Prenatal diagnosis and prenatal imaging features of fetal monosomy 1p36

Deletion of the distal end of the short arm of chromosome 1 (1p36) is thought to be a common terminal chromosomal deletion. However, few cases prospectively diagnosed prenatally have been reported. In this case, prenatal ultrasound at 21 weeks of gestation noted the fetus to have mild ventriculomegaly (Vhanterior = 11 mm and Vhposterior = 12 mm) and increased nuchal edema (6 mm). Maternal serum α-fetoprotein was normal unlike in a majority of previously described cases. The prenatal ultrasound features were further clarified with fetal MRI. Chromosome analysis following amniocentesis demonstrated a 1p36 deletion, which was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The syndrome associated with 1p36 deletion is well described in infants and is characterized by typical facial features (prominent forehead, straight eyebrows. deep-set eyes, flat nasal bridge and a pointed chin). Other associated features are neurodevelopmental delay, seizures, cardiomyopathy and neurosensory hearing impairment. This case supplements our knowledge of the prenatal features of 1p36. Identification of this deletion by direct chromosomal analysis can be technically difficult and vigilance is required to improve diagnosis. FISH analysis is an important diagnostic adjunct where the diagnosis is suspected following classical G-banding techniques. However, in this chromosomal anomaly there remain few characteristic prenatal signs that are readily diagnosed with prenatal imaging. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A rare inherited euchromatic heteromorphism on chromosome 1

Extra genetic material that is euchromatic is generally regarded to be associated with phenotypic abnormalities. However, recent studies suggest that this is not always the case. Chromosome analysis was performed on amniotic fluid cells from a 37-year-old phenotypi-cally normal patient referred for advanced maternal age. All the cells analysed showed a karyotype of 46, XY, 1p-K The 1p+ chromosome had extra genetic material of uncertain origin in chromosome band region 1p21 →31. Chromosome analysis on the father revealed a normal 46, XY male karyotype. The mother's karyotype showed the same 1p+ chromosome. C and Q banding, as well as silver staining studies, in both the mother and the fetus support the interpretation that the extra chromosomal material was euchromatic in nature. This 1p + chromosome may be characterized as a euchromatic heteromorphism. Euchromatic hetero-morphisms not associated with phenotypic abnormalities have been reported for chromosomes 9 and 16. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report involving this type of cytogenetic anomaly on chromosome number 1 in a phenotypically normal mother and infant.     

东莞市PM1中重金属元素的污染特征及来源解析

采集了2011年8月—2012年7月间东莞市不同区域两点(A:生活区;B:工业区)的PM2.5～10、PM1～2.5和PM1样品,并用ICP-MS分析了颗粒物上Pb、Cu、Zn、As、Cd、V、Mn、Cr、Hg和Al等10种元素,重点研究了PM1中除Al外其它9种重金属元素的污染特征.分析结果显示,工业区B点PM1中的重金属污染明显较生活区A点严重,9种重金属元素在B点PM1中的浓度是A点的2.3～4.4倍.Zn和Pb是A、B两点PM1中主要的重金属元素,同时各重金属元素质量占PM1质量百分比范围为0.0008%～0.3530%.粒径分布、富集因子分析的结果显示,大部分重金属元素主要富集在PM1中,且主要受人为源的影响.因子分析源解析结果表明,A、B两点PM1主要来源于4类污染源:燃煤源、机动车/工厂燃油源、冶金化工源、土壤尘.污染源特征分析表明,偏北风时东莞地区PM1受局地源远距离输送影响更严重,偏南风时受本地污染源影响更严重.     

