Prenatal detection of trisomy 21 in uncultured amniocytes by fluorescence in situ hybridization: A prospective study

A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for the detection of trisomy 21 in interphase nuclei of uncultured amniotic fluid cells. Five hundred cases were analysed in situ and classified as normal or abnormal; the results were subsequently checked against the cytogenetic findings. Four hundred and ninety-three were correctly identified as normal with an 86·6 per cent average frequency of scored nuclei exhibiting two signals; six cases were correctly identified as trisomic for chromosome 21 with 81·7 per cent of scored nuclei exhibiting three signals; and one abnormal case involving an unbalanced chromosome 21·21 translocation was falsely scored as normal due to poor hybridization/detection efficiency. The method has been substantially improved and simplified so that it is suitable for the rapid detection of trisomy 21. As aneuploidy detection in interphase does not identify structural chromosome aberrations, it is not a substitute for fetal chromosome analysis.     

激光表面处理对工业级锆基块体非晶合金弯曲变形和缺口韧性的影响

目的 改善块体非晶合金的弯曲力学性能,同时考虑航空结构材料选材的经济性,研究激光表面处理工艺对工业级Zr_49.7Ti₂Cu_37.8Al₁₀Er_0.5块体非晶合金弯曲变形和缺口韧性的影响规律。方法 采用低纯原料和低真空制备条件获得工业级Zr_49.7Ti₂Cu_37.8Al₁₀Er_0.5块体非晶合金试样,考虑到弯曲条件下试样受到拉伸和压缩2种正应力状态,研究不同处理工艺和激光处理表面对试样弯曲变形和缺口韧性的影响。结果 当激光处理表面位于弯曲试样的2个侧表面时,其对试样的塑性变形能力和断裂强度没有明显的影响,但会显著降低试样的缺口韧性,从(56.4±3.4)MPa·m^1/2降低到(26.2±4.8)MPa·m^1/2;激光处理表面位于弯曲试样的受拉侧时,试样的弯曲断裂强度从2 150 MPa降低到1 800 MPa;当激光处理表面位于...     

A misdiagnosis of X-linked adrenoleucodystrophy in cultured chorionic villus cells by the measurement of very long chain fatty acids

A case is reported of a male fetus at risk of X-linked adrenoleucodystrophy who showed a normal cultured chorionic villus cell very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) profile but at birth exhibited grossly abnormal plasma and cultured fibroblast VLCFAs. Maternal contamination or a sample mix-up was excluded by chromosome analysis and analysis of polymorphic markers. This is the second report of a fetus affected with this disorder who showed normal cultured chorionic villus cell VLCFAs. It highlights the importance of a proper audit of all prenatal diagnoses to evaluate method reliability.     

Prenatal diagnosis and outcomes of five cases of mosaicism for an isochromosome of 20q

Five cases of mosaicism for an isochromosome of 20q have been detected from a total of 50 000 cases analysed for prenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis. Karyotypes were designated mos 46,X_/46,X_,i(20q). In all cases, the abnormal cell line was detected in more than one primary culture, thus fulfilling the criterion for true (level III) mosaicism. Indications for prenatal diagnosis were parental anxiety (two cases), low maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (two cases), and high maternal serum AFP (one case). Level II ultrasounds on all five fetuses were normal, and the abnormal cell line was never detected in fetal blood and/or cord blood. All five pregnancies were continued and had normal outcomes, with birth weights ranging from 2.4 to 3.8 kg. The development of all five children has been normal, with the oldest child in the study now 4 years of age. We suggest that the abnormal cell line in each case was of extrafetal origin, and that this may be one of the more common examples of this phenomenon, occurring in approximately 1/10000 prenatal diagnoses. Mosaicism i(20q) may have been missed in the past because of the higher resolution necessary to detect this subtle change.     

Significantly higher number of fetal cells in the maternal circulation of women with pre-eclampsia

Although the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia is unknown, several studies have indicated that abnormal placentation early in pregnancy might play a key role. It has recently been suggested that this abnormal placentation may result in transfusion of fetal cells (feto-maternal transfusion) in women with pre-eclampsia. In the present study, fetal nucleated red blood cells were isolated from 20 women with pre-eclampsia and 20 controls using a very efficient magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) protocol. The number of male cells was determined using two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for X and Y chromosomes. Significantly more XY cells could be detected in women with pre-eclampsia (0.61±1.2 XY cells/ml blood) compared to women with uncomplicated pregnancies (0.02±0.04 XY cells/ml blood) (Mann–Whitney U-test, p<0.001). These results suggest that fetal cell trafficking is enhanced in women with pre-eclampsia, and this finding may contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First-trimester maternal serum schwangerschafts protein 1 (SP1) in pregnancies associated with chromosomal anomalies

