Family-centred care in cystic fibrosis: a pilot study in North Queensland, Australia.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Smyth W
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5500987 | biostudies-other | 2017 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:During January 1998-December 2019, the annual incidence of melioidosis in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, more than doubled. Because climate and prevalence of predisposing medical conditions remained stable during that time, we hypothesize that the increased incidence was caused by urban expansion and increased construction, resulting in greater exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei.
| S-EPMC8632158 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesHere we used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to understand strain diversity and potential for patient-to-patient transmission of Staphylococcus aureus among children with cystic fibrosis (CF) in Queensland, Australia.MethodsS. aureus isolates (n = 401) collected between January 2018 and April 2019 from 184 patients with CF (n = 318 isolates) and 76 patients without CF (n = 83 isolates) were subjected to WGS and subsequent multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and a phylogeny was constructed from core genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. The subsequent data was compared with available patient information.ResultsWGS revealed that patients with CF were essentially colonised by the same genotypes as those seen in patients without CF. Sequence types (ST) for our patients with CF were predominantly ST5 (20.1%), ST30 (7.3%), ST15 (6.3%) and ST8 (5.3%). Two Australian clones, ST93 and ST239, typically seen in skin infections and health-care settings, respectively, were notably absent from our patients with CF. Based on a SNP distance threshold of 14 SNPs, 20 cluster types involving 50/260 patients were evident; of these, 6 clusters contained only patients found to be siblings or otherwise living in the same household. Epidemiological relationships could not be determined for a remaining 14 cluster types involving 38 patients, comprising 2-7 (median 2) patients each. Multiple S. aureus genotypes were observed in 19/73 CF patients who provided more than one sample.ConclusionThese results show that WGS is a useful tool for surveillance of S. aureus strains in children with CF and that the strains in our CF cohort were largely consistent with those circulating in patients without CF. Overall, this confirms previous findings and indicates that S. aureus acquisition in children with CF is similar to that of other patient groups, with limited evidence of potential patient-to-patient transmission within this patient group.
| S-EPMC9543978 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Aims: To map health practitioners' experiences and describe knowledge regarding screening and management of Diabetes in Pregnancy (DIP) in Far North Queensland, Australia. Methods: Mixed methods including a cross-sectional survey (101 respondents) and 8 focus groups with 61 health practitioners. All participants provided clinical care for women with DIP. Results: A wide range of healthcare professionals participated; 96% worked with Indigenous women, and 63% were from regional or remote work settings. Universal screening for gestational diabetes at 24-28 weeks gestation was reported as routine with 87% using a 75 g Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. Early screening for DIP was reported by 61% although there was large variation in screening methods and who should be screened <24 weeks. Health practitioners were confident providing lifestyle advice (88%), dietary, and blood glucose monitoring education (67%, 81%) but only 50% were confident giving insulin education. Electronic medical records were used by 80% but 55% also used paper records. Dissatisfaction with information from hospitals was reported by 40%. In the focus groups improving communication and information technology systems were identified as key areas. Other barriers described were difficulties in care coordination and access for remote women. Conclusions: Communication, information technology systems, coordination of care, and education for health professionals are key areas that will be addressed by a complex health systems intervention being undertaken by the DIP Partnership in North Queensland.
