Rapid prenatal diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy with gene duplications by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with competitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction strategy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are caused by various mutations in the dystrophin gene. Rapid prenatal diagnosis of DMD with gene duplications is difficult due to limitation in gene dosage determination and the requirement for a known disease-causing mutation in the pedigree to achieve a rapid and accurate diagnosis. We report, here, a case with rapid prenatal diagnosis of DMD-affected male with gene duplications in the absence of a known disease-causing variation in the pedigree by using ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC) coupled with competitive multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol. In cases with clinical diagnosis of DMD/BMD, this test should identify greater than 92% of disease-causing DNA variants. The postnatal genetic diagnosis of this case and the same disease-causing mutations subsequently identified in other members of the pedigree confirmed the accuracy of competitive multiplex PCR/IP-RP-HPLC assay in direct prenatal diagnosis of DMD. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内蒙古生物质热电联产的效益研究

本文从生物质热电联产的必要性作为切入点,从经济、社会、生态效益三个方面分析了内蒙古发展生物质能热电联产的综合效益.     

某实验室2017年全国个人剂量监测能力考核结果分析

目的:对2017年参加全国个人剂量监测能力考核的结果进行分析与总结,改进监测分析方法,提高监测技术能力。方法:依据《2017年度全国个人剂量监测能力考核方案》的要求进行考核。结果:检测结果报告值分别为0.56,2.50,0.50,1.94,3.73,与参考值相比较,单组性能为0.01~0.02,综合性能为0.02,考核评定结果为优秀。结论:本实验室个人剂量监测系统状态稳定,测量结果准确可靠。     

Formation and transformation of schwertmannite in the classic Fenton process

The massive amount of sludge generated by the classic Fenton process, which has often been hypothesized to consist of ferric hydroxide, remains a major obstacle to its large-scale application. Therefore, reutilization of Fenton sludge has recently gained more attention.Understanding the formation, transformation, and properties of Fenton sludge combined with the stages of the Fenton reaction is pivotal, but not well illustrated yet. In this study,SEM-EDS, FT-IR, XRD, and XPS were applied to study the morphology, crystallinity,elemental composition, and valence state of Fenton sludge. The authors report that schwertmannite and 2-line ferrihydrite were generated and transformed in the oxidation phase and the neutralization phase of the Fenton process. SO_4~(2-) in the solution decreased by8.7%–26.0% at different molar ratios of Fe(II) to H_2 O_2; meanwhile, iron ion precipitated completely at pH 3.70 with the formation of schwertmannite containing sulfate groups in the Fenton sludge. The structural sulfate(Fe-SO_4) in schwertmannite was released from the precipitate with the addition of OH-, and the production of Fenton sludge decreased with increasing pH when pH 3.70. Goethite was found to form when the final p H was adjusted to 12 or at a reaction temperature of 80°C. Moreover, the possible thermal transformation to goethite and hematite indicated that Fenton sludge can be reused as a raw material for synthesizing more stable iron(hydro)oxides. The results provide useful insights into the formation and transformation of Fenton sludge, with implications for regulating the crystal type of Fenton sludge for further reuse.     

Potential factors and mechanism of particulate matters explosive increase induced by free radicals oxidation

Atmospheric particulate pollution in China has attracted much public attention. Occasionally, the particle number concentration increases sharply in a short time period, which is defined as a “particulate matter explosive increase”. Heavy particulate matter pollution not only reduces visibility but also has an adverse effect on human health. Hence, there is an urgent need to discover the causes of particulate matter explosive increase. During this campaign, the particle number concentration and free radicals were measured at a tall building on the campus of Lanzhou University of Technology. Additionally, we examined a series of chemicals to reproduce the observed particulate matter explosive increase in a smog chamber to determine its potential factors. Then, we analyzed the mechanism of particulate matter explosive increase in the presence of free radicals. We found that, among the potential inorganic and organic sources analyzed, a mixture of organic and SO₂ in the research region had a major effect on particulate matter explosive increase. Moreover, free radical oxidation has a large effect, especially in the formation of organic particulates.     

