Preimplantation genetic diagnosis using FISH for carriers of Robertsonian translocations: the Portuguese experience

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an alternative to prenatal diagnosis for couples at risk of transmitting genetic disorders to their offspring. We present a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of embryos obtained after seven PGD cycles in six couples with Robertsonian translocations and male factor infertility: 4 der(13;14), 1 der(14;21) and 1 der(15;21). Of 74 metaphase II (MII) injected oocytes, 61 (82.4%) fertilized normally and cleaved. Of these, 37/61 (60.7%) embryos were of high morphological quality with ≥6 blastomeres. After biopsy of 44 embryos at day 3 of development, seven degenerated, seven arrested in development and 30/44 (68.2%) evolved, of which 25/30 (83.3%) reached the morula/blastocyst stage. Analysis of biopsied blastomeres showed 23/44 (52.3%) of normal/balanced embryos, of which 15 (11 at the morula/blastocyst stage) were transferred in six cycles. One term pregnancy was achieved, which ended by cesarean section at 37 weeks of gestation, giving birth to two healthy newborn. Analysis of 49 embryos (excluding 12 inconclusive cases) showed a predominance of alternate segregation (38/49, 77.6%) over adjacent segregation (7/49, 14.3%), with one (2%) being a polyploid mosaic and three (6.1%) chaotic. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of hand weeding strip and nitrogen fertilizer on corn plants

The objective of the present research was to evaluate effects of different strip weed control associated with nitrogen fertilizer on corn applied after planting. The experiment was set and conducted in Botucatu, S?o Paulo State, Brazil, and the hybrid planted was Dekalb 333-B. A completely randomized block design with four replications was used. Experimental plots were disposed as a factorial scheme 2 x 2 x 4, constituted by two types of weeding on row (with or without manual hoeing), two types of weeding on inter-row (with or without manual hoeing), and four nitrogen levels applied after planting (00, 60, 90, and 120 kg ha(-1)). Plots were composed by six rows with 5 m length. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied at 35 days after emergence (d.a.e). For weed community it was evaluated: weed density, dominancy, frequency, and relative importance. The main weed species were: Brachiaria plantiginea, Amaranthus retroflexus, Bidens pilosa, Cyperus rotunds, Brachiaria decumbens, Euphorbia heterofila, Oxalis latifolia, Acanthospermum hispidum, Commelina benghalensis. It was evaluated corn height at 40 and 100 d.a.e., first ear insertion height at 100 d.a.e., and final grain yield at harvesting. Plants and first ear insertion height were affected when nitrogen fertilizer was not applied. Treatments without weed control showed that weed interfered negatively with plants height. There were no correlation between weeds and nitrogen fertilizer for all parameters evaluated. Parcels without weed showed the highest ear weights and final grain production. Treatments that received nitrogen fertilizer, independently of studied arrangement, provided higher yields.     

In situ and laboratory bioassays using Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859 in the biomonitoring of an acidic lake at Camaçari, BA, Brazil

The suitability and viability of acute in situ bioassays were investigated in the biomonitoring program of an acidic lake contaminated with sulphur residues. Responses of organisms observed in laboratory and in situ bioassays were also assessed to determine whether or not they were similar and comparable, regarding accuracy and precision. Newborn Poecilia reticulata were employed as test organisms and exposed to the same water samples under in situ and laboratory conditions. Mortality/immobility was the endpoint assessed and dead/immobile organisms were counted at various time intervals during exposure. The mean calculated LT50 values and 95% confidence intervals were 1.61 (1.36-1.87) h in the laboratory bioassays and 0.72 (0.55-0.89) h in the in situ bioassays. Statistical comparison of these values revealed a significant difference (p<0.05). In situ bioassays were more accurate than those carried out in the laboratory, demonstrating higher sensitivity and better reproduction of what occurs in nature, while laboratory bioassays were more precise.     

Arsenic chemistry in the rhizosphere of Pteris vittata L. and Nephrolepis exaltata L

This greenhouse experiment evaluated the influence of arsenic uptake by arsenic hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata L. and non-arsenic hyperaccumulator Nephrolepis exaltata L. on arsenic chemistry in bulk and rhizosphere soil. The plants were grown for 8 weeks in a rhizopot with a soil containing 105 mg kg(-1) arsenic. The soil arsenic was fractionated into five fractions with decreasing availability: non-specifically bound (N), specifically bound (S), amorphous hydrous-oxide bound (A), crystalline hydrous-oxide bound (C), and residual (R). P. vittata produced larger plant biomass (7.38 vs. 2.32 mg plant(-1)) and removed more arsenic (2.61 vs. 0.09 mg pot(-1) arsenic) than N. exaltata. Plant growth reduced water-soluble arsenic, and increased soil pH (P. vittata only) in the rhizosphere soil. P. vittata was more efficient than N. exaltata to access arsenic from all fractions (39-64% vs. 5-39% reduction). However, most of the arsenic taken up by both plants was from the A fraction (67-77%) in the rhizosphere soil, the most abundant (61.5%) instead of the most available (N fraction).     

