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We report the discovery of a planet transiting a moderately faint (V = 12.3 mag) late F star, with an orbital period of 3.92289 +- 0.00004 days. From the transit light curve and radial velocity measurements, we determine that the radius of the planet is Rp = 1.40 +- 0.06 R Jup and that the mass is Mp = 0.78 +- 0.09 M Jup. The density of the new planet, r p = 0.35 +- 0.06 g cm-3, fits to the low-density tail of the currently known transiting planets. We find that the center of transit is at T c = 2454417.9077 +- 0.0003 (HJD), and the total transit duration is 0.143 +- 0.004 days. The host star has M [?] = 1.28 +- 0.13 M and R [?] = 1.32 +- 0.07 R .

We have observed four transits of the planet of HD 209458 using the STIS spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Summing the recorded counts over wavelength between 582 and 638 nm yields a photometric time series with 80 s time sampling and relative precision of about 1.1 x 10-4 per sample. The folded light curve can be fitted within observational errors using a model consisting of an opaque circular planet transiting a limb-darkened stellar disk. In this way we estimate the planetary radius Rp = 1.347 +- 0.060 RJup, the orbital inclination i = 86.deg6 +- 0.deg14, the stellar radius R* = 1.146 +- 0.050 R, and one parameter describing the stellar limb darkening. Our estimated radius is smaller than those from earlier studies but is consistent within measurement errors and also with theoretical estimates of the radii of irradiated Jupiter-like planets. Satellites or rings orbiting the planet would, if large enough, be apparent from distortions of the light curve or from irregularities in the transit timings. We find no evidence for either satellites or rings, with upper limits on satellite radius and mass of 1.2 R[?] and 3 M[?], respectively. Opaque rings, if present, must be smaller than 1.8 planetary radii in radial extent. The high level of photometric precision attained in this experiment confirms the feasibility of photometric detection of Earth-sized planets circling Sun-like stars.

The bright F8 V star u Andromedae was previously reported to have a 4.6 day Doppler velocity periodicity, consistent with having a Jupiter-mass companion orbiting at 0.059 AU. Follow-up observations by both the Lick and Advanced Fiber-Optic Echelle spectrometer (AFOE) planet survey programs confirm this periodicity and reveal additional periodicities at 241 and 1267 days. These periodicities are consistent with Keplerian orbital motion and imply two additional companions orbiting at 0.83 and 2.5 AU, with minimum (M sin i) masses of 2.0 and 4.6 MJUP, respectively. Non-Keplerian explanations for the observed Doppler velocity variations, including radial and nonradial pulsations, rotational modulation of surface features, and stellar magnetic cycles, are examined. These explanations seem unlikely based on the observed photometric and chromospheric stability of the star. This putative three-planet system is found to be dynamically stable by both analytic techniques and numerical simulations. The outer two companions both reside in eccentric orbits, as do all nine known extrasolar planet candidates in distant orbits. If real, this multiple-planet system is the first around a main-sequence star, and its study should offer insights into planet formation, planet-planet interactions, and the observed eccentricities of planetary orbits.

The subgiant ? Boo (G5 IV) has been reported to show p-mode pulsations, as evidenced by variations in the equivalent width of its hydrogen Balmer lines (reported by Kjeldsen et al.). In an attempt to confirm this report, we observed ? Boo's radial velocity with the AFOE spectrograph for a total of 22 hours spread over seven successive nights in 1995 March. We find no evidence for the presence of excess power at the frequencies reported by Kjeldsen et al.; our upper limit corresponds to typical mode amplitudes of 0.5 m s-1, about 3 times smaller than the velocity amplitudes they inferred. Signals with amplitudes larger than 0.5 m s-1may be present at other frequencies within the 0-1000 ?Hz range, but evidence for such signals is scanty, and typical mode amplitudes greater than 1.5 m s-1are clearly inconsistent with our observations.

Previous efforts to determine to what degree patients are satisfied with clinical experiences have been frustrated because of the tendency for patients to give positive, socially acceptable, and invariant answers to postexperience questioning. A new questionnaire was designed and given to 121 gynecologic clinic patients in which expectation was measured as a pretest and fulfillment as a posttest of the same six items. Of a total of 804 responses, 197 expressed increased, and 167 decreased, satisfaction with specific elements of care, a much greater variance than previously reported. Modifications are suggested to increase this test's value in service evaluation.

This work was undertaken in an effort to determine the postovulatory age of human ova based on morphologic criteria. Nine ova, recovered from 132 patients, are described. Case reports include menstrual data, time of operation, basal body temperature, location of ovum in the female tract, and histology of the corpus luteum and the endometrium. Ovular morphologic characteristics are no better than other criteria of time of ovulation.