Assisted reproductive technologies : implications for women's reproductive rights and social citizenship; final technical report (10th December 2010)

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), using a language of choice and rights, have not only created a market for donors and surrogates, but also commercialized and fragmented human reproductive body parts like ova and uteri. The research attempts to understand the use of assisted reproductive technologies, linkages with the variables of caste and class in India, the absence of state regulation, the commodification and extensive commercialization of ARTs and women's bodies, and the implications of such unregulated technologies in terms of women’s health and rights. The study explores the social, medical and ethical implications of ARTs in three metropolitan cities – Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad

Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Grafted with Sulfonated Copolymers are Stable in Concentrated Brine at Elevated Temperatures and Weakly Adsorb on Silica

Magnetic nanoparticles that can be transported in subsurface reservoirs at high salinities and temperatures are expected to have a major impact on enhanced oil recovery, carbon dioxide sequestration, and electromagnetic imaging. Herein we report a rare example of steric stabilization of iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles (NPs) grafted with poly­(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate-<i>co</i>-acrylic acid) (poly­(AMPS-<i>co</i>-AA)) that not only display colloidal stability in standard American Petroleum Institute (API) brine (8% NaCl + 2% CaCl₂ by weight) at 90 °C for 1 month but also resist undesirable adsorption on silica surfaces (0.4% monolayer NPs). Because the AMPS groups interacted weakly with Ca²⁺, they were sufficiently well solvated to provide steric stabilization. The PAA groups, in contrast, enabled covalent grafting of the poly­(AMPS-<i>co</i>-AA) chains to amine-functionalized IO NPs via formation of amide bonds and prevented polymer desorption even after a 40 000-fold dilution. The aforementioned methodology may be readily adapted to stabilize a variety of other functional inorganic and organic NPs at high salinities and temperatures

Structure–property relationship of polyethylene glycol-based PU/PAN semi-interpenetrating polymer networks

Abstract Polyethylene glycol-400 (PEG) based polyurethane (PU) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (SIPNs) (PU/PAN; 90/10, 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50) have been prepared by sequential polymerization method. The prepared SIPNs have been characterized by physicomechanical properties. The microcrystalline parameters such as crystal size (〈N〉), lattice disorder (g), surface (Ds) and volume (Dv) weighted crystal size of SIPNs have been estimated using wide angle X-ray scattering studies, and quantification of the polymer network has been carried out on the basis of these parameters. The microstructural parameters have been established using Exponential, Lognormal, and Reinhold asymmetric column length distribution functions and the results are compiled. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 177–187, 200

Progesterone receptor modulators: Current applications and perspectives

Selective progesterone receptor modulators (PRMs) are steroid progesterone receptor ligands able to induce agonistic or antagonistic activities. Mifepristone, the class leader, was primarily used for pregnancy termination from the 1980s. Emergency contraception with extended activity was the second major development 30 years later, using mifepristone in some countries and ulipristal acetate worldwide. Finally, more recently Ulipristal acetate was released for the treatment of myoma-related uterine bleeding. In addition to a very rapid cessation of bleeding, PRMs allow decrease in myoma volume. Estradiol secretion is not blunted by PRMs. This offers new alternatives for myoma treatment, especially in women close to menopause.SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Effect of Grafted Copolymer Composition on Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Stability and Transport in Porous Media at High Salinity

The transport of engineered nanoparticles in porous media is of interest in numerous applications including electromagnetic imaging of subsurface reservoirs, enhanced oil recovery, and CO2 sequestration. A series of poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid-co-acrylic acid) (poly(AMPS-co-AA)) random copolymers were grafted onto iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles (NPs) to provide colloidal stability in American Petroleum Institute (API) standard brine (8 wt/wt % NaCl and 2 wt/wt %CaCl2, anhydrous basis). A combinatorial approach, which employed grafting poly(AMPS-co-AA) with wide ranges of compositions onto platform amine-functionalized 10 NPs via a 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)-carbondiimidecarbondiimide (EDC) catalyzed amidation, was used to screen a large number of polymeric coatings. The ratio of AMPS/AA was varied from 1:1 to 20:1 to balance the requirements of particle stabilization, low adsorption/retention (provided by 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS)), and permanent attachment of stabilizer (provided by acrylic acid (AA)). The resulting nanoparticles remained stable in aqueous suspension despite the extremely high salinity conditions and exhibited low adsorption on silica microspheres. Greater than 91% of applied IO-NP mass was transported through columns packed quartz sand, and the mobility of IO NP increased by ca. 6% when the AMPS to AA ratio was increased from 1:1 to 3:1, consistent with batch adsorption data. In both static batch reactor and dynamic column tests, the observed attachment of IO NPs was attributed to divalent cation (Ca2+) mediated bridging and hydrophobic interactions. Collectively, the rapid, high throughput combinatorial approach of grafting and screening (via batch adsorption) provides for the development of high mobility NPs for delivery in various porous media under high salinity conditions

Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Grafted with Sulfonated Copolymers are Stable in Concentrated Brine at Elevated Temperatures and Weakly Adsorb on Silica

Magnetic nanoparticles that can be transported in subsurface reservoirs at high salinities and temperatures are expected to have a major impact on enhanced oil recovery, carbon dioxide sequestration, and electromagnetic imaging. Herein we report a rare example of steric stabilization of iron oxide (10) nanoparticles (NPs) grafted with poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate-co-acrylic acid) (poly-(AMPS-co-AM) that not only display colloidal stability in standard American Petroleum Institute (API) brine (8% NaCI + 2% CaCl2 by weight) at 90 C for 1 month but also resist undesirable adsorption on silica surfaces (0.4% monolayer NPs). Because the AMPS groups interacted weakly with Ca2+, they were sufficiently well solvated to provide steric stabilization. The PAA groups, in contrast, enabled covalent grafting of the poly(AMPS-co-AA) chains to amine-functionalized 10 NPs via formation of amide bonds and prevented polymer desorption even after a 40000-fold dilution. The aforementioned methodology may be readily adapted to stabilize a variety of other functional inorganic and organic NPs at high salinities and temperatures