First-trimester screening: dealing with the fall-out

The articles collected together in this issue describe first-trimester screening for a variety of complications. With the advance of both technology and research, early pregnancy screening is becoming ever more sophisticated and complex. While there are clear benefits to most women receiving early reassurance that their baby is developing as expected, there is no evidence to suggest that an earlier prenatal diagnosis has less long-term emotional impact than at later gestations. The poignancy of ultrasound images for many parents means that it can be especially difficult to manage the anxiety when an ultrasound marker is highlighted as potential cause for concern. They can then face a journey of anxiety-laden uncertainty, which can extend through much of the pregnancy, and even beyond. Professionals involved in screening need to recognise and acknowledge such adverse side-effects and develop the skills necessary to help parents understand and cope with the uncertainties inherent in the process. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Raw single-walled carbon nanotube-induced cytotoxic effects in human bronchial epithelial cells: comparison to asbestos

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are being developed to be used in many industrial and biomedical applications. However, SWCNT's durability and likely fibrous morphology have raised health concerns. The present investigations were focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms induced by raw SWCNT (SWCNT) in human bronchial-epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Asbestos (crocidolite) was used as a positive control. Exposure of BEAS-2B cells to SWCNT induced apoptosis, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. The generation of hydroxyl radical (^?OH) and increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were concentration-dependent. The increase in apoptosis was associated with activation of caspase-3, caspase-7, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1). A short recovery period of 6?h of cells from SWCNT exposure resulted in reversal of caspase-3 and caspase-7, and a partial reversal of PARP-1 activation. The activation of PARP-1, caspase-3, and caspase-7 was only partially diminished after a recovery of 6?h from the exposure to crocidolite. Exposure of BEAS-2B cells to SWCNT resulted in the phosphorylation of protein p42/44 (p42/44) and protein p38 (p38). SWCNT did not induce protein serine-threonine kinase (AKT) phosphorylation. For all the above end points, crocidolite induced a greater response compared to SWCNT. SWCNT induced a significant activation of activator protein-1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and the effect was inhibited by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors. SWCNT also induced significant increase in the expression levels of c-Jun, βIGH3, and CD44 genes. The results of this study show that the molecular mechanism for raw SWCNT-mediated toxicity in BEAS-2B cells is through the activation of caspase-3, caspase-7, and PARP-1. Furthermore, the mechanism of AP-1 and NF-κB activation is through MAPK. This bioactivity of raw SWCNT is associated with the generation of oxidative stress and DNA damage. Considering the role of airway epithelium as a critical barrier for normal pulmonary function and focal point for tumor development, this study demonstrates that raw SWCNT activate molecular events which may be linked to adverse biological responses implicated in pulmonary diseases.     

两株微生物絮凝剂产生菌的絮凝条件优化及鉴定

以絮凝菌A9和BS-5及其产生的絮凝剂为研究对象,通过改变碳源、氮源及初始pH值等因素研究絮凝菌的适宜培养条件,采用紫外扫描、Molish、蒽酮呈色反应和红外光谱等方法对这两种絮凝剂的成分进行检测,采用分子生物学等方法对菌株A9和BS-5进行菌种鉴定.结果表明,菌株A9和BS-5产生絮凝剂的适宜碳源均为可溶性淀粉,适宜氮源分别为酵母膏和NaNO3,适宜初始pH值分别为9.0和6.0,在此条件下产生的絮凝剂的絮凝率均达到95％以上.紫外扫描和红外检测等结果表明,菌株A9所产絮凝剂的主要成分为多糖类物质,菌株BS-5所产絮凝剂的主要成分为多糖类物质和少量蛋白质.系统发育树分析结果表明,絮凝菌A9属于类芽孢杆菌(Paenibacillus sp.),絮凝菌BS-5属于代尔夫特食酸菌(Delftia acidovorans).     

乌江水库水体中有机胶粒的三维荧光特征研究

超滤与三维荧光光谱的结合可以表征不同类型荧光物质相对分子量的分布规律,揭示它们的来源以及组分差异.本项研究用截留相对分子量为1 000和10 000的再生纤维素超滤膜,对乌江水库不同深度水体中的溶解有机质进行了分离,利用三维荧光光谱表征了3种不同相对分子量组分中发荧光有机质的光谱特征.结果表明:荧光物质主要存在于真溶液(＜1 000)中.水体在丰水期和枯水期的荧光峰存在差异.丰水期主要存在4种类型的荧光峰:类富里酸荧光A峰和C峰,类蛋白荧光峰B峰和D峰.枯水期则只表现出3种类型的荧光峰,类富里酸荧光峰C不明显,原因可能是此时水库处于蓄水状态,内部生物活动作用显著,产生的类蛋白荧光物质强度较大从而掩盖峰C的强度.然而72 m以下由于厌氧还原条件的出现,沉积物向水体释放了溶解有机质组分,原本强度被掩盖的荧光峰C明显出现在1 000～10 000组分中.     

