Detection of low-grade mosaicism in fetal cells isolated from maternal blood

Recovering and analysing fetal erythrocytes from maternal blood is being pursued for non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis. We report the observation of 46, XY/47, XXY mosaicism in fetal cells from a woman whose first-trimester chorionic villus sampling (CVS) initially showed only 46, XY. Only after exhaustive (500 cells) analysis were four XXY cells found in cultured villi.     

CATCH:一种结构讨论方法,一件决策支持工具

引言 人类活动导致了水资源的过度开发和污染.<水框架指令>(WFD,2000/60/EG)就是为确保水资源的可持续利用、确保水资源的效果而拟定的.为达到WFD所概括的目标,一项明显的内容是:水资源的管理中要有各利益方的参与.把各利益方吸纳进来是一个重要步骤,可确保流域管理计划的发展考虑当地的经验,并且考虑这些计划对当地利益的影响.     

Methodological and Practical Considerations for Developing Multiproject Baselines for Electric Power and Cement Industry Projects in Central America

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas (CSDA) conducted technical studies and organized two training workshops to develop capacity in Central America for the evaluation of climate change projects. This paper describes the results of two baseline case studies conducted for these workshops, one for the power sector and one for the cement industry, that were devised to illustrate certain approaches to baseline setting. Multiproject baseline emission rates (BERs) for the main Guatemalan electricity grid were calculated from 2001 data. In recent years, the Guatemalan power sector has experienced rapid growth; thus, a sufficient number of new plants have been built to estimate viable BERs. We found that BERs for baseload plants offsetting additional baseload capacity ranged from 0.702 kgCO2/kWh (using a weighted average stringency) to 0.507 kgCO2/kWh (using a 10th percentile stringency), while the baseline for plants offsetting load-following capacity is lower at 0.567 kgCO2/kWh. For power displaced from existing load-following plants, the rate is higher, 0.735 kgCO2/kWh, as a result of the age of some plants used for meeting peak loads and the infrequency of their use. The approved consolidated methodology for the Clean Development Mechanism yields a single rate of 0.753 kgCO2/kWh. Due to the relatively small number of cement plants in the region and the regional nature of the cement market, all of Central America was chosen as the geographic boundary for setting cement industry BERs. Unfortunately, actual operations and output data were unobtainable for most of the plants in the region, and many data were estimated. Cement industry BERs ranged from 205 kgCO2 to 225 kgCO2 per metric ton of cement.     

Prenatal diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type 1: From flanking rflps to intragenic microsatellite markers

Even though the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene was cloned more than 3 years ago, the process of identifying mutations has not been fruitful, and genetic counselling is mainly based on the use of linked markers. Since 1990, we have analysed 130 NF1 families and have performed six prenatal diagnoses. In each case, genetic counselling has relied on linked markers and informativity was achieved in all of them. The use of intragenic microsatellite polymorphisms (IVS27AAAT2.1, IVS27AC28.4, IVS27AC33.1, and IVS38GT53.0) has increased the informativeness in our series of NF1 families to an average of 90 per cent, providing accurate diagnosis and confirmation of the disease status.     

Does the cost of polygyny in house wrens include reduced male assistance in defending offspring?

Summary This study investigated whether reduced male aid in defending offspring potentially reduces the fitness of females choosing already-mated males in the house wren (Troglodytes aedon), a small, territorial songbird. Frozen snakes were placed at 23 nests of monogamously mated males and 12 secondary nests of bigamously mated males. All presentations were made during incubation stages of females attending focal nests. Snakes were placed at nests of secondary females when nests of their primary counterparts contained young 5–9 days old. Males are most attentive to primary nests during this period and should therefore be relatively inattentive to secondary mates and nests. Nevertheless, an equal proportion of monogamous and bigamous males discovered snakes within 15 min, and mean time to discovery, when discovery occurred, did not differ with nest status. Monogamous and bigamous males were also equally likely to attack snakes physically once discovered. Monogamous males appeared no more likely to discover snakes than bigamous males for two main reasons. First, although monogamous males were near focal nests (i.e., < 10 m) more often than bigamous males, monogamous males tended to stay out of view of nests for long periods. In contrast, bigamous males always went immediately to focal nests upon arriving in their vicinity. Second, about one-third of monogamous males in this study spent much of their time during trials at the far edges of their territories advertising for secondary mates. Our experiment suggests that reduced male aid in defending nests against small, diurnal predators probably does not contribute to the cost of polygyny in house wrens. Correspondence to: L.S. Johnson     

SEDIMENT OXYGEN DEMAND IN THE ARROYO COLORADO RIVER1

ABSTRACT: The lower reaches of the Arroyo Colorado have historically failed to meet their use under subsection 303(b) of the U.S. Clean Water Act due to fecal coliform bacteria and low dissolved oxygen (DO). Fish kills, especially at the tidal confluence at the Port of Harlingen, Texas, have been reported. Oxygen demand from sediment (SOD) for a river typically has two states‐diffusion limited SOD (SOD) and potential SOD (pSOD), expressed when sediment is resuspended through increased flow or other disturbances. The objective of this research was to measure SOD in the Arroyo Colorado River in situ, estimate pSOD ex situ, and evaluate the relationship between SOD and the depositional environment. We measured SOD and pSOD in the Arroyo Colorado River at up to eight sites over three sampling events. We identified the sample sites based on a modified Rosgen geomorphic index for streambed stabilization. Sites with high sediment deposition potential had high SOD. The average values of SOD between sites were 0.62 g/m²/day (standard deviation 0.38 g/m²/day) and ranged from 0.13 to 1.2 g/m²/day. Potential SOD values ranged from as low as 19.2 to as high as 2,779 g/m³ sediment/ day. Potential SOD can serve as an indicator of the possible impact of SOD from resuspended sediment in stream systems.     

