Biomedical subjects

Caroline Murphy

Publications and source records attributed to Caroline Murphy.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

The effect of different media on the survival and induction of stress responses by Campylobacter jejuni.

The survival kinetics of Campylobacter jejuni strain CI 120 to a challenge of pH 4.5 was studied in seven different media. A medium effect was observed, showing up to a 5-log difference in stress resistance of cells. Strain variation in survival of C. jejuni was observed in Brucella broth (BBL). The ability of C. jejuni CI 120 to respond to a stress after growth in seven different media was also examined. An Adaptive Tolerance Response (ATR) was induced in only three of the seven media tested. The degree of resistance induced by the ATR varied between the different media. The production, during growth, of an extracellular component that confers stress resistance against subsequent acid challenge was observed in only four of seven media tested. Due to the direct effect of medium on stress/survival of C. jejuni, the results suggest that studies using different media may not be comparable.

Campylobacter jejuni↗

PubMed2005

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype, northern Malawi.

In a 7-year population-based study in Malawi, we showed that Beijing genotype tuberculosis (TB) increased as a proportion of TB cases. All the Beijing genotype strains were fully drug sensitive. Contact histories, TB type, and case-fatality rates were similar for Beijing and non-Beijing genotype TB.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Falling in Parkinson's disease: the impact on informal caregivers.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the views and experiences of the informal caregivers of repeat fallers with Parkinson's disease. METHOD: Individuals were invited to participate in this study if they were the informal caregiver of a person with Parkinson's disease (PD) who had experienced more than one fall in the previous 12 months. Participants were interviewed about their experience of managing falls using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interview data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Fourteen caregivers (11 female) participated in the study. All were marital partners of a repeat faller with Parkinson's disease. The average age of the participants was 69.9 years (44-79). Their partners had had PD for an average of 16.7 years. Six major themes emerged from the analysis of the interview data, four directly related to falls management (the falls; consequences of the falls for the person with PD; caregivers' experiences of falls; consequences of falls for the caregiver). The majority of caregivers were frightened about their spouse falling. They used a number of methods of getting their spouse up from the floor but often injured themselves as a consequence. Caregivers highlighted the high level of care they provided and the social and psychological impact of the condition on them. They received limited help in looking after their spouse and little information about falls or about the disease in general. CONCLUSION: Caregivers in this study felt unprepared for their role and expressed a need for more support and advice, especially about managing falls.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2004

DNA fingerprint changes in tuberculosis: reinfection, evolution, or laboratory error?

BACKGROUND: DNA fingerprint patterns of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains vary within individuals and between epidemiologically linked individuals because of pattern evolution, new infections, and laboratory error. We explored the importance of these factors. METHODS: Cultures from individuals in northern Malawi who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) during 1996-2001 were fingerprinted with restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP). Probable laboratory error was inferred by use of dates or isolated positive cultures. Pattern evolution was explored within and between individuals, and the relative importance of relapse and reinfection was estimated in individuals with recurrent TB. RESULTS: RFLP results were available for 930 isolates from 806 individuals. The maximum laboratory-error rate was 3.9%. Pattern evolution was more common in linked individuals (17%) than on relapse (11%) or during treatment (3%). Twenty individuals had recurrent TB after completing treatment: in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals, 7 of 12 recurrences were due to reinfection, compared with 0 of 8 in HIV-negative individuals (P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of DNA fingerprint-pattern evolution is not linear, and rates of change calculated from repeat cultures within individuals may not be applicable to transmission between individuals. The high proportion of recurrence due to reinfection found in HIV-positive individuals suggests that secondary prophylaxis and/or antiretroviral treatments are needed for such individuals.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Discharge from physiotherapy following stroke: the management of disappointment.

Stroke tends to result in a range of disabilities which have been shown to benefit from rehabilitation, in particular physiotherapy. Patients tend to have high expectations of the extent of recovery they can achieve through physiotherapy, and subsequently view discharge from physiotherapy before they have achieved that degree of recovery as disappointing and distressing. Current literature suggest that explicit discussion between physiotherapists and patients of the anticipated extent of recovery tends to be avoided during the programme of physiotherapy treatment, making discharge from physiotherapy the point at which potentially differing expectations might be expected to be confronted. This paper explores how the process of discharge is managed and experienced by patients and physiotherapists. It draws on Craib's (1994) ideas about how disappointment is managed in modern society. A qualitative longitudinal study was conducted with 16 stroke patients and their physiotherapists. These data comprise interview and observational material. The study found that the discharge of stroke patients from physiotherapy is not a point when patients' expectations and optimism about recovery are confronted. The notion of natural recovery that was raised with patients by physiotherapists at discharge and the information physiotherapists gave about exercise post-discharge had the effect of maintaining patients' high expectations and hopes about recovery. This has implications for the process of adaptation and adjustment that the patient eventually goes through in order to accommodate their altered abilities and identity. We argue that a number of factors contribute to the denial of disappointment within this interaction and that services need to be developed in ways that enable physiotherapists to engage with the possibility of disappointment about stroke outcome with patients, thereby making a positive contribution to the process of adaptation and adjustment that stroke survivors experience following discharge.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Induction of an adaptive tolerance response in the foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni.

In this study we aimed to determine if Campylobacter had the ability to induce an adaptive tolerance response (ATR) to acid and/or aerobic conditions. Campylobacter jejuni CI 120 was grown to the appropriate phase in Brucella broth under microaerobic conditions. Cells were initially adapted to a mild stress (pH 5.5) for 5 h prior to challenge at pH 4.5, a lethal pH. Survival was examined by determining the numbers of viable cells on Campylobacter blood free selective agar base. Stationary phase cells adapted at pH 5.5 induced an ATR that enabled a 100-fold greater survival compared to an uninduced culture. Aerobic adaptation also protected the cells against acid challenge. The cross protection provided a 500-fold increase in survival when compared to unadapted cells. The incorporation of chloramphenicol during the induction period eliminated the ATR and resulted in death kinetics similar to an uninduced culture. These data suggest that Campylobacter spp. have the ability to induce an ATR to sublethal treatments, which increased their ability to withstand subsequent stresses.

Adaptation, Physiological↗