PCV7 was safe and immunogenic in solid organ recipients. Three doses of this vaccine appear beneficial for selected organ groups. PV23 when administered at >/=1 year posttransplantation was useful in boosting antibody responses in patient groups demonstrating lower rates of responsiveness.

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Thyroid antibodies are commonly utilized in the assessment and diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disorders. We compared the measurements of antithyroglobulin and antithyroidperoxidase antibodies by enzyme immunoassay with that of the conventional agglutination method. This fully automated enzyme immunoassay is more specific and cost effective than the agglutination method. Further this is a very quantitative and rapid method producing results in two hours as compared to at least twenty= four hours required by the conventional method. Antithyroidperoxidase antibodies determined by enzyme immunoassay are more specific and sensitive in the diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis than the antithyroglobulin antibodies.

An in-house radioimmuno assay for serum thyroglobulin was developed in our laboratory and compared its relative sensitivity with that of whole body scan in the detection of residual tumour or metastases and evaluated the predictive value of serum thyroglobulin in the clinical course of the disease. Ninety six patients after thyroidectomy were followed up for a maximum period of five years in this study.The sensitivity and specificity of serum thyroglobulin were found to be close to that of whole body scan (85% and 94% respectively). According to this study, a serum thyroglobulin >40 nglml can differentiate between patients with metastases and those in remission. Serum thyroglobulin can replace whole body scan during the subsequent follow-up if the patient had concordant whole body scan and serum thyroglobulin during initial assessment.

A move from a global Library periodicals fund to departmental budget allocations caused Heriot‐Watt University Library to look for greater sophistication in financial recording. The coincidental purchase of DataEase, a PC‐based relational database management system, provided the solution. The features of DataEase are outlined and the manner in which it has been tailored to the financial control needs of Heriot‐Watt University Library serials system is described.