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Objective: To examine the performance of screening for early, preterm and term pre-eclampsia (PE) at 11-13 weeks' gestation by maternal factors and combinations of mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery (UtA) pulsatility index (PI), serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A).Methods: The data for this study were derived from three previously reported prospective non-intervention screening studies at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks' gestation in a combined total of 61 174 singleton pregnancies, including 1770 (2.9%) that developed PE. Bayes' theorem was used to combine the prior distribution of gestational age at delivery with PE, obtained from maternal characteristics, with various combinations of biomarker multiples of the median (MoM) values to derive patient-specific risks of delivery with PE at < 37 weeks' gestation. The performance of such screening was estimated.Results: In pregnancies that developed PE, compared to those without PE, the MoM values of UtA-PI and MAP were increased and those of PAPP-A and PlGF were decreased, and the deviation from normal was greater for early than late PE for all four biomarkers. Combined screening by maternal factors, UtA-PI, MAP and PlGF predicted 90% of early PE, 75% of preterm PE and 41% of term PE, at a screen-positive rate of 10%; inclusion of PAPP-A did not improve the performance of screening. The performance of screening depended on the racial origin of the women; on screening by a combination of maternal factors, MAP, UtA-PI and PlGF and using a risk cut-off of 1 in 100 for PE at < 37 weeks in Caucasian women, the screen-positive rate was 10% and detection rates for early, preterm and term PE were 88%, 69% and 40%, respectively. With the same method of screening and risk cut-off in women of Afro-Caribbean racial origin, the screen-positive rate was 34% and detection rates for early, preterm and term PE were 100%, 92% and 75%, respectively.Conclusion: Screening by maternal factors and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks' gestation can identify a high proportion of pregnancies that develop early and preterm PE. © 2018 Crown copyright. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology © 2018 ISUOG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the effect of first-trimester screening for pre-eclampsia (PE) on the prediction of delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonate and the effect of prophylactic use of aspirin on the prevention of SGA.Methods: The data for this study were derived from two multicenter studies. In SPREE, we investigated the performance of screening for PE by a combination of maternal characteristics and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks' gestation. In ASPRE, women with a singleton pregnancy identified by combined screening as being at high risk for preterm PE (> 1 in 100) participated in a trial of aspirin (150 mg/day from 11-14 until 36 weeks' gestation) compared to placebo. In this study, we used the data from the ASPRE trial to estimate the effect of aspirin on the incidence of SGA with birth weight < 10th , < 5th and < 3rd percentile for gestational age. We also used the data from SPREE to estimate the proportion of SGA in the pregnancies with a risk for preterm PE of > 1 in 100.Results: In SPREE, screening for preterm PE by a combination of maternal factors, mean arterial pressure, uterine artery pulsatility index and serum placental growth factor identified a high-risk group that contained about 46% of SGA neonates < 10th percentile born at < 37 weeks' gestation (preterm) and 56% of those born at < 32 weeks (early); the overall screen-positive rate was 12.2% (2014 of 16 451 pregnancies). In the ASPRE trial, use of aspirin reduced the overall incidence of SGA < 10th percentile by about 40% in babies born at < 37 weeks' gestation and by about 70% in babies born at < 32 weeks; in babies born at ≥ 37 weeks, aspirin did not have a significant effect on incidence of SGA. The aspirin-related decrease in incidence of SGA was mainly due to its incidence decreasing in pregnancies with PE, for which the decrease was about 70% in babies born at < 37 weeks' gestation and about 90% in babies born at < 32 weeks. On the basis of these results, it was estimated that first-trimester screening for preterm PE and use of aspirin in the high-risk group would potentially reduce the incidence of preterm and early SGA by about 20% and 40%, respectively.Conclusion: First-trimester screening for PE by the combined test identifies a high proportion of cases of preterm SGA that can be prevented by the prophylactic use of aspirin. © 2018 Crown copyright. