The influence of serum screening on the amniocentesis rate in women of advanced maternal age

We investigated the effect of maternal serum screening on the amniocentesis (AC) rate in women of advanced maternal age. The AC rate after maternal serum screening was compared in two groups of women with a singleton pregnancy, 855 women of 30–35 years and 98 of 36 years and older. In our population, 34·1 per cent of the women of 36 years or older were ‘screen-positive’ for Down syndrome. Only 41·2 per cent of these women chose to undergo AC as opposed to 88·2 per cent in the younger age group. Within the older age group, the tendency to avoid AC increased with increasing age. Maternal serum screening led to a significant decrease in the AC rate in the older women. In this group, a comparison between the ‘a priori’ and the calculated risk might have had more influence on the decision to undergo AC than being screen-positive or screen-negative as such. We conclude that maternal serum screening had a major effect on the AC rate in women of advanced maternal age. This is of importance in a society in which the average maternal age is steadily increasing.     

First-trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and human chorionic gonadotropin screening for chromosome defects

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of combined maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) and maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (MShCG) screening in detecting chromosome defects in the first trimester of pregnancy. Sera of 492 women (previously assayed for MSAFP) were analysed for MShCG under code without knowledge of cytogenetic results. Overall, 48 of 492 patients (9·8 per cent) had either an MSAFP multiple of the median ⩽0·5 or an MShCG β/a z ratio multiple of the median ⩽ 0·25, eight of whom had a fetus with a serious chromosome defect. A third of fetuses with Down' s syndrome and 83 per cent with trisomy 18 were detected at a potential‘cost’ of providing chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis in 8·6 percent of women screened.     

Oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by fungal isolates from an oil contaminated refinery soil

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Indigenous soil microorganisms are used for the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in oily waste residues from the petroleum refining industry. The objective of this investigation was to determine the potential of indigenous strains of fungi in soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons to biodegrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty one fungal strains were isolated from a soil used for land-farming of oily waste residues from the petrochemical refining industry in Singapore and identified to genus level using laboratory culture and morphological techniques. Isolates were incubated in the presence of 30 mg/L of phenanthrene over a period of 28 days at 30 degrees C. The most effective strain was further evaluated to determine its ability to oxidise a wider range of PAH compounds of various molecular weight i.e acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(ah)anthracene RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: After 28 days of incubation, 18 of the 21 fungal cultures were capable of oxidising over 50% of the phenanthrene present in culture medium, relative to abiotic controls. Fungal isolate, Penicillium sp. 06, was able to oxidise 89% of the phenanthrene present. This isolate could also oxidise more than 75% of the acenaphthene, fluorene and fluoranthene after 30 days of incubation. However, the oxidation of high molecular weight PAH i.e. chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(ah)anthracene by the Penicillium sp. 06 isolate was limited, where the extent of oxidation was inversely proportional to PAH molecular weight. CONCLUSIONS: Fungal isolate, Penicillium sp. 06, was effective at oxidising a range of PAH in petroleum contaminated soils, but higher molecular weight PAH were more recalcitrant. RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: There is potential for the re-application of this fungal strain to soil for bioremediation purposes.     

光生物反应器培养紫球藻及藻粉降血脂的研究

研究了搅拌式光生物反应器中搅拌速度、通气量对紫球藻生长、胞外多糖和藻细胞超微结构的影响．实验结果表明：在特定光照(1000μmolm^-2s^-1)和培养温度(25℃)条件下，当搅拌转速为200r／min、通气量为0．71vvm时，藻生长速度和胞外多糖含量最高；增加通气量有利于藻细胞胞外多糖及生物量的提高．对藻细胞超微结构的观察发现，与摇床培养相比，搅拌式光生物反应器使藻细胞淀粉颗粒明显增多，粘质鞘层变薄，光合片层增多．动物实验表明，紫球藻能明显降低摄食高脂饲料SD大鼠血脂TC、TG、LDL-C水平，并提高HDL-C含量．实验结果预示，紫球藻对预防动脉粥样硬化和冠心病的发生有一定的意义．图2表3参26     

Amniotic fluid-AFP in Down syndrome and other chromosome abnormalities

80·2 Per cent of 111 Down syndrome pregnancies had amniotic fluid (AF) alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels on or below the median and 10·8 per cent at or below 0·5 MoM compared with 41·9 and 1·4 per cent of controls. These differences were even more striking when the gestational age was < 18 weeks compared with ⩾ 18 weeks. No such association was seen for other chromosome abnormalities including trisomy 18,45,X and mosaics, 47,XXY, 47,XXX, and other structural abnormalities and triploidy, even when high levels due to defects such as omphalocele and cystic hygroma were excluded. All cases of trisomy 13 and 80 per cent with 47,XYY had AF-AFP levels above the median. Selection of cases for karyotyping by a low level of AF-AFP would clearly fail to detect aneuploidies other than Down syndrome and is not recommended. A possible weak association between low maternal serum (MS) and AF-AFPs in Down syndrome was most evident at < 18 weeks, suggesting that MS screening between 16 and 18 weeks may be the most informative time.     

