Browsing by Subject "Bacteria"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Blood cultures in sick children
    (2013) Lochan, Harsha; Bamford, Colleen; Eley, Brian
    BACKGROUND: Blood cultures (BCs) are frequently performed in sick children. A recent audit of BCs among adult patients documented high rates of contamination by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). OBJECTIVES: To describe BC contamination rates and common pathogenic organisms causing bloodstream infection in children at a tertiary- level children's hospital. METHODS: BC results for children admitted to Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital from 2008 to 2012 were extracted from the National Health Laboratory Service database. Pathogenic and non-pathogenic (contaminated) growth on BCs in children <1 year of age and >1 year of age, were analysed. Data analysis was performed using Epi Info version 3.5.1. RESULTS: A total of 47 677 BCs were performed in the 5-year period. The proportion of contaminated specimens ranged between 5.9% and 7.2% per year (p=0.4). CoNS was the predominant isolate in 53.8% of all contaminated BCs. Children <1 year of age experienced higher contamination rates than children >1 year of age (8.7% v. 4.7%; relative risk 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.71 - 1.97). Pathogenic organisms were isolated in 6.2% (95% CI 6.0 - 6.4) of all BC specimens. Among Gram-positive organisms, the proportion of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates declined from 14.3% to 4.7% (p<0.00001), while there was a significant increase in Gram-negative organisms (51.8% - 57.9%; p=0.04) over the 5-year period. Klebsiella pneumoniae, the predominant Enterobacteriaceae isolated, decreased from 45.8% to 31.7% (p=0.004). CONCLUSION: This study identified unacceptably high BC contamination rates, emphasising the importance of collecting BC specimens under sterile conditions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Diagnosis of neglected tropical diseases among patients with persistent digestive disorders (diarrhoea and/or abdominal pain [greater than or equal to]14days): Pierrea multi-country, prospective, non-experimental case-control study
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2015) Polman, Katja; Becker, Soren; Alirol, Emilie; Bhatta, Nisha; Bhattarai, Narayan; Bottieau, Emmanuel; Bratschi, Martin; Burza, Sakib; Coulibaly, Jean; Doumbia, Mama; Horie, Ninon; Jacobs, Jan; Khanal, Basudha; Landoure, Aly; Mahendradhata, Yodi; Meheu
    BACKGROUND: Diarrhoea still accounts for considerable mortality and morbidity worldwide. The highest burden is concentrated in tropical areas where populations lack access to clean water, adequate sanitation and hygiene. In contrast to acute diarrhoea (<14days), the spectrum of pathogens that may give rise to persistent diarrhoea ([greater than or equal to]14days) and persistent abdominal pain is poorly understood. It is conceivable that pathogens causing neglected tropical diseases play a major role, but few studies investigated this issue. Clinical management and diagnostic work-up of persistent digestive disorders in the tropics therefore remain inadequate. Hence, important aspects regarding the pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical symptomatology and treatment options for patients presenting with persistent diarrhoea and persistent abdominal pain should be investigated in multi-centric clinical studies.METHODS/DESIGN:This multi-country, prospective, non-experimental case-control study will assess persistent diarrhoea ([greater than or equal to]14days; in individuals aged [greater than or equal to]1year) and persistent abdominal pain ([greater than or equal to]14days; in children/adolescents aged 1-18 years) in up to 2000 symptomatic patients and 2000 matched controls. Subjects from Cote d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Mali and Nepal will be clinically examined and interviewed using a detailed case report form. Additionally, each participant will provide a stool sample that will be examined using a suite of diagnostic methods (i.e., microscopic techniques, rapid diagnostic tests, stool culture and polymerase chain reaction) for the presence of bacterial and parasitic pathogens. Treatment will be offered to all infected participants and the clinical treatment response will be recorded. Data obtained will be utilised to develop patient-centred clinical algorithms that will be validated in primary health care centres in the four study countries in subsequent studies.DISCUSSION:Our research will deepen the understanding of the importance of persistent diarrhoea and related digestive disorders in the tropics. A diversity of intestinal pathogens will be assessed for potential associations with persistent diarrhoea and persistent abdominal pain. Different diagnostic methods will be compared, clinical symptoms investigated and diagnosis-treatment algorithms developed for validation in selected primary health care centres. The findings from this study will improve differential diagnosis and evidence-based clinical management of digestive syndromes in the tropics.TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov; identifier: NCT02105714.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    DNA repair in Bacteroides fragilis Bf-2
