Detection of fetal structural abnormalities at the 11–14 week ultrasound scan

The aim of this study was to evaluate the detection of fetal structural abnormalities by the 11–14 week scan. 2853 pregnant women were submitted to a routine ultrasound scan between the 11th and 14th week and the fetal skull, brain, spine, abdominal wall, limbs, stomach and bladder were examined. Following the scans the patientes were examined in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. An isolated increased nuchal translucency was not considered an abnormality. However, these patients had an early echocardiography assessment. Fetal structural abnormalities were classified as major or minor and of early or late onset. A total of 130 (4.6%) defects were identified and 29 (22.3%) of these were diagnosed at the 11–14 week scan, including nine cardiac defects associated with increased nuchal translucency. The antenatal ultrasound detection rate was 71.5%, and 31.2% were detected in the first-trimester assessment. 78.8% of the major defects were diagnosed by the prenatal scan and 37.8% by the 11–14 week scan. Fetal structural abnormalities at the 11–14 week scan were detected in approximately 22.3% of the cases, therefore, a second-trimester anomaly scan is important in routine antenatal care to increase the prenatal detection of fetal defects. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of lead exposure on salivary glands of rats: insights into the oxidative biochemistry and glandular morphology

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aimed to investigate the effects of lead (Pb) exposure on parotid and submandibular glands through morphological aspects as well as the...     

Vertical concentration gradients of volatile organic compounds in two NS-oriented street canyons

Diffusive samplers were used to measure the vertical concentrations of benzene, toluene, n-hexane, cyclohexane, ethylbenzene and o-, m- and p-xylenes on both sides of two NS-oriented street canyons in Murcia (Spain) during a 5-day period. Non-dimensional relationships of concentration and height were calculated in order to study the behaviour of their concentration vertical profiles. The results show that the vertical profiles of benzene, toluene, n-hexane and cyclohexane concentrations were similar in both streets and on both sides of each street. Some differences were found in vertical profiles between streets and sides for ethylbenzene and xylenes, probably due to their higher affinity for adsorption into building materials. The similarities found for the first set of VOCs suggest that the dynamics of the dispersion was the same for both streets and was mainly influenced by microscale thermal effects. Finally, the concentration measurements of benzene, toluene, n-hexane, cyclohexane, and ethylbenzene were adjusted to expressions in the form c?=?c ₀(h/h ₀) ^A , and a regression coefficient R ²?=?0.962 (p?=?0.0000) was obtained. The decreasing concentration of these compounds with height should be taken into account when assessing population exposure to these pollutants.     

Occupational risk assessment in construction industry – Overview and reflection

The construction industry is plagued by occupational risky situations and poor working conditions. Occupational risk assessment (ORA) on workplace sites is the first and key step to achieve adequate safety levels, particularly to support decision-making in safety programs. Most construction safety efforts are applied informally under the premise that simply allocating more resources to safety management will improve safety on site. Moreover, there are many traditional methods to address ORA, but few have been adapted and validated for use in the construction industry, particularly in the design stage, for which traditional approaches do not give adequate answers. This paper presents a state-of-the-art on ORA traditional methods, for the construction industry, discussing their limitations and pointing advantages of using fuzzy sets approaches to deal with ill-defined situations.     

Natural heavy metal and metalloid concentrations in sediments of the Minho River estuary (Portugal): baseline values for environmental studies

Forty-nine surface sediment samples from the Minho estuary sector between Tui and Caminha were analyzed for grain-size contents, Al, As, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Pb, Sn, and Zn concentrations. Selected heavy metal (Cu, Cr, Hg, and Zn) and metalloid (As and Sn) distributions were normalized against Al and Li with the main goal of compensating for natural grain-size variability and to separate natural from anthropogenic contributions, by using a combination of normalization techniques (definition of regional geochemical baselines (RGB) and determination of enrichment factors (EF)). Lead did not reveal a significant relationship with Al and Li. Aluminum explained more variance than Li for As, Cu, Hg, and Zn. Assuming the general non-impacted metal character of the Minho River estuary sediments, RGBs are defined for differentiating between natural and anthropogenic contributions. Based on RGB defined for each heavy metal/metalloid, the degree of enrichment is estimated through the determination of EF. Despite the relatively low total heavy metal and metalloid concentrations, the defined RGB identifies a set of samples characterized by presenting As, Cu, Cr, Hg, and Zn enrichments relatively to expected natural levels. Mercury is the element showing the highest level of enrichment relative to the baseline values being spread through all the study area. Tin present enrichments relatively to Al and or Li always lower than 1.5 suggesting natural contributions.     

Enhanced biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal from sewage driven by fermented glycerol: comparative assessment between sequencing batch- and continuously fed-structured fixed bed reactor

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The nutrient biological removal from sewage, especially from anaerobic reactor effluents, still represents a major challenge in conventional sewage...