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology © 2018 ISUOG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the performance of first‐trimester screening for pre‐eclampsia (PE) by a method that uses Bayes' theorem to combine maternal factors with biomarkers is superior to that defined by current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Methods: This was a prospective multicenter study (screening program for pre‐eclampsia (SPREE)) in seven National Health Service maternity hospitals in England, of women recruited between April and December 2016. Singleton pregnancies at 11–13 weeks' gestation had recording of maternal characteristics and medical history and measurements of mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA‐PI), serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and serum pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A (PAPP‐A). The performance of screening for PE by the Bayes' theorem‐based method was compared with that of the NICE method. Primary comparison was detection rate (DR) using NICE method vs mini‐combined test (maternal factors, MAP and PAPP‐A) in the prediction of PE at any gestational age (all‐PE) for the same screen‐positive rate determined by the NICE method. Key secondary comparisons were DR of screening recommended by the NICE guidelines vs three Bayes' theorem‐based methods (maternal factors, MAP and PAPP‐A; maternal factors, MAP and PlGF; and maternal factors, MAP, UtA‐PI and PlGF) in the prediction of preterm PE, defined as that requiring delivery < 37 weeks. Results: All‐PE developed in 473 (2.8%) of the 16 747 pregnancies and preterm PE developed in 142 (0.8%). The screen‐positive rate by the NICE method was 10.3% and the DR for all‐PE was 30.4% and for preterm PE it was 40.8%. Compliance with the NICE recommendation that women at high risk for PE should be treated with aspirin from the first trimester to the end of pregnancy was only 23%. The DR of the mini‐combined test for all‐PE was 42.5%, which was superior to that of the NICE method by 12.1% (95% CI, 7.9–16.2%). In screening for preterm PE by a combination of maternal factors, MAP and PlGF, the DR was 69.0%, which was superior to that of the NICE method by 28.2% (95% CI, 19.4–37.0%) and with the addition of UtA‐PI the DR was 82.4%, which was higher than that of the NICE method by 41.6% (95% CI, 33.2–49.9%). Conclusions: The performance of screening for PE as currently recommended by NICE guidelines is poor and compliance with these guidelines is low. The performance of screening is substantially improved by a method combining maternal factors with biomarkers. © 2018 Crown copyright. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology © 2018 ISUOG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the performance of first-trimester screening for pre-eclampsia (PE) by a method that uses Bayes' theorem to combine maternal factors with biomarkers is superior to that defined by current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.Methods: This was a prospective multicenter study (screening program for pre-eclampsia (SPREE)) in seven National Health Service maternity hospitals in England, of women recruited between April and December 2016. Singleton pregnancies at 11-13 weeks' gestation had recording of maternal characteristics and medical history and measurements of mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI), serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A). The performance of screening for PE by the Bayes' theorem-based method was compared with that of the NICE method. Primary comparison was detection rate (DR) using NICE method vs mini-combined test (maternal factors, MAP and PAPP-A) in the prediction of PE at any gestational age (all-PE) for the same screen-positive rate determined by the NICE method. Key secondary comparisons were DR of screening recommended by the NICE guidelines vs three Bayes' theorem-based methods (maternal factors, MAP and PAPP-A; maternal factors, MAP and PlGF; and maternal factors, MAP, UtA-PI and PlGF) in the prediction of preterm PE, defined as that requiring delivery < 37 weeks.Results: All-PE developed in 473 (2.8%) of the 16 747 pregnancies and preterm PE developed in 142 (0.8%). The screen-positive rate by the NICE method was 10.3% and the DR for all-PE was 30.4% and for preterm PE it was 40.8%. Compliance with the NICE recommendation that women at high risk for PE should be treated with aspirin from the first trimester to the end of pregnancy was only 23%. The DR of the mini-combined test for all-PE was 42.5%, which was superior to that of the NICE method by 12.1% (95% CI, 7.9-16.2%). In screening for preterm PE by a combination of maternal factors, MAP and PlGF, the DR was 69.0%, which was superior to that of the NICE method by 28.2% (95% CI, 19.4-37.0%) and with the addition of UtA-PI the DR was 82.4%, which was higher than that of the NICE method by 41.6% (95% CI, 33.2-49.9%).Conclusions: The performance of screening for PE as currently recommended by NICE guidelines is poor and compliance with these guidelines is low. The performance of screening is substantially improved by a method combining maternal factors with biomarkers. © 2018 Crown copyright. