Mucolipidosis IV: Prenatal diagnosis by electron microscopy

Mucolipidosis IV (ML 1V) is a lysosomal storage disease presenting in infancy with cloudy cornea and psychomotor retardation. Our experience with 12 pregnancies at risk for ML IV, monitored by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of cultured amniotic fluid cells, is presented. The prenatal diagnoses were confirmed in the 3 affected and the 8 un- affected pregnancies. In the one pregnancy where no definite diagnosis was reached the pregnancy was terminated. TEM examination of fetal tissues from this pregnancy showed no abnormal lysosomal storage bodies and a review of the cultured amniotic fluid cell sections revealed that the diagnosis of a normal fetus could have been made.     

大气细颗粒物的透射电子显微镜研究

利用透射电子显微镜(TEM)对北京市区和背景点的细颗粒物(PM2.5)的形貌特征和集聚状态进行分析,结合颗粒物能谱(EDX)和选区电子衍射(SAED)特征,将北京市大气细颗粒物分为烟尘集合体、飞灰、矿物颗粒、硫酸盐和有机颗粒等5种单颗粒类型,并讨论了它们的来源.TEM分析表明,北京市区和背景点大气细颗粒物中不同类型的单颗粒所占比例不同,表明市区和背景点细颗粒物的污染物源有所不同.研究还表明,不同类型的细颗粒之间常常发生聚集.     

冰碛物电子自旋共振信号测量的基本流程

电子自旋共振（ESR）法是一种用于直接测量和研究含有未成对电子的顺磁性物质的分析方法。ESR测年是应用这种分析方法对沉积物最后一次埋藏以来的年代进行测定。相比于其他方法,它具有测年范围广,测试的样品种类多,样品可以重复测量,测量周期短等优势。20世纪80年代以来我国开始进行沉积物ESR测年与研究,但是在冰碛物ESR测年的制样和测量过程中存在一些问题。本文介绍冰碛物ESR测年的过程：样品野外采集时剖面的选取及其注意事项;详细描述提纯冰碛物中石英颗粒的前处理过程;石英颗粒经过人工辐照后在顺磁波谱仪上测试ESR信号并拟合古剂量过程中的具体方法和需要注意的问题。从实验中得到,用0.063 —0.125 mm粒径的组分提纯石英砂比较困难,前处理过程中试剂和时间消耗量大,因此建议ESR测年时：在样品充足的情况下选用细颗粒组分（0.063—0.125 mm）,样品不充足的情况下选用中颗粒部分（0.125—0.25 mm）。待测样品中存在其他矿物会对石英的ESR信号有影响,因此在提纯石英过程中用重液分选提高石英纯度并可以增强测量的ESR信号的稳定性。经过氢氟酸刻蚀后的样品,石英的纯度要达到95%—99%或以上。对于冰碛物ESR测年过程中ESR信号的选择需要参照样品自身的特点,综合考虑多次尝试才能确定用常温Ge心信号还是低温的Al心、Ti心作为样品中石英的ESR测年信号。通过规范的采样、制样和ESR信号测量流程,使样品的定年能够被不同的人重复,并能够进行不同区域之间的对比。     

Invasive diagnostic procedures in twin pregnancies

The rising rate of multiple pregnancies and its association with advanced maternal age has expanded the need for prenatal diagnosis in twins and higher order gestations. The complexity of the invasive diagnostic procedures and the risk of loss of an unaffected twin raise significant clinical, technical and ethical issues. In this review we discuss the specific issues of early scanning, counseling and determination of chorionicity prior to invasive procedures in twins. We present the available data describing the risk associated with these procedures in twins and compare data of fetal loss rate from different studies. We also discuss the issues of fetal blood sampling and late karyotyping in twin pregnancies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physicochemical characterization of forest and sugarcane leaf combustion's particulate matters using electron microscopy, EDS, XRD and TGA

