title: Characterization of a chelator-resistant proteinase from Thermus strain Rt4A2

authors: Freeman, S.A.

subjects: thermos

abstract: The Thermus isolate Rt4A2 was found to produce an extracellular chelator-resistant proteinase. The proteinase was purified to homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, cation-exchange chromatography, gel-filtration chromatography, and weak anion-exchange chromatography. The Rt4A2 proteinase was found to have properties typical of an alkaline serine proteinase. It had a pH optimum of 9.0 and was specifically inhibited by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride. Its isoelectric point was greater than 10.25. Its molecular-mass was 31.6 kDa as determined by SDS/PAGE. N-terminal sequencing has shown it to have high sequence similarity with other serine proteinases from Thermus species. The proteinase hydrolysed a number of substrates including fibrin, casein, haemoglobin, collagen, albumin and the synthetic chromogenic peptide substrate Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-NH-Np. The specific activity of the purified proteinase using azocasein as substrate was 313 units/mg. Substrate inhibition was observed above an azocasein concentration of 0.05% (w/v). Esterase activity was directed mainly towards those substrates containing the aliphatic or aromatic residues of alanine, glycine, tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine. Thermostability half-lives of greater than 7 days at 70 degrees C, 43 h at 80 degrees C and 90 min at 90 degrees C were found in the presence of 5 mM CaCl2. At 90 degrees C increasing the CaCl2 concentration 100-fold (0.5 mM to 50 mM) caused a 4.3-fold increase in the half-life of the enzyme from 30 to 130 min. Half-lives of 19.4 min at 100 degrees C and 4.4 min at 105 degrees C were found in the presence of 50 mM CaCl2. The metal chelators EGTA and EDTA reduced the stability at higher temperatures but had no effect on the activity of the proteinase. Activity was not stimulated by common metal activators such as Ca2+, Mg2+ and Zn2+.

text: Characterization of a chelator-resistant proteinase from Thermus strain Rt4A2 The Thermus isolate Rt4A2 was found to produce an extracellular chelator-resistant proteinase. The proteinase was purified to homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, cation-exchange chromatography, gel-filtration chromatography, and weak anion-exchange chromatography. The Rt4A2 proteinase was found to have properties typical of an alkaline serine proteinase. It had a pH optimum of 9.0 and was specifically inhibited by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride. Its isoelectric point was greater than 10.25. Its molecular-mass was 31.6 kDa as determined by SDS/PAGE. N-terminal sequencing has shown it to have high sequence similarity with other serine proteinases from Thermus species. The proteinase hydrolysed a number of substrates including fibrin, casein, haemoglobin, collagen, albumin and the synthetic chromogenic peptide substrate Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-NH-Np. The specific activity of the purified proteinase using azocasein as substrate was 313 units/mg. Substrate inhibition was observed above an azocasein concentration of 0.05% (w/v). Esterase activity was directed mainly towards those substrates containing the aliphatic or aromatic residues of alanine, glycine, tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine. Thermostability half-lives of greater than 7 days at 70 degrees C, 43 h at 80 degrees C and 90 min at 90 degrees C were found in the presence of 5 mM CaCl2. At 90 degrees C increasing the CaCl2 concentration 100-fold (0.5 mM to 50 mM) caused a 4.3-fold increase in the half-life of the enzyme from 30 to 130 min. Half-lives of 19.4 min at 100 degrees C and 4.4 min at 105 degrees C were found in the presence of 50 mM CaCl2. The metal chelators EGTA and EDTA reduced the stability at higher temperatures but had no effect on the activity of the proteinase. Activity was not stimulated by common metal activators such as Ca2+, Mg2+ and Zn2+.

year: 1993

title: An economic analysis of hospital costs in New Zealand

authors: Tatchell, Philip Michael

abstract: The main purpose of this study is to apply economic principles and methods to the analysis of New Zealand’s hospital services in order to ascertain how the costs of providing those services varies among hospitals and over time. Achievement of this objective at the same time enables an assessment to be made of the relevance of the various theoretical models and empirical techniques that have been employed in recent studies of hospital costs in other countries.
Attention in the initial chapters is devoted to identifying and assessing the quantitative importance of the factors responsible for the rapid and accelerating cost increases associated with the provision of hospital services in recent years. Two main groups of factors are identified - demand and supply-related - and their relative cost impacts are tested first by means of a descriptive historical analysis, and then, following the development of a general behavioural model of hospital cost inflation, by means of econometric techniques.

