Fetal choroid plexus cysts and trisomy 18: Assessment of risk based on ultrasound findings and maternal age

This paper examines the association between fetal choroid plexus cysts (CPCs) and trisomy 18 and proposes a method by which risks can be derived taking into account both sonographic findings and maternal age. Data from our centre on the sonographic findings of 58 fetuses with trisomy 18 and 387 fetuses with CPCs as well as data from published series were used. It was calculated that the prevalence of CPCs in the general population is approximately 1 per cent and at mid-gestation the incidence of CPCs in fetuses with trisomy 18 is approximately 50 per cent. In the 387 fetuses with CPCs, the incidence of trisomy 18 increased with maternal age and the likelihood ratio for trisomy 18 increased with the number of additional abnormalities, from 0·03 for those with isolated CPCs to 0·4 if there was one additional abnormality and 20·5 if there were two or more additional abnormalities. It was concluded that if the cysts are apparently isolated, the risk for trisomy 18 is only marginally increased and maternal age should be the main factor in deciding whether or not to offer fetal karyotyping. If one additional abnormality is found, the maternal age-related risk is increased, so that even for a 20-year-old the risk for trisomy 18 is at least as high as the risk for trisomy 21 in a 35-year-old. In this respect, it may be considered desirable to offer such patients the option of karyotyping.     

东南沿海基底杂岩的同位素年代学研究

系统研究同位素年龄结果表明,中国东南中生代火山岩盖层下普遍存在着前寒武系古老地层,变质杂岩最大年龄约为1900Ma,属早元古界晚期——中元古界早期。双溪坞组“底部”的英安质霏细斑岩的年龄,与上墅组的同位素年龄接近。象山石浦的硅质岩“天窗时代”应属震旦系地层,可与“灯影灰岩”对比。同位素年龄还揭示,华南地区有加里东旋回和印支旋回热事件的信息。基底杂岩的Nd同位素表明,前加里东期变质岩,大多数属大洋火山——硅质建造。它们表现出大的富集因子,和高的~(143)Nd/~(144)Nd.因此,不能说凡是有古老基底杂岩存在,就与克拉通或古陆等同。在中国东南板块内基底杂岩大多数在加里东造山褶皱期之前都处于活动“地槽”期,真正形成大陆地壳是在加里东期之后。Nd同位素资料还证明,不同微板块构造区地幔表现出明显的不均一性。     

Driving restrictions post-stroke: Physicians' compliance with regulations

Objective: Suffering a stroke might lead to permanent cognitive and/or physical impairment. It has been shown that these impairments could have an impact on an individual's fitness to drive. In Sweden, as in many other countries, there are regulations on driving cessation post-stroke. Information on driving cessation should be given to all patients and noted in the journal. The present study sought to determine physician's compliance to driving regulations post-stroke as well as follow-up and gender aspects.

Method: A retrospective study of medical records on stroke patients was carried out. The study covered all of the medical records on stroke incidents (n = 342) during a year at a typical medium to large-sized hospital in Sweden.

Results: A journal entry on driving cessation post-stroke was missing in 81% of the medical records. Only 2% of the patients were scheduled for a follow-up meeting specifically concerning fitness to drive. Significantly more men than women had an entry on driving in the journal.

Conclusions: We conclude that the Swedish regulations on driving cessation post-stroke were not followed at the participating hospital. It is crucial that all stroke patients receive information on driving cessation because their condition might affect fitness to drive. Analysis of follow-up records showed that there was no consistent method for assessment of a patient's fitness to drive. There was also a gender difference in the material, which warrants further investigation.     

