Split-hand/split-foot malformation with paternal mutation in the p63 gene

We report the prenatal diagnosis at 16 weeks' gestation of bilateral split-hand/split-foot malformation (SHSFM) with severe lobster claw deformity of hands and feet in a male fetus without associated malformations. A minor manifestation of SHSFM was present in the father with only mild bilateral foot involvement (syndactyly I–II; cleft II–III; left cutaneous syndactyly III–IV). Mutation analysis of the p63 gene on chromosome 3q27 showed a missense mutation 577A→G (predicting amino acid substitution K193E) in the father. This mutation has not been reported so far in SHSFM but resembles the previously reported 580A→G (predicting amino acid substitution K194E) in a family with SHSFM. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Horizontal mergers in the iron ore industry—An application of PCAIDS

The purpose of this paper is to estimate and analyse the price effects of the iron ore mergers between Rio Tinto and North Ltd in 2000, and CVRD and Caemi in 2001. The analyses are conducted using a merger simulation model that, based on the pre-merger situation, estimates the post-merger outcome. This paper applies the so-called proportionality-calibrated almost ideal demand system (PCAIDS) model, which assumes that the product is differentiated and that the strategic variable is price. The results from the merger simulations show that in the case of the merger between Rio Tinto and North Ltd, the merged firm has a combined market share of almost 20%. However, the estimated market weighted average price effect is only 2.6%. Regarding the merger between CVRD and Caemi, the merged firm's market share is about 29%, and the estimated market weighted average price effect is 4.6%. When removing Caemi's Canadian asset, which was the Commission decision in order to allow the merger, the market price effect decreases to 3.1%. Overall the results in this study support the Commission's decisions regarding both merger cases, and shows that merger simulations of price effects can be valuable tools in merger assessments.     

Rain‐washing of foliar deposits of Dimilin®WP‐25 formulated in four different carrier liquids

Abstract

Dimilin^® WP‐25, a wettable powder formulation of diflubenzuron (DFB) [1‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐3‐(2,6‐difluorobenzoyl) urea], was formulated in four different carrier liquids, viz., water; a light petroleum paraffinic oil, ID 585; a heavy paraffinic oil, Sunspray^® 7N; and a 1:2 mixture of a light petroleum aromatic solvent (Cyclosol^® 63) and canola oil; to provide four end‐use mixtures, Dim‐W, Dim‐585, Dim‐7N and Dim‐Cy‐C respectively, each containing 28 g of DFB per litre. Balsam fir branch tips clipped from greenhouse‐grown seedlings, and sugar maple branch tips clipped from field‐grown young trees, were exposed to uniform‐sized droplets (ranging in diameters from 135 to 190 μm) of the four end‐use mixtures which were atomized using a monodispersed droplet generator. Droplets were collected on the fir and maple branch tips and the initial residue per g fresh weight of foliage was determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The branch tips were exposed to cumulative rainfall of 3, 6 and 10 mm at an intensity of 5 mm/h and at time intervals of 1, 12, 36 and 72 h after DFB treatment, to test the influence of ‘ageing’ of foliar residues on rainfastness. Foliar samples were collected for residue determination just before the onset of rainfall, and at 0.5 h post‐rain. DFB was quantified by the HPLC method. In the case of fir foliage, the Dim‐W formulation was the most susceptible to rain‐washing and the rainfastness did not increase with the ageing period of foliar deposits. In contrast, the three oil‐based mixtures showed greater rainfastness depending upon the carrier liquid and the ageing period. Rainfastness decreased in the order of Dim‐Cy‐C > Dim‐7N > Dim‐585 > Dim‐W. In contrast, the data on maple foliage indicated that the ageing of deposits increased the rainfastness of all the 4 end‐use mixtures. Dim‐585 was the most susceptible to rain washing, and rainfastness decreased in the order of Dim‐W > Dim‐Cy‐C > Dim‐7N > Dim‐585.     

Evaluating mine plans under uncertainty: Can the real options make a difference?

