Identification of critical members in a sulfidogenic benzene-degrading consortium by DNA stable isotope probing.

Stable isotope probing (SIP) was used to identify the active members in a benzene-degrading sulfidogenic consortium. SIP-terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis indicated that a 270-bp peak incorporated the majority of the (13)C label and is a sequence closely related to that of clone SB-21 (GenBank accession no. AF029045). This target may be an important biomarker for anaerobic benzene degradation in the field.

Use of stable isotopes to identify benzoate as a metabolite of benzene degradation in a sulphidogenic consortium.

An enriched sulphidogenic consortium capable of mineralizing benzene was used to study the metabolic pathway of anaerobic benzene degradation. Benzoate was detected in active cultures and benzene was confirmed to be the source of this benzoate by the addition of deuterated benzene (D6) and subsequent detection of deuterated benzoate (D5) in active cultures but not in autoclaved controls. Benzoate was utilized by this culture at 1/12 the rate of benzene, while its presence did not inhibit benzene utilization. The benzene utilization rate was reduced, however, in the presence of 2-fluorobenzoate. When the culture was supplemented with [(13)C]-bicarbonate, the carboxyl group on benzoate was not labelled with [(13)C]-carbon, suggesting that this transformation relies on a more complex set of reactions than simple addition of carbonate.

Anaerobic biodegradation of BTEX and gasoline in various aquatic sediments.

We examined the extent of biodegradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the three isomers of xylene (BTEX) as a mixture and from gasoline in four different sediments: the New York/New Jersey Harbor estuary (polluted); Tuckerton, N.J. (pristine); Onondaga Lake, N.Y. (polluted) and Blue Mtn. Lake, N.Y. (pristine). Enrichment cultures were established with each sediment using denitrifying, sulfidogenic, methanogenic and iron reducing media, as well as site water. BTEX loss, as measured by GC-FID, was extensive in the sediments which had a long history of pollution, with all compounds being utilized within 21-91 days in the most active cultures, and was very slight or non-existent in the pristine sediments. Also, the pattern of loss was different under the various reducing conditions within each sediment and between sediments. For example benzene loss was only observed in sulfidogenic cultures from the NY/NJ Harbor sediments while toluene was degraded under all redox conditions. The loss of BTEX was correlated to the reduction of the various electron acceptors. In cultures amended with gasoline the degradation was much slower and incomplete. These results show that the fate of the different BTEX components in anoxic sediments is dependent on the prevailing redox conditions as well as on the characteristics and pollution history of the sediment.

Isolation from estuarine sediments of a Desulfovibrio strain which can grow on lactate coupled to the reductive dehalogenation of 2,4, 6-tribromophenol.

Strain TBP-1, an anaerobic bacterium capable of reductively dehalogenating 2,4,6-tribromophenol to phenol, was isolated from estuarine sediments of the Arthur Kill in the New York/New Jersey harbor. It is a gram-negative, motile, vibrio-shaped, obligate anaerobe which grows on lactate, pyruvate, hydrogen, and fumarate when provided sulfate as an electron acceptor. The organism accumulates acetate when grown on lactate and sulfate, contains desulfoviridin, and will not grow in the absence of NaCl. It will not utilize acetate, succinate, propionate, or butyrate for growth via sulfate reduction. When supplied with lactate as an electron donor, strain TBP-1 will utilize sulfate, sulfite, sulfur, and thiosulfate for growth but not nitrate, fumarate, or acrylate. This organism debrominates 2-, 4-, 2,4-, 2,6-, and 2,4,6-bromophenol but not 3- or 2,3-bromophenol or monobrominated benzoates. It will not dehalogenate monochlorinated, fluorinated, or iodinated phenols or chlorinated benzoates. Together with its physiological characteristics, its 16S rRNA gene sequence places it in the genus Desulfovibrio. The average growth yield of strain TBP-1 grown on a defined medium supplemented with lactate and 2,4,6-bromophenol is 3.71 mg of protein/mmol of phenol produced, and the yield was 1.42 mg of protein/mmol of phenol produced when 4-bromophenol was the electron acceptor. Average growth yields (milligrams of protein per millimole of electrons utilized) for Desulfovibrio sp. strain TBP-1 grown with 2,4,6-bromophenol, 4-bromophenol, or sulfate are 0.62, 0.71, and 1.07, respectively. Growth did not occur when either lactate or 2,4,6-bromophenol was omitted from the growth medium. These results indicate that Desulfovibrio sp. strain TBP-1 is capable of growth via halorespiration.

Anaerobic degradation of benzene in BTX mixtures dependent on sulfate reduction.

Enrichment cultures from marine sediments mineralized benzene while using sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor. Parallel cultures using river marsh sediment displayed no activity. Mineralization was confirmed by release of 14CO2 from radiolabeled benzene. The dependence on sulfate reduction was demonstrated by stoichiometric balances and the use of specific inhibitors. This work supports recent observations that anaerobic benzene degradation takes place coupled to sulfate reduction.

