Association of Maternal Comorbidity Burden With Cesarean Birth Rate Among Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex Pregnancies.

Importance: Cesarean birth rate among nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex (NTSV) pregnancies is a standard quality measure in obstetrical care. There are limited data on how the number and type of preexisting conditions affect mode of delivery among primigravidae, and it is also uncertain how maternal comorbidity burden differs across racial and ethnic groups and whether this helps to explain disparities in the NTSV cesarean birth rate.

Objective: To determine the association between obstetric comorbidity index (OB-CMI) score and cesarean delivery among NTSV pregnancies and to evaluate whether disparities in mode of delivery exist based on race and ethnicity group after adjusting for covariate factors.

Noninvasive monitoring of uterine electrical activity among patients with obesity: a new external monitoring device.

Background: Tocodynamometry is a common, noninvasive tool used to measure contraction frequency; however, its utility is often limited in patients with obesity. An intrauterine pressure catheter provides a more accurate measurement of uterine contractions but requires ruptured membranes, limiting its utility during early latent labor. Electrical uterine myography has shown promise as a noninvasive contraction monitor with efficacy similar to that of the intrauterine pressure catheter; however, its efficacy has not been widely studied in the obese population.

Cation-π interactions of methylated ammonium ions: a quantum mechanical study.

Cation-π interactions of methylated ammonium ions play a key role in a broad range of biochemical systems. These include methyl-lysine binding proteins which bind to methylated sites on histone proteins, lysine demethylase enzymes which demethylate these sites, and neurotransmitter receptor complexes which bind choline-derived ligands. Recognition in these systems is achieved through an 'aromatic cage' motif in the binding site.