‘Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall’: Would globalization impact on the dissolution of states?

SUMMARY

It is argued in this paper that contemporary globalization is not truly a laissez-faire utopia because of the underlying political specifics in the First as well as the Third World. Rather, most of the benefits of globalization accrue to the First World because of the North's policy to resist laissez-faire movement of goods and people into its domain, and because of opposition to the dictates of the Washington Consensus in the Third World. The First World shows a reluctance to apply identical standards of laissez-faire to its borders and imports and tries, though not always with success, to impose on the Third World's legal structures. However, the concept of the state has yet to be dismantled by the process of globalization. The imperatives of globalization require the continuity of the system of separate states to maintain an unequal North-South dialogue.     

消防第一出动时间的频次分布规律研究

消防队接到火警后第一出动力量及时到达火场展开灭火救援,对有效控制火灾、减少人员伤亡和财产损失有着重要的意义。第一出动时间直接反映了城市灭火救援专业力量的出动响应水平。采用SPSS软件对1995-2003年日本全国城市火灾数据进行分析,发现第一出动时间的频次符合对数正态分布;与部分中国城市火灾统计数据对比后,表明后者符合同样的规律。中国数据对数正态分布的期望值为4.9分钟,其物理意义为消防力量第一出动时间的平均值,与我国消防条例对城镇消防站设置的基本原则相符。     

Transabdominal chorionic villus sampling. Clinical experience of 1159 cases

The efficacy and risks of transabdominal free-hand ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration technique were evaluated in 1159 pregnancies submitted to chorionic villus sampling (CVS) in the first trimester and early in the second trimester. An adequate amount of chorionic tissue was obtained by two needle insertions in 99·7 per cent of cases, and a second tapping was needed in 3·5 per cent of cases. A local peritoneal reaction was the only early complication clearly related to the procedure, and it occurred in 0·3 per pent of cases without any adverse effect on the maternal and fetal outcome. The correct abortion rate in 716 consecutive concluded pregnancies was 2·4 per cent, while the rate of late obstetrical complications and perinatal mortality and morbidity compares favourably with the rates in the general population. Because of its simplicity and practicability, transabdominal aspiration is the procedure of choice and is especially recommended fonintensive CVS routine conditions.     

First trimester diagnosis of β-thalassaemia in a twin pregnancy

This paper reports the results of first trimester prenatal diagnosis in a twin pregnancy at risk for homozygous β°−thalassaemia (β°−39 mutant). Trophoblast samples from both twins were obtained at 10 weeks gestation with a forceps guided by ultrasound. Trophoblast DNA analysis, carried out with the oligonucleotide technique, revealed that one fetus was homozygous and the other heterozygous for the β−39 mutant. This diagnosis was confirmed at 17 weeks gestation by amniocyte DNA analysis. DNA polymorphism analysis within the α-globin gene provided useful genetic markers for twin differentiation.     

First Trimester Prenatal Diagnosis of Metabolic Diseases: A survey in countries from the European Community

This paper presents the collected data concerning First Trimester Prenatal Diagnosis of Metabolic Diseases performed in different countries of the European Community by enzymatic methods using chorionic villi. In all, 258 diagnoses were made for 38 different metabolic diseases and 56 (22 per cent) affected fetuses have been detected. Several difficulties were encountered with regard to chorionic villus material or enzyme expression in this tissue. We stress the conditions necessary for avoiding errors in diagnosis.     

Analysis of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and free beta human chorionic gonadotrophin in the first trimester: Implications for down's syndrome screening

The aim of this study was to determine the maternal population, pregnancy, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and free β subunit of human chorionic gonadotrophin (FβhCG) parameters in a large series of women attending prenatal clinics before 15 weeks' gestation and to assess the practical problems of population screening for Down's syndrome in the first trimester using these markers. Serum samples were collected from 8600 women attending prenatal clinic booking visits. Maternal serum AFP and FβhCG medians were calculated for each day of gestation (49–104 days), using both dates and ultrasound estimates of gestation. The effects of maternal weight, twin pregnancies, and threatened abortion on AFP and FβhCG levels were analysed. The median age of the population was 27.1 years and the median weight 62.1 kg. Twenty-six per cent of samples were collected before 70 days and 50 per cent before 78 days' gestation. Eighty-nine per cent of all samples had gestational estimates by dates, 60 per cent by ultrasound and 52 per cent by both dates and ultrasound. The AFP median was 5 kU/1 at 49 days, 5.9 kU/1 at 70 days, and 17.9 kU/1 at 100 days. The peak median FβhCG level was 66.4 ng/ml at 64 days, falling to 20.6 ng/ml at 100 days' gestation. Both AFP and FβhCG levels showed log Gaussian distributions but the standard deviation for AFP was 20 per cent greater than that found in the second trimester. AFP and FβhCG levels showed an inverse relationship with maternal weight and were increased in twin pregnancies (1.68 and 1.97 multiples of the median, respectively). AFP and FβhCG can be readily measured in a large screening population in the first trimester. Down's syndrome screening protocols based on these markers could be refined by the use of gestations in individual days but AFP is likely to be a less effective marker and detection rates are likely to be lower than in the second trimester. To realize the potential of first-trimester screening, more women should be encouraged to attend the prenatal clinic in early pregnancy and ultrasound dating should be carried out for all pregnancies at this stage.