Growth of infants and young children born small or large for gestational age: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

An allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) assay for prenatal genotyping of the Kidd antigen system in order to identify pregnancies at risk for haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) was developed. Oligonucleotide primers were designed for ASPCR of JKA and JKB. A validation study was performed using DNA isolated from 54 serotyped whole blood samples and 8 amniocentesis samples. A concordance rate of 100 per cent was observed between serotyping and ASPCR detection of the JKA and JKB alleles. Experiments were conducted to quantify the maternal contamination that could be tolerated in Kidd ASPCR assays. The sensitivity of this assay ranged from 0.2 per cent when detecting the presence of JKB and JKA background, to 2 per cent for detecting the presence of JKA in a JKB background. This sensitive assay is particularly useful for rapid genotyping of fetal amniotic cells to identify pregnancies at risk for HDN due to incompatibilities within the Kidd blood group system.     

Vaporization of Protective Oxide Films into Different Gas Atmospheres

Oxidation of Metals - Vaporization often accompanies high-temperature oxidation and corrosion. In this review, vaporization under a vacuum as well as static gas and flowing gas conditions is...     

Rapid development of nucleic acid diagnostics

There has been a significant increase, fueled by technologies front the human genome project, in the availability of nucleic acid sequence information for viruses and bacteria. This paper presents a computer-assisted process that begins with nucleic acid sequence information and produces highly specific pathogen signatures. When combined with instrumentation using the polymerase chain reaction, the resulting diagnostics are both specific and sensitive. The computational and engineering aspects of converting raw sequence data into pathogen-specific and instrument-ready assays are presented. Examples and data are presented for specific pathogens, including foot-and-mouth disease virus and the human immunodeficiency virus.     

15N NMR spectroscopy as a method for comparing the rates of imidization of several diamines

The relative rates of the conversion of amide‐acid to imide were measured for a series or aromatic diamines that have been identified as potential replacements for 4,4′‐methylene dianiline (MDA) in high‐temperature polyimides and polymer composites. These rates were compared with the ¹⁵N NMR resonances of the unreacted amines. The initial rates of imidization track with the difference in chemical shift between the amine nitrogens in MDA and those in the subject diamines. This comparison demonstrated that ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy is appropriate for the rapid screening of candidate diamines to determine their reactivity relative to MDA, and can serve to provide guidance to the process of creating the time–temperature profiles used in processing these materials into polymer matrix composites. POLYM. COMPOS. 27:723–729, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers