Global general pediatric surgery partnership: The UCLA-Mozambique experience.

Background/purpose: There has been increasing recognition of the disparities in surgical care throughout the world. Increasingly, efforts are being made to improve local infrastructure and training of surgeons in low-income settings. The purpose of this study was to review the first 5-years of a global academic pediatric general surgery partnership between UCLA and the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique.

Unexpected Inflammatory Effects of Intravaginal Gels (Universal Placebo Gel and Nonoxynol-9) on the Upper Female Reproductive Tract: A Randomized Crossover Study.

Intravaginal anti-HIV microbicides could provide women with a self-controlled means for HIV prevention, but results from clinical trials have been largely disappointing. We postulated that unrecognized effects of intravaginal gels on the upper female reproductive tract might contribute to the lower-than-expected efficacy of HIV microbicides. Our objective was to study the effects of intravaginal gels on the immune microenvironment of the cervix and uterus.

Seminal plasma induces global transcriptomic changes associated with cell migration, proliferation and viability in endometrial epithelial cells and stromal fibroblasts.

Study Question: How does seminal plasma (SP) affect the transcriptome of human primary endometrial epithelial cells (eEC) and stromal fibroblasts (eSF)?

Summary Answer: Exposure of eEC and eSF to SP in vitro increases expression of genes and secreted proteins associated with cellular migration, proliferation, viability and inhibition of cell death.

What Is Known Already: Studies in both humans and animals suggest that SP can access and induce physiological changes in the upper female reproductive tract (FRT), which may participate in promoting reproductive success.

Study Design, Size, Duration: This is a cross sectional study involving control samples versus treatment.

Diversity of the vaginal microbiome correlates with preterm birth.

Reproductive tract infection is a major initiator of preterm birth (PTB). The objective of this prospective cohort study of 88 participants was to determine whether PTB correlates with the vaginal microbiome during pregnancy. Total DNA was purified from posterior vaginal fornix swabs during gestation.