The prenatal determination of glucose-6-phosphatase activity by fetal liver biopsy

Two fetuses at risk for glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency had in utero liver biopsies. Analysis of each showed this enzyme activity to be in the normal range and the pregnancies continued. Neither child has any clinical or metabolic evidence of glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency.     

介质阻挡放电协同Bi2WO6/天然赤铁矿降解乙酸乙酯

为强化DBD（介质阻挡放电）技术对VOCs（挥发性有机物）的处理效果,采用溶胶凝胶法制备Bi₂WO₆/NH（NH为天然赤铁矿）复合催化剂,并利用DBD协同催化剂降解EA（ethyl acetate,乙酸乙酯）.采用XRD（X射线衍射）仪、BET（比表面积及孔径）分析仪、SEM（扫描电子显微镜）分析仪对催化剂进行表征,对比分析DBD、DBD/Bi₂WO₆（DBD协同Bi₂WO₆）、DBD/NH（DBD协同NH）及DBD/Bi₂WO₆/NH（DBD协同Bi₂WO₆/NH复合催化剂）4个体系中EA去除率和能量产率随输入功率、初始ρ（EA）及气体停留时间的变化情况,同时探究输入功率和催化剂对ρ（O₃）及矿化率的影响,并对降解产物进行分析.结果表明:①在不同工艺参数条件下,EA去除率和能量产率均表现为DBD/Bi₂WO₆/NH体系> DBD/NH体系> DBD/Bi₂WO₆体系> DBD体系.②EA去除率随输入功率的升高和气体停留时间的延长而增加,随初始ρ（EA）的升高而降低;但能量产率随输入功率的升高和气体停留时间的延长而降低,随初始ρ（EA）的升高而增加.③在输入功率为84 W、初始ρ（EA）为0.40 mg/L、气体流量为1.0 m3/h的条件下,相较于DBD体系,DBD/Bi₂WO₆/NH体系中EA去除率和矿化率分别提高了19.16%和14.44%,而ρ（O₃）降低了74.47%.④DBD降解EA的最终产物主要为CO₂、H₂O及微量的CH₄、CH₃CH₂OH及CH₃COOH等小分子有机化合物.研究显示,DBD协同Bi₂WO₆/NH复合催化剂能够高效去除EA.      

A spatial approach to combatting wildlife crime

Poaching can have devastating impacts on animal and plant numbers, and in many countries has reached crisis levels, with illegal hunters employing increasingly sophisticated techniques. We used data from an 8‐year study in Savé Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe, to show how geographic profiling—a mathematical technique originally developed in criminology and recently applied to animal foraging and epidemiology—can be adapted for use in investigations of wildlife crime. The data set contained information on over 10,000 incidents of illegal hunting and the deaths of 6,454 wild animals. We used a subset of data for which the illegal hunters’ identities were known. Our model identified the illegal hunters’ home villages based on the spatial locations of the hunting incidences (e.g., snares). Identification of the villages was improved by manipulating the probability surface inside the conservancy to reflect the fact that although the illegal hunters mostly live outside the conservancy, the majority of hunting occurs inside the conservancy (in criminology terms, commuter crime). These results combined with rigorous simulations showed for the first time how geographic profiling can be combined with GIS data and applied to situations with more complex spatial patterns, for example, where landscape heterogeneity means some parts of the study area are less likely to be used (e.g., aquatic areas for terrestrial animals) or where landscape permeability differs (e.g., forest bats tend not to fly over open areas). More broadly, these results show how geographic profiling can be used to target antipoaching interventions more effectively and more efficiently and to develop management strategies and conservation plans in a range of conservation scenarios.     

