METHODS: This prospective Sapanisertib in vitro randomized study was conducted at a university teaching medical center between June 2008 and December 2010. Pregnant women admitted for induction of labor with a live singleton gestation in cephalic presentation with intact membranes and a Bishop score of 6 or less were randomly assigned for cervical ripening by a single-balloon catheter or a double-balloon catheter. The primary outcome was the length of time from catheter insertion until

delivery. The secondary outcome was mode of delivery.

RESULTS: Of 368 eligible women screened during the study period, 293 were included in the final analysis; 145 were randomly assigned to receive a single-balloon catheter and 148 received a double-balloon catheter. Demographic and obstetric parameters were comparable between the two groups. Length of time from catheter insertion until delivery was 19.4 (+/- 6.0) and 19.1 (+/- 6.8) hours among the single-balloon and the double-balloon catheter groups, respectively (P=.80).

Length of time did not differ when primiparous women were analyzed separately. Incidence of cesarean delivery was 10.3% and 17.6% among the single-balloon and double-balloon catheter groups, respectively (P=.09). The incidence of either vacuum deliveries or www.selleckchem.com/products/AZD6244.html cesarean deliveries was significantly lower among the single-balloon group (14.4%) compared with the double-balloon catheter group (25.7%; odds ratio 0.49, 95% confidence interval 0.26-0.92; P=.02).

CONCLUSION: Both the single-balloon and double-balloon catheters are equally efficacious for inducing labor. The double-balloon catheter may be associated with more operative deliveries. BTK screening CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials. gov, NCT00690040. (Obstet Gynecol 2011;118:79-86) DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e318220e4b7″
“Optoacoustic tomography has recently demonstrated powerful performance in small animal imaging and

initial clinical trials in terms of the high spatial resolution, versatile contrast, and dynamic imaging capabilities it can provide. Yet, the current optoacoustic image reconstruction methods are usually based on inaccurate forward modelling approaches or otherwise demand a high computational cost, which imposes certain practical limitations and hinders image quantification. Herein, we introduce a new method for accelerating optoacoustic reconstructions, based on angular image discretization of the forward model solution. The method is particularly suitable for accurate image reconstruction with arbitrary meshes and space-dependent resolution, while it can also readily account for small speed of sound variations without compromising the calculation speed. It is further anticipated that the new approach will greatly facilitate development of high performance 3-D optoacoustic reconstruction methods.