Fly ash reinforced thermoplastic vulcanizates obtained from waste tire powder

Novel thermoplastic composites made from two major industrial and consumer wastes, fly ash and waste tire powder, have been developed. The effect of increasing fly ash loadings on performance characteristics such as tensile strength, thermal, dynamic mechanical and magnetic properties has been investigated. The morphology of the blends shows that fly ash particles have more affinity and adhesion towards the rubbery phase when compared to the plastic phase. The fracture surface of the composites shows extensive debonding of fly ash particles. Thermal analysis of the composites shows a progressive increase in activation energy with increase in fly ash loadings. Additionally, morphological studies of the ash residue after 90% thermal degradation shows extensive changes occurring in both the polymer and filler phases. The processing ability of the thermoplastics has been carried out in a Monsanto processability testing machine as a function of shear rate and temperature. Shear thinning behavior, typical of particulate polymer systems, has been observed irrespective of the testing temperatures. Magnetic properties and percolation behavior of the composites have also been evaluated.     

扬中市第二污水处理厂一期工程工艺设计

扬中市第二污水处理厂,一期工程设计规模为1．0×10^4m^3／d,主体采用厌氧水解＋改良SBR工艺,处理出水达到《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准〉（GB18918--2002）国家一级B类标准。文中主要介绍了该工程设计的工艺流程、构筑物组成和设计参数,总结分析了改良SBR工艺的技术特点和设计要点。     

三峡库区非线性延迟的环境效应及其防治对策

介绍了非线性延迟的环境效应的概念、危害及其预测和防治对策。针对三峡库区的污染现状，与浙江千岛湖（新安江水库）建库40年后蓝藻水华暴发的环境状况比较，强调三峡水库局部水域可能存在人为富营养化污染引起的非线性延迟的环境效应，特别是水库蓄水后库区支流香溪河水域蓝藻水华暴发的风险性极大；根据三峡水库毗邻武陵山汞矿带高汞背景区，燃煤的硫和汞含量较高，以及库区酸沉降和汞污染状况较为严重的状况，提出库区存在汞甲基化和酸沉降引起的非线性环境效应。讨论了相应这些效应的控制对策和措施，并建议现在充分重视这些非线性环境效应，在库区生态环境建设中要考虑这些影响的防治措施。     

Early prenatal direct gene diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in a twin pregnancy and subsequent selective termination

We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) in one twin at 11–12 weeks of gestation. The parents had previously had two children, one of whom is alive and healthy and one who died of CF at the age of 2½ months. The parents were both known to be carriers of the ΔF508 mutation. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) was performed and direct gene analysis showed that one fetus was homozygous for the ΔF508 mutation, while the other fetus did not have the mutation at all. Both fetuses had normal karyotypes. Selective termination was subsequently performed. The pregnancy continued without complications except for mild pre-eclampsia at term. The woman had a Caesarean section. The genetic diagnosis was confirmed after birth.     

沿海农田林网建设关键技术的经济学择优

对江苏沿海地区农田林网的经营类型、造林树种、林带配置进行了技术经济学分析和多目标灰色局势决策择优。结果表明：农田林网经营类型宜选择复合经营的果材兼用型林网。造林树种可选择速生丰产的杨树等用材树种和经济效益高的桃树等果树。林网配置在海堤河岸上选择用材树种,营造基干林带,筑起大网格框架；在道路沟渠上立体配置林果树种,营造主林带和副林带,构建中网格；在脱盐排水沟上添加果树辅助林带,建立小网格,形成多树种多林种合作、大中小网格配套、多道防线联防、多效益多产品产出的复合配置模式。     

Fetal chromosome analysis: Screening for chromosome disease?

