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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for detecting three common trisomies (T21, T18, and T13) in pregnant women with diverse clinical indications. Methods: Frequencies of NIPT, of high chance of having one of the three trisomies, and of confirmed trisomies were determined for women with each of seven clinical indications in a national cross‐sectional survey of approximately 300 prenatal diagnosis centers. Data were collected for the period from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2018 using the Prenatal Diagnosis Technology Management On‐line Information System. The performance of NIPT for detecting the three trisomies in pregnant women with different clinical indications was assessed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value, and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results: A total of 5766 true positive cases for T21, T18, and T13 were detected among 1,854,148 samples, giving an overall detection rate of 0.31% (95% CI: 0.30%–0.32%). Most positive cases were associated with "NT thickening" (1.18%) and "advanced maternal age" (0.51%). The detection sensitivities of NIPT were 99.60% for T21, 99.14% for T18, and 100% for T13, while the corresponding specificities were 99.90%, 99.94%, and 99.95%. The corresponding PPVs were 69.77%, 47.24%, and 22.36%. NIPT showed high sensitivity and specificity, regardless of clinical indication. In contrast, PPV for three trisomies varied widely between 9.09% and 66.46% depending on the clinical indication. Across seven clinical indications, PPV ranged from 50.62% to 73.09% for T21, 20.00%–58.33% for T18, and 4.17%–47.37% for T13. The highest PPVs were 73.09% for T21 in pregnancies involving "advanced maternal age", 58.33% for T18 in pregnancies with "NT thickening", and 47.37% for T13 in pregnancies with "NT thickening". Conclusions: NIPT shows high sensitivity and specificity for detecting T21, T18, and T13 in pregnant women with different clinical indications. However, PPV depends strongly on clinical indication, highlighting the need to strengthen education and genetic counseling about prenatal screening. Key points: What is already known on this topic?Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has equally high sensitivity and specificity for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13 in populations with high or low risk factors. What does this study add?We examined data from nearly 2 million pregnancies across China to assess the accuracy of NIPT for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13 in pregnant women with various clinical indications.Our study provides insights into the interpretation of positive NIPT outcomes and highlights the need to strengthen education and genetic counseling about prenatal screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Previous studies have shown an inconsistent time trend on the prevalence of anotia and microtia. Little has been reported on the epidemiologic characteristics of anotia and microtia in the Chinese population. Methods Data from 1996-2007 were obtained from the Chinese Birth Defects Monitoring Network in China. Birth prevalence of anotia and microtia were assessed according to demographic characteristics and annual time trend. Poisson regression was used to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (APRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for selected demographic characteristics and subgroups of anotia and microtia. Results A total of 1933 cases with anotia/microtia were identified among 6,308,594 live births, stillbirths, and terminations of pregnancy, yielding a rate of 3.06 per 10,000 births. Isolated anotia/microtia had a prevalence of 2.25 per 10,000 births, whereas among nonisolated cases, the prevalence was 0.81 per 10,000 births. The prevalence rates of anotia/microtia increased significantly during 1996-2007 ( p < 0.05). Birth prevalence of isolated anotia/microtia was significantly higher among western births (APR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.10-1.40), mothers residing in urban areas (APR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.15-1.46), mothers more than 35 years of age (APR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01-1.57), and males (APR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.24-1.53). No significant associations were observed between nonisolated anotia/microtia and geographic areas, maternal residence, and infant sex (except for maternal age). Conclusion An increasing trend of the birth prevalence of anotia and microtia is observed in China. Higher prevalence risk of isolated anotia and microtia is found among western births, mothers residing in urban areas, older mothers, and males. