False-negative amniotic fluid acetylcholinesterase in a case of meningo-encephalocele

We describe a patient with a significantly elevated serum alphafetoprotein (AFP) concentration at 17 weeks of gestation, who showed only a marginally increased amniotic fluid AFP and lacked the second rapidly migrating band of acetylcholinesterase electrophoresis. Ultrasound examination revealed an encephalocele and ventriculomegaly. Autopsy showed that the encephalocele was not covered by skin.     

The effect of the introduction of prenatal diagnosis on the reproductive history of women at increased risk from neural tube defects

The reproductive history of 45 couples at increased risk for neural tube defect (NTD) who came for genetic counselling in 1970 and 1971 were compared with a similar number counselled in 1975 and 1976, when prenatal diagnostic tests were freely offered. They were subsequently interviewed in their homes and had their reproductive history recorded to the end of 1973 and 1978 respectively. Nearly all had a previous child with an NTD and none of the women were pregnant at the time of counselling. The effect of prenatal diagnosis was to speed somewhat the decision about further pregnancies, but the number of couples deciding on no further children and on having further pregnancies were almost identical in the two groups. The average number of pregnancies was 2·8 per family, with only 1·2 surviving children. The pregnancy outcomes are discussed as are the reasons for not attempting further pregnancies in both groups, which included very high risk of recurrence, a surviving spina bifida child, inability to accept the tests or its implications. Ninety per cent of the second group had tests. Their reactions to the tests were favourable but all complained of the waiting time between amniocentesis and obtaining the results. They all would have tests again in any future pregnancy. The reason for women not having prenatal diagnostic tests included inability to accept termination. It is concluded that couples in South Wales decide either to have no more children or to have further pregnancies regardless of tests. but tests speed a decision and enable the women to enjoy the pregnancy after obtaining the results, and that an NTD greatly reduces the number of children per family. A termination for an NTD is much more acceptable to most than an NTD at term. The reasons for this are discussed.     

用镁合金促进兵器装备轻量化

概述了兵器装备轻量化的意义、镁合金的性能特点 ,介绍了镁合金在兵器上应用的实例 ,指出了镁合金在兵器上应用存在的问题 ,分析了镁合金在兵器上应用的前景 ,对镁合金在兵器上的应用工作提出了若干建议     

Food caching in orb-web spiders (Araneae: Araneoidea)

Caching or storing surplus prey may reduce the risk of starvation during periods of food deprivation. While this behaviour occurs in a variety of birds and mammals, it is infrequent among invertebrates. However, golden orb-web spiders, Nephila edulis, incorporate a prey cache in their relatively permanent web, which they feed on during periods of food shortage. Heavier spiders significantly reduced weight loss if they were able to access a cache, but lost weight if the cache was removed. The presence or absence of stored prey had no effect on the weight loss of lighter spiders. Furthermore, N. edulis always attacked new prey, irrespective of the number of unprocessed prey in the web. In contrast, females of Argiope keyserlingi, who build a new web every day and do not cache prey, attacked fewer new prey items if some had already been caught. Thus, a necessary preadaptation to the evolution of prey caching in orb-web spiders may be a durable or permanent web, such as that constructed by Nephila.