微囊藻毒素微生物降解途径与分子机制研究进展

随着大量含氮和磷的废水流入湖泊和江河,导致淡水蓝藻水华污染现象日趋严重.蓝藻水华污染的最主要危害是产生和释放以微囊藻毒素(microcystins,MCs)为主的多种藻毒素.由于MCs对动植物具有很强的毒性,且其在水体中很难被传统的处理方法有效去除,因此如何有效控制蓝藻水华污染和去除MCs是摆在中外环境科学领域的一个难题.针对MCs的结构与毒性、降解菌株、酶催化降解、降解基因和生物降解途径与分子机制的研究进展进行了综述,并对今后微生物降解MCs的研究方向进行了展望,以期为解决我国日益严峻的湖库水体MCs污染和饮用水安全问题提供参考.     

Fenton氧化深度处理石化废水厂二级出水研究

采用连续流Fenton氧化对石化废水处理厂二级出水进行了处理试验,研究了药剂投量对COD及磷处理效果的影响,同时对处理过程中有机物的变化特性进行了分析.结果表明,原水COD平均为64.8 mg·L-1,PO3-4-P平均为0.79 mg·L-1,当H2O2(30%)投加量为0.4 m L·L-1,Fe SO4·7H2O的投加量为0.8 g·L-1,PAM投加量为0.9 mg·L-1,停留时间为30 min时,COD的平均去除率为24.3%,出水COD低于50 mg·L-1,PO3-4-P平均去除率为95.5%,原水中相对分子质量小于1×103的有机物占80.4%,Fenton氧化处理后该部分比例增加至95.6%.三维荧光分析结果表明,Fenton氧化对水中蛋白类、酚类去除效果显著.GC-MS结果表明,石化二级出水中检出主要有机物约117种,氧化后检出27种,含不饱和键类有机物去除明显.Fenton氧化可用于石化二级出水的深度处理.     

从分子质量的变化分析有机物对GAC吸附内分泌干扰物(BPA)的影响

从分子质量分布的角度研究了水中有机物对颗粒活性炭(GAC)吸附双酚A(BPA)容量及吸附速率的影响.结果表明,相对于以去离子水为本底的BPA溶液来说,GAC吸附以滤后水、臭氧后出水和原水为本底的BPA溶液的Langmuir模型的最大吸附容量q_m值分别下降了29.95%、43.56%和44.44%,而其拟二级动力学模型的k₂值分别下降了43.05%、49.75%和56.38%.相对分子质量3 000以上,尤其是10 000以上的有机物堵塞GAC的二级微孔;3 000以下,尤其是1 000以下的有机物与BPA分子之间存在直接的竞争吸附,是导致GAC对BPA的吸附容量以及吸附速率下降的主要原因.     

Preserving Population Allele Frequencies in Ex Situ Conservation Programs

Abstract: Optimization of contributions of parents to progeny by minimizing the average coancestry of the progeny is an effective strategy for maintaining genetic diversity in ex situ conservation programs, but its application on the basis of molecular markers has the negative collateral effect of homogenizing the allelic frequencies at each locus. Because one of the objectives of a conservation program is to preserve the genetic composition of the original endangered population, we devised a method in which markers are used to maintain the allele frequency distribution at each locus as closely as possible to that of the native population. Contributions of parents were obtained so as to minimize changes in allele frequency for a set of molecular markers in a population of reduced size. We used computer simulations, under a range of scenarios, to assess the effectiveness of the method in comparison with methods in which contributions of minimum coancestry are sought, either making use of molecular markers or genealogical information. Our simulations indicated that the proposed method effectively maintained the original distribution of allele frequencies, particularly under strong linkage, and maintained acceptable levels of genetic diversity in the population. Nevertheless, contributions of minimum coancestry determined from pedigree information but ignoring the genealogy previous to the conservation program, was the most effective method for maintaining allelic frequencies in realistic situations.