Expanding role of a blood center

Materials and Methods: The study was performed on prospective donors who reported to the Department of Transfusion Medicine. Individuals deferred due to hypertension contributed the study population. They were compared with age and sex matched donor controls. Demographic details were recorded in a proforma. On identification of a hypertensive individual, consequent two comparable donors were taken as controls with a total of 50 hypertensive subjects. Hypertensive status of the subjects were assessed based on the criteria formulated by the WHO-ISH and US Seventh Joint National Committee report on prevention, detection, evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure. Results: About 0.95% of healthy blood donors had undetected hypertension. Mean age at detection of hypertension in the study group was 35.44 ± 7.69 years. Higher BMI was observed in the hypertensive group compared to normotensive control group with P value significant at 0.0001. Conclusion: About 1% of healthy individuals were found to have undetected hypertension. Though the study was not designed to determine the prevalence of hypertension in the region, it is a rough estimate of the proportion of undetected hypertension in the local population as donors are considered as representative of healthy population

Crystal structure of 2-cyano-N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)acetamide. Corrigendum

The address of one of the authors in the paper by Subhadramma et al. [Acta Cryst. (2015), E71, o455–o456] is corrected

Crystal structure of 2-cyano-N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)acetamide

In the title compound, C8H8N2O2, the acetamide unit is inclined to the furan ring by 76.7 (1)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by N—H...O and C—H...O hydrogen bonds, generating C(4) chains along [100]. The carbonyl O atom is a bifurcated acceptor and an R12(6) ring is formed

The basics and advances of immunomodulators and antigen presentation: a key to development of potent memory response against pathogens

Introduction: Immunomodulators are agents, which can modulate the immune response to specific antigens, while causing least toxicity to the host system. Being part of the modern vaccine formulations, these compounds have contributed remarkably to the field of therapeutics. Despite the successful record maintained by these agents, the requirement of novel immunomodulators keeps increasing due to the increasing severity of diseases. Hence, research regarding the same holds great importance. Areas covered: In this review, we discuss the role of immunomodulators in improving performance of various vaccines used for counteracting most threatening infectious diseases, mechanisms behind their action and criteria for development of novel immunomodulators. Expert opinion: Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying immune response is a prerequisite for development of effective therapeutics as these are often exploited by pathogens for their own propagation. Keeping this in mind, the present research in the field of immunotherapy focuses on developing immunomodulators that would not only enhance the protection against pathogen, but also generate a long-term memory response. With the introduction of advanced formulations including combination of different kinds of immunomodulators, one can expect tremendous success in near future