Sudden death and sepsis after splenectomy

This paper has reported two deaths occurring in young adults who had undergone splenectomy for trauma several years before developing pneumococcal sepsis. Tissues at autopsy demonstrated a disproportionate autolysis for the postmortem interval. One victim also showed diffuse serosal hemorrhages, presumably as a result of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Both showed evidence of residual splenic implants but such implants clearly did not provide protection against sepsis. The mechanisms whereby the spleen protects from sepsis appear to be that of a mechanical filter and an immunological organ producing antibody or antibody-like substance. How much splenic tissue and what relationships to the system circulation are necessary to provide protection remain undiscovered.     

A comparative study of young and adult deliberate self-harm patients

Research has shown that the prevalence of deliberate self-harm (DSH) is higher in adolescents than in adults, but little is known about other differences. In this study we compare adolescent and adult DSH-patients regarding factors contributing to the suicidal act. In two regions in Norway, 98 persons under 20 years of age and 83 older persons were interviewed following an act of DSH. They were compared regarding intentions involved in the DSH, precipitating circumstances, level of suicidal intent, medical seriousness of the act, depression, hopelessness, and self-esteem. Few differences were found. The adults more often wanted to escape from unbearable thoughts or situations, or to receive care and attention. Adults also reported a slightly higher level of medical seriousness of the DSH act, more psychiatric problems, and substance abuse. The similarities between young and adult DSH-patients are striking. The differences found are most likely related to factors of age itself, such as cognitive immaturity, impulsivity, and lack of experience in enduring problems.     

Does carcass enrichment alter community structure of predaceous and parasitic arthropods? A second test of the arthropod saturation hypothesis at the Anthropology Research Facility in Knoxville, Tennessee

In a second test of an arthropod saturation hypothesis, we analyzed if the on-campus Anthropology Research Facility (ARF) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with its 20+ yr history of carcass enrichment, is comparable to non-enriched sites in community structure of predatory and parasitic arthropods that prey upon the sarcosaprophagous fauna. Over a 12-day period in June 1998, using pitfall traps and sweep nets, 10,065 predaceous, parasitic, and hematophagous (blood-feeding) arthropods were collected from freshly euthanized pigs (Sus scrofa L.) placed at ARF and at three surrounding sites various distances away (S2-S4). The community structure of these organisms was comparable in most paired-site tests with respect to species composition, colonization rates, and evenness of pitfall-trap abundances on a per carcass basis. Site differences were found in rarefaction tests of both sweep-net and pitfall-trap taxa and in tests of taxonomic evenness and ranked abundances of sweep-net samples. Despite these differences, no evidence was found that the predatory/parasitic fauna at ARF was impoverished with fewer but larger populations as a result of carcass enrichment. Comparison of the sarcosaprophagous and predatory/parasitic faunas revealed a tighter (and more predictable) linkage between carrion feeders (sarcosaprovores) and their carrion than between carrion feeders and their natural enemies (predators and parasitoids), leading us to conclude that ARF is more representative of surrounding sites with respect to the sarcosaprovore component than to the predatory/parasitic component within the larger carrion-arthropod community.