Structural and Functional Aspects of Class A Carbapenemases.

The fight against infectious diseases is probably one of the greatest public health challenges faced by our society, especially with the emergence of carbapenem-resistant gram-negatives that are in some cases pan-drug resistant. Currently,β-lactamase-mediated resistance does not spare even the newest and most powerful β-lactams (carbapenems), whose activity is challenged by carbapenemases. The worldwide dissemination of carbapenemases in gram-negative organisms threatens to take medicine back into the pre-antibiotic era since the mortality associated with infections caused by these superbugs is very high, due to limited treatment options. Clinically-relevant carbapenemases belong either to metallo-β- lactamases (MBLs) of Ambler class B or to serine-β-lactamases (SBLs) of Ambler class A and D enzymes. Class A carbapenemases may be chromosomally-encoded (SME, NmcA, SFC-1, BIC-1, PenA, FPH-1, SHV-38), plasmid-encoded (KPC, GES, FRI-1) or both (IMI). The plasmid-encoded enzymes are often associated with mobile elements responsible for their mobilization. These enzymes, even though weakly related in terms of sequence identities, share structural features and a common mechanism of action. They variably hydrolyse penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams, carbapenems, and are inhibited by clavulanate and tazobactam. Three-dimensional structures of class A carbapenemases, in the apo form or in complex with substrates/inhibitors, together with site-directed mutagenesis studies, provide essential input for identifying the structural factors and subtle conformational changes that influence the hydrolytic profile and inhibition of these enzymes. Overall, these data represent the building blocks for understanding the structure-function relationships that define the phenotypes of class A carbapenemases and can guide the design of new molecules of therapeutic interest

Applications of Mechatronics to Animal Production

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is an Invited Paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 4 (2002): I. Naas. Applications of Mechatronics to Animal Production. Club of Bologna. Vol. IV. October 2002

Solitary Confinement in the U.S. Criminal Legal System: U.N. Convention Against Torture Implications

Not only does the U.S. have one of the highest incarceration rates worldwide—causing the U.S. to have the largest prison population in the world—but the U.S. also uses solitary confinement (prolonged social and physical isolation) as a punishment in its prison system much more often than other countries. The U.S. criminal legal system uses solitary confinement despite it being a form of torture that has severe mental health effects on the individuals that are isolated, leading many of these individuals to a general decline in mental health and sometimes to suicide. This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review website on February 2, 2022. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above

Echoing Sentiments: Art and Melancholy in the Work of Pleshette DeArmitt

During those first few days, those first few weeks, truth be told, still today, something in me has wanted simply to echo the sentiments of others. That’s because I myself didn’t know exactly what to say and, truth be told, I still don’t know today. But it’s also because others, including and especially some of the people here today, beginning with my co-panelists and, perhaps especially, early on, Leigh Johnson, knew at the time just what had to be said and so expressed so well the sentiments that we all—that I at least—just wanted to echo. Just to echo, that’s what I wanted to do, because by echoing the sentiments of others I would be able to protect myself just a bit longer, I thought, though also, I self-justified, by echoing others I would be able to give back in some way to Pleshette herself, who showed us in her work that Echo does not simply repeat but initiates even when it looks or sounds as if she is not, Echo who gives back even when it sounds as if she has nothing to give, Echo who not only has her own Narcissus but her own narcissism—which Pleshette would have been the first to tell us is not only not a bad thing but a necessary one, and perhaps just what is needed for a new thinking of empathy, of mourning, and, perhaps, as I will try to say, of the ephemeral

Draft Genome Sequence of the Serratia rubidaea CIP 103234T Reference Strain, a Human-Opportunistic Pathogen.

We provide here the first genome sequence of a Serratia rubidaea isolate, a human-opportunistic pathogen. This reference sequence will permit a comparison of this species with others of the Serratia genus

Colored overlays and symbol identification in pre-school children with disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine if pre-school children, with and without disabilities, could identify symbols more accurately while looking at the symbols through colored overlays; The LEA Playing Cards and the LEA Near Vision Test were used to assess the ability to point to a symbol. To screen for the preferred color overlay the Cerium Colour Overlays were used; Eighteen children, aged 3 to 5 years participated. Nine were children with disabilities, nine were children without disabilities; A screening determined if each child could match four common symbols by pointing. Three groups were formed. Each group included three children with disabilities and three children without disabilities; A Pretest involved having each child point to four symbols on the LEA Near Vision Test first with the Test card was covered with a clear overlay, second with the preferred color overlay and, finally, with a randomly chosen non preferred color overlay. The Intervention procedure was the same as the Pretest procedure with the exception that each group used a different type of overlay. Group I used a clear overlay, Group II used the preferred color overlay, and Group III used the randomly chosen, non-preferred color overlay; The analyses included a one-way ANOVA with repeated measures between the Pretest scores and the Intervention scores, a one-way ANOVA comparing the Intervention scores between those with and without disabilities, a one-way ANOVA comparing the Intervention scores between the three groups, a two-way ANOVA comparing the interaction between the Intervention scores of the group factor and the disability factor, and a two-way ANOVA comparing the preferred color choices between the disability and overlay conditions; The results showed no statistically significant differences between the Pretest and Intervention accuracy scores. The results of the one-way ANOVA with repeated measures between the Pretest scores and Intervention scores did approach statistical significance of p = .089. Interaction between the group and disability factors were not statistically significant. There was a trend in which the children with disabilities achieved higher Intervention mean scores when using colored overlays. No single color dominated preference