Over the last few years, many studies have presented the real options valuation (ROV) as a promising technique of valuing natural resource investments under conditions of uncertainty. Apart from the common conclusion that the ROV is better than the conventional net present value (NPV) method in integrating the value of management flexibility and proper handling of cash flows risk, there is a lack of procedures for testing the usefulness and advantages of the ROV over the static NPV method in practice. Arguably, it is not yet clear whether the ROV can deal with the complexity of mining projects and whether it can really be applied to make decisions that improve project value.     

多年连续种植转基因Bt汕优63稻田水体和土壤中Cry1Ab/c蛋白残留调查

以湖北武汉、随州、武穴和孝感以及山东德州5个多年转基因水稻种植区为试验地,在水稻生育期采集转cry1 Ab/c基因水稻Bt汕优63(Bt-SY63)和对照非转基因汕优63(SY63)稻田水体和土壤,使用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)方法对稻田水体和土壤Cry1 Ab/c蛋白残留量进行动态监测.结果显示,与SY63稻田相比,连续种植2～4 a后,不同生育期Bt-SY63稻田水体Cry1Ab/c蛋白残留量大多与同一生育期SY63样品间差异未达显著水平(P＞0.05),最高残留量为0.373 ng· mL-1.与水体Cry1Ab/c蛋白残留情况相似,不同生育期Bt-SY63稻田土壤Cry 1Ab/c蛋白残留量大都低于试剂盒检测限(0.25 ng·g-1),仅随州苗期、德州拔节期和开花期样品有微量残留,鲜土残留量分别为0.261、0.540和0.361 ng·g-1,并分别与SY63样品间差异显著(P＜0.05).另外,多年连续种植Bt-SY63水稻后,2、3和4a种植年限的Bt-SY63稻田水体和土壤中Cry1Ab/c蛋白残留量之间大都没有显著差异(P＞0.05).认为连续种植2、3和4a的Bt-SY63水稻稻田水体和土壤仅存在微量Cry1Ab/c蛋白残留,不会造成Cry1Ab/c蛋白在稻田水体和土壤中的累积.     

链霉菌WH63的抑藻效应

研究链霉菌WH63抑藻效应。以铜绿微囊藻作为受试对象,通过平板实验、液体发酵、链霉菌WH63发酵产物分析、藻毒素含量测定和水培青菜,探讨链霉菌WH63抑藻效应。结果发现,链霉菌WH63活菌和过滤除菌后的发酵液均有抑制铜绿微囊藻生长的能力,第4天时接种3%过滤除菌的链霉菌WH63发酵液抑藻率就达到了96.7%,且WH63菌株的发酵液具有很好的热稳定性,乙酸乙酯的萃取WH63菌株发酵液抑藻效果最好,其抑藻物质为脂溶性弱极性物质。进一步分析其第15天的抑藻水样,COD含量比正常生长的铜绿微囊藻下降了61.4%,BOD下降了13.4%,藻毒素含量比其低57.9%,继续培养到第40天时都没有回绿现象,且水样清澈。用杀藻后的水样直接浇灌青菜种子,观察种子萌发数,结果表明,处理后的水样发芽率为100%,发芽势、活力指数、茎长和幼苗鲜重比水对照分别提高10.2%、147%、121%和71.6%。实验表明,用链霉菌WH63抑藻后的水样具有很好的促植物生长和提高植物抗性的效果,为链霉菌以后运用到水培蔬菜抑藻剂的开发提供了一定的理论基础。     

Exceptional responders in conservation

Conservation operates within complex systems with incomplete knowledge of the system and the interventions utilized. This frequently results in the inability to find generally applicable methods to alleviate threats to Earth's vanishing wildlife. One approach used in medicine and the social sciences has been to develop a deeper understanding of positive outliers. Where such outliers share similar characteristics, they may be considered exceptional responders. We devised a 4‐step framework for identifying exceptional responders in conservation: identification of the study system, identification of the response structure, identification of the threshold for exceptionalism, and identification of commonalities among outliers. Evaluation of exceptional responders provides additional information that is often ignored in randomized controlled trials and before–after control‐intervention experiments. Interrogating the contextual factors that contribute to an exceptional outcome allow exceptional responders to become valuable pieces of information leading to unexpected discoveries and novel hypotheses.     

