Amniotic band syndrome causing fetal head deformity

Amniotic band syndrome is a rare cause of fetal head deformity. We report a case in which antenatal ultrasound in the first half of pregnancy indicated the presence of a fetal cranial deformity, reported as either anencephaly or encephalocele. At assessment autopsy, disruption of the fetal skull was associated with amniotic band formation. Appropriate genetic counselling can be offered to such patients only when detailed pathological examination of the aborted fetus is made. The recurrence rate of amniotic band syndrome does not warrant amniocentesis in a subsequent pregnancy.     

Vertical distribution of organochlorine pesticides in humus along Alpine altitudinal profiles in relation to ambiental parameters

In forest soils along vertical profiles located in different parts of the Alps, concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), namely organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin and mirex, were measured. Though local characteristics of the sites are influenced by numerous factors like orographic and meteorological parameters, forest stand characteristics and humus parameters, we ascertained a marked vertical increase of concentrations of some organochlorine compounds in the soil. On the basis of climatological values of each site, we found that the contamination increase with altitude can be ascribed to a certain ‘cold condensation effect’. In addition, the perennial atmospheric deposition of POPs is controlled by precipitation. Other key parameters explaining the accumulation of POPs are the soil organic carbon stocks, the turnover times, the re-volatilisation and degradation processes, which vary with altitude.     

一种具有谐振特性的左手材料结构设计与仿真

文章提出了一种具有谐振特性的左手材料结构单元。该结构基于谐振型左手材料理论设计,使用CST电磁仿真软件,分析了该材料结构的谐振特性,并进一步提取出该材料的等效介电常数、等效磁导率和波矢量。结果表明,在4个结构单元条件下,该结构在X波段10.89-11.49GHz范围内出现由谐振特性产生的通带,其中在10.89-11.31GHz内出现右手传输通带以及在11.31-11.49GHz内出现谐振型左手通带。该结构的带通特性,或可在X波段范围内微波器件领域获得广泛应用。     

实验室太阳辐射试验中温度测量的分析

按GJB 150.7-1986中稳态长期光化学效应的试验要求,对线缆样件进行了实验室太阳辐射试验。温度测量结果显示,样件的附加温升显著,且内部存在热梯度。     

植被对风沙土风蚀作用的影响

以植物模型、风沙土为实验材料，以风洞模拟实验为研究手段得出初步结论：地表粗糙度为植被特征参数的函数，随植被盖度的增加呈幂函数增加；随植被作用区面积蛎呈线性增加；与行状植物的排列方向和主风向夹角的平方根成正比。在盖度相同的条件下，均匀分布较丛状分布可产生较大的粗糙度。风蚀率随植被盖度的减少呈指数增加。植被盖度对风沙土风蚀作用的影响可划分为３种程度类型：大于６０％为轻度风蚀和无风蚀。６０％￣２０％为中     

Suspended solid abatement in a conical fluidized bed flocculator

With the random movement of silica gel beads in a conical fluidized bed, micro-vortices resulting from the fluidization promoted the collision and aggregation of suspended fine kaolin powders. The abatement efficiencies of the suspended fine solids under several hydrodynamic conditions were studied, and a suitable control strategy for operating the conical fluidized bed flocculators was identified. The suspended solids abatement efficiency was found to increase with increasing Camp Number and flocculation time (T), but decreased with the increase of velocity gradient (G) within the range studied in this research (165.1–189.6 s^-1). The abatement efficiencies were all more than 60% at the range of G = 165–180 s^-1 and T = 15–33 s at an initial kaolin solid concentration of 150 mg·L^-1, polymer aluminum chloride dosage of 60 mg·L^-1 and sedimentation time of 20 min. However, the formation of flocs was influenced by the liquid backmixing. Excessive backmixing caused the breakup of flocs and resulted in difficulty for the fine powders to aggregate and sediment to the reactor bottom. The results of the calculated fractal dimension and measured free sedimentation velocity of flocs obtained at different runs showed similar flocs properties, and indicated an easy control strategy for sedimentation of the flocs.     