Wives' motives and fertility.

PIP: This analysis assumes that childhood learning has a strong impact on the measured motivations of adults. This study uses responses among 354 White married women in 1976 to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Wives' responses to four pictures are expected to mirror the following four typologies: affiliation imagery (AFF), power imagery (POW), power and affiliation imagery (POWAF), and without references to affiliation or power (CULT). CULT is presumed to reflect the motivation of the wife in the average family. Expected relationships between these root motives and fertility are identified. Findings show that families with persuasive affiliative wives allocated more time to child care and had lower family incomes than other families. AFF wives worked fewer hours per week than other wives and allocated more time per child than other wives. Husbands helped them with child care sometimes or often. Households sacrificed material possessions for children. Findings did not support the inference that low income was due to husband's low earnings but did support the inference that low income might be due to the wives' short work week. The logistic model that controls for hours worked per week and number of years at the present job shows that wives were happiest in their marriage, if wives had high power motivation. Family income was a significant determinant of achievement satisfaction and not of affiliation satisfaction. Nerlove's hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between wife's level of education and her taste for children was rejected. The wife's motivation toward her husband was an important factor that impacted on her preference for children and for work and her perceived level of utility. Wives who asserted themselves in socially acceptable situations (high in power motivations) were most likely to report having a happier than average marriage. Both affiliative and persuasive affiliative wives took satisfaction in their children's happiness and achievements.^ieng

Aminozolamide gel. A trial of a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor in ocular hypertension.

A topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, 6-amino-2-benzothiazolesulfonamide (aminozolamide), which is an analogue of ethoxzolamide, was studied in 18 patients with ocular hypertension. Significant lowering of intraocular pressure was achieved with a single 50-microL gel application compared with the untreated control eye. The onset of action occurred within two hours and lasted at least eight hours. No systemic side effects were elicited. Topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors may be an important alternative in the medical management of glaucoma.

Interocular differences of the visual field in normal subjects.

One way of judging if a visual field is abnormal, particularly when a patient has unilateral or asymmetric disease, is to compare the suspicious visual field to that of the normal eye. This assumes that in normal individuals the two visual fields are symmetrical. To determine the extent of normal symmetry, the authors examined the central visual fields of both eyes of 20 normal subjects with program 30-2 of the Humphrey perimeter. The inter-ocular sensitivity difference at single pairs of locations ranged from 0 to 9 decibels with large differences occurring most frequently in the upper field. Confidence intervals constructed from this set of normal data predict that asymmetry exceeding 6 decibels should occur in fewer than 1% of test locations and that asymmetry of overall mean sensitivity exceeding 1.4 decibels should occur in fewer than 1% of normal subjects.

The normal visual field on the Humphrey field analyzer.

To provide a bank of normal perimetric data, we tested the central and peripheral visual fields of 102 novice normal subjects using the Humphrey automated perimeter. All eyes used for visual field testing were first carefully examined to be sure that they were, indeed, normal. We calculated population means and standard deviations of each test location and for each decade for age. Average differential light sensitivity decreased with advancing age: -0.5 dB/decade at fixation, -0.6 dB/decade in the central (30-2) field, and -06. dB/decade in the peripheral (30/60-2) field. However, neither the slope nor the shape of the hill of vision changed with aging. Short-term fluctuation was not constant throughout the visual field, but instead was greater in the periphery than the center.

The neurologic evaluation of patients with low-tension glaucoma.

One hypothesized cause of low-tension glaucoma is chronic or intermittent ischemia of the optic nerve. Since the optic nerve and brain are both parts of the central nervous system and share a common blood supply, the authors wondered if patients with low-tension glaucoma might also have clinical or radiographic evidence of cerebral atrophy. In this study, 27 patients with low-tension glaucoma were examined using neurobehavioral testing, electroencephalography, computerized tomographic scan, neurological history, and physical examination. In only a small number of patients were these tests abnormal. However, 12 of the 27 patients gave a history of common or classic migraine. This unexpected finding raises the possibility that migraine-related ischemia might be the pathogenic mechanism in some cases of low-tension glaucoma.

Migraine and low-tension glaucoma. A case-control study.

The authors administered a standardized headache questionnaire to 54 patients with low-tension glaucoma, 182 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, 126 patients with ocular hypertension, and 493 normal subjects. Patients with low-tension glaucoma had headaches with or without features of migraine (unilateral headache, nausea or vomiting, or visual prodromata) more frequently than did any of the other groups. The higher prevalence of headache in low-tension glaucoma patients, who were usually elderly, was especially striking when their age was considered, since headaches are less common in elderly normal subjects than in young normal subjects. Headaches were present in 86% of elderly low-tension glaucoma patients (70 yr of age or older) but in only 64% of elderly normal subjects (P = 0.04) and only 59% of elderly ocular hypertensive patients (P = 0.02). Because migraine is an ischemic disorder, its possible association with low-tension glaucoma has etiologic and therapeutic implications.