The results of the estimation process indicate that rising hospital costs are largely due to changes on the supply side, particularly to the rising cost, quantity and quality of the labour and non-labour inputs used by hospitals. Demand variables, particularly changing length of stay and the changing diagnostic mix of patients treated in hospital, are also shown to have had an important, though less substantial impact on hospital cost levels. 
The second part of the study is devoted to identifying and examining the factors that give rise to variations in costs among hospitals at a given point in time. Three main groups of factors are identified - patient or output characteristics, institutional characteristics and utilisation levels, and their relative importance in explaining the interhospital cost variations is tested by means of econometric techniques.
The results indicate that variations in the average costs of hospital care are largely explained by the types of patient treated, both by age and diagnosis, by the length of time the patient stayed in hospital, and by the teaching status of the hospital. Considerable attention in this section is also devoted to establishing whether economies of scale exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry and to developing and testing a number of alternative measures of hospital output based on similar measures employed in earlier overseas studies.

A number of implications for policy and for further research arise from the findings. On the cost inflation side apart from suggesting possible ways in which to combat and control the rapid rise in hospital costs, considerable emphasis is placed on the need both for more rigorous evaluation of alternative hospital expenditure programmes and for more and better planning of all hospital and health services. Future research, it is argued, should be directed towards assessing the costs and benefits of particular hospital programmes with a view to ensuring the most efficient and effective utilisation of the scarce resources available for hospital care in New Zealand.
On the cost variation side a revised system of allocating finance to Hospital Boards is advocated which would take into account the various differences among hospitals found to be responsible for the wide variations in their average costs. Introduction of such a population-based allocation system would, it is maintained, ensure that the desired objective of an equitable distribution of resources throughout New Zealand is achieved. Further research is required firstly, to develop a simple yet reliable means of accounting for interboard case-mix differences; secondly, to assess more accurately the nature and extent of the impact of teaching on hospital costs; and finally, to ensure that the economies of scale that appear to exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry are fully exploited.

text: An economic analysis of hospital costs in New Zealand The main purpose of this study is to apply economic principles and methods to the analysis of New Zealand’s hospital services in order to ascertain how the costs of providing those services varies among hospitals and over time. Achievement of this objective at the same time enables an assessment to be made of the relevance of the various theoretical models and empirical techniques that have been employed in recent studies of hospital costs in other countries.
Attention in the initial chapters is devoted to identifying and assessing the quantitative importance of the factors responsible for the rapid and accelerating cost increases associated with the provision of hospital services in recent years. Two main groups of factors are identified - demand and supply-related - and their relative cost impacts are tested first by means of a descriptive historical analysis, and then, following the development of a general behavioural model of hospital cost inflation, by means of econometric techniques.

The results of the estimation process indicate that rising hospital costs are largely due to changes on the supply side, particularly to the rising cost, quantity and quality of the labour and non-labour inputs used by hospitals. Demand variables, particularly changing length of stay and the changing diagnostic mix of patients treated in hospital, are also shown to have had an important, though less substantial impact on hospital cost levels. 
The second part of the study is devoted to identifying and examining the factors that give rise to variations in costs among hospitals at a given point in time. Three main groups of factors are identified - patient or output characteristics, institutional characteristics and utilisation levels, and their relative importance in explaining the interhospital cost variations is tested by means of econometric techniques.
The results indicate that variations in the average costs of hospital care are largely explained by the types of patient treated, both by age and diagnosis, by the length of time the patient stayed in hospital, and by the teaching status of the hospital. Considerable attention in this section is also devoted to establishing whether economies of scale exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry and to developing and testing a number of alternative measures of hospital output based on similar measures employed in earlier overseas studies.

