BACKGROUND:HLA matching in kidney transplantation is a major factor in long-term survival of the graft. In Saudi Arabia, most deceased donors are non-Saudi, making it difficult to achieve minimal HLA mismatches between donor and recipient.OBJECTIVE:To analyze HLA types of 200 deceased donors and compare them with the Saudi population's HLA types.MATERIALS AND METHODS:In a retrospective study analyzing HLA types of the last 398 deceased donors processed in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, HLA types of all donors were compared with HLA types from a control group of healthy Saudi persons.RESULTS:HLA types were significantly different between the deceased donor group and the Saudi population. In all deceased donors, zero mismatches was never achieved. The major differences in HLA types were in HLA-A*02, HLA-B*15, B*40, B*50, HLA-DRB1*14, DRB1*15, and DRB1*04.CONCLUSIONS:As most of our deceased donors are non-Saudis, it is difficult to match for HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR. HLA matching should be attempted nationwide by adopting different strategies, including typing donors centrally and distributing results to all centers, agreeing on a national point system for allocating organs from deceased donors, and making HLA matching a priority, especially for highly sensitized patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by humoral autoimmunity. The etiology of SLE is thought to be multifactorial including environmental, hormonal, and genetic factors. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) has extensively been associated with the susceptibility to SLE; however, the association is heterogeneous among different ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to determine the association of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQB1 with SLE susceptibility in the Saudi population.DESIGN AND SETTINGS:A total of 86 consecutive SLE patients attending the rheumatology clinic at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, were recruited for this study.METHODS:HLA types were determined by the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotide (PCR-SSP) method in 86 patients and 356 control subjects.RESULTS:The following HLA alleles were found to be positively associated with SLE: HLA-A*29 (OR=2.70; 95% CI=1.03-7.08; P=.0035), HLA-B*51 (OR=1.81; 95% CI=1.17-2.79; P=.0066), HLA-DRB1*15 (OR=1.45; 95% CI=0.98-2.29; P=.063), and HLA-DQB1*06 (OR=1.67; 95% CI=1.19-2.36; P=.0032), whereas HLA-DRB1*16 was negatively associated with the disease (OR=0.18; 95% CI=0.02-1.3; P=.055). HLA-DRB1*15 haplotypes were significantly associated with SLE (OR=2.01, 95% CI=1.20-3.68, P=.008); this was mainly due to the HLADRB1*15-DQB1*06 association.CONCLUSIONS:Our data suggest an association between MHC class I and class II (HLA-A*29, HLA-B*51, HLA-DRB1*15, and HLA-DQB1*06) and susceptibility to SLE in the Saudi population. HLA-DRB1*15-DQB1*06 haplotype showed the highest risk factor for the disease that is similar to what was seen in the African American patients, suggesting shared susceptibility genetic factors among these ethnic groups.

Aim HLA matching in kidney transplantation is a major factor in long term survival of the graft. In Saudi Arabia, the majority of deceased donors (DD) are non-Saudi, making it difficult to achieve minimal HLA mismatches between the donor and the recipient. The aim of this study was to analyze HLA types of 200 DD and compare it with that of the Saudi population. Methods This is a retrospective study analyzing HLA types of the last 200 deceased donors processed at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. Results of the HLA types of all donors were compared with HLA types form our control panel of healthy Saudi cohort. Results HLA types were significantly different between the deceased donor group and the Saudi cohort. In all deceased donors, we never achieved a recipient who is 6/6 HLA zero mismatches. The major differences in HLA types were in HLA-A∗02 (14% in DD vs 30% in Saudi controls), B∗15 (16% in DD vs 5% in Saudi controls), B∗40 (9% in DD vs 2% in Saudi controls), B∗50 (4% in DD vs 19% in Saudi controls), DRB1∗14 (5% in DD vs 1% in Saudi controls), DRB1∗15 (21% in DD vs 13% in Saudi controls) and in DRB1∗04 (10% in DD vs 19% in Saudi controls). Conclusions As most of our DD are non-Saudis this makes it difficult to match for HLA-A, B and DR. HLA-DR matching should be attempted nationwide by adopting different strategies including typing donors centrally and distributing results to all centers, agreeing on a national point system for allocating DD organs.

