One of the utilities of the human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing in clinical practice is test of cure following local ablative or excisional therapy for precursor cervical cancer lesions of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 and 3 (CIN2 and CIN3).In recent times, an increasing number of assays have been developed and are available for diagnostic and clinical use (7). Evaluation of such tests is important in order to assess not only their sensitivities and specificities compared to other more established commercial assays but also their clinical utility in detecting highrisk (HR) HPV genotypes and association to dysplastic or neoplastic changes in patients requiring treatment. Target amplification assays, such as Roche Amplicor (Amp) and Linear Array (LA), have a higher sensitivity for detection of high-grade lesion in the test-of-cure algorithm than the signal amplification-based assay, the Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) HPV test (3).In this study, the performance of the PapType HPV test in the detection of underlying CIN2 and CIN3 (Genera Biosystems Limited, Melbourne, Australia) was compared to those of the HC2 (using a threshold of 5,000 copies), AMP, and LA HPV assays. The PapType HPV test is a PCR-based qualitative in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test for the simultaneous detection and genotyping of 14 HR HPV genotypes and 2 low-risk (LR) HPV genotypes with an analytical sensitivity of 500 copies per reaction (PapType package insert). We utilized archival PreservCyt clinical specimens from a large cohort study aimed to evaluate the utility of HPV DNA in follow-up of women being treated for histologically proven highgrade dysplasia (3, 5).Stored frozen (unthawed) DNA previously extracted from PreservCyt samples using MagNA Pure LC (6) was tested using the PapType high-risk HPV detection and genotyping kit (Genera Biosystems Limited) according to the manufacturer's instructions and as described previously (8). The Paptype HPV test was performed with 5 l of DNA in a final reaction volume of 20 l. All testing was performed blinded to the results of HC2, Amp, and LA. The PapType HPV test results were subsequently compared to those from histology, HC2, Amp, and LA HPV tests, which were performed and reported previously (3,5). Statistical analyses were performed using 2-by-2 contingency tables, with two-sided P values calculated using Fisher's exact test. Agreement between tests was assessed by Cohen's kappa statistic. Confidence intervals (95% CI) for proportions were calculated using a two-tailed test and assuming a random sample of the population. Confidence intervals for HPV genotypes detected were calculated by the Pearson test using a Poisson distribution.Overall, 894 clinical specimens, comprising cytological scrapes with known contemporaneously collected histological results, were available for retesting with the PapType HPV test. Cytology clinical samples were obtained prior to treatment of patients. Overall, 10 specimens had negative internal controls and HPV and were removed from further analyse...

Objective To perform a preliminary usability evaluation of a novel, compact pneumatic compression device in patients with lymphoedema. Methods This open-label, single-arm trial had two phases: the first focused on the fitting of the pneumatic compression device (Aria FreeTM, Aria Health, San Diego CA, USA) and the second focused on evaluating the comfort of the entire system during a 45-min usage period. Both phases were conducted in a monitored clinical environment. Patients aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of lower limb lymphoedema who had used a pneumatic compression device for ≥3 months were eligible. Patients rated subjective fit, comfort and usability on an 11-point Likert scale (where higher scores indicate better fit/comfort/usability). The truncated cone method was used to infer limb volume before and after therapy in phase 2. Results Twenty-four patients were screened, and 15 were enrolled (80% female; mean age 62 years); all completed both study phases. Patients rated the garment as easy to set up and fit (median score 6.5), and all reported that the therapy was comfortable (median score 10; p < 0.001 vs. reference score of 6). There was a 1.85% reduction in limb volume after device use for 45 min ( p = 0.018 vs. before therapy). No safety issues were identified. Conclusions The new pneumatic compression device fitted well, was easy to use and reduced leg oedema.

Twenty male and 20 female undergraduates viewed photographs of 30 graduating women, 15 of whom had been rated as more and 15 as less physically attractive. The subjects answered a questionnaire in part of which they rated the likelihood that 10 statements concerning women's rights applied to the posers. Consistent with previous research, the likelihood ratings did not differ significantly between the more and less attractive women.