Digital PCR: a powerful new tool for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis?

Recent reports have indicated that digital PCR may be useful for the noninvasive detection of fetal aneuploidies by the analysis of cell-free DNA and RNA in maternal plasma or serum. In this review we provide an insight into the underlying technology and its previous application in the determination of the allelic frequencies of oncogenic alterations in cancer specimens. We also provide an indication of how this new technology may prove useful for the detection of fetal aneuploidies and single gene Mendelian disorders. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

灾害对我国国民经济的作用模式研究

深入地分析了灾害对我国粮食播种面积、粮食产量以及国民经济生产总值增长的影响，在此基础上总结了灾害对我国国民经济产生影响的基本作用模式。     

A sensitive monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for chlorpyrifos residue determination in Chinese agricultural samples

A monoclonal antibody-based competitive antibody-coated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed and optimized for determining chlorpyrifos residue in agricultural products. The IC₅₀ and IC₁₀ of this ELISA were 3.3 ng/mL and 0.1 ng/mL respectively. The average recoveries in six agricultural products were between 79.5% and 118.0%, with the intra-assay coefficient of variation being less than 8 %. The limit of detection for all tested products was 30 ng/g. To the best of our knowledge, this assay has the best specificity among all the published research on ELISAs for chlorpyrifos.     

Flocculation performance of epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polyamine in treating dyeing wastewater

Epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polymers with different intrinsic viscosity (η) and cationicity (τ) were synthesized. The flocculation performance and mechanism of these polymers in the removal of the reactive and disperse dyes from synthetic wastewater was investigated in terms of flocculation dynamics and color removal efficiency. The polymer flocculation efficiency was compared with that of polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and a composite flocculant based on polyaluminum chloride-epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polyamine. The results showed that epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polymer was effective over a pH range of 2–10 for the reactive and disperse dye removal (Reactive Brilliant Red and Disperse Yellow dyes). Epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polymer with the highest η and τ gave the best reactive dye removal efficiency, and its adsorption-bridging and electric neutralization ability played important roles in the flocculation process. The higher the η viscosity of the epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polymer, the better the flocculation performance of epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polyamine, and stronger adsorption-bridging ability was obtained for removing the disperse dye from dyeing wastewaters. Epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine polymer achieved better decolorization performance when used together with PAC.     

Identification of main influencing factors of life cycle CO2 emissions from the integrated steelworks using sensitivity analysis

The amount of CO₂ emissions from steelworks accounts for a great share of the total CO₂ emissions from industry in China. Thus, reducing CO₂ emissions from steelworks is urgent for China's environmental protection and sustainable development. This study aims at identifying factors that influence CO₂ emissions from steelworks and proposing measures to reduce CO₂ emissions. The life cycle inventory (LCI) of iron and steel products implies the relationship between the CO₂ emissions of the steelworks and the input variables of the LCI. The Tornado Chart Tool is utilized to calculate the variation of CO₂ emissions caused by the change of each input variables of LCI. Then, mean sensitivity of each input variable is calculated and the ranking criterion developed is used to identify the main factors influencing the integrated steelworks. Subsequently, measures for reducing CO₂ emissions are proposed. The results indicate that the very important influencing factors of CO₂ emissions in steelworks are the CO₂ emission factor of Blast Furnace Gas (BFG), liquid steel unit consumption of continuous casting, continuous casting slab unit consumption of hot rolling and hot metal ratio of steel making. Consequently, many efficient measures for reducing CO₂ emissions have been proposed, such as removing CO₂ contained in BFG, decreasing the hot metal ratio of Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF), recycling BFG, optimizing the products' structure, etc.     

某炼化企业催化汽油吸附脱硫装置职业病危害控制效果评价

通过资料调研、现场调查与检测，将获取的资料与法律、法规和标准要求相比较，对某炼化企业催化汽油吸附脱硫装置进行了职业病危害控制效果评价。     

Economic and Social Impact Assessment of the Alternatives to DDT Usage for Antifouling Paint Production in China

China is the only nation that uses DDT in antifouling pain at present, approximately 5% of DDT is applied as the additive of the antifouling paint production. Therefore, actions shall be taken urgently for banning the use of DDT and substituting with non-POPs alternatives in antifouling paints. The paper researches the social and economic backgrounds of DDT booster antifouling paint production and usage, analyzes the social and economic impact assessment of the alternatives to DDT usage for antifouling paint. The implementation of the project of alternatives will completely eliminate the adverse impact of DDT booster antifouling paint on terrestrial, marine ecosystem and human health. The broad use of alkali silicate and pepper alkali as substitutes will be feasible if appropriate measures will be taken to encourage their development, and the social and economic risk will be reduced to accepted levels.     

矿产资源规划环评指标体系和评价方法探讨

就矿产资源规划环评的指标体系和可采用的方法进行了全面的归纳和总结,并结合应用情况对矿产资源规划环评的主要方法进行了比较,归纳了每种方法的优缺点.     

Herbicide Roundup® and its main constituents cause oxidative stress and inhibit acetylcholinesterase in liver of Carassius auratus

Roundup® is a glyphosate-based herbicide containing a mixture of surfactants. This paper evaluates the toxic effects of Roundup® and its main constituents on the goldfish, Carassius auratus, after 7 days exposure. Fish were exposed to 0.16, 0.032 and 0.0064 mg/L of Roundup® [containing 41% isopropylamine salt of glyphosate (G.I.S) and 18% polyoxyethylene amine (POEA)], G.I.S, and POEA. Their livers were taken for determining reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehye (MDA) content and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Hydroxyl radical (·OH) could be induced by exposing Roundup® at a rate of 43%–111%, G.I.S at 90%–124% and POEA at142%–157%. A decreased SOD activity was observed in fish exposed to G.I.S and POEA. The contents of MDA significantly increased when exposed to Roundup® at all concentrations, 0.16 mg/L G.I.S and 0.032 mg/L POEA. The exposure led to an inhibition of AChE in livers overall during the experimental periods. POEA was more toxic than Roundup® or G.I.S during this experiment. AChE and ·OH are supposed to be sensitive biomarkers of the exposure of Roundup® and its main constituents to C. auratus.     

石油野外作业工人体力劳动强度分级调查

据ＧＢ３８６９—８３标准对江汉油田测量、地震、钻井、井下四类野外作业３４名工人、２４个工种进行了体力劳动强度分级调查，其结果：测量作业为Ⅰ～Ⅱ级；钻井作业Ⅱ级占５／８，Ⅲ级占１／４；井下作业Ⅲ级占２／３；地震作业Ⅲ、Ⅳ级各占４／９、２／９。说明前两类基本属中等强度劳动，后两类大部分属重强度劳动。