First-trimester diagnosis of Bartsocas–Papas syndrome (BPS) by transvaginal ultrasound: case report and review of the literature

Initially described in 1972, Bartsocas–Papas syndrome (BPS) is an autosomal recessively inherited disorder combining multiple pterygia, ankyloblepharon, cleft lip and palate, filiform bands between the jaws, syndactyly, and other anomalies. Although described as lethal, review of the literature reveals three individuals who survived into childhood with this condition. We describe a fourth surviving patient and what we believe to be the first prenatal diagnosis of BPS in the first trimester. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementing computer-based automation in the office: A study of experienced stress

This study focuses on the impact of previous experience with automation implementations on experienced stress associated with different work aspects, following the introduction of computer-based office automation. One hundred and ninety-one full-time secretaries at a large university in Canada completed questionnaires related to stress perception and prior experience with office automation. Results indicated that those without previous experience reported higher levels of experienced stress associated with work content aspects such as task difficulty and interest in the task, whereas those with prior experience reported greater problems with contextual aspects such as training and instruction. These findings are discussed in the context of research on ‘technological change as a source of organizational and occupational stress’.     

Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal blood group phenotypes: current practice and future prospects

Fetuses of women with alloantibodies to RhD (D) are at risk from hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, but only if the fetal red cells are D-positive. In such pregnancies, it is beneficial to determine fetal D type, as this will affect the management of the pregnancy. It is possible to predict, with a high level of accuracy, fetal blood group phenotypes from genotyping tests on fetal DNA. The best source is the small quantity of fetal DNA in the blood of pregnant women, as this avoids the requirement for invasive procedures of amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS). Many laboratories worldwide now provide noninvasive fetal D genotyping as a routine service for alloimmunized women, and some also test for c, E, C and K. In many countries, anti-D immunoglobulin injections are offered to D-negative pregnant women, to reduce the chances of prenatal immunization, even though up to 40% of these women will have a D-negative fetus. High-throughput, noninvasive fetal D genotyping technologies are being developed so that unnecessary treatment of pregnant women can be avoided. Trials suggest that fetal D typing of all D-negative pregnant women is feasible and should become common practice in the near future. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Great cormorants (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phalacrocorax carbo</Emphasis>) can detect auditory cues while diving

In-air hearing in birds has been thoroughly investigated. Sound provides birds with auditory information for species and individual recognition from their complex vocalizations, as well as cues while foraging and for avoiding predators. Some 10% of existing species of birds obtain their food under the water surface. Whether some of these birds make use of acoustic cues while underwater is unknown. An interesting species in this respect is the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), being one of the most effective marine predators and relying on the aquatic environment for food year round. Here, its underwater hearing abilities were investigated using psychophysics, where the bird learned to detect the presence or absence of a tone while submerged. The greatest sensitivity was found at 2 kHz, with an underwater hearing threshold of 71 dB re 1 μPa rms. The great cormorant is better at hearing underwater than expected, and the hearing thresholds are comparable to seals and toothed whales in the frequency band 1–4 kHz. This opens up the possibility of cormorants and other aquatic birds having special adaptations for underwater hearing and making use of underwater acoustic cues from, e.g., conspecifics, their surroundings, as well as prey and predators.     

TILE RATIONALE FOR OHIO'S DETERGENT PHOSPHORUS BAN1

ABSTRACT: Ohio signed into law a detergent phosphorus ban on March 26, 1988. This law limits the elemental phosphorus content of household laundry detergents to 0.5 percent in all 35 Lake Erie counties in Ohio by 1990. Ohio's detergent phosphorus ban will help non-compliant municipal wastewater treatment plants achieve compliance with the 1 mg/L effluent phosphorus standard. By limiting the phosphorus content of household laundry detergents, Ohio will also benefit from less phosphorus entering surface waters from combined sewer overflows, communities with treatment plant bypasses, and riparian homes with septic tanks. This is important because most of the phosphorus in laundry detergents is in the bioavailable form and Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline is particularly sensitive to Cladophora problems. When viewed in conjunction with reduced chemical costs for phosphorus removal and savings in sludge disposal costs, Ohio's detergent phosphorus ban is a pragmatic component of an international phosphorus management strategy to protect the Great Lakes.     

Business strategy,work processes and human resource training: are they congruent?

This study examines the extent to which human resource (HR) training (content and context) is contingent on business strategy (i.e. classified according to Miles and Snow (1984) typology—‘Designing strategic human resource systems’, Organizational Dynamics, 13 , 36–52) as well as the characteristics of the work process. Sixty‐five Spanish organizations (i.e. 65 senior executives and 65 senior HR officers) participated in the study. Using primarily factorial and cluster analyses, support was found to the assertion that companies adopting a particular type of training strategy/policy have a high degree of internal consistency amongst the training objectives sought. In terms of work processes and training, results indicate that under work processes where the content of work provides for enrichment and for long‐term results, companies tend to adopt training strategies where emphasis is on enhancement of individual specialized skills aimed at improving direct productivity. By contrast, firms who use work processes that are characterized by repetitive and routine tasks, de‐emphasize this type of training content. Results also indicae that limited level of contingencies exist between training policies and business strategy, especially when time dimension is also accounted for. While the theory suggests that organizations that have their HR training fit (contingent) on their business strategy are more effective, the empirical results portrayed in this study shows a more complex picture. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fertilizer source and tillage effects on yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions in a corn cropping system

Management practices such as fertilizer or tillage regime may affect nitrous oxide (N?O) emissions and crop yields, each of which is commonly expressed with respect to area (e.g., kg N ha or Mg grain ha). Expressing N?O emissions per unit of yield can account for both of these management impacts and might provide a useful metric for greenhouse gas inventories by relating N?O emissions to grain production rates. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of long-term (>17 yr) tillage treatments and N fertilizer source on area- and yield-scaled N?O emissions, soil N intensity, and nitrogen use efficiency for rainfed corn ( L.) in Minnesota over three growing seasons. Two different controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) and conventional urea (CU) were surface-applied at 146 kg N ha(-1) several weeks after planting to conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) treatments. Yield-scaled emissions across all treatments represented 0.4 to 1.1% of the N harvested in the grain. Both CRFs reduced soil nitrate intensity, but not N?O emissions, compared with CU. One CRF, consisting of nitrification and urease inhibitors added to urea, decreased N?O emissions compared with a polymer-coated urea (PCU). The PCU tended to have lower yields during the drier years of the study, which increased its yield-scaled N?O emissions. The overall effectiveness of CRFs compared with CU in this study may have been reduced because they were applied several weeks after corn was planted. Across all N treatments, area-scaled N?O emissions were not significantly affected by tillage. However, when expressed per unit yield of grain, grain N, or total aboveground N, N?O emissions with NT were 52, 66, and 69% greater, respectively, compared with CT. Thus, in this cropping system and climate regime, production of an equivalent amount of grain using NT would generate substantially more N?O compared with CT.