Rapid and radical amniodrainage in the treatment of severe twin–twin transfusion syndrome†

We have evaluated the role of a rapid and radical method of amniodrainage in the treatment of severe twin–twin transfusion. The outcome of 15 patients with severe twin–twin transfusion for which a amniodrainage was performed by means of a vacuum bottle system was compared with the outcome of 15 patients with a similar condition, matched for gestational age at the time of the initial procedure and drained using a standard procedure. In the study group the amniodrainage ended when no amniotic fluid could be aspirated, whereas the women in the standard group were drained with a syringe system and the fluid was removed until the deepest amniotic fluid pool was <8 cm. At the initial procedure, the mean volume of amniotic fluid drained was significantly (p<0.05) higher (3252 vs 2153 ml) and the length of the procedure significantly (p<0.001) shorter (21 vs 41 min) in the study group than in the standard group. The mean post-procedure amniotic fluid index was significantly (p<0.001) smaller (2.9 vs 7.7 cm) after radical amniodrainage than after the standard amniodrainage. The mean number of procedures was significantly (p<0.001) lower (1.5 vs 5.6) in the study group compared to the standard group. In the study group the mean placental thickness increased significantly (p<0.001) from 9 mm before the procedure to 49 mm after, and the overall perinatal survival rate was 80% and the proportion of pregnancies with at least one survivor was 93%. The present data indicate that early, rapid and radical amniodrainage is an effective and low-cost therapy for severe twin–twin transfusion syndrome. Compared to the standard amniodrainage technique it also appears to reduce the need for multiple procedures. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the hydrodynamic behavior of diatom aggregates using particle image velocimetry

The hydrodynamic behavior of diatom aggregates has a significant influence on the interactions and flocculation kinetics of algae. However, characterization of the hydrodynamics of diatoms and diatom aggregates in water is rather difficult. In this laboratory study, an advanced visualization technique in particle image velocimetry (PIV) was employed to investigate the hydrodynamic properties of settling diatom aggregates. The experiments were conducted in a settling column filled with a suspension of fluorescent polymeric beads as seed tracers. A laser light sheet was generated by the PIV setup to illuminate a thin vertical planar region in the settling column, while the motions of particles were recorded by a high speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. This technique was able to capture the trajectories of the tracers when a diatom aggregate settled through the tracer suspension. The PIV results indicated directly the curvilinear feature of the streamlines around diatom aggregates. The rectilinear collision model largely overestimated the collision areas of the settling particles. Algae aggregates appeared to be highly porous and fractal, which allowed streamlines to penetrate into the aggregate interior. The diatom aggregates have a fluid collection efficiency of 10%-40%. The permeable feature of aggregates can significantly enhance the collisions and flocculation between the aggregates and other small particles including algal cells in water.     

Aseptically collected calf serum as an effective alternative to fetal calf serum in the culture of amniotic fluid cells

The growth-promoting activities of three different bovine sera have been compared in primary and secondary amniotic fluid cell cultures. In secondary amniotic fluid cell micro- cultures, aseptically collected calf serum (CS) was slightly, though not significantly more effective than fetal calf serum (FCS) in promoting DNA synthesis, while newborn calf serum (NCS) was significantly less effective than either CS or FCS. All three sera were optimally effective at concentrations of 10 per cent (v/v). Significant variation in quality occurred within four batches of each of CS and FCS, but not within four batches of NCS. A selected batch of CS was significantly more effective in promoting the growth of primary amniotic fluid cell cultures than were a number of batches of FCS then in routine laboratory use. It is suggested that CS may serve as an effective and economical alternative to FCS in the culture of amniotic fluid cells, thereby expanding the scope of serum batch testing. A possible explanation for the varying growth-promoting activities of different sera is discussed.     

Unexpected structural chromosome rearrangements in prenatal diagnosis

Among 5315 prenatal diagnoses performed for various indications (maternal age, neural tube defect, metabolic diseases, X-linked diseases, pathologic pregnancies) 29 unexpected structural chromosome rearrangements were found in fetal cells. Fourteen were de novo chromosome rearrangements, six unbalanced, and eight balanced. Fifteen were inherited and balanced rearrangements. This high frequency of structural anomalies is discussed.     

