Prenatal screening and diagnosis of neural tube defects

This review article discusses prenatal screening and diagnosis of neural tube defects (NTD). High detection rates occur in countries operating ultrasound screening programmes because classical two-dimensional ultrasound cranial signs (lemon shaped head, banana cerebellum, ventriculomegaly) are important diagnostic clues to the presence of spina bifida. Careful evaluation of both the spine and a search for other abnormalities is warranted. Important prognostic information for spina bifida relates to the lesion level, with a “watershed” between L3 and L4 marking a very high chance of being wheelchair bound with the higher lesions. Three-dimensional ultrasound using multiplanar views can achieve diagnostic accuracy within one vertebral body in around 80% of patients. There are high rates of pregnancy termination for spina bifida in many European countries, but the use of new imagining techniques allow better prediction of outcome, and consequently a refinement of prenatal counselling. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cystic lung lesions – prenatal diagnosis and management

With increasing use of fetal ultrasound comes an increase in the detection of clinically silent ‘abnormalities’ which pose diagnostic and management dilemmas for perinatologists and paediatricians. Congenital thoracic malformations (CTMs) (excluding congenital diaphragmatic hernia) are one such example, where a few cases are symptomatic in early life and management options are clear, but the majority are clinically asymptomatic, giving rise to difficulties in defining postnatal management of the well child with a sonographic or radiological lesion. Here, we will outline the prenatal presentation and natural history of CTMs that are not congenital diaphragmatic herniae and briefly discuss the approach to postnatal management, which is covered in more detail in the review by Laje and Liechty in this issue. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disorders of prosencephalic development

Abnormal ventral induction may result in disorders of formation, cleavage, and midline development of prosencephalic structures. Holoprosencephaly is a developmental field defect of impaired cleavage of prosencephalon. The most widely accepted classification of holoprosencephaly recognizes three major varieties: the alobar, semilobar and lobar types, according to the severity of the malformation. The brain malformations, characterized by the fusion of the cerebral hemisphere along the midline are commonly associated with facial anomalies. Corpus callosum agenesis and septo-optic dysplasia are disorders of prosencephalic midline development, and usually have less severe presentations but still, affected subjects may suffer from neurodevelopmental retardation, and/or endocrinologic and visual disorders. In this article we report an up-to-date of pathogenesis, prenatal sonographic findings, differential diagnosis and prognosis of the aforementioned anomalies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超声波／纳米铁协同降解氯代苯酚的试验

通过间歇试验对超声波／纳米铁协同降解氯代苯酚（CPs）废水进行了研究，结果表明，超声波／纳米铁协同对CPs的降解率明显高于单纯超声波和单纯纳米铁的降解率；协同体系、单纯超声波和单纯纳米铁降解CPs均符合准一级反应动力学，协同体系的降解速率较单纯超声波提高了5．1-5．6倍，较单纯纳米铁提高了17．7～21倍，并且比它们的几何迭加值高4倍以上；氯代苯酚降解的准一级速率常数和降解率满足以下规律：PEP〉2，4，5-TCP〉2，4-DCP〉3-CP；探讨了混合废水的降解：在混合废水体系中，结构易裂解的优先降解，然后为浓度高的优先降解。     

超声波处理剩余活性污泥促进厌氧消化

用超声波处理剩余活性污泥(简称污泥),考察了污泥絮体结构、污泥中溶解性化学需氧量(SCOD)的变化规律及超声波处理对污泥厌氧消化的影响。实验结果表明,声强大于1 040W/m2时,用超声波处理污泥30m in以上,污泥絮体被打碎,污泥絮体结构遭到严重破坏,污泥中SCOD迅速增加,加速了污泥中有机质的水解反应;声强为2 000W/m2时,用超声波处理污泥60m in,中温((37±1)℃)厌氧消化10d,COD去除率为41%;厌氧消化25d的总产气量比未经超声波处理的污泥总产气量提高了53%;将发酵罐容积放大10倍,经超声波处理的污泥25d累积的总产气量比未经超声波处理的污泥总产气量提高了约25%。     

硝基苯水溶液的超声波降解动力学

以硝基苯为唯一底物，选择超声功率200W，400W，600W，800W，研究了超声降解硝基苯水溶液的动力学，实验证明，硝基苯超声降解属假一级动力学反应，同时得到了不同超声功率下的降解速率常数，以及速率常数与超声功率的线性相关关系和含有超声功率的动力学方程，采用色质分析，确定了硝基苯降解产物中含有邻硝基酚和对硝基酚。