The use of amniotic fluid AFP action limits in diagnosing open neural tube defects

An analysis is made of alphafetoprotein (AFP) concentrations in 3630 amniotic fluids submitted for prospective prenatal diagnoses over a 7-year period. There were 89 cases of anencephaly, 74 of open spina bifida and 3467 with normal singleton outcomes. The AFP data were expressed in both standard deviations above the mean and multiples of the normal median for individual weeks of gestation. False positive and false negative rates were comparable in the two systems at selected cut-offs. It is concluded that either system may be used in setting action limits for the primary distinction of unaffected pregnancies from those in which an open neural tube defect is present.     

小边距冲孔模的凹模设计

在五金、家电、办公用品等行业中,常存在一些零件需要先弯曲成形,再进行冲孔。由于结构设计要求,有些孔到弯曲边的距离尺寸较小,尺寸精度要求较高,因此在这类模具设计中,凹模的强度问题较为突出。从结构设计和工艺设计两方面给出了设计这种模具的一些心得体会。     

MATERNAL SERUM ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN SCREENING FOR OPEN NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS IN TWIN PREGNANCIES

Data on maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels at 13–24 weeks' gestation in 46 twin pregnancies with open neural tube defects (22 with anencephaly, 24 with open spina bifida) and 169 unaffected twins were used to estimate the detection and false-positive rates associated with different cut-off levels. Using the conventional cut-off level of 2·5 multiples of the median (MoM) for unaffected singleton pregnancies of the same gestation and laboratory, the detection rate in twins was 99 per cent for anencephaly and 89 per cent for open spina bifida, with a false-positive rate of 30 per cent. Using a 5·0 MoM cut-off level to maintain a similar false-positive rate to that found among singleton pregnancies at 16–18 weeks' gestation (about 3 per cent), the detection rate was 83 per cent for anencephaly and 39 per cent for open spina bifida. Estimates are provided of the odds of having an affected twin pregnancy given a positive AFP result as well as the odds for individual women with a raised AFP level.     

Iniencephaly is not uniformly fatal

Iniencephaly is an uncommon, but not rare, lesion involving a fusion between the posterior occipital bone and the cervical spine. Many cases are associated with other cranio-cervical abnormalities and anencephaly, and most are associated with other structural abnormalities. The prognosis is thought to be dismal. We describe a male infant, one of twins, who was diagnosed prenatally as having iniencephaly. The child was born without complication and has grown and thrived. This is the fourth patient with long-term survival with iniencephaly. We recommend that non-directive counselling be applied when presenting the findings of iniencephaly to parents.     

Effects of mid-trimester induced abortion on the subsequent pregnancy

The outcome of the pregnancy following (a) a mid-trimester termination of pregnancy (TOP) for fetal neural tube defect (NTD) (77 women=group 1); (b) mid-trimester TOP for fetal Down's syndrome (13 women=group 2); (c) delivery of a baby with NTD (119 women=group 3) was studied. The prenatal fetal loss was relatively high in all groups. In group 1 it was similar to that found in other studies after first trimester TOP, in group 2 it was associated with advanced maternal age and the unexpected finding in group 3 was not attributable to advanced maternal age. It is suggested that a previous NTD per se might increase the risk of fetal loss in the next pregnancy. A previous mid-trimester TOP for NTD was not associated with an increase in premature labour, small for dates babies or congenital abnormality in the next pregnancy, but there was a slight increase in the number of babies weighing less than 2500 g.     

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.     

Recurrence risk of neural tube defects following a miscarriage

Data from 280 sibships in three published series were used to see if the increased risk of neural tube defect (NTD) associated with having had a miscarriage in the immediately preceding pregnancy was also found in women with a previous affected pregnancy. A statistically significant relative risk of 4.0 (2-tail P=0.0111, Fisher exact test) was found among such women, and this could not be accounted for by the effect of parity or of a history of miscarriage in general. The finding may be useful when counselling patients.     

色基生产废水的三级处理工艺试验

在染料中间体红色基Ｂ，紫酱色基ＧＰ的生产过程中，全产生降解处理的废水，采用中和隔油－生物接触氧化－电解脱色工艺处理可达标准排放。试验结果表明，硝化废酸液和水解母液的混合废水经过中和隔油处理后，ＣＯＤｃｒ的去除率可达到５６％以上，而ＢＯＤ５／ＣＤＯｃｒ的比值可在从０．２２提高到０．５以上；再经生物接触氧化处理后，ＣＯＤｃｒ的去除率在８８％以上，ＢＯＤ５的去除率在９２％以上；最后，电解处理能使ＣＯＤｃ     

不同品牌香烟烟雾中有机成分的分析

采用气－质联用技术（GC－MS）分析了我国市场上常见的近20种香烟烟雾中有机成分，为评价吸烟对人体健康的危害性提供资料，分析结果表明，这些香烟中，含有苯类衍生物，杂环类化合物及多环化合物等，从36种到131种不等，绝大多数有害人体健康。     

用MnSO_4作催化剂开管测定废水COD

本研究介绍了用硫酸锰代替硫酸银作催化剂快速开管测定废水中COD的方法。该方法降低了分析成本 ,且使样品的回流时间缩短到 12min ,而准确度和精密度同标准法基本相同。此法取样量少 ,消解速率快 ,适用于大批量水样的测定。