Human papillomavirus (HPV), a small, nonenveloped, double-stranded DNA virus, is established as the key etiological factor in cervical neoplasms (24,29,30). More than 90% of cervical neoplasms are attributed to HPV infection. Persistence of high-risk HPV types is a major risk factor for the development of high-risk cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) (9). Although the regression of HPV infection commonly takes place within 3 years, compelling evidence indicated that a small but definite fraction of the infected population is at risk for developing invasive cervical cancer after many years or decades of a long latency period of primary infection (3,10,14).Currently, HPV DNA testing has played a triage role for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), primary screening in conjunction with cytology for the detection of cervical cancer and CIN, and follow-up in a variety of clinical settings (4,15,16,18,25).HPV DNA detection by the FDA-approved Hybrid Capture II HPV DNA test (HCII) (Digene Corporation, Gaithersburg, MD) is the most widely used method. The HCII system, a commercial liquid hybridization kit using RNA probes against HPV DNA genomic targets followed by signal amplification, has been validated for its reproducibility in HPV DNA detection (18,26,29). Thirteen carcinogenic types implicated in the pathogenesis of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) and invasive cancer, such as HPV type 16 (HPV

This study aimed to evaluate whether quantitation of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) E6 messenger RNA (mRNA) can be a potential biomarker for detecting the severity of cervical lesions. HPV genotyping was performed using a modified MY11/ GP61 PCR for HPV DNA amplification, followed by HPV genotype-specific hybridization with on a gene chip. E6 type-specific PCR was used to validate multiple infections. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase (QRT-PCR) and real-time PCR used to measure mRNA levels and DNA viral loads of 6 HPV oncogenic types (HPV 16,18,31,33, 52 and 58) in 720 liquid-based cytology samples. The HPV DNA and RNA measurements were correlated with cervical lesions diagnosed by histopathologic examination. mRNA transcripts in the 6 types HPV DNA-positive cases was lower in normal women and

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The present study aimed to evaluate a novel fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay for detecting the high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) DNA and signal pattern in cervical cytology specimens and for identifying cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions. One hundred and ninety-six liquid-based cytology specimens with CIN were recruited. The signal pattern (punctate, mixed punctate and diffuse, and diffuse) detected by FISH was compared with E6 mRNA and correlated with histological classification. FISH and E6-type specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) had fair to good agreement for detecting HPV DNA across all grades of CIN (kappa coefficient, 0.37-0.73). Among 44 samples of negative FISH and positive E6 type-specific PCR in HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 52 and 58, 82% (36/44) of E6 mRNA were not detected, in contrast to 41% (48/118) of positive FISH and positive E6 type-specific PCR (p <0.0001). Among HR-HPV DNA positive cases tested by the FISH assay, the specificity of predicting CIN3 using the punctuate pattern is higher than that using E6 mRNA (96.3% vs. 44.8%). The punctate pattern was 0% in patients with

Whether torture is justifiable or feasible is a long-lasting debate between consequentialists and deontologists which involves human morality and ethics. This essay evaluates the legitimacy and feasibility of torture, examining the reasoning behind both utilitarian and deontological approaches. The essay is based on a thought experiment: the ticking bomb scenario, in which a terrorist places a bomb that can kill the city's entire population, and the terrorist is captured by the police. The dilemma here is to determine whether we should torture the criminal to save the people in the city. Our discussion expands on Michael Moore's idea of threshold deontology, verifying the rationality of his reasoning. We conclude that torture is never morally justified, so it should be prohibited. However, defendants should have the justification of necessity.