Difference between agglutination and precipitation reaction

Precipitation reactions and agglutination reactions are the two most popular serological reactions which are used in diagnosing the antigen and antibody reactions in our body. This diagnosis helps in correct diagnosis of the diseases and hence helps in taking the correct course of treatment. These reactions are different from each other and this article will inform you about the differences.

Antibodies tend to cross link the particles when they mix with their matching antigens on the surfaces like bacteria, erythrocytes or animal cells. When this cross linking happens you see clump formation and this is known as agglutination. This is quite similar to precipitation reactions but the difference appears on the basis of the pair of the antibodies and antigens and the size of the antigens. Antigens are soluble molecules in precipitation reactions while they are large and insoluble molecules in case of agglutination.

The formation of lot of soluble antibody and antigen molecules is required for the visibility of a precipitation reaction, it is lesser sensitive than agglutination reaction. A precipitation reaction can be converted into agglutination reaction by attaching soluble antigens to large latex beads or erythrocytes which are large carriers.

Agglutination reactions are used in typing blood cells for blood transfusion. They can also be used for identifying bacterial cultures and in detection of presence of a particular antibody in the body fluids of the patient who is being diagnosed. This means that if a person is to be tested for a bacterial infection then agglutination reaction can be used effectively.

Some of the major differences between Agglutination reaction and Precipitation reaction are:

• The size of the antigen is different in these reactions.
• Agglutination is a more sensitive reaction in comparison to precipitation.
• Antigens are soluble molecules in precipitation reactions while they are large and insoluble molecules in case of agglutination.

Blood Plasma and Blood Serum

Blood plasma is the straw-colored liquid component of blood in which the blood cells in whole blood are normally suspended. It makes up about 55% of the total bloodvolume. It is the intravascular fluid part of extracellular fluid (all body fluid outside of cells). It is mostly water (93% by volume) and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, hormones and carbon dioxide (plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation). Plasma also serves as the protein reserve of the human body. It plays a vital role in intravascular osmotic effect that keeps electrolyte in balance form and protects the body from infection and other blood disorders.

Blood plasma is prepared by spinning a tube of fresh blood containing an anti-coagulant in a centrifuge until the blood cells fall to the bottom of the tube. The blood plasma is then poured or drawn off. Blood plasma has a density of approximately 1025 kg/m³, or 1.025 kg/l.

Blood serum is blood plasma without fibrinogen or the other clotting factors (i.e., whole blood minus both the cells and the clotting factors).

Dolly Sheep

Dolly (5 July 1996 – 14 February 2003) was a female domestic sheep, and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer.She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute and the biotechnology company PPL Therapeutics near Edinburgh in Scotland. She was born on 5 July 1996 and she lived until the age of six, at which point she died from a progressive lung disease. 

She was created using the technique of somatic cell nuclear transfer, where the cell nucleus from an adult cell is transferred into an unfertilised oocyte (developing egg cell) that has had its nucleus removed. The hybrid cell is then stimulated to divide by an electric shock, and when it develops into a blastocyst it is implanted in a surrogate mother. Dolly was the first clone produced from a cell taken from an adult mammal. The production of Dolly showed that genes in the nucleus of such a mature differentiated somatic cell are still capable of reverting back to an embryonic totipotent state, creating a cell that can then go on to develop into any part of an animal.

Cloning of Dolly Sheep

Positive attitude

Top 10 Tips for Maintaining a Positive Attitude

These are things that you can do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to make sure you keep your positive focus. 

