E-learning for research capacity strengthening in sexual and reproductive health: the experience of the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research and the Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization.

Unlabelled: Technological advancement has resulted in the increasing use of e-learning and online education, initially in high-income countries and increasingly in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: In 2010, the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and partner institutions, developed an online postgraduate course "From Research to Practice: Training Course in Sexual and Reproductive Health Research". This course takes advantage of the advancing Internet technology to provide training opportunities to health professionals mostly from low- and middle-income countries whose access to quality education is constrained by time, financial resources, or both.

Web-based instrument to assess skills in visual inspection of the cervix among healthcare providers.

Objective: To validate a web-based instrument for assessing healthcare providers' skills in visual inspection with acetic acid or Lugol iodine (VIA/VILI) for the diagnosis and management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study enrolled healthcare providers in a web-based assessment of VIA/VILI skills between August and November 2014. Participants participated in a four-module training course, followed by a multiple-choice test with 70 questions based on cervical photographs of HPV-positive women participating in cervical screening.

Medical methods for first trimester abortion.

Background: Surgical abortion by vacuum aspiration or dilatation and curettage has been the method of choice for early pregnancy termination since the 1960s. Medical abortion became an alternative method of first trimester pregnancy termination with the availability of prostaglandins in the early 1970s and anti-progesterones in the 1980s. The most widely researched drugs are prostaglandins (PGs) alone, mifepristone alone, methotrexate alone, mifepristone with prostaglandins and methotrexate with prostaglandins.

Early and late half-life of human chorionic gonadotropin as a predictor of persistent trophoblast after laparoscopic conservative surgery for tubal pregnancy.

Background: To determine if the early or late half-lives (T0.5) of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can identify patients with persistent trophoblastic activity after conservative surgery for tubal pregnancy.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Contraceptive practice before and after termination of pregnancy: a prospective study.

This study is part of a larger prospective research program focusing on termination of pregnancy (TOP). One hundred and three women requesting TOP were interviewed before the intervention and 6 months later using open and closed questions and psychological tests. This paper focuses on contraceptive practices before and after abortion.

Feasibility of cytology-based cervical cancer screening in rural Cameroon.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of cervical cancer and its precursors in a rural population in Cameroon and to evaluate the feasibility of a cytology-based screening program in such areas.

Study Design: A prospective study was conducted in the rural town of Bafang. Following an advocacy campaign, 750 women were recruited.

Are fertility drugs a risk factor for persistent trophoblastic tumour?

Background: The introduction of ovulation-inducing drugs has raised concern that women exposed to these therapies may be at increased risk of cancer. We assessed the potential association between exposure to fertility drugs and the risk of developing persistent trophoblastic tumour (PTT).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the English and non-English language literature using the National Library of Medicine's Medline to identify all observations of patients with hydatidiform mole (HM) after treatment with ovulation-inducers.

Matrix metalloproteinases and their specific tissue inhibitors in menstruation.

The timely breakdown of extracellular matrix is essential for menstruation. Matrix metalloproteinases, which are able to degrade virtually all components of the extracellular matrix, are spatiotemporally expressed in the cyclic endometrium. The expression of most matrix metalloproteinases is regulated transcriptionally and their proteolytic activities are precisely controlled.

Use of automated primary screening on liquid-based, thin-layer preparations.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of the AutoPap System (TriPath Imaging, Inc., Burlington, North Carolina, U.S.

Intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy in the Fischer 344 rat using 5-aminolevulinic acid and violet laser light: a toxicity study.

Objective: Our study was designed to investigate 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as a candidate for intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy (IP-PDT). The toxicity of IP-PDT and the effects of IP-PDT on abdominal and pelvic organs, particularly the small intestine, were investigated after ALA administration and illumination with violet laser light.

Study Design And Results: The toxicity of IP-PDT was evaluated in Fischer 344 rats in two ways.

Effect of hydrosalpinx fluid on secretion of trophoblastic matrix metalloproteinases.

Objective: To determine if hydrosalpinx fluid affects trophoblastic metalloproteinases (MMPs) secretion.

Design: Measurement of the effect of hydrosalpinx and peritoneal fluids (as controls) added to the medium on the MMPs secreted by cytotrophoblastic cells.

Setting: Academic research center.

Termination of pregnancy and women's sexuality.

Objective: To determine the influence of termination of pregnancy (TOP) on women's sexuality.

Design: Prospective qualitative and quantitative study.

Subjects: 103 women undergoing induced abortion by vacuum aspiration, interviewed 1-3 weeks before surgery and 6 months later.

Accuracy of single measurements of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A, human chorionic gonadotropin and progesterone in the diagnosis of early pregnancy failure.

Background: Circulating human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and progesterone are commonly used as markers of abnormal pregnancies. Previous studies have shown that pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) was also depressed in extrauterine pregnancies (EUP). Previously, PAPP-A was measured with polyclonal antibodies which were later shown to recognise also the pro-form of major basic protein (pro-MBP).