Fetal nucleated red blood cells from CVS washings: an aid to development of first trimester non-invasive prenatal diagnosis

Fetal nucleated red blood cells (n-rbc) occur in the maternal circulation from 7 weeks of pregnancy. The enrichment of these cells from maternal blood will depend upon their stage of differentiation, which changes during development. We characterised the fetal n-rbc from chorionic villus sample (CVS) washings and used them to model first trimester non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. The ratio of ε- to γ-globin-producing cells declined rapidly from 10 to 13 weeks, as did the ratio of nucleated to non-nucleated rbc. By 13 weeks the great majority of cells containing γ- or ε-globin are anucleate. The fetal n-rbc were highly variable in size and density and sedimented over a wide density range with a high proportion (>80%) at a density overlapping with that of maternal rbc. We have devised an enrichment procedure using Orskoff lysis to differentially lyse the maternal cells followed by density centrifugation and separation using magnetic beads. This simple protocol allowed recovery of 70% (69±22%) of fetal cells when added at approximately 10 fetal cells/ml maternal blood. When 1 fetal cell/ml millilitre maternal blood was added (total volume 10 ml) the recovery was more variable but remained at approximately 70% (72±47%), with at least one fetal cell recovered in all cases. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal diagnosis of apparently isolated unilateral multicystic kidney: implications for counselling and management

Cases where initial prenatal diagnosis was made of isolated unilateral multicystic kidney (UMCK) were reviewed to determine appropriate counselling and management strategies. For the 73 cases, chromosome abnormalities, pregnancy complications and family histories were reviewed. In addition, subsequently diagnosed birth defects, and pediatric medical and surgical outcomes were available for 54 cases. Of those with outcome information available renal/genital–urinary tract abnormalities were diagnosed subsequently in 33% and non-renal abnormalities in 16% of cases. Of the non-renal abnormalities, congenital heart defects were most frequent (7%). One chromosome abnormality, a trisomy 21, was present among 32 cases where karyotypes were known (3%). Amniotic fluid volume abnormalities were present in 11 cases but not predictive of associated anomalies, with the exception of one case where polyhydramnios accompanied multiple malformations consistent with VATER association. A family history of structural renal anomalies was reported in 11 cases (20%). There were 14 cases of partial or complete involution (25%), including two cases of complete prenatal involution of the cystic kidneys. No long-term associated morbidity such as hypertension or malignancy was present in our cohort. Based on our study and corroborating literature, amniocentesis should be offered to women when a seemingly isolated UMCK is detected on routine prenatal ultrasound. Furthermore, a detailed ultrasound with careful assessment of the fetal heart and contralateral kidney is indicated at diagnosis and during the third trimester to assess for further evidence of structural abnormalities, as well as amniotic fluid volume abnormalities. Careful assessment of the newborn is indicated with appropriate speciality referral as required. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Embryonic and fetal globins are expressed in adult erythroid progenitor cells and in erythroid cell cultures

The understanding of human hemoglobin ontogeny during development is of biological and clinical importance. Molecular and immunocytological techniques were used to study the expression of embryonic zeta (ζ), epsilon (ε), and fetal gamma (γ) globin genes in newborn cord blood, peripheral blood from men, pregnant and non-pregnant women, and in vitro mononuclear cell cultures. We have shown that embryonic and fetal globin mRNA and peptides are expressed in cultured erythroid cells and in circulating blood cells from newborns, adult non-pregnant women and from men. The findings suggest that during erythroid cell differentiation in newborns and adults, there is a transient recapitulation of sequential globin chain expression as found during embryonic and fetal development. Furthermore, these findings underscore the need for caution in using embryonic and fetal globin chains as markers to identify erythroid cells of fetal origin in maternal circulation for prenatal diagnosis. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of living and active bacterioplankton: a comparison of methods

The purpose of this study was the quantification, through the comparison of different methods, of viable and metabolically active bacteria in marine environments. To quantify the living and active bacterioplankton fractions, we compared the total cell count (TC using DAPI staining), plate count on marine agar (CFU), and three viability-staining methods: nucleoid-containing cell count (NuCC), Live/Dead staining procedure (L/D) and direct viable count (DVC). With respect to TC (mean value 3.0 ± 2.3 × 10⁵ cell ml^-1) CFU represented less than 0.1% and DVC cells 1%, both showing significant differences. NuCC and L/D cells were 18.0% and 15.9% of TC, respectively, showing no significant differences and higher percentages in the Ionian Sea than the Adriatic Sea. Moreover, NuCC and L/D were two orders of magnitude greater than the culturable fraction, while active cells (DVC) exceeded CFU by one order of magnitude. The comparison of different staining methods allowed us to confirm the simultaneous presence of different physiological states within the bacterial population in natural marine environments. The NuCC and L/D methods gave comparable values to those of other authors, while the DVC procedure gave lower values than previously reported. This research provides information on the fraction of living and/or metabolically active bacteria in aquatic ecosystems. Since each method has its own detection limits, the study highlights the need to simultaneously compare the different methods to validate their results.     

