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.     

Flow cytometric method to measure urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase from blood neutrophils for use in the prenatal screening of Down's syndrome

The histochemical measurement of urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase from maternal blood neutrophils is known to have a high detection rate for the prenatal detection of Down's syndrome pregnancies. However, because the histochemical method is laborious and subjective to use, it has not gained widespread acceptance in prenatal screening programmes. We present a simple and objective method for the measurement of urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase by flow cytometry. The method should allow the design of larger studies aimed at evaluating the role of neutrophil urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase in the prenatal screening for Down's syndrome.     

Expanding multiple marker screening for Down's syndrome to include Edward'S syndrome

Information on maternal age and maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, unconjugated oestriol (uE₃), and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) levels was used to investigate retrospectively the effect of estimating Edward's syndrome risk in women having multi-marker screening for Down's syndrome. The screened population comprised 15 pregnancies affected by Edward's syndrome, 15 with Down's syndrome and 5472 unaffected pregnancies. The use of all three markers to estimate Edward's syndrome risk would have led to the detection of 10–12 (67–80 per cent) cases with a false-positive rate of 0.3–0.6 per cent depending on the risk cut-off. A further case would have been detected as a result of screening for Down's syndrome alone. Similar results were obtained when the Edward's syndrome risk was based on uE₃ and hCG only. These data suggest that extending Down's syndrome screening to include Edward's syndrome risk will yield a high detection rate with only a small increase in the false-positive rate.     

废旧家电产品回收性能评价指标体系的建立

针对家电产品回收工艺流程决策评价的多阶段、多目标的特点,以及不同类型家电产品和不同回收工艺过程的动态特性,采用层次分类方法建立了以经济指标和环境指标为主要内容的回收工艺流程评价指标体系,对指标体系的组成进行了较为详细的分析,讨论了应该考虑的因素及有关计算方法。以电冰箱为例,用改进的模糊层次分析法与遗传算法相结合,介绍了回收工艺流程的优化决策方法。建立的指标体系不仅可以根据评价对象进行动态修改,而且具有较强的可操作性。     

污染生态学的新发展—污染进化生态学

污染胁迫的最显著效应是消除敏感物种或个体，导致植物居群进化。突变是进化的原料，选择是进化的手段，隔离是进化的条件，控制抗性性状的基因因物种及污染物的种类不同而异，但也会出现植物同时具有对某两种或几种污染物的抗性，即所谓协同抗性；污染除使植物衰退外，还可能导致一些遗传信息丧失，使抗性种群内物种单一，降低其适合度，对其它环境胁迫因素的抵抗力下降，即所谓适应代价。     

Serum PAPP-A measurements in first-trimester screening for Down syndrome

Serum PAPP-A measurements taken from 254 women in the first trimester are reported. Eleven chromosomal abnormalities were detected. The mean serum PAPP-A levels in cases of Down syndrome were 0.44 MOM at 9 weeks gestation, 0.15 MOM at 10 weeks, and 0.29 MOM at 11 weeks. The PAPP-A level at 10 weeks was below those of pregnancies which aborted spontaneously. At 11 weeks, the pregnancies with Down syndrome recorded the lowest PAPP-A levels at that gestation. On this small sample, offering chorionic villus sampling to women with singleton pregnancies and a PAPP-A level below 0.3 MOM (approximately 6.5 per cent of this at-risk group) would have detected all the Down syndrome fetuses at 10 weeks and 50 per cent at 11 weeks without selecting those cases destined to abort. This suggests that serum PAPP-A should continue to be investigated as a potential first-trimester screening test for Down syndrome.     

关于污水处理厂质量监理工作的探讨

污水处理已引起我国政府的高度重视。以此为契机，通过对阳江市第一净水厂工程监理工作的回顾，初步探讨了污水处理厂质量监理工作。     

炼铁厂高炉原料仓料位计的选择与应用

高炉料仓环境条件恶劣，而高炉生产又要掌握料位情况。比较了2种料位计，最终选择了SA—2型料位计。     

火炸药热自燃点测试及数据自动记录的探讨

简述了所建立的炸药热自燃点测试系统的结构和工作原理，阐明了在多试样热自燃点测试中，采用温度数据自动记录系统的必要性。着重讨论了所研制的多试样火炸药热自燃点自动记录仪的结构和工作原理。     

地层塌陷的灾害及其防治研究中的关键问题

针对矿山开采沉陷的研究现状和生产实践的需要，提出了地层塌陷防治研究中拟解决的关键问题：岩体的工程属性、地层塌陷的力源、塌陷特征、防治措施，及解决途径；同时还论述了本学科的发展前景。