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Biomedical subjects

C E James

Publications and source records attributed to C E James.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Effect of farnesol on Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and antimicrobial susceptibility.

Staphylococcus aureus is among the leading pathogens causing bloodstream infections able to form biofilms on host tissue and indwelling medical devices and to persist and cause disease. Infections caused by S. aureus are becoming more difficult to treat because of increasing resistance to antibiotics. In a biofilm environment particularly, microbes exhibit enhanced resistance to antimicrobial agents. Recently, farnesol was described as a quorum-sensing molecule with possible antimicrobial properties. In this study, the effect of farnesol on methicillin-resistant and -susceptible strains of S. aureus was investigated. With viability assays, biofilm formation assessment, and ethidium bromide uptake testing, farnesol was shown to inhibit biofilm formation and compromise cell membrane integrity. The ability of farnesol to sensitize S. aureus to antimicrobials was assessed by agar disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods. For both strains of staphylococci, farnesol was only able to reverse resistance at a high concentration (150 microM). However, it was very successful at enhancing the antimicrobial efficacy of all of the antibiotics to which the strains were somewhat susceptible. Therefore, synergy testing of farnesol and gentamicin was performed with static biofilms exposed to various concentrations of both agents. Plate counts of harvested biofilm cells at 0, 4, and 24 h posttreatment indicated that the combined effect of gentamicin at 2.5 times the MIC and farnesol at 100 microM (22 microg/ml) was able to reduce bacterial populations by more than 2 log units, demonstrating synergy between the two antimicrobial agents. This observed sensitization of resistant strains to antimicrobials and the observed synergistic effect with gentamicin indicate a potential application for farnesol as an adjuvant therapeutic agent for the prevention of biofilm-related infections and promotion of drug resistance reversal.

Biofilms↗
PubMed2001

Lytic and lysogenic infection of diverse Escherichia coli and Shigella strains with a verocytotoxigenic bacteriophage.

A verocytotoxigenic bacteriophage isolated from a strain of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157, into which a kanamycin resistance gene (aph3) had been inserted to inactivate the verocytotoxin gene (vt2), was used to infect Enterobacteriaceae strains. A number of Shigella and E. coli strains were susceptible to lysogenic infection, and a smooth E. coli isolate (O107) was also susceptible to lytic infection. The lysogenized strains included different smooth E. coli serotypes of both human and animal origin, indicating that this bacteriophage has a substantial capacity to disseminate verocytotoxin genes. A novel indirect plaque assay utilizing an E. coli recA441 mutant in which phage-infected cells can enter only the lytic cycle, enabling detection of all infective phage, was developed.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Perception of sweetness in simple and complex taste stimuli by adults and children.

Currently, there is little information on the ability of children to analyse complex chemosensory stimuli in terms of the presence and magnitude of the components. The present study investigates this question by comparing the ability of 95 adults and 8- to 9-year-olds to estimate the sweetness of several concentrations of sucrose in water and in three foods, namely, orange drink, custard and shortbread biscuits, using a magnitude estimation procedure. The results indicated that similar response functions were produced by adults and children for the sweetness of aqueous solutions of sucrose, custard and biscuits, but not for orange juice, where the functions produced by both female and male children were significantly flatter than those of the adults. Stimulus context may have influenced the ratings of children in the no-sucrose and highest sucrose concentration conditions with two of the foods. The absence of differences between the response functions of the female and male children with all types of stimuli indicated that gender had no influence on their responses. It is concluded that, at mid-childhood, humans are capable of estimating the sweetness of sucrose in foods, but that they have a tendency to limit the range of numbers used in their estimates of sweetness at high concentrations of sucrose in some foods.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Cultural interpretation services within a multicultural context: an exploration of the problematic and ethical issues facing social service institutions.

This paper explores the challenges for social service agencies which offer cultural interpretation services in their bid to meet the needs of service seekers and recipients from linguistic minorities. The author argues that cultural interpretation is provided by institutions that have done little more than add a service for clients from cultural minorities, while leaving intact their service structures--structures that have historically viewed language and "cultural differences" as problems. This orientation will need to change if these services are to be accessible and equitable for Canadians from linguistic and ethnic minorities. While cultural interpreters remain critical to service delivery, they need to work within institutions where service providers and administrators understand language as a cultural, social, and political instrument through which individuals articulate their identities, realities, and understandings of their cultural contexts and service needs. This paper concludes by identifying some of the ethical dilemmas and questions that attend the needed institutional changes.

Canada↗
PubMed1997

A comparison of the ability of 8-9-year-old children and adults to detect taste stimuli.

