Publications by authors named "Linda Swanson"

Aim: An Infection Control Estimate (ICE) Tool was developed based on a previously published concept of applying military planning techniques to Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) management strategies in the acute healthcare setting.

Methods: Initial testing of the outbreak management tool was undertaken in a large acute hospital in the North-West of England during a localised outbreak of COVID-19. The tool, developed using Microsoft Excel, was completed by trained IPC practitioners in real-time to log outbreak details, assign and manage meeting actions and to generate surveillance data.

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Developing effective treatment options for negative symptoms of psychotic disorders remains a major unmet treatment need and area for further research. In a recent uncontrolled study by the main author, Metacognition Training (MCT) for negative symptoms was found to lead to fewer negative symptoms, less stigma and increased self-rated reflective ability. As the analysis examined negative symptoms as a whole, we here performed an additional analysis on individual negative symptom items as recent research has suggested that negative symptoms are best conceptualized through a five-factor model.

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Fly ash is a toxic industrial waste, mainly consisting of silica and alumina particles, that has been found discharged into the environment. It is proposed that alginate, a naturally occurring biopolymer, can bind to these minerals and thus play a role in water purification. The binding forces involved in this process consist of weak interactions, such as van der Waals forces and electrostatic interactions.

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Objective: Although patients often prioritize the treatment of negative symptoms, few psychological interventions targeting negative symptoms exist. This study attempts to fill this gap by piloting a modified metacognitive training programme, specifically targeted at negative symptoms (MCT-N), with a group of patients with prominent negative symptoms.

Method: We adopted a mixed methods case series design, providing detailed quantitative data on changes over time, to focus on potential mechanisms underlying the intervention, in combination with qualitative interviews.

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Personal stigma entails perceived, experienced and internalised stigmatisation. Mental Health stigma has been widely researched across a range of countries and a meta-analysis of their associations and moderators in psychosis is timely. Meta-analyses were conducted examining the correlates and moderators of personal stigma in terms of: (1) demographic variables (2) illness related variables (3) symptoms/negative outcomes, and (4) aspects of wellbeing.

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We present here a quantification of the sorption process and molecular conformation involved in the attachment of bacterial cell wall lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), extracted from , to silica (SiO) and alumina (AlO) particles. We propose that interfacial forces govern the physicochemical interactions of the bacterial cell wall with minerals in the natural environment, and the molecular conformation of LPS cell wall components depends on both the local charge at the point of binding and hydrogen bonding potential. This has an effect on bacterial adaptation to the host environment through adhesion, growth, function, and ability to form biofilms.

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Fluorescence spectroscopy on a series of aqueous solutions of poly(acrylic acid) containing a luminescent label showed that polymers with molar mass, Mn < 16.5 kDa did not exhibit a pH responsive conformational change, which is typical of higher molar mass poly(acrylic acid). Below this molar mass, polymers remained in an extended conformation, regardless of pH.

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Macromolecular binding to minerals is of great importance in the formation of biofilms, and carboxylate functional groups have been found to play a pivotal role in the functioning of these macromolecules. Here we present both fluorescence time-resolved anisotropy measurements and simulation data on the conformational behaviour and binding of a poly acrylic acid polymer. In solution the polymer exhibits a pH dependent behaviour, with a coiled conformation at a low pH and extended conformation at higher pH values.

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We describe a series of experiments designed to investigate the conformational transition that highly-branched polymers with ligands undergo when interacting with bacteria, a process that may provide a new sensing mechanism for bacterial detection. Fluorescent highly-branched poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)s (HB-PNIPAM) were prepared by sequential self-condensing radical copolymerizations, using anthrylmethyl methacrylate (AMMA) and fluorescein-O-acrylate (FA) as fluorescent comonomers and 4-vinylbenzyl pyrrole carbodithioate as a branch forming monomer. Differences in reactivity necessitated to first copolymerize AMMA then react with FA in a separate sequential monomer feed step.