Application of the operating window concept to remediation‐option selection

An Erratum has been published for this article in Remediation 14(4) 2004, 141. The selection of remediation options for the management of unacceptable risks at contaminated sites is hindered by insufficient information on their performance under different site conditions. Therefore, there is a need to define “operating windows” for individual remediation options to summarize their performance under a variety of site conditions. The concept of the “operating window” has been applied as both a performance optimization tool and decision support tool in a number of different industries. Remediation‐option operating windows could be used as decision support tools during the “options appraisal” stage of the Model Procedures (CLR 11), proposed by the Environment Agency (EA) for England and Wales, to enhance the identification of “feasible remediation options” for “relevant pollutant linkages.” The development of remediation‐option operating windows involves: 1) the determination of relationships between site conditions (“critical variables”) and option performance parameters (e.g., contaminant degradation or removal rates) and 2) the identification of upper‐ and lower‐limit values (“operational limits”) for these variables that define the ranges of site conditions over which option performance is likely to be sufficient (the “operating window”) and insufficient (the “operating wall”) for managing risk. Some research has used case study data to determine relationships between critical variables and subsurface natural attenuation (NA) process rates. Despite the various challenges associated with the approach, these studies suggest that available case study data can be used to develop operating windows for monitored natural attenuation (MNA) and, indeed, other remediation options. It is envisaged that the development of remediation‐option operating windows will encourage the application of more innovative remediation options as opposed to excavation and disposal to landfill and/or on‐site containment, which remain the most commonly employed options in many countries. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

MODELING THE IMPACTS OF WATER LEVEL CHANGES ON A GREAT LAKES COMMUNITY1

ABSTRACT: Recent research that couples climate change scenarios based on general circulation models (GCM) with Great Lakes hydrologic models has indicated that average water levels are projected to decline in the future. This paper outlines a methodology to assess the potential impact of declining water levels on Great Lakes waterfront communities, using the Lake Huron shoreline at Goderich, Ontario, as an example. The methodology utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) to combine topographic and bathymetric datasets. A digital elevation surface is used to model projected shoreline change for 2050 using water level scenarios. An arbitrary scenario, based on a 1 m decline from February 2001 lake levels, is also modeled. By creating a series of shoreline scenarios, a range of impact and cost scenarios are generated for the Goderich Harbor and adjacent marinas. Additional harbor and marina dredging could cost as much as CDN $7.6 million. Lake freighters may experience a 30 percent loss in vessel capacity. The methodology is used to provide initial estimates of the potential impacts of climate change that can be readily updated as more robust climate change scenarios become available and is adaptable for use in other Great Lakes coastal communities.     

Detecting the signal of atmospheric N deposition in recent national-scale vegetation change across Britain

Model estimates of NO_y and NH_x deposition across Britain for 1996 (5 km square resolution) were applied as explanatory variables to account for national-scale, fine-grained changes in plant species composition between 1990 and 1998. Plant species data were recorded from up to 27 fixed plots located within a stratified random sample of 596 1 km². The response variable was a cover-weighted Ellenberg fertility score for each plot. Analyses were carried out separately for woodlands, semi-natural grasslands and heaths/bogs. Most of the variation in the botanical response variable occurred between plots within squares and so could not be explained by the model deposition data. NH_x deposition estimates accounted for significant, but small components of between 1 km² variation in the change in Ellenberg score in grasslands (5.6%) and heath/bogs (9.8%) but not woodlands. NO_y deposition estimates were not significantly associated with vegetation change. Linear models provided the best fit and the slope of the relationship was lower for heath/bogs than grasslands. Further signal attribution at sub-kilometre square scales requires the development of fine-grained models of N deposition that can be generalised across regional sampling domains.     

Who changes consumption following residential energy evaluations? local programs need all income groups to achieve kyoto targets

The government of Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol on 17 December 2002, but over 100 Canadian municipalities had joined the International Council for Local Environmental Intitatives' (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign up to a decade earlier. A low-cost home energy rating system (HERS) evaluation and individualized energy plan was provided to 420 households in Kitchener, Ontario, from September 2000 to August 2001. To assess the impact of the energy efficiency program, natural gas consumption in the year prior to the evaluation was compared with that in the year following. Overall, a 5% reduction was achieved, but individual responses varied widely. Situational and psychological factors were evaluated for three groups of households: the conservers, the consumers and the steady middle group. Conservers (30% of households) had higher initial energy consumption levels and achieved two-thirds of the potential savings identified by the energy evaluation. Consumers (12% of households) had higher ownership rates of high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters and demonstrated the rebound effect of increased demand for energy services following the evaluation. Low-income groups were the most likely to behave as conservers (42%) while high-income groups were the least likely to be conservers (13%) and the most likely to be consumers. Local programs need to be inclusive of all income groups to increase participation and implementation rates by systematically reducing barriers (financial, knowledge, trust) or increasing incentives (financial, regulatory or social) if the desired goal (e.g. Kyoto target) is to be achieved.