Conflicting data exist in the literature regarding the maturity of the human sense of taste during childhood and if gender influences gustatory development. To investigate these 2 questions, taste detection thresholds for the 4 common tastants sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and caffeine were established for 61 young adults and 68 children aged 8-9 years old, using a paired-comparison forced-choice procedure. No significant differences were found between the mean thresholds of women and men, or between those of female children and adults. In contrast, male children had significantly higher thresholds for all 4 tastants than adult females, for all tastants except caffeine than adult men, and for sucrose and sodium chloride than female children. It is concluded that the taste sensitivity of 8-9-year-old males, although well developed, has not fully matured, and that taste sensitivity is not affected by gender in young adults.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy.

To study the problem of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy an epidemiological survey was undertaken, obtaining information from 500 consecutive antenatal patients. Seventy-six percent of women complained of symptoms during the first trimester, and in only 27% had the symptoms resolved by the twelfth week. Job efficiency was markedly impaired. Women who suffered nausea premenstrually, or on the oral contraceptive pill, were much more likely to develop symptoms, lending credence to a hormonal etiology for the condition.

Appetite↗
PubMed1987

The St. Thomas's Hospital maternity case notes study: a randomised controlled trial to assess the effects of giving expectant mothers their own maternity case notes.

At an antenatal clinic in St. Thomas's Hospital, London, 246 expectant mothers were randomly allocated to hold either their own maternity case notes or the standard co-operation card. Information was collected on three occasions during their care on attitudes and health behaviour. Clinical outcomes were recorded and the effects of the two systems on clinic administration were observed. More of the notes group expressed satisfaction with most aspects of their care and delivery and significantly more of the notes group felt well informed and satisfied with their companion during labour. There were no differences in clinical outcomes between the two groups except that, for no identifiable systematic reason, there were more assisted deliveries among the notes group. A number of administrative advantages resulted from mothers holding their own notes and although initial reservations were found amongst professional staff interviewed at the start of the study, the results proved persuasive and the practice of giving mothers their own notes is now to be extended throughout the department.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Prophylactic blood transfusion in maternal sickle cell syndromes.

An assessment of the benefits of prophylactic blood transfusion during 51 pregnancies in women with haemoglobin SS, haemoglobin SC and haemoglobin S-beta-thalassaemia in a retrospective study from 1978 to 1984 has failed to demonstrate any clear conclusions as to their efficacy. Of the transfused patients, 22% developed atypical red cell antibodies and 14% had immediate minor transfusion reactions. Our data show no significant difference in fetal or maternal outcome between those patients who were transfused prophylactically and those who were not. A prospective study to clarify the appropriate place of this important aspect of management in women with sickle cell disease in pregnancy is suggested.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1986

The duration of lochia.

The duration of lochia and its association with a number of obstetric variables was studied in 236 women. Each woman completed a diary sheet describing the colour and duration of her lochia for up to 60 days post partum. The phases of lochia were divided according to the classical description; lochia rubra, serosa and alba. The median total duration of lochia was 33 days, lochia rubra 4 days and lochia serosa 22 days. Lochia persisted to 60 days in 13% of women. The duration of lochia was shorter in parous women and women with smaller babies.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1984

The symptomatology of the climacteric in relation to hormonal and cytological factors.

Climacteric symptomatology was investigated in a group of non-selected women aged between 54 and 56 years of age, Vasomotor complaints and dyspareunia, in particular, were noted and related to plasma hormone levels and vaginal cytology. Only 33% of those women who were within 5 years of the menopause had symptoms of a magnitude that might require hormone replacement therapy. Neither the vasomotor complaints nor dyspareunia correlated with the hormone levels or cytology findings to such an extent as to be helpful in planning treatment. Apparently only a minority of women in their middle 50s demonstrate a symptomatic need for hormone replacement therapy and laboratory investigations are of little use in their identification.

Cervix Uteri↗
PubMed1982

Ethnic differences in perinatal mortality--a challenge.

The perinatal mortality rates of mothers who delivered at St. Thomas's Hospital from 1969 to 1976 have been examined. The rate in the West Indian population was significant higher than in the United Kingdom white population. The increased West Indian mortality was confined to infants with a birth weight of more than 2.0 kg and a gestational age of more than 37 weeks. The relative risk of perinatal death for West Indian mothers compared with UK white mothers was 1.4 at birth weights of 2.5 kg to 2.9 kg, rising to 4.3 at 4.0 + kg. West Indian perinatal mortality in term babies of normal birth weight was higher in all maternal age and parity groups except parity 3, but the difference was greatest in women aged 30 or over. The African perinatal mortality rate was not significantly greater than the UK white rate although it followed the West Indian trends. Pre-eclampsia and forceps delivery were associated with a greatly increased perinatal mortality in West Indian babies. The excess West Indian mortality could not be explained completely by differences in the proportions of stillbirths and early neonatal deaths nor by the distribution of births by parity, maternal age, or social class. Possible explanations for the differences in mortality are discussed.

Birth Weight↗