Life Sciences Commons^™

Elucidation Of Novel And Established Campylobacter Species With Clinical And Agricultural Significance Through Phenotypic, Genotypic, And Taxonomic Investigation, Caoimhe Lynch

Theses

Campylobacter spp. are well-established human, veterinary and economic pathogens, with a broad host range spanning from terrestrial and marine mammalian, avian and reptilian hosts. The scope of the study includes novel and notorious species within the genus, with reference to zoonotic agents Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli - the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the EU and Ireland, Campylobacter fetus that represents the most common campylobacter causing bacteraemia and two novel species isolated from pigs not described in the literature previously. C. jejuni and C. coli isolates (n = 350) recovered from broiler caecal and neck skin samples, …

An Investigation Of Healthcare Supports For Those With Food Allergy In Ireland, Joseph Bolger, Nicola Blake, Sneha Vinod

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Introduction: In Ireland, around 5% of children and 3% adults have food allergy (134,000 people). This current paper describes a survey that was carried out on a subset of service-users with the aim of identifying whether there is a need for increased specialist medical services and/or for a funded charity such as Anaphylaxis Ireland, defunct since 2015.

Materials & Methods: These needs were assessed via an online survey using Google Forms. The survey was conducted from 17-27th February 2020. There were 31 questions in total, relating to topics such as symptoms, clinical wait times, satisfaction with care provided and demand …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2021

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

The full June 2021 issue (Volume 1, Issue 1) of the International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Covid-19: In The Absence Of Vaccination – ‘Mask-The-Nation’, Roy D. Sleator, Steven Darby, Alan Giltinan, Niall Smith

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

“In the absence of a vaccine, or effective antiviral, one of our only remaining strategies for controlling COVID-19 is to physically block the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community”

A Rapid Viability And Drug‑Susceptibility Assay Utilizing Mycobacteriophage As An Indicator Of Drug Susceptibilities Of Anti‑Tb Drugs Against Mycobacterium Smegmatis Mc2 155, Gillian Catherine Crowley, Jim O'Mahony, Aidan Coffey, Riona G. Sayers, Paul D. Cotter

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Background: A rapid in-house TM4 mycobacteriophage-based assay, to identify multidrug resistance against various anti-tuberculosis drugs, using the fast-growing Mycobacterium smegmatis mc² 155 in a microtiter plate format was evaluated, based on phage viability assays. Methods: A variety of parameters were optimized before the study including the minimum incubation time for the drugs, phage and M. smegmatis mc² 155 to be in contact. An increase in phage numbers over 2 h was indicative that M. smegmatis mc² 155 is resistant to the drugs under investigation, however when phage numbers remained static, M. smegmatis mc² 155 found to …

Rising Rural Body-Mass Index Is The Main Driver Of The Global Obesity Epidemic In Adults, Con Burns, Tara Coppinger, Janette Walton, Et Al

Publications

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities1,2. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity3,4,5,6. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to …

Emergence Of The L Phenotype In Group B Streptococci In The South Of Ireland, Katherine Hayes, Lesley Cotter, L. Barry, Fiona O'Halloran

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Group B Streptococcal isolates (n = 235) from the South of Ireland were characterised by serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility and determination of the phenotypic and genotypic mechanisms of resistance. Resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was observed in 21·3% and 20·4% of the total population, respectively. The c-MLSB phenotype was the most common phenotype detected (62%), with ermB being the predominant genetic determinant, present in 84% of resistant isolates. The rare L phenotype was observed in 2·9% (n = 7) of isolates, four of which harboured the lsaC gene responsible for clindamycin resistance. Serotypes Ia, III and II were the most common …

A Blueprint To Evaluate One Health, Simon R. Rüegg, Barry J. Mcmahon, Barbara Häsler, Roberto Esposito, Helen O'Shea, Et Al

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

One Health (OH) positions health professionals as agents for change and provides a platform to manage determinants of health that are often not comprehensively captured in medicine or public health alone. However, due to the organization of societies and disciplines, and the sectoral allocation of resources, the development of transdisciplinary approaches requires effort and perseverance. Therefore, there is a need to provide evidence on the added value of OH for governments, researchers, funding bodies, and stakeholders. This paper outlines a conceptual framework of what OH approaches can encompass and the added values they can provide. The framework was developed during …

An Analysis Of The Physiological And Psychological Wellbeing Of Irish Naval Service Personnel, Cliodhna Sargent

Theses

Whilst all military cohorts have been seen to experience both physiological and psychological stressors during occupational duties, the naval service experience different stressors due the prolonged periods of time spent at sea. Research has analysed some of these stressors however many them have focused on how individuals are affected because of time spent in combat zones. The Irish Naval Service (INS) is an organisation under the Irish Defence Forces organisation and as such many of its physiological and psychological assessment procedures have come from the Defenee Forces. Very limited researeh has been carried out in relation to the INS as …

