Prenatal diagnosis of congenital head,face, and neck malformations—Is complementary fetal MRI of value?

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a complement to ultrasound (US) in the prenatal diagnosis of craniofacial anomalies.

Methods

A historical cohort study including all pregnant women who were referred for fetal MRI because of antenatal diagnosis of craniofacial anomalies on screening US. Prenatal diagnostic US, MRI, and postnatal diagnosis were compared for consistencies and discrepancies.

Results

Forty-five pregnant women with 73 suspected fetal craniofacial anomalies diagnosed by US underwent MRI. In 40 out of 73 anomalies (54.8%), US and MRI findings were in complete agreement with postnatal diagnoses. MRI correctly ruled out the diagnosis of 24 anomalies suspected on US and diagnosed four additional pathologies that were not demonstrated by US. Out of the 85 anomalies (suspected by imaging or confirmed postnatally), confident diagnosis could be made by MRI in 68 anomalies (80%), not diagnosed in 10 (11.8%), and over-diagnosed in seven (8.2%). By US, confident diagnosis could be made in 44 anomalies (51.8%), not diagnosed in 11 (12.9%), and over-diagnosed in 30 (35.3%).

Conclusion

MRI is valuable in the antenatal evaluation of fetal craniofacial anomalies and may be useful as an adjunct to US in the prenatal work-up of craniofacial anomalies.     

Eco-labelling of wild-caught seafood products

Several eco-labels for wild-caught seafood have been developed during the last decade. This article describes and analyses the criteria applied by four different eco-labelling schemes for seafood products from capture fisheries, and discusses the criteria in terms of environmental impacts, based on the ISO 14040 standard for life cycle assessment.It is concluded that the most widespread eco-label, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), mainly addresses the fishing stage, in particular the overexploitation of marine resources. LCA studies confirm that the fishing stage represents the most significant environmental burden, but energy consumption and emissions of anti-fouling agents at the fishing or harvesting stage contribute with significant impacts that are not being addressed by international labelling initiatives for wild-caught seafood.LCA studies show that significant environmental impacts are related to the life cycle stages after landing. This includes fish processing, transport, cooling and packaging (especially for highly processed seafood products). Hence, another challenge would be to include criteria related to the post-landing consumption of energy, certain materials and chemicals, waste handling and wastewater emissions. Minimizing product losses throughout the product chain would also be an important area for future criteria in order to avoid fishing at high environmental costs only to produce something that is later wasted.The analysis shows that the Swedish KRAV is the only one that currently addresses a range of issues that include energy and chemicals in the whole life cycle of the products. International initiatives such as MSC cover fish products from many parts of the world emphasizing ‘overexploitation of fish resources’. It is recommended, however, that international initiatives such as MSC develop criteria related to energy use and chemicals – at least at the fishing stage. Over time, other life cycle stages could be addressed as well to the extent that this is manageable.     

The difference conservation makes to extinction risk of the world's ungulates

Previous studies show that conservation actions have prevented extinctions, recovered populations, and reduced declining trends in global biodiversity. However, all studies to date have substantially underestimated the difference conservation action makes because they failed to account fully for what would have happened in the absence thereof. We undertook a scenario‐based thought experiment to better quantify the effect conservation actions have had on the extinction risk of the world's 235 recognized ungulate species. We did so by comparing species’ observed conservation status in 2008 with their estimated status under counterfactual scenarios in which conservation efforts ceased in 1996. We estimated that without conservation at least 148 species would have deteriorated by one International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List category, including 6 species that now would be listed as extinct or extinct in the wild. The overall decline in the conservation status of ungulates would have been nearly 8 times worse than observed. This trend would have been greater still if not for conservation on private lands. While some species have benefited from highly targeted interventions, such as reintroduction, most benefited collaterally from conservation such as habitat protection. We found that the difference conservation action makes to the conservation status of the world's ungulate species is likely to be higher than previously estimated. Increased, and sustained, investment could help achieve further improvements.     

Pinealectomy and photoperiod influence testicular development in the djungarian hamster

The Science of Nature -     

Ecology, management and monitoring of grey dunes in Flanders

Grey dunes are a priority habitat type of the European Union Habitats Directive and demand special attention for conservation and management. Knowledge of the ecology of coastal grey dunes can contribute to this policy. Dune grassland succession is initiated by fixation and driven by the complex of soil formation (humus accumulation) and vegetation development. Leaching and mobilization of CaCO₃. which are important in nutrient dynamics, complicate the picture. At present, grass- and scrub encroachment greatly overrules these fine scaled soil processes and causes substantial loss of regional biodiversity. Belgium has an international responsibility in grey dune conservation because of the limited range of its characteristic vegetation, flora and fauna. As biomass removal seems essential in grassland preservation, grazing is an important management tool. Evaluation of management measures focuses on biodiversity measurements on the levels of landscape, community and species.