The Influence of Information Signs on Visitor Distribution and Use

Lack of information is a primary factor accounting for visitors jamming recreation sites, overflowing onto highway rights-of-way and blocking facilities [5, p. 95]. In attempting to attain an even distribution of visitors, the importance of information signing as a management tool is often overlooked. Oxenfeldt indicates that advertising (information) alters behavior most efficiently when it supplies information customers are seeking [4, p. 471]. Tocher and Kearns noted in visitor characteristic studies that travelers seek different experiences when touring than when at home or work [6]. Information signs may lead the visitor to these different experiences. Hypothesizing that signs can influence facility use patterns, researchers at Utah State University in 1964 and 1965 conducted a visitor use and motivation study in the Logan Canyon Recreation Complex, Utah. (The original study from which portions of these data were obtained was initiated by S. Ross Tocher, Instructor, University of Michigan while he was a member of the College of Natural Resources Faculty at Utah State University.) This report focuses on two questions: (1) do information signs help distribute visitors more evenly? and (2) do information signs stimulate greater use of a previously unsigned roadside rest area

Epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne diseases in eastern, central and southern Africa. Proceedings of a workshop

The first part of this report comprises country reports that deals with epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The second part of the report covers topics on assessing the efficacy of immunization against tick-borne diseases, evaluating delivery systems for the control of tick-borne diseases and measuring the impact of immunization on livestock productivity. The paper ends with a discussion on coordination, collaboration and planning

Synthesis and evaluation of halogenated nitrophenoxazinones as nitroreductase substrates for the detection of pathogenic bacteria

The synthesis and microbiological evaluation of 7-, 8- and 9-nitro-1,2,4-trihalogenophenoxazin-3-one substrates with potential in the detection of nitroreductase-expressing pathogenic microorganisms are described. The 7- and 9-nitrotrihalogenophenoxazinone substrates were reduced by most Gram negative microorganisms and were inhibitory to the growth of certain Gram positive bacteria; however, the majority of Gram positive strains that were not inhibited by these agents, along with the two yeast strains evaluated, did not reduce the substrates. These observations suggest there are differences in the active site structures and substrate requirements of the nitroreductase enzymes from different strains; such differences may be exploited in the future for differentiation between pathogenic microorganisms. The absence of reduction of the 8-nitrotrihalogenophenoxazinone substrates is rationalized according to their electronic properties and correlates well with previous findings

Regulation of Membrane Targeting of the G Protein-coupled Receptor Kinase 2 by Protein Kinase A and Its Anchoring Protein AKAP79

The beta 2 adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) undergoes desensitization by a process involving its phosphorylation by both protein kinase A (PKA) and G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs). The protein kinase A-anchoring protein AKAP79 influences beta 2AR phosphorylation by complexing PKA with the receptor at the membrane. Here we show that AKAP79 also regulates the ability of GRK2 to phosphorylate agonist-occupied receptors. In human embryonic kidney 293 cells, overexpression of AKAP79 enhances agonist-induced phosphorylation of both the beta 2AR and a mutant of the receptor that cannot be phosphorylated by PKA (beta 2AR/PKA-). Mutants of AKAP79 that do not bind PKA or target to the beta 2AR markedly inhibit phosphorylation of beta 2AR/PKA-. We show that PKA directly phosphorylates GRK2 on serine 685. This modification increases Gbeta gamma subunit binding to GRK2 and thus enhances the ability of the kinase to translocate to the membrane and phosphorylate the receptor. Abrogation of the phosphorylation of serine 685 on GRK2 by mutagenesis (S685A) or by expression of a dominant negative AKAP79 mutant reduces GRK2-mediated translocation to beta 2AR and phosphorylation of agonist-occupied beta 2AR, thus reducing subsequent receptor internalization. Agonist-stimulated PKA-mediated phosphorylation of GRK2 may represent a mechanism for enhancing receptor phosphorylation and desensitization

Phosphonopeptides Revisited, in an Era of Increasing Antimicrobial Resistance

Given the increase in resistance to antibacterial agents, there is an urgent need for the development of new agents with novel modes of action. As an interim solution, it is also prudent to reinvestigate old or abandoned antibacterial compounds to assess their efficacy in the context of widespread resistance to conventional agents. In the 1970s, much work was performed on the development of peptide mimetics, exemplified by the phosphonopeptide, alafosfalin. We investigated the activity of alafosfalin, di-alanyl fosfalin and β-chloro-L-alanyl-β-chloro-L-alanine against 297 bacterial isolates, including carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) (n = 128), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (n = 37) and glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) (n = 43). The interaction of alafosfalin with meropenem was also examined against 20 isolates of CPE. The MIC50 and MIC90 of alafosfalin for CPE were 1 mg/L and 4 mg/L, respectively and alafosfalin acted synergistically when combined with meropenem against 16 of 20 isolates of CPE. Di-alanyl fosfalin showed potent activity against glycopeptide-resistant isolates of Enterococcus faecalis (MIC90; 0.5 mg/L) and Enterococcus faecium (MIC90; 2 mg/L). Alafosfalin was only moderately active against MRSA (MIC90; 8 mg/L), whereas β-chloro-L-alanyl-β-chloro-L-alanine was slightly more active (MIC90; 4 mg/L). This study shows that phosphonopeptides, including alafosfalin, may have a therapeutic role to play in an era of increasing antibacterial resistance