Sediment cooling triggers germination and sulfate reduction by heat-resistant thermophilic spore-forming bacteria.

Thermophilic endospores are widespread in cold marine sediments where the temperature is too low to support growth and activity of thermophiles in situ. These endospores are likely expelled from warm subsurface environments and subsequently dispersed by ocean currents. The endospore upper temperature limit for survival is 140°C, which can be tolerated in repeated short exposures, potentially enabling transit through hot crustal fluids. Longer-term thermal tolerance of endospores, and how long they could persist in an environment hotter than their maximum growth temperature, is less understood. To test whether thermophilic endospores can survive prolonged exposure to high temperatures, sediments were incubated at 80-90°C for 6, 12 or 463 days. Sediments were then cooled by 10-40°C, mimicking the cooling in subsurface oil reservoirs subjected to seawater injection. Cooling the sediments induced sulfate reduction, coinciding with an enrichment of endospore-forming Clostridia. Different Desulfofundulus, Desulfohalotomaculum, Desulfallas, Desulfotomaculum and Desulfofarcimen demonstrated different thermal tolerances, with some Desulfofundulus strains surviving for >1 year at 80°C. In an oil reservoir context, heat-resistant endospore-forming sulfate-reducing bacteria have a survival advantage if they are introduced to, or are resident in, an oil reservoir normally too hot for germination and growth, explaining observations of reservoir souring following cold seawater injection.

[Descending Necrotizing Mediastinitis. Results of Medical-Surgical Treatment in 17 Cases ]. / Mediastinitis necrosante descendente. Resultados del tratamiento médico-quirúrgico en 17 casos.

UNLABELLED: Descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM) is a serious disease of the mediastinum; early diagnosis and treatment may lower the high mortality rate of this disease. OBJECTIVE: To know the frequency of DNM in an intensive respiratory care unit. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a retrospective, transversal, and observational trial of a series of consecutive cases. In a period from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 2000, among 1,560 patients, we found 17 patients with DNM according with selection criteria. RESULTS: Fifteen males and two females, mean age 38.9 years SD +/- 14.5 years, were studied. In 10, tracheostomy was practiced previously. Seventeen cases had different kinds of previous abscesses, seven periodontal (47%), six retropharyngeal (35.5%), and four (23.5%) submaxillary. All cases were subject to thoracotomy. The most frequent postoperative complications were septic shock in 10 cases (58.8%), eight acute pulmonary damage (47%), six gastrointestinal bleeding (35.6%) and three acute respiratory insufficiency syndrome (11.6%). Seven deaths were registered and 10 patient survived. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical significance found between survival patients vs those who died was 31.9 +/- 8.6 vs 48.1 +/- 14.1 (p < 0.05) and in those with early tracheostomy 8.0 vs 28.6 (p = 0.68). Death occurred most frequently due to septic shock, specific mortality in this group of patients was 29%. Although DNM is a rare entity, 1.08% of all reviewed cases, must be treated immediately due to high mortality. The importance of early antimicrobial and surgical treatments is stressed.

The acetylsalicylic acid-bromine system for multicomponent kinetic determinations.

When acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is added to a bromine solution, slow decay of the bromine concentration occurs. Hydrolysis of ASA yields salicylic acid (SA) slowly, and bromine reacts rapidly with SA but not with ASA. Simulated reaction profiles based on a two-step reaction scheme agree closely with the experimental profiles. This behaviour can be used to develop kinetic methods for resolution of mixtures of ASA and a second component that reacts rapidly with bromine. A remarkable practical feature of these methods is that the faster the reaction between bromine and the second component, the simpler and easier the analytical method. The reaction between hydroquinone (HQ) and bromine is rapid and a very simple analytical method is proposed. Mean validation errors of 2.8% for HQ and 7.2% for ASA have been found with concentration ratios [ASA]:[HQ] ranging between 0.32 and 19.4. The reaction between paracetamol (AAP) and bromine is not so fast and more complicated calibration methods are required. After use of a calibration plane mean validation errors of 2.7% for AAP and 8.1% for ASA have been found with concentration ratios ranging between 1.28 and 77.5. Similar kinetic approaches should be possible with many other mixtures of ASA and a second fast-reacting component, because bromine reacts with many inorganic and organic species by oxidation-reduction, substitution, and addition reactions.

The bromination of acetone. application to multicomponent kinetic determinations.

A very simple kinetic method is proposed for the resolution of mixtures of acetone and a second component. It is based on the reaction, at constant temperature, between bromine and acetone. This reaction can be regarded, under certain conditions, as pseudo-zero-order on the bromine concentration. To show the possibilities of the method, mixtures of acetone (between 2 and 20 x 10(-4) mol L(-1)) and either hydroquinone (between 0.4 and 2.2 x 10(-4) mol L(-1)) or resorcinol (between 0.1 and 10.7 x 10(-4) mol L(-1)) have been used with the concentration ratios [acetone]:[hydroquinone] ranging between 0.5 and 50 and [acetone]:[resorcinol] ranging between 2.8 and 200. No systematic errors were found to exist (90% confidence level) and random errors were mainly under 5%. The method can be extended to mixtures of acetone and a second component whose reaction with bromine is fast (phenols, aromatic amines, etc.).

Multicomponent determinations by partial least-squares regression analysis of fast-reaction multiwavelength profiles obtained by continuous addition of a reagent.

Partial least-squares regression (PLS) analysis of multiwavelength reaction profiles, obtained by continuous addition of a reagent to a binary mixture of analytes, giving fast reactions, is presented. The methodology has proved to be useful for the simultaneous determination of the mixture components. Octacyanomolibdate(V) (Mo(V)) has been used as a reagent for mixtures of hydroquinone (HQ) and pyrogallol (PG) in acidic medium. When the reaction profiles are followed spectrophotometrically at several wavelengths, and they are handled with PLS, the mixture can be resolved. The final spectrum of the mixture, after reaction with Mo(V), is enough to predict the HQ concentration, but in the case of PG successive spectra along the reaction are necessary to predict properly the concentration. The concentrations for HQ in the calibration set ranged between 1.8x10(-6) and 1.7x10(-5) M and for PG between 2.5x10(-6) and 2.5x10(-5) M. The concentration ratio, [HQ]:[PG], in the validation set ranged between 0.17 and 4.10. Mean validation errors of 1.6% for HQ and 4.2% for PG were found. Satisfactory results were obtained when independent studies of accuracy and precision were accomplished. The effect of p-phenylenediamine and aminophenols was studied as interferences and, in general, hydroquinone is more affected than pyrogallol. The tolerated concentration of interferences ranged between 10(-6) and 10(-4) M.