Successful intrauterine shunting of a sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) causing fetal bladder obstruction

We report a case of a sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT) diagnosed at 22 weeks with a substantial intrapelvic cystic extension leading to bladder outlet obstruction and hydronephrosis at 27 weeks. Prenatal percutaneous shunting of the cystic teratoma was performed at 28 weeks to avoid prolonged fetal pelvic compression by the tumour that could have adverse effects by stretching the pelvic plexus and sacral nerves. Urinary dilatation resolved completely after shunting and a 3880 g baby girl was delivered at 39 weeks. The potential benefits of in utero shunting to avoid urological complications of SCTs with intrapelvic extension are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Abrupt biological response to hydrologic and land-use changes in Lake Apopka, Florida, USA

Lake Apopka is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in north-central Florida that experienced an abrupt shift in primary producer community structure (PPCS) in 1947. The PPCS shift was so abrupt anecdotal accounts report that dominant, submersed aquatic vegetation was uprooted by a hurricane in 1947 and replaced by phytoplankton within weeks. Here we propose two hypotheses to explain the sudden shift to phytoplankton. First, hydrologic modification of the drainage basin in the late 1800s lowered the lake level ca. 1.0 m, allowing the ecosystem to accommodate moderate, anthropogenic nutrient enrichment through enhanced production in the macrophyte community. Second, additional hydrologic changes and large-scale agricultural development of floodplain wetlands began in 1942 and altered the pattern and scale of phosphorus loading to the lake that triggered the rapid shift to phytoplankton dominance in 1947. Historic land-use changes and paleolimnological data on biological responses to nutrient loading support these hypotheses.     

Accelerating environmental cleanup at DOE sites: Monitored natural attenuation/enhanced attenuation—A basis for a new paradigm

The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting a project to accelerate remediation through the use of monitored natural attenuation and enhanced attenuation for chlorinated ethenes in soils and groundwater. Better monitoring practices, improved scientific understanding, and an advanced regulatory framework are being sought through a team effort that engages technology developers from academia, private industry, and government laboratories; site cleanup managers; stakeholders; and federal and state regulators. The team works collaboratively toward the common goals of reducing risk, accelerating cleanup, reducing cost, and minimizing environmental disruption. Cutting‐edge scientific advances are being combined with experience and sound environmental engineering in a broadly integrated and comprehensive approach that exemplifies socalled “third‐generation R&D.” The project is potentially a model for other cleanup activities. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A simulation study of the medium-term effects of field patterns on cross-pollination rates in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.)

Gene flow between cultivars within a landscape may lead to impurities that reduce harvest value. In OSR, as for most crops, impurity rates are expected to depend on the spatial distribution of crops over the landscape. However, in contrast to other well-studied crops such as maize, OSR crops generate seed banks in European agro-ecosystems. Gene flow is thus a spatio-temporal process which depends on cropping systems. We therefore aimed at identifying spatial variables that have an effect on regional or local harvest impurities, taking account of the time since the introduction of OSR crops in the regions and of cropping system. Gene flow was simulated over 36 field patterns cultivated with either 15% or 30% of OSR fields, among which 10% or 50% were GM, for three contrasted cropping systems, with the GeneSys software already used for EU co-existence studies. Through regression analyses, we determined spatial and agronomic factors that most affected harvest impurity rates of non-GM OSR after one or seven years of OSR cultivation. The cropping system was the main factor explaining regional harvest impurity rates. Its importance increased after six years of OSR cultivation. For a given cropping system, the regional impurity rate after one year increased linearly with the current proportion of GM crop. In contrast, impurity rates after six years largely depended on the proportions of OSR crop (GM or not) in the two preceding years. During the first year of OSR cultivation, local impurity rates were mostly explained by the distance to the closest GM field. After six years, these rates were mostly explained by the density of GM volunteers in the analysed field and, to a lesser degree, to that of volunteers in neighbour non-OSR fields. Cropping systems were most important in determining impurity rates and the way impurity rates related to regional or local factors. Determination of isolation distances to ensure harvest purity should thus consider past history of OSR cultivation in the area and, in particular, how current or future cropping systems will manage volunteers. Regression quantiles were fitted to the simulated data to determine regional rules (i.e. the maximum regional area of GM OSR and isolation distances between GM and non-GM crops) as a function of the risk accepted by the decision-maker (i.e. the % of situations exceeding harvest impurity thresholds), the cropping system and the volunteer infestation.     

