Prenatal diagnosis of morquio's disease type a (n-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulphate sulphatase deficiency)

Prenatal monitoring of three pregnancies at risk of Morquio's disease type A by determination of N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulphate sulphatase activity in cultured amniotic cells is reported. In one pregnancy prenatal diagnosis of one affected fetus was made. Enzyme determinations in tissues of the aborted fetus confirmed the prenatal diagnosis.     

The use of electrolyte redox potential to monitor the Ce(IV)/Ce(III) couple

Mathematical modelling of the oxidation reduction redox potential (ORP) of an electrolyte has been carried out for a batch system comprising an electrochemical reactor and an electrolyte circuit containing a redox couple. The ORP can be useful to monitor the environmental impact of chemical species in solution that represent a risk to the environment. Considerations of four fundamental equations, namely, the Nernst equation, a mass balance, Faraday's laws of electrolysis and a first order kinetic equation, leads to an expression for the electrolyte redox potential as a function of the batch time, the electrical charge and the redox concentration. Such an expression facilitates graphical plots which can be used to estimate kinetic parameters, current efficiency and the relative redox concentration. The Ce(IV)/Ce(III) system has been chosen as a model reaction for electrolyte redox potential measurement in a batch recycle system consisting of a pumped flow through a divided FM01-LC parallel-plate electrochemical reactor (64cm(2) projected electrode area) and a well mixed tank (3600cm(3)). The differences between experimental and model predictions are discussed.     

Interactive effects of cadmium and hypoxia on metabolic responses and bacterial loads of eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica Gmelin

Pollution by toxic metals including cadmium (Cd) and hypoxia are important stressors in estuaries and coastal waters which may interactively affect sessile benthic organisms, such as oysters. We studied metabolic responses to prolonged hypoxic acclimation (2 weeks at 5% O₂) in control and Cd-exposed (30 d at 50 μg L⁻¹ Cd) oysters Crassostrea virginica, and analyzed the effects of these stressors on abundance of Vibrio spp. in oysters. Hypoxia-acclimated oysters retained normal standard metabolic rates (SMR) at 5% O₂, in contrast to a decline of SMR observed during acute hypoxia. However, oysters spent more time actively ventilating in hypoxia than normoxia resulting in enhanced Cd uptake and 2.7-fold higher tissue Cd burdens in hypoxia. Cd exposure led to a significant decrease in tissue glycogen stores, increase in free glucose levels and elevated activity of glycolytic enzymes (hexokinase and aldolase) indicating a greater dependence on carbohydrate catabolism. A compensatory increase in activities of two key mitochondrial enzymes (citrate synthase and cytochrome c oxidase) was found during prolonged hypoxia in control oysters but suppressed in Cd-exposed ones. Cd exposure also resulted in a significant increase in abundance of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus levels during normoxia and hypoxia, respectively. Overall, Cd- and hypoxia-induced changes in metabolic profile, Cd accumulation and bacterial flora of oysters indicate that these stressors can synergistically impact energy homeostasis, performance and survival of oysters in polluted estuaries and have significant consequences for transfer of Cd and bacterial pathogens to the higher levels of the food chain.     

The formation of dithionate during the iron(III)-catalysed autoxidation of sulfur(IV)-oxides

The iron(III)-catalyzed autoxidation of sulfur(IV)-oxides results in the formation of two different oxidation products of sulfur(IV): dithionate, S₂O₆²⁻, and sulfate, SO₄²⁻. The yield of these reaction products depends on the experimental conditions. Under the studied conditions ([Fe(III)] : [SIV)] = 1:10, pH = 2–4) dithionate is the minor reaction product. The formation of dithionate is influenced by the initial pH but not by the initial O₂ concentration. The presence of CO²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Ni²⁺ have no influence on the yield of dithionate, whereas in the presence of Cr³⁺ less and, in the presence of Cu²⁺, no dithionate is formed.     

