Immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) monitoring of periovulatory lutropin in serum

In an immunoradiometric assay (nu) for lutropin (luteinizing hormone, LH) recently developed by RSL/Immunchem Corp., Carson, CA, specific monoclonal antibodies directed against two distinct immunogenic sites of the LH molecule are used. The assay is used primarily to detect the preovulatory rise and peak of LH in serum as a predictor of ovulation time in women

Debris-Collecting Vacuum Machine with Grounded Safety System and Associated Methods

A debris collection machine includes a vacuum system (including a suction source operable to provide suction for pulling debris into a receptacle), a ground reference portion, a ground test portion, and a ground-checking module. The ground reference portion is electrically coupled with an electrically grounded reference point, and the ground test portion is electrically coupled with a portion of the vacuum system. The ground-checking module determines a resistance between from the ground reference portion and the ground test portion and prevents or terminates operation of the suction source of the vacuum system when the resistance exceeds a predetermined threshold value, e.g., which may correspond to a risk condition of spark generation that could ignite material in the receptacle

Safety and efficacy of a testosterone patch for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder in surgically menopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Oophorectomy reduces serum testosterone levels. We studied the efficacy and safety of transdermal testosterone in treating hypoactive sexual desire disorder in surgically menopausal women

Pharmacokinetic Characteristics, Pharmacodynamic Effect and In Vivo Antiviral Efficacy of Liver-Targeted Interferon Alpha

Work carried out by JM was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH contract number is HHSN272201000039I/HHSN27200001/ A19

Single serum progesterone as a screen for ectopic pregnancy: exchanging specificity and sensitivity to obtain optimal test performance

To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of screening serum P in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy (EP) and to identify a cutoff value that provides the best compromise between test sensitivity and specificity. Retrospective analysis. University hospital. Observation only. First trimester pregnant women at risk for EP. Single P measurements were obtained from 3,674 pregnancies with outcomes defined as EP, viable intrauterine pregnancy (IUP), and spontaneous abortion (SAB). Diagnostic accuracy of the test was analyzed by generating receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, which quantify the ability of the test to distinguish EP and SAB from IUP. Diagnostic accuracy for EP versus IUP was 88.7%±0.1% (mean±SEM); for SAB versus IUP, 93.8±0.4%; and for SAB±EP versus IUP, 92.8%±0.4%. Diagnostic accuracy for SAB versus EP was only 39.4%±0.2%. In the interval of 15.0 to 19.9ng/mL (47.7 to 63.3nmol/L), P missed 5.3% of the EPs and incorrectly included 84.3% of the viable IUPs; in the interval of 20.0 to 24.9ng/mL (63.6 to 79.2nmol/L), sensitivity improved in that only 3.5% of the EPs were missed but 88.8% of viable IUPs were included incorrectly. A cutoff value of≥17.5ng/mL (55.7nmol/L), the median point of the 15.0 to 19.9ng/mL (47.7 to 63.3nmol/L) interval, missed only 35 of 423 (8.3%) total EPs in the study. Analysis of ROC curves demonstrates that single serum P has high diagnostic accuracy for differentiating accidents of pregnancy (SAB and EP) from viable IUP, both individually (SAB versus IUP and EP versus IUP) and collectively (SAB+EP versus IUP); it cannot efficiently discriminate SAB versus EP. We conclude that for P≥17.5ng/mL (55.7nmol/L), patients thought to be at risk for EP may be followed reasonably without ultrasound or further invasive diagnostic studies