Evaluation of p16INK4a immunostaining for the detection of high-grade changes in cervical cytology.

Since its introduction in Australia in 2007, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has led to a markedly lower prevalence of vaccine targeted HPV genotype infections as well as HPV disease including genital warts and histologically confirmed high-grade (HG) cervical abnormalities. To increase the ability to identify abnormal cells in lower prevalence, adjunct markers can be incorporated to improve the sensitivity and specificity of cytology test. One such marker is p16(p16), which is detectable in cells expressing the E7 oncogene encoded by high-risk HPVs (HR-HPV).

Investigating a cluster of vulvar cancers in young women: distribution of human papillomavirus and HPV-16 variants in vulvar dysplastic or neoplastic biopsies.

Background: A high incidence of vulvar cancer, and its precursor lesion, high-grade vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) has been identified in young Indigenous women living in the Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. This clustering is restricted to women aged <50 years, suggesting that oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) is a key causal factor. This study compared the HPV genotype prevalence, HPV-16 variant distribution and p16(INK4a)expression in stored vulvar cancer and high-grade VIN biopsy specimens from women residing in Arnhem Land, with specimens taken from Indigenous and non-Indigenous women in other regions of NT where there is no observed increase in vulvar cancer incidence.

Investigating a cluster of vulvar cancer in young women: a cross-sectional study of genital human papillomavirus prevalence.

Background: Vulvar cancer is a relatively rare malignancy, which occurs most often in postmenopausal women. We have previously identified a geographic cluster of vulvar cancer in young Indigenous women living in remote communities in the Arnhem Land region of Australia. In this population, we investigated the prevalence of oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in anogenital samples (vulvar/vaginal/perianal area and cervix) and compared the overall, type-specific and multiple infection prevalence between sites.

Additive and interactive effects in semantic priming: Isolating lexical and decision processes in the lexical decision task.

The present study sheds light on the interplay between lexical and decision processes in the lexical decision task by exploring the effects of lexical decision difficulty on semantic priming effects. In 2 experiments, we increased lexical decision difficulty by either using transposed letter wordlike nonword distracters (e.g.

Comparison of the INNO-LiPA and PapType assays for detection of human papillomavirus in archival vulva dysplasia and/or neoplasia tissue biopsy specimens.

INNO-LiPA and PapType human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping assays were compared for detection of HPV genotypes on archival vulvar tissue. The INNO-LiPA assay detected 49 HPV-16 infections, compared with 47 detected by the PapType assay. The INNO-LiPA assay detected amplifiable DNA in 59 (91%) biopsy specimens, compared with 57 (88%) specimens for which amplifiable DNA was detected by the PapType assay.

Is more always better? Effects of semantic richness on lexical decision, speeded pronunciation, and semantic classification.

Evidence from large-scale studies (Pexman, Hargreaves, Siakaluk, Bodner, & Pope, 2008) suggests that semantic richness, a multidimensional construct reflecting the extent of variability in the information associated with a word's meaning, facilitates visual word recognition. Specifically, recognition is better for words that (1) have more semantic neighbors, (2) possess referents with more features, and (3) are associated with more contexts. The present study extends Pexman et al.

Development and evaluation of an ompA quantitative real-time PCR assay for Chlamydia trachomatis serovar determination.

Knowledge of circulating Chlamydia trachomatis serovars can be beneficial for sexual network surveillance, monitoring treatment success, and associating specific clinical manifestations. Typically, C. trachomatis serovars are predicted by nucleotide sequencing of four variable domains within the ompA gene.

Human papillomavirus genotyping using archival vulval dysplastic or neoplastic biopsy tissues: comparison between the INNO-LiPA and linear array assays.

The Roche Linear Array (LA) and Innogenetics INNO-LiPA human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping assays were compared for paraffin-embedded vulval tissues. The LA detected amplifiable DNA in 28 (57%) out of 49 biopsy specimens, 20 (40%) being HPV genotyped, compared to 49 (100%) and 41 (83%), respectively, detected by the INNO-LiPA. The INNO-LiPA provides greater sensitivity for HPV genotyping in archival tissue.

Absence of a Chlamydia trachomatis variant, harbouring a deletion in the cryptic plasmid, in clients of a sexually transmissible infection clinic and antenatal patients in Melbourne.

A Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) variant, harbouring a 377 bp deletion in the cryptic plasmid, recently identified in Europe, has caused false-negative reporting of CT infections by various assays. This report is aimed at identifying whether this variant is present among clients of a sexual health clinic, or antenatal screening patients in Melbourne. Two hundred CT-positive specimens (by BDProbeTec ET assay) from Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (August 2005-November 2006) were tested by COBAS TaqMan 48 PCR assay.