Wageningen Evaluating Programmes for Analytical Laboratories (WEPAL).

The paper describes three of the Wageningen Evaluating Programmes for Analytical Laboratories (WEPAL). These include the analyses of numerous compounds and elements and different parameters such as inorganic chemical composition, organic matter, polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), organochlorine pesticides, some herbicides, heavy metals, particle size, and so on in soil, sediment, compost, manure, and sludge. One programme includes the analysis of inorganic chemical composition, nutritional values, and selected vitamins and amino acids in plant samples.

Assaying tumor necrosis factor concentrations in human serum. A WHO International Collaborative study.

A collaborative study involving several international research groups was conducted in order to test the validity and reproducibility of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) measurements in serum. 58 serum samples, nine of them spiked with recombinant human TNF, were aliquoted and distributed blindly to 11 different laboratories. 20 samples were obtained from cerebral malaria patients, 20 from septic shock patients, eight from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ten from normal blood donors.

Protodyne: an immunostimulatory protein component, prepared from gram-positive Bacillus subtilis.

A protein component derived from bacterial protoplasm, called Protodyne, increases the non-specific resistance to infections by bacteria and viruses. Here we show that Protodyne can be prepared not only from Gram-negative bacteria, but also from Gram-positive bacilli. Several preparations of Protodyne, prepared from Bacillus subtilis by phenol extraction or by ammonium sulfate precipitation, were evaluated for immunomodulatory activities in a variety of assays.

Attempts to manipulate specific responses to induce resistance to Schistosoma mansoni in Kenyan baboons (Papio anubis).

Attempts were made to manipulate specific responses of baboons to protect them from infection with Schistosoma mansoni. In Experiment 1, eosinophilia was induced in naive baboons with Trichinella spiralis larvae given intravenously before intraperitoneal injection of globulin fractions from S. mansoni-infected baboon sera and subsequent percutaneous exposure to S.