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Biomedical subjects

Susan Turner

Publications and source records attributed to Susan Turner.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Workplace exposures and employment patterns in adult onset asthmatics and diabetics.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the impact of working conditions on employment decisions after the onset of chronic diseases in adult life. AIMS: To determine the effects of job characteristics on employment in patients attending asthma and diabetes clinics. METHODS: Patients aged 16-60 years were interviewed when attending outpatient clinics or undergoing day case surgery. The asthmatics (n=165) and diabetics (n=283) were taking regular prescribed medication for their condition, and were in paid employment at the time of diagnosis. Job titles at diagnosis were rated for exposures with the potential to cause or aggravate asthma or diabetes, and median ratings were used to assess the impact of exposures on the probability of changing the job held at diagnosis. RESULTS: Exposure to irritants or sensitizers at the time of diagnosis was more likely in asthmatics than in the comparison group (odds ratio = 7.09; 95% CI 3.12-16.17); physical activity was unrelated to diagnosis. At interview, on average 8.5 years after diagnosis, more asthmatics were unemployed (44%; mean age 47 years) than diabetics (31%; mean age 49 years) with ill-health being the most common reason given. No relation was found between exposure in the job held at diagnosis and subsequent job change. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found that changing jobs was used as a strategy to find more tolerable working conditions. The high proportion of unemployment due to ill-health among adult onset asthmatics deserves further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

A study of work-related musculoskeletal case reports to The Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR) from 2002 to 2003.

BACKGROUND: Occupational musculoskeletal disorders are frequently seen by occupational physicians and rheumatologists, and there are well-established UK-based schemes set-up for reporting these conditions. An apparent fall in case reporting for work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Great Britain to The Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR) was observed from 2002 to 2003. AIMS: To investigate changes in case reporting for musculoskeletal disorders sent by occupational physicians to Occupational Physicians Reporting Activity (OPRA) and by rheumatologists to Musculoskeletal Occupational Surveillance Scheme (MOSS) between 2002 and 2003. METHODS: Musculoskeletal cases returned by more than 800 physicians from Great Britain reporting to OPRA and MOSS in 2002-2003 were analysed. Changes in reporting are described at individual physician and group levels in: numbers of participants, levels of response, and numbers of case reports by disease category and major occupational and industrial groups. RESULTS: In 2002-2003, musculoskeletal disease was the most frequently reported major disease category in OPRA. Between 2002 and 2003, the proportion of musculoskeletal case reporting fell by 37% in OPRA, and 7% in MOSS. This fall was seen in many disease categories, across a wide range of occupations and industries. In OPRA, the greatest fall in reporting (74%) was for the category Raynaud's/Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome/Vibration White Finger. CONCLUSIONS: The fall in occupational musculoskeletal case reporting between 2002 and 2003 cannot be explained by internal factors within the reporting system. This observation highlights the need for systematic investigation of trends in case reporting for work-related ill-health.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

The incidence of work-related illness in the UK health and social work sector: The Health and Occupation Reporting network 2002-2003.

BACKGROUND: In the United Kingdom, The Health and Occupation Reporting network (THOR) collects incidence data on work-related illness. THOR data show that the health and social work sector generates a high proportion of case reports. This study analyses the most recent data for the health and social work sector, from 2002 to 2003. METHODS: Cases returned to the Occupational Physicians Reporting Activity (OPRA) scheme and three other specialist schemes (Surveillance of Occupational Stress and Mental Illness, Musculoskeletal Occupational Surveillance Scheme and occupational skin surveillance) were analysed. Estimates of incidence rates for stress-related illness, musculoskeletal disorders and skin disease were calculated using two denominators. RESULTS: In this period, 23% (11,016/47,437) of all estimated cases in THOR were in health and social work sector employees. In OPRA, in the health and social work sector, annual average incidence rates per 100,000 calculated using Labour Force Survey (LFS) data as the denominator were 51.2 for mental illness, 35.9 for musculoskeletal disorders and 10.4 for skin disease; using McDonald's data as the denominator the corresponding rates were 119.5, 83.7 and 24.3. In the specialist THOR schemes, annual average incidence rates per 100,000 using LFS data as the denominator were 18.4 (mental illness), 6.1 (musculoskeletal disorders) and 15.3 (skin disease). CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the importance of collecting information on incident cases and denominators, to allow calculation of occupational disease rates. The higher incidence of mental illness (compared with musculoskeletal and skin disorders) in this employment sector merits further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Intestinal alpha beta T cells differentiate and rearrange antigen receptor genes in situ in the human infant.

