Seroepidemiology of human papillomavirus type 11 in the United States: results from the third National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, 1991--1994.

Objectives: The national seroprevalence of the nononcogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) type 11, one of the types targeted by the quadrivalent HPV vaccine, has not been evaluated in the United States. The objectives of this study were to estimate the national seroprevalence and evaluate predictors of HPV-11 seropositivity.

Study Design: We tested serum samples for HPV-11 antibodies and analyzed questionnaire data from the second phase of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1991--1994.

Perception versus polysomnographic assessment of sleep in CFS and non-fatigued control subjects: results from a population-based study.

Background: Complaints of unrefreshing sleep are a prominent component of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); yet, polysomnographic studies have not consistently documented sleep abnormalities in CFS patients. We conducted this study to determine whether alterations in objective sleep characteristics are associated with subjective measures of poor sleep quality in persons with CFS.

Methods: We examined the relationship between perceived sleep quality and polysomnographic measures of nighttime and daytime sleep in 35 people with CFS and 40 non-fatigued control subjects, identified from the general population of Wichita, Kansas and defined by empiric criteria.

Effect of storage temperatures on the stability of cytokines in cervical mucous.

Cytokines have progressively come to serve as indicators for the presence or severity of a disease. But accurate measurement of cytokine levels can be deterred by lack of proper handling and storage of the samples. In this study, we attempted to measure the effect of snap-freezing and refrigeration at the time of collection on cervical mucous.

Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

These recommendations represent the first statement by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on the use of a quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 8, 2006.

Prevalence of HPV infection among females in the United States.

Context: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is estimated to be the most common sexually transmitted infection. Baseline population prevalence data for HPV infection in the United States before widespread availability of a prophylactic HPV vaccine would be useful.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of HPV among females in the United States.

Evaluation of RNA markers for early detection of cervical neoplasia in exfoliated cervical cells.

Numerous molecular biomarkers have been suggested for early detection of cervical cancer, but their usefulness in routinely collected exfoliated cells remains uncertain. We used quantitative reverse transcription-PCR to evaluate expression of 40 candidate genes as markers for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in exfoliated cervical cells collected at the time of colposcopy. Samples from the 93 women with CIN3 or cancer were compared with those from 186 women without disease matched (1:2) for age, race, and high-risk human papillomavirus status.

Cervical cancer incidence in a prevaccine era in the United States, 1998-2002.

Objective: To report the incidence of cervical cancer by geography, race or ethnicity, and histology.

Methods: We examined combined data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program covering 87% of the U.S.

Sleep characteristics of persons with chronic fatigue syndrome and non-fatigued controls: results from a population-based study.

Background: The etiology and pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remain inchoate. Attempts to elucidate the pathophysiology must consider sleep physiology, as unrefreshing sleep is the most commonly reported of the 8 case-defining symptoms of CFS. Although published studies have consistently reported inefficient sleep and documented a variable occurrence of previously undiagnosed primary sleep disorders, they have not identified characteristic disturbances in sleep architecture or a distinctive pattern of polysomnographic abnormalities associated with CFS.

Early adverse experience and risk for chronic fatigue syndrome: results from a population-based study.

Context: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an important public health problem. The causes of CFS are unknown and effective prevention strategies remain elusive. A growing literature suggests that early adverse experience increases the risk for a range of negative health outcomes, including fatiguing illnesses.

Quantitation of site-specific HPV 16 DNA methylation by pyrosequencing.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary but insufficient cause of cervical cancer. Factors influencing transcription, such as epigenetic silencing through viral DNA methylation, may impact neoplastic progression. Pyrosequencing technology was applied to quantify methylation at 19 cytosine guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites in the L1 3' and long control region (LCR) of HPV 16 DNA using cell lines, CaSki ( approximately 400 integrated copies of HPV 16) and SiHa (1-2 integrated copies of HPV 16) that differ in their transcriptional activity.

Simultaneous amplification and identification of 25 human papillomavirus types with Templex technology.

The majority of existing human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping assays are based on multiplex PCR using consensus or degenerate primers. We developed a Templex HPV assay that simultaneously detects and identifies 25 common HPV genotypes in a single-tube reaction using type-specific primers for the HPV-specific E6 and E7 genes. The analytical sensitivities of the Templex assay for HPV type 16 (HPV-16), -18, and -56 were 20, 100, and 20 copies per reaction mixture, respectively.

Human papillomavirus in amniotic fluid.

Background: There is evidence to suggest that human papillomavirus (HPV) can cross the placenta resulting in in-utero transmission. The goal of this study was to determine if HPV can be detected in amniotic fluid from women with intact amniotic membranes.

Methods: Residual amniotic fluid and cultured cell pellets from amniocentesis performed for prenatal diagnosis were used.

Longitudinal measures of human papillomavirus 6 and 11 viral loads and antibody response in children with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

Objectives: To measure human papillomavirus (HPV) 6 and 11 viral load and antibody response in longitudinal specimens obtained from children with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis and to examine the association of type-specific viral load with clinical severity of disease.

