The imprinting of the mouse Peg3 domain is controlled through a 4-kb genomic region encompassing the bidirectional promoter and 1 st exons of Peg3 and Usp29. In the current study, this ICR was inverted to test its orientation dependency for the transcriptional and imprinting control of the Peg3 domain. The inversion resulted in the exchange of promoters and 1 st exons between Peg3 and Usp29. Paternal transmission of this inversion caused 10-fold down-regulation of Peg3 and 2-fold up-regulation of Usp29 in neonatal heads, consistent with its original promoter strength in each direction. The paternal transmission also resulted in reduced body size among the animals, which was likely contributed by the dramatic down-regulation of Peg3. Transmission through either allele caused no changes in the DNA methylation and imprinting status of the Peg3 domain except that Zfp264 became bi-allelic through the maternal transmission. Overall, the current study suggests that the orientation of the Peg3-ICR may play no role in its allele-specific DNA methylation, but very critical for the transcriptional regulation of the entire imprinted domain.

OBJECTIVES Cervical cancer is a major disease burden in Vietnam. This study aimed to estimate the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer in Vietnam (1999-2017) in comparison to those in Korea, where a population-based cancer registry and national cervical cancer screening program have been implemented. METHODS The estimated incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in Vietnam and Korea (1999-2017) were collected from Global Burden of Disease 2017 study. Estimated age-standardized rates (ASRs) in both countries were calculated utilizing the 1999-2017 population of each country and the World Health Organization standard population. The reported ASRs in Korea were also computed using data on incidence and mortality (1999-2017) and the Korean population from the Korea Statistical Information Service. RESULTS In Vietnam, the estimated incidence and mortality of cervical cancer decreased annually by 0.84% and 1.01%. In Korea, the trend of reported incidence showed a dramatic drop (1999-2007 annual percent change [APC], -4.53%) before stably declining (2007-2017 APC, -2.71%). Reported mortality also significantly decreased (2003-2008 APC, -6.63%), and then maintained a stable decline (2008-2017 APC, -3.78%). The incidence and mortality rates were higher in Vietnam than in Korea. The declining trend of incidence and mortality in Vietnam was slower than the corresponding trends in Korea. CONCLUSIONS A national screening program should be implemented for Vietnamese women aged over 30 to maintain, or even hasten, the decline in cervical cancer incidence and mortality. A population-based cancer registry may help monitor the effectiveness of a cervical cancer screening program.

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Background: Prolonged fever is a challenge for clinicians in managing patients with HIV/AIDS. Their TCD4 counts can be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to determine several common etiologies of prolonged fever and their distribution in different TCD4 count levels in HIV/AIDS patients.Methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective and prospective study was conducted on 195 HIV/AIDS patients with fever of unknown origin admitted to National Hospital for Tropical Diseases from January 2016 to June 2019. Clinical parameters, immune status, and etiologies for each patient were recorded. Odds ratio was used to compare the distribution of common etiologies in two different TCD4 count levels, including <50 cells/mm3 and ≥50 cells/mm3.Results: The proportion of opportunistic infections and non-infectious etiologies was 93.3% and 3.6%, respectively. Tuberculosis was the most common opportunistic infection (46.7%), followed by Talaromycosis (29.2%) and Pneumocystis jiroveci (20.5%). Tuberculosis was predominant in all stratified CD4 levels. Most cases with Talaromycosis had CD4 counts below 50 cells/mm3. 53.8% of cases were infected by one pathogen. There was no difference between the number of concurrent etiologies and T-CD4 levels. Conclusions: Opportunistic infections, especially tuberculosis, are still the leading cause of prolonged fever in HIV/AIDS patients. Talaromyces marnefei should be screened in patients with CD4 <50 cells/mm3. This study implies that guidelines regarding providing the appropriate treatment for FUO-HIV patients based on the CD4 cells count should be developed that may reduce the burden of clinicians in managing HIV/AIDS patients.

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