Prenatal diagnosis of Apert syndrome: report of two cases

Two de novo cases with Apert Syndrome detected prenatally are presented herein. In the first, fetal ultrasound findings of syndactyly of the hands, craniosynostosis and proptosis resulted in a prenatal diagnosis in the nineteenth week of gestation. This is the earliest prenatal diagnosis of this syndrome in a not-at-risk case. Following counseling, this pregnancy was terminated and subsequent pathological examination and DNA analysis confirmed the diagnosis of Apert Syndrome and coarctation of the aorta. In the second case, fetal ultrasound at 21 weeks' gestation revealed a hypoplastic left heart and clover-leaf skull. Following counseling, this pregnancy was also terminated. Further examination of the fetus and DNA analysis led to a diagnosis of Apert Syndrome. These cases emphasize the need to complete a thorough fetal ultrasound in cases with potentially lethal cardiac abnormality and the importance of incorporating a fetal pathologist, as well as a medical geneticist, in the investigations performed after delivery or pregnancy termination when a fetal abnormality is detected on ultrasound. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions toward stewardship among residents living near U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

Although stewardship has been widely defined and used in environmental management and planning, there is a dearth of studies that describe how the lay public perceives this concept. A national sample of residents in 14 states who live near DOE nuclear facilities were interviewed to delineate public understanding and awareness of the stewardship program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This study discusses the findings of the survey and discusses how institutional trust influences public participation and resident’s choices of potential stewards. Almost 40% of the respondents could not define stewardship; those who did, believed that ‘responsibility,’ ‘management,’ and ‘accountability’ are key elements of stewardship. In addition, about a third of the respondents identified Federal groups and the DOE as potential stewards. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

基于绝对主成分-多元线性回归的滇池污染源解析

定量解析污染源是湖泊流域水环境管理的重要基础.基于滇池草海和外海多年水质监测数据,采用主成分分析（PCA）方法识别了主要水质指标的污染源类型,利用绝对主成分-多元线性回归模型（APCS-MLR）得到不同污染源对水质的贡献程度.结果表明,草海主要的污染源有农业面源、城市面源和内源3类,外海的主要污染源是农业面源、城镇生活污染源、城市面源和内源4类.与河流水污染源解析结果不同,底泥内源与气象因子对滇池主要水质指标的影响较大.     

利用干酪根固体~(13)C核磁共振法研究下古生界碳酸盐岩的热演化程度

应用固体~(13)C－NMR技术对下古生界,海相碳酸盐岩干酪根的化学组成和结构特征进行研究，提出应用该技术所测算的干酪根结构参数“芳核平均结构尺寸”能较准确地反映碳酸盐岩的热成熟度。首次提出芳核平均结构尺寸与镜质体反射率之间的关系在干酪根的热演化过程中具有“三段式”特征。利用这一成果对华北地区下古生界成熟度进行了测定，与地质背景甚为吻合。     

Erythroid-specific antibodies enhance detection of fetal nucleated erythrocytes in maternal blood

Fetal nucleated erythrocytes (NRBC) in maternal blood are a non-invasive source of fetal DNA for prenatal genetic screening. We compared the effectiveness of three monoclonal antibodies for the separation of fetal cells from maternal blood by flow sorting. Mononuclear blood cells from 49 healthy pregnant women were incubated with antibody to CD 71, CD 36, and/or glycophorin A (GPA), employed singly or in combination with each other. These monoclonal antibodies recognize surface antigens on haematopoietic precursor cells. Successful isolation of fetal cells was defined as detection of Y chromosomal sequences in maternal blood from women carrying male fetuses, with absence of Y sequences when female fetuses were carried. Thus, gender prediction accuracy was used as a measure of fetal cell separation. Using anti-CD 71 to isolate fetal cells, gender prediction was 57 per cent correct; with anti-CD 36, it was 88 per cent correct. Anti-GPA, an erythrocyte-specific antigen, used alone or in combination with anti-CD 71 or 36, improved gender prediction to 100 per cent. We conclude that antibody to GPA improves the retrieval of fetal NRBC from maternal blood, permitting genetic analysis by the polymerase chain reaction.     

秦山核电站运行后对邻近海域生态环境及其水质影响评价

通过对秦山核电站运行前后相隔近７ ａ 的工程区邻近海域四季度月生物与非生物环境生态各要素的两次调查分析，进行了Ⅰ期工程运行以来海域生态环境及水质状况的影响评价。结果认为，秦山海域具典型强潮河口湾生态特征，营养盐丰富，而生产力低下。潮汐、径流和湾外海水入侵是导致海洋环境要素季节和年际变化并直接影响海洋生物结构的主要因子。水体富营养化指数上升是沿岸工业和生活污水大量排放的结果。核电站运行中冷却水的热排放由于杭州湾特殊的海底地形和强潮混合的水体环境对附近水域的热升温效应不明显。秦山Ⅰ期工程运行以来对海域生态环境和水质变化未见明显影响     

事故前人因失误研究

在安全评价中，人因失误特别是事故后人因失误越来越受到重视；但相对而言，事故前人因失误没有引起足够的重视。本通过对大量核电厂安全分析报告和运行事件报告的考察，系统地阐述了事故前人因失误对系统安全的显影响，并在此基础上，归纳出在核电站开展事故前人因(失误)分析的程序。该程序主要包括系统熟悉，定性分析，筛选，定量计算，与故障树的集成，敏感性分析与不确定性分析，形成分析档等几个步骤。     

核事故中放射性核素扩散浓度的理论预测

在高斯烟羽模型的基础上,对核事故中放射性云团在大气中的扩散规律进行了研究。利用倾斜烟团模式,考虑实际过程中核素粒子的重力沉降、雨洗作用以及放射性衰变等因素的影响,提出一种迅速估算放射性核素扩散浓度的方法。该方法可计算核事故中连续点源和瞬时点源在不同气象、地形条件下的浓度分布,并可获得地面的干沉积率和湿沉积率。放射性核素浓度的确定是放射性事故抢险救援和辐射防护等工作的基础和前提,是放射性事故应急救援的重要组成部分。该结果在核事故的应急救援过程中,对救援人员划定警戒区和确定周围居民的疏散范围具有重要意义,并可为制定救援方案和应急决策提供科学依据。     

放射性废水的膜处理技术研究进展

核燃料的生产、核电厂的运行、同位素的生产和使用等过程都会产生着大量的放射性废水,为了保护环境和人类健康,这些废水必须经过安全、经济和有效的处理处置.放射性废水传统的处理方法主要包括过滤法、离子交换法、蒸发法或这几种工艺的组合.近年来,膜分离技术在放射性废水处理中得到了广泛的研究,发达国家已有应用膜分离技术处理放射性废水的实例,而我国规模化应用的实例还很少见.本文首先介绍了放射性废水的来源及组成,分析了各种放射性废水处理方法的优势和不足,包括化学沉淀法、过滤法、离子交换法、蒸发浓缩法、吸附法、生物还原/吸附法和膜分离法等.在此基础上,重点介绍了各种膜分离技术,包括微滤、超滤、纳滤、反渗透、膜蒸馏等在放射性废水处理中研究与应用现状,对已有的文献资料进行了较系统全面的分析、归纳和总结,对各种方法的优缺点及适用范围进行了比较,对膜技术在放射性废水处理中的应用前景及问题进行了讨论.最后,简要介绍了放射性废水处理产生的浓缩产物的最终处理处置,对放射性废水处理技术未来的研究和发展方向给出了建议.