SummaryOne hundred and one pregnant women with hypertensive disorders were prospectively studied with doppler ultrasound flow velocity waveforms of the umbilical artery. Results were withheld from the obstetricians so that the test did not influence obstetric management. It was found that the resistance index of the umbilical artery was higher in patients with proteinuric pregnancy induced hypertension and in patients with chronic hypertension than in patients with non-proteinuric pregnancy induced hypertension. Patients with an abnormal resistance index were more likely to be delivered prematurely, have small for dates babies, have fulminating hypertension and have an abnormal antepartum cardiotocogram. Thirteen patients had a pathological antenatal cardiotocogram and they all had an abnormal umbilical artery flow velocity wave form when the cardiotocogram was normal.

Mid-trimester biochemical screening of 38 143 pregnancies in south-east Scotland revealed 127 cases (0.34 per cent) in which the maternal serum (MS) intact human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) concentration was > or = 4 multiples of the median in singleton pregnancies (MOM). Three were lost to follow-up but in 72 (58 per cent) complications developed or there were associated fetal abnormalities. This percentage was greatest at very high hCG concentrations, 92 per cent with hCG > or = 10 MOM (n = 12) compared with 48 per cent with hCG concentrations of 4-4.99 MOM (n=69). 22 cases had an MS alpha-fetoprotein > or = 2 MOM in addition to an MS hCG > or = 4 MOM, and in only 3 of these was the pregnancy uneventful; 86 per cent were associated with abnormalities or pregnancy complications.

Prenatal ultrasound is a very useful investigation to alert the clinician and parents to a potential fetal anomaly and permit appropriate management. In this retrospective series 196 fetal anomalies were identified by ultrasound. In 100 cases the diagnosis was confirmed and complete; in 37 the diagnosis was confirmed but there were additional significant pathological features; in 19 the diagnosis was confirmed but there were additional pathological features of academic interest only; in 16 there were transient prenatal ultrasound features but the baby was normal at birth; and in 21 the anomaly was not confirmed by pathological examination or records of live births were incomplete. Overall, the commonest anomalies were those affecting the central nervous system (35%), genitourinary system (18%), and gastro-intestinal tract (12%). Prior knowledge of anomalies both influenced surgical management and enabled the mother to be appropriately counselled.

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & GynaecologyVolume 95, Issue 12 p. 1317-1320 Ultrasound in-utero diagnosis of choroid plexus haemorrhage S. E. CHAMBERS, Corresponding Author S. E. CHAMBERS Ultrasound Department, Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, Royal Infirmary, Lauriston Place, EdinburghS. E. ChambersSearch for more papers by this authorF. D. JOHNSTONE, F. D. JOHNSTONE Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Edinburgh University, Centre for Reproductive Biology, 37 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh EH3 9EWSearch for more papers by this authorI. A. LAING, I. A. LAING Department of Child Life and Health, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, 17 Hatton Place, EdinburghSearch for more papers by this author S. E. CHAMBERS, Corresponding Author S. E. CHAMBERS Ultrasound Department, Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, Royal Infirmary, Lauriston Place, EdinburghS. E. ChambersSearch for more papers by this authorF. D. JOHNSTONE, F. D. JOHNSTONE Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Edinburgh University, Centre for Reproductive Biology, 37 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh EH3 9EWSearch for more papers by this authorI. A. LAING, I. A. LAING Department of Child Life and Health, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, 17 Hatton Place, EdinburghSearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1988 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb06825.xCitations: 8AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume95, Issue12December 1988Pages 1317-1320 RelatedInformation

Sedimentary habitats cover most of the ocean bottom and therefore constitute the largest single ecosystem on Earth in spatial coverage. The benthic ecosystem contributes to human well-being by providing essential services such as food production and nutrient cycling. Although meiofauna are well-recognised as an abundant and ubiquitous component of benthic communities, empirical evidence of their wider role in marine ecosystems is scattered across the literature. Some ecologists and decision-makers thus remain sceptical about what meiofauna can tell them about the provision of ecosystem services. This article investigates empirical evidence on the roles of meiofauna in benthic ecosystems using a conceptual model that links the supply of an ecosystem service, the ecosystem processes that contribute to that service (e.g. production, consumption and decomposition of organic matter, nutrient regeneration, and energy transfer to higher trophic levels) and the meiofaunal activities (e.g. bioturbation and feeding) that regulate these processes. Meiofauna activities modify a series of physical, chemical and biological sediment properties. They often do so simultaneously by, for example, displacing sediment grains during burrow construction and displacing organic matter and microorganisms within the sediment matrix during feeding. These modifications directly and indirectly, positively and negatively affect various ecosystem services including sediment stabilisation, biochemical cycling, waste removal and food web dynamics, at various spatial and temporal scales. Meiofauna can mediate ecosystem processes in sediments with little or no macrofauna, thereby increasing the resilience of those benthic ecosystem processes that are essential for the continued delivery of ecosystem services desired by society. This is of growing importance since benthic ecosystems are under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Whilst studies over the past five decades have emphasised the important roles meiofauna play in benthic ecosystems, future studies will need to determine how consistent and widespread these roles are.

The results of ultrasound (US) head scans performed in a children's hospital over a 6 month period have been reviewed and correlated with the results of computed tomography (CT). Two hundred and twenty-four scans were performed on 141 children ranging in age from a few days to 18 months. The clinical indications with which these children were referred were: abnormal neurological symptoms or signs, screening for hydrocephalus in neural tube defects (NTD), enlarging heads, suspected intra-cranial haemorrhage (ICH) and its sequelae, suspected complications of meningitis, investigations of suspected syndromes and following trauma. Twenty-nine of these children also had CT scans. There was good correlation between the two examinations and in only one case (a subdural collection) was a serious abnormality missed by US. US head scanning has been found to be a very reliable technique. It is the initial investigation of choice for imaging the brain of neonates and infants and in many instances it is the only investigation necessary.