A three-year follow-up on a child with low level trisomy 8 mosaicism which was diagnosed prenatally

We report on a case of trisomy 8 mosaicism detected prenatally in a single clone of amniotic fluid culture, and confirmed on fetal blood and on peripheral lymphocytes after birth. A follow-up was performed over 3 years, showing a clinically normal female with cognitive, neuropsychological, and linguistic development in a normal range.     

Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of frontonasal dysplasia

We report a case of prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of frontonasal dysplasia. This represents a very rare disorder involving the face (hypertelorism, median cleft lip, absence of the nasal tip) and often the central nervous system (CNS) (cranium bifidum occultum, ethmoidal cephalocele, agenesis of the corpus callosum). Although several of the typical anomalies are diagnosable by ultrasound in utero (hypertelorism, median cleft lip, anterior cephalocele), very few cases have been reported prenatally, the present being only the third. In the present case, hemimegalencephaly is first reported among the anomalies possibly associated with frontonasal dysplasia. The diagnosis was made at 22 weeks' gestation and was confirmed by necropsy following termination of pregnancy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TXRF analysis of soils and sediments to assess environmental contamination

Total reflection x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF) is proposed for the elemental chemical analysis of crustal environmental samples, such as sediments and soils. A comparative study of TXRF with respect to flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy was performed. Microwave acid digestion and suspension preparation methods are evaluated. A good agreement was found among the results obtained with different spectroscopic techniques and sample preparation methods for Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn. We demonstrated that TXRF is suitable for the assessment of environmental contamination phenomena, even if the errors for Pb, As, V, and Ba are ingent.     

Eulerian and Lagrangian time scales of the turbulence above staggered arrays of cubical obstacles

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - We present results from water-channel experiments on neutrally-stable turbulent flows over staggered arrays of cubical obstacles modelling idealised urban canopies....     

Experimental in situ chemical peroxidation of atrazine in contaminated soil

Lab-scale experiments of in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), were performed on soil contaminated with 100 mg kg(-1) of atrazine (CIET). The oxidant used was hydrogen peroxide catalysed by naturally occurring minerals or by soluble Fe(II) sulphate, added in aqueous solution. The oxidation conditions were: CIET:H2O2=1:1100, 2 PV or 3 PV reaction volume, Fe(II):H2O2=0, 1:22, 1:11. Stabilized (with KH2PO4 at a concentration of 16 g l(-1)) or non-stabilized hydrogen peroxide was used. The pH of the reagents was adjusted to pH=1 with sulphuric acid, or was not altered. Results showed that the addition of soluble Fe(II) increased the temperature of the soil slurry and the use of stabilized hydrogen peroxide resulted in a lower heat generation. The treatment reduced the COD of the soil of about 40%, pH was lowered and natural organic matter became less hydrophobic. The highest atrazine conversion (89%) was obtained in the conditions: 3 PV, Fe(II):H2O2=1:11 with stabilized hydrogen peroxide added in two steps. The stabilizer only increased H2O2 life-time significantly when soluble Fe(II) was added. Results indicate as preferential degradation pathway of atrazine in soil dechlorination instead of dealkylation.     

Hydrolithon spp. (Rhodophyta, Corallinales) overgrow live corals (Cnidaria, Scleractinia) in Yemen

In Yemen, off the northwestern coast in the Gulf of Aden, the coralline algae Hydrolithon rupestre (Foslie) Penrose 1996 and H. murakoshii Iryu and Matsuda 1996 have been observed to overgrow and kill living Porites lutea Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1860. Similarly, Hydrolithon onkodes (Heydrich) Penrose and Woelkerling 1992 and H. rupestre were observed overgrowing Stylophora pistillata (Esper, 1797). Competitive interactions between P. lutea and H. murakoshii were monitored from 2006 to 2009 at two sites and showed an average linear growth of 8.3 (±1.9 SD) mm?year^?1 over the coral. The small polyps of S. pistillata and P. lutea combined with putative chemical compounds produced by Hydrolithon spp. are likely to allow the coralline overgrowth. Although corallines can locally kill coral tissues, the CCA/coral interactions do not seem to affect the overall live coral cover at the study sites.     