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology © 2018 ISUOG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-eclampsia (PE), which affects about 2% of pregnancies, is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Early detection of PE can improve pregnancy outcome by providing timely intervention and closer monitoring. The current guideline from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that, at the booking visit, women identified with one major risk factor or more than one moderate risk factor for PE should be advised to take low-dose aspirin daily from 12 weeks until delivery. However, performance of the current method of screening is poor and identifies only about 35% of PE. Extensive studies in the last decade have established that the best performance for early prediction of PE can be achieved by using a novel Bayes' theorem-based method that combines maternal characteristics and medical history together with measurements of mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI), serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) at 11-13 weeks' gestation. This forms the 'combined test', which could be simplified to the 'mini combined test' when only maternal factors, MAP and PAPP-A are taken into consideration. We present the protocol (version 3.1, 14 November 2016) for the 'Screening programme for pre-eclampsia' (SPREE) study, a prospective multicenter cohort study that will be carried out in seven National Health Service maternity hospitals in England. Eligible pregnant women attending their routine scan at 11-13 weeks' gestation will be invited to participate in this study. Maternal characteristics and history and measurements of MAP, UtA-PI, serum PAPP-A and PlGF will be recorded according to standardized protocols. The patient-specific risk for PE will be calculated and data on pregnancy outcomes collected. We hypothesize that the first-trimester mini combined test and combined test for PE screening, using the Bayes' theorem-based method, are likely to be superior to the current method recommended by NICE that is based on maternal demographics and history alone. Enrollment for the study commenced in April 2016. The study is registered on the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) registry. Copyright © 2017 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the patient-specific risk of pre-eclampsia (PE) at 31-34 weeks' gestation by a combination of maternal characteristics and medical history with multiples of the median (MoM) values of serum placental growth factor (PlGF) and serum soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and to compare the performance of screening to that achieved by the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.Methods: This was a prospective observational study in women attending a third-trimester ultrasound scan at 31-34 weeks as part of routine pregnancy care. We estimated the performance of screening for PE with delivery within 4 weeks of assessment and PE with delivery from 4 weeks after assessment up to 40 weeks' gestation by the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio and by a method utilizing Bayes' theorem that combines maternal factors and MoM values of sFlt-1 and PlGF. The significance of the difference in screening performance between the two methods was assessed by comparison of the areas under the receiver-operating characteristics curves (AUC).Results: The study population of 8063 singleton pregnancies included 231 (2.9%) that subsequently developed PE. In the prediction of delivery with PE at < 4 weeks from assessment, the performance of the method utilizing Bayes' theorem was similar to that using the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (AUC, 0.987 (95% CI, 0.979-0.995) vs 0.988 (95% CI, 0.981-0.994); P = 0.961). In contrast, the performance of screening for delivery with PE at ≥ 4 weeks after assessment up to 40 weeks' gestation was better with the method utilizing Bayes' theorem than that with the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (AUC, 0.884 (95% CI, 0.854-0.914) vs 0.818 (95% CI, 0.775-0.860); P < 0.0001).Conclusion: At 31-34 weeks' gestation the performance of screening for PE delivering at < 4 weeks from assessment by the method utilizing Bayes' theorem is similar to that using the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, but the former is superior to the latter in prediction of PE delivering ≥ 4 weeks from assessment. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To establish a normal range of birth weights for gestational age at delivery and to compare the proportion of live births and stillbirths that are classified as small-for-gestational age (SGA) according to our normal range vs that of the INTERGROWTH-21st standard.Methods: The study population comprised 113 019 live births and 437 (0.4%) stillbirths. The inclusion criterion for establishing a normal range of birth weights for gestational age was the live birth of a phenotypically normal neonate ≥ 24 weeks' gestation and the exclusion criteria were smoking and prepregnancy hypertension, diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus or antiphospholipid syndrome, pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus or iatrogenic preterm birth for fetal growth restriction in the current pregnancy. Inclusion criteria were met by 92 018 live births. The proportions of live births and stillbirths with birth weights < 5th and < 10th percentiles of our normal range and those according to the INTERGROWTH-21st standard were determined and compared by the chi-square test and McNemar test.Results: The proportions of live births and stillbirths with a birth weight < 5th percentile according to our standard were significantly higher than and discordant with the proportion according to the INTERGROWTH-21st standard (live birth: 5.6% vs 3.4%; stillbirth: 37.2% vs 22.7%). Similarly, the proportion of live births and stillbirths with a birth weight < 10th percentile according to our standard were significantly higher than and discordant with those according to the INTERGROWTH-21st standard (live birth: 11.2% vs 6.9%; stillbirth: 44.3% vs 32.6%).Conclusion: The INTERGROWTH-21st standard underestimates the proportion of SGA live births and stillbirths in our population. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective To establish a normal range of birth weights for gestational age at delivery and to compare the proportion of live births and stillbirths that are classified as small-for-gestational age (SGA) according to our normal range vs that of the INTERGROWTH-21st standard. Methods The study population comprised 113 019 live births and 437 (0.4%) stillbirths. The inclusion criterion for establishing a normal range of birth weights for gestational age was the live birth of a phenotypically normal neonate ≥ 24 weeks' gestation and the exclusion criteria were smoking and prepregnancy hypertension, diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus or antiphospholipid syndrome, pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus or iatrogenic preterm birth for fetal growth restriction in the current pregnancy. Inclusion criteria were met by 92 018 live births. The proportions of live births and stillbirths with birth weights < 5th and < 10th percentiles of our normal range and those according to the INTERGROWTH-21st standard were determined and compared by the chi-square test and McNemar test. Results The proportions of live births and stillbirths with a birth weight < 5th percentile according to our standard were significantly higher than and discordant with the proportion according to the INTERGROWTH-21st standard (live birth: 5.6% vs 3.4%; stillbirth: 37.2% vs 22.7%). Similarly, the proportion of live births and stillbirths with a birth weight < 10th percentile according to our standard were significantly higher than and discordant with those according to the INTERGROWTH-21st standard (live birth: 11.2% vs 6.9%; stillbirth: 44.3% vs 32.6%). Conclusion The INTERGROWTH-21st standard underestimates the proportion of SGA live births and stillbirths in our population. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excursion from safe cathodic protection (CP) potentials occurs on buried steel pipelines due to various forms of electrical interferences such as stray currents. Variations in pH can also occur over some pipeline sections such as seashore and river crossing pipes. Currently, the exact effects of potential excursion and the pH on CP efficiency have not been sufficiently quantified preliminary due to difficulties in measuring these effects. In this work, these effects have been investigated using electrochemical cells designed to mimic the high resistivity and pH conditions observable over underground steel pipes, including a new electrochemical cell that has been designed to facilitate the effective simulation and control of pH, potential excursion and other CP testing parameters. The pH has been shown to be a key factor affecting the patterns of corrosion and CP efficiency. Localised corrosion has been found to be the dominating form of corrosion under potential excursions conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