The aim of the study was to investigate the rationale of the current indications for fetal chromosome analysis. 5372 women had 5423 amniocenteses performed, this group constituting a consecutive sample at the chromosome laboratory, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen from March 1973 to September 1980 (Group A + B). Pregnant women 35 years of age, women who previously had a chromosomally abnormal child, families with translocation carriers or other heritable chromosomal disease, families where the father was 50 years or more and women in families with a history of Down's syndrome (group A), were compared to women having amniocentesis, although considered not to have any increased risk of fetal chromosome abnormality (1390 pregnancies, group B). They were also compared with 750 consecutive pregnancies in women 25–34 years of age, in whom all heritable diseases were excluded (group Q. The risk of unbalanced chromosome abnormality in group A (women with elevated risk) is significantly higher than in group B + C (women without elevated risk) (relative risk 2–4). Women with a known familial translocation and women 40 years or more have a relative risk of 5–7 of having an unbalanced chromosome abnormality compared with women without elevated risk. Spontaneous abortion rate and prematurity rate did not differ from rates expected without amniocentesis. It is concluded that current indications may be characterized as a mixture of evident high risk factors and factors with only a minor influence on risk. Indications for amniocentesis should therefore be reconsidered. Because it must be considered impractical and ethically wrong to limit amniocentesis to the two mentioned real high risk groups, and illogical to continue the present policy, which is not based on clearcut evidence, the possibility of offering amniocentesis to all who want it, is discussed. Screening for chromosome disease in all pregnancies is not without problems, but may be reasonable in some localities.     

Genetic amniocentesis at 7–14 weeks of gestation

Genetic amniocentesis performed at 7–14 weeks of gestation was studied in a series of 138 patients of whom 50 wanted termination of pregnancy (⩽ 12 weeks). The material for analysis consisted of 132 samples due to two sampling failures and four samples being handled incorrectly. Forty-eight samples (36 per cent) were taken at 7–12 weeks of gestation, mainly transvaginally (36/48:75 per cent). The success rate of culture and karyotyping increased with the duration of pregnancy, but was only satisfactory from week 11 onwards. The time until harvest was then 14–15 days. The transvaginal approach is easy to perform and was accepted by the women, but we experienced bacterial or fungal overgrowth in 17 per cent of these samples, whereas no infection occurred in the samples taken transabdominally (n = 96). We conclude that genetic amniocentesis is feasible from week 11, but further studies concerning side effects, especially focusing on the procedure-related abortion risk, should be carried out before early amniocentesis is routinely applied.     

Early prenatal diagnosis of the fragile site AT Xq27.3 associated with Martin-Bell syndrome

Early prenatal diagnosis of the fragile X was attempted in 44 pregnancies, including one twin pregnancy at risk of Martin-Bell (MB) syndrome. The sex ratio was 24M:21F. The fragile site was reproducibly demonstrated in cultured chorionic villus (CV) cells in eight male and five female fetuses. Six of the male and three of the female fetuses were terminated. Simultaneous RFLP analysis provided confirmative data with flanking DNA markers in 3 of 13 analysed cases. Recombination and/or non-informativeness at available distal and/or proximal loci were found in nine cases. In one male fetus, discordance between the haplotype and cyto-genetics (fragile-X-negative) suggested the presence of a normal male transmitter, a double meiotic cross-over within the region, or a false-negative cytogenetic diagnosis. However, discordance between prenatal and post-termination/postnatal cytogenetic findings was not observed in this series. The use of excess thymidine for induction of the fragile X in cultured CV cells provided in the majority of cases a safe and rapid method for cytogenetic diagnosis, with options for early induced termination in fragile-X-positive pregnancies, for simultaneous RFLP analysis, and for subsequent second-trimester analysis of fetal blood in complicated cases.     

Otolith size-at-hatch reveals embryonic oxygen consumption in the zebrafish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Danio rerio</Emphasis>

Otoliths have frequently been used to reconstruct growth histories in larval, juvenile and adult fish. However, there is growing evidence that otolith growth is directly determined by metabolic intensity and, consequently, only indirectly related to somatic growth. By performing measurements of oxygen consumption rate and other early life-history traits on individual eggs of zebrafish (Danio rerio), we found that oxygen consumption explained residual variance in otolith size that is not accounted for by egg size. Total oxygen consumption during the embryonic stage explained 34% of the variance in sagitta size at hatch, whereas larval size at hatch (as a proxy for growth during the embryonic period) was not significantly correlated with sagitta size. This strongly suggests that otolith growth is directly related to metabolic rate, and yields a mechanism that may explain recent observations of a link between otolith size at hatch and viability in larval fish.