Human embryo research in Belgium: an overview.

OBJECTIVE: To present an overview of the numbers and types of human embryos used in research projects in Belgium from 2007 to 2015. DESIGN: Analysis of all research proposals approved by the Federal Commission for Medical and Scientific Research on Embryos In Vitro. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Number of embryos used for research, number of embryos created for research, and areas of embryo research. RESULT(S): Since 2007, 15,811 embryos were used for 36 research projects. In total, 10,492 (66%) fresh supernumerary embryos (unfit for transfer or freezing) were used, 4,083 (26%) frozen supernumerary embryos (donated by parents whose child wish was completed or abandoned), and 1,236 (8%) embryos created for research. Most projects focused on research into embryo development. Fresh supernumerary embryos were mainly used for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. Frozen supernumerary embryos were almost exclusively used for research into embryo development and for hESC research. Embryos created for research were used for research into embryo development, oocyte research, research into cryopreservation of oocytes, and hESC research. CONCLUSION(S): Having concrete data on embryo research is crucial for an informed debate. Moreover, these data are necessary to find out trends in research such as the numbers of embryos needed and the areas of research. Data collection requires a sufficiently clear definition of "research" and "embryo." These conceptual questions frequently reveal lack of clarity in legislation.

Optimization of the ion chromatographic quantification of airborne fluoride, acetate and formate in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Ion chromatographic (IC) methods have been compared in order to achieve an optimal separation of fluoride, acetate and formate under various elution conditions on two formerly introduced analytical columns (i and ii) and a novel one (iii): (i) an IonPac AS14 (250 mm × 4 mm I.D.), (ii) Allsep A-2 (150 mm × 4.6mm I.D.), and (iii) an IC SI-50 4E (250 mm (length) × 4mm (internal diameter - I.D.)). The IC conditions for the separation of the anions concerned were optimized on the IC SI-50 4E column. A near baseline separation of these anions was attained on the IonPac AS14, whereas the peaks of fluoride and acetate could not be resolved on the Allsep A-2. A baseline separation for the three anions was achieved on the IC SI-50 4E column, when applying an eluent mixture of 3.2 mmol/L Na(2)CO(3) and 1.0 mmol/L NaHCO(3) with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The highest precision of 1.7, 3.0 and 2.8% and the best limits of detection (LODs) of 0.014, 0.22 and 0.17 mg/L for fluoride, acetate and formate, respectively, were obtained with the IC SI-50 4E column. Hence, this column was applied for the determination of the acetic and formic acid contents of air samples taken by means of passive gaseous sampling at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. Atmospheric concentrations of acetic and formic acid up to 1050 and 450 µg/m(3), respectively, were found in non-aerated showcases of the museum. In galleries and outdoors, rather low levels of acetic and formic acid were detected with average concentrations of 50 and 10 µg/m(3), respectively. The LOD data of acetate and formate on the IC SI-50 4E column correspond to around 0.5 µg/m(3) for both acetic and formic acid in air samples.

Single-run ion chromatographic separation of inorganic and low-molecular-mass organic anions under isocratic elution: application to environmental samples.

For the isocratic ion chromatography (IC) separation of low-molecular-mass organic acids and inorganic anions three different anion-exchange columns were studied: IonPac AS14 (9 microm particle size), Allsep A-2 (7 microm particle size), and IC SI-50 4E (5 microm particle size). A complete baseline separation for all analyzed anions (i.e., F(-), acetate, formate, Cl(-), NO(2)(-), Br(-), NO(3)(-), HPO(4)(2-) and SO(4)(2-)) in one analytical cycle of shorter than 17 min was achieved on the IC SI-50 4E column, using an eluent mixture of 3.2mM Na(2)CO(3) and 1.0mM NaHCO(3) with a flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1). On the IonPac AS14 column, it was possible to separate acetate from inorganic anions in one run (i.e., less than 9 min), but not formate, under the following conditions: 3.5mM Na(2)CO(3) plus 1.0mM NaHCO(3) with a flow rate of 1.2 mL min(-1). Therefore, it was necessary to adapt a second run with a 2.0mM Na(2)B(4)O(7) solution as an eluent under a flow rate of 0.8 mL min(-1) for the separation of organic ions, which considerably enlarged the analysis time. For the Allsep A-2 column, using an eluent mixture of 1.2mM Na(2)CO(3) plus 1.5mM NaHCO(3) with a flow rate of 1.6 mL min(-1), it was possible to separate almost all anions in one run within 25 min, except the fluoride-acetate critical pair. A Certified Multianion Standard Solution PRIMUS for IC was used for the validation of the analytical methods. The lowest RSDs (less than 1%) and the best LODs (0.02, 0.2, 0.16, 0.11, 0.06, 0.05, 0.04, 0.14 and 0.09 mg L(-1) for F(-), Ac(-), For(-), Cl(-), NO(2)(-), Br(-), NO(3)(-), HPO(4)(2-) and SO(4)(2-), respectively) were achieved using the IC SI-50 4E column. This column was applied for the separation of concerned ions in environmental precipitation samples such as snow, hail and rainwater.

Efficient separation of acetate and formate by ion chromatography: application to air samples in a cultural heritage environment.

A method for the separation of acetate and formate anions by ion chromatography has been optimized under various measurement conditions (e.g. the composition of the mobile phase, and the flow rate of the eluent). For this purpose, two different analytical columns were examined: the IonPac AS14 (250 mm x 4 mm i.d.; designed mostly for the separation of inorganic anions) and the Allsep A-2 (150 mm x 4.6 mm i.d.; designed for the separation of low-molecular mass organic acids). However, nearly baseline separation of acetate and formate has been found on each column using the following conditions: (i) IonPac AS14 column and 2.0 mM Na2B4O7 solution as an eluent with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, or (ii) Allsep A-2 column and an eluent containing a mixture of 1.2 mM Na2CO3 plus 1.5 mM NaHCO3 with a flow rate of 1.3 ml/min. Additionally, the separation of fluoride from acetate and formate on both columns was studied. On the IonPac AS14 column it was possible to separate all three investigated anions. However, on the Allsep A-2 column, when the concentration of fluoride was comparable to, or higher than acetate, it was impossible to achieve good separation of these two anions, even using the optimized elution procedure. Therefore, the measurements of real samples were carried out with the use of IonPac AS14 column. The concentrations of acetate and formate have been determined in the air samples of the Cathedral of Cologne (Germany), after sampling the corresponding acids by passive diffusion tubes. Average concentrations of 122 and 9 microg/m(3) for acetic and formic acids were found, respectively, inside the Cathedral and in a depot with medieval stained glass panels.