HBoV is an emergent virus, which is frequently detected as a co-infective agent. However, it can cause disease on its own. It is associated with respiratory and diarrhoeal illness in children and adults, whether immunocompetent or immunocompromised. We report HBoV infection in a child post-liver transplantation, who presented with persistent fever and mild tachypnea, 3 weeks after a successful transplant. She recovered spontaneously with no graft dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Most previous studies have reported superior results when blue dye and radiocolloids were used together for sentinel lymph node ( SLN) biopsy in early breast cancer. Blue dye was reported to perform poorly when used alone, although more recent studies have found otherwise. This study reviewed the authors' practice of performing SLN biopsy with blue dye alone. Methods This was a retrospective review of patients who underwent SLN biopsy using blue dye alone from 2001 to 2005, when SLN biopsy was performed selectively and always followed by axillary lymph node dissection ( ALND), and from 2006 to 2010, when SLN biopsy was offered to all suitable patients and ALND done only when the SLN was not identified or positive for metastasis. Results Between 2001 and 2005, 170 patients underwent SLN biopsy with blue dye alone. The overall SLN non-identification rate was 8·4 per cent. The overall false-negative rate was 34 per cent, but decreased with each subsequent year to 13 per cent in 2005. From 2006 to 2010, 610 patients underwent SLN biopsy with blue dye alone. The SLN was not identified in 12 patients (2·0 per cent) and no significant contributing factor was identified. A median of 2 (range 1-11) SLNs were identified. A non- SLN was found to be positive for metastasis in two patients with negative SLNs. Axillary nodal recurrence developed in one patient; none developed internal mammary nodal recurrence. Anaphylaxis occurred in one patient. Conclusion Blue dye performed well as a single modality for SLN biopsy. Non-identification, axillary nodal recurrence and serious allergic reactions were uncommon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the screening of 332 new accessions of 11 different wild oat (Avena) species from the United States Department of Agri-culture National Small Grains Collection in Aberdeen, ID, for re-sistance to crown rust disease, caused by Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae. This collection originated from Morocco and includes Avena agadiriana, A. atlantica, A. barbata, A. damascena, A. eriantha, A. hirtula, A. longiglumis, A. magna, A. murphyi, A. sterilis, and A. wiestii. After screening this collection with a highly diverse population of P. coronata f. sp. avenae, 164 accessions (49%) were rated moder-ately resistant to resistant in the preliminary screen at the seedling stage and 181 accessions (55%) rated moderately resistant to highly resistant in the adult plant stage. Although none of the accessions showed a highly resistant response consistently in the seedling stage, 20 accessions did display a highly resistant response in the adult plant stage. Both seedling as well as adult plant resistance was found in 150 (45%) of the accessions. Virulence in P. coronata has been reported to all resistance genes currently being used in North American oat culti-vars. The new resistance sources presented here are potentially new sources for future breeding. The resistance found in 52 accessions of A. magna and A. murphyi with the AACC genome is especially valuable because these should be relatively easy to transfer into hexaploid A. sativa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Akaike information criterion (AIC) has been used as a statistical criterion to compare the appropriateness of different dark energy candidate models underlying a particular data set. Under suitable conditions, the AIC is an indirect estimate of the Kullback-Leibler divergence D( T∥ A) of a candidate model A with respect to the truth T. Thus, a dark energy model with a smaller AIC is ranked as a better model, since it has a smaller Kullback-Leibler discrepancy with T. In this paper, we explore the impact of statistical errors in estimating the AIC during model comparison. Using a parametric bootstrap technique, we study the distribution of AIC differences between a set of candidate models due to different realizations of noise in the data and show that the shape and spread of this distribution can be quite varied. We also study the rate of success of the AIC procedure for different values of a threshold parameter popularly used in the literature. For plausible choices of true dark energy models, our studies suggest that investigating such distributions of AIC differences in addition to the threshold is useful in correctly interpreting comparisons of dark energy models using the AIC technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts to control late blight in potatoes by introducing R pi-genes from wild species into cultivated potato, there are still concerns regarding the durability and level of resistance. Pyramiding R pi-genes can be a solution to increase both durability and level of resistance. In this study, two resistance genes, R Pi- mcd1 and R Pi- ber, introgressed from the wild tuber-bearing