Prenatal diagnosis of congenital epulis by three-dimensional ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging

Congenital epulis is a benign intraoral tumor that has rarely been diagnosed prenatally. We report a fetus with congenital epulis diagnosed by three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound and fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 35 weeks' gestation. We show an image of congenital epulis using a new ultrasound technique, the 3-D multislice view, which shows images similar to CT or MRI. This is a short case report of congenital epulis diagnosed prenatally by 3-D ultrasound using multislice view and MRI. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using the Triad Approach to expedite the acquisition of an Abbott district school site

The Triad Approach was field‐tested to determine if characterization objectives could be met for a brownfields property that had been identified as a future elementary school site. The new school is in response to a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling (the Abbott decision) that directed the state of New Jersey to fund school construction in poorer districts to expand physical facilities to relieve overcrowding. The Triad Approach is promoted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a process that has the potential to improve the timeliness and efficiency of site characterization, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recently issued a policy statement supporting its potential. Aggressive school construction deadlines are contingent on property acquisitions that are relatively faster than the traditional investigatory process. In addition, given the future sensitive population, the investigations must be thorough. This case study is among the first studies to document the use of the Triad Approach for a future school site. The Triad Approach was used to define site conditions for six areas of concern in a two‐month time frame (from the start of the planning process to completed investigation). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sulfur deposition simulations over China, Japan, and Korea: a model intercomparison study for abating sulfur emission

In response to increasing trends in sulfur deposition in Northeast Asia, three countries in the region (China, Japan, and Korea) agreed to devise abatement strategies. The concepts of critical loads and source?Creceptor (S?CR) relationships provide guidance for formulating such strategies. Based on the Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutants in Northeast Asia (LTP) project, this study analyzes sulfur deposition data in order to optimize acidic loads over the three countries. The three groups involved in this study carried out a full year (2002) of sulfur deposition modeling over the geographic region spanning the three countries, using three air quality models: MM5-CMAQ, MM5-RAQM, and RAMS-CADM, employed by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean modeling groups, respectively. Each model employed its own meteorological numerical model and model parameters. Only the emission rates for SO₂ and NO_x obtained from the LTP project were the common parameter used in the three models. Three models revealed some bias from dry to wet deposition, particularly the latter because of the bias in annual precipitation. This finding points to the need for further sensitivity tests of the wet removal rates in association with underlying cloud?Cprecipitation physics and parameterizations. Despite this bias, the annual total (dry plus wet) sulfur deposition predicted by the models were surprisingly very similar. The ensemble average annual total deposition was 7,203.6?±?370 kt S with a minimal mean fractional error (MFE) of 8.95?±?5.24?% and a pattern correlation (PC) of 0.89?C0.93 between the models. This exercise revealed that despite rather poor error scores in comparison with observations, these consistent total deposition values across the three models, based on LTP group's input data assumptions, suggest a plausible S?CR relationship that can be applied to the next task of designing cost-effective emission abatement strategies.     

石英晶体微天平在内分泌干扰物检测中的应用

内分泌干扰物的检测是当今世界性的热点问题,而利用石英晶体微天平来测定内分泌干扰物有着巨大的发展空间.本文对石英晶体微天平的原理及应用做了简单的概括,并对利用石英晶体微天平检测农药残留及化学战剂类内分泌干扰物的进展情况进行了综述.     

Longevity of organic layers of vertical flow ponds for sulfate reduction in treating mine drainages in South Korea

This study was carried out to evaluate longevity of available organic materials used for sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) activity in vertical flow ponds (VFPs) to treat mine drainage in South Korea. Spent mushroom compost samples (SMC) were tested as substrates in VFPs and analyzed for total organic carbon in VFPs, and were collected to analyze total organic carbon (TOC), T-N, T-P, K, metals and residual cellulose to check the longevity assessment. Chemical analysis revealed that the average contents of Fe, Al and Mn in SMC of VFPs were 19,907, 32,137 and 434 mg/kg, respectively. The contents of Fe and Al in SMC of VFPs were much higher than those of the unused SMC (control), but to the contrary, those of Mn showed a reversed tendency. Average TOC content of the controls was 64.19% but in one of the VFP substrates was as low as 15.92%. This might be resulted from SRB consumed the available organic carbon in SMC as VFPs system aged. Contents of T-N in VFPs tended to decrease as VFPs aged. The residual cellulose ranged from 3.88 to 6.72% (g/g). There existed a negative relationship between residual cellulose contents and ages of VFPs. Assuming that SMC in all VFPs had similar compositions when the VFPs were initially established, trend analysis predicted that the amount of carbon source for SRB might be available for 12-15 years further, depending on VFPs.     

