Hysterotomy level at Cesarean section and occurrence of large scar defects : a randomized single-blind trial

Objective: To study the association between the level of Cesarean hysterotomy and the presence of large uterine scar defects 6–9 months after delivery. Methods: This was a two-center, randomized, single-blind trial of a surgical procedure with masked assessment of the principal outcome under study. Women without a history of Cesarean section (CS) who underwent emergency CS at cervical dilatation ≥ 5 cm were randomized to high or low incision. Hysterotomy was performed 2 cm above and 2 cm below the plica vesicouterina in the high and low incision groups, respectively. Women were examined using saline contrast sonohysterography to assess the appearance of the hysterotomy scar 6–9 months after delivery. The main outcome was presence of a large scar defect, defined as the remaining myometrial thickness over the defect being ≤ 2.5 mm. Secondary outcomes were perinatal outcome, operative complications within 8 weeks after delivery and long-term outcome in a subsequent pregnancy. Results: Of 122 patients enrolled in the trial, 114 were assessed by ultrasound examination, of whom 55 were randomized to high and 59 to low CS incision. Large scar defects were seen in four (7%) women in the high-incision group and in 24 (41%) in the low-incision group (P < 0.001; odds ratio, 8.7 (95% CI, 2.8–27.4)). There were no differences in operative complications and perinatal outcomes between the two groups. The median follow-up time was 4 years and 7 months, during which 56 (49%) women had a subsequent pregnancy. No significant differences were observed in the rate of complications in subsequent pregnancy and delivery between women who had low and those who had high incision at the index CS. Conclusion: Low Cesarean hysterotomy level in women in advanced labor is associated with higher incidence of large scar defects detected by transvaginal ultrasound examination 6–9 months after delivery

High-Purity Aluminum Magnet Technology for Advanced Space Transportation Systems

Basic research on advanced plasma-based propulsion systems is routinely focused on plasmadynamics, performance, and efficiency aspects while relegating the development of critical enabling technologies, such as flight-weight magnets, to follow-on development work. Unfortunately, the low technology readiness levels (TRLs) associated with critical enabling technologies tend to be perceived as an indicator of high technical risk, and this, in turn, hampers the acceptance of advanced system architectures for flight development. Consequently, there is growing recognition that applied research on the critical enabling technologies needs to be conducted hand in hand with basic research activities. The development of flight-weight magnet technology, for example, is one area of applied research having broad crosscutting applications to a number of advanced propulsion system architectures. Therefore, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Louisiana State University (LSU), and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) have initiated an applied research project aimed at advancing the TRL of flight-weight magnets. This Technical Publication reports on the group's initial effort to demonstrate the feasibility of cryogenic high-purity aluminum magnet technology and describes the design, construction, and testing of a 6-in-diameter by 12-in-long aluminum solenoid magnet. The coil was constructed in the machine shop of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at LSU and testing was conducted in NHMFL facilities at Florida State University and at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The solenoid magnet was first wound, reinforced, potted in high thermal conductivity epoxy, and bench tested in the LSU laboratories. A cryogenic container for operation at 77 K was also constructed and mated to the solenoid. The coil was then taken to NHMFL facilities in Tallahassee, FL. where its magnetoresistance was measured in a 77 K environment under steady magnetic fields as high as 10 T. In addition, the temperature dependence of the coil's resistance was measured from 77 to 300 K. Following this series of tests, the coil was transported to NHMFL facilities in Los Alamos, NM, and pulsed to 2 T using an existing capacitor bank pulse generator. The coil was completely successful in producing the desired field without damage to the windings

Characterisation of the PTEN inhibitor VO-OHpic

PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10) is a phosphatidylinositol triphosphate 3-phosphatase that counteracts phosphoinositide 3-kinases and has subsequently been implied as a valuable drug target for diabetes and cancer. Recently, we demonstrated that VO-OHpic is an extremely potent inhibitor of PTEN with nanomolar affinity in vitro and in vivo. Given the importance of this inhibitor for future drug design and development, its mode of action needed to be elucidated. It was discovered that inhibition of recombinant PTEN by VO-OHpic is fully reversible. Both Km and Vmax are affected by VO-OHpic, demonstrating a noncompetitive inhibition of PTEN. The inhibition constants Kic and Kiu were determined to be 27 ± 6 and 45 ± 11 nM, respectively. Using the artificial phosphatase substrate 3-O-methylfluorescein phosphate (OMFP) or the physiological substrate phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) comparable parameters were obtained suggesting that OMFP is a suitable substrate for PTEN inhibition studies and PTEN drug screening