Considering connections between Hollywood and biodiversity conservation

Cinema offers a substantial opportunity to share messages with a wide audience. However, there is little research or evidence about the potential benefits and risks of cinema for conservation. Given their global reach, cinematic representations could be important in raising awareness of conservation issues and species of concern, as well as encouraging greater audience engagement due to their heightened emotional impact on viewers. Yet there are also risks associated with increased exposure, including heightened visitor pressure to environmentally sensitive areas or changes to consumer demand for endangered species. Conservationists can better understand and engage with the film industry by studying the impact of movies on audience awareness and behavior, identifying measurable impacts on conservation outcomes, and engaging directly with the movie industry, for example, in an advisory capacity. This improved understanding and engagement can harness the industry's potential to enhance the positive impacts of movies featuring species, sites, and issues of conservation concern and to mitigate any negative effects. A robust evidence base for evaluating and planning these engagements, and for informing related policy and management decisions, needs to be built.     

Effectiveness of terrestrial protected areas for conservation of lake fish communities

Freshwater protected areas are rare even though freshwater ecosystems are among the most imperiled in the world. Conservation actions within terrestrial protected areas (TPAs) such as development or resource extraction regulations may spill over to benefit freshwater ecosystems within their boundaries. Using data from 175 lakes across Ontario, Canada, we compared common indicators of fish‐assemblage status (i.e., species richness, Shannon diversity index, catch per unit effort, and normalized‐length size spectrum slopes) to evaluate whether TPAs benefit lake fish assemblages. Nearest neighbor cluster analysis was used to generate pairs of lakes: inside versus outside, inside versus bordering, and bordering versus outside TPAs based on lake characteristics. The diversity and abundance indicators did not differ significantly across comparisons, but normalized‐length size spectrum slopes (NLSS) were significantly steeper in lakes outside parks. The latter indicated assemblage differences (greater abundances of small‐bodied species) and less‐efficient energy transfer through the trophic levels of assemblages outside parks. Although not significantly different, pollution‐ and turbidity‐tolerant species were more abundant outside parks, whereas 3 of the 4 pollution‐intolerant species were more abundant within parks. Twenty‐one percent of the difference in slopes was related to higher total dissolved solids concentrations and angling pressure. Our results support the hypothesis that TPAs benefit lake fish assemblages and suggest that NLSS slopes are informative indicators for aquatic protected area evaluations because they represent compositional and functional aspects of communities.     

Exceptional responders in conservation

Conservation operates within complex systems with incomplete knowledge of the system and the interventions utilized. This frequently results in the inability to find generally applicable methods to alleviate threats to Earth's vanishing wildlife. One approach used in medicine and the social sciences has been to develop a deeper understanding of positive outliers. Where such outliers share similar characteristics, they may be considered exceptional responders. We devised a 4‐step framework for identifying exceptional responders in conservation: identification of the study system, identification of the response structure, identification of the threshold for exceptionalism, and identification of commonalities among outliers. Evaluation of exceptional responders provides additional information that is often ignored in randomized controlled trials and before–after control‐intervention experiments. Interrogating the contextual factors that contribute to an exceptional outcome allow exceptional responders to become valuable pieces of information leading to unexpected discoveries and novel hypotheses.     

Prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 4p: a new locus for holoprosencephaly?

Trisomy of the short arm of chromosome 4 is a well-known syndrome, and several observations have been made in the last 30 years. Herein, we report a new observation of trisomy 4p in a fetus with a semi-lobar holoprosencephaly (HPE), dysmorphic features and multiple malformations. The diagnosis of HPE was made, at 33 weeks' gestation, on the fetus of a healthy G1P0 woman. Amniocentesis was performed for chromosome analysis and additional material was found on a chromosome 22. The couple elected to terminate the pregnancy and fetal examination was realized. Conventional and molecular cytogenetic studies were performed on the fetus and the parents, which showed that the additional material found on one chromosome 22 corresponded to the short arm of chromosome 4 and therefore led us to establish a diagnosis of trisomy 4p inherited from the malsegregation of a paternal translocation t(4;22)(q12;q11.1). The etiology of HPE is very heterogeneous; it includes non-genetic factors such as maternal diabetes and genetic causes. HPE cases have been described in association with many chromosomal anomalies, trisomy 13 being the most frequent. However, to our knowledge, HPE has never been previously reported in association with a trisomy involving solely the short arm of chromosome 4. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.