No description available.

No description available.

The focus of this study was to explore how Clinical Psychologists narrate their experience of working on acute adult inpatient units. Mental health services in the UK are poorly resourced with treatments dominated by medical model perspectives. This model can conflict with the psychological and social models Clinical Psychologists are trained in. The aims of this study were to explore the experience of Clinical Psychologists working in acute adult inpatient units and, through this, develop insight into how the core values for improving inpatient care could be maintained. This study was guided by Social Constructionist principles. It required a critical stance to be applied on the current system with an understanding that knowledge is co-constructed between and within relationships. Eight individual semi-structured interviews with Clinical Psychologists who work on adult acute inpatient units were conducted and explored using Narrative Analysis. Four dominant narratives were found. These were; ‘You can’t beat the system’, ‘I am screaming’, ‘Connecting with humanity’ and ‘Someone is screaming’. These narratives related to the Clinical Psychologists themselves in conjunction with the system they were working in which included staff, patients, myself as the interviewer and society in general with the understanding that the interviews were co-constructed and represented multiple voices. This research confirmed that cuts and lack of resources to NHS services have created a massive strain on the system. The Clinical Psychologists working in this system are attempting to understand and support individuals in acute distress; however, they appear to be doing this in isolation which puts them in danger of burn out. It would seem the system is organised against thinking and feeling, affecting both staff and patients, and leaving their experiences unheard and invalidated. The people who are admitted to wards are likely to have had abusive and invalidating earlier experiences. Wards need to be a safe place where they can have time to express themselves, process this and experience validation. The opposite seems to be happening, thus, potentially perpetuating their experience of abuse and neglect. Compassion is a Government directive, yet it takes time and space and, thus, is not cost-efficient. To achieve a system, where people who are vulnerable can express their distress and feel heard, provision of ongoing support and resources is required. Further research could explore the experience of staff who work on inpatient units, for instance health care assistants, nurses, psychiatrists and managers in order to provide further insight into the system that is currently in place and help to develop ways to improve it. It would also give voice to professions that did not have a voice in this research. Experiences of Clinical Psychologists on inpatient units where the medical model is not dominant could also be explored, for instance, where the Open Dialogue approach is dominant. Comparisons between the different approaches could then be explored.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) and nosocomial pneumonia are major causes of morbidity and mortality. There are 200,000 cases per year of ALI in the US with a mortality of 40%. On the intensive care unit (ICU), ALI accounts for over 40% of all ventilated patients at any one time. Despite this huge burden on healthcare and the relatively high prevalence, no therapies currently exist in clinical practice that attenuate the condition. The pathophysiology and aetiology of ALI is multifactorial but neutrophilic influx and consequent damage to the endothelial-epithelial interface are regarded as central features. Alongside neutrophils, peripheral blood monocytes (PBMs) are recruited to the acutely inflamed lung. The role played by PBMs in perpetuating the pathogenic neutrophilic influx remains poorly characterised. Nosocomial pneumonia is also a major problem with drug resistant organisms. With the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance and the paucity of novel antimicrobials being generated by pharmaceutical companies, there is real concern that the end of the ‘antibiotic era’ may be approaching. AIMS 1) To develop murine models of lung inflammation and infection 2) To establish the role of the PBM in perpetuating the neutrophilic response in ALI 3) To develop non-invasive methodologies to study the trafficking of cells and molecular events within the inflamed lung 4) To apply a novel antimicrobial to prevent and treat nosocomial pneumonia Methods: A murine model of ALI was utilised using direct intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide. To this model 3 different PBM depletion strategies were applied to study the effect on neutrophil recruitment and consequent lung injury. Non invasive optical imaging was utilised to study the effect of PBM depletion on proteolytic events within the murine lung. To understand cellular trafficking, cell labeling strategies were compared for primary murine macrophages with whole body optical imaging in mice. Murine models of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia were established and a novel antimicrobial agent called the nonalysine like peptoid (NLLP) tested in vitro and in vivo for efficacy. Results: PBM depletion significantly attenuated neutrophil recruitment in an established model of ALI. Near infrared (NIR) optical imaging permitted the non invasive tracking of primary murine cells. A non toxic peptidomimetic agent (NLLP) possessed antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative pathogens with therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy in vivo. Conclusions: PBM depletion is a potential therapeutic strategy for treating ALI. Further studies are required to determine the exact mechanism by which PBMs orchestrate neutrophil recruitment. Optical imaging is a versatile platform for molecular imaging. A novel antimicrobial agent termed NLLP has been discovered with therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy against multi-drug resistant pathogens.

No description available.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

Obesity is a recognized problem for children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is present in roughly one fourth of children by the end of therapy. Obesity may lead to immediate health threats, such as an increased risk for cancer relapse, or may cause future heath issues such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, additional cancers, depression or cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to determine if weight gain during two individual cycles of therapy (Induction or Delayed Intensification Cycle 1) were predictive of obesity (defined as body mass index ≥ 95th percentile for age and gender) at the end of treatment. This study retrospectively examined height and weight data from 1,017 childhood leukemia patients treated on Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocol number 1961. This study included patients that had fully completed therapy on protocol 1961 and who were between the ages of 2-20 years. Percentiles and z-scores for age and gender specific body mass index (BMI) were calculated using the height and weight measurements obtained at the beginning of each cycle of chemotherapy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. BMI z-score at the beginning of therapy and difference in BMI z-score during Induction were significant predictors (p<0.0001) of BMI ≥ 95th percentile at the end of maintenance in both males and females. A one unit increase in the difference of BMI z-score during Induction resulted in a 3.03 odds ratio (OR) for obesity at the end of therapy for males (95% CI, 1.90 to 4.84) and a 4.15 OR for females (95% CI, 2.32 to 7.43). The change in BMI z-score during Delayed Intensification I was not found to be significant in relationship to obesity at the end of therapy. Weight gain during Induction consisted of ≥ 20% increase in weight for 3.9% of the study participants. Weight gain during Induction therapy of childhood ALL treatment may be useful in predicting patients at increased risk for obesity development during therapy. Early identification of these at risk patients can assist with interventions aimed at normalizing weight gain during therapy.

No description available.

No description available.