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:88-94, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Maternal smoking during pregnancy has been consistently associated with an increased risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, few studies have reported the association between paternal smoking during pregnancy and CHDs among offspring. This report presents the first case-control study to investigate the possible association between periconceptional paternal smoking and CHDs in China. Methods From February 2010 through October 2011, 284 case fetuses with nonsyndromic CHDs and 422 control fetuses with no birth defects were recruited. The mothers of cases and controls were interviewed regarding whether the fathers of fetuses smoked and avoided the mothers while smoking during the periconceptional period. An unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) while controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS Light paternal smoking increased the risk of isolated conotruncal heart defects (AOR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.05, 4.73). Medium paternal smoking seemed to be associated with septal defects (AOR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.05, 3.98) and left ventricular outflow tract obstructions (AOR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.04, 5.95). Heavy paternal smoking was also associated with isolated conotruncal heart defects (AOR, 8.16; 95% CI, 1.13, 58.84) and left ventricular outflow tract obstructions (AOR, 13.12; 95% CI, 2.55, 67.39). Paternal smoking with no avoidance behavior was associated with an increased risk of these CHDs subtypes. CONCLUSIONS Periconceptional paternal smoking increased the risk of isolated conotruncal heart defects, septal defects and left ventricular outflow tract obstructions. The avoidance behavior of paternal smokers may decrease the risk of selected CHDs. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 97:210-216, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research on graft copolymerization of sodium acrylate onto organophilic montmorillonites (OMMT) initiated by redox reaction of potassium diperiodatonickelate (IV) [Ni(IV)] and application of graft copolymer in water-superabsorbent. The structure of the graft copolymer was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The synthesis of graft copolymer gels showed water absorbency.

A method for determining accurate relative molecular masses and elemental compositions of several non-volatile and thermally labile organic compounds in the source cell was established. The experimental sequence included laser desorption/electron impact Fourier transform mass spectrometry and direct-mode observation over a narrow mass range. Perfluorotributylamine was used as internal calibrant. Errors were about 1 ppm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Acid-Catalyzed Multicomponent Tandem Double Cyclization: A One-Pot, Metal-Free Route to Synthesize Polyfunctional 4,9-Dihydropyrrol(2,1-b)quinazolines" by J.-T. Ma, Y.-D. Wu and A.-X. Wu is presented.

Simple, readily available starting materials are used for the preparation of the desired alkaloid scaffold under metal-free conditions A) or B). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Comprehensive blood lipoprotein profiles and their association with incident coronary heart disease (CHD) among racially and geographically diverse populations remain understudied., Methods and Results: We conducted nested case-control studies of CHD among 3438 individuals (1719 pairs), including 1084 White Americans (542 pairs), 1244 Black Americans (622 pairs), and 1110 Chinese adults (555 pairs). We examined 36 plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins, measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, with incident CHD among all participants and subgroups by demographics, lifestyle, and metabolic health status using conditional or unconditional logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders. Conventionally measured blood lipids, that is, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, were each associated with incident CHD, with odds ratios (ORs) being 1.33, 1.32, 1.24, and 0.79 per 1-SD increase among all participants. Seventeen lipoprotein biomarkers showed numerically stronger associations than conventional lipids, with ORs per 1-SD among all participants ranging from 1.35 to 1.57 and a negative OR of 0.78 (all false discovery rate <0.05), including apolipoprotein B100 to apolipoprotein A1 ratio (OR, 1.57 [95% CI, 1.45-1.7]), low-density lipoprotein-triglycerides (OR, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.43-1.69]), and apolipoprotein B (OR, 1.49 [95% CI, 1.37-1.62]). All these associations were significant and consistent across racial groups and other subgroups defined by age, sex, smoking, obesity, and metabolic health status, including individuals with normal levels of conventionally measured lipids., Conclusions: Our study highlighted several lipoprotein biomarkers, including apolipoprotein B/ apolipoprotein A1 ratio, apolipoprotein B, and low-density lipoprotein-triglycerides, strongly and consistently associated with incident CHD. Our results suggest that comprehensive lipoprotein measures may complement the standard lipid panel to inform CHD risk among diverse populations.