Cleft palate: Confirmation of prenatal diagnosis by colour Doppler ultrasound

We present a case of a twin with trisomy 47,XX+i(9p) in whom the diagnosis of cleft palate was confirmed by colour Doppler imaging demonstrating abnormal fluid flow across the fetal pharyngeal bone defect. Application of this technique in cases predisposed for this congenital lesion may prove beneficial in the diagnosis of the more subtle types of isolated cleft palate.     

Submersible observations of the New England Seamounts

Plate tectonics has established the relationship of volcanism to constructional plate margins such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, to consuming plate boundaries such as the subduction zones comprising the Pacific “ring of fire,” and to leakage of magma along transform faults like St. Paul's Fracture Zone; however, mid-plate volcanism, which produces many oceanic islands and seamounts, is largely unexplained by plate tectonics. Studies of mid-plate volcanism have been mainly confined to oceanic islands which may be generically different from seamounts. To extend our knowledge of global tectonics and the nature of the underlying mantle source of mid-plate volcanism, we must direct our most advanced techniques to the study of seamounts and their lineaments. Herein we describe the first reported visual observations of the morphology and lithology of volcanoes comprising one such chain—the New England Seamounts.     

Immunity in a Social Insect

 Although pathogens appear to have exerted significant selective pressure on various aspects of sociality, mechanisms of disease resistance in the social insects are poorly understood. We report here on an immune response to infection by the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis. Nymphs immunized with an injection of 7.6×10⁷, 7.6×10⁵, or 7.6×10⁴ cells/ml glutaraldehyde-killed solution of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa had significantly higher survivorship than controls following a challenge with a lethal concentration of active bacteria. Similarly, nymphs exposed to a 9×10^–1 spores/ml suspension of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae had higher survivorship than controls after a challenge with a lethal concentration of spores. Prior exposure to a pathogen thus conferred upon termites a degree of protection during a subsequent encounter with the same pathogen. This represents the first demonstration of immune function in vivo in a social insect. Received: 18 May 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 26 August 1999     

Prospective risk in reciprocal translocation heterozygotes at amniocentesis as determined by potential chromosome imbalance sizes. Data of the european collaborative prenatal diagnosis centres

The Data of the European Cooperative Prenatal Diagnosis Laboratories (Boué and Gallano, 1984) of 596 prenatal (amniocyte) diagnoses of familial rep was examined as to relationships between balanced/unbalanced result and ascertainment, carrier parent and chromosome imbalance size (percentage haploid autosome length). Each rearrangement was graphed once with actual (unbalanced result) or potential (normal or balanced result) imbalances plotted with trisomy as the ordinate and monosomy as the abscissa. The graphed data was divided into 15 regions, each of 2·0 per cent trisomy and 0·75 per cent monosomy and the rate of unbalanced pregnancies determined for each region. The highest rates of chromosomally unbalanced progeny (excluding regions with inadequate data) were found closest to the origin (i.e. associated with the smallest imbalances) and these were for ascertainment category 1 (previous rep unbalanced child) 22·3 per cent for maternal carriers and 39 per cent for paternal carriers. Overall in pooled data for this ascertainment category (without reference to the imbalance graphs) there were for paternal carriers 28·6 per cent unbalanced pregnancies and for maternal carriers 18·1 per cent. The graphed data, therefore, revealed the higher rates associated with some of the rep with small potential (combined duplication/ deficiency) imbalances. Lesser rates were observed for ascertainment category 2 (carrier parent with a history of recurrent miscarriage) with overall percentages of imbalanced progeny ranging from 2·7 (paternal carriers) to 4·7 (maternal carriers). Again, higher rates were revealed in graphed data for small potential imbalances. All unbalanced results for this group (ascertainment category 2) plotted in the region closest to the origin with rates of 16 per cent (maternal carriers) and 9·5 per cent (paternal carriers) in this region. Remarkably in both ascertainment groups 1 and 2 there was no significant difference in the size of the imbalanced segments for unbalanced progeny. In ascertainment group 1 this was (dup/def; mean ±S.D.): 1·09±0·77/0·47 ± 0·45 and in ascertainment group 2: 1·09 ±0·80/0·66±0·71. From the graphed data which arguably denote viability relationships, a trisomy was approximately 2·7 times as likely to survive until amniocentesis as a monosomy of equivalent size. It is proposed that given further data, risk estimates could be determined for rep heterozygotes using the present approach where empiric data (from the family history or an analysed series of similar rep) is not available.     