Farm Deaths And Injuries: Changing Farmer Attitudes And Behaviour On Farm Safety, Kieran O'Connell

Theses

While the Irish agricultural sector accounts for just 6% of the working population of Ireland, it consistently has the highest proportion of fatal incidents of any sector - generally ranging from between 35% and 45% of all workplace fatalities in any given year (Health and Safety Authority, 2015). This was again evident in 2014 where 55% (30 of the 56) of the fatal workplace incidents were in the agricultural sector (Health and Safety Authority, 2015). Agriculture has an ageing workforce with the average age of an Irish farmer now standing at fifty-seven and farmers are eight times more likely to …

A Tail Of Two Phages: Genomic And Functional Analysis Of Listeria Monocytogenes Phages Vb_Lmos_188 And Vb_Lmos_293 Reveal The Receptor-Binding Proteins Involved In Host Specificity, Aidan Casey, Kieran Jordan, Horst Neve, Aidan Coffey, Olivia Mcauliffe

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The physical characteristics of bacteriophages establish them as viable candidates for downstream development of pathogen detection assays and biocontrol measures. To utilize phages for such purposes, a detailed knowledge of their host interaction mechanisms is a prerequisite. There is currently a wealth of knowledge available concerning Gram-negative phage-host interaction, but little by comparison for Gram-positive phages and Listeria phages in particular. In this research, the lytic spectrum of two recently isolated Listeria monocytogenes phages (vB_LmoS_188 and vB_LmoS_293) was determined, and the genomic basis for their observed serotype 4b/4e host-specificity was investigated using comparative genomics. The late tail genes of these …

Draft Genome Sequences Of Six Different Staphylococcus Epidermidis Clones, Isolated Individually From Preterm Neonates Presenting With Sepsis At Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary, Paul Walsh, M. Bekaert, J. Carroll, T. Manning, B. Kelly, A. O'Driscoll, X. Lu, C. Smith, P. Dickinson, K. Templeton, P. Ghazal, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Herein, we report the draft genome sequences of six individual Staphylococcus epidermidis clones, cultivated from blood taken from different preterm neonatal sepsis patients at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Metagenomic Identification Of A Novel Salt Tolerance Gene From The Human Gut Microbiome Which Encodes A Membrane Protein With Homology To A Brp/Blh-Family Beta-Carotene 15,15'-Monooxygenase, Eamonn P. Culligan, Roy D. Sleator, Julian R. Marchesi, Colin Hill

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The human gut microbiome consists of at least 3 million non-redundant genes, 150 times that of the core human genome. Herein, we report the identification and characterisation of a novel stress tolerance gene from the human gut metagenome. The locus, assigned brpA, encodes a membrane protein with homology to a brp/blh-family β-carotene monooxygenase. Cloning and heterologous expression of brpA in Escherichia coli confers a significant salt tolerance phenotype. Furthermore, when cultured in the presence of exogenous β-carotene, cell pellets adopt a red/orange pigmentation indicating the incorporation of carotenoids in the cell membrane.

Participation And Determinants Of Physical Activity Amongst Irish 3rd Level Students., Jonathan Lerner

Theses

Currently, there is a dearth of research investigating physical activity patterns among Irish third level young adults (17-22 year olds). Both national and international research report that levels of physical activity decline in adolescence, this trend being most pronounced among females. Various biological, psychological, social, and environmental determinants have been found to influence physical activity; however, specific factors associated with the decline in activity during adolescence remain largely unknown. This research study examines participation and determinants of physical activity among Irish third level students.

A “National questionnaire” was administered to a sample of 532 students from Health Education Authority (HEA) …

Molecular Epidemiology Of Antibiotic Resistant Salmonella Enterica Strains From Different Animal And Human Sources In Ireland, David George Lee

Theses

In this study, 176 isolates of Salmonella were collected from different laboratories in Ireland. All isolates were confirmed to be of the genus Salmonella by performing bacteriological and biochemical tests. Briefly, all isolates were cultured onto XLD agar after which pure cultures were verified and stocked at this institute. Definitive identification was carried out using the API 20-E system and a separate urease test was also performed on all isolates. After confirmation of the genus, all isolates were prepared for antibiotic susceptibility testing and r-types were determined using sixteen antibiotics. Depending on the antibiotic resistance profiles, isolates were selected for …

Integronlike Structures In Campylobacter Spp. Of Human And Animal Origin, Brigid Lucey, D. Crowley, P. Moloney, B. Cryan, M. Daly, F. O'Halloran, E. J. Threlfall, S. Fanning

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Resistance to antimicrobial agents used to treat severe Campylobacter spp. gastroenteritis is increasing worldwide. We assessed the antimicrobial resistance patterns of Campylobacter spp. isolates of human and animal origin. More than half (n = 32) were resistant to sulphonamide, a feature known to be associated with the presence of integrons. Analysis of these integrons will further our understanding of Campylobacter spp. epidemiology.