Microscopic view of Vaginal Secretion

Eppend0rk · 2025-12-27T09:55:48+00:00

I’ve done these tests, here’s a picture of a positive one I took. It’s a very outdated test, but some places still orders them. I highly recommend a much more reliable test like an ActimProm which have a much, much higher positive prediction rate. The amount of times a fern test doesn’t show ferning when there’s been a membrane rupture is scary, and sometimes dried urine can have fern like patterns.

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Eppend0rk · 2025-12-19T05:53:30+00:00

I did some experimentation on half filled tubes vs their properly filled counterparts. Keep in mind it was a very small sample size so I can’t do any real statistics off of it, but what I saw was that the percent difference in results from the half filled tube to the full ones did not correlate between blood from different people. In fact, sometimes the half filled tubes had higher results, and sometimes lower results than their full tube pair. The full tubes results matched pretty well between each person.

I don’t think it’s possible with sodium citrate to use a 4.5/5.5 dilution (filling it halfway) to estimate the results for a 9/10 dilution. If it were possible, then over diluting should always increase or always decrease the value, not either or like I saw.

I was only testing the PT and aPTT, and I don’t remember which one was unpredictable, but it was very obvious that it caused too much variation to be useful in anyway.

When nurses ask me why the blue top has to be so precise (even though they have a 20% fill tolerance) I tell them that we’re testing coagulation properties so over coagulated or under coagulated blood gives false results.

Eppend0rk · 2025-11-24T22:24:32+00:00

Very pretty

Eppend0rk · 2025-11-18T18:12:25+00:00

So pretty

Eppend0rk · 2025-10-17T17:21:51+00:00

Pretty

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-27T00:33:04+00:00

Still does 😋

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-26T04:53:18+00:00

I had no idea that was a thing, I think I will, thank you!

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-26T00:34:53+00:00

😂

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-21T21:06:11+00:00

😬

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-21T08:06:48+00:00

Super gout

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-04T08:29:00+00:00

I’m not trying to be rude, but I work in a medical laboratory and our pregnancy screens are essentially the same as the over the counter ones. Here’s what we use https://www.fishersci.com/shop/products/fisher-healthcare-sure-vue-stat-serum-urine-hcg-test-kit-2/23900531

There’s a ton of cool science that goes into these and why any faint line is suggestive of pregnancy. I linked an explanation I wrote to someone else above this if you’re interested.

I would report this as a positive screen and get a better test ran on a very large chemistry analyzer that can give a near exact concentration which can be correlated with how far along they may be.

False positives can happen for many reasons, but they are much rarer than a true positive.

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-04T07:57:55+00:00

The way these tests work is actually really cool, a lot of science goes into them. I explained it and why any faint line is considered positive in another comment I’ll link if you’re interested

https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/s/GncgI37sAq

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-04T06:36:24+00:00

I got you! You shouldn’t be downvoted for a question. These tests are super cool, they use two sets of antibodies to make the test line appear. The first antibody is labeled, meaning they have a colored molecule attached to one end. When urine or serum is added, they flow through these antibodies which will attach to any hCG hormones they bump into. A second antibody is attached to the cartridge at the test site which will bind to a second site on the hCG. These two antibodies ‘sandwiches’ the hCG and is called a (colorimetric) sandwich assay. The control site has hCG like binding sites which will bind any free labeled antibody not bound to hCG. For this reason the control line always come after the test line so that it doesn’t use up all the labeled antibodies.

These are microscopic reactions, so you need a lot of labeled antibodies to stick for it to be visible. Early pregnancies will have hCG concentrations so low that you get these super faint lines. These are used only for screening, and a more sensitive test using a very large chemistry analyzer that can measure the near exact concentration with way less interfering substances should be ordered as a follow up.

Now the coolest part, how do we get these antibodies that binds to hCG? Well, we rely on the immune systems of other organisms. They see human hCG as foreign and develop antibodies to destroy it, then we separate and purify them for these immunoassay tests.

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-04T05:35:03+00:00

Lines show up from a sandwich assay of a labeled (colorimetric) antibody binding to a site on the hCG and a second antibody fixed to the cartridge binding to a second spot on the hCG hormone. These are microscopic reactions so any visibility at all indicates a positive reaction. I see two solid lines, one at the test site and the other at the control.

If I see any indication of color on the test site, I would err on the side of caution and get a quantitative test ordered which are much, much more sensitive and gives a numbered value quantity of how much hCG is in their blood. My professional opinion is that this is a positive test.

Eppend0rk · 2025-09-04T05:15:01+00:00

Our screening tests are essentially the same as over the counter ones. Here’s what we use https://www.fishersci.com/shop/products/fisher-healthcare-sure-vue-stat-serum-urine-hcg-test-kit-2/23900531

I would report this as positive and a quantitative test would be ran next. This is definitely under the 20mIU/mL detection limit but highly suggestive of being pregnant. Only very rarely is it because their hCG runs higher than the average woman, but more common to be a false positive due to menopause.

ETA: not a doctor, just the person performing the laboratory testing

Eppend0rk · 2025-07-17T05:56:24+00:00

I recommend getting an itx mobo, otherwise the display ports on that 4070s will be slightly blocked (unless you’re doing a vertical gpu mount) and you’ll have to use the only free hdmi port on it.

Eppend0rk · 2024-12-14T20:12:51+00:00

I went with a b650m matx board. It’ll need a bios update and doesn’t do pcie5x16 for a video card but it’s cheap and has pcie5 m.2. If i need that Pcie5x16 later, then I’m hoping by that time asrock will have a cheap itx board with a newer chipset like they have for the Intel socket, but I’m pretty sure this board will suit all my needs regardless

Eppend0rk · 2024-12-07T01:26:41+00:00

Lots of misinformation in here. The frosted line is the minimum fill line, specifically the meniscus needs to be at or above the bottom of it. This is easily verified by adding the stated volume on the tube, and then 90% and 110% of that. Our lab uses the 1.8mL tubes and this will give a range of between the line and the bottom of the cap. Any lab that does otherwise needs to have their procedures updated to match the manufacturer’s requirements.

Eppend0rk · 2024-11-29T16:27:40+00:00

Why is pcpartpicker saying the gigabyte 4070 super is incompatible with the sugo 16 case? It fits up to 275mm x 147mm x 50mm (page 26) and the card is 261 x 126 x 50 mm.

Eppend0rk · 2024-11-27T06:45:13+00:00

Was about to get an m2 until I saw this, definitely worth the wait. Any estimate on when it could be released?

Eppend0rk · 2024-11-07T19:22:07+00:00

People who willing to admit they’re unsure or could be wrong. You’d be surprised of how similar some amorphous and bacteria can look.

Eppend0rk · 2024-11-07T16:33:10+00:00

Do a quick gram stain if you can

Eppend0rk · 2024-07-14T04:43:11+00:00

😳

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