Pattern of HPV infection in basal cell carcinoma and in perilesional skin biopsies from immunocompetent patients

Abstract Background: The association between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is not yet fully understood. We analysed the prevalence and spectrum of cutaneous beta-HPV types and mucosal/genital HPV types in paired biopsies (tumour and corresponding perilesional skin) obtained from 50 BCC immunocompetent patients. A small group of SCC patients (n=9) was also included. We also evaluated some previously postulated risk factors for HPV infection in NMSC patients. Results: All biopsies were negative for mucosal/genital HPV types. Overall, beta-HPV DNA was detected more often in SCC compared to BCC patients (78% vs 55% of total samples). The frequency of infection increased with the patient's age [OR=4.88 (95% CI 1.29-18.39)]. There was no significant correlation between beta-HPV positivity and sex, skin type and UV exposure. The prevalence of beta-HPV species 1 types was significantly higher than those belonging to other beta-HPV species in biopsies from BCC (p=0.022) but not from SCC subjects (p=0.091). There was no significant difference in the overall prevalence of beta-HPV infection and the number of viral types between tumour lesions and perilesional skin. BCC samples were significantly more likely to be infected with beta-HPV species 1 types compared to perilesional skin (p=0.036) and showed a higher frequency of mixed infections (p=0.028)

A QoS Concept for Packet Oriented S-UMTS Services

An approach by the IST FUTURE project to make packet based multimedia services feasible in a satellite based UMTS environment. Different QoS guaranteeing mechanisms are presented exploiting the terrestrial UMTS specification in order to achieve an integrated TS -UMTS. The focus is set on mechanisms for the access network, while the core network is only theoretically investigated in order to give an end-to-end QoS approach. For the access network, based on the UMTS specifications, algorithms for Connection Admission Control, Scheduling, Active Set Handling and Measurement Control have been proposed for an SUMTS environment