Assessment of Young Dong tributary and Imgok Creek impacted by Young Dong coal mine, South Korea

An initial reclamation of the Young Dong coal mine site, located in northeastern South Korea, was completed in 1995. Despite the filling of the adit with limestone, acid rock drainage (ARD) enters Young Dong tributary and is then discharged to Imgok Creek. This ARD carries an average of 500 mg CaCO(3)/l of mineral acidity, primarily as Fe(II) and Al. Before spring runoff, the flow of Imgok Creek is 3.3-4 times greater than that of the tributary and has an alkalinity of 100 mg CaCO(3)/l, which is sufficient to eliminate the mineral acidity and raise the pH to about 6.5. From April through September 2008, there were at least two periods of high surface flow that affects the flow of ARD from the adit. Flow of ARD reaches 2.8 m(3)/min during spring runoff. This raised the concentrations of Fe and Al in the confluence with Imgok Creek. However, by 2 km downstream the pH of the Imgok Creek is 6.5 and only dissolved Fe is above the Korean drinking water criteria (0.30 mg/l). This suggests only a minor impact of Young Dong Creek water on Imgok Creek. Acid digestion of the sediments in Imgok Creek and Young Dong Tributary reveals considerable abundances of heavy metals, which could have a long-term impact on water quality. However, several water-based leaching tests, which better simulate the bioavailable metals pool, released only Al, Fe, Mn, and Zn at concentrations exceeding the criteria for drinking water or aquatic life.     

芘高效降解菌的分离鉴定及其降解特性研究

采用富集培养的方法从多环芳烃污染的土壤中分离到3株能高效降解四环芳烃芘的细菌J1、J2、J3,经形态观察、生理生化和16SrDNA鉴定,J1属于铜绿假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas aeruginosa),J2属于黄杆菌属(Flavobacterium mizutaii),J3属于短短芽孢杆菌属(Brevibacillus parabrevis).3株细菌均能以芘作为碳源生长,在含芘50、100、200、500、1 000 mg/L的无机盐液体培养基中培养7 d后细菌总数达到最高,在含芘200 mg.L-1的无机盐液体培养基中7d的降解效率分别达到53.04%、65.03%、51.02%.3株细菌对培养基具有较广泛的pH适应范围,在芘浓度200 mg/L,pH为4～9的液体条件下,均可生长,且对芘有很好的降解.虽然可以采用芘的二氯甲烷溶液或者N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)溶液向培养液中添加芘,但是以N,N-二甲基甲酰胺添加的方式芘在水溶液中起到很好的分散作用,更有利于3株细菌对芘的降解.     

Nonylphenol in bivalves and sediments in the northeast coast of China

To understand nonylphenol (NP) contamination in the northeast coastal environment in China, NP was determined in 19 sediment and 20 bivalve samples collected during November 2005. NP was identified in all sediment samples in the range of 8.8 to 1.0 × 10 3 ng/g dw (dry weight), with an average of 0.12 × 10 3 ng/g dw. Most of the bivalve samples (oysters and mussels) contained detectable amounts of NP that ranged from ND (not detected) to 7.6 × 10 3 ng/g dw, with an average value of 0.79 × 10 3 ng/g dw. These results indicated that NP is ubiquitous in sediments and bivalves from the northeast coast of China, and are even present in bivalves sold as seafood. Serious contamination with NP was recorded off the coast of Bohai Strait and in semi-enclosed coastal environment such as Jiaozhou Bay and Liaodong Bay. Possible environmental and human health implications were understood in this study.     

Development of hybrid processes for the removal of volatile organic compounds,plasticizer, and pharmaceutically active compound using sewage sludge,waste scrap tires,and wood chips as sorbents and microbial immobilization matrices

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study evaluated the reutilization of waste materials (scrap tires, sewage sludge, and wood chips) to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs)...     

Preparation of a highly sensitive enzyme electrode using gold nanoparticles for measurement of pesticides at the ppt level

A highly sensitive enzyme electrode was prepared based on gold nanoparticles for measurement of pesticides. Gold nanoparticles of 25-30 nm were synthesized on a glassy carbon electrode by double-pulse technique while the coverage was controlled by applied potential and time. The gold nanoparticles were modified to form a self-assembled monolayer, followed by covalent binding of tyrosinase. The TYR-AuNP-GC electrode was compared with bare GC, AuNP-GC, and modified AuNP-GC and TYR-Au (plate type) electrodes in terms of cyclic voltammetry. The voltammograms well represent the sensitivity of enzymatic oxidation of catechol, substrates for the enzyme activity. The prepared electrode integrated into a continuous flow system and was tested to detect pesticides, such as 2,4-D, atrazine, and ziram. Under the optimized conditions of the flow system, the electrode performed reasonably according to the inhibition mechanism in the concentration range of 0.001-0.5 ng mL(-1). The enhanced performance was attributed to the favored microenvironment for the enzyme activity provided by SAM on gold nanoparticles.