Application of Saliva Inhibition to Detect Underlying Alloantibodies in Bombay Blood Group

IntroductionThe Bombay phenotype is a rare blood group determined by the absence of H antigens. Bombay individuals produce anti-H, a clinically significant antibody that react against all ABO blood group. Anti-H can mask underlying alloantibody during antibody investigation, a challenge in current transfusion practice. The aim of this article is to explore saliva inhibition, a novel method to detect underlying alloantibody in Bombay individuals.Case PresentationThe case is a 93-year-old female transfused with pre-donated autologous blood for a surgery. We determined anti-H subclass and thermal amplitude, secretor status, and optimal ratio of saliva and Bombay plasma. Plasma samples containing anti-H were spiked with anti-Fy(a) to determine the effectiveness of saliva inhibition in uncovering underlying alloantibodies.ResultsAnti-H was confirmed to be predominately IgM with broad thermal amplitude. Tube immediate spin (IS) showed stronger anti-H reactivity compared to column agglutination technology (CAT). Spiked anti-Fy(a) was successfully detected using saliva inhibition method.ConclusionTube IS appears more sensitive to anti-H. Saliva inhibition appears to be a promising method to detect underlying alloantibody in the plasma of Bombay phenotype individuals.     

BrainAGE and regional volumetric analysis of a Buddhist monk: a longitudinal MRI case study

ABSTRACT

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (YMR) is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and renowned meditation practitioner and teacher who has spent an extraordinary number of hours of his life meditating. The brain-aging profile of this expert meditator in comparison to a control population was examined using a machine learning framework, which estimates “brain-age” from brain imaging. YMR’s brain-aging rate appeared slower than that of controls suggesting early maturation and delayed aging. At 41 years, his brain resembled that of a 33-year-old. Specific regional changes did not differentiate YMR from controls, suggesting that the brain-aging differences may arise from coordinated changes spread throughout the gray matter.     

Nowhere To Go But Up: The Return of Medicinal Chemistry

Medicinal chemistry, as a field, has moved into new andunwelcometerritory. How did we get here, and what might be the way out?     

Incarceration and Sexual Risk: Examining the Relationship Between Men’s Involvement in the Criminal Justice System and Risky Sexual Behavior

In this study, we used data from Add Health Waves II and III to compare men who had been incarcerated to those who had not, and examined whether incarceration was associated with increased numbers of sexual partners and increased odds of concurrent partnerships. We used multivariate regression and propensity-score matching to compare sexual behavior of Wave III male respondents who had been incarcerated with those who had not, and compared sexual behavior at Wave II to identify differences in sexual behavior prior to incarceration. Incarceration was associated with an increased rate of lifetime sexual partnership, but this was attenuated by substance use. Criminal justice involvement was associated with increased odds of having partners who report concurrent partnerships, but no further increase was seen with incarceration. There were no significant sexual behavior differences prior to incarceration. These results suggest that the criminal justice system and substance use may interact to shape sexual behavior.     

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