Gender differences and performance in science.
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Career Choice↗
Biomedical subjects
Helen Quinn
Publications and source records attributed to Helen Quinn.
Reduction in transplacental transmission of Neospora caninum in outbred mice by vaccination.
Infection with the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum is an important cause of abortion in cattle. A major source of infection is transplacental transfer of the parasite from mother to offspring during pregnancy. This study describes investigations on the immunisation of outbred Qs mice before pregnancy with live or a crude lysate of N. caninum (NC-Nowra isolate) to prevent transplacental transfer of a challenge infection administered during pregnancy. Parasites present in the brains of pups from mice challenged with N. caninum (NC-Liverpool) were detected by PCR. Injection of live NC-Nowra tachyzoites before pregnancy dramatically reduced transplacental transfer from 75 to 0.8% in one experiment and from 76 to 8% in a second experiment. Injection of a crude lysate of NC-Nowra tachyzoites reduced transplacental transfer from 67 to 53% in one experiment and from 76 to 63% in a second experiment. Analysis of N. caninum-specific IgG1 and IgG2a antibody levels prior to pregnancy and challenge showed that NC-Nowra lysate induced a response skewed towards IgG1 whereas live parasites induced both IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies. After pregnancy and a challenge infection, a similar IgG1/IgG2a response was seen in all challenged groups. These results provide further positive support for the hypothesis that transplacental transmission of this parasite is preventable by vaccination.
Animals↗
An evaluation of dependency assessment: experiences of staff, patients and carers in a UK hospice.
AIM: To evaluate the experiences of health-care professionals, service users and carers of service users from a UK hospice in relation to dependency assessment. DESIGN: Qualitative evaluation. SAMPLE: Purposive, convenience sample of hospice staff, patients receiving hospice services and carers of patients receiving hospice services. METHODS: Focus group interviews with hospice staff and carers of hospice service users. Individual interviews with patients. RESULTS: Staff felt the tool used produced inaccurate results, in part because of omissions in content. They did not perceive the data produced affected working practice, e.g. staffing levels. Patients described unobtrusive assessment and stated their needs were met. Carers reported feelings of isolation. They also described differing information and support needs from the patients. CONCLUSION: Further research is required to improve the validity of dependency data collection. Further investigation of carer assessment is also justified.
Aged↗
The presence of interleukin-2 receptor alpha in the serum of colorectal cancer patients is unlikely to result only from T cell up-regulation.
It is unclear whether the presence of interleukin-2 soluble receptor alpha (IL-2 sRalpha) in the serum of colorectal cancer patients is solely due to T cell activation. In this study, we therefore investigated whether T cell activation, indicated by the up-regulation of the CD25 and HLA-DR markers, or cell-mediated immunity (CMI) were associated with increased serum levels of IL-2 sRalpha in patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma. The levels of serum IL-2 sRalpha and the proportion of T cells expressing HLA-DR (DR(+) T cells) were measured as markers for chronic activation. CMI was assessed by delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction (DTH) to intradermal injections of recall antigens. Eighty-seven colorectal liver metastases (CLM) patients and 23 'cancer-free' control subjects were studied. DR(+) T cells were found to be more prevalent ( P<0.0001) in CLM patients (median: 21.1%) than in controls (median: 3.4%), but DR(+) T cell up-regulation was not correlated with serum IL-2 sRalpha levels. CMI positivity was significantly reduced ( P=0.002) in CLM patients compared with controls, and this reduction was significantly associated ( P=0.05) with an increase in the number of DR(+) T cells. Although survival was significantly shorter ( P=0.0003) in patients with increased serum IL-2 sRalpha levels than in subjects with normal levels, no association was found between survival and DR(+) T cell up-regulation. These findings were consistent with the hypothesis of an additional source of serum IL-2 sRalpha other than T cell up-regulation in CLM patients -- either from other immune cells, or from tumour products.
Adenocarcinoma↗