我国剩余污泥厌氧消化的主要影响因素及强化

我国剩余污泥厌氧转化率显著低于发达国家,泥质是影响污泥厌氧消化性能的重要因素,而我国剩余污泥泥质相比于发达国家的典型差异主要体现在3个方面,即污泥龄长、微细砂含量高和金属离子含量高.因此,系统性研究了泥龄、微细砂和金属离子对剩余污泥厌氧消化性能的影响,进行量化比较,并进行有针对性的强化研究.结果表明,微细砂对VS降解率的消极影响并不明显,而泥龄和金属离子是主要的抑制因素,泥龄的抑制程度显著高于金属离子(P0.05),且随着泥龄的增加,金属离子的抑制作用呈进一步增强的趋势,因而总结得出长泥龄为限制我国污泥厌氧消化性能的最主要因素.经高温热水解预处理(160℃, 0.55 MPa, 30 min)后,长泥龄污泥的累积产甲烷量和VS降解率显著提升,接近于泥龄为5 d时的值,因此高温热水解具有突破长泥龄所致的污泥厌氧产甲烷瓶颈的潜力.     

The influence of parental age and weather on testosterone concentration and offspring survival in broods of tawny owl Strix aluco

Previous research has suggested that parental condition may affect offspring mortality patterns by affecting offspring testosterone levels. Accordingly, we hypothesized that there is a relationship between offspring testosterone concentration and survival during the early nestling period, and that both are influenced by parent age/experience and by prey availability. We tested our hypothesis on tawny owls Strix aluco in their first and third known breeding seasons, when they bred either in adverse or mild weather conditions, in Duna-Ipoly National Park, Hungary. Plasma testosterone concentrations of the nestlings were analyzed and related to parental condition, hatching order and nestling mortality. Inexperienced parents breeding in all weather conditions and experienced parents breeding in adverse conditions were both in poor condition compared to experienced parents breeding in mild conditions. Parents in poor condition produced broods with large between-sibling differences in testosterone concentrations and their later-hatched nestlings (which had low testosterone levels) died during the early nestling period, whereas parents in good condition produced broods with lower variation in offspring testosterone concentrations and all offspring survived the early nestling period. We discuss environmental influences on the amount of testosterone deposited in eggs, and also how maternal testosterone might induce those mechanisms producing testosterone in the nestlings.Communicated by M. Webster, T. Czeschlik     

Microclimate influence in a physiological model of cattle-fever tick (Boophilus spp.) population dynamics

Since their official eradication from the US in 1943, the cattle-tick species Boophilus microplus and Boophilus annulatus, vectors of bovine babesiosis, frequently have penetrated a quarantine zone established along the Texas–Mexico border designed to exclude them. Inspection and quarantine procedures have eradicated reinfestations successfully within the US, but increasing acaricide resistance in Mexican B. microplus populations poses a threat to future eradication efforts. Better understanding of interrelationships among Boophilus populations, their hosts, and vegetation communities in south Texas could improve prediction of the behavior of reintroduced Boophilus populations and increase management options. To this end, we constructed a simulation model to evaluate how microclimate, habitat (i.e. vegetation) heterogeneity, and within-pasture cattle movement may influence dynamics of Boophilus ticks in south Texas. Unlike previous Boophilus tick models, this model simulates dynamics at an hourly time-step, calculates all off-host dynamics as functions of temperature and relative humidity, and runs with ground-level microclimate data collected bi-hourly in three different habitat types. Sensitivity analysis of the model showed that temperatures and relative humidities created by habitat type, as well as engorged female mass, influenced tick population dynamics most strongly. Host habitat selection, initial number of larvae per cow, and the number of cells into which the simulated pasture was divided also had a strong influence. Population dynamics appeared moderately sensitive to the proportion of Bos indicus in cattle genotypes and the larval attachment rate, while appearing relatively insensitive to factors such as mortality rate of engorged females. When used to simulate laboratory experiments from the literature, the model predicted most observed life-history characteristics fairly well; however, it tended to underestimate oviposition duration, incubation duration, and egg mortality and overestimate larval longevity, especially at low temperatures and high humidities. Use of the model to predict Boophilus population dynamics in hypothetical south Texas pastures showed that it reasonably generated qualitative patterns of stage-wise abundances but tended to overestimate on-host tick burdens. Collection and incorporation of data that appear not to exist for Boophilus ticks, such as larval lipid content and lipid-use rates, may improve model accuracy. Though this model needs refinements such as a smaller spatial resolution, it provides insight into responses of B. microplus or B. annulatus populations to specific weather patterns, habitat heterogeneity, and host movement.     

