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• SMS reminders significantly improved on-time vaccination at the 12 month schedule point. • SMS reminders were effective amongst infants who received at least one prior vaccination late. • SMS reminders and/or personalised calendars were not effective amongst infants who had received all previous doses on-time. The effectiveness of SMS reminders in improving vaccination coverage has been assessed previously, with effectiveness varying between settings. However, there are very few studies on their effect on the timeliness of vaccination. Unblinded, randomised controlled trial with blocked sampling. 1594 Australian infants and young children were recruited to assess the impact of (1) SMS reminders only, (2) a personalised calendar, (3) SMS reminder and personalised calendar and (4) no intervention, on receipt of vaccine within 30 days of the due date. Outcomes were measured for receipt of vaccines due at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months of age. A post-hoc assessment was also conducted of the impact of a new national "No jab No Pay" policy introduced during the trial, which removed philosophical objections as an exemption for financial penalties for non-vaccination. There was a statistically significant improvement in on-time vaccination only at the 12 month schedule point amongst infants who received SMS reminders alone (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.18) or in combination with a personalised calendar (1.11, CI 1.03–1.20) compared to controls. This impact was limited to participants who had received one or more previous doses late. No statistically significant impacts of calendar interventions alone were seen. There was a high rate of on-time compliance amongst control participants − 95%, 86%, 80%, 74% at the 4, 6, 12 and 18 month schedule points respectively, which increased more than 10 percentage points after implementation of the "No Jab, No Pay" policy. SMS reminders are more effective in improving timeliness where pre-existing compliance is lower, but the 18 month schedule point appeared to be less amenable to intervention. Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registration No. ACTRN12614000970640. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to quantify the risk of developing cancer from the exposure to radiation associated with surgery to correct limb deformities in children., Patients and Methods: A total of 35 children were studied. There were 19 girls and 16 boys. Their mean age was 11.9 years (2 to 18) at the time of surgery. Details of the radiological examinations were recorded during gradual correction using a Taylor Spatial Frame. The dose area product for each radiograph was obtained from the Computerised Radiology Information System database. The effective dose in millisieverts (mSv) was calculated using conversion coefficients for the anatomical area. The lifetime risk of developing cancer was calculated using government-approved Health Protection Agency reports, accounting for the age and gender of the child., Results: Correction was undertaken in five femurs, 18 tibiae, and 12 feet. The median duration of treatment was 45 months (11 to 118). The mean effective dose was 0.31 mSv (0.05 to 0.64) for the femur, 0.29 mSv (0.01 to 0.97) for the tibia, and 0.027 mSv (0.001 to 0.161) for the foot. The cumulative exposure gave 'negligible' risk in 26 children and 'minimal' risk in nine children, according to Public Health England categories. These results are below the mean annual background radiation in the United Kingdom., Conclusion: The lifetime attributable risk of developing cancer from repeated exposure to radiation was negligible or minimal in all children. This is the first study to quantify the exposure to radiation from serial radiographs in children with limb deformities who are treated surgically using circular external fixation, linking this to the risk of developing cancer. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:241-245.

Some workers when using cyanogen bromide activated paper as a solid immunoabsorbent have reported variable success in radio immuno assays. A quantitative investigation has been made of some of the factors which effect the activation of various papers with CNBr, and also of the subsequent coupling reaction with the sensitizing antigen. Different papers have been found to react in different ways, and some papers take up so little antigen that they are unsuitable for use for this purpose.