Design: Longitudinal pilot study with a median follow-up of 5.4 months.

Human papillomavirus type 16 variant assignment by pyrosequencing.

Polymorphisms in human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) result in variants from the prototype sequence which can be designated according to geographic distribution and are broadly classified as European (E), African (Af), Asian (As), or Asian-American (AA). Detection of variants has been used to distinguish persistent HPV16 infection from re-infection in natural history studies, and variants have been associated with an increased risk of cervical disease in some populations. Variant determination usually relies on conventional Sanger sequencing of regions of the viral genome, with the major variant group assignments requiring the sequencing of only seven polymorphic sites spread over a 242-bp region of the E6 gene.

Coping styles in people with chronic fatigue syndrome identified from the general population of Wichita, KS.

Objective: Studies of primary and tertiary care patients suggest that maladaptive coping styles contribute to the pathogenesis and maintenance of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We assessed coping styles in persons with unexplained fatigue and nonfatigued controls in a population-based study.

Methods: We enrolled 43 subjects meeting the 1994 Research Case Definition of CFS, matching them with 61 subjects with chronic unexplained fatigue who did not meet criteria for CFS [we term them insufficient symptoms or fatigue (ISF)] and 60 non-ill (NI) controls.

Exploration of statistical dependence between illness parameters using the entropy correlation coefficient.

Unlabelled: The entropy correlation coefficient (ECC) is a useful tool for measuring statistical dependence between variables. We employed this tool to search for pairs of variables that correlated in the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) Computational Challenge dataset. Highly related variables are candidates for data reduction, and novel relationships could lead to hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of CFS.

Identifying illness parameters in fatiguing syndromes using classical projection methods.

Objectives: To examine the potential of multivariate projection methods in identifying common patterns of change in clinical and gene expression data that capture the illness state of subjects with unexplained fatigue and nonfatigued control participants.

Methods: Data for 111 female subjects was examined. A total of 59 indicators, including multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI), medical outcome Short Form 36 (SF-36), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) symptom inventory and cognitive response described illness.

Gene expression correlates of unexplained fatigue.

Quantitative trait analysis (QTA) can be used to test whether the expression of a particular gene significantly correlates with some ordinal variable. To limit the number of false discoveries in the gene list, a multivariate permutation test can also be performed. The purpose of this study is to identify peripheral blood gene expression correlates of fatigue using quantitative trait analysis on gene expression data from 20,000 genes and fatigue traits measured using the multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI).

Effect of specimen order on Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae test performance and adequacy of Papanicolaou smear.

Study Objective: To evaluate the effect of specimen collection order on the performance of diagnostic tests for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC), and the specimen adequacy of ThinPrep Papanicolaou (Pap) smears.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Public adolescent clinic.

DNA and RNA references for qRT-PCR assays in exfoliated cervical cells.

The noncritical use of housekeeping genes, RNA mass, or cell number for normalization in quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays has come under scrutiny in recent years, highlighting the need to evaluate references in the immediate context of the relevant samples and experimental design. The purpose of this study was to select appropriate references for normalizing qRT-PCR assays of gene expression in exfoliated cervical cells. We used total nucleic acid extracts from 30 samples, representing the full spectrum of pre-invasive cervical neoplasia.

Chronic fatigue syndrome--a clinically empirical approach to its definition and study.

Background: The lack of standardized criteria for defining chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has constrained research. The objective of this study was to apply the 1994 CFS criteria by standardized reproducible criteria.

Methods: This population-based case control study enrolled 227 adults identified from the population of Wichita with: (1) CFS (n = 58); (2) non-fatigued controls matched to CFS on sex, race, age and body mass index (n = 55); (3) persons with medically unexplained fatigue not CFS, which we term ISF (n = 59); (4) CFS accompanied by melancholic depression (n = 27); and (5) ISF plus melancholic depression (n = 28).

Correlates of cervical mucosal antibodies to human papillomavirus 16: results from a case control study.

Background: While the cervical mucosal immune response to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is believed to be central to viral clearance, it is not well characterized. We performed this analysis to determine correlates of HPV-16-specific mucosal antibody response in women at high risk for infection with HPV.

Methods: Cervical mucosal and serum samples were obtained from participants in a case control study that measured demographic risk factors of cervical disease and HPV infection.

Association of Chlamydia trachomatis with persistence of high-risk types of human papillomavirus in a cohort of female adolescents.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary but not sufficient cause of cervical cancer. While chlamydia infection has been associated with cervical cancer, the meaning of this association remains unclear. The authors' objective was to investigate this association by evaluating whether concurrent genital tract infections are associated with HPV persistence, a precursor to cervical cancer.

Psychometric properties of the CDC Symptom Inventory for assessment of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Objectives: Validated or standardized self-report questionnaires used in research studies and clinical evaluation of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) generally focus on the assessment of fatigue. There are relatively few published questionnaires that evaluate case defining and other accompanying symptoms in CFS. This paper introduces the self-report CDC CFS Symptom Inventory and analyzes its psychometric properties.