Transfusion Problems in Hemolytic Anemias

In this presentation I have attempted to present some of the transfusion problems that face the Blood Bank and the physician treating the patient. I have briefly discussed methods of recognizing the complicating factors, interpretation of their clinical significance, and the proper hemotherapeutic management of such cases. Finally, I hope that this presentation is a convincing thesis for a better understanding of the Blood Bank and its problems, since the patient\u27s welfare is better served when there is a rapport between the clinician and the Blood Bank staff

Paleoserologic Studies: ABO and Histocompatibility Antigens in Mummified American Indians

The first genetic polymorphism to be described in man was the ABO blood group system. Ths system proved to be present as a membrane antigen of the cells of almost all organs of the body. In this it not only stimulates histocompatibility antigens but also helps to determine ABO compatibility between organ recipients and their donors. The presence of the ABH and HL-A antigens in tissues and their stability on storage allows typing mummified bodies despite the passage of thousands of years

HAA (HB Ag) Evaluation-State of the Art

In conclusion, this study supports the claim that the RIA is the most sensitive of all assay methods for detection of HB Ag in use today. Because of the inability to verify the presence of HB Ag in those sera positive by RIA alone, however, this claim must be taken only at face value. Further studies are needed to confirm the specificity of these positive reactions

Determination of Leukoagglutinin Specificity by In Vivo and In Vitro Studies

Results of testing sera from normal individuals and pathological patients, using a bromelin technique for the detection of leukoagglutinins, are reported. These results, supported further by an in vivo experiment, suggested that the phenomenon of leukoagglutination is immunologic in nature and that leukoagglutinins may be the cause of some febrile transfusion reactions. These are specifically directed against leukocytes, and do not involve the red cell series. Furthermore, the antigen (or antigens) is probably present in both the granulocytes and the mononuclear leukocytes. Anti-platelet antibodies could be presumed to be the cause of thrombocytopenia

Cluster-based ensemble means for climate model intercomparison

Clustering – the automated grouping of similar data – can provide powerful and unique insight into large and complex data sets, in a fast and computationally efficient manner. While clustering has been used in a variety of fields (from medical image processing to economics), its application within atmospheric science has been fairly limited to date, and the potential benefits of the application of advanced clustering techniques to climate data (both model output and observations) has yet to be fully realised. In this paper, we explore the specific application of clustering to a multi-model climate ensemble. We hypothesise that clustering techniques can provide (a) a flexible, data-driven method of testing model–observation agreement and (b) a mechanism with which to identify model development priorities. We focus our analysis on chemistry–climate model (CCM) output of tropospheric ozone – an important greenhouse gas – from the recent Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP). Tropospheric column ozone from the ACCMIP ensemble was clustered using the Data Density based Clustering (DDC) algorithm. We find that a multi-model mean (MMM) calculated using members of the most-populous cluster identified at each location offers a reduction of up to  ∼  20 % in the global absolute mean bias between the MMM and an observed satellite-based tropospheric ozone climatology, with respect to a simple, all-model MMM. On a spatial basis, the bias is reduced at  ∼  62 % of all locations, with the largest bias reductions occurring in the Northern Hemisphere – where ozone concentrations are relatively large. However, the bias is unchanged at 9 % of all locations and increases at 29 %, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. The latter demonstrates that although cluster-based subsampling acts to remove outlier model data, such data may in fact be closer to observed values in some locations. We further demonstrate that clustering can provide a viable and useful framework in which to assess and visualise model spread, offering insight into geographical areas of agreement among models and a measure of diversity across an ensemble. Finally, we discuss caveats of the clustering techniques and note that while we have focused on tropospheric ozone, the principles underlying the cluster-based MMMs are applicable to other prognostic variables from climate models

Status of fish consumption per capita of Tehran citizens

Status of fish consumption was analyzed by completing the 295 questionnaires in all 22 metropolitan regions of Tehran from different households in 2008. After reviewing the descriptive and statistics analysis along with the non-parametric statistics, the fish consumption per capita was extracted through formulas. The average and mode of purchasing of each household occurs 11 times per year with 5.1 Kg in each time . Considering the higher fish consumption growth rate in Iran, the sequence of interest in all kinds of protein is as follows: poultry, mutton, beef, Trout, wild fishes and Chinese carps. The highest interest of households to buy fish more than other protein resources is due to the nutrient value of it. An average of 33.2% purchasing is dedicated to the farmed fish. 59% of purchasers are interested to buy packed up fish products and pay attention to the label of nutrient values on the product package. Fish consumption per capita is 13.3 Kg, which is divided to 6.4 kg for farmed fishes, 5.8 Kg for wild fishes and 1.1 Kg for canned fish. The higher consumption per capita of Tehran citizens in comparison with other people from other cities, who are living in Tehran, is because of their tendency and freshness of farmed fishes. In contrast, the consumption of canned and wild fishes among people of littoral regions who live in Tehran is higher than others

Effect of Ramadan fasting on some indices of insulin resistance and components of the metabolic syndrome in healthy male adults