废旧晶硅太阳能电池的回收拆解及进展研究

日益壮大的光伏产业为人类的发展做出了突出的贡献,当前晶硅太阳能电池的研究热点是如何提高产能效率,但报废阶段的回收拆解工作也应当引起足够的重视.目前国内尚无专门的晶硅太阳能电池回收厂,直接丢弃退役的晶硅太阳能电池会引起资源的浪费.在此基础上介绍了晶硅太阳能电池在国内外的研究进展,阐明未来发展趋势.分析老化的原因,以及晶硅太阳能电池产业的回收利用现状,进一步阐述晶硅太阳能电池在拆解方面的研究进展.     

阳极材料对6 L微生物燃料电池性能及有机废水处理效果的影响

阳极材料是影响微生物燃料电池实用化的关键因素之一.本文以碳刷、碳布或石墨毡阳极和泡沫镍空气阴极制成紧凑式6 L单室双空气阴极微生物燃料电池(MFC),研究不同阳极材料对电池启动过程和运行以乙酸钠为基质的人工废水和实际屠宰废水的产电性能和废水处理效果的影响,比较了单位阳极成本的产电效益.结果表明:阳极材料对紧凑式MFC的启动过程没有明显影响;在产电性能方面,碳刷阳极MFC在人工废水和屠宰废水中的输出功率密度最高,分别为(56.3±1.8)W·m~(-3)和(19.5±0.8)W·m~(-3),其次为碳布阳极MFC,分别为(46.0±1.7)W·m~(-3)和(16.9±0.6)W·m~(-3),最差的是石墨毡阳极MFC,分别为(40.8±1.5)W·m~(-3)和(11.9±0.5)W·m~(-3);在废水处理效果方面,不同阳极MFC在运行人工废水或屠宰废水时COD去除率没有明显差别,均在90%左右.碳刷阳极MFC所产生的经济效益最高,在运行乙酸钠和屠宰废水时分别为(3.44±0.08)m W·元-1和(0.97±0.05)m W·元-1,分别比碳布MFC和石墨毡MFC高18.6%、12.8%和38.7%、80%.本研究结果说明碳刷是微生物燃料电池实用化过程中最合适的阳极材料.     

SRT对酵母-SBR处理油脂废水稳定性的影响

污泥龄(SRT)是影响废水生物处理系统稳定性的重要参数,SRT对酵母菌处理废水系统的影响尚不明确.为探明SRT对酵母处理油脂废水的影响,在序批式反应器(SBR)中考察了不同SRT(5、10、20、40 d)对废水处理效果、胞外聚合物(EPS)、酵母污泥沉降性的影响,并通过PCR-DGGE及克隆测序方法解析了系统中的酵母菌群落结构.结果表明:酵母菌处理油脂废水合适的SRT为5~10 d;较长SRT会导致COD去除率降低及污泥中EPS总量下降;酵母污泥中EPS以紧密型EPS为主,主要成分为多糖;5~40 d范围内的SRT对系统中酵母污泥的污泥容积指数(SVI)影响不显著,但系统在长的SRT(20d)下运行会导致系统中丝状细胞明显增多,有丝状菌性膨胀的趋势;长、短SRT下酵母群落结构相似,系统中都出现了3株可以利用或者降解油脂的外源性酵母菌株.综上结果,短SRT有利于酵母处理油脂废水系统的运行稳定性.     

苯并[a]芘对马氏珠母贝血淋巴细胞DNA损伤的研究

通过单细胞凝胶电泳技术(彗星试验)研究了苯并[a]芘(B[a]P)对马氏珠母贝(Pinctada martensi)血淋巴细胞DNA的损伤。结果显示,在相同暴露时间内,不同质量浓度的B[a]P均能引起马氏珠母贝血淋巴细胞DNA损伤。4μg.L-1 B[a]P处理组DNA含量、彗尾长度和Olive尾矩均最大,分别为34.39%、281.73和60.31μm。随着暴露时间的延长,彗星尾长明显增加,表现出明显的时间-效应关系,而DNA含量和Olive尾矩没有呈现出规律性变化。此外,在不同的染毒时间内,对照组和各处理组之间均存在显著差异(P<0.05),3个指标具有很好的一致性。研究表明,彗星试验是检测B[a]P对马氏珠母贝血淋巴细胞DNA损伤的一种有效手段,马氏珠母贝血淋巴细胞DNA损伤可作为指示B[a]P污染的一种有效生物标志物用于早期预警监测。