Fluoride removal and its impact on oral health in Sri Lanka's dry zone: Discussion and recommendation

Fifty percent of the dry zone areas in Sri Lanka have fluoride levels above 1 ppm. This paper discusses the ground conditions and recommends an appropriate range of fluoride in drinking water which can support preventive practices for improving the oral health of children 8-years old and younger. In efforts to address the Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown etiology (CKDU), water treatment to reduce contaminant level in potable water has been implemented. Such treatment would also remove fluoride and has resulted in potable water with various fluoride levels, depending on concentrations in the raw water. While it is important to reduce fluoride levels, it is important to have appropriate residual levels for prevention of dental caries. It needs, however, to be noted fluoride in excess can cause dental fluorosis. In Sri Lanka's dry zone areas increasing prevalence of dental fluorosis with decreasing prevalence of dental caries has been noted. Consumption of tea and powdered milk could increase total intake of fluoride. Fluoridated toothpaste, when used properly, may, however, result in negligible intake of fluoride. Sri Lanka's hot tropical climate which results in substantial intake of fluids reinforces the need to consider reduction in water fluoride. Consideration of local studies and international standards indicate fluoride levels should be in the range of 0.225–0.500 ppm. In the range of 0.225–0.500 ppm, the prevalence of dental fluorosis and caries was only 14% and 8%, respectively, in an endemic district. When fluoride levels are above 0.500 ppm, the issue of dental fluorosis shall need to be addressed. When levels are below 0.225 ppm, oral health care services shall need to be directed at preventing dental caries.     

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.     

南宁城市大气污染对人体健康的危害及治理对策

南宁市大气属煤烟型污染 ,大气的主要污染物为SO2 、NOx、TSP、降尘 ,虽然随着环境管理和污染治理工作的加强 ,污染物浓度逐年下降 ,但是工业区大气污染仍然较重。污染物流行病学调查显示 :工业区癌症和呼吸系统疾病死亡率均高于全市平均水平 2倍左右 ,城区又高于郊区 2倍 ,大气污染综合指数与呼吸内科门诊就诊人数呈正相关。用邓聚龙的灰色系统理论分析得知污染物对癌症和呼吸系统疾病死亡率有关联 ,关联度从大到小排序为 :TSP >降尘 >SO2 >NOx ,最后提出了大气污染治理的对策。     

长治市沙尘天气污染特征及传输路径解析

以2018年3次沙尘天气为研究对象,分析了PM_2.5和PM₁₀浓度、水溶性离子组分、气象条件和气溶胶光学特征,研究了长治市沙尘天气的典型污染特征和传输路径.结果表明：长治市2018年共8d为受沙尘天气影响日,其中4月份最多（5d）,这与春季大气环流调整,冷暖空气活动频繁有关.沙尘污染发生前一般受西方或西北方冷空气影响,大气层结不稳定,大气环流转为经向环流,平均风速达4m/s以上;沙尘污染过程中PM_2.5/PM₁₀均低于0.3,环境空气中粗颗粒物占比较大,水溶性离子总浓度在PM_2.5中占比下降,Ca²⁺浓度为沙尘污染发生前的4倍以上.冬季沙尘为近地面扩散传输,春夏季沙尘为高空沉降传输,影响范围大,区域传输贡献明显.长治市沙尘重要潜在源区为蒙古国、哈萨克斯坦中部和新疆中北部的荒漠地区,传输路径主要为西北路径和正北路径,其中西北路径为哈萨克斯坦—新疆中北部—内蒙古西部—长治以及新疆中北部—内蒙古西部—长治两条路径,正北路径为蒙古国—内蒙古中部—山西北部—长治.     

