Quality improvement in community health centres: the role of microsystem characteristics in the implementation of a diabetes prevention initiative.

Objectives: To examine the role of microsystem characteristics in the translation of an evidence-based intervention (the Diabetes Prevention Initiative (DPI)) into practice in a community-health centre (CHC).

Design: Case study.

Analysis: Constant comparative method of qualitative analysis.

New HLA-A, -B, and -C locus-specific primers for PCR amplification from cDNA: application in clinical immunology.

The individual cellular immune response to intracellular antigens is modeled by the highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (HLA) class I molecules. The epitopes presented and the T cell repertoire that recognizes them depend on the HLA constitution of the individual. Therefore, to monitor and to modify an individual's HLA class I-driven cellular immune response, it is necessary to know the HLA class I alleles of the person and the possible epitopes of the target antigen presented by those alleles.

Clinical and immunological evaluation of patients with metastatic melanoma undergoing immunization with the HLA-Cw*0702-associated epitope MAGE-A12:170-178.

Patients with metastatic melanoma who expressed HLA-Cw*0702 and whose tumors had demonstrable MAGE-A12 expression were immunized with the peptide MAGE-A12:170-178 administered subcutaneously in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). The peptide was administered either every week or every 3 weeks for 4 cycles. Patients were evaluated for toxicity and for immunologic and clinical response to peptide immunization.