archives@tulane.edu / The application of mechanics to biology and medicine has enabled progress towards improvement of human health. Combined experimental and computational approaches have improved understanding of underlying tissue mechanisms under normal and pathological conditions. It has long been thought that tissues undergo growth i.e. change in mass and/or remodeling i.e. change in structure in response to mechanical loading, this hypothesis motivated the development of growth and remodeling (G&R) models. G&R models are computational tools developed based on the hypothesis that cells seek to establish, maintain, and restore a preferred mechanical environment through the synthesis and degradation of the extracellular matrix components. Homeostasis is attained through a dynamic balance between both processes. A large or sustained perturbation of this balance may lead to pathological conditions requiring clinical interventions when the cells are unable to restore the preferred homeostatic state. Further, results of in silico experiments within these tools have suggested tissue engineering and clinical strategies and critical timing thereof, to potentially achieve better outcomes for procedures such as coronary artery bypass surgeries, and tissue-engineered graft design and implantation. However, while significant strides have been made in the understanding of cardiovascular diseases, other tissues such as soft orthopedic tissues and more so, women’s reproductive tissues are grossly understudied in this regard. Hence, it is unsurprisingly that limited progress has been made in improving outcomes of interventions post-injury such as in tendons, and in either managing or reversing pathological conditions such as pelvic organ prolapse which affects significant portion of the world population. Therefore, in this regard, there is a pressing need to develop and leverage mathematical models – including first-generation G&R computational tools specific to these relatively understudied tissues to better understand underlying critical mechanisms in homeostasis and pathological processes. Herein, the relations required to develop these tools, preliminary studies conducted in this regard, and future work are described and discussed. / 1 / Akinjide Akintunde

[No abstract available] / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

The microbiological aetiology of vaginal discharge was studied in 208 women attending various outpatient clinics at King Edward VIII Hospital. Specimens from the lower genital tract were collected for microscopy and culture. Vaginal wet smear examination, amine liberation test and vaginal pH estimation were performed and assessed for their reliability for the rapid diagnosis of vaginal infections. Vaginal and endo-cervical infections were present in 163 (78,4%) women. G. vaginalis (65,4%), T. vaginalis (37,9%), genital yeasts (37,0%), M. hominis (59,6%), g. urealyticum (48,1%), anaerobic bacteria (32,6%), N. gonorrhoeae (11,1%), f. trachomatis (22,1%) and Herpes simplex virus (0,9%) were detected. Of the 104 women in • whom vaginal infections were detected, bacterial vaginosis was present as the sole infection in 32 (22,2%), I. vaginalis in 35 (24,3%) and C. albicans in 23 (15,9%). Bacterial vaginosis occurred concurrently with T. vaginalis and f. albicans in 24 (16,5%) and 11 (7,5%) women respectively; whilstT. vaginalis and f. albicans occurred concurrently in 14 (9,7%) women. In 6 (4,1%) women all three infections were present. No vaginal or endo-cervical pathogens were detected in 45 (21,6%) women. Women with bacterial vaginosis were found to be significantly colonised with G. vaginalis, M, hominis, anaerobic bacteria and curved Gram-negative bacilli (p < 0,05). Vaginal wet smear microscopy detected T.. vaginalis in 29% and "clue" cells in 41,3% of smears. The presence of "clue" cells (91,8%) and a positive amine test (76,7%) was significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis. Although a raised vaginal pH was also significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis, this test was less specific (65,2%) than "clue" cells (85,9%) and the amine test (95,5%). The vaginal Gram stain, as performed in this study, was found to be unreliable for the detection of "clue" cells. G. vaginalis biotypes 1 and 5 were significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis, however the serotyping scheme did not distinguish between strains isolated from women with and without bacterial vaginosis. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 93 strains of G. vaginalis was not typical of either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. Serological tests revealed reactive syphilis serology in 47 (22,6%) and the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen in 16 (7,7%) women. Antibody to human immunodeficiency virus was detected in 4 (1,9%) women attending the colposcopy clinic. This study clearly demonstrates the high prevalence of vaginal and/or endo-cervical infections in women locally, the majority of whom were asymptomatic. The high frequency of concurrent infections is of concern and there is a need for the recognition, and appropriate management of such infections. / Thesis (M. Med. Sci.)- University of Natal, Department of Microbiology. 1990

The microbiological aetiology of vaginal discharge was studied in 208 women attending various outpatient clinics at King Edward VIII Hospital. Specimens from the lower genital tract were collected for microscopy and culture. Vaginal wet smear examination, amine liberation test and vaginal pH estimation were performed and assessed for their reliability for the rapid diagnosis of vaginal infections. Vaginal and endo-cervical infections were present in 163 (78,4%) women. Q. vaginalis (65,4%), I. vaginalis (37,9%), genital yeasts (37,0%), ~. hominis (59,6%), g. urealyticum (48,1%), anaerobic bacteria (32,6%), ~. gonorrhoeae (11,1%), f. trachomatis (22,1%) and Herpes simplex virus (0,9%) were detected. Of the 104 women in • whom vaginal infections were detected, bacterial vaginosis was present as the sole infection in 32 (22,2%), I. vaginalis in 35 (24,3%) and C. albicans in 23 (15,9%). Bacterial vaginosis occurred concurrently with I. vaginalis and f. albicans in 24 (16,5%) and 11 (7,5%) women respectively; whilst I. vaginalis and f. albicans occurred concurrently in 14 (9,7%) women. In 6 (4,1%) women all three infections were present. No vaginal or endo-cervical pathogens were detected in 45 (21,6%) women. Women with bacterial vaginosis were found to be significantly colonised with G. vaginalis, M, hominis, anaerobic bacteria and curved Gram-negative bacilli (p < 0,05). Vaginal wet smear microscopy detected T. vaginalis in 29% and "clue" cells in 41,3% of smears. The presence of "clue" cells (91,8%) and a positive amine test (76,7%) was significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis. Although a raised vaginal pH was also significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis, this test was less specific (65,2%) than "clue" cells (85,9%) and the amine test (95,5%). The vaginal Gram stain, as performed in this study, was found to be unreliable for the detection of "clue" cells. G. vaginalis biotypes 1 and 5 were significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis, however the serotyping scheme did not distinguish between strains isolated from women with and without bacterial vaginosis. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 93 strains of G. vaginalis was not typical of either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. Serological tests revealed reactive syphilis serology in 47 (22,6%) and the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen in 16 (7,7%) women. Antibody to human immunodeficiency virus was detected in 4 (1,9%) women attending the colposcopy clinic. This study clearly demonstrates the high prevalence of vaginal and/or endo-cervical infections in women locally, the majority of whom were asymptomatic. The high frequency of concurrent infections is of concern and there is a need for the recognition, and appropriate management of such infections. / Thesis (M. Med. Sci.)- University of Natal, Department of Microbiology. 1990

