{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T18:55:13Z","timestamp":1784573713745,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"ASME International","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,28]],"date-time":"2020-02-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1582848000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.asme.org\/publications-submissions\/publishing-information\/legal-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["asmedigitalcollection.asme.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a condition characterized by displacement of the vagina from its normal anatomical position leading to symptoms such as incontinence, physical discomfort, and poor self-image. Conservative treatment has shown limited success and surgical procedures, including the use of mesh, often lead to severe complications. To improve the current treatment methods for prolapse, the viscoelastic properties of vaginal tissue need to be characterized. We determined the biaxial stress relaxation response of vaginal tissue isolated from healthy pubertal gilts. Square specimens (n\u2009=\u200920) with sides aligned along the longitudinal directions (LD) and circumferential direction (CD) of the vagina were biaxially displaced up to 5\u2009N. The specimens were then kept at the displacements corresponding to 5\u2009N for 20\u2009min in both the LD and CD, and the corresponding strains were measured using digital image correlation (DIC). The stresses in the LD and CD were found to decrease by 49.91\u2009\u00b1\u20095.81% and 46.22\u2009\u00b1\u20095.54% after 20\u2009min, respectively. The strain in the LD and CD increased slightly from 0.080\u2009\u00b1\u20090.054 to 0.091\u2009\u00b1\u20090.064 and 0.050\u2009\u00b1\u20090.039 to 0.058\u2009\u00b1\u20090.047, respectively, but these changes were not significant (p\u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.01). By using the Peleg model, the initial decay rate and the asymptotic stress during stress relaxation were found to be significantly higher in the LD than in the CD (p\u226a0.001), suggesting higher stress relaxation in the LD. These findings may have implications for improving current surgical mesh, mechanical devices, and physical therapy used for prolapse treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1115\/1.4045707","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,12,13]],"date-time":"2019-12-13T10:52:36Z","timestamp":1576234356000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1115\/crossmarkpolicy-asme","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Biaxial Stress Relaxation of Vaginal Tissue in Pubertal Gilts"],"prefix":"10.1115","volume":"142","author":[{"given":"Erica","family":"Pack","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061; STRETCH Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, and School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Justin","family":"Dubik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"STRETCH Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"William","family":"Snyder","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"STRETCH Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Simon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sherrie","family":"Clark","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raffaella","family":"De Vita","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"STRETCH Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"33","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,28]]},"reference":[{"issue":"11","key":"2020030206293547900_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1783","DOI":"10.1007\/s00192-013-2169-9","article-title":"Epidemiology and Outcome Assessment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse","volume":"24","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. 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