Discuss the ELISA technique used to diagnose human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
What will be an ideal response?
The blood test that detects the presence of antibodies to HIV uses the ELISA (for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique, which is easy and cheap to perform. It can be used in two important ways: (1) to screen donated blood; all donated blood in the United States is now screened with ELISA, so that infections because of transfusions should rarely occur, although some did occur before ELISA was developed and a tiny risk remains even with ELISA; and (2) to help people determine whether they are infected (HIV positive) but are asymptomatic carriers. ELISA is a very sensitive test; that is, it is highly accurate in detecting HIV antibodies (it has a very low rate of false negatives, in statistical language). However, it does produce a substantial number of false positives-the test saying HIV antibodies are present when they really are not. Thus, positive results on ELISA should always be confirmed by a second, more specific test.
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Which chromosomal region aids in the development of the testes?
a. Male Reproductive Region of the X chromosome (MRX) b. Sex Determining Region of the X chromosome (SRX) c. Male Reproductive Region of the Y chromosome (MRY) d. Sex Determining Region of the Y chromosome (SRY)
Richard von Krafft-Ebing referred to all sexual symptoms that he considered to be abnormal as:
A. necrophilia. B. perversions. C. bestiality. D. fetishes. E. heresies.
Which among the following is a limitation of the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS)?
A. It provided no information on the sexuality of individuals who were more than 40 years old. B. American Indians were underrepresented in the sample. C. It did not include enough people from ethnic minority groups-particularly Asian Americans. D. Responses had high levels of concealment and enlargement as only self-reports were used.
Which of the following statements is true regarding amniocentesis?
A. It should be performed between weeks 25 and 30 of pregnancy. B. It is capable of detecting most chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus. C. It cannot be performed safely on women below the age of 35. D. It poses no risk toward the pregnant woman and her fetus.