Standardization of BOD₅/COD ratio as a biological stability index for MSW

The control of biodegradable substances is the key issue in evaluating the short and long-term emission potential and environmental impact of a landfill.Aerobic and anaerobic indices, such as respirometric index (RI) and biomethane potential production (GB21), can be used in the estimation of the stability of solid waste samples.Previous studies showed different degrees of relationship between BOD₅/COD ratio compared with RI4.Aim of this study is to standardize the parameter BOD₅/COD ratio and to test the methodology under different operating conditions (dynamic or static leaching and leaching duration, 6 and 24-h) keeping constant temperature and liquid/solid ratio (L/S = 10 l/kg_TS), with the introduction of a COD fractioning method. The COD fractioning is based on the differentiation between the soluble fraction (COD_sol) and the colloidal fraction (COD_coll) using a flocculation method.The BOD₅/COD and the BOD₅/COD_sol indices are both consistent and significant and can be used as stability indices.The BOD₅/COD ratio does not seem to be influenced, for the same test duration, by the type of test, static or dynamic. In the same way the longer test duration (24-h) does not influence significantly the values of BOD₅/COD ratio. As a consequence a leaching test duration of 6-h is preferable to avoid the beginning of the hydrolysis and oxidation processes.     

Fungitoxicity of lyophilized and spray-dried garlic extracts

Among the compounds discussed for anti-microbial and anti-fungal use allicin (allylthiosulfinate, diallyl disulfide-S-monoxide), an active ingredient of garlic, has attracted considerable attention. The objective of this study is to determine the antifungal activity of a local garlic ecotype (Voghiera) extracts against different pathogens. Primary screening was carried out by the agar plates technique using ethanol garlic extract at four final concentrations against the following organisms: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus spp., Colletotrichum acutatum, Didymella bryoniae, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium gramineareum, Gliocladium roseum 47, Pythium splendens, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Stemphylium vesicarium, Trichoderma longibranchiatum, and Botrytis cinerea. Secondary screening was carried out using a lyophilized and a spray-dried preparation at different concentrations against the organisms selected for the high inhibition garlic effect in the primary screening and compared with the commercial fungicides mancozeb and iprodione. The best results were observed for the spray-dried garlic compound that showed a good fungicidal activity at the concentration of 1.5 g/10 mL while lyophilized garlic at the same concentration exhibithed less inhibition activity against the four fungi analyzed in the second screening.     

Serum levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs in non-occupationally exposed population groups living near two incineration plants in Tuscany, Italy

A pilot study was carried out in Tuscany, Italy, to provide preliminary information on the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dioxin-like polychlorobiphenyls (DL-PCBs), and selected non-dioxin-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs) in groups of subjects living in the vicinity of two incineration plants. Seventy-four volunteers were enrolled from areas identified as under a potential impact from incinerator emissions and from not exposed areas. No significant differences were observed between subjects living in the two types of areas. Total concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and DL-PCBs resulted to be in the range 23-30 pg WHO-TEQ g(-1), lipid base, for subjects in the 27-54 year age groups, while concentrations increased to 40-44 pgTEQ g(-1) for the two 55-67 year age groups. The levels of PCDDs and PCDFs were in good agreement with those observed for unexposed population groups in Italy, while the contribution to total TEQ from DL-PCBs was appreciably higher than those currently observed in the general population in Italy and other countries. As to NDL-PCBs, serum levels of the six "indicator" congeners were in the range 240-300 ng g(-1), lipid base, for subjects in the 27-54 year age groups. A raise in NDL-PCB body burden (430-470 ng g(-1), lipid base) was observed for the two 55+ year age groups, in agreement with the expected age-dependent increase. The findings from this study do not show an incremental exposure to PCDDs and PCDFs in the samples from subjects living around the two incineration plants, whereas PCB congener profiles in all samples suggest a possible impact on the area of interest of industrial activities from near industrial settlements.