We modified and automated a highly sensitive chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) for surface antigen (HBsAg) detection using a combination of monoclonal antibodies, each for a specific epitope of HBsAg, and by improving an earlier conjugation technique. Of 471 hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers seen in our hospital between 2009 and 2012, 26 were HBsAg seronegative as determined by the Abb...

Screening blood donations for human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) continues to be important in protecting the safety of blood products and controlling the global spread of these retroviruses. We have developed a fully automated, third generation chemiluminescent immunoassay, ARCHITECT rHTLV-I/II, for detection of antibodies to HTLV-I/II. The assay utilizes recombinant proteins...

A maternal Toxoplasma gondii infection during pregnancy is a risk for congenital infection through maternal-fetal transplacental transmission. Estimation of the date of infection is of the utmost importance for management and treatment recommendations. In this setting, IgG avidity has been shown to be useful as high avidity rules out an infection dating less than 4 months. The estimated date of...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen has been proposed as a surrogate marker of HCV replication. HCV core antigen detection and quantification can thus theoretically be used instead of nucleic acid testing (NAT) to diagnose infection and manage antiviral therapy, with several advantages compared to HCV RNA assays. HCV core antigen can now be easily detected and quantified by means of...

Reverse sequence screening for syphilis (RSSS) (screening with treponemal tests, followed by confirmation with nontreponemal tests) has been increasingly adopted. CDC recommends confirmation of discordant results (reactive EIA/CIA and nonreactive nontreponemal test) with Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TP-PA). We characterized sera with discordant results from RSSS with Archite...

The Internet is quickly evolving towards the wireless Internet that will be based upon wirelines and devices from the traditional Internet, and will reuse some of its techniques and protocols. However, the wireless Internet will not be a simple add-on to the wireline Internet. From the technical point of view, new challenging problems arise from the handling of mobility, handsets with reduced s...

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Since the early 1970’s, Norman Breslow has made enormous contributions to statistical theory and its applications in epidemiology, and he was a founding member and principal statistician of the Wilms Tumor Study Group, which is credited with great improvements in the treatment and understanding of this disease. Applications of the biostatistical methods that Norm developed have been concentrate...

A collaboration approach is presented for the design negotiation of the architect and the structural engineer. This approach wants to instigate a design process where architectural shape and structure are designed simultaneously, and design decisions are made within the logics, objectives and culture of both disciplines together. Starting from the techniques of multidisciplinary design optimiza...