Depuration of geosmin- and 2-methylisoborneol-induced off-flavors in recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) farmed European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus.

European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus has increasingly become an important species for aquatic food production, especially in the Nordic countries. Whitefish is produced in traditional cage and pond operations, and in recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in which, unfortunately, off-flavors and odors, mostly caused by geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), can accumulate in fish flesh from the circulating water. GSM and MIB have very low human sensory detection limits and, therefore, often disliked by consumers even at low concentrations. In this study, concentrations of GSM and MIB in RAS farmed European whitefish were studied by an analytical method based on headspace solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Concentrations were determined in different parts of fish: fillet, neck, belly, and tail during a depuration period and in depuration water. The highest initial concentrations were on average 32 ng g-1 (GSM) and 24 ng g-1 (MIB) in European whitefish fillet and 128 ng L-1 (GSM) and 94 ng L-1 (MIB) in water, respectively. After a depuration period of 16 days, concentrations decreased to below the detection limits, indicating the importance of the depuration period.

Atypical perceptual and neural processing of emotional prosodic changes in children with autism spectrum disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The present study explored the processing of emotional speech prosody in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) but without marked language impairments (children with ASD [no LI]). METHODS: The mismatch negativity (MMN)/the late discriminative negativity (LDN), reflecting pre-attentive auditory discrimination processes, and the P3a, indexing involuntary orienting to attention-catching changes, were recorded to natural word stimuli uttered with different emotional connotations (neutral, sad, scornful and commanding). Perceptual prosody discrimination was addressed with a behavioral sound-discrimination test. RESULTS: Overall, children with ASD (no LI) were slower in behaviorally discriminating prosodic features of speech stimuli than typically developed control children. Further, smaller standard-stimulus event related potentials (ERPs) and MMN/LDNs were found in children with ASD (no LI) than in controls. In addition, the amplitude of the P3a was diminished and differentially distributed on the scalp in children with ASD (no LI) than in control children. CONCLUSIONS: Processing of words and changes in emotional speech prosody is impaired at various levels of information processing in school-aged children with ASD (no LI). SIGNIFICANCE: The results suggest that low-level speech sound discrimination and orienting deficits might contribute to emotional speech prosody processing impairments observed in ASD.

Impaired neural discrimination of emotional speech prosody in children with autism spectrum disorder and language impairment.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficient social and communication skills, including difficulties in perceiving speech prosody. The present study addressed processing of emotional prosodic changes (sad, scornful and commanding) in natural word stimuli in typically developed school-aged children and in children with ASD and language impairment. We found that the responses to a repetitive word were diminished in amplitude in the children with ASD, reflecting impaired speech encoding. Furthermore, the amplitude of the MMN/LDN component, reflecting cortical discrimination of sound changes, was diminished in the children with ASD for the scornful deviant. In addition, the amplitude of the P3a, reflecting involuntary orienting to attention-catching changes, was diminished in the children with ASD for the scornful deviant and tended to be smaller for the sad deviant. These results suggest that prosody processing in ASD is impaired at various levels of neural processing, including deficient pre-attentive discrimination and involuntary orientation to speech prosody.

INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED AMONG FINNISH RADIATION WORKERS IN 2004-13 AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE RECORDED INDIVIDUAL DOSES.

Investigations are sometimes required to verify dose assessments or, where the reliability of the original results is known to be in question, to replace them with an estimate of the dose. In Finland, such investigations are conducted by three different parties: the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), the individual monitoring service (IMS) and the parties operating a radiation practice (the undertakings). The reasons for such investigations as well as the findings from them vary widely between different parties. To determine their usefulness, all investigations carried out on Finnish radiation workers by the STUK, the IMS and the undertakings during 2004-13 have been reviewed. This paper presents the number, reasons for and findings of these investigations. The effect of the investigations on the recorded individual doses as well as on the working methods and other aspects of radiation protection in the work environment are described.

EXPERIENCES IN DEVELOPING A NATIONAL DOSE REGISTER IN FINLAND AND MERGING IT WITH THE OVERALL SUPERVISORY DATA SYSTEM.

In recent years, a new national Dose Register has been under development in Finland. This article presents this work, the challenges in the project, the features of the new register and experiences in using it. There were several motivations for creating a new register. The technical implementation of the existing Dose Register needed to be reformed, and there was also a need to improve electronic communication and access to the recorded data. The development was challenging and took more time and effort than expected. Despite the challenges, the new system works quite reliably and enables the use of the registered data to more easily improve radiation safety.

Correlation of wood-based components and dewatering properties of waste activated sludge from pulp and paper industry.

Large amounts of wet sludge are produced annually in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. Already in pulp and paper industry, more than ten million tons of primary sludge, waste activated sludge, and de-inking sludge is generated. Waste activated sludge contains large quantities of bound water, which is difficult to dewater. Low water content would be a matter of high calorific value in incineration but it also has effects on the volume and the quality of the matter to be handled in sludge disposal. In this research waste activated sludges from different pulp and paper mills were chemically characterised and dewatered. Correlations of chemical composition and dewatering properties were determined using multivariate analysis. Chemical characterisation included basic sludge analysis, elementary analysis and analysis of wood-based components, such as hemicelluloses and lignin-derived material. Dewatering properties were determined using measurements of dry solids content, flux and flocculant dosage. The effects of different variables varied according to the response concerned. The variables which were significant regarding cake DS increase in filtration or centrifugation and flocculant dosage needed in filtration were different from those which were significant regarding flux.

