Nutritional Effects on the Growth, Cell Size, and Resistance to Stress of Acholeplasma laidlawii.

Due to their lack of a cell wall, mycoplasmas are useful models for the study of biological membranes. However, they are much less appreciated by cell culture laboratories due to their unfortunate tendency to contaminate cell culture lines (1-5). One of the primary protections of a cell line is through filtration of cell culture media.

Nutritional effects of culture media on mycoplasma cell size and removal by filtration.

Careful media filtration prior to use is an important part of a mycoplasma contamination prevention program. This study was conducted to increase our knowledge of factors that influence efficient filtration of mycoplasma. The cell size of Acholeplasma laidlawii was measured after culture in various nutritional conditions using scanning electron microscopy.

Filters reduce the risk of bacterial transmission from contaminated heated humidifiers used with CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea.

Rationale: The treatment of choice for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) during sleep, but dryness of the upper airway compromises compliance. Heated humidifiers may mitigate such noncompliance; however, recent observations suggest that their use, particularly if not cleaned, increases the risk of respiratory infections. Humidifier water may be contaminated, but the long-held view that passive humidifiers cannot aerosolize water may obscure the perception of risk of infection.

Hospital water point-of-use filtration: a complementary strategy to reduce the risk of nosocomial infection.

Cholera, hepatitis and typhoid are well-recognized water-borne illnesses that take the lives of many every year in areas of uncontrollable flood, but far less attention is afforded to the allegedly safe potable water in affluent nations and the presumed healthful quality of water in communities and hospitals. Recent literature, however, points to increasing awareness of serious clinical sequelae particularly experienced by immunocompromised patients at high risk for disease and death from exposure to water-borne microbes in hospitals. This review reflects the literature indicting hospital water as an important source for nosocomial infections, examines patient populations at greatest risk, uncovers examples of failures in remedial water treatment methods and the reasons for them, and introduces point-of-use water filtration as a practical alternative or complementary component of an infection control strategy that may reduce the risk of nosocomial infections.

Enhancement of a culture-based bacterial detection system (eBDS) for platelet products based on measurement of oxygen consumption.

Background: An enhanced bacterial detection system (Pall eBDS) was developed that distinguishes itself from its predecessor (Pall BDS) by removal of the platelet (PLT)-retaining filter allowing for optimal bacterial transfer, modification of the culture tablet to reduce the confounding effects of respiring PLTs while enhancing bacterial growth, and facilitation of nutrients and gas exchange by agitating the sample pouch during incubation at 35 degrees C. The objective was to evaluate the performance of the new eBDS.

Study Design And Methods: Leukoreduced whole blood-derived PLT concentrates (LR-PCs) and LR single-donor PLTs (LR-SDPs) were inoculated with 1 to 15 colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria per mL in studies of each of 10 bacterial species associated with fatal transfusion-transmitted bacterial infection.

Analysis of bacteria contaminating ultrapure water in industrial systems.

Bacterial populations inhabiting ultrapure water (UPW) systems were investigated. The analyzed UPW systems included pilot scale, bench scale, and full size UPW plants employed in the semiconductor and other industries. Bacteria present in the polishing loop of the UPW systems were enumerated by both plate counts and epifluorescence microscopy.