Paternal age and offspring growth: separating the intrinsic quality of young from rearing effects

Younger individuals are often less successful in reproduction than older ones. This might be because of improving breeding skills with age or because the genetic quality of young or early maternal effects on them vary with parental age. However, no attempt has been made to experimentally separate these processes in vertebrates. We conducted a cross-fostering experiment in collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) in three breeding seasons to disentangle origin- and rearing-related effects of paternal age on chick growth, while controlling for date-specific environmental conditions as well as differences in clutch and brood size. The age of the male at the nest of origin, but not that of the rearing male, had a year-dependent effect on nestling body mass and tarsus length. In two seasons, young of subadult males grew slower in the early linear phase of growth than young of adult males. There was no compensatory growth in the final asymptotic phase, so both body mass and tarsus length before fledging reflected the differential early development. In the remaining year, the age of the male at the nest of origin had no significant effect on chick growth. The environment-dependent origin effect we detected was unexplained by incubation times, hatching asynchrony, chick masses at swapping or previously described age-dependent egg quality patterns. Our results therefore suggest a genotype × environment interaction on the relative development of offspring sired by subadult and adult males. Our results also raise the possibility that female birds may gain genetic benefits by mating with older males. Further studies should identify general patterns of male age-dependent female mate choice and offspring quality in different environmental conditions.     

造纸制浆废液减水剂研究

针对不同原料、不同制浆蒸煮方法产生的四种废液 ,通过简短的工艺回收、改性制得以木质素磺酸盐为主要成分的复合型减水剂。对其减水等性能进行了研究。其结果表明 ,掺量 2‰～ 5‰时净浆流动度为 10 9～ 174毫米 ,掺量 2‰～ 3‰时砂浆减水率为 15 .3%～ 16 .7% ,砂浆 3天、7天减水抗压强度比均大于 115 %。     

Younger supervisors,older subordinates: An organizational‐level study of age differences,emotions, and performance

Younger employees are often promoted into supervisory positions in which they then manage older subordinates. Do companies benefit or suffer when supervisors and subordinates have inverse age differences? In this study, we examine how average age differences between younger supervisors and older subordinates are linked to the emotions that prevail in the workforce, and to company performance. We propose that the average age differences determine how frequently older subordinates and their coworkers experience negative emotions, and that these emotion frequency levels in turn relate to company performance. The indirect relationship between age differences and performance occurs only if subordinates express their feelings toward their supervisor, but the association is neutralized if emotions are suppressed. We find consistent evidence for this theoretical model in a study of 61 companies with multiple respondents. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Small Populations and Offspring Sex-Ratio Deviations in Eagles

Abstract:  Stochastic variation of sex ratio has long been appreciated as a potential factor driving small populations to extinction, but it is not the only source of sex-ratio bias in small populations. We examined whether some consequences of sex allocation could affect extinction risk in small populations of size-dimorphic birds such as eagles. We report variations in sex ratio at fledging from a long-term study of a declining population of Spanish Imperial Eagles ( Aquila adalberti ). Nestling sex-ratio deviation apparently was mediated by age of breeders, whereas territory quality had no obvious effect. Adult–adult pairs produced the same proportion of both sexes in high- or low-density situations, but pairs with at least one member in nonadult plumage class produced more males. As the population declined over a period of years, the proportion of breeders with immature plumage increased; consequently, the proportion of fledgling males increased. However, when population density was high, the proportion of breeders with immature plumage decreased and more female offspring were produced. This relationship between population density, composition of breeder age, and fledgling sex ratios allowed us to make predictions of extinction risk due to nonstochastic deviations of sex ratio in small, declining populations. In the study population, on the basis of the Vortex simulation results, an estimated reduction of 42.5% in predicted mean time to extinction was attributed solely to biased sex ratio.