Mental Health Service Users As Peer Providers In Hawai‘i: Understanding Recovery Paths And Perspectives

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

Structural and biochemical characterization of ribosome small subunit-dependent GTPase A (RsgA) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The increase in antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacterial strains presents a significant health threat. The main efforts to combat antibiotic resistance are focused on the development of new antibiotics targeting protein biosynthesis. Ribosome, the large molecular machine responsible for this process, and proteins involved in the translational process represent ideal targets of molecules with antibacterial activity. The ribosome assembly in vivo is an intricate and finely tuned process promoted by the action of several proteins acting as assembly factors, whose precise role is still largely unknown. Small GTPases represent the largest class of ribosome assembly factors in bacteria and are emerging as possible targets to be explored for the development of novel antibacterial strategies. Among them, of particular interest is the Ribosome small subunit-dependent GTPase A (RsgA). RsgA is a late-stage ribosome biogenesis factor involved in the 30S subunit maturation, broadly conserved among bacteria but absent in eukaryotes. RsgA is a circulary permutated GTPase that belongs to an interesting class of GTPases, termed HAS-GTPase, that lack the conserved catalytic glutamine. The circularly permutated GTP binding site is flanked by an OB-fold domain at the N-terminus and by a zinc binding domain at the C-terminus. Despite the large amount of biochemical, structural and genetic data on RsgA achieved in the last decade, its mechanism of action is still not completely understood. Here we focus on the structural and functional characterisation of RsgA from the human pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PaRsgA). The main goal of this work is the determination of the PaRsgA structure by X-ray crystallography. To date, no structure is available for RsgA from this opportunistic pathogen. This knowledge will allow investigate the molecular features for the recognition of GDP and GTP as well as the key determinants for the mechanism of GTP hydrolysis. Moreover, an accurate kinetic analysis of PaRsgA interaction with GDP and GTP, together with a detailed functional characterization of PaRsgA, provided the determination of substrates affinity and biochemical parameters of GTP hydrolysis. The results obtained will pave the way for future experiments aimed at the characterization of the binding mechanism underlying ribosome recognition and to get key insight the GTPase activity of PaRsgA in the presence of other assembly factors and/or the ribosomal particle

Survey and assessment of the "Alamosa marshes" area, San Luis Valley, Colorado

Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alamosa/Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge.November 17, 2004.Includes bibliographical references

Poetry Slammin’ in the Slammer: Questioning the Limits of Arts-in-Corrections

Through the process of creating—specifically of shaping new worlds of possibility through poetry and the performance of it—the arts may offer gaps in the punishment of incarceration and attempt the reclamation or claiming of individual expression. But what are the limits of artistic expression in a highly monitored and surveilled location? This reflective essay explores a performance of slam poetry by ten inmates inside Arizona\u27s Eyman State Prison for an audience of twenty-five prisoners. Using Keoni Watson’s winning poem as a frame, Rocchio questions the reported impacts of the slam and the larger culpability of arts-in-corrections in simultaneously supporting and undermining the existing carceral and state power structures in control over the bodies and souls of prisoners

Survey of critical wetlands and riparian areas in Southern Alamosa and Costilla Counties, San Luis Valley, Colorado

Prepared for: Colorado Department of Natural Resources.June 29, 2004.Includes bibliographical references

Can Campylobacter be transmitted via hens’ eggs?

