Fluoride distibution and the effect of some ions along Alexandria coastal Mediterranean seawater of Egypt

The coastal seawater of Mediterranean of Alexandria receives large amount of discharged waters containing industrial wastes, sewage, and agricultural and domestic drainage. Fluoride and some parameters were(chemical and physical) determined. The data gave indication that the content and the amount of the discharged water largely affect the chemical composition of the coastal water. Stepwise regression analysis was highly significant and the model was very fruitful, where the observed and calculated values were mostly concordant. This may indicated that there was a relation between fluoride content in coastal seawater and its content in the discharged water.     

过程模拟法在清洁生产研究中的应用

以醋酸清洁生产为例，介绍了过程模拟法在清洁生产研究中的应用。利用现代过程模拟技术，可在较小人力、物力投入的前提下，获得更多的系统信息，有利于清洁生产工艺的确定及操作参数的优化。     

亚铵制浆黑液非无菌操作连续发酵生产酵母

从土壤中筛选出能在亚铵黑液中生长的毕赤酵母菌株（Ｐｉｃｈｉａ ｓｐ．Ｎｏ．１）经耐毒驯化后，可接种于酸析脱木素和汽提脱毒后的亚铵黑液中，在非无菌操作条件下连续发酵生产酵母菌体，该菌生产迅速，连续培养衡释率达０．２６ｈ＾－１，总糖的酵母得率为０．４８ｇ／ｇ（ＴＳ），ＣＯＤ去除２３％，菌体易絮凝，可自然沉降分离。     

Pitfalls in the prenatal diagnosis of peroxisomal β-oxidation defects by chorionic villus sampling

Variability in the level of expression of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) is documented in cultured chorionic villus (CV) cells derived from two fetuses, one at risk for an unusual peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation defect, and the other at risk for the X-linked form of adrenoleucodystrophy (ALD). Cells from early subcultures of chorionic cells from both cases gave normal values for VLCFA ratios. The results for the fetus at risk for the β-oxidation defect were interpreted to indicate that the fetus was not affected; however, at birth, the infant was clinically and biochemically affected. In the case of the fetus at risk for X-linked ALD, although VLCFAs were normal in subculture 1, the levels of these fatty acids increased dramatically in subculture 3, suggesting an abnormal fetus. Termination of the pregnancy and subsequent biochemical and morphological follow-up confirmed that the fetus was indeed affected by ALD.     

环境模型的统计评价

系统地探讨了评价模型的统计指标,并在BOD反应动力学模型中使用,取得了较好的效果。     

Extraction of DNA from amniotic fluid cells for the early prenatal diagnosis of genetic disease

Ten-ml samples of amniotic fluid were taken from pregnancies being terminated at 8–14 weeks' gestation. DNA was extracted from the amniotic cells by sequential centrifugation and analysed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fifteen samples were analysed for evidence of maternal contamination using Mfd5 oligo-nucleotide primers for repeat polymorphisms. Ten amniotic fluid samples were tested for the Delta-F₅₀₈ deletion characteristic of cystic fibrosis to demonstrate a diagnostic application for the technique. In each case, DNA extracted from fetal tissue from the same pregnancy was included in the controls. In 14 of the 15 cases tested with the Mfd5 primers, both the amniotic fluid DNA and the fetal DNA showed no evidence of contaminating DNA. In one case, neither the amniotic fluid cells nor the fetal cells yielded results. In nine of the ten cases tested with the Delta-F₅₀₈ primers, the amniotic fluid cell DNA provided accurate information about the genetic status of the fetus; in the tenth, the fetal DNA failed to amplify. The results indicate that adequate DNA can be extracted from amniotic fluid from 8 weeks' gestation onward and these samples are suitable for prenatal diagnosis using PCR.     

Transient division of labor and behavioral specialization in the ant Formica schaufussi

Cooperative prey retrieval in the monomorphic ant Formica schaufussi is carried out by workers that perform functionally distinct roles which persist only for the duration of a single retrieval event. A forager (scout) that locates prey too large to retrieve individually organizes cooperative prey transport by recruiting nestmates (recruits) to assist in retrieval. The scout and recruit roles appear to be determined by whether a worker activates recruitment or is recruited from the nest. Scouts organize recruitment and play a key role in maintaining the cohesion of the retrieval group. If a scout that has initiated group transport is experimentally removed, the recruited workers composing the retrieval group typically abandon the prey and cooperative foraging is terminated. In this context, recruits are unable to function as scouts and reorganize group transport. Individuals marked as recruits in one prey retrieval, however, can switch and act as scouts in subsequent retrievals. Because the roles of individuals persist within but not between retrieval events, the specialization involved in cooperative prey retrieval cannot easily be explained as a response associated with age-related or genetic predispositions. This transient division-of-labor, in which individual roles may persist only for the duration of a single group action, represents a novel type of short-term individual specialization.     

Occurrence,functions and biosynthesis of polyamides in microorganisms and biotechnological production

Microorganisms are able to synthesize three different polyamides by enzymatic processes independently from ribosomal protein biosynthesis: poly(gamma-D-glutamic acid), poly(epsilon-L-lysine) and multi-L-arginyl-poly(L-aspartic acid) which is also referred to as cyanophycin. These polyamides, which occur mainly in Bacillus spp. (and only a few other eubacteria and the nematocysts of Cnidaria, in Streptomyces albulus or in cyanobacteria, respectively), have recently attracted considerable interest of the chemical industry and may be suitable for various applications. This review summarizes our current knowledge on the occurrence, biosynthesis, physiological functions, and biodegradation as well as on the properties and putative applications of these polyamides. Emphasis is placed on the enzymology of the polymerization and on the genes encoding the polymerizing enzymes, which have only recently become available for cyanophycin synthetases. Prospects for novel production processes. in particular for cyanophycin, are also presented.     

膜生物反应器处理印染废水的研究进展

印染废水是一种有机物含量高、色度深、生化性差、难降解的工业废水,采用传统的污水处理工艺很难达到排放标准,对新型、高效的处理工艺的研究越来越受到人们的关注.膜生物反应器是一种新型水处理技术,具有传统废水处理工艺所无法比拟的优势,通过膜生物反应器处理后的印染废水,甚至达到了回用水标准,在此基础上对现在研究较多的膜生物反应器的改进技术进行了综述并指出了还有待解决的问题,为将来的发展提供参考和依据.