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Flap endonucleases (FENs) are divalent metal ion-dependent phosphodiesterases. Metallonucleases are often assigned a "two-metal ion mechanism" where both metals contact the scissile phosphate diester. The spacing of the two metal ions observed in T5FEN structures appears to preclude this mechanism.

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Polymyxin peptide conjugated to the end groups of highly branched poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) was shown to bind to a Gram negative bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The nonbound polymer had a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) above 60 °C. However, binding caused aggregation, which was disrupted on cooling of the bacteria and polymer mixture.

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The escalating global incidence of bacterial infection, particularly in chronic wounds, is a problem that requires significant improvements to existing therapies. We have developed hyperbranched poly(NIPAM) polymers functionalized with the antibiotics Vancomycin and Polymyxin-B that are sensitive to the presence of bacteria in solution. Binding of bacteria to the polymers causes a conformational change, resulting in collapse of the polymers and the formation of insoluble polymer/bacteria complexes.

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Binding of highly branched poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) with vancomycin end groups to Staphylococcus aureus induced a coil-to-globule phase transition. The polymers aggregated this gram-positive bacteria (but not gram-negative bacteria) over a wide range of temperatures, but cooling to 24-26 degrees C progressed the polymer-bound bacteria through a globule-to-coil phase transition, after which the bacteria were released.

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While infected skin wounds are on the increase because of ageing populations, rising incidence of diabetes, and antibiotic resistance, we lack relevant in vivo or in vitro models to study many aspects of bacterial interaction with skin. The aim of this study was to develop three-dimensional models of normal human skin to study bacterial infection. The common dermatological pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used to infect tissue-engineered skin, and the course of infection in the skin was examined over several days.

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The attachment of microbial cells to solid substrata is a primary ecological strategy for the survival of species and the development of specific activity and function within communities. An hypothesis arising from a biological sciences perspective may be stated as follows: The attachment of microbes to interfaces is controlled by the macromolecular structure of the cell wall and the functional genes that are induced for its biological synthesis. Following logically from this is the view that diverse attached cell behaviour is mediated by the physical and chemical interactions of these macromolecules in the interfacial region and with other cells.

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Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)s with imidazole endgroups were used to separate a histidine-tagged protein fragment directly from a crude cell lysate. The polymers display a lower critical solution temperature that can be tuned to occur at a range of subambient temperatures. UV-visible spectra indicated differences in the binding in aqueous media of Cu(II) and Ni(II) to the imidazole endgroups.

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The DNA duplex binding properties of previously reported dinuclear Ru(II) complexes based on the ditopic ligands tetrapyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c:3'',2''-h:2'',3''-j]phenazine (tppz) and tetraazatetrapyrido[3,2-a:2'3'-c:3'',2''-l:2''',3'''-n]pentacene (tatpp) are reported. Photophysical and biophysical studies indicate that, even at high ionic strengths, these complexes bind to duplex DNA, through intercalation, with affinities that are higher than any other monointercalating complex and are only equalled by DNA-threaded bisintercalating complexes. Additional studies at high ionic strengths using the 22-mer d(AG(3)[T(2)AG(3)](3)) [G3] human telomeric sequence reveal that the dinuclear tppz-based systems also bind with high affinity to quadruplex DNA.

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N,N'-Chelating ligands based on the 2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazole (PB) core have been prepared with a range of substituents (phenyl, pentafluorophenyl, naphthyl, anthracenyl, pyrenyl) connected to the periphery via alkylation of the benzimidazolyl unit at one of the N atoms. These PB ligands have been used to prepare a series of complexes of the type [Re(PB)(CO)(3)Cl], [Pt(PB)(CCR)(2)](where -CCR is an acetylide ligand) and [Ru(bpy)(2)(PB)][PF(6)](2)(bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine). Six of the complexes have been structurally characterised.

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An improved synthesis of a water-soluble derivative of dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (dppz) is reported. The structures of both dppz and the cation ethylene-bipyridyldiylium-phenazine dinitrate [[1][(PF(6))(2)]] have been obtained via X-ray crystallography. Metal complex derivatives of dppz are very well studied.

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