The EU-project ERAPharm. Incentives for the further development of guidance documents?

- Triggered by the detection of a large variety of pharmaceuticals in surface waters, soils and groundwaters across the world (e.g. Halling- Sørensen et al. 1998, Daughton & Ternes 1999, Jones et al. 2001, Heberer 2002) and the widespread occurrence of endocrine active compounds and related effects in the environment (e.g. Purdom et al. 1994, Tyler et al. 1998, Vethaak et al. 2002), pharmaceuticals in the environment have become an issue for both the scientific and the public community. During the last few years, our understanding of the fate and effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment has progressed significantly. However, there are still a number of uncertainties concerning the effects of pharmaceuticals on the environment and the assessment of potential exposure (e.g. Hanisch et al. 2004, Salomon 2005). These uncertainties will be addressed by the EU-project ‘Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals’ (ERAPharm). This project, a specific targeted research project, is carried out within the priority ‘Global change and ecosystems’ of the 6th framework programme of the European Union. ERAPharm has started on 1st October 2004; the project duration is three years.     

Is road rage increasing? Results of a repeated survey

PROBLEM: We report on trends in road rage victimization and perpetration based on population survey data. METHOD: Based on repeated cross-sectional telephone surveys of Ontario adults between July 2001 and December 2003, logistic regression analyses examined differences between years in road rage victimization and perpetration in the previous year controlling for demographic characteristics. RESULTS: The prevalence of any road rage victimization in the previous year decreased significantly from 47.5% in 2001 to 40.6% in 2003, while prevalence of any road rage perpetration remained stable (31.0% to 33.6%). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the odds of experiencing any road rage victimization was 33% higher in 2001 and 30% higher in 2002, than in 2003. DISCUSSION: Survey data provide a valuable perspective on road rage trends, but efforts to track road rage incidents is also needed. SUMMARY: In Ontario, the proportion of adults experiencing any road rage victimization decreased from 2001 to 2003 while the proportion reporting any road rage perpetration remained stable. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: None.     

连续式泡沫分离器深度处理胶团强化超滤渗透液中的SDS和Cd2+

利用泡沫分离技术,对胶团强化超滤(MEUF)工艺处理含SDS和Cd2 所得渗透液中SDS的回收进行了研究,考察了影响表面活性剂SDS(十二烷基硫酸钠)和金属Cd2 去除率,富集率及夹带率的操作参数(空气流速、泡沫高度、液面高度),溶液体系性质(表面活性剂SDS进料浓度、pH值、离子强度和乙醇的添加量)等因素对分离效果的影响.实验结果表明,当胶团强化超滤废水中初始SDS和Cd2 的浓度为1440 mg·L-1和50 mg·L-1时,排出的渗透液中含SDS和Cd2 浓度分别为500 mg·L-1和10 mg·L-1,在最佳的工艺条件下(曝气头孔径为10μm,空气流速为100L·h-1,液体流速为5L·h-1,泡沫高度为66cm,液面高度为45cm),SDS和Cd2 的去除率分别达52%和99.35%,SDS富集比为3.1.Cd2 出水浓度低于0.1 mg·L-1,达到GB8978-1996国家污水排放标准.     

The role of percutaneous umbilical blood sampling in the management of immune thrombocytopenic purpura

On consultation, percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS) was offered to women with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) to determine the mode and site of delivery prior to labour. Between January 1989 and December 1993, 41 pregnant women underwent PUBS. All women had a history of ITP, a platelet count less than 90 K, (+) antiplatelet antibody, and/or thrombocytopenia diagnosed early in pregnancy. PUBS was performed at term except in one patient with preterm labour, who underwent PUBS at 31 weeks' gestation. Patients with fetal platelet counts greater than 50 K returned to their referring physician for delivery. Records were complete in 39 pregnancies. Fetal blood was successfully obtained in 37 of 39 cases (95 per cent). Fetal platelet counts correlated with neonatal platelet counts in 36 of 37 cases (97 per cent). The interval between PUBS and delivery ranged from 0 to 31 days. Six of 37 fetuses (16 per cent) had significant fetal thrombocytopenia (<50 K). These six patients underwent Caesarean section. Vaginal delivery was recommended in all others. There were two procedure-related complications. There were no cases of intraventricular haemorrhage in any of the neonates. In conclusion, there is a high incidence of fetal thrombocytopenia in women with ITP. PUBS reliably detects fetal thrombocytopenia and is therefore useful in the perinatal planning of the mode and site of delivery.     