The typing for HLA-C in transplantation was rather neglected in the past. However, several recent studies have emphasized its role in transplantation and its association with the outcome. Serological typing of HLA-C could identify only a limited number of HLA-C antigens, resulting in a number of HLA-C blanks. This was mainly due to the low expression of surface HLA-C and the small number of available specific anti-sera. Performing molecular methods has identified new HLA-C alleles and filled the blank of most serological typed antigens. In this study, we compared serological and molecular typing of HLA-C in two cohorts of healthy Saudis. Our serological typing method identified HLA-C1-7 with different frequencies, 23.5% of the alleles were not identified and thus defined as blank. Using the SSP molecular method, all samples were typed and all alleles were defined. Both methods showed that C∗07 and C∗06 have the highest frequency in the Saudi population. Our study emphasizes the importance of molecular methods in identifying all possible HLA-C alleles.

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) remains the fundamental procedure to treat many diseases. Its success depends greatly on the degree of HLA matching between donor and recipient. Although the number of successful HCT procedures carried out worldwide increases every year, many patients remain unable to receive this treatment because of the difficulty of finding an HLA-matching donor. In our center, we identified the HLA types for all HCT candidates and their siblings in an attempt to determine the chance of finding a full HLA-matching sibling. Overall, 60% of patients had a chance of finding an HLA-matching sibling. The chance of finding a matching sibling was 43% in patients aged birth to 5 years, compared with 68% in those aged 20+ years. In our Saudi population, patients in need of HCT have a greater chance of finding an HLA-matching sibling than is reported in most Western countries. This is mainly because of the larger number of siblings in most Saudi families. Younger children requiring HCT have a lesser chance of finding an HLA-matching sibling. Our data demonstrate that even in a country with relatively large families, it is still essential to consider alternative donor strategies, such as adult unrelated donors, unrelated umbilical cord blood units, and haploidentical donors.

Thermal desorption gas chromatograph mass spectrometry (TD GC/MS) was used to study weight loss in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The technique of thermal desorption utilizes the same temperature heating rate as the TGA to thermally desorb volatiles from solid sample matrices. Volatiles were cryo-trapped at −60°C. After thermal desorption is complete, the trapped volatiles are separated by a GC capillary column and identified by mass spectrometry. In this study, the TD GC/MS was applied in pharmaceutical development to understand the chemical reactions attributed to the weight loss in the thermal decomposition of two dicarboxylic acid salts of a drug substance. These two salts exhibited different thermal stabilities. The thermally induced chemical reactions obtained from these two salts included dehydration and decarboxylation. Thermal degradation compounds were identified and reaction pathways for decomposition were proposed. The stability of the salts is dependent on the identity of the dicarboxylic acids from which they were generated. The information obtained from TD GC/MS helps better understand the weight loss process in thermogravimetric analysis.

The Commonwealth has taken a particular interest in small states and has become the major advocate of their cause in the international system. This article traces the emergence of an interest in small states and the provision made within the Commonwealth to address their concerns. These are examined in outline and the core interests of small states are identified. Recent actions taken by the Commonwealth Secretariat to promote their interests are then examined in detail. Three areas are identified: advocacy of their cause through development of the concept of vulnerability; policy advice in governance and economic development, with a focus on the joint study with the World Bank on the economic problems of small states; and the provision of technical assistance in a broad array of projects. The conclusion identifies five reasons why the Commonwealth has taken a particular interest in small states and argues that it will continue to give them high priority.

There are two views of British policy toward the Commonwealth Caribbean. One, held most firmly by those with responsibility for British policy, is that Britain is fully engaged with the region and that it remains committed to its welfare. It is exemplified by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website which contains a section entitled ‘Britain's Special Relationship with the Caribbean’. The other, encountered in the Caribbean and by its diplomatic representatives in Britain, as well as by some of those in Britain who have close contact with the region, is that Britain has diluted its commitments and is in a long process of withdrawal from the region. It is exemplified in observations made from time to time by Caribbean High Commissioners in the UK, and none more so than Sir Ron Sanders, the former and current High Commissioner for Antigua and Barbuda who has written on Britain's lack of commitment to the Caribbean.

The parallel performance of the NWChem version 1.2α parallel direct-SCF code has been characterized on five massively parallel supercomputers (IBM SP, Kendall Square KSR-2, CRAY T3D and T3E, and Intel Touchstone DELTA) using single-point energy calculations on seven molecules of varying size (up to 389 atoms) and composition (first-row atoms, halogens, and transition metals). The authors compare the performance using both replicated-data and distributed-data algorithms and the original McMurchie-Davidson and recently incorporated TEXAS integrals packages.

