Molecular prenatal diagnosis: the impact of modern technologies

Originally prenatal diagnosis was confined to the diagnosis of metabolic disorders and depended on assaying enzyme levels in amniotic fluid. With the development of recombinant DNA technology, molecular diagnosis became possible for some genetic conditions late in the 1970s. Here we briefly review the history of molecular prenatal diagnostic testing, using Duchenne muscular dystrophy as an example, and describe how over the last 30 years we have moved from offering testing to a few affected individuals using techniques, such as Southern blotting to identify deletions, to more rapid and accurate PCR-based testing which identifies the precise change in dystrophin for a greater number of families. We discuss the potential for safer, earlier prenatal genetic diagnosis using cell free fetal DNA in maternal blood before concluding by speculating on how more recent techniques, such as next generation sequencing, might further impact on the potential for molecular prenatal testing. Progress is not without its challenges, and as cytogenetics and molecular genetics begin to unite into one, we foresee the main challenge will not be in identifying the genetic change, but rather in interpreting its significance, particularly in the prenatal setting where we frequently have no phenotype on which to base interpretation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

典型氢氧化细菌固碳特性种间差异及胞外有机物对固碳过程影响

化能自养细菌对全球CO₂固定具有重要的意义.研究了4种典型氢氧化细菌（HOB,分别是Alcaligenes hydrogenophilus DSM 2625、Pelomonas saccharophila DSM 654、Variovorax paradoxus DSM 30034和Acidovorax facilis DSM 649）的固碳特性及其种间差异性,并探究了胞外游离有机碳（EFOC）对不同种类HOB固碳效率差异性的影响.结果表明：①不同HOB自养培养过程中表观固碳量随时间呈显著差异性,其中,DSM 2625生长速度较快,其平均固碳量分别是DSM 654、DSM 649和DSM 30034的6.30、8.76和7.02倍.②不同HOB之间cbbL基因转录量与 表观固碳量的相关系数为0.980 （p<0.05）,cbbL基因转录量是造成不同菌种之间表观固碳效率差异的关键因素.③HOB细胞蛋白质含量与cbbL基因丰度和转录量之间也存在显著正相关,相关系数分别为0.999（p<0.01）和0.976（p<0.05）,即化能自养细菌CO₂同化途径所固定的有机碳进一步参与细胞蛋白质的合成,进而影响其生长速度和表观固碳效率.④HOB在自养培养过程中产生的EFOC对cbbL基因转录效率产生反馈抑制作用,且不同HOB之间,EFOC/TOC比例越低,表观固碳效率越高.     

新型自贸协定的环保议题谈判及我国的对策简

自由贸易协定中纳入环境保护规定是提高自由贸易中的正环境效应,同时避免或减轻负面环境影响的保障,已经逐渐成为新型国际自由贸易谈判中的重要内容。以跨太平洋战略经济伙伴关系协定为代表的新型自由贸易谈判,试图在协定中丰富环境条款,例如环保原则、国际环境公约、环境标准、争端解决机制、环境产业和服务、环境合作和能力建设等。我国也开始在自贸谈判中纳入环保要求,基于最新的政策要求,我国应积极赶上国际自由贸易谈判中环境保护的新要求,推动贸易与环保政策的深度融合。     

Theoretical insights into the degradation mechanisms, kinetics and eco-toxicity of oxcarbazepine initiated by OH radicals in aqueous environments

As an anticonvulsant, oxcarbazepine (OXC) has attracted considerable attention for its potential threat to aquatic organisms. Density functional theory has been used to study the mechanisms and kinetics of OXC degradation initiated by OH radicals in aqueous environment. A total of fourteen OH-addition pathways were investigated, and the addition to the C8 position of the right benzene ring was the most vulnerable pathway, resulting in the intermediate IM8. The H-abstraction reactions initiated by OH radicals were also explored, where the extraction site of the methylene group (C14) on the seven-member carbon heterocyclic ring was found to be the optimal path. The calculations show that the total rate constant of OXC with OH radicals is 9.47 × 10⁹ (mol/L)⁻¹sec⁻¹, and the half-life time is 7.32 s at 298 K with the [·OH] of 10⁻¹¹ mol/L. Moreover, the branch ratio values revealed that OH-addition (89.58%) shows more advantageous than H-abstraction (10.42%). To further understand the potential eco-toxicity of OXC and its transformation products to aquatic organisms, acute toxicity and chronic toxicity were evaluated using ECOSAR software. The toxicity assessment revealed that most degradation products such as OXC-2OH, OXC-4OH, OXC-1O-1OOH, and OXC-1OH' are innoxious to fish and daphnia. Conversely, green algae are more sensitive to these compounds. This study can provide an extensive investigation into the degradation of OXC by OH radicals and enrich the understanding of the aquatic oxidation processes of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs).