False-negative prenatal exclusion of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome by measurement of fetal platelet count and size

The study of the fetal platelet count and size can, according to the literature, be used for the prenatal diagnosis of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS). So far, no affected fetuses have been identified by this method. All pregnancies in which this method had been applied to resulted, as correctly predicted, in the birth of normal children. Here we report on a familial case of WAS where the haematological parameters failed to reveal the affected second child. Hence we assume that the platelet count and size of platelets remain normal in fetuses with WAS to the gestational age of 22 weeks and cannot be used for prenatal diagnosis.     

Effects of herbicide and insecticide interaction on soil entomofauna under maize crop

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the herbicide mixture nicosulfuron + atrazine, with or without the insecticide chlorpyrifos, onto soil entomofauna under maize crop. The treatments, applied 25 days after maize emergence, were represented by a weeded control without insecticide and herbicide, a weeded control with chlorpyrifos, and mixtures of nicosulfuron + atrazine, with or without chlorpyrifos. Arthropods populations, on the soil surface, as well as inside the soil under maize, were principally represented by mites (Arachnida: Acari), decomposer collembolans (Hexapoda:Parainsecta:Collembola) and predator ants (Hymenoptera:Formicidae). The nicosulfuron + atrazine mixture with chlorpyrifos and the isolated chlorpyrifos reduced the population dynamics of all insect groups on the soil surface compared to the weeded control. In the soil, mite and ant populations were reduced after application of the herbicide mixture with chlorpyrifos and of the isolated chlorpyrifos.     

An evaluation of olive-tree bark for the biological monitoring of airborne trace-elements at ground level

There is a need to start looking into the possibility of tree bark for biomonitoring. Bark from olive trees (Olea europaea Linn.) has been collected over an area in northwestern Portugal, featuring a blend of rural lands, industrial towns and coastal environments. Samples were analysed through INAA and PIXE for their elemental contents. Results from both techniques were reconciled and then compared with an extensive database on 46 trace elements in Parmelia spp. thalli from the same sites and mostly from the very bark substrates. Distribution-free, nonparametric statistics show that, despite signal magnitude, variation patterns of bark and lichen concentrations follow one another in a most significant way. Selected elements in bark also correlate to a superior extent. As far as this investigation goes, there is no reason whatsoever for discarding bark as an alternative to lower epiphytes.     

Kinetic analysis of constructed systems for the recovery of contaminated areas by acid mine drainage

INTRODUCTION: Flowing of the acid mine drainage may contaminate the adjacent water bodies causing substantial changes in the aquatic ecosystem. This aspect is the most relevant problem in the southern of Santa Catarina once the contaminated areas are inserted in the watershed of the Araranguá, Urussanga, and Tubar?o rivers, increasing the need for recovery studies. These areas are between Criciúma, I?ara, Urussanga, Siderópolis, Lauro Müller, Orleans, and Alfredo Wagner towns where a conservation unit exist called the Environmental Preservation Area of Baleia Franca. Aiming to compare the kinetics of the ash derived from burning coal and to neutralize acid mine drainage, different neutralizer, limestone, fly, and bottom ash, was mounted on a pilot scale experiment. DISCUSSION: The transport parameters showed the same order of infiltration and dispersion: fly ash < bottom ash < limestone. The order of measured alkalinity was: limestone < fly ash < bottom ash, with pH values of 9.34, 12.07, and 12.25, respectively. The limestone kinetics of acidic drainage neutralization was first order with reaction rate constant k?=?0.0963 min(-1), bottom ash was 3/4 with k?=?0.0723 mol(1/4) L(-1/4) min(-1), and the fly ash had higher order kinetics, 4/3, with reaction rate constant k?=?27.122 L(1/3) mol(-1/3) min(-1). However, by mathematical modeling, it was found that due to a combination of transport and kinetics, only limestone treatment reached a pH above 6 within 5 years, corresponding to the ideal as planned.     

Persistence of airline accidents

This paper expands on air travel accident research by examining the relationship between air travel accidents and airline traffic or volume in the period from 1927–2006. The theoretical model is based on a representative airline company that aims to maximise its profits, and it utilises a fractional integration approach in order to determine whether there is a persistent pattern over time with respect to air accidents and air traffic. Furthermore, the paper analyses how airline accidents are related to traffic using a fractional cointegration approach. It finds that airline accidents are persistent and that a (non‐stationary) fractional cointegration relationship exists between total airline accidents and airline passengers, airline miles and airline revenues, with shocks that affect the long‐run equilibrium disappearing in the very long term. Moreover, this relation is negative, which might be due to the fact that air travel is becoming safer and there is greater competition in the airline industry. Policy implications are derived for countering accident events, based on competition and regulation.     

Identification of best available techniques in the seafood industry: a case study

A Best Available Techniques (BAT) analysis of a mussel canning processing facility in northwest Spain was undertaken to investigate potential cleaner production and efficiency improvements. Potential techniques were identified from the literature and from our experience in the seafood sector. BATs were then assessed for possible implementation in a mussel canning facility. This work describes, in considerable detail, the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques discussed.     

USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS TO ESTIMATE MISSING RAINFALL DATA1

ABSTRACT: Missing rainfall data from a time series or a spatial field of observations can present a serious obstacle to data analysis, modeling studies and operational forecasting in hydrology. Numerous schemes for replacing missing data have been proposed, ranging from simple weighted averages of data points that are nearby in time and space to complex statistically-based interpolation methods and function fitting schemes. This paper presents a technique for replacing missing spatial data using a backpropagation neural network applied to concurrent data from nearby gauges. Tests performed on a sample of gauges in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States show that this technique produces results that compare favorably to simple techniques such as arithmetic and distance-weighted averages of the values from nearby gauges, and also to linear optimization methods such as regression.     

Environmental risk assessment in five rivers of Parana River basin,Southern Brazil,through biomarkers in Astyanax spp.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the current study, water quality of five river sites in Parana River basin (Brazil), utilized for public water supply, was assessed through a set...     

Voltammetric analysis of metallothioneins and copper (II) in fish for water biomonitoring studies

An major research area in environmental chemistry is the development of methods for the analysis of biomarkers. Metallothioneins are used as biomarkers in studies of heavy metals exposure in water, because metallothioneins are synthesized and accumulated when organisms are exposed to toxic concentrations of pollutants. In this work, simple and sensitive voltammetric methods were developed for metallothionein and copper (II) determinations in fish liver Lepomis gibbosus. Both analytical methodologies were optimized and applied to samples extracted from individuals previously submitted to sub-lethal toxicological trials with copper sulphate (CuSO₄) and cadmium chloride (CdCl₂). The obtained results showed that both methods are very precise, sensitive, and involve simple sample preparation processes. Moreover, metallothioneins showed better correlation with the toxic exposure than Cu²⁺. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that hepatic metallothioneins and Cu²⁺ contents are voltammetrically determined in order to be compared in their function as heavy metal biological indicators.