The immunobiology of myiasis infections--whatever happened to vaccination?
- Authors: Sandeman, Mark , Bowles, Vern , Colwell, Doug
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Parasite immunology Vol. 36, no. 11 (2014), p. 605-615
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- Description: The current state of myiasis vaccine technologies are reviewed mainly in the primary research genera of Lucilia and Hypoderma. The importance of myiasis flies as primary causes of morbidity and mortality in agricultural species and man has not diminished despite the existence of good control strategies. However, the development of vaccines against myiasis infections has been relatively quiescent for more than 10 years despite the rapid development of genomic and proteomic analysis and of skills in data interpretation. The value of vaccine research in an era of chemical primacy is analysed. In fact, recent findings of drug resistance and the impact of animal welfare concerns should mean a renewed interest in alternative controls. The reasons that this has not been true to date are explored and new possibilities discussed.
A randomized controlled trial of MoodSwings 2.0 : An internet-based self-management program for bipolar disorder
- Authors: Gliddon, Emma , Cosgrove, Victoria , Berk, Lesley , Lauder, Sue , Mohebbi, Mohammadreza , Grimm, David , Dodd, Seetal , Coulson, Carolyn , Raju, Karishma , Suppes, Trisha , Berk, Michael
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Bipolar Disorders Vol. 21, no. 1 (2019), p. 28-39
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- Description: Objectives MoodSwings 2.0 is an online self-guided intervention for bipolar disorder that includes educational modules, interactive tools, and discussion forums. The primary aim of the study was to determine if participation in MoodSwings 2.0 would result in decreased symptoms of depression and mania compared to the control condition. Secondary aims were to identify improvements in core depression symptoms, quality of life, medication adherence, functioning, and time to relapse. Methods This was a three-arm randomized controlled trial that compared two intervention arms against a peer support control group (forum). A total of 304 adults aged 21 to 65 years with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder were assigned to a forum-only control group (Group 1; n = 102), a forum plus modules treatment group (Group 2; n = 102), or a forum, modules, and tools treatment group (Group 3; n = 100), in addition to usual care. Results There was a significant intervention impact showing improvement on the primary outcome of depression for Group 2 compared to Group 1 (P = .05) with effect sizes (Cohen's d) ranging from 0.17 to 0.43. There was also a significant intervention impact showing improvement on the secondary outcome of core depression for Group 2 (P = .02) and Group 3 (P = .05), but worse physical functioning for Group 3 (P = .01), compared to Group 1. Conclusions This study provides evidence of the efficacy of internet-based psychoeducation interventions for bipolar disorder in reducing depressive symptoms. Further investigation is needed to assess effectiveness in a public program.
Attitudes of healthcare providers towards family involvement and presence in adult critical care units in Saudi Arabia : A quantitative study
- Authors: Al Mutair, Abbas , Plummer, Virginia , O'Brien, Anthony , Clerehan, Rosemary
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Clinical Nursing Vol. 23, no. 5-6 (2014), p. 744-755
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- Description: Aims and objectives: To describe healthcare providers' attitudes to family involvement during routine care and family presence during resuscitation or other invasive procedures in adult intensive care units in Saudi Arabia. Background: Previous research has shown that healthcare professionals have revealed a diversity of opinions on family involvement during routine care and family presence during resuscitation or other invasive procedures. Attitude assessment can provide an indication of staff acceptance or rejection of the practice and also help identify key potential barriers that will need to be addressed. It has also been evident that participation in the care has potential benefits for patients and families as well as healthcare providers. Design: A quantitative descriptive design. Methods: A questionnaire was used with a convenience sample of 468 healthcare providers who were recruited from eight intensive care units. Results: The analysis found that healthcare providers had positive attitudes towards family involvement during routine care, but negative attitudes towards family presence during resuscitation or other invasive procedures. Physicians expressed more opposition to the practice than did nurses and respiratory therapists. Staff indicated a need to develop written guidelines and policies, as well as educational programmes, to address this sensitive issue in clinical practice. Conclusion: Family is an important resource in patient care in the context of the critical care environment. Clinical barriers including resources, hospital policies and guidelines, staff and public education should be taken into account to facilitate family integration to the care model. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings can help to develop policies and guidelines for safe implementation of the practice. They can also encourage those who design nursing and other medical curricula to place more emphasis on the role of the family especially in critical care settings. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Age-related differences revealed in australian fur seal arctocephalus pusillus doriferus gut microbiota
