Prenatal diagnosis of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in 189 pregnancies with known outcome

An Erratum has been published for this article in Prenatal Diagnosis 21(7) 2001, 605. Prenatal diagnosis (PD) of fetal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was performed in 242 pregnancies, with known outcome in 189 cases. In 141/189 pregnancies, PD was carried out on account of suspicious maternal CMV serology up to gestational week (WG) 23, and in 48 cases on account of abnormal ultrasonic findings detected between WG 18 and 39. Chorionic villus samples (n=6), amniotic fluid (AF, n=176) and/or fetal blood specimens (n=80) were investigated for detection of virus by cell culture, shell vial assay, PCR and/or CMV-specific IgM antibodies. Of 189 fetuses correctly evaluated by CMV detection either in fetal tissue following therapeutic abortion/stillbirth (n=24) or in urine of neonates within the first 2 weeks of life (n=33), 57 were congenitally infected. In women with proven or suspected primary infection, the intrauterine transmission rates were 20.6% (7/34) and 24.4% (10/41), respectively. Of the congenitally infected live-born infants, 57.6% (19/33) had symptoms of varying degree. The overall sensitivity of PD in the serologic and ultrasound risk groups was 89.5% (51/57). A sensitivity of 100% was achieved by combining detection of CMV-DNA and CMV-specific IgM in fetal blood or by combined testing of AF and fetal blood for CMV-DNA or IgM antibodies. There was no instance of intrauterine death following the invasive procedure. The predictive value of PD for fetal infection was 95.7% (132/138) for negative results and 100% (51/51) for positive results. Correct results for congenital CMV infection by testing AF samples can be expected with samples obtained after WG 21 and after a time interval of at least 6 weeks between first diagnosis of maternal infection and PD. In case of negative findings in AF or fetal blood and the absence of ultrasound abnormalities at WG 22–23, fetal infection and neonatal disease could be excluded with high confidence. Positive findings for CMV infection in AF and/or fetal blood in combination with CMV suspicious ultrasound abnormalities predicted a high risk of cytomegalic inclusion disease (CID). Furthermore, detection of specific IgM antibodies in fetal blood was significantly correlated with severe outcome for the fetus or the newborn (p=0.0224). However, normal ultrasound of infected fetuses at WG 22–23 can neither completely exclude an abnormal ultrasound at a later WG and the birth of a severely damaged child nor the birth of neonates which are afflicted by single manifestations at birth or later and of the kind which are not detectable by currently available ultrasonographic techniques. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

低压离子色谱法测定水和酸雨样品中的Li~+,Na~+,NH_4~+,K~+,Ca~(2+)和Mg~(2+)离子

本文介绍了低压离子色谱仪测定水样(井水、湖水、矿泉水、自来水)和酸雨中锂、钠、铵、钙、钾和镁离子的方法、欲测阳离子在阳离子交换柱上被分离,分别用1.4mmol·1~(-1)HNO_3和0.6mmol·1~(-1)乙二胺+1.2mmol·1~(-1)HNO_3溶液作流动相,流速为1.6ml·min~(-1).各离子的流分用电导检测.进样量为10μl时,Li~+,Na~+,NH_4~+,K~+,Ca~(2+)和Mg~(2+)离子的检出限(2倍噪音比),分别为0.020,0.050,0.100,0.250,2.5和1.0μg·ml~(-1).     

Stable lead isotope profiles in smelter and general urban communities: a comparison of environmental and blood measures

High-precision lead isotope ratios and lead concentrations have been compared statistically and graphically in women of child-bearing age (n = 77) from two smelter communities and one general urban community to evaluate the relative contributions to blood lead of tissue lead stores and lead from the contemporaneous environment (soil, floor dust, indoor airborne dust, water, food). Blood lead (PbB) contents were generally low (e.g. <10 g dL^–1). Statistically significant isotopic differences in blood and environmental samples were observed between the three cities although isotopic differences in blood for individual subjects living in close proximity (200 m radius) was as large as the differences within a city. No single environmental measure dominated the biological isotope profile and in many cases the low levels of blood lead meant that their isotopic profiles could be easily perturbed by relatively small changes of environmental exposure. Apportioning of sources using lead isotopes is possibly not feasible, nor cost effective, when blood lead levels are <5 g dL^–1. Interpretations based on statistical analyses of city-wide data do not give the same conclusions as when the houses are considered individually. Aggregating data from multiple subjects in a study such as this obscures potentially useful information. Most of the measures employed in this study, and many other similar studies, are markers of only short-to-medium integration of lead exposure. Serial sampling of blood and longer sampling times, especially for household variables, should provide more meaningful information.     

