Absorbent particles, especially catamenials, having improved fluid directionality, comfort and fit

Absorbent articles, especially sanitary napkins, contain fibers with intra-fiber capillary channels. In-use, the capillary channel fibers direct menses to a storage layer, thereby minimizing product failure and staining of undergarments. The capillary channel fibers can protrude into, or through, a topsheet to provide very aggressive transport of vaginal discharges

Absorbent articles, especially catamenials, having improved fluid directionality

The present invention provides absorbent articles, especially sanitary napkins, containing a fluid transport layer. In-use, the transport layer directs menses to a storage layer, thereby minimizing product failure and staining of undergarments. The transport layer can protrude into, or through, a topsheet to provide very aggressive transport of vaginal discharges. Preferably, the transport layer is a layer of fibers having external capillary channels

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The State of Women Veterans' Health Research: Results of a Systematic Literature Review

OBJECTIVE: Assess the state of women veterans' health research. DESIGN: Systematic review of studies that pertained specifically to or included explicit information about women veterans. A narrative synthesis of studies in 4 domains/topics was conducted: Stress of military life; Health and performance of military/VA women; Health services research/quality of care; and Psychiatric conditions. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified 182 studies. Of these, 2 were randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) and the remainder used observational designs. Forty-five percent of studies were VA funded. We identified 77 studies pertaining to the stress of military life, of which 21 reported on sexual harassment or assault. Rates of harassment ranged from 55% to 79% and rates of sexual assault from 4.2% to 7.3% in active duty military women and 11% to 48% among women veterans. Forty-two studies concerned the health and performance of military/VA women, with 21 studies evaluating sexual assault and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their effect on health. Fifty-nine studies assessed various aspects of health services research. Eight studies assessed quality of care and 5, patient satisfaction. Twenty-five studies assessed utilization and health care organization, and findings include that women veterans use the VA less than men, that gender-specific reasons for seeking care were common among female military and veteran personnel, that provision of gender-specific care increased women veterans' use of VA, and that virtually all VAs have available on-site basic women's health services. Fifty studies were classified as psychiatric; 31 of these were about the risk, prevalence, and treatment of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: Most research on VA women's health is descriptive in nature and has concerned PTSD, sexual harassment and assault, the utilization and organization of care, and various psychiatric conditions. Experimental studies and studies of the quality of care are rare

Implementing stakeholder engagement to explore alternative models of consent: An example from the PREP-IT trials

Introduction: Cluster randomized crossover trials are often faced with a dilemma when selecting an optimal model of consent, as the traditional model of obtaining informed consent from participant's before initiating any trial related activities may not be suitable. We describe our experience of engaging patient advisors to identify an optimal model of consent for the PREP-IT trials. This paper also examines surrogate measures of success for the selected model of consent. Methods: The PREP-IT program consists of two multi-center cluster randomized crossover trials that engaged patient advisors to determine an optimal model of consent. Patient advisors and stakeholders met regularly and reached consensus on decisions related to the trial design including the model for consent. Patient advisors provided valuable insight on how key decisions on trial design and conduct would be received by participants and the impact these decisions will have. Results: Patient advisors, together with stakeholders, reviewed the pros and cons and the requirements for the traditional model of consent, deferred consent, and waiver of consent. Collectively, they agreed upon a deferred consent model, in which patients may be approached for consent after their fracture surgery and prior to data collection. The consent rate in PREP-IT is 80.7%, and 0.67% of participants have withdrawn consent for participation. Discussion: Involvement of patient advisors in the development of an optimal model of consent has been successful. Engagement of patient advisors is recommended for other large trials where the traditional model of consent may not be optimal