| S-EPMC6659099 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Plant cyanogenesis is the release of toxic cyanide from endogenous cyanide-containing compounds, typically cyanogenic glycosides. Despite a large body of phytochemical, taxonomic and ecological work on cyanogenic species, little is known of their frequency in natural plant communities. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of cyanogenesis in Australian tropical rainforests. Secondary aims were to quantify the cyanogenic glycoside content of tissues, to investigate intra-plant and intra-population variation in cyanogenic glycoside concentration and to appraise the potential chemotaxonomic significance of any findings in relation to the distribution of cyanogenesis in related taxa. METHODS:All species in six 200 m(2) plots at each of five sites across lowland, upland and highland tropical rainforest were screened for cyanogenesis using Feigl-Anger indicator papers. The concentrations of cyanogenic glycosides were accurately determined for all cyanogenic individuals. KEY RESULTS:Over 400 species from 87 plant families were screened. Overall, 18 species (4.5 %) were cyanogenic, accounting for 7.3 % of total stem basal area. Cyanogenesis has not previously been reported for 17 of the 18 species, 13 of which are endemic to Australia. Several species belong to plant families or orders in which cyanogenesis has been little reported, if at all (e.g. Elaeocarpaceae, Myrsinaceae, Araliaceae and Lamiaceae). A number of species contained concentrations of cyanogenic glycosides among the highest ever reported for mature leaves-up to 5.2 mg CN g(-1) d. wt, for example, in leaves of Elaeocarpus sericopetalus. There was significant variation in cyanogenic glycoside concentration within individuals; young leaves and reproductive tissues typically had higher cyanogen content. In addition, there was substantial variation in cyanogenic glycoside content within populations of single species. CONCLUSIONS:This study expands the limited knowledge of the frequency of cyanogenesis in natural plant communities, includes novel reports of cyanogenesis among a range of taxa and characterizes patterns in intra-plant and intra-population variation of cyanogensis.
| S-EPMC2803397 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The causative agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii, is endemic to Queensland and is one of the most important notifiable zoonotic diseases in Australia. The reservoir species for C. burnetii are classically ruminants, including sheep, cattle and goats. There is increasing evidence of C. burnetii exposure in dogs across eastern and central Australia. The present study aimed to determine if pig-hunting dogs above the Tropic of Capricorn in Queensland had similar rates of C. burnetii exposure to previous serosurveys of companion dogs in rural north-west New South Wales. A total of 104 pig-hunting dogs had serum IgG antibody titres to phase I and phase 2 C. burnetii determined using an indirect immunofluorescence assay test. Almost one in five dogs (18.3%; 19/104; 95% confidence interval 9.6%-35.5%) were seropositive to C. burnetii, with neutered dogs more likely to test positive compared to entire dogs (P = 0.0497). Seropositivity of the sampled pig-hunting dogs was one of the highest recorded in Australia. Thirty-nine owners of the pig-hunting dogs completed a survey, revealing 12.8% (5/39) had been vaccinated against Q fever and 90% (35/39) were aware that both feral pigs and dogs could potentially be sources of C. burnetii. Our findings indicate that pig hunters should be aware of the risk of exposure to Q fever during hunts and the sentinel role their dogs may play in C. burnetii exposure.
| S-EPMC9306716 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Patient centredness is a broad concept, a moral philosophy. Patient-centred care can be viewed as the actions of patient-centredness. One of the most pertinent actions that a healthcare practitioner can utilise to deliver patient-centred care is empathic communication. Whilst many medical programmes include empathetic communication skills as part of their curricula, the recipients of this care are not asked about the relevance of this teaching. AIM:We attempted to determine whether the Western constructs of empathy were relevant in our context and also establish whether there were any parts of the medical interview which participants felt were especially important to be communicated to in their home language. SETTING:Two urban communities within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. METHODS:This was a mixed-methods pilot study using an explanatory sequential design. Participants who would typically make use of public health care facilities and whose first language was Afrikaans or isiXhosa were conveniently sampled. A subgroup of participants was invited to take part in a follow-up focus group discussion to add clarity to the survey responses. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Western constructs for empathy appeared to be relevant within our multicultural context. Patients wanted to communicate with their doctors and understand the cause of their problems as well as the management plan. Finally, whilst the numbers in this pilot study were too small to be generalisable, it was evident that patient-centred care was not perceived to be implemented in some public healthcare facilities attended by the participants, which resulted in them feeling unseen and disrespected.