La Informática en función de los valores en la Facultad Tecnológica de la Salud / The computer science as a function of values in the Health Technology Faculty

Este trabajo está encaminado a profundizar en los conocimientos de los educadores, educandos y trabajadores en general de nuestro Instituto para que incidan positivamente en la formación del patriotismo principios y valores de nuestros símbolos patrios. Entre unas de las dificultades detectadas se observa, el poco conocimiento y dominio sobre la historia del surgimiento de nuestros símbolos patrios, así como el diseño, significado de sus partes y la regulación para su uso de acuerdo a lo que establece la Ley 44 de los Símbolos Nacionales. De igual manera, existe una escasez de bibliografías sobre este material. Para la realización de este trabajo, se aplicaron métodos teóricos, empíricos, análisis y síntesis, que han permitido brindar una información precisa del objeto de la investigación, para el proceso de la elaboración del Software a través de los instrumentos que brinda la informática(AU)

Enrichment of the R77C alpha-sarcoglycan gene mutation in Finnish LGMD2D patients.

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2D (LGMD2D) is caused by mutations in the alpha-sarcoglycan gene (SGCA). The most frequently reported mutation, 229CGC>TGC (R77C) in exon 3 of SGCA, results in the substitution of arginine by cysteine. We present here the clinical, immunohistochemical, and genetic data of 11 Finnish patients with LGMD2D caused by mutations in SGCA. Mutational analysis showed 10 patients homozygous and 1 compound heterozygous for R77C. A wide spectrum of SGCA mutations has been reported previously. Our results show an enrichment of R77C in Finland, further underlined by the observed carrier frequency of 1 per 150. According to the annual birth rate of approximately 60,000 in Finland, one LGMD2D patient with a homozygous mutation is expected to be born every 1 or 2 years on average. The presence of an ancient founder mutation is indicated by the fact that all patients shared a short common haplotype extending > or = 790 kilobases. Our results emphasize the need to include the SGCA gene R77C mutation test in routine DNA analyses of severe dystrophinopathy-like muscular dystrophies in Finland, and suggest that the applicability of this test in other populations should be studied as well.

Evidence for allelic association on chromosome 3q25-27 in families with autism spectrum disorders originating from a subisolate of Finland.

Recent molecular studies on autism and related disorders have supported a multilocus etiology for the disease spectrum. To maximize genetic and cultural homogeneity, we have focused our molecular studies to families originating from a subisolate of Central Finland. Genealogical studies enabled the identification of a megapedigree comprising of 12 core families with autism and Asperger syndrome (AS). We analyzed two chromosomal regions on Iq and 3q showing highest lod scores in our genome-wide scan, as well as the AUTS1 locus on chromosome 7q. For markers on 3q25-27, more significant association was observed in families from subisolate compared to families from the rest of Finland. In contrast, no clear evidence for association on AUTS1 locus was obtained. The wide interval showing association, in particular, on chromosome 3q suggests a locus for autism spectrum of disorders on this chromosomal region.

Reversed visual field constrictions in children after vigabatrin withdrawal--true retinal recovery or improved test performance only?

While vigabatrin-associated visual field constrictions have been generally considered irreversible, some case reports have raised the hope of partial improvement after drug withdrawal in occasional patients. Here we describe seven children with epilepsy, whose visual field constrictions, as demonstrated by the kinetic perimetry (Goldmann), attenuated or recovered after discontinuation of vigabatrin therapy. While this improvement may be largely due to better performance in later test sessions, we want to raise the possibility that some visual field recovery may be possible at least in young patients.

Chemometrics: an important tool for the modern chemist, an example from wood-processing chemistry

This study briefly outlines the idea of principal component analysis and cross-correlation calculations (applied chemometrics) and presents an illustrative example from wood-processing chemistry. The applicability of chemometric data analysis was demonstrated by investigating the various structural changes that take place in dissolved and degraded lignin ("kraft lignin") during laboratory-scale kraft pulping of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and silver birch (Betula pendula). The structural data (31P NMR and size exclusion chromatographic data) on kraft lignin were further processed by chemometric multivariate techniques (PCA and 2DCC), confirming, for example, that the cleavage of beta-aryl ether structures, the most prominent linkages between monomeric units, is directly related to the decrease in the average molecular mass of lignin.

Behaviour of EDTA in marine microcosms

Laboratory-scale microcosm tests were carried out in sea water with and without sediment to investigate the importance of ultraviolet (UV) light and microbes in the temperature-dependent degradation of metal complexes of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). After 17 weeks, 44% and 48% of the original EDTA (initial concentration 385 microg/L) were converted at 10 degrees C and 22 degrees C, respectively. The degradation was more influenced by UV light than by sediment microbes, although the latter were very important. At both temperatures, absorption of EDTA to the sediment phase reached a maximum in the initial stage of the experiments (<4 weeks): at 10 degrees C about 4% and at 22 degrees C about 7% of the original EDTA.

Characterization of the humic material formed by composting of domestic and industrial biowastes. Part 1. HPLC of the cupric oxide oxidation products from humic acids.

The changes induced by humification of anaerobically digested sewage sludge, source separated biowaste, and pulp mill biosludge were determined by extracting the fractions of bitumen and humic and fulvic acids from the samples of fresh and humified composts. In all cases, a distinct decrease in the amount of bitumen could be detected during humification. The amount of humic acids increased in sewage sludge and biowaste samples, but decreased in pulp mill biosludge sample during humification. The humic acids were degraded by CuO oxidation and the phenolic degradation products were analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The yield of these aromatic degradation products was in the range 0.9-2.0% for each sample. The main phenolic degradation products were 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, syringaldehyde, and acetovanillone. Two lignin dimers, dehydrodivanillin and dehydrodiacetovanillone, were also identified.