Platelet transfusion practice: time for renewed consensus

BACKGROUND: Bilateral tubal pregnancies are rare and are usually confirmed simultaneously during the same operation. We report a case in which the right salpingectomy was performed seven weeks before the left salpingectomy. When the right salpingectomy was done, the left uterine tube appeared entirely normal. CASE: A 38-year-old woman underwent laparoscopic surgery for suspected right tubal pregnancy. A right tubal pregnancy was found to have partially aborted into the peritoneal cavity. The left uterine tube was carefully inspected and appeared normal. Histopathology of the right tube showed products of conception and chorionic tissue. Seven weeks after surgery, the woman presented in hemorrhagic shock necessitating emergency laparotomy and left salpingectomy. Histopathology of the left tube confirmed the presence of chronic tissue. The patient did not have coitus between the two salpingectomies. CONCLUSION: The explanation of the presentation is uncertain. However, this case underscores the importance of careful follow-up of patients after laparoscopic surgery for ectopic pregnancies.     

Europa's differentiated internal structure: inferences from four Galileo encounters

Radio Doppler data from four encounters of the Galileo spacecraft with the jovian moon Europa have been used to refine models of Europa's interior. Europa is most likely differentiated into a metallic core surrounded by a rock mantle and a water ice-liquid outer shell, but the data cannot eliminate the possibility of a uniform mixture of dense silicate and metal beneath the water ice-liquid shell. The size of a metallic core is uncertain because of its unknown composition, but it could be as large as about 50 percent of Europa's radius. The thickness of Europa's outer shell of water ice-liquid must lie in the range of about 80 to 170 kilometers.     

The Drosophila Medea gene is required downstream of dpp and encodes a functional homolog of human Smad4

The Transforming Growth Factor-beta superfamily member decapentaplegic (dpp) acts as an extracellular morphogen to pattern the embryonic ectoderm of the Drosophila embryo. To identify components of the dpp signaling pathway, we screened for mutations that act as dominant maternal enhancers of a weak allele of the dpp target gene zerkn?llt. In this screen, we recovered new alleles of the Mothers against dpp (Mad) and Medea genes. Phenotypic analysis of the new Medea mutations indicates that Medea, like Mad, is required for both embryonic and imaginal disc patterning. Genetic analysis suggests that Medea may have two independently mutable functions in patterning the embryonic ectoderm. Complete elimination of maternal and zygotic Medea activity in the early embryo results in a ventralized phenotype identical to that of null dpp mutants, indicating that Medea is required for all dpp-dependent signaling in embryonic dorsal-ventral patterning. Injection of mRNAs encoding DPP or a constitutively activated form of the DPP receptor, Thick veins, into embryos lacking all Medea activity failed to induce formation of any dorsal cell fates, demonstrating that Medea acts downstream of the thick veins receptor. We cloned Medea and found that it encodes a protein with striking sequence similarity to human SMAD4. Moreover, injection of human SMAD4 mRNA into embryos lacking all Medea activity conferred phenotypic rescue of the dorsal-ventral pattern, demonstrating conservation of function between the two gene products.     

Tailored written invitations for second round breast cancer screening: a randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: Firstly, to determine if attendance for second round mammography screening in those sent a tailored letter (that is, making reference to their screening history) is increased compared with those sent a standard letter; secondly, to investigate the acceptability of tailored letters. SETTING: North West Glasgow Breast Screening Centre. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial. RESULTS: Overall attendance was unrelated to whether the women were sent a tailored or standard letter; 60% of those sent the standard letter attended (922/1531) compared with 62% of those sent the tailored letter (956/1552) (chi 2 = 0.61, P = 0.4) (difference 2%; 95% confidence interval -2% to 5%). There were no significant differences in percentage attendance within each of the study subgroups: women who attended previously and received an all clear result, women who attended previously and received a false positive result, women who were invited previously and failed to attend, and women who were previously too young to be invited for screening. However, there was a statistically significant difference in percentage attendance between these four groups, independent of letter type (chi 2 = 510, P < 0.00001). Although women found the letters acceptable and understandable, they did not seem to pay close attention to the content. CONCLUSIONS: Tailoring invitation letters does not have a significant effect on uptake rates for breast screening and does not justify the additional workload required.     

Induction of immunologic refractoriness in adults by meningococcal C polysaccharide vaccination

Thirty-four adults were vaccinated with 1/50 of the usual dose of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (1 microg of A, C, Y, and W135 polysaccharides, given intramuscularly). This dose was selected as a probe to assess B cell memory. The probe elicited meningococcal C bactericidal antibody responses in all 18 adults who had been vaccinated 4 years earlier with an investigational meningococcal A and C oligosaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine and in the majority of the 11 subjects vaccinated for the first time. In contrast, the responses of the 5 adults given a full dose of licensed polysaccharide vaccine 4 years earlier were <1/10 of those of the other 2 groups. Thus, adults previously given a full dose of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine show evidence of immunologic refractoriness to group C polysaccharide, whereas refractoriness is not observed after conjugate vaccination. These findings have implications for the use of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine when the risk of disease is low.     

New beginnings: the National Blood Data Resource Center

A case of pulmonary Mycobacterium avium (M. avium) disease associated with idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia is reported. A rapidly growing pulmonary nodule was detected on a chest roentgenogram in a young man. Bronchoscopic examination revealed M. avium infection. Hematological studies showed a low CD4+ cell count in the absence of any identifiable immunodeficiency, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. With the combination of chemotherapy and surgery, he had a good clinical outcome. Idiopathic CD4+ T lymphocytopenia should be considered in patients with unexplained opportunistic infection.