Radon exhalation from phosphogypsum building boards: symmetry constraints, impermeable boundary conditions and numerical simulation of a test case

Comprehensive understanding of (222)Rn exhalation from phosphogypsum-bearing building material and its accumulation in indoor air is likely to rely on numerical simulation, particularly if transient effects, three-dimensional domains and convection are to be included and investigated. Yet, experimental data and analytical results are helpful (if not crucial) as far as validation is concerned. Having in mind computational code simplicity and in the light of a recent experimental and theoretical report on (222)Rn release from phosphogypsum boards for housing panels, this paper presents and discusses an alternative testing set-up and the corresponding boundary conditions, namely one side of the panel bounded by impermeable wall. Although this is a new facility to be tested, the resultant steady-state one-dimensional diffusion-dominant analytical solution is shown to match the counterpart deduced in the aforementioned previous report, despite it relaxes the constraint of symmetry about the phosphogypsum board centerline, which is inferred in that prior experimental scenario. In addition, numerical results are conducted for a diffusion-dominant two-dimensional time-varying test case concerning (222)Rn accumulation in a closed chamber having an exhaling phosphogypsum board tightly placed at one wall.     

Validity and reliability of a job factors questionnaire related to the work tasks of physical therapists

Physical therapists engage in work tasks that expose them to occupational risk factors related to musculoskeletal disorders. Due to the gap in the literature on instruments focused on those workers, this study adapted a job factors questionnaire to physical therapists, and assessed its psychometric properties. The questionnaire was adapted and its content validity was established. The psychometric properties were evaluated among 142 physical therapists. Reliability was verified using the temporal-stability design and internal consistency. Construct validity was assessed with the known-groups technique. Test-retest results demonstrated intraclass correlation coefficients between .82 and .90 (p < .001). Cronbach's α of .91 verified the reliability of the questionnaire. The known-groups technique demonstrated a statistically significant difference on the scores of the items when physical therapists were compared to office workers. The results indicated that the adapted questionnaire had acceptable psychometric properties for assessing problematic job factors among physical therapists working in hospitals.     

Is ionizing radiation effective in removing pharmaceuticals from wastewater?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Wastewater and effluent discharges are the main causes of receiving water body pollution and important challenges in water quality management. Among...     

The use of nanovermiculite catalyst in the study of removal of the organic load and degradation of atrazine via ozone process in RPB reactor

Abstract

The main objective of this study is the degradation of a synthetic solution of atrazine by a modified vermiculite catalyzed ozonation, in a rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor. A 0.5?L RPB reactor was used to perform the experiments, using a Central Composite Design (CCD) response surface to construct the quadratic model based on the factors: pH, catalyst concentration and reactor rotation frequency. The response variable was the removal of the organic load measured in terms of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). After the complete quadratic model was constructed through the response surface, the COD degradation process had an optimal removal of 41% under the following conditions: pH 8.0, rotation of 1150?rpm and catalyst concentration 0.66?g L^?1.     

Urban wild meat consumption and trade in central Amazonia

The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city markets in Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meat eaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State of Amazonas in Brazil through 1046 door-to-door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With these data, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We then scaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an average of 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by a family member (14.9%). Twenty-one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles (23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated with the proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality (administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat might be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person per year. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figure is comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in central Amazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies that allow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting.     

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) spawning seasonality in European waters of the northeast Atlantic

Egg data from ichthyoplankton monitoring sites in the western English Channel (1988–2003) and northern Spain (1990–2000) and macroscopic maturity data from biological samples of purse seine landings in western and southern Iberia (1980–2004) are used to describe the spawning seasonality of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) in European waters of the northeast Atlantic using generalised additive models. The fitted models reveal a double peak in spawning activity during early summer and autumn in the western Channel, a wider spring peak off northern Spain and a broad winter season in the western and southern Iberian Peninsula. At all sites, a high probability of spawning activity was observed over at least 3 months of the year, with the duration of the season increasing with both decreasing latitude and increasing fish size. Off western and southern Iberia there are indications that the spawning season has been of longer duration in recent years for all size classes (reaching in some cases 8 months of the year for large fish). These patterns are in general agreement with existing literature and theoretical expectations of sardine spawning being driven locally by the seasonal cycle of water temperature, assuming preferences for spawning at 14 –15°C and avoidance for temperatures below 12°C and above 16°C. Regional quotient plots indicated that spawning tolerance to higher temperatures increases progressively with decreasing latitude. Despite the weak evidence for geographical differences in temperature tolerance that may have some genetic origin, the degree of spatio-temporal overlap in sardine-spawning activity within Atlantic European waters is unlikely to promote any reproductive isolation in that area.