HLA genotyping in the clinical laboratory: comparison of next-generation sequencing methods.

Implementation of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the clinical lab brings new challenges to the laboratories performing this testing. With the advent of commercially available HLA-NGS typing kits, labs must make numerous decisions concerning capital equipment and address labor considerations. Therefore, careful and unbiased evaluation of available methods is imperative. In this report, we compared our in-house developed HLA NGS typing with two commercially available kits from Illumina and Omixon using 10 International Histocompatibility Working Group (IHWG) and 36 clinical samples. Although all three methods employ long range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and have been developed on the Illumina MiSeq platform, the methodologies for library preparation show significant variations. There was 100% typing concordance between all three methods at the first field when a HLA type could be assigned. Overall, HLA typing by NGS using in-house or commercially available methods is now feasible in clinical laboratories. However, technical variables such as hands-on time and indexing strategies are sufficiently different among these approaches to impact the workflow of the clinical laboratory.

Vocational skill assessment of severely mentally retarded adults.

The Trainee Performance Sample, a vocational skills assessment instrument, was revised to enhance content validity and utility in making vocational skill learning placements for severely retarded individuals. The Trainee Performance Sample employs a process measurement approach; i.e., each of the 30 test items (a variety of benchwork tasks) includes both training and correction procedures within the item. To some extent, the examinee's ability to benefit from various training strategies is measured. Psychometric analyses demonstrated that the revised Trainee Performance Sample meets standard test development criteria. Thus, a dynamic approach to vocational skills assessment of severely retarded individuals--one that involves training while testing--has been shown to have both utility and psychometric adequacy.

Systematic correction procedures in vocational-skill training of severely retarded individuals.

Seventy severely retarded adults were taught a vocational assembly-skill task involving a difficult visual--motor discrimination. Comparisons of relative effects on trials-to-criterion were made among two types of verbal-correction procedures (general: "try another way" and specific: "flat side in") and three types of systematic physical-correction procedures (gesture, physical prompt, and repeated practice). Reliable differences in effects occurred only between the three systematic physical-correction procedures, with repeated practice the most effective, physical prompts next, and gestures the least effective. The results were interpreted as demonstrating the efficacy of trainer-related training procedures in relation to stimulus-related strategies, as well as relative efficacy among trainer-related correction procedures.

Retarded adult's discrete work performance in a sheltered workshop as a function of overall productivity and motivation.

Production times of high and low retarded adults in a sheltered workshop were analyzed in terms of actual time working as opposed to actual time not working and under conditions of standard and high motivation. Under standard conditions, low productivity was primarily the result of more time spent not working. High motivation attenuated this effect. The results were discussed in terms of cognitive vs. motivational interpretations of individual differences in work performance.