Arterial anastomosis with Schlemm's canal: a rare cause of secondary open-angle glaucoma.

In four patients with open-angle glaucoma, blood was present in the region of Schlemm's canal. The blood had four characteristics that distinguished it from other more common causes of blood in Schlemm's canal: it was observed with a Zeiss goniolens, a lens that has no flange, and thus was not an artifact of the examination technique; the blood could not be expelled from Schlemm's canal by raising IOP with para-limbal suction unless the pressure in the eye exceeded the diastolic ophthalmic artery pressure level; as IOP approached this high level, the amount of blood in Schlemm's canal progressively decreased, eventually diminishing to a single point of reflux that was always in the same location; and at this point the blood pulsed in and out of Schlemm's canal with each beat of the heart. These findings suggest a pathological anastomosis between a deep limbal artery and Schlemm's canal. The high arterial pressure transmitted into Schlemm's canal could, in turn, lead to an elevation of IOP.

Ethoxzolamide analogue gel. A topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor.

An analogue of ethoxzolamide, 6-hydroxyethoxzolamide, was synthesized to enhance corneal permeability yet retain carbonic anhydrase inhibitory activity for use in lowering intraocular pressure. In a 1% suspension, the analogue caused a small but statistically significant unilateral reduction of IOP when applied to one eye of normal rabbits. When formulated in a gel vehicle, 6-hydroxyethoxzolamide caused a more prolonged and larger reduction in IOP in normal and ocular hypertensive rabbits compared with its effect in suspension or with the parent compound.

Neovascular glaucoma after photoradiation therapy for uveal melanoma.

We describe two patients (two eyes) with neovascular glaucoma following photoradiation therapy (PRT) for ciliary body and iris melanoma. Histopathologic examination in one eye eight months after treatment disclosed widespread tumor necrosis. The second patient with iris melanoma showed total clinical disappearance of the lesion and regression of iris neovascularization six months later. The cause of the neovascular glaucoma is uncertain. The marked tumor necrosis induced by PRT might have resulted in release of a vasoproliferative factor that, in turn, led to the development of rubeosis and neovascular glaucoma.

[Ocular pulse curve in glaucoma without hypertension]. / Die okuläre Pulskurve beim Glaukom ohne Hochdruck.

The ocular pulse amplitudes were measured with a recording applanation tonometer in eyes of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, low-tension glaucoma and in normal subjects. The mean ocular pulse amplitude of 62 eyes of 31 patients with low-tension glaucoma did not differ significantly from that of normal eyes, but there were more eyes with low and high pulse amplitudes than would be expected in a normal population. These results suggest that the patients with low-tension glaucoma did not comprise a homogeneous population, but contained one group of patients with evidence of reduced choroidal blood flow and another group with pulse amplitudes similar to those found in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Trabeculectomy v thermosclerostomy. A five-year follow-up.

Thirty-seven eyes with open-angle glaucoma were treated by trabeculectomy and 34 eyes were treated by thermosclerostomy. Thermosclerostomy lowered intraocular pressure to a slightly greater extent than trabeculectomy; however, the average difference was not statistically significant except for the second year. After five years, IOPs were less than 22 mm Hg without additional medications or surgery in 24 (65%) of eyes undergoing trabeculectomy and in 14 (41%) of eyes undergoing thermosclerostomy. When eyes were included that were treated with medication or additional glaucoma or cataract surgery, over 90% of eyes in each group had an IOP less than 22 mm Hg. Visual acuity declined frequently in both groups, and progression of cataract was the most common cause. Loss of visual acuity occurred much more frequently in patients who were older than 60 years than in younger patients.

Contrast sensitivity in asymmetric glaucoma.

We measured central contrast sensitivity in both eyes of 27 patients with asymmetric glaucomatous visual field loss or optic disc cupping. In 15 patients contrast sensitivity was less in the eye that by perimetry or ophthalmoscopy was the more severely damaged. In 10 patients contrast sensitivity was the same in the two eyes. In two patients, it was impaired more in the eye with the normal visual field. However, the latter two patients had ophthalmoscopic evidence of optic nerve damage (disc hemorrhage or large cup) in the eye with the lower contrast sensitivity, even though the visual field was normal. Asymmetry of contrast sensitivity was not found in normal control subjects. These results suggest that glaucoma does alter central vision, even when visual acuity remains normal and visual field defects are far from fixation. Contrast sensitivity may be impaired by a different mechanism than that which leads to visual dield loss. Although the two types of visual dysfunction often occur together, some patients may have more severe impairment of central vision (as measured by contrast sensitivity testing) in one eye and more severe loss of peripheral vision (as measured by perimetry) in the other eye.