- Authors: Smith, Stuart , Chalker, Andrea , Dewar, Meagan , Arnould, John
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: FEMS Microbiology Ecology Vol. 86, no. 2 (2013), p. 246-255
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- Description: The gut microbiota of Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) was examined at different age classes using fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. The FISH results indicated that in the fur seal groups, the predominant phyla are Firmicutes (22.14-67.33%) followed by Bacteroidetes (3.11-15.45%) and then Actinobacteria (1.4-5.9%) consistent with other mammals. Phylum Proteobacteria had an initial abundance of 1.8% in the 2-month-old pups, but < 1% of bacterial numbers for the other fur seal age groups. Significant differences did occur in the abundance of Clostridia, Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria between 2 months pups and 9 months pups and adult fur seals. Results from the 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing supported the FISH data and identified significant differences in the composition of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and Fusobacteria at all ages. Class Clostridia in phylum Firmicutes dominates the microbiota of the 2 months and 9 months seal pups, whilst class Bacilli dominates the 6 months pups. In addition, a high level of dissimilarity was observed between all age classes. This study provides novel insight into the gut microbiota of Australian fur seals at different age classes. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.
Communication training and its effects on carer and care-receiver outcomes in dementia settings : A systematic review
- Authors: Nguyen, Hoang , Terry, Daniel , Phan, Hoang , Vickers, James , McInerney, Fran
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Clinical Nursing Vol. 28, no. 7-8 (2019), p. 1050-1069
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- Description: Aims and objectives To review communication interventions that aim to improve regular care interactions between people with dementia and their carers in various settings; and to examine the impact of such interventions on both carer and care-receiver outcomes. Background Effective communication is imperative to ensure quality of care for people living with dementia. Due to neurodegenerative changes, people with dementia encounter ongoing and progressive difficulties in both understanding and expressing themselves. This in turn creates challenges for carers, which highlights the need for equipping them with necessary communication skills to respond to the specific communication needs of people with dementia. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Method Medline, Embase, CINAHL, ProQuest and PsycINFO databases were searched for eligible interventions with any date of the publication. Hand searching was also conducted through reviewing the reference lists of relevant articles. The screening and selection of studies were based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria for eligibility and the methodological quality assessment checklist. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on comparable quantitative data. The review is reported following the PRISMA reporting guidelines. Results Seventeen studies were included in the final review, including 12 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three nonrandomised controlled trials (NRCTs) and two controlled before-after interventions. The intervention designs, settings and outcome measures were varied. The findings suggest that the communication training had a positive impact on both carer and care-receiver outcomes, albeit to different degrees. The intervention effects were found to be strongest on carer communication skills and knowledge. Conclusion There is solid evidence for the positive impact of communication training on the skills and knowledge of carers. More research is needed regarding the effects of such educational interventions on carer physio-psychological outcomes and care-receiver neuropsychiatric symptoms. It is important to establish best practices in training design, develop validated outcome measures and adopt consistent reporting approaches. Relevance to clinical practice The increasing global prevalence of people with dementia manifests across clinical and community contexts. The profound impact of dementia on communication and associated care raises the imperative for enhanced health worker and carer communication skills to meet the needs of this particular client group. The findings of this review indicate that educational interventions incorporating face-to-face and diverse instructional delivery methods in dementia communication showed positive outcomes for communication skills in all carer groups and warrant inclusion as strategies in dementia training.
