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Biomedical subjects

Susan Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to Susan Taylor.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Vancomycin-resistant enterococcal colonisation of hospitalised patients in Auckland.

AIM: To assess the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal colonisation of hospitalised patients in five selected Auckland hospitals. METHODS: Faeces specimens submitted to the Microbiology Laboratories at Auckland and Middlemore Hospitals for Clostridium difficile toxin assay were screened for the presence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). RESULTS: VRE were cultured from two of 686 patients, giving a colonisation rate of 0.3% in those patients who had a faeces sample submitted for C. difficile toxin assay (95% CI 0 to 0.7%). Both isolates were Enterococcus faecalis; susceptible to ampicillin, resistant to vancomycin and of the vanA genotype. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first screening study in New Zealand that has identified patients with VRE colonisation. While VRE are still rarely isolated in this country, rates of colonisation and infection may be increasing. Hospitals need to be aware of the likely emergence of VRE and be prepared to implement strategies to limit their spread.

Adolescent↗

A 15-residue bifunctional element in D-AKAP1 is required for both endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial targeting.

The cAMP-dependent protein kinase anchoring protein, d-AKAP1, has two N-terminal splice variants. The shorter forms (N0, d-AKAP1a, and -1c) target to mitochondria, and the longer forms (N1, d-AKAP1b, and -1d) with 33 additional residues N-terminal to N0 target to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (Huang, L. J., Wang, L., Ma, Y., Durick, K., Perkins, G., Deerinck, T. J., Ellisman, M. H., and Taylor, S. S. (1999) J. Cell Biol. 145, 951-959). In d-AKAP1a, translation may initiate from both Met-34 or Met-49 producing two molecules both targeted to mitochondria. The shorter molecule contains the 15-residue targeting motif, homologous to the N-terminal mitochondrial targeting motif of hexokinase I. Extensive mutagenesis showed that one hydrophobic surface of the 15-residue hexokinase-homologous segment contained the key elements for mitochondrial targeting. The same 15 residues are also part of the ER-targeting signal, but for ER targeting multiple hydrophobic residues are required that encompass both surfaces of the helix. The different involvement of the same helical motif for targeting to the two organelles appears to reflect different modes of interaction with the two organelles. This is the first example of a bifunctional helical element that is required for both ER and mitochondrion targeting.

A Kinase Anchor Proteins↗

Influences of partners' views of asthma self-management and family environment on asthmatic adults' asthma quality of life.

Influences of partners' views of the adult asthmatic's self-management and family environment were explored from the perspective of a collaborative care system. Adults (N = 172, 86 couples) completed questionnaires: perceived control of asthma, perceived ability to care for self, asthma quality of life (AQOL), and an asthma opinion survey. Significant relationships between perceptions of adults with asthma (AWA) and partners were found (r ranged from.32 to.74). Multiple regression analysis of partners' perceptions on AWA AQOL yielded a 3-factor solution (R(2) = 39%). Family cohesion had a significant effect on AWA AQOL (F [1, 168] = 4.43, p <or=.04). Clinical implications are discussed.

Adult↗

Moral fatigue--a nursing perspective.

It is perhaps inevitable that a phenomenon called moral fatigue would be labeled, described, and applied to nurses, whose working environment has more than its share of moral conflicts. When professionals' duties to patients and their families--duties that are caught up in uncertainty and fast-paced institutional and cultural change--are made to seem irrelevant to the patients' real needs, the resulting discomfort of professionals is generally called moral distress. This article explores the dimensions of moral distress among nurses and presents moral fatigue as a holistic experience with both personal and institutional consequences.

Burnout, Professional↗

A large 12-month extension study of an 8-week trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of triple combination (TC) cream in melasma patients previously treated with TC cream or one of its dyads.

This was a 12-month extension of a randomized, investigator-blinded, multicenter, 8-week trial with triple combination (TC) cream in facial melasma. A total of 585 patients were enrolled in the study and 569 patients received study medication. Three hundred eighty-nine patients completed 6 months of treatment and 327 patients completed 12 months of treatment. TC cream demonstrated a favorable safety profile: only 14 patients (2.5%) discontinued the study due to treatment-related adverse events (AEs). The 2 cases of skin atrophy were mild and did not lead to withdrawal. From the 23 cases of mild telangiectasia, only 2 resulted in discontinuation. All others were transient. Results confirmed those of a previous smaller study, with both physicians and patients reporting clinically significant improvements in melasma. By month 12, 80% of patients had lesions completely cleared or nearly cleared. Once daily application of TC cream applied intermittently over a long period is a safe, tolerable, and effective treatment for moderate to severe melasma of the face.

Administration, Topical↗