废钻井液、泥浆的处理与控制对策

介绍中原油田分公司实施源头控制,减少废钻井液产生和利用无害化技术处理钻井废弃泥浆的实践,分析存在的主要问题,提出减少废钻井液产生的控制对策.     

一种高效节能的生物三相流化床技术

将竖流式生物三相流化床改为封闭卧式生物三相流化床后 ,不但保留了竖流式生物三相流化床原有的优点 ,消除了竖流式生物三相流化床存在的一些缺陷 ,而且又新增了功能 ,特别是电耗下降近 4 0 %。并着重介绍封闭卧式生物三相流化床在地下车库或其它对高度有限制场所的应用实例。该设备在处理餐饮业废水和一些中、小型工业有机废水中有较高的推广价值。     

Numerical simulation of small-scale pool fires of LNG

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been largely indicated as a promising alternative solution for the transportation and storage of natural gas. In the case of accidental release on the ground, a pool fire scenario may occur. Despite the relevance of this accident, due to its likelihood and potential to trigger domino effects, accurate analyses addressing the characterization of pool fires of LNG are still missing.In this work, the fire dynamic simulator (FDS) has been adopted for the evaluation of the effects of the released amount of fuel and its composition (methane, ethane, and propane), on the thermal and chemical properties of small-scale LNG pool fire. More specifically, the heat release rate, the burning rate, the flame height, and thermal radiation, at different initial conditions, have been evaluated for pool having diameter smaller than 10 m. Safety distances have been calculated for all the investigated conditions, as well.Results have also been compared with data and correlations retrieved from the current literature. The equation of Thomas seems to work properly for the definition of the height over diameter ratio of the LNG pool fire for all the mixture and the investigated diameters.The addition of ethane and propane significantly affects the obtained results, especially in terms of radiative thermal radiation peaks, thus indicating the inadequacy of the commonly adopted assumption of pure methane as single, surrogate species for the LNG mixture.     

采空区注超临界CO2防灭火试验研究

为研究超临界CO₂注入采空区防灭火的规律,自主研制了产生超临界CO₂和模拟采空区遗煤自燃升温试验系统,得到了不同温压条件下超临界CO₂注入采空区前后不同监测点的温度、O₂和CO浓度变化数据信息。试验结果表明:注入采空区的超临界CO₂发生相变,有序结构急速失序,大量吸收热量,采空区内的煤体、空气温度随时间呈线性快速下降规律,其降温能力是气态N₂的10倍;超临界CO₂在自燃发火煤体中的强渗透扩散特性,使自燃煤体快速惰化,防灭火效率高;停止注入后,小范围回温符合反二次函数特征;高压力超临界CO₂相对于低压条件,防灭火性能更佳;超临界CO₂是1种降温降氧能力显著,且输送性能优良的采空区新型防灭火材料,超临界CO₂防灭火效果优于气态N₂。     

4种中草药的超临界CO2萃取物对霉菌的抑制效果

利用气相扩散法、固相扩散法、平板法研究了荷叶、艾叶、佩兰、细辛4种中草药的超临界CO2萃取物对霉菌的抑制作用和最低抑制浓度(MIC).结果表明,4种中草药的超临界CO2萃取物对单一或混合霉菌均有较强的抑制作用,荷叶和细辛的MIC<1.56g/L,佩兰的MIC<0.63g/L,艾叶的MIC<0.2g/L.表3参11     

TiO2光催化剂的超临界CO2萃取法制备及其降解甲基橙的活性

用超临界二氧化碳萃取TiO2醇凝胶制备纳米二氧化钛粉体，对萃取工艺条件进行了讨论，并用XRD，FT-IR，BET和DRS对上述粉体进行表征．以光催化降解甲基橙为模型反应，结果表明，与超临界二氧化碳干燥所得的粒子比较，该工艺干燥的TiO2粉体粒径小，比表面积大，光催化活性较高。