Prenatal diagnosis,fetal pathology,and cytogenetic analysis of mosaic trisomy 14

While true mosaicism occurs in only 0–25 per cent of genetic amniocenteses, nearly 2–5 per cent of amniotic fluid cell cultures contain a second cell line. In the common practice of prenatal diagnosis, an aberrant cell line confined to a single colony is usually disregarded. We present a case of mosaic trisomy 14 which was not detected on initial chromosome analysis. At birth, multiple malformations were apparent. Newborn cytogenetic studies revealed mosaicism [46,XX/46,XX,-14,+i(14q)] with an isochromosome 14 in 37 per cent of lymphocytes. Additional cells from the initial amniotic fluid culture were analysed post-delivery and the isochromosome 14 identified in only one of 12 total colonies. This case illustrates two important lessons in prenatal diagnosis. First, amniotic fluid cell cultures may not accurately reflect the relative distribution of the normal and abnormal cell lines within a mosaic fetus. Second, while it is generally reasonable to disregard mosaicism confined to a single colony, this policy will, on rare occasion, result in diagnostic error. This should be taken into consideration, particularly when dealing with autosomal trisomies potentially compatible with livebirth.     

中国米质气候资源的地域分布

稻米品质受着气候条件的明显影响。在我国不同地域，米质气候资源各不相同，对米质的影响也各具特色，总的趋势是，北方优于南方；西部优于东部；晚茬口水稻优于旱茬口；在地形复杂地区，米质气候资源还具有垂直地带性结构。我国丰富的米质气候资源为各种类型优质米的生产创造出优越的环境条件。     

铅对几种农作物的影响及迁移积累规律初探

四种作物的盆栽模拟实验表明:铅对作物的影响,主要表现为植株矮化、生物量下降.作物受铅危害,主要在种子萌发期和苗期.进入植物体的铅,主要沉积于导管壁及木质部细胞壁中.作物各部位吸铅的能力不同;作物吸铅量与土壤含铅量呈正相关;各器官含铅量依水分和养料的运输方向互成正相关性,并依此方向减少;作物吸收的铅不仅可以从下至上转移,也可以从上至下转移,但后者较困难.     

Manganese-oxidizing fungi and bacteria

The Science of Nature -     

Concurrency: a system design approach to environmental management and sustainability

The lessons of history indicate that mismanagement of natural resources and the environment often leads to potentially adverse consequences.The increasing interest in economic development,particularly in the developing countries of the world coupled with increasing population pressures and the globalization of economic activity is placing noticeable stresses on the ultimate sustainability of both human and environmental systems.Sustainable development is not a new concept.It has been an area of concern for different elements of society for some time.Yet efforts to understand the implications of sustainable development have not,until recently,been formalized.We have focused singularly on economic development and environmental quality as if they were mutually exclusive.This paper focuses on the concept of concurrency as both a conceptual framework and practicable method of understanding and implementing the ecology and economy of sustainability.     

Maternal age specific rates for chromosome aberrations and factors influencing them: Report of a collaborative european study on 52 965 amniocenteses

Maternal age specific rates for all major chromosome aberrations have been determined in 52 965 pregnancies in mothers 35 years of age and over at the time of amniocentesis. Rates increase exponentially with advancing maternal age for trisomies 21, 18 and 13, and for the XXX and XXY syndromes, but in the autosomal trisomies this rise appears to be followed by a levelling off at the upper end of the age range. A significant inverse relationship with maternal age is found for 45,X cases. It is postulated that these various patterns are the result of the interaction of three principal factors: a maternal age effect acting particularly on first meiotic nondisjunction: a higher spontaneous abortion rate with advancing maternal age for aneuploid as compared to euploid conceptions; and an increased probability of spontaneous abortion before the time of amniocentesis for conceptions with more extensive chromosome imbalance. A stepwise logistic regression analysis of 13 299 pregnancies in which both parental ages are known shows that the father's age does not influence these maternal age specific rates, with the possible exception of the 47,XXY syndrome.