Retrospective epidemiological review on L. pneumophyla

During the first annual control on hospital infections, was observed a curious but explainable trend regarding evidence of Legionella pneumophyla isolated by water systems in numerous public and private nosocomial structures. After first massive isolation of L. pneumophyla strains at the beginning, a considerable reduction of isolates was noted, due to a program based on control and surveillance of water supplies, with regards to the aspectatives. But, in these last years a recurrent presence of isolates of L. pneumophyla was noted, despite all procedures used for the control of these bacteria

Propylene glycol-specific dehydrogenases as functional biomarkers for monitoring biodegradation in sites contaminated by de-icing chemicals

The area under study at Gardermoen airport (Oslo, Norway) is a glacial contact formation with sand and gravels dominating near the ground surface. Due to the northern climate, every winter large amounts of de-icing chemicals, i.e. propylene glycol (PG) and potassium formate, are commonly used in the airport for the removal of snow and ice from airplanes and runways, respectively. Even though these contaminants are easily degradable by biotic or abiotic factors, they may still threaten groundwater, due to the system overloading. The present study, performed within the FPVII European research project: “SoilCAM - Soil Contamination: Advanced integrated characterisation and time-lapse Monitoring”, deals with the physic-chemical and microbiological characterization of the site and the development of suitable methods for monitoring PG biodegradation on site under reclamation. For this purpose, functional biomarkers were selected to evaluate their potential use in Real Time quantitative PCR (q-PCR) experiments directly on soil DNA. The soils are highly leached, with low biological and biochemical activities. Therefore, pollutant transfer to the groundwater occurs quickly and is virtually unhindered. Bacterial strains isolated from the soil were able to degrade PG in aerobic conditions at 4, 15 and 30 °C. The PG-degrading population was mainly composed by different species of Pseudomonas, as shown by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis on soil DNA. Gene probes for PG-specific alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-IIG) detected the presence of such genes in the isolates. The deduced amino acid sequence of representative strains presented over 92% identities with PG-specific dehydrogenase-related proteins. ADH-IIG detected in soil DNA indicated that PG-degrading strains were present along the soil profile from 0 to 100 cm. The application of q-PCR analysis on DNA from soil mesocosm experiments will confirm the suitability of ADH-IIG as biomarker for monitoring PG biodegradation in soil systems

Short-term results of a randomized trial examining timing of carotid endarterectomy in patients with severe asymptomatic unilateral carotid stenosis undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

ObjectiveThis study evaluated the timing of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in the prevention of stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis >70% receiving a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).MethodsFrom January 2004 to December 2009, 185 patients with unilateral asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis >70%, candidates for CABG, were randomized into two groups. In group A, 94 patients received a CABG with previous or simultaneous CEA. In group B, 91 patients underwent CABG, followed by CEA. All patients underwent preoperative helical computed tomography scans, excluding significant atheroma of the ascending aorta or aortic arch. Baseline characteristics of the patients, type of coronary artery lesion, and preoperative myocardial function were comparable in the two groups. In group A, all patients underwent CEA under general anesthesia with the systematic use of a carotid shunt, and 79 patients had a combined procedure and 15 underwent CEA a few days before CABG. In group B, all patients underwent CEA, 1 to 3 months after CABG, also under general anesthesia and with systematic carotid shunting.ResultsTwo patients (one in each group) died of cardiac failure in the postoperative period. Operative mortality was 1.0% in group A and 1.1% in group B (P = .98). No strokes occurred in group A vs seven ipsilateral ischemic strokes in group B, including three immediate postoperative strokes and four late strokes, at 39, 50, 58, and 66 days, after CABG. These late strokes occurred in patients for whom CEA was further delayed due to an incomplete sternal wound healing or because of completion of a cardiac rehabilitation program. The 90-day stroke and death rate was 1.0% (one of 94) in group A and 8.8% (eight of 91) in group B (odds ratio [OR], 0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-0.91; P = .02). Logistic regression analysis showed that only delayed CEA (OR, 14.2; 95% CI, 1.32-152.0; P = .03) and duration of cardiopulmonary bypass (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02-1.11; P = .004) reliably predicted stroke or death at 90 days.ConclusionsThis study suggests that previous or simultaneous CEA in patients with unilateral severe asymptomatic carotid stenosis undergoing CABG could prevent stroke better than delayed CEA, without increasing the overall surgical risk

OP0319 DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF ULTRASOUND IN CALCIUM PYROPHOSPHATE DEPOSITION DISEASE: PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE OMERACT US IN CPPD SUB-GROUP

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Biodegradation of propylene glycol by soil bacteria

Propylene glycol (PG) is widely used as a component of deicing agents for aircrafts. Its intensive use in Northern airports is a source of pollution for soil and groundwater even in the presence of recovery systems. Generally PG-based deicing agents are sprayed on the aircrafts over a recovery platform where most of liquids (deicing and melted ice) are collected to a treatment plant. Some of PG is retained by the aircraft wings where it prevents the formation of new ice. During take-off some of PG can drain over the runway and the surrounding soil. In winter the PG is absorbed by the snow layer on the surrounding soil. Melting of snow in spring gives rise to PG percolation in porous soil layers and groundwater underneath. Since PG is toxic to human beings, groundwater pollution has to be prevented. PG is biodegradable by soil bacteria in several environmental conditions. The rate and the extent of biodegradation can be severely limited by many factors, such as temperature, biomass concentration, availability of additional nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus sources) and of electron acceptors (oxygen, nitrate, sulphate, iron and manganese oxides). Enhancing the rate and the extent of biodegradation in the porous unsaturated layer can prevent the pollution of groundwater. In this paper we present experimental data on the biodegradation of PG in soil slurries under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Soil samples from the Gardermoen Airport (Oslo, Norway) have been used as source of PG-degrading microorganisms. The effect of addition of nutrients and electron acceptors different from oxygen has been studied. The rate of degradation is very slow in the absence of added nutrients and follows a zero order kinetics in time both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. It is probably due to maintenance metabolism without biomass growth. By addition of ammonium and phosphate the rate is notably increased and follows first-order kinetics in time. Tentatively an explanation in terms of exponential growth of PG-degrading biomass is postulated. By supplementing oxygen or nitrate, the methanogenic degradation of PG can be prevented, ensuring complete mineralization to water and carbon dioxide

Retrospective epidemiological review on L. pneumophyla

During the first annual control on hospital infections, was observed a curious but explainable trend regarding evidence of Legionella pneumophyla isolated by water systems in numerous public and private nosocomial structures. After first massive isolation of L. pneumophyla strains at the beginning, a considerable reduction of isolates was noted, due to a program based on control and surveillance of water supplies, with regards to the aspectatives. But, in these last years a recurrent presence of isolates of L. pneumophyla was noted, despite all procedures used for the control of these bacteria

Mitigation of olive mill wastewaters toxicity

The toxicity of Olive Mill Wastewaters (OMW) is commonly attributed to monomeric phenols. OMW were treated in an aerated, stirred reactor containing agricultural soil where the oxidative polymerization of phenols took place. In 24 h, OMW monomeric phenols decreased by more than 90%. This resulted in a corresponding reduction in phytotoxicity, as measured by germination tests with tomato and English cress seeds, and in microbial toxicity, as measured by lag phase duration in Bacillus cereus batch growth. Soil germination capability after irrigation with OMW was assessed in long-term pot experiments. The relative germination percentage of tomato was higher when the soil was irrigated with treated OMW rather than with untreated ones, although it was lower than the control (e.g. soil irrigated with distilled water). At longer incubation times, a complete recovery of the soil germination capability was achieved with treated, but not with untreated OMW