人金属硫蛋白基因(MT1E)在毕赤酵母中的表达及其铬抗性

金属硫蛋白(Metallothionein,MT)是一类富含半胱氨酸的蛋白质,巯基含量丰富,其半胱氨酸上的巯基对重金属离子有极强的结合力,能够结合重金属形成无毒或低毒的络合物,具有重金属解毒的功能.本文根据已公布的人金属硫蛋白基因MT1E序列,用Vector NTI 7.0软件设计合成12条寡聚核苷酸片段,并拼接得到MT1E完整基因.将测序正确的MT1E基因克隆至酵母表达载体pPIC9K,酶切验证后的阳性克隆命名为pPIC9K-MT1E,含有该重组基因的毕赤酵母工程菌命名为GS115/pPIC9K-MT1E.通过酶联免疫(Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay,ELISA)方法检测到GS115/pPIC9K-MT1E工程菌发酵液有金属硫蛋白酶活性,表明人金属硫蛋白MT1E基因能在毕赤酵母GS115菌株中正确分泌表达.铜(Cu)、锌(Zn)、锰(Mn)、铬(Cr)、钴(Co)重金属抗性分析表明,工程菌GS115/pPIC9K-MT1E对Cr(Ⅵ)的抗性较强,有解毒重金属Cr(Ⅵ)的能力.     

重庆地区区域灰霾观测初步研究

2012年灰霾试点监测结果表明,灰霾日天数有明显减少。细颗粒物(PM2.5)浓度限值增加,使仅因重庆城市地域和气候原因造成部分相对湿度较低,而实际环境空气质量较好的灰霾日排除在外,更客观评价灰霾日发生规律。结合气象条件和颗粒物质量浓度对比情况表明,局域气候条件的变化将促使PM2.5和PM1吸湿增长明显,一定程度上促使粗颗粒物PM10质量浓度增加,局域污染物传输扩散不利,能见度减低,灰霾现象频增。     

1株对叔丁基邻苯二酚降解菌的筛选鉴定及响应面法优化其降解

从某化工厂污水处理车间活性污泥中分离、筛选到1株能以对叔丁基邻苯二酚(p-tert-Butylcatechol,TBC)为唯一碳源和能源生长的菌株YH1.经形态特征、生理生化、BIOLOG细菌自动鉴定系统和16S r DNA序列分析,鉴定菌株YH1为皱纹假单胞菌(Pseudomonas corrugate).在温度为24~36℃,p H为7.0~10.0的条件下,菌株YH1可使浓度低于500 mg·L-1的TBC降解率达到82%以上.运用单因素实验初步确定TBC降解的最适外加碳源和氮源分别为蔗糖和胰蛋白胨,最适温度为30℃,最适初始p H为7.0,最适接种量为2%.为了提高降解率,首先利用Plackett-Burman实验设计评估并筛选出影响TBC降解的3个关键因素:蔗糖、胰蛋白胨、初始p H.用最陡爬坡实验逼近以上3个因子的最大响应区域,采用Box-Behnken实验设计及响应面法分析,确定其最优降解条件为蔗糖浓度3%(ρ)、胰蛋白胨浓度1.44%(ρ)、TBC浓度400 mg·L-1、初始p H值8.12、接种量2.97%(φ)、温度30℃、培养时间96 h,在此条件下TBC降解率可达98.21%.TBC降解酶活性及酶定域实验表明,菌株YH1相关降解酶为胞内酶,且TBC可诱导邻苯二酚1,2双加氧酶(C12O)的合成.通过降解酶特异性引物从菌株YH1扩增得到C12O基因片段,经质粒检测和消除实验发现菌株YH1相关降解基因位于质粒上.此外,菌株YH1能耐受高浓度Na Cl和多种重金属离子,对多种抗生素具有抗性.研究结果为有效处理复杂工业废水提供了理论基础.     

Hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of dietary Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide against TCDD-induced hepatic injury and RT-PCR quantification of AHR2, ARNT2, CYP1A mRNA in Jian Carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian)

To evaluate the protective effects of Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide (GPS) against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced hepatotoxicity in Jian carp, the fish were fed diets containing GPS at doses of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg for 60 days before an intraperitoneal injection of 0.6 μg/kg TCDD at a volume of 0.05 mL/10 g body weight. At 72 hr post-injection, blood and liver samples were taken for biochemical analysis and the fish liver samples were used for the preparation of pathological slices. The results showed that increases in alanine aminotransferase (GPT), aspartate aminotransferase (GOT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) in serum induced by TCDD were significantly inhibited by pre-treatment with 1.0 g/kg GPS. Following the 1.0 g/kg GPS pre-treatment, total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in liver tissue increased significantly, malondialdehyde (MDA) formation (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) was significantly inhibited, and the expression of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A), aryl hydrocarbon receptor 2 (AHR2) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2 (ARNT2) mRNA (P < 0.05) was significantly enhanced. Histological observations on fish liver were obtained by preparing paraffin tissue sections via HE staining, and the results showed that histological changes were obviously reduced by 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg GPS. GPS significantly reduced liver tissue damage caused by TCDD. Overall, these results proved the hepatoprotective effect of GPS in protecting against fish liver injury induced by TCDD, and supported the use of GPS (1.0 g/kg) as a hepatoprotective and antioxidant agent in fish.     

Biphasic reduction model for predicting the impacts of dye-bath constituents on the reduction of tris-azo dye Direct Green-1 by zero valent iron (Fe)

Influence of common dye-bath additives, namely sodium chloride, ammonium sulphate, urea, acetic acid and citric acid, on the reductive decolouration of Direct Green 1 dye in the presence of Fe⁰ was investigated. Organic acids improved dye reduction by augmenting Fe⁰ corrosion, with acetic acid performing better than citric acid. NaCl enhanced the reduction rate by its ‘salting out’ effect on the bulk solution and by Cl⁻ anion-mediated pitting corrosion of iron surface. (NH₄)₂SO₄ induced ‘salting out’ effect accompanied by enhanced iron corrosion by SO₄^2 − anion and buffering effect of NH₄⁺ improved the reduction rates. However, at 2 g/L (NH₄)₂SO₄ concentration, complexating of SO₄^2 − with iron oxides decreased Fe⁰ reactivity. Urea severely compromised the reduction reaction, onus to its chaotropic and ‘salting in’ effect in solution, and due to it masking the Fe⁰ surface. Decolouration obeyed biphasic reduction kinetics (R² > 0.993 in all the cases) exhibiting an initial rapid phase, when more than 95% dye reduction was observed, preceding a tedious phase. Maximum rapid phase reduction rate of 0.955/min was observed at pH 2 in the co-presence of all dye-bath constituents. The developed biphasic model reckoned the influence of each dye-bath additive on decolouration and simulated well with the experimental data obtained at pH 2.     

Modified ADM1 for modeling free ammonia inhibition in anaerobic acidogenic fermentation with high-solid sludge

Anaerobic acidogenic fermentation with high-solid sludge is a promising method for volatile fatty acid (VFA) production to realize resource recovery. In this study, to model inhibition by free ammonia in high-solid sludge fermentation, the anaerobic digestion model No. 1 (ADM1) was modified to simulate the VFA generation in batch, semi-continuous and full scale sludge. The ADM1 was operated on the platform AQUASIM 2.0. Three kinds of inhibition forms, e.g., simple inhibition, Monod and non-inhibition forms, were integrated into the ADM1 and tested with the real experimental data for batch and semi-continuous fermentation, respectively. The improved particle swarm optimization technique was used for kinetic parameter estimation using the software MATLAB 7.0. In the modified ADM1, the K_s of acetate is 0.025, the k_m,ac is 12.51, and the K_{I_NH3} is 0.02, respectively. The results showed that the simple inhibition model could simulate the VFA generation accurately while the Monod model was the better inhibition kinetics form in semi-continuous fermentation at pH 10.0. Finally, the modified ADM1 could successfully describe the VFA generation and ammonia accumulation in a 30 m³ full-scale sludge fermentation reactor, indicating that the developed model can be applicable in high-solid sludge anaerobic fermentation.