Nursing care for renal patients on hemodialysis: challenges, dilemmas and satisfactions. / El cuidado de enfermería a los enfermos renales en hemodiálisis: desafíos, dilemas y satisfacciones.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the challenges, dilemmas and satisfactions presented by nursing professionals in hemodialysis services during the care of renal patients. METHOD: Institutional ethnography was used, and 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine members of the nursing staff. Conventional content analysis was performed. RESULTS: For the nursing staff, care presents challenges such as the complex physical and emotional condition of patients, the management of technology for care, and coping with the suffering and death of patients with whom they have established a close relationship. The dilemmas are related to providing care for patients who refuse to receive it, and the personal and family costs involved in treatment in contrast to the limited quality of life of some patients. The main satisfactions are collaborative work, the sufficiency of resources and the confidence and recognition for performing independent work. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study are associated with the presence of professional burnout and interference in the ability to build satisfactory interpersonal relationships, lower job satisfaction and quality of care.

Role of eukaryotic microbiota in soil survival and catabolic performance of the 2,4-D herbicide degrading bacteria Cupriavidus necator JMP134.

Cupriavidus necator (formerly Ralstonia eutropha) JMP134, harbouring the catabolic plasmid pJP4, is the best-studied 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) herbicide degrading bacterium. A study of the survival and catabolic performance of strain JMP134 in agricultural soil microcosms exposed to high levels of 2,4-D was carried out. When C. necator JMP134 was introduced into soil microcosms, the rate of 2,4-D removal increased only slightly. This correlated with the poor survival of the strain, as judged by 16S rRNA gene terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) profiles, and the semi-quantitative detection of the pJP4-borne tfdA gene sequence, encoding the first step in 2,4-D degradation. After 3 days of incubation in irradiated soil microcosms, the survival of strain JMP134 dramatically improved and the herbicide was completely removed. The introduction of strain JMP134 into native soil microcosms did not produce detectable changes in the structure of the bacterial community, as judged by 16S rRNA gene T-RFLP profiles, but provoked a transient increase of signals putatively corresponding to protozoa, as indicated by 18S rRNA gene T-RFLP profiling. Accordingly, a ciliate able to feed on C. necator JMP134 could be isolated after soil enrichment. In native soil microcosms, C. necator JMP134 survived better than Escherichia coli DH5alpha (pJP4) and similarly to Pseudomonas putida KT2442 (pJP4), indicating that species specific factors control the survival of strains harbouring pJP4. The addition of cycloheximide to soil microcosms strongly improved survival of these three strains, indicating that the eukaryotic microbiota has a strong negative effect in bioaugmentation with catabolic bacteria.

Effects of Bacillus subtilis O9 biosurfactant on the bioremediation of crude oil-polluted soils.

The application of a surfactant from Bacillus subtilis O9 (Bs) on the bioremediation of soils polluted with crude oil was assayed in soil microcosms under laboratory conditions. Three concentrations of biosurfactant were assayed (1.9, 19.5, and 39 mg kg(-1) soil). Microcosms without biosurfactant were prepared as controls. During the experiment, the crude oil-degrading bacterial population, the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were monitored in each microcosm. The results indicated that applying Bs did not negatively affect the hydrocarbon-degrading microbial population Concentrations of 19 and 19.5mg (Bs) per kilogram of soil stimulated the growth of the population involved in the crude oil degradation, and accelerated the biodegradation of the aliphatic hydrocarbons. However, none of the assayed Bs concentrations stimulated aromatic hydrocarbon degradation.