| S-EPMC7564840 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Custom made functional gene micoarray (E-FGA) consisting of 13,056 mRNA-enriched anonymus microbial clones from dirverse microbial communities to profile microbial gene transcript in agricultural soils with low and high flux of N2O. A total of 96 genes displayed expression that differed significantly between low and high N2O emitting soils. Creation and validation of an cDNA microarray from environmental microbial mRNA, to use as a monitoring tool for microbial gene expression Microbial expression profiles comparing two high N2O-emitting sites (3 soil replicates and microarrays each) and two low N2O-emitting sites (3 soil replicates and microarray each) from sugarcane site in Mackay, Australia
2010-08-05 | E-GEOD-23422 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:BackgroundFamily-centred care (FCC) is an approach to promote family and health care provider partnership. This has been incorporated into neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) worldwide. However, FCC in low resource health settings, such as Thailand, is challenging and further impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).AimsTo evaluate FCC innovations to improve respect, collaboration and support in a Thai NICU.Study designA quasi-experimental study was conducted in an NICU in southern Thailand. Pre-implementation was prior to COVID-19, and parental and staff perceptions of FCC were measured via Perceptions of Family Centred Care-Parent (PFCC-P) and -Staff (PFCC-S) survey. The FCC innovations were developed by stakeholders based on the COVID-19 restrictions, pre-survey results, parents' and clinicians' interviews and integrative review, then implemented via a flowchart. Post-implementation evaluation was via repeated surveys. Comparisons were made pre-and post-implementation, with Mann-Whitney U-test statistics for parents and Wilcoxon's Rank Sum for staff.ResultsA total of 185 (85 pre; 100 post) parents and 20 (pre and post; paired group) health care professionals participated. Because of COVID-19, many planned interventions were unfeasible, however, other innovations achieved (e.g., structured telephone updates, information booklet revision). There was an increase in parents' perception of respect ([median] 2.50-3.50), collaboration (2.33-3.33) and support (2.60-3.60) domains and overall (2.50-3.43; p < .001; 95% CI: 2.93-3.11). Interdisciplinary professionals' perception of FCC did not significantly change pre-and post-implementation/COVID-19 pandemic for respect (3.00-2.92), collaboration (3.22-3.33), support (3.20-3.20) and overall (3.15-3.20; 95% CI: 3.10-3.25).ConclusionDespite the challenges of COVID-19 restricting NICU access, the provision of FCC was maintained and even improved.Relevance to clinical practiceFurther research is necessary to develop FCC practice innovations associated with communication, across diverse health care systems and resources.
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Project description:Dengue is the most prevalent arthropod-borne virus, with at least 40% of the world's population at risk of infection each year. In Australia, dengue is not endemic, but viremic travelers trigger outbreaks involving hundreds of cases. We compared the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from two geographically isolated populations to two strains of dengue virus serotype 2. We found, interestingly, that mosquitoes from a city with no history of dengue were more susceptible to virus than mosquitoes from an outbreak-prone region, particularly with respect to one dengue strain. These findings suggest recent evolution of population-based differences in vector competence or different historical origins. Future genomic comparisons of these populations could reveal the genetic basis of vector competence and the relative role of selection and stochastic processes in shaping their differences. Lastly, we show the novel finding of a correlation between midgut dengue titer and titer in tissues colonized after dissemination.
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Project description:We report on the characterization of a group of seven novel Brucella strains isolated in 1964 from three native rodent species in North Queensland, Australia, during a survey of wild animals. The strains were initially reported to be Brucella suis biovar 3 on the basis of microbiological test results. Our results indicated that the rodent strains had microbiological traits distinct from those of B. suis biovar 3 and all other Brucella spp. To reinvestigate these rodent strains, we sequenced the 16S rRNA, recA, and rpoB genes and nine housekeeping genes and also performed multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA). The rodent strains have a unique 16S rRNA gene sequence compared to the sequences of the classical Brucella spp. Sequence analysis of the recA, rpoB, and nine housekeeping genes reveals that the rodent strains are genetically identical to each other at these loci and divergent from any of the currently described Brucella sequence types. However, all seven of the rodent strains do exhibit distinctive allelic MLVA profiles, although none demonstrated an amplicon for VNTR 07, whereas the other Brucella spp. did. Phylogenetic analysis of the MLVA data reveals that the rodent strains form a distinct clade separate from the classical Brucella spp. Furthermore, whole-genome sequence comparison using the maximal unique exact matches index (MUMi) demonstrated a high degree of relatedness of one of the seven rodent Brucella strains (strain NF 2653) to another Australian rodent Brucella strain (strain 83-13). Our findings strongly suggest that this group of Brucella strains isolated from wild Australian rodents defines a new species in the Brucella genus.
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