Estimating percentiles from composite environmental samples when all observations are nondetectable

Many environmental sampling problems involve some specified regulatory or contractual limit (RL). Often the interest is in estimating the percentile of the underlying contaminant concentration distribution corresponding to RL. The focus of this paper is on obtaining a point estimate and a lower confidence limit for that percentile when all observations are nondetectable, with the ith observation known to be less than some detection limit DLI, where DLi RL. Since composite samples are being considered, it is not unreasonable to assume an underlying normal distribution.     

Simulation of sludge-dredging effects in controlling nutrient release of Lake Kasumigaura with large-size core samples

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气相色谱法测定苯系物标准样品

提出了以二硫化碳为稀释剂，用氯苯作内标物，采用程序升温，调节载气流量，在一根色谱柱上使苯系物标准样品中的7个组分得到完全分离。对苯系物标准样品进行多次测定，各组分的测定结果均在标准样品的保证值范围内，相关标准差小于3％，方法的准确度和精密度均较好。     

气相色谱-三重四级杆质谱测定环境样品中17种二 英

研究了基于Agilent气相色谱-三重四级杆质谱测定环境样品中17种二 英的分析方法.结果表明,在浓度范围0.5~2000ng/mL之间具有良好的线性,17种二 英的相对响应因子在0.96~1.21之间,相对标准偏差< 14%,定量限范围在0.080~2.83pg/μL之间,适合环境样品中超痕量二 英的分析.利用该方法对第15轮二 英国际实验室比对的沉积物样品进行了测试,总I-TEQ值落在Intercal给定的中位值±标准偏差范围内.研究选取污染源烟道气、飞灰、土壤和沉积物等40多个环境样品进行测试,并与高分辨质谱测定结果比较表明,当环境样品中二 英浓度在0~60ng I-TEQ范围,两者数据具有较好的线性相关性,R2=0.997.就17种单体而言,利用三重四级杆质谱测定的2,3,7,8-TCDF和1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF结果会高于高分辨质谱,而1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD的结果低于高分辨质谱的测定值.鉴于三重四级杆质谱在购置、维护和能耗等方面的低成本优势,本方法可作为简易经济的环境中超痕量二 英的分析方法.     

对羧基苯偶氮硫代若丹宁固相萃取光度法测定环境样品中的铅

合成了新试剂对羧基苯偶氮硫代若丹宁(CPATR),并用红外光谱、核磁共振氢谱和元素分析鉴定其结构。研究了CPATR与铅的显色反应,在pH3 8的HAc—NaAc缓冲介质中,吐温-80存在下,CPATR与铅反应生成2∶1稳定络合物,该络合物可被WatersSep-PakC18小柱固相萃取,小柱上富集的络合物用乙醇洗脱后富集倍数可达50倍,在乙醇介质中,λmax=500nm,体系摩尔吸光系数ε=8.01×104L·mol-1·cm-1。铅含量在0 05～4 0mg/L内符合比耳定律。本方法可用于环境样品中铅含量的测定,结果满意。     

Determination of cobalt by air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction

Abstract

A rapid and selective technique for extraction, preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of cobalt in water and pharmaceutical samples by air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. 1-Nitroso-2-naphthol is used as a complexing agent and 1-octanol as an extraction solvent. Parameters relevant for analytical effectivity, i.e. pH of sample solution, concentration of complexing agent, volume of extraction solvent, and number of extraction cycles are optimized using a Box–Behnken design. At optimum conditions, a dynamic linear range of 5–600?µg L^?1 is obtained, with a limit of detection of 1.2?µg L^?1. The method is used for determination of Co(II) in environmental water and pharmaceutical samples.     

Testicular DNA synthesis inhibition—an in vivo system for the detection of mutagenic and carcinogenic chemicals

By binding covalently to DNA chemical mutagens and carcinogens inhibit replication, which can be measured as a decrease in thymidine incorporation into DNA. This DNA synthesis inhibition (DSI) has been determined in testicular cells of mice for a large number of compounds and has been found to correlate very well with their known mutagenic and carcinogenic properties.

Not only could this test give a qualitative answer about potential carcinogenicity or mutagenicity, but, with regard to its in vivo characteristics, could furthermore give an indication of the carcinogenic and mutagenic potency and thus be of use in the risk evaluation of chemical substances; the relationship between the DNA synthesis inhibition and the underlying alkylation of guanine ‐0⁶ by different methylating agents is demonstrated.

As toxic effects decrease thymidine incorporation, too, means are discussed for distinguishing between “true”;, mutagenic, and “false”;, cytotoxic, DNA synthesis inhibition.

In conclusion, the implications of including the DSI‐test in a battery of mutagenicity tests are outlined.