HLAMatchmaker is effective for selecting appropriate platelet units for alloimmunised thrombocytopaenic patients who are refractory to random donor platelets.

Background: HLAMatchmaker has been used in the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) to select platelets for HLA-alloimmunised, platelet refractory thrombocytopaenic patients since 2006. Although available since 2002, only three studies have been published supporting the programme's effectiveness for this indication.

Objectives: We sought to examine increments to HLA-matched platelets (HMPs) at various matchmaker scores and to examine the impact of transfusing older platelets and ABO-mismatched platelets to this patient group.

Red cell alloimmunisation following intrauterine transfusion and the feasibility of providing extended phenotype-matched red cell units.

Objectives: To analyse the incidence of additional alloantibody formation following intrauterine red cell transfusion and to evaluate the feasibility of providing extended phenotype-matched red cells in future intrauterine transfusion (IUT).

Background: IUT is performed in severe, life-threatening fetal anaemia, usually in alloimmunised pregnancies. Its complications include the formation of additional alloantibodies to other red cell antigens.

ACORN2: new developments of the ACORN concept.

The density-modification procedures incorporated in ACORN, available in the CCP4 package, have proved to be very successful in solving and refining high-resolution crystal structures from very poor starting sets. These can be calculated from a correctly positioned initial fragment containing between 1 and 8% of the scattering power of the total structure. Improvements of ACORN, reported here and incorporated in the program ACORN2, have lowered the size of the fragment required and examples are given of structures solved with only 0.

Simulation of the generation and processing of Doppler ultrasound fetal heart signals to obtain directional motion information.

In fetal heart monitoring using Doppler ultrasound signals the cardiac information is commonly extracted from non-directional signals. As a consequence often some of the cardiac events cannot be observed clearly which may lead to the incorrect detection of the valve and wall motions. Here, directional signals were simulated to investigate their enhancement of cardiac events, and hence provide clearer information regarding the cardiac activities.