    (1987) Abratt, Valerie Rose; Woods, David R; Jones, David T
    Repair deficient mutants of Bacteroides fragilis have been isolated in order to study the responses of this organism to various DNA damaging agents at the physiological and molecular levels. Two types of mutants were isolated by ethyl methane sulphonate mutagenesis of B.fragilis followed by selection for sensitivity to mitomycin C. One mutant (UVS9) showed sensitivity to both mitomycin C and far-UV irradiation. The other (MTC25) was more sensitive to mitomycin C than UVS9, but showed wild-type resistance to UV radiation. Both mutant strains had wild-type resistance to methyl methane sulphonate.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    The effect of As(III) and As(V) on the batch bioleaching of a pyrite-arsenopyrite concentrate
    (Elsevier, 1996) Breed, A W; Glatz, A; Hansford, G S; Harrison, S T L
    The bioleaching of arsenical gold-bearing sulphide ores and concentrates solubilises iron, arsenic and sulphur. Previous work has shown that high concentrations of iron and arsenic in solution inhibit bacterial growth, with As(III) reported to inhibit bacteria to a greater degree than As(V). Batch bioleaching experiments were carried out over periods of one month. Varying quantities of either 0.020–0.040 M As(III) or 0.107–0.220 M As(V), were added to a slurry, consisting of a pyrite-arsenopyrite concentrate (20% solids (m.v−1)) in a nutrient solution. The slurry was inoculated with a culture, consisting primarily of Leptospirillum ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans. The culture was obtained from a continuous bioleaching mini-plant treating the same concentrate. The results obtained were compared with those of a culture to which no arsenic was added. The effect of the added arsenic was determined by monitoring three parameters: the oxygen utilisation rate, rO2, of the culture, the rate at which the arsenic in the concentrate was solubilised and the speciation of the dissolved arsenic. The results suggest that the nature of the As(III) and As(V) toxicity is different. The addition of the culture to a slurry containing As(III) resulted in a reduced rate of bacterial oxidation. However, the addition of the culture to a slurry containing As(V) resulted in both a lag phase and a reduced rate of bacterial oxidation. At sufficiently high dosages of As(III) and As(V) the maximum oxygen utilisation rate, rO2max, of the culture was also affected. The results indicate that As(V) toxicity, and the relative toxicity of As(III) and As(V) to a mixed culture, appear to be affected by the availability of an energy source. Hence the toxicity of As(III) is not necessarily in the region of three times that of As(V). Furthermore, the results suggest that the mechanism of arsenic resistance may be attributed to the Pst+ Pit− mutations and an energy dependent efflux pump.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    The effect of temperature and culture history on the attachment of Metallosphaera hakonensis to mineral sulphides with application to heap bioleaching
    (Elsevier, 2011) Bromfield, L; Africa, C-J; Harrison, S T L; van Hille, R P
    Temperatures in excess of 60 °C are required for efficient bioleaching of chalcopyrite. Within heaps, colonisation of the mineral with thermophilic archaea is important in reaching and maintaining these high temperatures. The effect of temperature and culture history on the attachment of Metallosphaera hakonensis, an extreme thermophilic acidophile identified as a key player in heap bioleaching, to sulfide concentrates and low-grade ore was investigated in shake flasks and packed beds. Attachment studies were conducted at 25 °C, 45 °C and 65 °C. The results show a clear relationship between increasing temperature and attachment efficiency for both suspended and packed bed systems. Attachment at 25 °C was low. Increasing the temperature to 45 °C improved attachment efficiency by between 50% and 100% while a further increase to 65 °C improved attachment by an additional 20–50%. Cells cultured on elemental sulfur as energy source prior to contacting showed 1.3 times greater affinity for the mineral concentrate than those cultured on sulphide mineral concentrates or ferrous sulphate. In contrast to previous studies using mesophilic organisms the selective attachment ofMetallosphaera to sulfide minerals, relative to gangue, was less pronounced. Attachment efficiency was lower in the packed bed system which more closely mimicked flow through a heap. The cell surface properties surface charge and hydrophobicity as well as metabolic activity were investigated to provide insight into the observed phenomena. The data suggest that retention of thermophiles within the heap could be enhanced by a secondary inoculation following elevation of the temperature above 40 °C by the mesophilic pioneer species.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    The influence of applied potentials and temperature on the electrochemical response of Chalcopyrite in Bacterial Leaching