1. Read Positive and Inspiring Books
   One of the best ways to maintain a positive attitude is by reading positive books. These books serve to encourage you, inspire you, and teach you. Reading requires that you sit still and focus, and by focusing on something positive it helps you to keep a positive mindset throughout the day. 
2. Listen to Podcasts/CDS
   The advantage of listening to podcasts or compact disks is that you can listen on the go. You can listen to motivating podcasts while you clean your house, exercise, or on a flight. In your car, you can play encouraging compact disks that help you make better use of your commute. 
3. Wake up Early
   One of the best ways to help you maintain a positive attitude is to create the habit of waking up early. Waking up early allows you to get a head start on the day. You can prepare for work and start your day without feeling rushed. You can get a head start on important projects before the rest of the world is awake to interrupt you. You can spend time reading or in prayer or meditation. 
4. Exercise
   Very few things in life leverage your time as much as exercise. Obviously it makes a difference for your physical health, but it also has significant benefits to your mental health. Exercise is useful to combat depression and to improve overall positive mood. Further, if you exercise early in the morning you can go through your day knowing that you have already completed the most valuable activity you had to do! 
5. Plan Your Week and Day
   Having a clear plan to your day and to your week can go a long way to helping you maintain a positive attitude. By knowing what you want to accomplish you will be able to focus on your important life priorities. A weekly plan allows you to match your long-term goals to your weekly accomplishments. Your daily plan allows you complete the activities you need to do so that you meet your weekly goals. 
6. Understand that Things Won't Always Go as Planned
   If you plan and expect everything in life will go as you planned, you will be quickly disappointed. One of the keys to maintaining a positive attitude is to understand that things will go wrong. If you expect things to go wrong, you won't be phased when they do. So have a plan, but understand that things won't follow the plan. The plan allows you to adapt to what went wrong and move back towards what is important. 
7. St. John's Wort and Griffonia Seed
   These two herbal supplements can have an important role to play in helping you maintain a positive attitude. 
8. Get Spiritually Connected
   Naturally this one will look different for everyone, and this is simply an option to consider. If you are spiritually connected, you will have a positive outlook on life. This might mean prayer, meditation or reading Scripture. Set aside time each day to be connected spiritually.
9. Be Thankful
   Take some time and be thankful. Be thankful about what you have, who you are, and what your life is like. Think through all of the things that you can be thankful for. Even if you are in a tough time in life there are many things you have that you can be thankful for. You need to look for them and recognize them. The very act of focusing on what you are thankful for will help you maintain your positive attitude.
10. Surround Yourself with Positive People
    The people around you have a big impact on you. They impact who you are, how much money you will make, and what you value. They also impact how you think. If you surround yourself with negative people you will be negative as well. You can't help it. Hearing negativity all day leads you to negativity. The opposite is also true. Surround yourself with positive people and you will be more positive.

Somatic Fusion

Somatic fusion, also called protoplast fusion, is a type of genetic modification in plants by which two distinct species of plants are fused together to form a new hybrid plant with the characteristics of both, a somatic hybrid. Hybrids have been produced either between the different varieties of the same species (e.g. between non-flowering potato plants and flowering potato plants) or between two different species (e.g. between wheat triticum and rye secale to produce Triticale).

Uses of somatic fusion include making potato plants resistant to potato leaf roll disease. Through somatic fusion, the crop potato plant Solanum tuberosum – the yield of which is severely reduced by a viral disease transmitted on by the aphid vector – is fused with the wild, non-tuber-bearing potato Solanum brevidens, which is resistant to the disease. The resulting hybrid has the chromosomes of both plants and is thus similar to polyploid plants.

Immunoglobulin IgM

Immunoglobulin M, or IgM for short, is a basic antibody that is produced by B cells. It is the primary antibody against A and B antigens on red blood cells. IgM is by far the physically largest antibody in the human circulatory system. It is the first antibody to appear in response to initial exposure to antigen.

Structure and function

IgM forms polymers where multiple immunoglobulins are covalently linked together with disulfide bonds, mostly as a pentamer but also as a hexamer. IgM has a molecular mass of approximately 900 kDa (in its pentamer form). Because each monomer has two antigen binding sites, a pentameric IgM has 10 binding sites. Typically, however, IgM cannot bind 10 antigens at the same time because the large size of most antigens hinders binding to nearby sites.

The J chain is found in pentameric IgM but not in the hexameric form, perhaps due to space constraints in the hexameric complex. Pentameric IgM can also be made in the absence of J chain. At present, it is still uncertain what fraction of normal pentamer contains J chain, and to this extent it is also uncertain whether a J chain-containing pentamer contains one or more than one J chain.

Because IgM is a large molecule, it cannot diffuse well, and is found in the interstitium only in very low quantities. IgM is primarily found in serum; however, because of the J chain, it is also important as a secretory immunoglobulin.

Due to its polymeric nature, IgM possesses high avidity, and is particularly effective at complement activation. By itself, IgM is an ineffective opsonin; however it contributes greatly to opsonization by activating complement and causing C3b to bind to the antigen