Bacterial community response to petroleum contamination in brackish tidal marsh sediments in the Yangtze River Estuary, China

The brackish tidal marsh in the Baimaosha area of the Yangtze River Estuary was severely contaminated by 400 tons of heavy crude petroleum from a tanker that sank in December 2012. The spill accident led to severe environmental damage owing to its high toxicity, persistence and wide distribution. Microbial communities play vital roles in petroleum degradation in marsh sediments. Therefore, taxonomic analysis, high-throughput sequencing and 16S rRNA functional prediction were used to analyze the structure and function of microbial communities among uncontaminated (CK), lightly polluted (LP), heavily polluted (HP), and treated (TD) sediments. The bacterial communities responded with increased richness and decreased diversity when exposed to petroleum contamination. The dominant class changed from Deltaproteobacteria to Gammaproteobacteria after petroleum contamination. The phylum Firmicutes increased dramatically in oil-enriched sediment by 75.78%, 346.19% and 267.26% in LP, HP and TD, respectively. One of the suspected oil-degrading genera, Dechloromonas, increased the most in oil-contaminated sediment, by 540.54%, 711.27% and 656.78% in LP, HP and TD, respectively. Spore protease, quinate dehydrogenase (quinone) and glutathione-independent formaldehyde dehydrogenase, three types of identified enzymes, increased enormously with the increasing petroleum concentration. In conclusion, petroleum contamination altered the community composition and microorganism structure, and promoted some bacteria to produce the corresponding degrading enzymes. Additionally, the suspected petroleum-degrading genera should be considered when restoring oil-contaminated sediment.     

Insights into measurements of water-soluble ions in PM2.5 and their gaseous precursors in Beijing

To better understand the characteristics and transformation mechanisms of secondary inorganic aerosols, hourly mass concentrations of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) in PM_2.5 and their gaseous precursors were measured online from 2016 to 2018 at an urban site in Beijing. Seasonal and diurnal variations in water-soluble ions and gaseous precursors were discussed and their gas-particle conversion and partitioning were also examined, some related parameters were characterized. The (TNH₃) _Rich was also defined to describe the variations of the excess NH₃ in different seasons. In addition, a sensitivity test was carried out by using ISORROPIA II to outline the driving factors of gas-particle partitioning. In Beijing, the relative contribution of nitrate to PM_2.5 has increased markedly in recent years, especially under polluted conditions. In the four seasons, only a small portion of NO₂ in the atmosphere was converted into total nitrate (TNO₃)_, and more than 80% of TNO₃ occurred in the form of nitrate due to the abundant ammonia. The concentration of total ammonia (TNH₃) was much higher than that required to neutralize acid gases, and most of the TNH₃ occurred as gaseous NH₃. The nitrous acid (HONO) concentration was highly correlated with NH₃ concentration and had increased significantly in Beijing compared with previous studies. The total chloride (TCl) was the highest in winter, and ε(Cl^?) was more sensitive to variations in the ambient temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) than ε(NO₃^?).     

秦皇岛市抚宁县环境地质灾害防治分区评价

依据地质灾害的易发程度、受威胁人数、经济损失大小、人为活动强度等因素,采用地质灾害易发性综合指数法对抚宁县环境地质灾害进行划分,抚宁县环境地质灾害分为重点防治区、次重点防治区和一般防治区三级,每级防治区又划分出不同的防治亚区,通过分析环境地质灾害分布特征、工程地质岩类、成因与现状,对每个防治亚区进行评价,并提出加强防灾救灾管理与加强监测、随时做好应急准备等预防保护措施。     

Effect of preparation method of noble metal supported catalyts on formaldehyde oxidation at room temperature: Gas or liquid phase reduction

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is toxic to the human body and is one of the main threats to the indoor air quality (IAQ). As such, the removal of HCHO is imperative to improving the IAQ, whereby the most useful method to effectively remove HCHO at room temperature is catalytic oxidation. This review discusses catalysts for HCHO room-temperature oxidation, which are categorized according to their preparation methods, i.e., gas-phase reduction and liquid-phase reduction methods. The HCHO oxidation performances, structural features, and reaction mechanisms of the different catalysts are discussed, and directions for future research on catalytic oxidation are reviewed.     

Experimental evaluation of the rainfall retention and inorganic pollutant mitigation effect by dual-layer and polyacrylamide-modified green roofs

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Research on substrate layer modification and filler configuration is an important direction for improving the retention and interception efficiency of...