Jump-landing mechanics in patellar tendinopathy in elite youth basketballers
- Authors: Harris, Meaghan , Schultz, Adrian , Drew, Michael , Rio, Ebonie , Charlton, Paula , Edwards, Suzi
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports Vol. 30, no. 3 (Mar 2020), p. 540-548
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- Description: Patellar tendinopathy (PT) is a leading cause of morbidity in jump-landing athletes. Landing mechanics are identified as a factor associated with PT and/or patellar tendon abnormality. This study aimed to identify key jump-landing variables associated with PT. Thirty-six junior elite basketball players (men n = 18, women n = 18) were recruited from a Basketball Australia development camp. Three-dimensional (3D) kinematic and ground reaction force (GRF) data during a stop-jump task were collected as well as ultrasound scans of the patellar tendons and recall history of training load data. Mixed-model factorial analyses of variance were used to determine any significant between-group differences. Of the 23 participants included for statistical analyses, 11 had normal bilateral patellar tendons (controls) and eight reported PT (currently symptomatic); however, the four participants categorized as asymptomatic with patellar tendon abnormality on diagnostic imaging were excluded from statistical analyses due to their small sample size. Athletes with PT displayed a similar knee flexion angle at initial foot-ground contact (IC) and hip extension strategy during a stop-jump horizontal landing. Despite a similar kinematic technique, athletes with PT utilized a strategy of a longer stance duration phase from IC to peak force. This strategy did not lead to those athletes with PT decreasing their peak vertical GRF nor patellar tendon force during landing but enabled these athletes to land with a lower rate of loading (control 59.2 +/- 39.3 vs. PT 29.4 +/- 33.7 BW.s-1). Athletes with PT still reported significantly reduced training volume (control 4.9 +/- 1.8 vs PT 1.8 +/- 1.1 sessions/wk; total training time/wk control 2.4 +/- 1.0 vs PT 1.4 +/- 1.1 h/wk).
Validation of the distress thermometer for caregivers of children and adolescents with schizophrenia
- Authors: Bai, Xiaoling , Wang, Anni , Cross, Wendy , Lam, Louisa , Plummer, Virginia , Guan, Ziyao , Sun, Mei , Tang, Siyuan
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 76, no. 2 (Feb 2020), p. 687-698
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- Description: Aim To develop and psychometrically test the distress thermometer for caregivers (DT-C) and document the distress level in primary caregivers of children and adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia. Design A validation diagnostic accuracy study and descriptive cross-sectional survey. Methods DT-C was adopted based on Harverman's distress thermometer for parents. The cut-off score was detected by using receiver operating characteristic analysis with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 as a reference standard in a sample of 324 caregivers of children and adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia in China collected between Jan 2017 and Feb 2018. Results One-item DT of DT-C indicated a good retest reliability (r = 0.86) and one-item DT and the Problem List (PL) indicated good convergent validity (r = 0.67-0.88). Overall and individual PL domains showed good internal consistency (KR 20 values ranged from 0.70-0.90). Setting seven as the cut-off score, the values of sensitivity (0.72-0.81), specificity (0.86-0.90), Youden's index (0.61-0.70), positive predictive value (0.67-0.74), and negative predictive value (0.84-0.92) were most satisfactory and area under curve values showed significantly excellent discrimination (0.88-0.90). The average DT score for the 324 participants was 6.34 (SD 2.49), with 46.9% of the participants above the cut-off. Caregivers above the cut-off score faced significant multiple problems in practical, family/social, cognitive, emotional, and parenting domains. Conclusion The DT-C, with six domains containing 35 items in Problem List and with the cut-off score at seven, can be a rapid screening tool to measure distress in these caregivers. The level of distress in caregivers was relatively high. Psychoeducation on specific needs and a solid mutual support network are recommended for mitigating caregivers' distress. Impact This study adapted a reliable DT-C to measure distress of caregivers, which has the potential to be introduced to caregivers of other types of child and adolescent mental disorders in research, assessments and care planning for health professionals.