Physical characteristics and quantitative elemental composition of PM and residual ash produced from sugarcane leaves (SCL) combustion were investigated using TEM-EDS compared with forest leaves (FRL). SEM-EDS was used to analyze the microstructure and chemical composition of biomass raw leaves and PM. XRD analysis was also performed to investigate the characterization of the crystalline nanostructure, structure of PM, and residual ash compared to the TEM image processing method. The oxidation kinetics of biomass raw materials, PM, and residual ash were investigated by TGA. The morphology of fine and ultrafine agglomerate structure of SCL soot and residual ash are not significantly different from the FRL soot and residual ash. The average diameter sizes of single primary nanoparticles of SCL and FRL soot are approximately 37 nm and 35 nm, while the sizes of residual ash are about 18 nm and 22 nm, respectively. The single primary nanoparticles of soot are mainly composed of curve line crystallites of carbon fringes, while residual ash is composed of straight-line lattice fringes. The average fringe lengths of SCL and FRL soot are about 1.25 nm and 1.04 nm from the outer shell and 0.89 nm and 0.74 nm from the inner core. The interlayer spacing of curve line carbon fringes of SCL and FRL soot is approximately 0.359 nm and 0.362 nm by the TEM image analysis and it was matched with XRD analysis. The biomass PMs are mainly composed of soot, Si, Ca, and K compounds: SiO₂, CaCO₃, and KCl.     

Trophoblast-like cells sorted from peripheral maternal blood using flow cytometry: A multiparametric study involving transmission electron microscopy and fetal dna amplification

Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against trophoblast (GB17, GB21, and GB25) and flow cytometry were used to sort trophoblast-like cells (TLCs) from peripheral blood of pregnant women. Sorted TLCs were processed for electron microscopy and fetal DNA amplification of the Y-specific sequences from mothers carrying male fetuses. At the ultra-structural level, most of the nucleated cells had the morphology of leucocytes, suggesting maternal contaminants, and we did not find the characteristic features of the free inter-villous trophoblast cells. Nevertheless, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed an amplification of Y-specific sequences in two out of three samples of sorted TLCs. These results suggest that besides the maternal leucocytes, sufficient trophoblast nucleated fetal cells can be obtained using cell enrichment by sorting. This sensitive method holds promise for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal sex and if sufficient Y(positive) nuclei are found, for the diagnosis of selected numerical chromosome abnormalities.     

运动模糊图像恢复技术在恒星导航图像预处理过程中的应用

在恒星导航的过程中,无论是利用可见光CCD阵列成像还是利用新兴的近红外探测望远镜进行对星空的拍摄,由于成像面的一个持续曝光时间,在这个过程中飞行器的快速运动都会造成星空图像拍摄的运动拖影模糊,这就给恒星导航系统后续的图像识别和导航定位造成过大误差,使定位精度受到严重影响。为解决这个问题,以星敏感器拍摄到的图像为依据,利用维纳滤波和radon变换对运动模糊图像进行了模糊程度判断和模糊修正的研究,达到了较好的效果,为后续导航工作奠定了较好的基础。     

Cover Image

Over recent years, technical developments resulting in the feasibility of fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) have provided a new diagnostic tool for studying the human fetal heart and circulation. During the same period, we have witnessed the arrival of several minimally invasive fetal cardiac interventions (FCI) as a possible form of treatment in selected congenital heart diseases (CHDs). The role of fetal CMR in the planning and monitoring of FCI is not yet clear. Indeed, high-quality fetal CMR is not available or routinely offered at most centers caring for patients with prenatally detected CHD. However, in theory, fetal CMR could have much to offer in the setting of FCI by providing complementary anatomic and physiologic information relating to the specific intervention under consideration. Similarly, fetal CMR may be useful as an alternative imaging modality when ultrasound is hampered by technical limitations, for example, in the setting of oligohydramnios and in late gestation. In this review, we summarize current experience of the use of fetal CMR in the diagnosis and monitoring of fetuses with cardiopathies in the setting of a range of invasive in utero cardiac and vascular interventions and medical treatments and speculate about future directions for this versatile imaging medium.