Prenatal diagnosis for women aged 37 years and over: to have or not to have

Forty percent of pregnant women aged 37 years and over do not have prenatal diagnosis despite being eligible for a free test. The present study aimed to determine how often, and which, untested women were making a choice about this, how many declined an offer and why. A questionnaire was given to untested women, aged 37 years and over, at no less than 24 weeks gestation. A total of 375 (81.5%) women declined, 72 (16%) were not offered a test and 13 presented too late antenatally. There was a three-fold increased likelihood (OR 3.10 95% CI 1.44, 6.65) of no offer for urban non-English speaking background women, compared with the reference group (metropolitan, English speaking). Unpartnered women were also significantly less likely to receive an offer (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.19, 8.46). Risk to the baby was the main reason for declining. When offered non-invasive prenatal screening, most decliners of prenatal diagnosis accepted, even those who declined because they were opposed to abortion. We estimate that overall 33% of older pregnant women were being offered and declining amniocentesis and/or chorion villus sampling (CVS). Only 6% were not offered a test, but this small proportion is over-represented by minority groups who must be given equal opportunity to make this choice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

生理药代动力学模型及其在健康风险评价中的应用研究进展

生理药代动力学(Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic,PBPK)模型在健康风险评估中的应用逐渐成为研究的焦点.简要阐述了PBPK模型的定义及发展历程,在此基础上详细介绍了PBPK模型建立的过程及其在致癌风险评估、混合物健康风险评估中的应用.最后,总结了该模型在健康风险评估应用中的受限因素,提出跨学科合作有利于解决这些受限因素,从而进一步推进该模型在混合物健康风险评价中的应用.     

我国地表水中药物与个人护理品污染现状及其繁殖毒性筛查

根据文献报道,我国地表水中已检出至少144种药物及个人护理用品(pharmaceuticals and personal care products,PPCPs),包括抗生素、激素、其他药物、个人护理品(personal care products,PCPs)4大类,其中检出浓度最高的达到了μg·L~(-1)量级,在长期的污染下有可能对水生生物产生内分泌干扰效应或繁殖毒性,进而影响到整个水生生物种群的繁衍变化。因此,有必要根据我国地表水中PPCPs的污染水平,筛查出具有潜在生态风险的PPCPs。由于目前缺乏针对PPCPs类污染物的筛选体系,以国内外优先控制污染物筛选体系为基础,借鉴基于风险的欧洲兽药分级方法,利用风险指数(risk index,RI),筛选得出目前我国的地表水中有16种具有繁殖毒性的PPCPs的RI1,包括1种抗生素,5种激素类药物,3种其他药物和7种PCPs,其中乙炔雌二醇(ethinylestradiol,EE2)的RI最高(115 730),其次是壬基酚(nonylphenol,NP)(1 796)、邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(dibutyl phthalate,DBP)(255.31),对水生态环境有较高的风险的PPCPs需进一步进行较高层次的风险评价。     

Male reproductive success: paternity contribution to queens and workers in Formica ants

The relative number of workers and female sexuals fathered by two males mated with a queen were directly assessed using microsatellite and allozyme markers in field colonies of the ants Formica exsecta and F. truncorum. In both species one of the two males consistently fathered more offspring than the other. There was, however, no evidence that one male might be particularly successful in fathering a disproportionally high proportion of female sexuals relative to the proportion of workers. Moreover, in F. exsecta, the proportions of worker pupae and worker adults fathered by each male did not differ significantly between cohorts. The most likely explanation for this pattern is that females store different amounts of sperm from the two males they mated with. Received: 10 January 1997 / Accepted after revision: 22 March 1997     

The State of Food Resources and Reproductive Success of Tufted and Horned Puffins in the Northern Sea of Okhotsk

Studies on the reproductive biology of seabirds on Talan and Umara islands in 1987–1999 showed that the diet of nestlings and reproductive success of the tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata) and horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) considerably varied in different colonies. This was determined by differences in the hydrologic characteristics of water areas and the state of food resources in Taui Bay (the northern Sea of Okhotsk). The reproductive success of tufted puffins was higher on Umara Island due to more favorable environmental conditions and relatively stable food resources in Odyan Bay. The parameters of reproductive success and the nestling diet in tufted and horned puffins from Talan Island differed considerably. The survival of nestlings was always higher in horned puffins, which was related to some characteristics of their feeding ecology.     