The relationship between first-trimester maternal serum Schwangerschafts protein 1 (SP1) and the karyotype of the pregnancy was examined in 692 women who underwent chorionic villus biopsy at 6–12 weeks. There were 30 pregnancies with abnormal karyotypes, consisting of 14 Down's syndrome (DS), eight trisomy 18, and eight other anomalies, two of which were mosaics. The normal ranges and medians for gestation were defined from the 662 cases in which the karyotype was normal. The median SP1 (0·5 MOM) of the abnormal group was significantly lower than that of the normal group (10 MOM). This relationship was maintained for the DS pregnancies (0·4 MOM) and for anomalies other than trisomy 18 (0·43 MOM) but not trisomy 18 (1·1 MOM). It is possible that the use of SP1 as a screening test for chromosome anomalies in the first trimester could have a 43 per cent detection rate for a 5 per cent false-positive rate.     

Cretaceous choristoderan reptiles gave birth to live young

Viviparity (giving birth to live young) in fossil reptiles has been known only in a few marine groups: ichthyosaurs, pachypleurosaurs, and mosasaurs. Here, we report a pregnant specimen of the Early Cretaceous Hyphalosaurus baitaigouensis, a species of Choristodera, a diapsid group known from unequivocal fossil remains from the Middle Jurassic to the early Miocene (about 165 to 20 million years ago). This specimen provides the first evidence of viviparity in choristoderan reptiles and is also the sole record of viviparity in fossil reptiles which lived in freshwater ecosystems. This exquisitely preserved specimen contains up to 18 embryos arranged in pairs. Size comparison with small free-living individuals and the straight posture of the posterior-most pair suggest that those embryos were at term and had probably reached parturition. The posterior-most embryo on the left side has the head positioned toward the rear, contrary to normal position, suggesting a complication that may have contributed to the mother’s death. Viviparity would certainly have freed species of Hyphalosaurus from the need to return to land to deposit eggs; taking this advantage, they would have avoided intense competition with contemporaneous terrestrial carnivores such as dinosaurs.     

Magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) significantly decreases the hybridization efficiency of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)

Fetal cells were enriched from maternal blood using density gradient centrifugation of Histopaque followed by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) to select CD71-positive cells. For each specimen, cells partially purified by Histopaque were split into equal portions, and each portion was subjected to purification by MACS in parallel. Cells before and after MACS were subjected to dual-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis with X- and Y-chromosome-specific probes. We found that the hybridization rates were decreased by approximately 10% after MACS based on duplicated analysis for each sample. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal diagnosis of tetrasomy 12p by in situ hybridization: Varying levels of mosaicism in different fetal tissues

Prenatal diagnosis of tetrasomy 12p is complicated by the discrimination of the 12p isochromosome from the duplication 21q as well as the level of mosaicism demonstrated in the particular tissue sampled. In this disease, a high percentage of chromosomally abnormal cells are generally found in fibroblastic cells, but lymphocyte karyotypes from the same individual may be normal. We report on the pregnancy of a 37-year-old female who presented to our centre at 16 weeks' gestation for genetic amniocentesis. Sonography of the fetus revealed dextrocardia and diaphragmatic hernia. Chromosome analysis of amniocytes demonstrated mosaicism of a 47,XY,+i(12p) line in 80 per cent of cells and a normal male line (20 per cent), consistent with the Pallister-Killian syndrome. Following termination, a 220 g male fetus of 18 weeks was examined. A flattened nose and low-set ears were noted. In situ hybridization with a chromosome 12 centromeric probe in lymphocytes and skin cells unequivocally confirmed the karyotype and showed the presence of a single centromere in the abnormal chromosome, suggesting a true isochromosome. Chromosome analysis of various fetal tissues was performed and the following percentages of abnormal cells were found: skin 100 per cent, chorion 50 per cent, placenta 30 per cent, and blood 80 per cent. The high frequency of tetrasomic cells in fetal blood at this early gestational age is noteworthy, since most reports of this syndrome show a very low percentage of abnormal cells postnatally.     

First-trimester amniotic fluid acetylcholinesterase electrophoresis

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gel electrophoresis was performed on normal amniotic fluids obtained at 4–15 weeks of pregnancy. Until 8 weeks, all the fluids were AChE-positive; the percentage of positive specimens decreased from 9 until 11 weeks and no positive specimen was found after 12 weeks. This method may allow early prenatal dignosis of neural tube defects after the 12th week.     