Oxidation of antimony (III) in soil by manganese (IV) oxide using X-ray absorption fine structure

The oxidation of antimony (III) in soils was studied using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectra. An andosol soil sample and artificial soil samples (SiO₂ blended with iron (III) hydroxide and manganese (IV) oxide) were used herein. After adding antimony (III) oxide to all soil samples, the oxidation process was observed by recording the XAFS spectra of Sb K-edge, Fe K-edge, and Mn K-edge. The results indicated that manganese (IV) oxide played an important role in the oxidation of Sb(III); however iron (III) hydroxide was not directly related to the reaction. During a 2-hr continuous Sb K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurement with an interval of 1 min of one of the artificial soil samples (SiO₂ + MnO₂ + Sb₂O₃), a pseudo-first-order reaction was determined with an average estimated rate of 0.52 ± 0.04 hr^? 1. Compared to the lower oxidation rate of andosol, it is suggested that because of the low concentration of Mn(IV) in natural soils, the oxidation process of Sb(III) might be relatively slow and require more time to convert Sb(III) to Sb(V).     

佛山市中心城区机动车限行对污染物削减效果的分析

为改善2010年亚运会期间空气质量,佛山市对中心城区内部分道路进行试限行.采用欧洲COPERT模式,计算出不同排放标准、不同车速、不同车型下的机动车排放因子,通过交通流调查,获取限行前后典型道路交通流运行状态,并以此为依据评估限行后区内机动车污染减排效果.结果表明,限行期间,主要路段道路交通流量平均下降32.5%,车型比例变化较大,摩托车流量下降显著.各种污染物降幅比例并不一致.按照此流量降幅可以预计,如在区内全面展开机动车限行,单位路段污染物(CO、NOx、VOC、PM)年排放量分别下降48.1%、39.2%、43.6%、49.2%.     

元江流域干热河谷草地植物群落结构特征与相似性分析

选择元江干热河谷典型草地群落,采用标准样地调查法,对流域上、中、下游干热河谷草地植物群落的分布特征、群落结构、种群习性等特征开展研究,结果表明：（1）元江流域上游祥云和中下游红河干热河谷草地群落中出现的植物种类最多,元江流域干热河谷草地植物群落是以灌木为主、多年生草本为辅的结构类型。（2）元江流域干热河谷草地群落中,扭黄茅（Heteropogon contortus）为优势种群,次优种群随流域环境的改变而不同。（3）元江流域干热河谷草地植物群落之间的相似性系数均在0.00～0.25之间,处于极不相似水平,种群的扩散受流域河谷通道作用影响较小。（4）种群的扩散和定居受海拔高度的影响,随着海拔高度的变化,植物群落的组成也发生变化,形成不同的群落结构。     

车用柴油机燃用棕榈生物柴油的颗粒物排放特性研究

在满足国Ⅳ排放法规的车用柴油机上研究了燃用不同掺混体积比例的棕榈油生物柴油的颗粒物排放特性.试验中棕榈油生物柴油的掺混比例分别为0%、10%、20%、50%和100%,采用DMS500型快速颗粒光谱仪测试分析了发动机在外特性和负荷特性时的颗粒物数量浓度、质量浓度及粒径分布.研究结果表明:随生物柴油掺混比例的增加,颗粒物质量浓度降低.燃用生物柴油后颗粒物的数量浓度在大负荷明显降低,中小负荷呈升高趋势.生物柴油的排气颗粒物呈核态和凝聚态的双峰分布特征,核态数量浓度所占比例高于柴油,凝聚态的质量浓度所占比例略低于柴油.生物柴油颗粒物的几何平均直径小于柴油.     

Fe~(3+)及Ce~(3+)掺杂对TiO_2纳米粒子性能的影响

以溶胶-凝胶法制备纯的和分别掺杂Fe3+、Ce3+的TiO2纳米粒子,以橙黄IV的光催化氧化评价纳米粒子的紫外光与可见光活性,利用TG-DSC、XRD、BET及UV-Vis吸收光谱考察掺杂对TiO2的相变、粒径、比表面积及光吸收性能的影响,在归一化条件下探讨Fe3+及Ce3+掺杂对TiO2活性和表面性质产生影响的机制。结果表明:Fe3+及Ce3+的最佳掺杂量分别为0.2%和0.04%;Ce3+抑制TiO2由锐钛矿向金红石转变以及改善TiO2高温组织稳定性的能力均明显大于Fe3+;Fe3+和Ce3+掺杂均能提高TiO2的紫外光活性并扩展TiO2的光响应范围,但光生电子与空穴复合以及光腐蚀使它们对TiO2可见光活性的提高并不显著。Fe3+和Ce3+的半径及其相应氧化物的性质决定了两者对TiO2性能的不同影响。