    (Elsevier, 2002) Tshilombo, A F; Petersen, J; Dixon, D G
    Electrochemical techniques were conducted to clarify the role of solution potential and temperature under a variety of experimental conditions similar to those found during the mesophilic and thermophilic biooxidation of chalcopyrite (CuFeS2). Despite a large number of publications dealing with the bacterial leaching of CuFeS2, three central aspects remain unclear: How to dissolve preferentially copper from CuFeS2, the effect of temperature on the extent of CuFeS2 passivation, and the behavior of ferric ions on a polarized CuFeS2 surface. Anodic characteristics showed that CuFeS2 passivation was more severe in the potential range 0.45–0.65 V saturated calomel electrode at 25 C. However, there was no evidence of CuFeS2 passivation at higher temperatures (45 and 65 C). Cu was preferentially dissolved from CuFeS2 at lower potentials and high temperatures at a ratio copper to iron of about 3:2. Cathodic characteristics showed that the ferric ions inhibited the leaching process when the CuFeS2 surface was polarized at high potentials and low temperatures.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    Quantification of growth and colonisation of low grade sulphidic ores by acidophilic chemoautotrophs using a novel experimental system
    (Elsevier, 2013) Govender, Elaine; Bryan, Christopher G; Harrison, Susan T L
    Microbial colonisation of low grade sulphidic ores and subsequent growth in heap bioleaching systems has not been quantified rigorously. In this study, an experimental system simulating the sub-processes that occur at the agglomerate scale was used to quantify the colonisation, growth and propagation of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in an unsaturated bed of crushed and agglomerated low grade chalcopyrite ore. The relative distribution of the microorganisms in the flowing leachate solution (‘PLS’), the stagnant interstitial liquid and weakly and strongly attached to the mineral surfaces was determined at various time points during the leach. There was a distinct difference in population dynamics in each of these discrete phases. The microbial cells present in the interstitial phase dominated the microbial population in the ore bed. Particularly, the microbial concentration in the free flowing PLS was found to be a poor representation of the ore-associated microbial population. The calculated growth rate of At. ferrooxidans in the PLS was unreasonably high when modelled as a continuous system, indicating that change in cell concentration in the PLS was dominated by transfer from the mineral ore associated population. However, the transfer rate was not correlated directly to changes in either the interstitial or attached population sizes. Therefore, unless transfer rates can be accounted for, PLS population dynamics do not accurately represent those in the column as a whole. Growth rates of microorganisms in the interstitial, weakly mineral-attached and strongly mineral-attached phases better predicted growth of At. ferrooxidans on the whole ore system owing to the dominance of the microbial location in these phases.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Studies of gastric aspirate nitrite, pH, bacterial flora and mutagenicity in man
    (1987) Coldrey, Norman A; Forder, A A; Dent, David Marshall
    Gastric aspirate specimens were collected from patients w~th clinically diagnosed gastric carcinoma and from non-carcinoma patients. The nitrite concentration and pH values of the aspirates were measured, the microorganisms present in selected specimens were isolated and identified, and the mutagenicity ratios of the aspirates were determined. The median nitrite concentration of the gastric aspirates from the carcinoma patients was significantly higher than that obtained for the non-carcinoma patients. A positive correlation was found between the nitrite concentration and the pH values of all the specimens tested, and a marked increase in nitrite levels at pH values above 6,0 was evident in specimens from the coloured ethnic "normal" subgroup. Gastric aspirate nitrite concentrations did not correlate with salivary values. The presence of microorganisms in gastric aspirates was shown to be pH dependent. Gastric aspirates with a pH < 2,0 were sterile, below pH 4,0 only acidophilic bacteria survived, whereas above pH 4,0, numerous species, predominantly members of the oral microflora, were isolated. The mean mutagenicity ratio of the gastric aspirates from the carcinoma patients was found to be significantly higher than that found for the control group. There was a positive correlation between the mutagenicity ratios of all the gastric specimens and pH with a maximum at a pH value of approximately 6,0.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Studies on stationary phase Vibrio sp. 2
    (1987) Car, Nicholas George; Woods, David R