potato species Solanum microdontum and S. berthaultii were combined in a diploid S. tuberosum population. Individual genotypes from this population were classified after four groups, carrying no R pi-gene, with only R Pi- mcd1, with only R Pi- ber, and a group with the pyramided R Pi- mcd1 and R Pi- ber by means of tightly linked molecular markers. The levels of resistance between the groups were compared in a field experiment in 2007. The group with R Pi- mcd1 showed a significant delay to reach 50% infection of the leaf area of 3 days. The group with R Pi- ber showed a delay of 3 weeks. The resistance level in the pyramid group suggested an additive effect of R Pi- mcd1 with R Pi- ber. This suggests that potato breeding can benefit from combining individual R pi-genes, irrespective of the weak effect of R Pi- mcd1 or the strong effect of R Pi- ber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance to Globodera pallida Rookmaker (Pa3), originating from wild species Solanum tarijense was identified by QTL analysis and can be largely ascribed to one major QTL. GpaXI explained 81.3% of the phenotypic variance in the disease test. GpaXI is mapped to the long arm of chromosome 11. Another minor QTL explained 5.3% of the phenotypic variance and mapped to the long arm of chromosome 9. Clones containing both QTL showed no lower cyst counts than clones with only GpaXI. After Mendelising the phenotypic data, GpaXI could be more precisely mapped near markers GP163 and FEN427, thus anchoring GpaXI to a region with a known R-gene cluster containing virus and nematode resistance genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phase equilibria of Bi-Te-RE (Yb, Nd, Sm, Er, Tb) at 673 K were established through equilibrated alloys. The isothermal sections of Bi-Te-RE (Yb, Nd, Sm, Er, Tb) at 673 K were established according to the result of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA), and Powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD). In the Bi-Te-Yb system at 673 K, the existence of 4 three-phase equilibria (YbTe+Bi2Te3+Te, YbTe+Bi2Te3+ß, YbTe+Bi+ß, YbTe+Yb5Bi3+Yb4Bi3) was established, while 3 three-phase regions (NdTe2+ß+Bi2Te3, NdTe2+ß+Bi, Nd2Te3+Bi+BiTeNd) in Bi-Te-Nd system, 3 threephase regions (SmTe3+Te+Bi2Te3, SmTe1.8+Bi2Te3+ß, SmTe1.8+ß+Bi) in Bi-Te-Nd system, 3 three-phase regions (TbTe3+Te+Bi2Te3, Tb4Te7+Bi2Te3+ß, TbTe+Bi+ß) in Bi-Te-Nd system, and 4 three-phase regions (ErTe3+Te+Bi2Te3, ErTe3+Bi2Te3+Er2Te3, Bi2Te3+Er2Te3+ß, Er2Te3+ß+ErTe, ß+ErTe+Bi) in Bi-Te-Nd system were also identified, respectively. Among the Bi-Te-RE (Nd, Sm, Er, Tb, Yb) systems, the solubilities of RE in Bi2Te3 were 0.19 at % Nd, 0.22 at % Sm, 0.28 at % Tb, 0.35 at %Er, and 0.37 at % Yb. In general, the maximum solubility of elements in Bi2Te3 phase alloy became larger with the increase in RE atomic number. A ternary compound BiTeNd in the Bi-Te-Nd ternary system was confirmed in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report the incidence of preterm pre‐eclampsia (PE) in women who are screen positive according to the criteria of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and compare the incidence with that in those who are screen positive or screen negative by The Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) algorithm. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from the ASPRE study. The study population consisted of women with singleton pregnancy who underwent prospective screening for preterm PE by means of the FMF algorithm, which combines maternal factors and biomarkers at 11–13 weeks' gestation. The incidence of preterm PE in women fulfilling the NICE and ACOG criteria was estimated; in these patients the incidence of preterm PE was then calculated in those who were screen negative relative to those who were screen positive by the FMF algorithm. Results: A total of 34 573 women with singleton pregnancy delivering at ≥ 24 weeks' gestation underwent prospective screening for preterm PE, of which 239 (0.7%) cases developed preterm PE. At least one of the ACOG criteria was fulfilled in 22 287 (64.5%) pregnancies and the incidence of preterm PE was 0.97% (95% CI, 0.85–1.11%); in the subgroup that was screen positive by the FMF algorithm the incidence of preterm PE was 4.80% (95% CI, 4.14–5.55%), and in those that were screen negative it was 0.25% (95% CI, 0.18–0.33%), with a relative incidence in FMF screen negative to FMF screen positive of 0.051 (95% CI, 0.037–0.071). In 1392 (4.0%) pregnancies, at least one of the NICE high‐risk criteria was fulfilled, and in this group the incidence of preterm PE was 5.17% (95% CI, 4.13–6.46%); in the subgroups of screen positive and screen negative by the FMF algorithm, the incidence of preterm PE was 8.71% (95% CI, 6.93–10.89%) and 0.65% (95% CI, 0.25–1.67%), respectively, and the relative incidence was 0.075 (95% CI, 0.028–0.205). In 2360 (6.8%) pregnancies fulfilling at least two of the NICE moderate‐risk criteria, the incidence of preterm PE was 1.74% (95% CI, 1.28–2.35%); in the subgroups of screen positive and screen negative by the FMF algorithm the incidence was 4.91% (95% CI, 3.54–6.79%) and 0.42% (95% CI, 0.20–0.86%), respectively, and the relative incidence was 0.085 (95% CI, 0.038–0.192). Conclusion: In women who are screen positive for preterm PE by the ACOG or NICE criteria but screen negative by the FMF algorithm, the risk of preterm PE is reduced to within or below background levels. The results provide further evidence to support the personalized risk‐based screening method that combines maternal factors and biomarkers. