 ha and more in area). Judging from our field survey, most of the small landslides are shallow rock falls and slides. However, the resolution and whitish image in the photos prevented interpreting the movement type and geomorphologic features of the landslide sites in detail. It is known that this earthquake took place along preexisting active reverse faults. The landslide distribution was mapped and superimposed on the crustal deformation detected by the environmental satellite/synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, active faults map, geological map, and shuttle radar topography mission data. The landslide distribution showed the following characteristics: (1) Most of the landslides occurred on the hanging-wall side of the Balakot-Garhi fault; (2) greater than one third of the landslides occurred within 1 km from the active fault; (3) the greatest number of landslides (1,147 counts), landslide density (3.2 counts/km 2 ), and landslide area ratio (2.3 ha/km 2 ) was found within Miocene sandstone and siltstone, Precambrian schist and quartzite, and Eocene and Paleocene limestone and shale, respectively; (4) there was a slight trend that large landslides occurred on vertically convex slopes rather than on concave slopes; furthermore, large landslides occurred on steeper (30°and more) slopes than on gentler slopes; (5) many large landslides occurred on slopes facing S and SW directions, which is consistent with SAR-detected horizontal dominant direction of crustal deformation on the hanging wall.
Malignant gliomas are characterized by active invasiveness, necrosis, and vascular proliferation. These pathological features have been speculated to be caused by tissue hypoxia. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), which is controlled by rapid stabilization of the HIF-1• subunit, is a pivotal transcriptional factor in the cellular response to hypoxia. Although many studies have described the relationship between tumor angiogenesis and hypoxic environment, the roles of HIF-1 in cell invasion have been barely elucidated in malignant gliomas. We investigated the role of HIF-1• in the motile and invasive activities of human glioma cells under hypoxia. Four malignant glioma cell lines, U87MG, U251MG, U373MG, and LN18, were cultured under 21 and 1% oxygen concentration. Expression of HIF-1• under hypoxia was observed to be much higher than that under normoxia in all cell lines. Introducing HIF-1•-targeted small interfering RNA (HIF-1• siRNA) into the glioma cell lines resulted in downregulation of HIF-1• expression, and significantly suppressed glioma cell migration in vitro. Furthermore, invasiveness was significantly reduced in the cells transfected with HIF-1• siRNA compared with those transfected with the control siRNA. Co-culture of glioma spheroids and rat brain slices showed that HIF-1• siRNAtransfected glioma cells failed to invade the surrounding normal brain tissue in an organotypic brain slice model. These effects of HIF-1• siRNA were more conspicuous under hypoxia than under normoxia. In addition, under hypoxic conditions, the level of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 mRNA was upregulated, and that of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 was downregulated in all glioma cell lines. Treatment with HIF-1• siRNA resulted in downregulation of MMP-2 mRNA and upregulation of TIMP-2 mRNA. Furthermore, the enzyme activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9, both of which were activated by hypoxia, decreased with the introduction of HIF-1• siRNA. These findings suggest that overexpression of HIF-1• induced by hypoxic stress is an essential event in the activation of glioma cell motility through alteration of invasion-related molecules. Targeting the HIF-1• molecule may be a novel therapeutic strategy for malignant gliomas.
We constructed and analyzed the ground surface displacement associated with the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence using satellite radar interferometry images of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite 2. The radar interferogram generally shows elastic deformation caused by the main earthquakes, but many other linear discontinuities showing displacement are also found. Approximately 230 lineaments are identified, some of which coincide with the positions of known active faults, such as the main earthquake faults belonging to the Futagawa and Hinagu fault zones and other minor faults; however, there are much fewer known active faults than lineaments. In each area, the lineaments have a similar direction and displacement to each other; therefore, they can be divided into several groups based on location and major features. Since the direction of the lineaments coincides with that of known active faults or their conjugate faults, the cause of the lineaments must be related to the tectonic stress field of this region. The lineaments are classified into the following two categories: (1) main earthquake faults and their branched subfaults and (2) secondary faults that are not directly related to the main earthquake but whose slip was probably triggered by the main earthquake or aftershocks.
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