Climate change adaptation in the ski industry

Regardless of the success of climate change mitigation efforts, the international community has concluded that societies around the world will need to adapt to some magnitude of climate change in the 21st century. While some economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, water resources and construction) have been actively engaged in climate change adaptation research for years, adaptation has received scant consideration within the tourism-recreation industry. This is particularly the case for adaptation by tourism operators (supply-side). One exception where progress on supply-side climate adaptation has been made is the ski industry. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on the implications of climate change for the international ski industry and how adaptation by ski area operators has been treated within these studies. This is followed by an inventory of climate adaptation practices currently used by ski industry stakeholders, including the historical development of certain key adaptations and constraints to wider use. The characteristics of ski areas with higher adaptive capacity are identified. Considering the highly competitive nature of the ski industry and the generally low climate change risk appraisal within the industry, climate change adaptation is anticipated to remain individualistic and reactive for some time. With only a few exceptions, the existing climate change literature on winter tourism has not considered the wide range of adaptation options identified in this paper and has likely overestimated potential damages. An important task for future studies is to develop methodologies to incorporate adaptation so that a more accurate understanding of the vulnerability of the international ski industry can be ascertained.     

The feasibility of processing lead-based paint abatement wastes through primary and secondary lead smelters

This study was undertaken to determine the feasibility of processing soil and lead-based paint (LBP) abatement waste through primary and secondary lead smelting facilities. The main objectives were to determine the compatibility of soil and LBP abatement waste with lead smelting circuits; the costs associated with transporting and processing the abatement waste through a smelter; and a review of major environmental laws or regulations which may impact the lead smelting industry's ability to carry out this process. While not all categories of LBP wastes are suited for reclamation through lead smelters, sufficient classes are to make the effort worthwhile. Specifically, lead paint chips, dusts, heatgun sludge, soils and certain blasting abrasives appear metallurgically compatible with the lead smelting circuits. Additionally, there do not appear to be any current regulatory statutes that forbid the process from being carried out, so long as certain permit modifications are obtained. Finally, the estimated smelting costs seem to compare favourably with current treatment and disposal fees at approved landfills. However, despite the promise of these initial findings, a great deal of work remains to be done if the concept of processing lead paint wastes through lead smelters for reclamation is to become a reality.     

Molecular relationships and species divergence among <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phragmatopoma</Emphasis> spp. (Polychaeta: Sabellaridae) in the Americas

Phragmatopoma spp. are marine, reef-building polychaetes that inhabit the intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of both coasts of the Americas. Phragmatopoma californica is found in the Pacific Ocean along the California coast south to Mexico, while Phragmatopoma caudata inhabits the Caribbean islands and Atlantic Ocean from the Florida coast south to Brazil. Although apparently geographically isolated, P. californica and P. caudata have been found to interbreed (Pawlik 1988a) and thus their specific taxonomic relationship has been unclear. In this study, two genes, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-1), were sequenced to assess the specific status of P. californica and P. caudata as well as Phragmatopoma virgini. Comparison of sequences revealed that samples of P. californica shared no COI haplotypes or ITS-1 sequences with P. caudata. Phylogenetic analyses, including maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods, clustered each species in separate, well-supported clades with genetic distances between them being greater than between either contested species or the uncontested, valid species, P. virgini. Thus, the molecular data support that P. californica and P. caudata are separate species. However, the sample of individuals of P. virgini included one genetically divergent individual, whose morphology was found to match that of a species formerly recognized as P. moerchi but since synonymized with P. virgini. Divergences among lineages were dated using the COI sequences, after adjustment for non-clock-like behavior. Consequently, we suggest that P. virgini and P. caudata are sister taxons and that P. californica diverged from the P. virgini/P. caudata clade ∼5.7 mya with P. virgini diverging from P. caudata ∼3 mya.     

Economic aspects of appropriative water rights

In the and portion of the western U.S., economic development has been affected by the doctrine of appropriative water rights. This paper considers the efficiency aspects of the appropriative doctrine for the case of a stochastic and uncontrolled river, then, subsequently, extends the analysis to the case where the presence of an upstream storage facility provides some degree of flexibility in determining releases. Lastly, the effects of institutions which limit the degree of river use and the implicit release policies attendant are considered.     

On interacting bee/mite populations: a stochastic model with analysis using cumulant truncation

Parasitism by the Varroa mite has had recent drastic impact on both managed and feral bee colonies. This paper proposes a stochastic population dynamics model for interacting African bee colony and Varroa mite populations. Cumulant truncation procedures are used to obtain approximate transient cumulant functions, unconstrained by the usual assumption of bivariate Normality, for an assumed large-scale model. The apparent size of the variance and skewness functions suggest the importance of the proposed truncation procedure which retains some higher-order cumulants, but determining the accuracy of the approximations is problematical. A smaller-scale bee/Varroa mite model is hence proposed and investigated. The accuracy for the means is exceptional, for the second-order cumulants is moderate, and for some third-order cumulants is poor. Notwithstanding the poor accuracy of a skewness approximation, the saddlepoint approximations for the marginal transient population size distributions are excellent. The cumulant truncation methodology is very general, and research is continuing in its application to this new class of host-parasite models.