Publications by authors named "O'Sullivan K"

Background: It is commonly believed lifting is dangerous and the back should be straight during lifting. These beliefs may arise from healthcare professionals, yet no study has evaluated the lifting and back beliefs of manual handling advisors (MHAs) and physiotherapists (PTs).

Objectives: To evaluate (i) what lifting technique MHAs and PTs perceive as safest, and why, and (ii) the back pain beliefs of MHAs and PTs.

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Background: Exercise is considered an effective treatment strategy for non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP).background In spite of the wide use of exercise protocols, it is not clear what type of exercise is more effective in decreasing pain, disability and normalizing muscle activation patterns in people with chronic low back pain.

Objectives: To assess the effects of two exercise protocols (stabilization vs movement control) on pain and disability scores and the flexion relaxation ratio (FRR) of lumbar multifidus (LM) and iliocostalis lumbarum pars thoracic (ICLT) in people with extension related non-specific chronic low back pain.

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Myeloperoxidase (MPO) anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic Ab (ANCA)-associated vasculitis results from autoimmunity to MPO. IL-17A plays a critical role in generating this form of autoimmune injury but its cell of origin is uncertain. We addressed the hypothesis that IL-17A-producing γδ T cells are a nonredundant requisite in the development of MPO autoimmunity and glomerulonephritis (GN).

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Our aim was to investigate if deoxyribonuclease (DNase) 1 is a potential therapeutic agent to reduce pathogenic effects of cigarette smoke exposure in the lung. Cigarette smoke causes protease imbalance with excess production of proteases, which is a key process in the pathogenesis of emphysema. The mechanisms responsible for this effect are not well-defined.

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Objective: To investigate the effect of pain neurophysiology education (PNE) on student physiotherapists': (1) knowledge of chronic pain; (2) attitudes towards patients with chronic pain; and (3) clinical recommendations for patients with chronic pain.

Design: Multicentre single-blind randomised controlled trial.

Setting: One UK and one Irish university.

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Importance: Stroke is a major complication of surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR).

Objective: To determine the efficacy and adverse effects of cerebral embolic protection devices in reducing ischemic central nervous system (CNS) injury during SAVR.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A randomized clinical trial of patients with calcific aortic stenosis undergoing SAVR at 18 North American centers between March 2015 and July 2016.

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The first searches for axions and axionlike particles with the Large Underground Xenon experiment are presented. Under the assumption of an axioelectric interaction in xenon, the coupling constant between axions and electrons g_{Ae} is tested using data collected in 2013 with an exposure totaling 95 live days ×118  kg. A double-sided, profile likelihood ratio statistic test excludes g_{Ae} larger than 3.

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We present experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon elastic cross sections from the total 129.5  kg yr exposure acquired by the Large Underground Xenon experiment (LUX), operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota (USA). A profile likelihood ratio analysis allows 90% C.

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The receptive language measure information-carrying word (ICW) level, is used extensively by speech and language therapists in the UK and Ireland. Despite this it has never been validated via its relationship to any other relevant measures. This study aims to validate the ICW measure by investigating the relationship between the receptive ICW score of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their performance on standardized memory and language assessments.

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Background: Foot and ankle pain/injury (FAPI) is the most common musculoskeletal problem suffered in Irish dancing. A prospective examination of risk factors for FAPI in this cohort has never been performed.

Study Design: Prospective study over 1-year.

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Background: Body composition may influence clinical outcomes of certain chemotherapeutic agents. We examined the prognostic significance of skeletal muscle mass and adipose tissue on docetaxel toxicity and overall survival in patients with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

Methods: A retrospective review of patients medical records with mCRPC, treated with docetaxel was conducted.

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Recombinant H2 relaxin (serelaxin) has gained considerable attention as a new vasoprotective drug, largely due to its potential therapeutic effects in heart failure and fibrosis. However, serelaxin is laborious and costly to produce. A single-chain peptidomimetic, B7-33, has been developed to overcome these problems but little is known about its biological actions in the vascular system.

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Dynamic sitting approaches have been advocated to increase seated energy expenditure with the view of lessening the sedentary nature of the task. This study compared energy expenditure (EE) and overall body discomfort on a novel dynamic chair with a standard office chair. Fifteen pain-free participants completed a DVD viewing task on both chairs in a randomised order.

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Background: Achilles tendinopathy (AT) is associated with persistent pain leading to a significant physical and psychological burden. Psychosocial factors are considered to be important mediators following exercise interventions. Despite the recognition of the importance of psychosocial variables in persistent MSK disorders, there is a distinct lack of qualitative research investigating psychosocial factors in AT.

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Rationale: Pneumonia remains the most common major infection after cardiac surgery despite numerous preventive measures.

Objectives: To prospectively examine the timing, pathogens, and risk factors, including modifiable management practices, for postoperative pneumonia and estimate its impact on clinical outcomes.

Methods: A total of 5158 adult cardiac surgery patients were enrolled prospectively in a cohort study across 10 centers.

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Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is an aggressive cancer with poor prognosis, and incidence is increasing rapidly in the Western world. Measurement of immune markers has been shown to have prognostic significance in a growing number of cancers, but whether this is true for EAC has yet to be evaluated. This study aimed to characterize HLA-DR expression in the esophagus across the inflammation to cancer progression sequence and to assess the prognostic significance of HLA-DR expression in EAC.

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Background: Left cardiac sympathetic denervation (LCSD) is a surgical procedure that has been shown to have an antiarrhythmic and antifibrillatory effect. Evidence indicating its antiarrhythmic effect has been available for over 100 years. It involves the removal of the lower half of the stellate ganglion and T2-T4 of the sympathetic ganglia and is carried out as either a unilateral or bilateral procedure.

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Background: While polypharmacy and multimorbidity predict healthcare utilisation among older people, the influence of differing pain profiles on healthcare utilisation is unclear.

Objective: To compare healthcare utilisation between people with different pain profiles.

Methods: Baseline data from The Irish LongituDinal study on Ageing (TILDA), a population-representative cohort study involving over 8,171 community living people resident in Ireland aged 50 or over, was used.

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Background: While a range of variables are related to the impact of pain, most population studies of older persons have simply examined the presence or intensity of pain.

Objective: To develop novel pain profiles based on a range of pain variables, and compare demographic and health variables across profiles.

Methods: Baseline data from The Irish LongituDinal study on Ageing (TILDA), a population-representative cohort study involving 8,171 community living people resident in Ireland aged 50 or over, was used.

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