Prenatal diagnosis,prediction of outcome and in utero therapy of isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) can be associated with genetic or structural anomalies with poor prognosis. In isolated cases, survival is dependent on the degree of lung hypoplasia and liver position. Cases should be referred in utero to tertiary care centers familiar with this condition both for prediction of outcome as well as timed delivery. The best validated prognostic indicator is the lung area to head circumference ratio. Ultrasound is used to measure the lung area of the index case, which is then expressed as a proportion of what is expected normally (observed/expected LHR). When O/E LHR is < 25% survival chances are < 15%. Prenatal intervention, aiming to stimulate lung growth, can be achieved by temporary fetal endoscopic tracheal occlusion (FETO). A balloon is percutaneously inserted into the trachea at 26–28 weeks, and reversal of occlusion is planned at 34 weeks. Growing experience has demonstrated the feasibility and safety of the technique with a survival rate of about 50%. The lung response to, and outcome after FETO, is dependent on pre-existing lung size as well gestational age at birth. Early data show that FETO does not increase morbidity in survivors, when compared to historical controls. Several trials are currently under design. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Economic efficiency and equity in water quality control: Effluent taxes and information requirements

Water quality standards for any river system can be achieved under numerous management programs or assignment patterns for waste treatment responsibility. This study examines three effluent charge (tax) programs along with a management program based on equal percentage treatment. Each program is developed within the general framework of a water quality management model and is designed to minimize the total real resource cost of waste treatment subject to program constraints (information availability) and water quality standards. An assessment of the relative efficiency and equity of these programs is made within a water quality management simulation of the Patuxent River in Maryland.     

Massive and distinctive effects of meadow voles on grassland vegetation

We ask whether vole herbivory in experimental grassland plots is sufficient to create an unpalatable community. In a six-year experiment, meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) reduced plant standing crop between 30% and 72%, well within the range of ungulate effects. Moreover, meadow voles reduced their available forage species by changing the plant community composition: four grass species and a legume upon which they foraged declined sharply in cover and/or number of individuals, five forbs avoided by voles increased, and two forbs neither declined nor increased with either measure. Reductions of diversity occurred when voles first defoliated the plots in 2000 but disappeared as plant species avoided by voles replaced vulnerable plants. Within six years, meadow voles created plant communities dominated by species that they did not eat.     

"It's not that simple": A collaborative comparison of sea ice environments, their uses, observed changes, and adaptations in Barrow, Alaska, USA, and Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada

The Arctic environment, including sea ice, is changing. The impacts of these changes to Inuit and I?upiat ways of life vary from place to place, yet there are common themes as well. The study reported here involved an exchange of hunters, Elders, and others from Barrow, Alaska, USA, and Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada, as members of a larger research team that also included visiting scientists. Although the physical environments of Barrow and Clyde River are strikingly different, the uses of the marine environment by residents, including sea ice, had many common elements. In both locations, too, extensive changes have been observed in recent years, forcing local residents to respond in a variety of ways. Although generally in agreement or complementary to one another, scientific and indigenous knowledge of sea ice often reflect different perspectives and emphases. Making generalizations about impacts and responses is challenging and should therefore be approached with caution. Technology provides some potential assistance in adapting to changing sea ice, but by itself, it is insufficient and can sometimes have undesirable consequences. Reliable knowledge that can be applied under changing conditions is essential. Collaborative research and firsthand experience are critical to generating such new knowledge.     

Permanent seafloor anoxia in coastal basins of the northwestern Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

The Gulf of Finland is regularly affected by inflows of anoxic deep-water masses from the northern Baltic proper. These dense water masses advance over large areas with a decline of benthic life in affected areas as a result. Such events have been regularly repeated over decades and centuries. The archipelago, however, is well protected, because the inflows of anoxic deep waters do not enter such shallow waters. The situation could thus be better for benthic life in the archipelago, but in many areas this is not true. In areas where the bottoms are sheltered from storms and currents, permanent anoxia can persist for decades. Such areas were found in the western archipelago of the Gulf of Finland. Examination of surface cores revealed that many of these basins have been continuously anoxic for almost 40 years. A deeper coring showed that, at least locally, shallow water seafloor anoxia has been a fact in the area for thousands of years.     

Metal mobility during in situ chemical oxidation of TCE by KMnO4

The potential for trace-metal contamination of aquifers as a side effect of In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) of chlorinated solvent contamination by KMnO(4) is investigated with column experiments. The experiments investigate metal mobility during in situ chemical oxidation of TCE by KMnO(4) under conditions where pH, flow rate, KMnO(4), TCE, and trace-metal concentrations were controlled. During ISCO, the injection of MnO(4) creates oxidizing conditions, and acidity released by the reactions causes a tendency toward low pH in aquifers. In order to evaluate the role of pH buffering on metal mobility, duplicate columns were constructed, one packed with pure silica sand, and one with a mixture of silica sand and calcite. Aqueous solutions of TCE and KMnO(4) (with 1 mg/L Cu, Pb, Zn, Mo, Ni, and Cr(VI)) were allowed to mix at the inlet to the columns. After the completion of the experiments, samples of Mn oxide were removed from the columns and analyzed by analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy. In order to relate the results of the laboratory experiments to field settings, the analyses of Mn-oxide samples from the lab experiments were compared to samples of Mn oxide collected from a field-scale chemical-oxidation experiment that were also analyzed by analytical electron microscopy as well as time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectroscopy. The pH ranged from 2.40 in the silica sand column to 6.25 in the calcite-containing column. The data indicate that aqueous Mo, Pb, Cu and Ni concentrations are attenuated almost completely within the columns. In contrast, Zn concentrations are not significantly attenuated and Cr(VI) is transported conservatively. The results indicate that within the range 2.40 to 6.25, metal mobility is not affected by pH. Comparison of analyses of Mn-oxide from the lab and field demonstrate that a variety of metals are sequestered from solution by Mn oxide.     

Snort acoustic structure codes for positive emotions in horses

While the vocal coding of human and animal internal states has been widely studied, the possible acoustic expression of “positive” emotions remains poorly known. Recent studies suggest that snorts (non-vocal sounds produced by the air expiration through the nostrils) appear to be reliable indicators of positive internal states in several ungulate species. Here, we hypothesised in horses that the acoustic structure of the snort could vary with the subjects’ current emotional state. Indeed, a preliminary sound analysis of snorts let us suggest structure variations related to the presence of pulsations. We recorded snorts from 20 horses living in a riding center. Auditory playbacks run with 20 humans first confirmed the existence of two snort subtypes, i.e. one pulsed and one non-pulsed. Observations were then conducted to compare the distribution of these two subtypes according to the location (stall/pasture) of the signaller as a contextual determinant of its internal state and to its ears’ position as a reflection of its emotional state. We found that both subtypes were preferentially observed in positive contexts, but that pulsed snorts were even more associated with highly appreciated situations (in pasture and with ears forward). This study is a step further in the identification of indicators of positive emotions in horses and more generally in the understanding of the acoustic emotions’ coding.