Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of Toriello–Carey syndrome

Toriello–Carey syndrome is a rare malformative complex, described for the first time in 1988, characterized by agenesis of the corpus callosum, facial anomalies, cardiac defects and hypotonia. Relatively few neonatal cases have been reported. We describe here the first prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of the syndrome based on the detection of agenesis of the corpus callosum and spongious cardiomyopathy in a 22-week-old fetus of a couple with positive family history. The first sib of the couple was diagnosed with Toriello–Carey syndrome at 1 year of age, and had, in addition to the typical facial anomalies not detectable by ultrasound, agenesis of the corpus callosum and the same heart lesion (spongious cardiomyopathy). This report demonstrates that prenatal diagnosis of Toriello–Carey syndrome is feasible in the second trimester of pregnancy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

State-of-the-art and current challenges for TiO2/UV-LED photocatalytic degradation of emerging organic micropollutants

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The development of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LED) opens new possibilities for water treatment and photoreactor design. TiO2...     

“Modern agriculture” transfers many pesticides to watercourses: a case study of a representative rural catchment of southern Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The total cultivated area in Brazil reached to 62 million ha in 2018, with the predominance of genetically modified soybean and corn (36 and 17...     

Vegetable and synthetic tannins induce hormesis/toxicity in sea urchin early development and in algal growth

Mimosa tannin and phenol-based synthetic tannin (syntan) were tested for toxicity to sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus and Sphaerechinus granularis) early development and to marine algal growth (Dunaliella tertiolecta). Sea urchin embryogenesis was affected by vegetable tannin and syntan water extracts (VTWE and STWE) at levels >or=1mg/L. Developmental defects were significantly decreased at VTWE and STWE levels of 0.1 and 0.3mg/L when control cultures displayed suboptimal quality, i.e. <70% "viable" (normal or retarded) larvae. Fertilization success of sea urchin sperm was increased up to 0.3 mg/L STWE or VTWE, then was inhibited by increasing tannin levels (1-30 mg/L). Offspring abnormalities, following sperm exposure to VTWE or STWE, showed the same shift from hormesis to toxicity. Cell growth bioassays in D. tertiolecta exposed to VTWE or STWE (0.1-30 mg/L) showed non-linear concentration-related toxicity. Novel criteria are suggested in defining control quality that should reveal hormetic effects.     

Nonideal transport of contaminants in heterogeneous porous media: 10. Impact of co-solutes on sorption by porous media with low organic-carbon contents

The impact of co-solutes on sorption of tetrachloroethene (PCE) by two porous media with low organic-carbon contents was examined by conducting batch experiments. The two media (Borden and Eustis) have similar physical properties, but significantly different organic-carbon (OC) contents. Sorption of PCE was nonlinear for both media, and well-described by the Freundlich equation. For the Borden aquifer material (OC = 0.03%), the isotherms measured with a suite of co-solutes present (1,2-dichlorobenzene, bromoform, carbon tetrachloride, and hexachloroethane) were identical to the isotherms measured for PCE alone. These results indicate that there was no measurable impact of the co-solutes on PCE sorption for this system. In contrast to the Borden results, there was a measurable reduction in sorption of PCE by the Eustis soil (OC = 0.38%) in the presence of the co-solutes. The organic-carbon fractions of both media contain hard-carbon components, which have been associated with the manifestation of nonideal sorption phenomena. The disparity in results observed for the two media may relate to relative differences in the magnitude and geochemical nature of these hard-carbon components.     

Biochemical biomarkers in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after short-term exposure to diesel oil, pure biodiesel and biodiesel blends

Fossil fuels such as diesel are being gradually replaced by biodiesel, a renewable energy source, cheaper and less polluting. However, little is known about the toxic effects of this new energy source on aquatic organisms. Thus, we evaluated biochemical biomarkers related to oxidative stress in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after two and seven exposure days to diesel and pure biodiesel (B100) and blends B5 and B20 at concentrations of 0.01 and 0.1 mL L⁻¹. The hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity was highly induced in all groups, except for those animals exposed to B100. There was an increase in lipid peroxidation in liver and gills in the group exposed to the higher concentration of B5. All treatments caused a significant increase in the levels of 1-hydroxypyrene excreted in the bile after 2 and 7 d, except for those fish exposed to B100. The hepatic glutathione-S-transferase increased after 7 d in animals exposed to the higher concentration of diesel and in the gill of fish exposed to the higher concentration of pure diesel and B5, but decreased for the two tested concentrations of B100. Superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase also presented significant changes according to the treatments for all groups, including B100. Biodiesel B20 in the conditions tested had fewer adverse effects than diesel and B5 for the Nile tilapia, and can be suggested as a less harmful fuel in substitution to diesel. However, even B100 could activate biochemical responses in fish, at the experimental conditions tested, indicating that this fuel can also represent a risk to the aquatic biota.     

Combined molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical study of (+)-multifidene structure and conformation

Molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical tools have been used to explore the conformational space of (+)(3S,4S)-multifidene bioactive compounds. All the computations have been performed in the absence and presence of the solvent, simulated by the explicit introduction of a number of water molecules or by the polarized continuum model (PCM). Three conformational minima, both in vacuo and in water (simulated by PCM tool), have been confirmed at ab initio level of theory (B3LYP and MP2). All minima lie in a very narrow range of energy, and the interconversion between them is possible with a small amount of energy expense.