Intestinal Ag exposure during neonatal life influences appropriate adult immune responses. To define the mechanisms shaping the T cell repertoire during this period, we examined T cell differentiation and receptor diversity in the intestine of human infants. Developmental phenotypes of intraepithelial and lamina propria intestinal T cells from infants aged 1 day to 2 years were assessed ex vivo by flow cytometry and in situ by triple-fluorescent immunohistochemistry. Gene recombination-specific enzymes were assessed by PCR. TCR beta-chain V region gene diversity was determined by sequencing. Several different early lineage T cell populations were present neonatally: CD3(+)4(-)8(-) T cells were present at birth and numbers decreased during the neonatal period; CD3(+)4(+)8(+) T cells were present in low numbers throughout infancy; and CD3(+)4(+)8(-) or CD3(+)4(-)8(+) T cells increased with age. Very early lineage T cells, CD3(-)2(-)7(+) and CD3(-)2(+)7(+), were present neonatally, but were essentially absent at 1 year. Most lamina propria T cells differentiated rapidly after birth, but maturation of intraepithelial T cells took place over 1 year. Intestinal samples from infants less than 6 mo old contained transcripts of T early alpha and TdT, and 15 of 19 infant samples contained mRNA for RAG-1, some coexpressing RAG-2. TCR beta-chain repertoires were polyclonal in infants. Immature T cells, pre-T cells, and genes involved in T cell recombination were found in the intestine during infancy. T cell differentiation occurs within the neonatal human intestine, and the TCR repertoire of these developing immature T cells is likely to be influenced by luminal Ags. Thus, mucosal T cell responsiveness to environmental Ag is shaped in situ during early life.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The oldest articulated chondrichthyan from the Early Devonian period.

Chondrichthyans (including living sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras) have a fossil record of scales and dermal denticles perhaps dating back to the Late Ordovician period, about 455 million years ago. Their fossil tooth record extends to the earliest Devonian period, almost 418 million years ago, whereas the oldest known articulated shark remains date from the Early Devonian period, about 394 million years ago. Here we report the discovery of an articulated shark that is almost 409 million years old from the Early Devonian (early Emsian) period of New Brunswick, Canada. The specimen, identified as Doliodus problematicus (Woodward), sheds light on the earliest chondrichthyans and their interrelationships with basal jawed vertebrates. This species has been truly problematic. Previously known only from isolated teeth, it has been identified as an acanthodian and a chondrichthyan. This specimen is the oldest shark showing the tooth families in situ, and preserves one of the oldest chondrichthyan braincases. More notably, it shows the presence of paired pectoral fin-spines, previously unknown in cartilaginous fishes.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

A novel cytochrome c peroxidase from Neisseria gonorrhoeae: a lipoprotein from a Gram-negative bacterium.

A cytochrome c peroxidase (CCP) produced by Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been shown to have novel characteristics by investigating its location, expression and role in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and by expression in Escherichia coli. Analysis of the N-terminus of CCP indicated that it is a lipoprotein with a signal peptide for cleavage by signal peptidase II. Expression of the gonococcal CCP in E. coli revealed that it is first synthesized as a pro-apo-cytochrome that is translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane. The signal peptide is cleaved and haem is attached in the periplasm. The gonococcal CCP was associated with the membrane of both E. coli and N. gonorrhoeae. The expression of a MalE-CCP fusion protein has allowed characterization of CCP in vitro. Evidence is presented that CCP protects gonococci from hydrogen peroxide, presumably in the periplasmic compartment of the cell. The expression of CCP is dependent on the transcription factor FNR, but is repressed by nitrite, indicating that it could be most important in the stationary-phase response. These data support the hypothesis that the gonococcal lipoprotein CCP is anchored to the membrane in the periplasm, where it might be responsible for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Other putative CCP lipoproteins have been identified, representing a new subclass of bacterial CCP proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

The last dicynodont: an Australian Cretaceous relict.

Some long-forgotten fossil evidence reveals that a dicynodont (mammal-like reptile of the infraorder Dicynodontia) inhabited Australia as recently as the Early Cretaceous, ca. 110 Myr after the supposed extinction of dicynodonts in the Late Triassic. This remarkably late occurrence more than doubles the known duration of dicynodont history (from ca. 63 Myr to ca. 170 Myr) and betrays the profound impact of geographical isolation on Australian terrestrial faunas through the Mesozoic. Australia's late-surviving dicynodont may be envisaged as a counterpart of the ceratopians (horned dinosaurs) in Cretaceous tetrapod faunas of Asia and North America.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Neutropenia and anaemia associated with T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukaemia responds to fludarabine with minimal toxicity.

T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukaemia (T-LGL) is a clonal disorder of T cells associated with neutropenia and anaemia. The clinical consequences are recurrent infections and transfusion dependence. The optimum treatment for severely affected patients remains to be defined. Current therapies require long-term administration to maintain an effect. We report the reversal of severe neutropenia and/or anaemia in four patients treated with fludarabine which has been maintained since stopping treatment. The therapeutic side-effects were restricted to one episode of fever not associated with neutropenia. We conclude that fludarabine is effective in T-LGL, may be given safely despite severe neutropenia and induces durable treatment-free remissions.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

A decade of drug treatment court research.

As drug treatment courts have multiplied over the past decade, so too have research evaluations conducted on their implementation and effectiveness. This article explores the decade of drug treatment court research conducted at RAND, starting with the experimental field evaluation of Maricopa's drug testing and treatment options to the most current 14-site national evaluation of courts funded in 1995-96 by the Drug Court Program Office. The article presents summaries of findings, a brief description of a drug treatment court typology, and suggestion of where future research might focus.

California↗