Early amniocentesis at 11–14 weeks' gestation for the diagnosis of fetal chromosomal abnormality—a clinical evaluation

Early arnniocentesis between 11 and 14 weeks' gestation was offered to 110 women at risk of a chromosomally abnormal fetus due to maternal age. Four were found to be unsuitable for the procedure, and 106 early amniocenteses were performed. In 102 cases, clear amniotic fluid was obtained with a single tap. There were two dry taps and two bloodstained tapis; sampling was repeated in three of these cases before 15 weeks. In the fourth case, placental biopsy was performed at 16 weeks. Thus, we were able to obtain a satisfactory sample in all but three cases(2.8 percent). Karyotyping of cells harvested from the early amniotic fluid samples was successful in all the 105 cases. Cell culture from the initial samples revealed a normal karyotype in 99 cases, two balanced translocations, two tetraploid karyotypes, and two cases of pseudomosaicism. Of the 105 pregnancies successfully sampled, there have been two losses to date (1–8 per cent). Two further patients presented with premature rupture of membranes, both pregnancies having successful outcomes. Sixty-two babies have delivered to date, with four congenital anomalies. There were no respiratory problems. Twenty-nine pregnancies are continuing without known complications, and details are not yet available on the remaining 12. The results indicate that early arnniocentesis may replace the traditional test at 15–17 weeks.     

Is maternal alpha-fetoprotein screening still of value in a low-risk area for neural tube defects?

Estimation of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was used as a screening method for the detection of neural tube defects (NTDs) in 6344 women over three years. Of 88 (1.4 per cent) who had one or more serum AFP levels equal to, or greater than, 2.5 multiples of the median (MoM) for the relevant gestational age, 43 (0.68 per cent) underwent amniocentesis. There were eight NTDs. Four of these were screened by serum AFP, and all cases of spina bifida had serum AFP levels greater than 3.0 MoM, including one small open defect which was not seen on ultrasound. The other four cases of NTD, which were not screened, were identified by ultrasound. Of 64 singleton pregnancies 32 (50 per cent) had serum AFP levels between 2.5 and 3.0 MoM, and low birthweight (⪕2500 g) occurred in 29 per cent. Because of improvements in ultrasound techniques and the apparent falling incidence of NTD, the role of serum AFP as the primary screening procedure should be regularly reviewed. Effective screening is dependent on mothers booking early.     

Prenatal diagnosis of genetic microcephaly

True microcephaly can be diagnosed at an early stage of gestation by serial measurements of fetal head growth as demonstrated by this case report in which the diagnosis of genetic microcephaly was made but termination refused. True microcephaly was evident at birth.     

让我们共同努力做好环保事业--专访广州中环万代环境工程有限公司总经理刘德沛

对于中环万代而言,此次与中山大学的合作,意味着一次全新的提升机遇.就本次合作的有关背景、中环万代的发展理念等问题,广州中环万代环境工程有限公司总经理刘德沛（上图右）先生近日接受了本刊记者专访.     

环境有偿:中国环保突围的必由之路--著名环境法学家蔡守秋访谈录

“十五”期间，我国经济发展的各项指标大多超额完成，但环境保护的主要指标没有完成，这一结果引起人们广泛关注。除受工业化快速发展影响外，我国现行的环保政策也是一大要因。一些政府官员和学者也在呼吁构建环境保护新机制，环境有偿使用制度改革是其中的一项内容。“十一五”期间，中央财政将推进环境有偿使用制度改革，督促企业将环境成本纳入企业生产成本或服务价格，实现环境污染外部成本内部化、社会成本企业化。     

新型气浮净化技术在处理废纸造纸生产废水中的应用

采用新型气浮净化技术结合生化工艺处理废纸造纸生产废水，在进水CODcr，SS，BOD5分别为1200mg／L，800mg／L，300mg／L的情况下，出水分别为64．8mg／L，18mg／L和30mg／L。     

Application of the analytic hierarchy process to select characterization and risk-based decision-making and management methods for hazardous waste sites

Environmental managers at U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) installations overseas are faced with the challenge of managing contaminated sites at these installations with little information on the extent of contamination or the risk posed by the site. In this regard, DoD managers overseas encounter a situation quite similar to the situation faced by decision makers in the U.S. who are managing brownfields. Innovative site characterization and risk-based decision-making methods, which are currently being developed for expeditious application at brownfield sites in the U.S., may also be appropriate for application at overseas DoD sites. In this paper, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used by DoD decision makers to evaluate and rank innovative site characterization technologies and risk-based decision-making and management methods, for use at installations in Korea. Results indicate that for sites with high potential risk the decision makers preferred site characterization technologies that produce data of high quality and a method that can be used to establish credible risk-based remediation goals. This study provides a framework for applying characterization technologies and risk management to poorly characterized contaminated sites in developing countries, where resources for remedial actions may be limited.     

上海滨岸潮滩不同粒径沉积物中无机形态磷的分布特征

以地理环境独特的上海滨岸带为研究对象，根据对冬季潮滩悬浮层、表层沉积物的研究，初步探讨了潮滩不同粒径沉积物中各无机形态磷的地球化学特征：DP、(Fe Al)-P在靠近排污口的采样点含量高，同时随粒径变化复杂；沉积物中（Fe Al)-P含量随粒径变大而升高，悬浮层沉积物中（Fe Al)-P更能指示环境的污染状况；一般细粉砂质沉积物中Ca-P含量高。     

Design of policy mechanism to promote cleaner production in China

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＣｌｅａｎｅｒｐｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ (ＣＰ)ｈｏｌｄｓｇｒｅａｔｐｒｏｍｉｓｅａｓａｎｅｆｆｅｃｔｉｖｅｓｔｒａｔｅｇｙｉｎｔｈｅｆａｃｅｏｆｄｏｕｂｌｅｃｈａｌｌｅｎｇｅｓｏｆｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌｐｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎａｎｄｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ.Ｉｎ 1993,ａｄｅｍｏｎｓｔｒａｔｉｏｎｐｒｏｊｅｃｔ (Ｂ 4ｐｒｏｊｅｃｔ) ,ｄｅｓｉｇｎｅｄａｎｄｅｘｅｃｕｔｅｄｂｙｔｈｅＳｔａｔｅＥｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌＰｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎＡｄｍｉｎｉｓｔｒａｔｉｏｎ (…