The aim of our study is to describe the prevalence of the different HPV types in women with pre-neoplastic lesions of the cervix in Greece. Cervical scrapes from 841 women were obtained for both cytological evaluation and analysis for the presence of HPV DNA. PCR was performed on specimens from these 841 women. The Pap test results were normal or showed benign cellular changes in 45.8% of the women, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) in 23.2%, low-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion (LSIL) in 27.9% and high-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion (HSIL) in 3.1%. HPV DNA was demonstrated in 23.6% of cytologically normal women. We detected HPV in 60% of the total samples. Of these, HPV-16 was the most common HPV DNA detected. Interestingly, HPV-58 was inversely correlated with positive cytological findings. A clear pattern of decreasing prevalence of HPV with age was also observed. Our results indicate that HPV infections, especially those with HPV-16, represent a significant public health concern in Greece.

Purpose of the Article Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, educational institutions had to utilize online platform solutions to deliver their curriculum. We conducted this study to explore participation and interactivity in a synchronous e-learning non-mandatory participation course in pathology at a medical school in Greece. The knowledge acquired is expected to be instrumental in the development of educational practices. Materials and Methods The data for this study were gathered through the recorded video archives of the synchronous e-lessons. We observed online participation at seven time points during each of the assessed e-lessons. Moreover, we identified and categorized the professor’s/students’ interactivity patterns according to content. Results The maximum number of students participating in the first e-lesson was N = 196. We recorded a reduction of N = 91 students, approximately 46%, in maximum student participants from the second observed e-lesson, and an additional decrease of N = 28 students, approximately 27%, from the third observation. Participation numbers continued to lessen. Even though there was a statistically significant difference in the mean percentage of students participating between the seven time points of each e-lesson, the difference in the mean percentage of students’ online participation between the seven e-lessons assessed was not statistically significant. This indicates a consistent e-audience. Evidence of interactivity was summarized in a table, and each professor–students interaction was classified according to its content. We found that the professor posed questions to his students every 2–5 minutes during every synchronous e-lesson and e-tutorial observed, and students wrote 3–6 answers in chat in response to each question. Students asked more questions as more synchronous e-learning classes took place, with limited exceptions. Conclusion From our perspective, our observations set the basis for further research to enhance our understanding of the aspects of the e-learning environment towards the formulation of policies for higher-quality education. Plain Text Our pathology department places high value on the quality of education that the medical students receive. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our department had to deploy e-learning modalities for curriculum delivery. Thus, we conducted this research to evaluate a pathology e-learning class in terms of students’ participation and the interactivity dynamics between them and the professor. We used statistics to measure participation during each e-lesson and identified recurring patterns of interactivity. We avoided imposing our predetermined interpretations of the data in this study so as to present an accurate depiction of the aspects of the e-learning environment. We were very pleased to identify a steady e-audience despite the drop-out rate from one e-lesson to the next, as well as strong, increasin...

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Background:Human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to be involved in the carcinogenesis of squamous cells in uterine cervix cancer, mostly by binding and inactivating the p53 and pRb tumor suppressor genes. Lately, evidence has emerged suggesting that HPV oncoproteins may interact with proteins involved in cellular apoptosis as well.Aim:This study aimed to investigate the expression of proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bak in women with low-risk and high-risk HPV types as opposed to HPV-negative women, and in women with normal pap smear compared to women with abnormal Papanicolau test (Pap) smear.Materials and Methods:A total of 120 liquid-based cervical samples were subtyped for HPV types with microarray hybridization and then stained and evaluated immunocytochemically for Bax and Bak expression. Statistical analysis was performed on the Bax and Bak scores (percentage of positive cells × staining intensity), the overall percentage of positive cells, and the most prevalent staining intensity group found in each sample.Results:A weak association between negative Bax staining and cytologically normal Pap smears was discovered, whereas cytologically abnormal samples tended to stain weakly or moderately positive. No other statistically significant difference was found in the other analyzed parameters.Conclusion:Cytologically normal pap smears seem to have a slight tendency to stain negative for Bax as opposed to cytologically abnormal pap smears. Although the association is weak, it is an indication that there might be a connection between the expression of Bax and the development of cervical intraepithelial dysplasia, which warrants further investigation in larger-scale studies.