Ecotoxicological responses to chalcopyrite exposure in a proxy for deep-sea hydrothermal vent shrimp: implications for seafloor massive sulphide mining

Deep-sea mineral prospecting has raised concerns regarding potential ecotoxicological impacts of deep-sea mineral extraction. Although metal mineral phases are predicted to exhibit low bioavailability, few data explore the relative toxicity of mineral phases and dissolved constituent metals. Acute 96?h chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) (<250?µm grain size) exposures using the shallow-water ecophysiological model organism Palaemon varians as an ecotoxicological proxy for deep-sea hydrothermal vent shrimp revealed no effect in both lethal and sublethal assays up to 2.888?g?L^?1, suggesting that chalcopyrite is not bioavailable. Deep-sea species, therefore, appear at greater ecotoxicological risk from dissolved metals during seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) mining. Consequently, an approach combining modelling the release, and spatial and temporal dilution of dissolved metals during SMS mining, with data on sublethal effects of dissolved metals on shallow-water proxies, may best constrain the potential ecotoxicological impacts of SMS mining, and deliver ecotoxicological threshold concentrations for active SMS extraction.     

Revealing life‐history traits by contrasting genetic estimations with predictions of effective population size

Effective population size, a central concept in conservation biology, is now routinely estimated from genetic surveys and can also be theoretically predicted from demographic, life‐history, and mating‐system data. By evaluating the consistency of theoretical predictions with empirically estimated effective size, insights can be gained regarding life‐history characteristics and the relative impact of different life‐history traits on genetic drift. These insights can be used to design and inform management strategies aimed at increasing effective population size. We demonstrated this approach by addressing the conservation of a reintroduced population of Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus). We estimated the variance effective size (N_ev) from genetic data () and formulated predictions for the impacts on N_ev of demography, polygyny, female variance in lifetime reproductive success (RS), and heritability of female RS. By contrasting the genetic estimation with theoretical predictions, we found that polygyny was the strongest factor affecting genetic drift because only when accounting for polygyny were predictions consistent with the genetically measured N_ev. The comparison of effective‐size estimation and predictions indicated that 10.6% of the males mated per generation when heritability of female RS was unaccounted for (polygyny responsible for 81% decrease in N_ev) and 19.5% mated when female RS was accounted for (polygyny responsible for 67% decrease in N_ev). Heritability of female RS also affected N_ev; (heritability responsible for 41% decrease in N_ev). The low effective size is of concern, and we suggest that management actions focus on factors identified as strongly affecting , namely, increasing the availability of artificial water sources to increase number of dominant males contributing to the gene pool. This approach, evaluating life‐history hypotheses in light of their impact on effective population size, and contrasting predictions with genetic measurements, is a general, applicable strategy that can be used to inform conservation practice.     

基于斑马鱼毒理基因组学的化学品测试技术研究进展

大量缺乏毒性信息的化学品最终进入环境水体,对人类及生态生物产生潜在的危害与风险。提高化学品生物毒性测试与评估技术的通量和效率,是实现毒害化学物质环境与生态健康风险防控的关键。作为一种可以实现高通量测试的脊椎动物模型,斑马鱼胚胎测试在化学品的毒性评估中应用广泛。随着组学技术的发展,毒理基因组学可有效提取毒害化学品致毒过程中干扰生物学通路的信息。这些机制信息可用于对单物质或复合污染物生物毒性的筛选和预测。本文综述了不同斑马鱼胚胎测试技术在化学品毒性筛选评估管理与水环境复合污染毒性监测中的发展和应用,详细介绍了一种新型斑马鱼胚胎简化转录组学技术的方法流程和优势,并探讨了综合斑马鱼胚胎毒性测试、行为分析和组学等不同测试技术在化学品毒性测试、环境监测与评价中的应用前景。     

Quantum Toxicological Research is Very Important, Which Should be Paid Attention

This review introduces the concept of quantum toxicology, its research methods, the adverse effects of quantum on human body, importance of quantum toxicology, the future development prospects and its role in pharmacology research. Quantum toxicology research is very important in pharmacology and toxicology, which should be paid attention.     

Using evidence to improve reproductive health quality along the Thailand-Burma border

The Mae Tao Clinic, located on the Thailand-Burma border, has provided health services for illegal migrant workers in Thailand and internally displaced people from Burma since 1989. In 2001, the clinic launched a project with the primary aim of improving reproductive health services and the secondary aim of building clinic capacity in monitoring and evaluation (M&E). This paper first presents the project's methods and key results. The team used observation of antenatal care and family-planning sessions and client exit interviews at baseline and follow-up, approximately 13 months apart, to assess performance on six elements of quality of care. Findings indicated that improving programme readiness contributed to some improvement in the quality of services, though inconsistencies in findings across the methods require further research. The paper then identifies lessons learned from introducing M&E in a resource-constrained setting. One key lesson was that a participatory approach to M&E increased people's feelings of ownership of the project and motivated staff to collect and use data for programme decision-making to improve quality.