关于黄浦江水系表层沉积物的现状研究

采用1999年东海监测中心在黄浦江及上海市的9条小河浜采集分析的141个表层底泥理化数据，并以上海市的轮渡线划分江段，运用统计软件进行数据处理，结果表明黄浦江水系的铜、锌、铅明显富积，表层底泥的重金属和油类污染较严重，贡献因子主要为重金属、油类，其次为难降解有机氯化合物。小河浜表层底泥的污染比黄浦江干流相对更严重。     

历届环保最佳实用技术经济效益统计分析

统计分析了1992－1998年我国环保最佳实用技术的经济效益数据，得到了最佳实用技术经济效益的基本特点、年际变化规律及行业分布规律，并根据不同行业的特点，提出了相应的环保最佳实用技术推广模式。     

An infant with trisomy 9 mosaicism presenting as a complete trisomy 9 by amniocentesis

We present a case in which amniocentesis performed at 33 weeks' gestation because of symmetrical intrauterine growth retardation and decreased amniotic fluid volume led to the prenatal diagnosis of a fetus with a karyotype of 47,XX,+9, t(1;20)(q42;p11.2) pat, i.e., with an extra chromosome 9 and a balanced translocation between chromosomes 1 and 20. At delivery, the baby showed clinical features of trisomy 9, yet chromosome analysis of the cord blood revealed no trisomy 9 cells, a finding confirmed by neonatal blood karyotyping. The balanced translocation was present in all cells. A skin biopsy confirmed trisomy 9 mosaicism with 10 per cent trisomy 9 cells. The baby died at 6 weeks and an autopsy was obtained. Chromosome analysis of different organs demonstrated different frequencies of the mosaicism of trisomy 9. The possible underlying mechanism for the discrepancy between the karyotype results by amniocentesis and those of other tissues is discussed.     

Age cohorts as paternal sibships

Summary Characteristics of a populations's reproductive system affect the degree of relatedness within the age cohorts and maternal sibships of that population. Two consequences of a small litter size, particularly of size one, a relatively polygynous mating system at any one time period, and frequent replacement of reproductively active males over successive periods, are that (1) the set of offspring that each female produces (a maternal sibship) will usually consist of halfsiblings, and (2) within a social group the members of each age cohort will be closely related, either all forming one paternal sibship (half-siblings) if there is only one reproductively active male at a time, or in the case of several reproductively active males, a set of individuals whose mean relatedness is some-what ower than in the one-father case. In the present paper, degree of relatedness within each of these two subgroups is calculated on the basis of a simple model. I then examine effects of the various reproductive parameters on this relatedness and compare maternal sibships and age cohorts in the relative degree of relatedness within them. Age cohorts will often be identifiable, closely related units, paternal sibships in the extreme case. Age cohorts may be important in the evolution of family altruism. They differ from maternal sibships in interesting ways that may affect the kinds of behaviors that are likely to evolve.     

Dispersal-generated sexual selection in a beetle-riding pseudoscorpion

Summary After several generations within a decaying tree (Ficus spp.), populations of the pseudoscorpion Cordylochernes scorpioides disperse by climbing under the elytra of harlequin beetles (Acrocinus longimanus) eclosing from the tree. Because the beetles then fly to newly-decaying Ficus for mating and oviposition, they act as effective dispersal agents. Field experiments and observations indicate that this dispersal mode has been exploited by males who compete to remain on a beetle as a strategic site for inseminating females dispersing on it and on other beetles. Whereas beetles just eclosed from old trees carried large, female-biased groups of dispersing pseudoscorpions, beetles captured after their maiden flight generally carried a single large male. Multivariate morphometric analyses indicated that these beetle-riding males were much larger than individuals randomly sampled from trees, with fighting traits exhibiting the greatest potential for selection (highest phoretic differentials). In females, sexual receptivity was significantly higher at the beginning of dispersal than at the end, suggesting that mating occurs on beetles. Field experiments confirmed that on-beetle insemination does take place and that small males are displaced from the subelytral space by larger rivals. By contrast, laboratory experiments suggest that large male size may not confer high mating success under the low-density conditions which characterize populations within trees. Thus, in addition to indicating a novel role for dispersal in the evolution of exaggerated male traits, this study suggests that oscillating sexual selection may be important in the maintenance of the extreme phenotypic variation exhibited by males of this species.