Sonographic features of ileal duplication cyst at 12 weeks

Enteric duplication cyst is a congenital abnormality that is believed to arise from abnormal recanalization of the bowel during embryogenesis. Previous reports suggest that the condition may be suspected prenatally by sonographic demonstration of an intra-abdominal cystic mass in the second and third trimesters. We present the sonographic features of a fetus with ileal duplication cyst at 12 weeks of gestation, which show that the condition may present in the first trimester of pregnancy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of alkaline and bioorganic amendments on cadmium,lead, zinc,and nutrient accumulation in brown rice and grain yield in acidic paddy fields contaminated with a mixture of heavy metals

Paddy soils and rice (Oryza sativa L.) contaminated by mixed heavy metals have given rise to great concern. Field experiments were conducted over two cultivation seasons to study the effects of steel slag (SS), fly ash (FA), limestone (LS), bioorganic fertilizer (BF), and the combination of SS and BF (SSBF) on rice grain yield, Cd, Pb, and Zn and nutrient accumulation in brown rice, bioavailability of Cd, Pb, and Zn in soil as well as soil properties (pH and catalase), at two acidic paddy fields contaminated with mixed heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Zn). Compared to the controls, SS, LS, and SSBF at both low and high additions significantly elevated soil pH over both cultivation seasons. The high treatments of SS and SSBF markedly increased grain yields, the accumulation of P and Ca in brown rice and soil catalase activities in the first cultivation season. The most striking result was from SS application (4.0 t ha^?1) that consistently and significantly reduced the soil bioavailability of Cd, Pb, and Zn by 38.5–91.2 % and the concentrations of Cd and Pb in brown rice by 20.9–50.9 % in the two soils over both cultivation seasons. LS addition (4.0 t ha^?1) also markedly reduced the bioavailable Cd, Pb, and Zn in soil and the Cd concentrations in brown rice. BF remobilized soil Cd and Pb leading to more accumulation of these metals in brown rice. The results showed that steel slag was most effective in the remediation of acidic paddy soils contaminated with mixed heavy metals.     

Fetus in fetu—from prenatal ultrasound and MRI diagnosis to postnatal confirmation

We report a case of fetus in fetu presented as a complex intra-abdominal heterogeneous cystic lesion during ultrasound examination of the fetus at 25 weeks of gestation. Progressive growth of this mass was noted in the prenatal period. Fetal magnetic resonance imaging provided additional information to aid in the prenatal diagnosis. This allows proper counselling for the parents and helps to plan the postnatal management. Surgical excision was carried out in the early neonatal period and the diagnosis of fetus in fetu was confirmed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

硝化细菌对碘普罗胺的降解及作用机制

将富含硝化细菌的驯化污泥投放于培养基中,以碘普罗胺(IOPr)为处理对象,研究硝化细菌对IOPr的降解促进作用情况。结果表明,富集培养的硝化细菌能有效地促进IOPr的降解,最佳反应条件为:温度30℃,pH 8.0~8.5,初始投加浓度为10 mg/L,同时在硝化细菌存在条件下,IOPr的5 d降解率可达84.1%。IOPr的生物降解属于共代谢机制,向培养基中加入葡萄糖、可溶性淀粉和麦芽糖,可以显著提高IOPr的降解去除率;在投加500 mg/L葡萄糖作为外加碳源时,硝化细菌对IOPr的3 d降解率可达60.3%。     

Enhancing sensitivity of microbial fuel cell sensors for low concentration biodegradable organic matter detection: Regulation of substrate concentration, anode area and external resistance

The relatively low sensitivity is an important reason for restricting the microbial fuel cell (MFC) sensors’ application in low concentration biodegradable organic matter (BOM) detection. The startup parameters, including substrate concentration, anode area and external resistance, were regulated to enhance the sensitivity of MFC sensors. The results demonstrated that both the substrate concentration and anode area were positively correlated with the sensitivity of MFC sensors, and an external resistance of 210 Ω was found to be optimal in terms of sensitivity of MFC sensors. Optimized MFC sensors had lower detection limit (1 mg/L) and higher sensitivity (Slope value of the linear regression curve was 1.02), which effectively overcome the limitation of low concentration BOM detection. The essential reason is that optimized MFC sensors had higher coulombic efficiency, which was beneficial to improve the sensitivity of MFC sensors. The main impact of the substrate concentration and anode area was to regulate the proportion between electrogens and nonelectrogens, biomass and living cells of the anode biofilm. The external resistance mainly affected the morphology structure and the proportion of living cells of the anode. This study demonstrated an effective way to improve the sensitivity of MFC sensors for low concentration BOM detection.     

Genomic analyses of metal resistance genes in three plant growth promoting bacteria of legume plants in Northwest mine tailings, China

To better understand the diversity of metal resistance genetic determinant from microbes that survived atmetal tailings in northwest of China, a highly elevated level of heavymetal containing region, genomic analyses was conducted using genome sequence of three native metal-resistant plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). It shows that: Mesorhizobium amorphae CCNWGS0123 contains metal transporters from P-type ATPase, CDF (Cation Diffusion Facilitator), HupE/UreJ and CHR (chromate ion transporter) family involved in copper, zinc, nickel as well as chromate resistance and homeostasis. Meanwhile, the putative CopA/CueO system is expected to mediate copper resistance in Sinorhizobium meliloti CCNWSX0020 while ZntA transporter, assisted with putative CzcD, determines zinc tolerance in Agrobacterium tumefaciens CCNWGS0286. The greenhouse experiment provides the consistent evidence of the plant growth promoting effects of these microbes on their hosts by nitrogen fixation and/or indoleacetic acid (IAA) secretion, indicating a potential in-site phytoremediation usage in themining tailing regions of China.     

Seasonality of selected surface water constituents in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida

Seasonality is often the major exogenous effect that must be compensated for or removed to discern trends in water quality. Our objective was to provide a methodological example of trend analysis using water quality data with seasonality. Selected water quality constituents from 1979 to 2004 at three monitoring stations in southern Florida were evaluated for seasonality. The seasonal patterns of flow-weighted and log-transformed concentrations were identified by applying side-by-side boxplots and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < 0.05). Seasonal and annual trends were determined by trend analysis (Seasonal Kendall or Tobit procedure) using the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Estimate TREND (ESTREND) program. Major water quality indicators (specific conductivity, turbidity, color, and chloride), except for turbidity at Station C24S49, exhibited significant seasonal patterns. Almost all nutrient species (NO(2)-N, NH(4)-N, total Kjeldahl N, PO(4)-P, and total P) had an identical seasonal pattern of concentrations significantly greater in the wet than in the dry season. Some water quality constituents were observed to exhibit significant annual or seasonal trends. In some cases, the overall annual trend was insignificant while opposing trends were present in different seasons. By evaluating seasonal trends separately from all data, constituents can be assessed providing a more accurate interpretation of water quality trends.