Campylobacterios är den vanligaste rapporterade orsaken till magtarminfektion hos människor i såväl Sverige som övriga Europa och USA. Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni är den underart som oftast orsakar sjukdom. Sjukdomen orsakar stora ekonomiska kostnader för samhället varje år. Det är också ett stort lidande för människor som blir smittade då de vanligaste symtomen är diarré, buksmärtor, kräkningar och feber, dessutom finns risk för att man drabbas av följdsjukdomar. Det krävs endast att man får i sig en liten mängd bakterier för att bli sjuk. De vanligaste orsakerna till att drabbas av campylobacterios är genom att konsumera kontaminerade kyckling/kycklingprodukter, mjölkprodukter eller vatten. De flesta djur kan ha Campylobacter i träcken utan att bli sjuka. Slaktkycklingar kan ha höga halter av Campylobacter i träcken vilka kan överföras till slaktkropparna vid slakt, och som sedan kan smitta konsumenten. Ägg kan komma i kontakt med träck i kloaken hos hönan och kan då bli kontaminerade med Campylobacter på skalet, och då i teorin möjligen överföras till människor eller kycklingar. Det är dock inte känt huruvida människor kan smittas av Campylobacter via äggskal, eller om Campylobacter kan överföras från höna till kyckling via äggskal. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om Campylobacter kan överleva på utsidan av ägg och i så fall hur länge. Resultaten kan bidra till att besvara frågeställningarna om kontaminerade konsumtionsägg kan orsaka campylobacterios hos människa samt om Campylobacter kan överföras från föräldradjur till kycklingar vid förekomst av Campylobacter på utsidan av ägget. Överlevnad av Campylobacter på ägg undersöktes genom att ägg doppades i buljonger med olika koncentrationer av Campylobacter samt med eller utan tillsats av en blindtarmslösning. Äggen förvarades i kyl och analyserades efter olika lång tid avseende överlevnad av Campylobacter. Analyserna gjordes genom standardiserade metoder (ISO 10272) genom anrikning i Bolton buljong och odling på mCCD-agar. Tre olika sekvenstyper av Campylobacter jejuni (ST-257, ST-148 och ST918) med olika ursprung användes i studien. Campylobacter överlevde på 16 av 90 ägg som analyserades efter ett dygn. På ett ägg kunde Campylobacter påvisas efter 10 dygn. Baserat på resultaten i denna studie går det inte att utesluta att det som konsument finns en risk att bli smittad av Campylobacter via ägg. Risken är dock liten då det är en rad kriterier som behöver uppfyllas för att det ska vara möjligt. Risken är dock större för personal på packerier och på gårdar som hanterar ägg kort efter att de värpts. Det finns också en risk att en miljösmitta på exempelvis ett kläckeri skulle kunna härstamma från ett ägg kontaminerat med Campylobacter.Campylobacteriosis is the most reported cause of gastrointestinal infection in people in Sweden as well as the rest of Europe and the USA. Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni is the subspecies that most often causes disease. The disease causes large financial costs to society every year. It is also a great burden for people who become infected as the most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting and fever and that there is a risk of several sequelae. Only a small number of bacteria is needed to cause disease. The most common ways of becoming infected are by consuming contaminated chicken / chicken products, dairy products, or water. Most animals can have Campylobacter in their feces without showing any symptoms of disease. Broilers can have high levels of Campylobacter in the feces which could contaminate carcasses at slaughter, and which can then infect the consumer. Eggs may come in contact with feces in the cloacal of the hen and may become contaminated with Campylobacter on the shell and may in theory be transmitted to humans or chickens. However, it is not known whether humans can be infected with Campylobacter via eggshells, or whether Campylobacter can be transmitted from chicken to chicken via eggshells. The aim of this study was to examine whether Campylobacter can survive on the outside of eggs and if so, for how long. The results can help answer the questions of whether table eggs can cause campylobacteriosis in humans and whether Campylobacter can be transmitted from parent flocks to chickens if Campylobacter are present on the outside of the egg. Survival of Campylobacter on eggs was examined by dipping eggs in broths with different concentrations of Campylobacter and with or without the addition of a mixture of caecal contents. The eggs were then stored in a refrigerator and analyzed for growth of Campylobacter at different times. Analyses were performed according to standardized methods (ISO 10272) with enrichment in Bolton broth and culture on mCCD agar. Three different sequence types of Campylobacter jejuni (ST257, ST-148 and ST-918) with different origins were used in this study. Campylobacter could be isolated from 16 out of 90 eggs one day after dipping in a Campylobacter broth. On one egg, Campylobacter could be detected after 10 days. Based on the results of this study, it cannot be ruled out that as a consumer there is a risk of becoming infected with Campylobacter via eggs, though the risk is small as there are several criteria that need to be met for this to be possible. However, the risk is greater for staff at packing plants and on farms that handle eggs shortly after they have been laid. There is also a risk that an environmental infection in, for example, a hatchery could originate from an egg contaminated with Campylobacter

Assessing ecological condition of headwater wetlands in the southern Rocky Mountains using a vegetation Index of biotic integrity: (version 1.0)

Prepared for: Colorado Dept. of Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8.Includes bibliographical references