The ductus venosus in early pregnancy and congenital anomalies

The ductus venosus (DV) is a tiny vessel leading oxygenated blood from the placenta to the fetal heart and its flow assessment has been used as an indicator of fetal acidemia. At 11 to 14 weeks, the fetuses with increased nuchal translucency also showing an abnormal DV blood flow were consistently found to be aneuploid. Early cardiac dysfunction, signaled by abnormal DV blood flow, was suggested as the underlying cause of increased nuchal translucency. Detection rates for aneuploidy with the use of DV blood flow studies range from 59 to 93% with 2 to 21% false-positive rates. In fetuses with normal karyotype, an abnormal DV flow pattern signals cardiac defects or adverse perinatal outcome. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal aneuploidy detection in interphase cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization (Fish)

FISH is a quick, inexpensive, accurate, sensitive and relatively specific method for aneuploidy detection in samples of uncultured chorionic villus cells and amniotic fluid cells. FISH allows detection of the autosomal trisomies 13, 18 and 21 and X and Y abnormalities and any other chromosome abnormality for which a specific probe is available. The detection rate of these abnormalities is high in informative samples which have a concordance of > 99.5% with cytogenetic results. A relatively high number of abnormal cases are found in uninformative samples. However, such samples should be regarded as samples to be investigated further. Clinical experience with the use of FISH for prenatal diagnosis is now beyond 10,000 cases; a number of clinical protocols and smaller trials have also been carried out, resulting in 90% of attempted analyses giving informative results with a high detection rate and extraordinarily low false-positive and false-negative rates Unsolved problems remain, such as occasional technical failures, admixtures of maternal blood and up to 20% uninformative scoring results, especially for abnormal specimens. FISH is at present used as an adjunct to classical cytogenetic analysis. However, this should not be interpreted as meaning that FISH could not be used as a methodology in its own right. If FISH were to be considered a Diagnostic test then this might be the case, due to the risk of false-negative and false-positive results and the fact that FISH does not allow a diagnosis of certain structural abnormalities. If, on the other hand, FISH is considered a screening test, which means that in all abnormal (or indeterminate) cases, classical cytogenetic analysis would follow the abnormal screening test, the accuracy which is potentially higher than for other screening methods, for example in cases of trisomy 21, justifies FISH as a prenatal screening test in its own right.     

Congenital cystic hygroma of the neck diagnosed prenatally: Outcome with normal and abnormal karyotype

Twenty-two cases of cystic hygromas were diagnosed prenatally at Eastern Virginia Medical School and followed through the neonatal period. Our series was combined with 131 cases which have been described in the literature. Karyotypes were obtained in 110 fetuses and 80 (72·7 per cent) were abnormal. Fifty-one were not terminated: 30 with abnormal and 21 with normal karyotypes. There were no neonatal survivors in the group with abnormal karyotypes. There were five survivors in the 21 with normal karyotypes but only 2/21 without severe medical complications. Combining our series with those previously reported in the literature would suggest only a 2–3 per cent rate of intact survivors when fetal cystic hygromas are diagnosed in utero. This information should be helpful when counselling patients whose pregnancies carry this diagnosis.     

基于频次分析法的污水处理厂在线监测预警技术研究

针对目前我国污染源监控数据缺乏深层次利用,监测数据对污染源不能有效预警的状况,以S市某污水处理厂为例,在全面分析2010年出水COD在线监测数据的变化规律的基础上,建立基于频次分析法的预警阈值确定方法,确定了污水处理厂排放不同警情的阈值范围.结果显示,污水处理厂全年出水浓度集中在40~60mg/L,16:00,20:00以及22:00排水COD较高,超标率大,应加强监控.污水厂正常、一般、不正常以及极不正常状态阈值范围分别可设为小于30%频次、20%频次、10%频次以及超过10%频次对应的浓度范围.对污水厂全年监测数据进行警情状态验证,结果显示全年正常、一般、不正常以及极不正常状态出现的比例分别为70.4%、9.9%、9.8%以及9.9%.     

