Pregnancy-related fibroid reduction

We tested the hypothesis that the protective effect of parity on fibroids is due to direct pregnancy-related effects by following women from early pregnancy to postpartum period with ultrasound. Of 171 women with one initial fibroid, 36% had no identifiable fibroid at the time of postpartum ultrasound, and 79% of the remaining fibroids decreased in size

Phase transition from a dx2−y2d_{x^2-y^2} to dx2−y2+dxyd_{x^2-y^2}+d_{xy} superconductor

We study the phase transition from a $d_{x^2-y^2}$ to $d_{x^2-y^2}+d_{xy}$ superconductor using the tight-binding model of two-dimensional cuprates. As the temperature is lowered past the critical temperature $T_c$, first a $d_{x^2-y^2}$ superconducting phase is created. With further reduction of temperature, the $d_{x^2-y^2}+d_{xy}$ phase is created at temperature $T=T_{c1}$. We study the temperature dependencies of the order parameter, specific heat and spin susceptibility in these mixed-angular-momentum states on square lattice and on a lattice with orthorhombic distortion. The above-mentioned phase transitions are identified by two jumps in specific heat at $T_c$ and $T_{c1}$.Comment: Latex file, 5 pages, 6 postscript figures, Accepted in Physical Review

Rotating spin-1 bosons in the lowest Landau level

We present results for the ground states of a system of spin-1 bosons in a rotating trap. We focus on the dilute, weakly interacting regime, and restrict the bosons to the quantum states in the lowest Landau level (LLL) in the plane (disc), sphere or torus geometries. We map out parts of the zero temperature phase diagram, using both exact quantum ground states and LLL mean field configurations. For the case of a spin-independent interaction we present exact quantum ground states at angular momentum $L\leq N$. For general values of the interaction parameters, we present mean field studies of general ground states at slow rotation and of lattices of vortices and skyrmions at higher rotation rates. Finally, we discuss quantum Hall liquid states at ultra-high rotation.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, RevTe

Short-term quality of life after myomectomy for uterine fibroids from the compare-uf fibroid registry

Background Uterine fibroids may decrease quality of life in a significant proportion of affected women. Myomectomy offers a uterine-sparing treatment option for patients with uterine fibroids that can be performed abdominally, laparoscopically (with or without robotic assistance), and hysteroscopically. Quality of life information using validated measures for different myomectomy routes, especially hysteroscopic myomectomy, is limited. Objective To compare women’s perception of their short-term health-related quality of life measures and reported time to return to usual activities and return to work for different routes of myomectomy. Materials and Methods Comparing Options for Management: Patient-centered Results for Uterine Fibroids (COMPARE-UF) is a prospective nationwide fibroid registry that enrolled premenopausal women seeking treatment for uterine fibroids at 8 clinical sites. For this analysis, we included women undergoing hysteroscopic, abdominal, or laparoscopic myomectomy who completed the postprocedure questionnaire scheduled between 6 and 12 weeks after surgery. Health-related quality of life outcomes, such as pain, anxiety, and return to usual activitie, were assessed for each route. The hysteroscopic myomectomy group had large differences in demographics, fibroid number, and uterine size compared to the other groups; thus, a direct comparison of quality of life measures was performed only for abdominal and laparoscopic approaches after propensity weighting. Propensity weighting was done using 24 variables that included demographics, quality of life baseline measures, and fibroid and uterine measurements. Results A total of 1206 women from 8 COMPARE-UF sites underwent myomectomy (338 hysteroscopic, 519 laparoscopic, and 349 abdominal). All women had substantial improvement in short-term health-related quality of life and symptom severity scores, which was not different among groups. Average symptom severity scores decreased about 30 points in each group. Return to usual activities averaged 0 days (interquartile range, 0–14 days) for hysteroscopic myomectomy, 21 days (interquartile range, 14–28 days) for laparoscopic myomectomy, and 28 days (interquartile range, 14–35 days) for abdominal myomectomy. After propensity adjustment, quality of life outcomes in the laparoscopic and abdominal myomectomy groups were similar except for more anxiety in the laparoscopic myomectomy group and slightly more pain in the abdominal myomectomy group. After propensity weighting, return to usual activities favored laparoscopic compared to abdominal procedures; median time was the same at 21 days, but the highest quartile of women in the abdominal group needed an additional week of recovery (interquartile range,14.0–28.0 for laparoscopic versus 14.0–35.0 for abdominal, P < .01). Time to return to work was also longer in the abdominal arm (median, 22 days; interquartile range, 14–40 days, versus median, 42; interquartile range, 27–56). Conclusion Women who underwent myomectomy had substantial improvement in health-related quality of life, regardless of route of myomectomy. After propensity weighting, abdominal myomectomy was associated with a nearly 2-week longer time to return to work than laparoscopic myomectomy

The Structure of Jupiter, Saturn, and Exoplanets: Key Questions for High-Pressure Experiments

We give an overview of our current understanding of the structure of gas giant planets, from Jupiter and Saturn to extrasolar giant planets. We focus on addressing what high-pressure laboratory experiments on hydrogen and helium can help to elucidate about the structure of these planets.Comment: Invited contribution to proceedings of High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics, 6. Accepted to Astrophysics & Space Science. 12 page

Perspective: Dietary Biomarkers of Intake and Exposure - Exploration with Omics Approaches

While conventional nutrition research has yielded biomarkers such as doubly labeled water for energy metabolism and 24-h urinary nitrogen for protein intake, a critical need exists for additional, equally robust biomarkers that allow for objective assessment of specific food intake and dietary exposure. Recent advances in high-throughput MS combined with improved metabolomics techniques and bioinformatic tools provide new opportunities for dietary biomarker development. In September 2018, the NIH organized a 2-d workshop to engage nutrition and omics researchers and explore the potential of multiomics approaches in nutritional biomarker research. The current Perspective summarizes key gaps and challenges identified, as well as the recommendations from the workshop that could serve as a guide for scientists interested in dietary biomarkers research. Topics addressed included study designs for biomarker development, analytical and bioinformatic considerations, and integration of dietary biomarkers with other omics techniques. Several clear needs were identified, including larger controlled feeding studies, testing a variety of foods and dietary patterns across diverse populations, improved reporting standards to support study replication, more chemical standards covering a broader range of food constituents and human metabolites, standardized approaches for biomarker validation, comprehensive and accessible food composition databases, a common ontology for dietary biomarker literature, and methodologic work on statistical procedures for intake biomarker discovery. Multidisciplinary research teams with appropriate expertise are critical to moving forward the field of dietary biomarkers and producing robust, reproducible biomarkers that can be used in public health and clinical research