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article's abstract has been translated into Spanish and Chinese. Follow the links from the abstract to view the translations. This article has been selected for Journal Club. Click here to view slides and discussion points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report the incidence of preterm pre-eclampsia (PE) in women who are screen positive according to the criteria of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and compare the incidence with that in those who are screen positive or screen negative by The Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) algorithm.Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from the ASPRE study. The study population consisted of women with singleton pregnancy who underwent prospective screening for preterm PE by means of the FMF algorithm, which combines maternal factors and biomarkers at 11-13 weeks' gestation. The incidence of preterm PE in women fulfilling the NICE and ACOG criteria was estimated; in these patients the incidence of preterm PE was then calculated in those who were screen negative relative to those who were screen positive by the FMF algorithm.Results: A total of 34 573 women with singleton pregnancy delivering at ≥ 24 weeks' gestation underwent prospective screening for preterm PE, of which 239 (0.7%) cases developed preterm PE. At least one of the ACOG criteria was fulfilled in 22 287 (64.5%) pregnancies and the incidence of preterm PE was 0.97% (95% CI, 0.85-1.11%); in the subgroup that was screen positive by the FMF algorithm the incidence of preterm PE was 4.80% (95% CI, 4.14-5.55%), and in those that were screen negative it was 0.25% (95% CI, 0.18-0.33%), with a relative incidence in FMF screen negative to FMF screen positive of 0.051 (95% CI, 0.037-0.071). In 1392 (4.0%) pregnancies, at least one of the NICE high-risk criteria was fulfilled, and in this group the incidence of preterm PE was 5.17% (95% CI, 4.13-6.46%); in the subgroups of screen positive and screen negative by the FMF algorithm, the incidence of preterm PE was 8.71% (95% CI, 6.93-10.89%) and 0.65% (95% CI, 0.25-1.67%), respectively, and the relative incidence was 0.075 (95% CI, 0.028-0.205). In 2360 (6.8%) pregnancies fulfilling at least two of the NICE moderate-risk criteria, the incidence of preterm PE was 1.74% (95% CI, 1.28-2.35%); in the subgroups of screen positive and screen negative by the FMF algorithm the incidence was 4.91% (95% CI, 3.54-6.79%) and 0.42% (95% CI, 0.20-0.86%), respectively, and the relative incidence was 0.085 (95% CI, 0.038-0.192).Conclusion: In women who are screen positive for preterm PE by the ACOG or NICE criteria but screen negative by the FMF algorithm, the risk of preterm PE is reduced to within or below background levels. The results provide further evidence to support the personalized risk-based screening method that combines maternal factors and biomarkers. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth organic compounds can provide an environmentally safe and non-toxic alternative to chromates as corrosion inhibitors for some steel and aluminium applications. For steel lanthanum 4-hydroxy cinnamate offers corrosion protection and reduces the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement. Recent work has also indicated that it inhibits the corrosion of steel in environments containing high levels of carbon dioxide. For aluminium alloys, cerium diphenyl phosphate provides excellent corrosion inhibition in chloride environments, and reduces susceptibly to stress corrosion cracking. Furthermore, for both steel and aluminium alloys filiform corrosion can be suppressed when rare earth inhibitor compounds are added as pigments to polymer coatings. The levels of inhibition observed are thought to be due to synergistic effects between the rare earth and organic parts of these novel compounds, and are related to the various species that may be present in the complex chemical conditions that develop in solution close to a metal surface. This paper reviews some of the published research conducted by the group at Deakin University over recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]