    Vibrio sp. 2 stationary phase cells are novel and interesting in that they are able to support phage growth in standing cultures, but not in shaken (aerated) cultures. Many physiological and morphological characteristics change when Vibrio sp. 2 stationary phase cells are removed from aeration: the relatively high levels of protein synthesis (Robb et al., 1977; 1978) decrease, with a concomitant increase in the levels of RNA synthesis; protein degradation rises from 1 %h⁻¹ to 2,9 %h⁻¹, and whilst the average cell length decreases, the range of cell lengths markedly increases. The magic spot nucleotides, ppGpp and pppGpp, which are present in stressed exponential phase Vibrio sp. 2 cells, are not detectable in stationary phase Vibrio cells. The specific proteolytic activity of shaking stationary phase cell-free extracts against the foreign protein [¹⁴C-me]globin was slightly higher than that of extracts from standing or exponential phase cells, while the specific proteolytic activity against [¹²⁵I]-insulin was slightly lower. On the basis of inhibitor studies and subcellular distribution, the proteolytic activities of the three types of extract differed. The addition of exogenous ATP to cell-free extracts either stimulated (Car & Woods, 1984) or depressed proteolytic activity depending on the procedure used to prepare the extracts. The proteolytic activity of fractions containing substantial amounts of membrane material, from all three types of extract, were markedly depressed by ATP. On preincubation of cell-free extracts from exponentially growing cells prior to assay of proteolytic activity, the activity was markedly stimulated (two- to four-fold). The stimulation,. however, varied, greatly between independently produced extracts. ATP had a much smaller stimulatory effect on preparations free of cell wall material from both types of stationary phase cells (the stimulation was less than two-fold), and the stimulation was not affected by preincubation of the extracts. Extracts prepared from starving cells, previously in exponential growth, were affected by the addition of ATP in a similar manner to that observed with stationary phase extracts (Car & Woods, 1984). Exponential and both types of stationary phase Vibrio sp. 2 cells have ATP-stimulated and ATP-depressed activities separable by ion-exchange chromatography, in addition to several other proteolytic activities. All types of Vibrio sp. 2 cells have a similar complement of proteolytic activities.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Thermophilic Heap Leaching of a Chalcopyrite Concentrate
    (Elsevier, 2002) Petersen, J; Dixon, D G
    Thermophiles have been shown to be the only micro-organisms to leach chalcopyrite successfully. Heap leaching may be a feasible alternative to conventional bio-reactors, providing a high temperature environment can be maintained within the heap without external heating. In the present study thermophilic heap leaching of a chalcopyrite concentrate coated onto inert support rocks (the GEOCOAT™ process) was studied in sets of small heated columns. The temperature was gradually increased to 70 °C, while successively introducing various mesophile and thermophile cultures. Individual columns were dismantled after progressively longer leach periods and the residual concentrates analysed. Copper extractions in excess of 90% were achieved within 100 days. On the basis of head and residue analyses the rate of reaction heat generated was calculated. A comprehensive heap heat conservation model was used to determine whether the experimental temperatures can be achieved and maintained in a full scale heap. Results indicate that operating hot heaps successfully is possible within a certain range of process parameters.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    The use of mini-hydrocyclones for differential separations within mineral slurries subjected to  bioleaching
    (Elsevier, 1997) Harrison S T L; Cilliers J J
    Mini-hydrocyclones were used to effect differential separation of a leached slurry of sulphidic ore from a continuous bioleaching process. Separations of the sulphidic ore, other non-biological solids as well as free and attached bactetia were studied. The volumetric flow split was found to be a power law function of the ratio of the spigot to vortex finder diameters. The mass recovery was shown to be a function of the outlet diameters individually, when treating a feed of the same size distribution. The recovery of bactetial activity was directly related to the mass recovery, except at high solids concentrations in the unde$ow stream. Following passage through a two-stage circuit of mini-hydrocyclones, it was shown that a significant upgrading of the solids concentration could be attained, enhancing downstream processing such as cyanidation. In addition, the preferential upgrading of one stream with respect to bacterial activity (measured in terms of oxygen utilisation rate) was demonstrated. This holds potential in the recycling of bacteria to the continuous bioleaching tanks to retain a higher biomass concentration ana’ improve process robustness. 4, recycle of a low volume stream with reduced solids concentration, plant capacity may be improved.