Constructing the Vulvar Pain Assessment Questionnaire Inventory

The goals of this program of research were to examine the link between self-reported vulvar pain and clinical diagnoses, and to create a user-friendly assessment tool to aid in that process. These goals were undertaken through a series of four empirical studies (Chapters 2-6): one archival study, two online studies, and one study conducted in a Women’s Health clinic. In Chapter 2, the link between self-report and clinical diagnosis was confirmed by extracting data from multiple studies conducted in the Sexual Health Research Laboratory over the course of several years. We demonstrated the accuracy of diagnosis based on multiple factors, and explored the varied gynecological presentation of different diagnostic groups. Chapter 3 was based on an online study designed to create the Vulvar Pain Assessment Questionnaire (VPAQ) inventory. Following the construct validation approach, a large pool of potential items was created to capture a broad selection of vulvar pain symptoms. Nearly 300 participants completed the entire item pool, and a series of factor analyses were utilized to narrow down the items and create scales/subscales. Relationships were computed among subscales and validated scales to establish convergent and discriminant validity. Chapters 4 and 5 were conducted in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University. The brief screening version of the VPAQ was employed with patients of the Program in Vulvar Health at the Center for Women’s Health. The accuracy and usefulness of the VPAQscreen was determined from the perspective of patients as well as their health care providers, and the treatment-seeking experiences of patients was explored. Finally, a second online study was conducted to confirm the factor structure, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the VPAQ inventory. The results presented in these chapters confirm the link between targeted questions and accurate diagnoses, and provide a guideline that is useful and accessible for providers and patients.

Impaired GABA Plasticity at ovBNST Synapses Predicts Compulsive Drinking in Schedule-Induced Polydipsia

Schedule-Induced Polydipsia (SIP) is an animal model of adjunctive drinking induced when a hungry rat receives food on a fixed interval of time. This model has been implemented as a model of compulsive behaviour and may represent a powerful tool to understand the neural mechanisms of compulsion. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is thought to translate challenges to energy homeostasis into consummatory behaviours, and is therefore likely to contribute to drinking behaviours displayed by food restricted rats in the SIP paradigm. Furthermore, the BNST seems implicated in various compulsive behaviors, including compulsive water drinking in rats. Therefore, the goal of this project was to determine whether compulsive drinking in the SIP paradigm was associated with alterations in transmission at oval BNST (ovBNST) synapses. Rats undergoing the SIP procedure had restricted food access (1-hours/day) for a total of 29 days. After 7 days of food restriction and for the next 21 consecutive days, the rats had daily 2-hour access to operant conditioning chambers where they were presented with a 45-mg food pellet every minute. Water consumed during these 2-hour sessions was measured and the rats that drank 15 ml or more water for a minimum of 3 consecutive days were considered High Drinkers (HD; n=17) or otherwise, Low Drinkers (LD; n=13). Brain slices whole-cell patch clamp recordings conducted 18-hours after the last SIP training showed that chronic food restriction changed low frequency stimulation (LFS) - induced long-term potentiation of ovBNST inhibitory synaptic transmission (iLTP) into LFS - induced long-term depression (iLTD) in a majority of neurons, regardless of drinking behaviours. However, ad libitum access to food between the last day of SIP training and brain slice recordings (18-hour refeed) rescued LFS-induced iLTP in LD but not in HD, suggesting that impaired bi-directional plasticity of ovBNST synapses may contribute to compulsive drinking in the SIP paradigm.

Alteration mineralogy and pathfinder element inventory of the McArthur River unconformity-related uranium deposit, Canada

The chemical compositions, modal mineralogy, and textural variability of interstitial minerals in sandstones of the Athabasca Group strata in the vicinity of the McArthur River unconformity-related uranium deposit were characterized using a combination of short wave infrared spectroscopy (SWIR), lithogeochemistry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and laser ablation mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to determine the residence sites of pathfinder trace elements. The importance of integrating in-situ mineral chemistry with whole-rock analyses resides in the possibility to establish the mineralogical and paragenetic context of geochemical signatures in defining the footprint of the deposit. Located in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, the deposit is situated below ~550 m of quartz arenitic sandstones that are strongly silicified between depths of approximately 200-400 m. The silicified layer exhibits significant control on the distribution of alteration minerals, and appears to have restricted both the primary and secondary dispersion of pathfinder trace elements, which include U, radiogenic Pb isotopes, V, Ni, Co, Cu, Mo, As, Zn, and REEs. Diagenetic background sandstones contain assemblages of illite, dickite, aluminum-phosphate-sulfate (APS) minerals, apatite, and Fe-Ti oxide minerals. Altered sandstones contain assemblages of Al-Mg chlorite (sudoite), alkali-deficient dravite, APS minerals, kaolinite, illite, and oxide minerals. Throughout the sandstones, APS minerals account for the majority of the Sr and LREE concentrations, whereas late pre-ore chlorite, containing up to 0.1 wt.% Ni, accounts for the majority of Ni concentrations. Cobalt, Cu, Mo, and Zn occur predominantly in cryptic sub-micron sulfide and sulfarsenide inclusions in clay mineral aggregates and in association with paragenetically-late Fe-Ti oxides. Uranium occurs predominantly in cryptic micro-inclusions associated with pyrite in late-stage quartz overgrowths, and with paragenetically late Fe-Ti oxide micro-inclusions in kaolinite. Additionally, up to 0.2 wt.% U is cryptically distributed in post-ore Fe-oxide veins. Early diagenetic apatite, monazite and apatite inclusions in detrital quartz, and detrital zircon also contribute significant U and HREE to samples analyzed with an aggressive leach such as Aqua Regia. Detailed LA-ICP-MS chemical mapping of interstitial assemblages, detrital grains, and cements provides new insights into the distribution and inventory of pathfinder elements in the footprint of the McArthur River uranium deposit.