典型机载设备加速振动试验应用方法研究

目的为了提高加速振动试验方法在高新军用装备中工程化应用的准确性和可操作性。方法由于在合理的加速等级下,较大的振动能量可能导致试件局部振动疲劳累积损伤机理发生改变,因此在传统加速振动试验中充分评估结构试件的频率响应特性,得出一种修正的加速振动试验方法。首先结合计算机辅助分析手段对试件进行模态分析及频率响应分析,识别试件的薄弱部位。其次利用结构动力学特性测试手段,对薄弱部位的实测动态特性进行分析,并对超出加速响应限的加速度幅值进行修正。结果以典型的机载设备结构作为研究对象,将试件薄弱部位的频率响应幅值控制在合理的放大系数范围内,保证加速破坏机理的一致性,修改后加速振动试验结果与长周期正常等级振动试验结果特征一致。结论该方法符合国军标中振动试验方法的有关规定,可在装备研制过程中对设备结构部件的加速振动试验加以工程化应用。     

大气PM2.5对巨噬细胞的毒性作用研究

以上海市工业区，交通区、郊区3个功能区的大气PM2.5粒子，对腹腔巨噬细胞进行染毒培养，台酚蓝染色测定细胞存活率，酵母菌吞噬实验测定其吞噬功能，流式细胞仪检测凋亡情况，结果显示，随大气PM2.5粒子浓度增加，巨噬细胞存活率和吞噬功能下降，巨噬细胞出现凋亡，其中交通区大气PM2.5染毒组的观察指标改变较明显，提示了大气PM2.5粒子对巨噬细胞具有细胞毒性，而交通区大气PM2.5粒子的毒性较大。     

Bootstrap方法在小样本随机振动环境测量数据归纳中的应用研究

针对传统正态容差上限方法在确定平台振动环境条件时,不适合处理小样本实测数据统计归纳的问题,提出了利用Bootstrap法对测量样本重采样,进而统计归纳振动环境条件的计算方法。首先利用Bootstrap法对来自正态分布的试验数据进行容差上限估计,通过与真值的对比分析,验证各种自助置信区间估计方法的适用性,而后提出使用纠偏百分位法和Bootstrap-t法对小样本振动测量数据进行归纳。最后,分别对某型飞机实测数据进行了统计归纳,并与传统容差上限估计方法进行了对比分析。     

Residual risk for cytogenetic abnormalities after prenatal diagnosis by interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)

Results from conventional cytogenetic studies on 21 609 amniotic fluid specimens were analyzed retrospectively to determine the residual risk for a cytogenetic abnormality if interphase FISH, capable of only detecting aneuploidy for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y, was performed and did not reveal an abnormality. Detection rates (the probability of detecting a cytogenetic abnormality when an abnormality is present) and residual risks (the likelihood of a cytogenetic abnormality, in view of normal interphase FISH results) were calculated for the four major clinical indications for prenatal diagnosis (advanced maternal age, abnormal maternal serum screen indicating increased risk for trisomy 18 or trisomy 21, abnormal maternal serum screen indicating increased risk for neural tube defects and ultrasound abnormality). Differences in detection rates were observed to depend on clinical indication and presence or absence of ultrasound abnormalities. The detection rate ranged from 18.2 to 82.6% depending on the clinical indication. The detection rates of abnormalities significant to the pregnancy being evaluated (i.e. abnormalities excluding familial balanced rearrangements and familial markers) were between 28.6 and 86.4%. The presence of ultrasound abnormalities increased the detection rate from 72.2 to 92.5% for advanced maternal age and from 78.6 to 91.3% for abnormal maternal serum screen, indicating increased risk for trisomy 18 or trisomy 21. With regard to residual risk, the risk for a clinically significant abnormality decreased from 0.9–10.1%, prior to the interphase FISH assay, to a residual risk of 0.6–1.5% following a normal interphase FISH result in the 4 groups studied. Providing patients with detection rates and residual risks, most relevant to their situation (clinical indication and presence or absence of ultrasound abnormality) during counseling, could help them better understand the advantages and limitations of interphase FISH in their prenatal diagnostic evaluation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

XX/XY chimerism encountered during prenatal diagnosis

46,XX/46,XY chimerism has previously been reported in patients with abnormal sexual development, and rarely in otherwise normal individuals. We report the first postnatally documented prenatal diagnosis of whole-body 46,XX/46,XY chimerism in humans, discovered by maternal age amniocentesis. The normal male phenotype in this child creates a dilemma in prenatal counselling, since genotypic male/female chimerism cannot be assumed to imply an abnormal sexual phenotype.     

区域气象条件和减排对空气质量改善的贡献评估

区域气象条件和减排与空气质量的变化关系密切.区域污染天气的发生不只受人为排放的影响,其与气象条件也密切有关.我国地处全球的主要季风气候区,大气环流具有明显的季风气候变化特征,区域气象条件受年际气候变化影响显著.研究通过分析不同气候条件下京津冀地区、成渝地区、长三角和珠三角城市群2001～2018年主要气象要素及其污染天...