Thesis (Ph. D. in Comparative Pathology)--University of California, Davis, Sept. 1952. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86). Also available via the World Wide Web. (Restricted to UC campuses).

archives@tulane.edu / Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the descent of the pelvic organs. Quantifying composition in 3-D as opposed to traditional 2-D histologic analysis may reveal new information on vaginal microstructure to inform diagnostics and design criteria to improve interventions on POP. Dual-view inverted selective plane illumination microscopy (diSPIM) images a tissue in 3-D using fluorescent stains. The fluorescent stain TO-PRO-3 Iodide and Eosin (T&E) is a potential analog to Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) that can be used to acquire 3-D images. Therefore, the goal of this study was to validate T&E as an H&E fluorescent analog and to acquire 3-D images of the murine vagina using diSPIM with T&E staining to observe morphological changes throughout the vagina. Staining of murine samples with T&E and H&E generated very similar images, validating the use of T&E as a fluorescent analog to H&E. diSPIM imaging with T&E staining applied to murine vaginal samples at varying stages of pregnancy generated 3-D images from which 2-D slices could be isolated. These 2-D slices were analyzed by delineation and thickness measurements of their vaginal layers (epithelial, subepithelial, and muscularis layers). These thickness measurements showed changes in thicknesses across depths and across pregnancy status in the vagina, such as the thickening of the epithelial layer throughout pregnancy. These results highlighted the capability of diSPIM to reveal information on the vaginal microstructure throughout its depth. / 1 / Diego Gatica

Thesis (doctoral)--Munich, 1934. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [18].

Thesis (doctoral)--Munich, 1934. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [18].

Orientadores: Jose Antonio Simões, Luis Guillermo Bahamondes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-07T17:28:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Doria_RaquelFerreiraFerrazdoLago_M.pdf: 1889089 bytes, checksum: 1dd9fd40e55ccf4cafa28a2b88903b47 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a prevalência da vaginose bacteriana e outras infecções cervicovaginais em novas usuárias de dispositivo intra-uterino. Foram incluídas no estudo 223 mulheres que solicitaram e inseriram um DIU T com cobre como método contraceptivo. Após a inserção foram agendadas duas visitas para estas mulheres: ao primeiro e sexto mês pós-inserção, quando foram entrevistadas e submetidas a exame pélvico, coletadas amostras da vagina e endocérvix para avaliar a presença ou não de infecção. O critério de Nugent foi utilizado para o diagnóstico de vaginose bacteriana. Para os demais diagnósticos foram utilizados: exame a fresco para Trichomonas vaginalis e Candida albicans; imunofluorescência direta para Chlamydia trachomatis e cultura específica para Neisseria gonorrhoeae. As mulheres também foram avaliadas quanto à presença de complicações relacionadas à inserção e ao uso do dispositivo intra-uterino (sangramento exacerbado, dismenorréia, expulsão, doença inflamatória pélvica). A prevalência de infecções cervicovaginais foi de 29,1%, sendo a vaginose bacteriana a mais freqüente (19,7%). A dismenorréia foi mais freqüente em mulheres com vaginose bacteriana do que nas mulheres sem (p=0,03). Em conclusão, a vaginose bacteriana, após um mês de inserção do dispositivo intra-uterino, não foi significativamente associada às suas complicações, com exceção da dismenorréia / Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and other cervicovaginal infections among new users of intrauterine device (IUD). A total of 223 women who had inserted a TCu-380A IUD as a contraceptive method were included in the study. After the insertion all participants were scheduled for 2 additional visits: after the first and sixth month post insertion, when they were interviewed and had a pelvic examination performed and collected specimens from the vagina and the endocervix for laboratory testing. The Nugent's criteria was used for the BV diagnosis. The others diagnosis were made as follow¿s: a wet mount in order to identify Trichomonas vaginalis and Candida albicans; fluorescent¿labeled monoclonal antibody method for Chlamydia trachomatis and culture for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. They were also evaluated with regard to complications possibly related to IUD insertion and use (abnormal bleeding, dysmenorrhea, expulsion, and pelvic inflammatory disease). The prevalence of cervicovaginal infections was 29.1%, with BV being the most frequent (19.7%). The dysmenorrhea was more frequent among women with BV than among those without BV (p=0.03). In conclusion, BV after one month of IUD insertion was not associated to IUD complications, with the exception of dysmenorrhea / Mestrado / Tocoginecologia / Mestre em Tocoginecologia

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1996.