ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN. AFP was first recognized as a fetal-specific globulin in 1956. It is synthesized in the yolk sac, gastrointestinal tract and liver of the fetus. Fetal plasma levels peak at 10 to 13 weeks' gestation and decline progressively until term, 7 while maternal levels peak in the third trimester.2 Laboratory measurements of AFP levels are reported as multiples of the median (MOM).etal plasma levels peak at 10 to 13 weeks' gestation and decline progressively until term, 7 while maternal levels peak in the third trimester. 2 Laboratory measurements of AFP levels are reported as multiples of the median (MOM).
Minority population growing in the United States, census estimates show. Minorities now make up about 35% of the country's population, and about 57% of the population in California. Meanwhile, the white population continues to decline.
Reflecting these younger age groups, the population as a whole has become more racially and ethnically diverse in just the last decade, with the percentage minority climbing from 32.9 percent in 2004 to 37.9 percent in 2014.