A number of implications for policy and for further research arise from the findings. On the cost inflation side apart from suggesting possible ways in which to combat and control the rapid rise in hospital costs, considerable emphasis is placed on the need both for more rigorous evaluation of alternative hospital expenditure programmes and for more and better planning of all hospital and health services. Future research, it is argued, should be directed towards assessing the costs and benefits of particular hospital programmes with a view to ensuring the most efficient and effective utilisation of the scarce resources available for hospital care in New Zealand.
On the cost variation side a revised system of allocating finance to Hospital Boards is advocated which would take into account the various differences among hospitals found to be responsible for the wide variations in their average costs. Introduction of such a population-based allocation system would, it is maintained, ensure that the desired objective of an equitable distribution of resources throughout New Zealand is achieved. Further research is required firstly, to develop a simple yet reliable means of accounting for interboard case-mix differences; secondly, to assess more accurately the nature and extent of the impact of teaching on hospital costs; and finally, to ensure that the economies of scale that appear to exist in New Zealand’s hospital industry are fully exploited.

year: 1977

title: “This is not a riot, it is a protest”: A discourse analysis of prison violence in New Zealand news media

authors: Membery, Liam

subjects: Prison Violence

abstract: This thesis examines the discourses of prison violence in the New Zealand news media. Prison violence is a pressing social issue that harms those involved and has permeating consequences for the institution. Prison riots, specifically, involve serious instances of disorder and violence that incur physical, psychological, social and economic harm. Despite prisons being private institutions, prison riots are public events that amass large social responses through news media coverage. The public often use news media to co-construct their perceptions of social phenomena, and policymakers use both public opinion and the news media to guide their decisions when shaping policy. Subsequently, the ways in which the news media discursively construct prison riots will have direct consequences for public attitudes and policy relating to prison violence, a phenomenon that exists outside of the public eye. However, there is currently no research that has examined discourses of prison violence and, further, what the consequences of these discourses may be. Therefore, using a Foucauldian approach to discourse analysis, this study examined the discourses in the news media representations of the large-scale prison violence at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility (2013) and Waikeria Prison (2020-2021). The results uncovered three discourses: the riot discourse, the gang discourse, and the protest discourse. The riot discourse was identified as dominant and constructed prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by inherently violent prisoners. The gang discourse worked in conjunction with the riot discourse, constructing prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by gang members. The protest discourse was identified as a counter-discourse and constructed the unrest at both facilities as protests against living conditions and inhumane treatment. Each discourse has consequences for public attitudes and in turn, penal policy and practice.

text: “This is not a riot, it is a protest”: A discourse analysis of prison violence in New Zealand news media This thesis examines the discourses of prison violence in the New Zealand news media. Prison violence is a pressing social issue that harms those involved and has permeating consequences for the institution. Prison riots, specifically, involve serious instances of disorder and violence that incur physical, psychological, social and economic harm. Despite prisons being private institutions, prison riots are public events that amass large social responses through news media coverage. The public often use news media to co-construct their perceptions of social phenomena, and policymakers use both public opinion and the news media to guide their decisions when shaping policy. Subsequently, the ways in which the news media discursively construct prison riots will have direct consequences for public attitudes and policy relating to prison violence, a phenomenon that exists outside of the public eye. However, there is currently no research that has examined discourses of prison violence and, further, what the consequences of these discourses may be. Therefore, using a Foucauldian approach to discourse analysis, this study examined the discourses in the news media representations of the large-scale prison violence at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility (2013) and Waikeria Prison (2020-2021). The results uncovered three discourses: the riot discourse, the gang discourse, and the protest discourse. The riot discourse was identified as dominant and constructed prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by inherently violent prisoners. The gang discourse worked in conjunction with the riot discourse, constructing prison violence as an individualised issue perpetrated by gang members. The protest discourse was identified as a counter-discourse and constructed the unrest at both facilities as protests against living conditions and inhumane treatment. Each discourse has consequences for public attitudes and in turn, penal policy and practice.

year: 2022