Urban forest landscape patterns in Ma'anshan City,China

The landscape pattern of Ma'anshan City was analyzed based on theories and methodologies of landscape ecology, remote sensing, global positioning, and a geographic information system (GIS). The study area encompassed the entire built-up area of 63.88 km²; a north–south transect 3-km wide and 13-km long was established along the long axis of the city. Five major landscape elements were assessed: urban land, urban forest, agriculture, water, and grass. Urban land was the dominant land cover type, and occupied 67% of total land area; while patches of urban forest occupied 16%, with a landscape element dominance of 0.42. Urban forest was classified according to land-use category and location into six types: scenic forest, yard forest, recreational forest, roadside forest, shelter forest, and nurseries. There were 2464 urban forest patches, the largest being 185.1 ha, with an average of 0.43 ha. The low nearest neighbor index and high patch density indicated that urban forest patches tend to be aggregated and have a high degree of fragmentation. This study also demonstrated that the spatial pattern of urbanization could be quantified using a combination of landscape metrics and gradient analysis. Urban forest has distinct spatial characters that are dependent on specific landscape metrics along the urbanization gradient.     

Application of an early warning indicator and CaO to maximize the time–space-yield of an completely mixed waste digester using rape seed oil as co-substrate

In order to increase the organic loading rate (OLR) and hereby the performance of biogas plants an early warning indicator (EWI-VFA/Ca) was applied in a laboratory-scale biogas digester to control process stability and to steer additive dosing. As soon as the EWI-VFA/Ca indicated the change from stable to instable process conditions, calcium oxide was charged as a countermeasure to raise the pH and to bind long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) by formation of aggregates. An interval of eight days between two increases of the OLR, which corresponded to 38% of the hydraulic residence time (HRT), was sufficient for process adaptation. An OLR increase by a factor of three within six weeks was successfully used for biogas production. The OLR was increased to 9.5 kg volatile solids (VS) m^?3 d^?1 with up to 87% of fat. The high loading rates affected neither the microbial community negatively nor the biogas production process. Despite the increase of the organic load to high rates, methane production yielded almost its optimum, amounting to 0.9 m³ (kg VS)^?1. Beneath several uncharacterized members of the phylum Firmicutes mostly belonging to the family Clostridiaceae, a Syntrophomonas-like organism was identified that is known to live in a syntrophic relationship to methanogenic archaea. Within the methanogenic group, microorganisms affiliated to Methanosarcina, Methanoculleus and Methanobacterium dominated the community.     

低压直流电电解剩余活性污泥

采用低压直流电电解剩余活性污泥,优化了支持电解质的种类、加入量及电压梯度等工艺条件,并考察了在最佳工艺条件下SS去除率、污泥中有机物的质量分数（以VSS/SS计）、污泥pH及污泥沉降性能随电解时间的变化情况。实验结果表明,低压直流电电解污泥的最佳工艺条件为：电压梯度7 V/cm;支持电解质Na₂SO₄加入量0.4.0 mmol/g（以每克干污泥计）。在最佳工艺条件下电解pH为5.8、SS=（7 850 ±200）mg/L、VSS=（6 150±150）mg/L、溶解性化学需氧量（SCOD）为（61.2 ±20）mg/L的污泥,电解60 min时污泥的SCOD最大,达393.3 mg/L,SS去除率达14.4%,VSS/SS为58.5%,污泥pH为3.1。电解后污泥中微生物的细胞结构已不完整,污泥絮体被严重破坏。电解时间越长,污泥的沉降速率越快。     

Vegetation monitoring in South-Varanger, Norway – species composition of ground vegetation and its relation to environmental variables and pollution impact

The area along the Norwegian-Russian border is threatened by air pollution from emission sources on the Kola Peninsula. A permanent network of 78 systematically chosen monitoring sites has been established in eastern Finnmark, Norway. Species abundance data from the ground vegetation have been recorded from 1320 systematically chosen permanent plots inside 66 of these sites, using frequency in subplots and visual estimates of percentage cover. Environmental variables were obtained for the whole site. Multivariate data analysis has been used to describe the variation in the species composition and to study its relation to environmental variables and pollution impact. The analyses show that much of the variation in the species composition, based on average species abundance at the sites, is well explained by different soil and climatic conditions. However, estimated SO₂ deposition, Ni, and Cu in the soil, and Ni in Cladina tissue have also been found to be statistically significantly correlated with the variation in the species data, but they explain only a minor part of the variation. The pollution impact over several years may have lead to a reduced lichen cover in the bottom-layer vegetation. Further development in an either negative or positive direction can be detected by re-investigations of the monitoring sites.