A one-stage color Doppler screening program at 23 weeks identifies most women who subsequently develop severe pre-eclampsia and/or fetal growth restriction.

Screening for trisomy 21 by a combination of maternal age, fetal NT and maternal serum biochemistry at 11-14 weeks can be provided in an OSCAR setting and is associated with a detection rate of about 90% for a false-positive rate of 5%.

Objective To assess whether in screening for trisomy 21 by nuchal translucency (NT) the delta or the multiples of the median (MoM)

No abstract

At 11-14 weeks of gestation, the nasal bone length of chromosomally abnormal fetuses is not significantly different from normal.

The comparatively lower prevalence of eating disorders among Asian and Afro-Caribbean than Caucasian women in the UK has often been attributed to cultural differences in pressures for slimness. However, there have been no attempts to evaluate cultural differences in ideals for female physique directly among women in the at risk age groups. In the present study, cultural influences on body image were evaluated by comparing the body size ideals, body image and dieting concerns in a sample of 274 young white and Asian British women. The results indicate that Asian women are less likely to describe themselves as too fat, were less dissatisfied with their body size, less likely to want to lose weight and less restrained. However, Asian women were slimmer than white women and, after controlling for the difference in body size, the effects were reduced. The hypothesis that any body satisfaction differences could be explained by differences in ideal body size between the two groups were not supported; Asian women favoured even slimmer ideal body sizes than white women. Alternative explanations in terms of cultural differences in evaluation of fatness are discussed.

phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) was integrated into the assay component.Fully automated immunoassay formats are available for quantification of urinary albumin in large numbers of samples. However, most of these methods are impractical or expensive. The criteria for point-of-care testing include affordable cost, a disposable device, and minimum maintenance/technical expertise required to perform tests (15 ). The sample should be applied directly to the device, which should require only a small sample volume, and the assays should have a rapid turnaround time with good accuracy. There are some point-of-care devices for determination of MAU in urine, such as the ImmunoDip (Diagnostic Chemicals Limited) and Micral Urine Test Strip (Roche Diagnostics). Despite their many advantages, one drawback of these commercial test devices is that they give only negative, threshold, or positive results without displaying quantitative values for urinary albumin. Given the different principles of the assays compared, the results obtained with the fluorescence ICA agree well with the results obtained with the independent RIA. Considering the detection limit, imprecision, linearity, and working range, the fluorescent ICA is comparable to other, wellknown immunoassays and appears to be suitable for determination of urinary albumin.

Maternal plasma SHBG concentrations are reduced in women who subsequently develop pre-eclampsia.