Embarazo tras FIV-ICSI en paciente con útero didelfo o bicorne bicollis / Pregnancy after IVF-ICSI in patient with didelphos or bicorne bicollis

Objetivo: presentar un caso de embarazo en una paciente con útero didelfo o bicorne bicollis tras ciclo de fecundación in vitro-microinyección intracitoplasmática de espermatozoides. Sujeto y método: paciente diagnosticada de útero didelfo mediante histerosalpingograma, histeroscopia y laparoscopia, a quien se realizó ciclo de fecundación in vitro-microinyección intracitoplasmática de espermatozoides por indicación masculina. Se recuperaron 9 ovocitos, 8 embriones, 5 embriones viables. TE: 1 embrión A en útero izquierdo y 1 embrión B en útero derecho. Resultados: Beta-HCG: 416 UI/l a los 14 días. Ecografía: gestación única evolutiva en útero izquierdo en semana 6. Cesárea en semana 38. Conclusiones: la fecundación in vitro en pacientes con útero didelfo se asocia a índices normales de gestación, pero a mayores tasas de aborto, parto prematuro y cesárea (AU)

Objective: Pregnancy after an in vitro fertilization treatment in a patient with uterus didelphis (bicornis bicollis). Subject and method: A patient with uterus didelphis diagnosed by hysterosalpingography, hysteroscopy and laparoscopy was underwent in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection due to male infertility. 9 oocytes were recovered, 8 embryos, 5 of them viable. A double embryo transfer was performed: 1 grade A embryo was transferred to the left uterus and 1 B grade embryo to the right uterus. Results: After 14 days of embryo transfer a beta-hCG of 416 UI7L was obtained. Six weeks pregnancy ecography showed a single ongoing pregnancy in left uterus. Cesarean section was performed in 38th week of gestation. Conclusions: In vitro fertilization in patients with uterus didelphis is associated with normal pregnancy rates but higher abortion and premature delivery rates and cesarean section (AU)

Highly sticky surfaces made by electrospun polymer nanofibers.

We report on a comprehensive study of the unique adhesive properties of mats of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanofibers produced by electrospinning. Fibers are deposited on glass, with varying of the diameter and the relative orientation of the polymer filaments (random vs. aligned configuration). While no significant variation is observed in the static contact angle (∼130°) of deposited water drops upon changing the average fiber diameter up to the micrometer scale, fibers are found to exhibit unequalled water adhesion. Placed vertically, they can hold up water drops as large as 60 µL, more than twice the values typically obtained with hairy surfaces prepared by different methods. For aligned fibers with anisotropic wetting behavior, the maximum volume measured in the direction perpendicular to the fibers goes up to 90 µL. This work suggests new routes to tailor the wetting behavior on extended areas by nanofiber coatings, with possible applications in adsorbing and catalytic surfaces, microfluidic devices, and filtration technologies.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of levodropropizine in human plasma with fluorometric detection.

The present paper describes a new high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection for the analysis of levodropropizine [S-(-)-3-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)-propane-1,2-diol] (Levotuss), an anti-tussive drug, in human serum and plasma. A reversed-phase separation of levodropropizine was coupled with detection of the native fluorescence of the molecule, using excitation and emission wavelengths of 240 nm and 350 nm respectively. The analytical column was packed with spherical 5 microns poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) particles and the mobile phase was 0.1 M NaH2PO4 pH 3-methanol (70:30, v/v), containing 0.5% (v/v) tetrahydrofuran. For quantitation, p-methoxylevodropropizine was used as the internal standard. Samples of 200 microliters of either serum or plasma were mixed with 200 microliters of 0.1 M Na2HPO4 pH 8.9 and extracted with 5 ml of chloroform-2-propanol (9:1, v/v). The dried residue from the organic extract was redissolved with distilled water and directly injected into the chromatograph. The limit of detection for levodropropizine, in biological matrix, was about 1-2 ng/ml, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The linearity was satisfactory over a range of concentrations from 3 to 1000 ng/ml (r2 = 0.99910); within-day precision tested in the range 5-100 ng/ml as well as day-to-day reproducibility proved acceptable, with relative standard deviations better than 1% in most cases. Interferences from as many as 91 therapeutic or illicit drugs were excluded.

Free solution capillary electrophoresis of calcitonins and calcitonin tryptic digests.

The aim of the present work was the development of a simple capillary electrophoretic strategy, complementary to high-performance liquid chromatography, for the separation of different calcitonins (CTs) and calcitonin tryptic digests. Capillary electrophoresis was carried out with a manual capillary electropherograph with "on column" UV absorbance detection at 200 nm. The separation was accomplished in a 70 cm x 50 microns I.D. bare silica capillary. About 6 nl was loaded into the capillary by means of a split-flow system. Except in particular cases, electric fields of 300 V/cm were used at constant voltage. Separations were carried out in 0.05 M citrate buffer pH 2.5 or, alternatively, in 0.05 M borate buffer pH 9.5. A complete resolution of salmon, ASU1,7-eel, and human calcitonins was obtained in citrate and borate buffers. Other CT analogues could be separated only in one of the two buffers. Capillary electrophoresis in citrate buffer was also successful in the separation of the four final trypsin cleavage fragments of salmon calcitonin and, at least tentatively, of the nine intermediate cleavage products.

Capillary zone electrophoresis determination of phenylalanine in serum: a rapid, inexpensive and simple method for the diagnosis of phenylketonuria.

A simple, rapid, and quantitative capillary zone electrophoresis method for phenylalanine analysis in serum has been developed, with the aim of providing an analytical tool, as an alternative to liquid and gas chromatography, for the routine laboratory diagnosis of phenylketonuria. Electrophoresis was carried out in a 65 cm long, 50 microns wide bare silica capillary, using 0.025 M borate (adjusted to pH 10 with 1 M NaOH) at a potential of 20 kV, with in-column UV detection at 214 nm. Under these conditions, the three aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine) migrated according to the pKs of the respective amine (and hydroxyl) groups. The efficiency of separation was about 150,000 plates/column for phenylalanine. Diprophylline was adopted as internal standard. The injection of ethanol-deproteinized normal control serum gave rise to only a few major peaks not interfering with phenylalanine; phenylalanine in serum at normal concentrations appeared in a clean region of the electropherogram as a symmetrical peak with a migration time of about 11 min. The sensitivity was > or = 3 micrograms/mL, with s/n ratio = 3. The linearity, in the range of 5-175 micrograms/mL, was described by the equation y = 1.407-0.583 x, r2 = 0.9998. Accuracy and precision were satisfactory, with intra-day and inter-day coefficients of variation lower than 4% and 7%, respectively. The injection of sera from five phenylketonuria patients gave electropherograms clearly showing huge peaks of phenylalanine, thus allowing an easy laboratory diagnosis of phenylketonuria.