Assessing the fate of radioactive nickel in cultivated soil cores

Parameters regarding fate of ⁶³Ni in the soil–plant system (soil: solution distribution coefficient, K_d and soil plant concentration ratio, CR) are mostly determined in controlled pot experiments or from simple models involving a limited set of soil parameters. However, as migration of pollutants in soil is strongly linked to the water migration, variation of soil structure in the field and seasonal variation of evapotranspiration will affect these two parameters. The aim of this work was to explore to what extent the downward transfer of ⁶³Ni and its uptake by plants from surface-contaminated undisturbed soil cores under cultivation can be explained by isotopic dilution of this radionuclide in the pool of stable Ni of soils. Undisturbed soil cores (50 cm × 50 cm) were sampled from a brown rendzina (Rendzic Leptosol), a colluvial brown soil (Fluvic Cambisol) and an acidic brown soil (Dystric Cambisol) using PVC lysimeter tubes (three lysimeters sampled per soil type). Each core was equipped with a leachate collector. Cores were placed in a greenhouse and maize (DEA, Pioneer^®) was sown. After 44 days, an irrigation was simulated at the core surfaces to supply 10 000 Bq ⁶³NiCl₂. Maize was harvested 135 days after ⁶³Ni input and radioactivity determined in both vegetal and water samples. Effective uptake of ⁶³Ni by maize was calculated for leaves and kernels. Water drainage and leaching of ⁶³Ni were monitored over the course of the experiment. Values of K_d in surface soil samples were calculated from measured parameters of isotopic exchange kinetics. Results confirmed that ⁶³Ni was strongly retained at the soil surface. Prediction of the ⁶³Ni downward transfer could not be reliably assessed using the K_d values, since the soil structure, which controls local water fluxes, also affected both water and Ni transport. In terms of ⁶³Ni plant uptake, the effective uptake in undisturbed soil cores is controlled by isotope dilution as previously shown at the pot experiment scale.     

一株染料脱色酵母菌的鉴定及脱色特性

从土壤中分离到一株活性艳红K-2BP脱色酵母菌株Y-63,根据其生理生化特征和26S rRNA基因序列相似性分析,鉴定为Pseudozyma rugulosa.该菌在16 h内对100 mg/L的活性艳红K-2BP脱色率为94%,其机理属于降解脱色.该染料脱色的最佳接种量(φ)应不低于5%,最适pH在4～9之间,(NH4)2SO4浓度(w)不低于0.1%,葡萄糖浓度(w)不低于0.2%.此外,该菌株对其它9种50 mg/L的染料(活性艳蓝X-BR、媒介漂蓝B、活性翠蓝KN-G、酸性媒介黄GG、媒介红S-80、依加仑蓝FBL 200%、弱酸艳红B、活性黑KN-B和活性红M-3BE)的脱色率在10%～96%之间.该研究表明酵母Y-63在染料废水的处理上具有较好的应用潜能.     

Assessing deposition levels of 55Fe, 60Co and 63Ni in the Ignalina NPP environment

Two RBMK-1500 reactor units operated in Lithuania in the 1987-2004 period (one of them was stopped for decommissioning in 2004). This study presents a preliminary investigation of surface deposition density levels of ⁵⁵Fe and ⁶³Ni in moss samples collected in the close vicinity of the Ignalina NPP. Non-destructive analysis by the HPGe gamma-spectrometry was followed by radiochemical separation. Radiochemical analysis was based on anion-exchange and extraction chromatography. ⁵⁵Fe and ⁶³Ni activities were measured by liquid scintillation counting (LSC). The results indicate that the deposition values of ⁵⁵Fe are generally higher than those of ⁶⁰Co and ⁶³Ni.