Can gestational dates routinely derived from very early ultrasound be used to interpret maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein measurements?

This study assesses the reliability of estimating gestational age via crown-rump or gestational sac measurements obtained at 8 weeks' gestation or earlier as part of routine physician office practice. To accomplish this, we studied 88 pregnancies managed at 45 different sites in which both an early first-trimester ultrasonically-derived gestational age estimate and a second-trimester biparietal diameter (BPD) estimate were available. The first-and second-trimester determinations were highly correlated, but the first-trimester determinations were, on average, 0.43 weeks earlier than the second. The first-trimester estimates were satisfactory for use in interpreting maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) screening measurements, but second-trimester BPD measurements obtained prior to MSAFP screening should be the method of choice for interpreting MSAFP values, due to the increased sensitivity for detecting open spina bifida.     

Transabdominal chorionic villus sampling in the second trimester of pregnancy: Feto-maternal transfusions in relation to pregnancy outcome

Volumes of feto-maternal transfusions (FMTs) in transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TACVS) in the second trimester of pregnancy were calculated from the difference between maternal alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) concentrations before and 1 h after TACVS. In 50 pregnancies, there existed no correlation between FMT volume and the amount of villi collected or the number of TACVS attempts. The expected risk of fetal exsanguination due to very voluminous FMT could not be substantiated. In one case, immunization could have been the cause of hydrops fetalis, although only a volume of 0.15 ml could be calculated.     

含机油废水微生物降解实验研究

从油污壤中筛选分离出两株高效机油降解菌ZL1、ZL2，初步鉴定为黄杆菌属和微球菌属。通过生长条件正交实验测定了温度、低温浓度和pH值对其降解能力的影响。在废水较高油浓度下进行了连续降解实验。实验表明：20d对于含油270mg／L的去除率分别达到67\9%呼76．2％，其中ZL2菌对底物浓度的pH值有较广的适应范围。     

Humerus and femur length in fetuses with down syndrome

The aim of the study was to assess the value of sonographic measurement of fetal humerus and femur lengths in the second trimester as a screening tool for Down syndrome (DS). We reviewed retrospectively fetal sonographic biometry made at the time of amniocentesis between 15 and 19 weeks. The study group consisted of 27 DS fetuses. The control group comprised 500 normal fetuses chosen randomly. The expected humeral and femoral lengths for a given biparietal diameter were estimated by linear regression equations from the 500 normal fetuses. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to evaluate both the detection rate and the false-positive rate of different cut-off values of measured to expected lengths ratios. The median femur and humeral lengths in DS fetuses were 0·91 times the expected values. No significant differences in the detection rate and false-positive rate were found between the humerus and femur lengths. When the humeral and femoral lengths were combined, we observed a remarkable reduction in the false-positive rate. A measured to expected length ratio of 0·91 detected 44·4 per cent of DS fetuses with 7·6 per cent false positives. These results suggest that the combination of femoral and humeral lengths may permit a more efficient use of ultrasound in screening for Down syndrome than the use of either alone.     

盐度胁迫对云纹石斑鱼鳃离子调节酶及渗透压的影响

为探讨云纹石斑鱼鳃离子调节酶活力及血清渗透压对盐度骤降的响应,设置4个盐度梯度(27、21、15和9)对云纹石斑鱼进行盐度骤降胁迫试验,在0、1 d、2 d、3 d和7 d时取样,测定其鳃中Na+/K+-ATP(NKA)酶、Ca~(2+)-ATP酶(Ca~(2+)-ATPase)、琥珀酸脱氢酶(SDH)、乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)活力及血清渗透压。结果表明,盐度21组与15组NKA及Ca~(2+)-ATPase活力在第1 d大幅上升,显著高于对照组(p0.05),随后下降趋于稳定,而盐度9组NKA及Ga2+-ATPase活力一直呈下降趋势;血清渗透压呈先下降后上升的变化趋势(p0.05);SDH活力变化与离子酶一致(p0.05);LDH活力变化与离子酶相反(p0.05)。研究表明,在盐度骤降的情况下,云纹石斑鱼鳃进行渗透压调节分为两个阶段,一是应激反应阶段,此时NKA及Ca~(2+)-ATPase迅速升高,血清渗透压降低;二是适应阶段,离子酶活力下降趋于稳定,血清渗透压升高恢复至正常水平,而且SDH与LDH酶活力也相应变化,为渗透压调节提供能量。