Type distribution, viral load and integration status of high-risk human papillomaviruses in pre-stages of cervical cancer (CIN)

A series of 176 archival cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) was analysed for the presence, viral load and integration status of ‘high-risk' types of human papillomavirus (HR-HPV). The samples were assayed using newly developed methods based on real-time PCR. Two methods for the extraction of DNA from the paraffin-embedded biopsies were compared: a protocol based on the MagNA pure system (Roche) and a Qiagen spin column kit (Qiagen). It was possible to amplify 94% (166) of the samples. Of these, 36, 63 and 80% of the CIN I, II and III cases contained HR-HPV. HPV 16 was the most prevalent, and was found in 20, 28 and 46% of the CIN I, II and III cases, respectively. The second most frequent HR-HPV was type 33 group, and in CIN II it was as prevalent as HPV 16. The median number of copies of HR-HPV per cell was not significantly different in the CIN I, II and III cases, but there was a wide range of viral load values over several magnitudes, regardless of the grade of CIN. All samples were found to contain integrated forms of HPV 16, frequently mixed with an episomal form

Frequent gain of the human telomerase gene TERC at 3q26 in cervical adenocarcinomas

The level of genomic amplification of the human telomerase gene TERC, which maps to chromosome band 3q26, was determined in primary cervical adenocarcinomas. Interphase nuclei prepared from archival material of 12 primary cervical adenocarcinomas, eight of which were human papillomavirus positive, were hybridised with a triple colour probe set specific for centromeres of chromosomes 3 and 7 and the TERC gene. We observed high proportions of nuclei with increased absolute copy numbers for TERC in all tumours (mean 3.3; range 2.3–5.2). Amplification of the human telomerase gene TERC is a consistent aberration in cervical adenocarcinomas. Therefore, application of our probe set may provide an objective genetic test for the assessment of glandular cells in Pap smears and hence for the diagnosis of cervical adenocarcinomas

Mapping Gender in Academic Workplaces : Ways of reproducing gender inequality within the discourse of equality

Sweden is often described as one of the best countries in the world for women to live in. Despite this and despite a number of equal opportunity interventions within the area of higher education from the mid 1990s and on, Sweden follows the international pattern of the "leaking pipeline" when it comes to gender distribution in academia. The higher up in the academic hierarchy the more men and the fewer women. The topic of this thesis is mapping gender in academic workplaces. The aim is to explore ways in which the social relations of researchers everyday working lives are gendered. This involves studing ways in which gender inequality is produced, maintained or ignored within the discource of gender equality in Swedish academic workplaces and in Swedish society at large