Nanoencapsulation of hexavalent chromium with nanoscale zero-valent iron: High resolution chemical mapping of the passivation layer

Solid phase reactions of Cr(Ⅵ) with Fe(0) were investigated with spherical-aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy(Cs-STEM) integrated with X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy(XEDS). Near-atomic resolution elemental mappings of Cr(Ⅵ)–Fe(0) reactions were acquired. Experimental results show that rate and extent of Cr(Ⅵ) encapsulation are strongly dependent on the initial concentration of Cr(Ⅵ) in solution. Low Cr loading in nZⅥ(1.0 wt%) promotes the electrochemical oxidation and continuous corrosion of n ZⅥ while high Cr loading(1.0 wt%) can quickly shut down the Cr uptake. With the progress of iron oxidation and dissolution, elements of Cr and O counter-diffuse into the nanoparticles and accumulate in the core region at low levels of Cr(Ⅵ)(e.g., 10 mg/L). Whereas the reacted n ZⅥ is quickly coated with a newly-formed layer of 2–4 nm in the presence of concentrated Cr(Ⅵ)(e.g., 100 mg/L). The passivation structure is stable over a wide range of pH unless pH is low enough to dissolve the passivation layer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) depth profiling reconfirms that the composition of the newly-formed surface layer consists of Fe(Ⅲ)–Cr(Ⅲ)(oxy)hydroxides with Cr(Ⅵ) adsorbed on the outside surface. The insoluble and insulating Fe(Ⅲ)–Cr(Ⅲ)(oxy)hydroxide layer can completely cover the n ZⅥ surface above the critical Cr loading and shield the electron transfer. Thus, the fast passivation of nZⅥ in high Cr(Ⅵ) solution is detrimental to the performance of nZⅥ for Cr(Ⅵ) treatment and remediation.     

Prenatal diagnosis for huntington's disease: A molecular and psychological study

Two linked probes were used to determine the Huntington's disease status of the fetus conceived by a woman affected with the condition. The fetus was found to be unaffected with a certainty of 97 per cent. The ethical issues associated with presymptomatic testing were avoided since the mother presented with initial symptoms of Huntington's disease, but other psychological and ethical issues arose. The concerns of an affected woman planning a pregnancy, and the dilemmas involved in decision-making regarding prenatal diagnosis and possible selective abortion were exposed and explored with the patient and her husband.     

Morphology and electrical conductivity of PACS

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不同生长期的Pseudomonas putida 5-x细胞对工业废水中Cu~(2+)的吸附

研究了不同生长阶段的Cu2 + 吸附细菌Pseudomonasputida 5 x对Cu2 + 的吸附容量 .结果表明在低硫培养基中 ,当P putida 5 x细胞生长刚进入对数生长期时 ,单位细胞对Cu2 + 的吸附溶量最低 .而当生长进入稳定生长期的后期或死亡期的早期时 ,单位细胞对Cu2 + 的吸附量最大 .实验结果还表明 ,高浓度的Cu2 + 对对数期细胞的吸附能力有一定的抑制 ,而对死亡期的细胞影响较小 .早期研究已证明细胞对重金属离子的吸附和细胞表面某些对重金属离子具有亲和性的功能基团 (如某些膜蛋白及羰基化合物 )有关 .利用透视电子显微镜观察了不同生长阶段的细胞表面结构及对铜离子的吸附效果 ,发现生长后期细胞表面吸附有较多的Cu2 + ,这表明生长后期的细胞表面可能含有较多的这类功能基团     

Prenatal exclusion of Hurler's disease by leucocyte α-L-iduronidase assay

Hurler's disease was excluded in a fetus at 23 weeks' gestation by demonstrating normal iduronidase activity in fetal leucocytes following failure of amniotic cell culture after amnic-centesis at 16 and 19 weeks' gestation. The diagnosis was confirmed in the neonate.     

煤沥青烟气对大鼠肺损伤及免疫功能的影响

采用自然吸入的暴露方法，通过分析肺灌洗液成分及脾脏淋巴细胞的转化功能，观察碳素厂冷压车间空气对大鼠肺损伤及免疫功能的影响，结果表明，在自然吸入染毒期间，引起大鼠肺灌洗液中乳酸氢酶、酸性磷酸酶和唾液含量或高，肺巨噬细胞及其Ｆｃ受体数降低，并且还引起脾脏淋巴细胞的转化能力下降。