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on insulin sensitivity in subjects with the metabolic syndrome. Males (n 55; age 34.1 (SD 8.9) years) with the metabolic syndrome were studied. Blood pressure, waist circumference, body weight, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), TAG, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting blood insulin and insulin resistance indices (quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and reciprocal index of HOMA-IR (1/HOMA-IR)) were evaluated before and after 30 d of Ramadan fasting (two meals at 12 h intervals). The dietary intake was estimated by 24 h recall before and after fasting. The total daily energy intake was decreased by 234.6 (SD 88.2) kJ/d in the fasting period (P = 0.005). 1/HOMA-IR, QUICKI and HDL-C were significantly increased (P = 0.005, P = 0.001 and P = 0.004) and FPG significantly decreased (P < 0.005) after fasting. Simple linear regression analysis demonstrated that HOMA-IR, 1/HOMA-IR and QUICKI were related to waist circumference after intervention (r 0.458, P < 0.001; r -0.396, P < 0.05; r -0.342, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the present study showed that the combined change in the number and timing of meals and portioning of the entire intake into only two meals per d may increase insulin sensitivity in subjects with the metabolic syndrome even when the decrease in energy consumption is minimal. © The Authors 2008

Modelling marine emissions and atmospheric distributions of halocarbons and dimethyl sulfide: the influence of prescribed water concentration vs. prescribed emissions

Marine-produced short-lived trace gases such as dibromomethane (CH2Br2), bromoform (CHBr3), methyliodide (CH3I) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) significantly impact tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. Describing their marine emissions in atmospheric chemistry models as accurately as possible is necessary to quantify their impact on ozone depletion and Earth's radiative budget. So far, marine emissions of trace gases have mainly been prescribed from emission climatologies, thus lacking the interaction between the actual state of the atmosphere and the ocean. Here we present simulations with the chemistry climate model EMAC (ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry) with online calculation of emissions based on surface water concentrations, in contrast to directly prescribed emissions. Considering the actual state of the model atmosphere results in a concentration gradient consistent with model real-time conditions at the ocean surface and in the atmosphere, which determine the direction and magnitude of the computed flux. This method has a number of conceptual and practical benefits, as the modelled emission can respond consistently to changes in sea surface temperature, surface wind speed, sea ice cover and especially atmospheric mixing ratio. This online calculation could enhance, dampen or even invert the fluxes (i.e. deposition instead of emissions) of very short-lived substances (VSLS). We show that differences between prescribing emissions and prescribing concentrations (−28 % for CH2Br2 to +11 % for CHBr3) result mainly from consideration of the actual, time-varying state of the atmosphere. The absolute magnitude of the differences depends mainly on the surface ocean saturation of each particular gas. Comparison to observations from aircraft, ships and ground stations reveals that computing the air–sea flux interactively leads in most of the cases to more accurate atmospheric mixing ratios in the model compared to the computation from prescribed emissions. Calculating emissions online also enables effective testing of different air–sea transfer velocity (k) parameterizations, which was performed here for eight different parameterizations. The testing of these different k values is of special interest for DMS, as recently published parameterizations derived by direct flux measurements using eddy covariance measurements suggest decreasing k values at high wind speeds or a linear relationship with wind speed. Implementing these parameterizations reduces discrepancies in modelled DMS atmospheric mixing ratios and observations by a factor of 1.5 compared to parameterizations with a quadratic or cubic relationship to wind spee

The increasing threat to stratospheric ozone from dichloromethane.

It is well established that anthropogenic chlorine-containing chemicals contribute to ozone layer depletion. The successful implementation of the Montreal Protocol has led to reductions in the atmospheric concentration of many ozone-depleting gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons. As a consequence, stratospheric chlorine levels are declining and ozone is projected to return to levels observed pre-1980 later this century. However, recent observations show the atmospheric concentration of dichloromethane-an ozone-depleting gas not controlled by the Montreal Protocol-is increasing rapidly. Using atmospheric model simulations, we show that although currently modest, the impact of dichloromethane on ozone has increased markedly in recent years and if these increases continue into the future, the return of Antarctic ozone to pre-1980 levels could be substantially delayed. Sustained growth in dichloromethane would therefore offset some of the gains achieved by the Montreal Protocol, further delaying recovery of Earth's ozone layer

Antifungal susceptibility testing of <i>Candida </i>species isolated from the immunocompromised patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran

Abstract Background Antifungal susceptibility testing is a subject of interest in the field of medical mycology. The aim of the present study were the distributions and antifungal susceptibility patterns of various Candida species isolated from colonized and infected immunocompromised patients admitted to ten university hospitals in Iran. Methods In totally, 846 Candida species were isolated from more than 4000 clinical samples and identified by the API 20 C AUX system. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution method according to CLSI. Results The most frequent Candida species isolated from all patients was Candida albicans (510/846). The epidemiological cutoff value and percentage of wild-type species for amphotericin B and fluconazole in Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei were 0.5 μg/ml (95%) and 4 μg/ml (96%); 1 μg/ml (95%) and 8 μg/ml (95%); 0.5 μg/ml (99%) and 19 μg/ml (98%); and 4 μg/ml (95%) and 64 μg/ml (95%), respectively. The MIC90 and epidemiological cutoff values to posaconazole in Candida krusei were 0.5 μg/ml. There were significant differences between infecting and colonizing isolates of Candida tropicalis in MIC 90 values of amphotericin B, and isolates of Candida glabrata in values of amphotericin B, caspofungin, and voriconazole (P < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the susceptibility patterns of Candida species (colonizing and infecting isolates) in immunocompromised patients are not the same and acquired resistance was seen in some species