Global ETD Search
Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 20 of 21 for “"Medical Virology"”.
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Sexually transmitted infections, bacterial vaginosis and genital inflammation as risk factors of HIV acquisition in adolescent girls and young women in South Africa
Background: In South Africa, young women are at increased risk of HIV infection, predominantly through heterosexual contact. Socio-behavioural and biological factors most likely play an important role at increasing risk. BV, STIs and genital yeast infections are known to influence HIV risk, …
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Genetic characterisation of six novel African swine fever viruses isolated from a pig, warthog, wild boar, and ticks
African swine fever (ASF) is a disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boars, resulting in up to 100% case fatality rate, and there is currently no effective treatment or vaccine. To date, there are 67 ASFV complete genome sequences available, but most of the sequences represent only genotypes …
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Characterisation of the HIV inhibitory activity of vaginal lactobacilli isolates from young South African women at high risk of HIV acquisition
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an important predisposing factor for the acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in South African women. However, the microbial causes and the immunomodulatory effects of BV are not yet fully understood, and …
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Gene expression patterns of the female genital tract and immunomodulation by Lactobacillus species
Inflammation in the female genital tract (FGT) is associated with increased HIV-1 viral replication, HIV-1 transmission and HIV-1 acquisition. The optimal commensal Lactobacillus bacterial species is associated with reduced inflammation in the FGT and dampened immune responses to non-optimal …
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Development and Characterization of a Modified Vaccinia Ankara Vaccine Candidate Expressing the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the continued evolution of the virus to escape host immunity, new vaccines and refinement of first-generation vaccines to improve protection against …
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Investigating cytokine responses to different strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB), is one of the world's most prevalent fatal pathogens, infecting one third of the global population. The highly specialised pathogen that infects humans today evolved from a group of bacteria, known as the …
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A Comparison of Fluorescent Microscopy Methods for the Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis
Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted pathogen worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries, including South Africa. Although frequently asymptomatic, C. trachomatis infections in women cause pronounced genital inflammation. Given that …
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Impact of long-acting contraceptives on female genital tract cytokine profiles in a randomised controlled trial
The Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) trial found no substantial difference in HIV acquisition risk between women randomised to injectable depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM), copper intrauterine device (IUD) or the levonorgestrel (LNG) implant. However, it remains …
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An investigation into the specific function of the vaccinia virus :13.8 kDa protein encoded by the N1L gene
Vaccinia virus is the most extensively studied, prototype vertebrate poxvirus, which was used as a vaccine in the eradication of smallpox. The genome of this virus has characteristic variable termini encoding open reading frames that are not essential for virus replication in cell culture. One such …
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Generation and characterization of HIV-1 subtype C candidate vaccines that will induce high titre antibody responses to HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein
Despite huge strides being made towards decreasing the number of individuals getting newly infected with HIV-1, and in reducing AIDS-related deaths, unfortunately current predictions are that the 2020 UNAIDS goals (90-90-90 targets, where 90% of people living which HIV-1 are diagnosed as such, from …
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Chlamydia trachomatis diversity and pathogenesis in young South African women, related to HPV prevalence and risk
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) pose a significant threat to women's reproductive health and significantly increase the risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are particularly prevalent among younger …
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Evaluation of probiotic and vaginal Lactobacillus species for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis and promotion of vaginal health in South African women
Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) increases women's risk for adverse reproductive outcomes and acquisition of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. The etiology of BV is still unclear, and it has been hypothesized that lytic or temperate Lactobacillus bacteriophages may …
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A Study of Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Evaluation of HPV Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening in Women from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is an important public health problem facing black African women. Persistent infection with high-risk (HR) HPV types is the key factor for the development of cervical cancer. Coinfection of HPV with other sexually transmitted pathogens contributes …
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The design, development and characterization of a self-replicating DNA expression technology
High quality T-cell immunogenicity can be an elusive type of immunity to generate and one that is often sought after by virologists, immunologists and cancer researchers alike. When T-cell immunity is generated using current methodologies the quality and magnitude of the immunological response …
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Characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific Th22 cells in HIV-TB co-infection
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the infectious disease causing the greatest global mortality, with an estimated 10 million incident cases of TB and 1.45 million deaths in 2018. Although there is a cure for TB, the success of the treatment is hampered by multidrug resistant TB and HIV infection. There is …
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Studies on CD4+ T cell subsets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis immunity during HIV co-infection
Tuberculosis (TB) is a global pandemic which resulted in 5.8 million disease cases and approximately 1.5 million deaths worldwide in 2020. TB disease is the leading cause of death worldwide from a single infectious agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). It is estimated that a one fourth of the …
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Tanned gelatin: some biophysical and biochemical properties of a new gel exclusion agent and its application to the chromatography of proteins and viruses
The principal aim of this study was to develop a new bed material suitable for gel exclusion chromatography, which would embrace all the desirable characteristics of available materials used for this purpose and if possible improve on some of them. The two most important limitations of existing gel …
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Characterizing the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of Gardnerella vaginalis from vaginal clinical samples
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal condition affecting reproductive-age women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. With poor treatment outcomes, BV has been associated with pregnancy complications, pelvic inflammatory disease as well as acquisition and transmission of sexually transmitted …
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A Molecular Epidemiological Study of Human Parainfluenza 4 in the Western Cape, South Africa
Background Human parainfluenza 4 (HPIV 4) is a recognised cause of acute respiratory infection (ARI). However, there is no published data on the epidemiology of this virus in South Africa. This thesis describes the molecular epidemiology of HPIV 4 over a 4-year period (2014-2017). Respiratory …
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Wesselsbron virus : a biophysical, biochemical and serological study
The application of variety of virological techniques to the study of Wesselsbron virus hos resulted in the compiling of much worthwhile information on the biophysical, biochemical and serological properties of this virus. Wesselsbron virus , like most arboviruses, showed marked sensitivity to the …
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