Humic-like substances extracted from composts can promote the photodegradation of Irgarol 1051 in solar light

Humic-like substances (HLS) were extracted from a mixture of sewage sludges and trimmings (70-30%, w/w) after different times of composting (0, 70 days and 130 days). HLS were analyzed by elemental analysis, UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy and also tested for their ability to photosensitize the degradation of Irgarol. The rate of Irgarol photodegradation in artificial solar light was found to be 2.5- to 4.3-fold higher in the presence of HLS than in buffered Milli-Q water. These results were confirmed by experiments in solar light that evidenced the photodegrading properties of HLS in a more striking way. Using 2-propanol as hydroxyl radical scavenger, we could show that hydroxyl radicals contributed to the photosensitized Irgarol degradation for about 25%. The photodegrading activity of HLS, their absorbance and their emissive properties were all found to increase between 0 and 70 days of composting and to remain quite constant between 70 and 130 days. The degree of humification varied in the same way, linking all these properties to the humification process.     

Airborne measurements of peroxy radicals using the PERCA technique

The Peroxy Radical Chemical Amplifier (PERCA) technique is a proven method for measurement of ambient levels of peroxy radicals at ground level, but there are no published instances of the technique being used on an aerial platform. Here we describe deployment of a PERCA on the former UK Meteorological Office C-130 Hercules research aircraft. The instrument uses the established method of chemical amplification and conversion of peroxy radicals to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by doping the sample air-flow matrix with CO and NO, subsequently measuring the NO2 yield with an improved 'Luminox' LMA-3 NO2 detector. NO2 from the amplification chemistry is distinguished from other sources of NO2 reaching the detector by periodically injecting CO approximately 1 s downstream of the NO injection point (termination mode). Chain lengths (CL's) for the amplification chemistry were typically approximately 260 (ground level) to approximately 200 (7,000 m). This variation with altitude is less than the variation associated with the 'age' of the PFA inlet material where the amplification chemistry occurs; CL's of approximately 200 with old tubing to approximately 300 with new clean tubing were typical (ground level values). The CL determinations were made in-flight using an onboard calibration unit based on the 254 nm photolysis of 7.5 to 10 parts per billion (by volume, ppbv) of CH3I in air, producing CH3O2 in a quantitative manner. The noise-equivalent detection limit for peroxy radicals (HO2 + RO2) is 2 parts per trillion (by volume, pptv) at 3,650 m when the background ambient ozone levels are stable, based on a 5 min average of five 30 s amplification cycles and five 30 s termination cycles. This detection limit is a function of several factors but is most seriously degraded when there is large variability in the ambient ozone concentration. This paper describes the instrument design, considers its performance and proposes design improvements. It concludes that the performance of an airborne PERCA in the free troposphere can be superior to that of ground-based instruments when similar sampling frequencies are compared.     

Observations on the methane oxidation capacity of landfill soils

The objective of this study was to determine the role of CH₄ loading to a landfill cover in the control of CH₄ oxidation rate (g CH₄ m⁻² d⁻¹) and CH₄ oxidation efficiency (% CH₄ oxidation) in a field setting. Specifically, we wanted to assess how much CH₄ a cover soil could handle. To achieve this objective we conducted synoptic measurements of landfill CH₄ emission and CH₄ oxidation in a single season at two Southeastern USA landfills. We hypothesized that percent oxidation would be greatest at sites of low CH₄ emission and would decrease as CH₄ emission rates increased. The trends in the experimental results were then compared to the predictions of two differing numerical models designed to simulate gas transport in landfill covers, one by modeling transport by diffusion only and the second allowing both advection and diffusion. In both field measurements and in modeling, we found that percent oxidation is a decreasing exponential function of the total CH₄ flux rate (CH₄ loading) into the cover. When CH₄ is supplied, a cover’s rate of CH₄ uptake (g CH₄ m⁻² d⁻²) is linear to a point, after which the system becomes saturated. Both field data and modeling results indicate that percent oxidation should not be considered as a constant value. Percent oxidation is a changing quantity and is a function of cover type, climatic conditions and CH₄ loading to the bottom of the cover. The data indicate that an effective way to increase the % oxidation of a landfill cover is to limit the amount of CH₄ delivered to it.