The 1989 Children Act has consolidated and in some cases considerably extended the duties and responsibilities of social services departments. A major departure from earlier approaches is a central and explicit focus on the need for family support work, which is now to be undertaken within a broader framework than in the 1963 and 1980 legislation. In addition to the emphasis on providing services for children in their own families, there are new requirements for local authorities to work in partnership with voluntary agencies and other key statutory organisations, particularly health authorities and trusts.The 1989 Act needs to be reviewed in the context of parallel legislation, especially the NHS and Community Care Act (1990) which puts new emphasis on the process of planning, through the mandatory requirement for community care plans. Children's services plans are comparable although without mandatory requirement.A picture is slowly emerging of the extent to which social services departments, and health authorities and trusts are collaborating to plan and provide services. This paper outlines the new legislative framework; reviews the evidence available from the national study of the implementation of Section 17 of the Children Act (the 'children in need' clauses) on social services and health planning activities; reviews the SSI (1994) survey on children's service plans, providing a case example of policy and practice in one local authority; and assesses the progress made so far.

Dry flue gas desulfurization (FGD) byproducts result from the removal of SO2 from the stack gases of coal-fired boilers and are mixtures of coal fly-ash, CaS04 and unspent sorbent. Dry FGD byproducts frequently have neutralizing values greater than 50% CaC03 equivalency and thus have potential for neutralizing acid agricultural soils. Owing to the presence of soluble salts and various trace elements, however, soil application of dry FGD byproducts may have adverse effects on plant growth and soil and water quality. The use of a dry FGD by-product as a limestone substitute was investigated in a field study on three acid agricultural soils (pH 4.6,4.8, and 5.8) in eastern Ohio. The by-product (60% CaC03 equivalency) was applied in September, 1992, at rates of 0,0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times the lime requirement of the soils, and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) were planted. Soils were sampled in April, 1993 and analyzed for pH and water soluble concentrations of 28 elements. Soil pH was increased by all FGD rates in the zone of incorporation (0-10 an), with the highest rates giving a pH slightly above 7. At 10- to 20-cm, pH was increased from 4.7 to 5.2 in two soils; there was no effect on pH at 20- to 30-cm. Calcium, Mg, and S increased, and Al, Mn, and Fe decreased with increasing dry FGD application rates. No trace element concentrations were changed by dry FGD application except B which was increased in the zone of incorporation. Dry FGD increased alfalfa yield on the most acidic soil, and decreased corn grain yield on another soil. Application of dry FGD equivalent to the lime requirement of acid soils appears to be beneficial to acid-sensitive crops such as alfalfa. No detrimental effects on soil quality were observed in this study.

AbstractProcedures are given for determining the quantities of compounds to be used in preparing nutrient cultures which satisfy the requirements of quantitative plant nutrition experiments. In the example discussed the concentrations of N(as NH+4), P, and N(as NO−3) are specified exactly, while minimum concentrations are given for K and Mg. From a set of compounds containing the requisite nutrient elements, a recipe is obtained which satisfies the requirements while minimizing concentrations of Na and Cl. This formulation is achieved by an iterative procedure called linear programming which utilizes a tabular solution to the problem.

Six soils were cropped in the greenhouse with millet and Kenland red clover to determine the potassium-supplying power of the soils and the degree of correlation between the potassium removed by the crops and that extracted by four chemical methods. Potassium fertilizer was applied to determine the effect this would have on the potassium-supplying power. Potassium was extracted from moist and air-dry soil samples with 0.15N H2SO4, 1.38N H2SO4, 1N NH4Ac and 1N HNO3. The potassium extracted from moist soil samples correlated better than did air-dry soil samples with the amount of potassium removed from the soils by millet. The potassium extracted by 1N NH4Ac and 1.38N H2SO4 from moist soil samples correlated better than did air-dry soil samples with the amount of potassium removed from the soils by clover. The differences in potassium extracted from moist and dry samples were small for the 0.15N H2SO4 and 1N NH4Ac methods. The potassium extracted by 0.15N H2SO4 and 1N NH4Ac from air-dry soil samples and the potassium extracted by 1.38N H2SO4 from moist soils gave the best indexes for evaluating the potassium-supplying power of these soils.