Biomedical subjects

S Daumas

Publications and source records attributed to S Daumas.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Occurrence and identification of microorganisms in compacted clay-based buffer material designed for use in a nuclear fuel waste disposal vault.

A full-scale nuclear fuel waste disposal container experiment was carried out 240 m below ground in an underground granitic rock research laboratory in Canada. An electric heater was surrounded by buffer material composed of sand and bentonite clay and provided heat equivalent to what is anticipated in a Canadian nuclear fuel waste repository. During the experiment, the heat caused a mass transport of water and moisture content gradients developed in the buffer ranging from 13% closest to the heater to 23% at the rock wall of the deposition hole. Upon decommissioning after 2.5 years, microorganisms could be cultured from all samples having a moisture content above 15% but not from samples with a moisture content below 15%. Heterotrophic aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were found in numbers ranging from 10(1) to 10(6) cells/g dry weight buffer. Approximately 10(2), or less, sulphate-reducing bacteria and methanogens per gram of dry weight buffer were also found. Identification of buffer population members was performed using Analytical Profile Index (API) strips for isolated bacteria and 16S rRNA gene sequencing for in situ samples. A total of 79 isolates from five buffer layers were identified with API strips as representing the beta, gamma and delta groups of Proteobacteria and Gram-positive bacteria. Sixty-seven 16S rRNA clones that were obtained from three buffer layers were classified into 21 clone groups representing alpha and gamma groups of Proteobacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and a yeast. Approximately 20% of the population comprised Gram-positive bacteria. Members of the genera Amycolatopsis, Bacillus, and Nocardia predominated. Among Gram-negative bacteria, the genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas predominated. Analysis of lipid biomarker signatures and in situ leucine uptake demonstrated that the buffer population was viable. The results suggest that a nuclear fuel waste buffer will be populated by active microorganisms only if the moisture content is above a value where free water is available for active life.

Aluminum Silicates↗

PubMed1996

Bacterial diversity in a deep-subsurface clay environment.

The presence of bacteria in a deep clay sediment was analyzed in a 20-m-long core horizontally drilled from a mine gallery at a depth of 224 m in the Boom clay formation (Mol, Belgium). This clay deposit is the result of a marine sedimentary process that occurred 35 million years ago. Bacterial activities were estimated by measuring respiration on [14C]glucose. Using the same samples, universal primers for the genes coding for eubacterial 16S rRNA were used to amplify extracted DNA. PCR products were then cloned, sequenced, and analyzed by molecular phylogeny. Our data showed a decrease in bacterial densities as a function of distance from the gallery, with few bacteria detectable by culture at more than 80 cm from the gallery wall. PCR experiments showed the presence of bacteria in all samples, and phylogenetic analyses were then used to tentatively identify these organisms. Because of low bacterial densities in deep clay samples, direct counts and enumeration of viable bacteria on diverse culture media remained negative. All experiments, both cultures and PCR, demonstrated the difficulty of analyzing samples that contain only a few poorly active bacteria as it is difficult to avoid a small contamination by active bacteria during sampling. Since the porosity of the Boom clay formation is less than the expected size of bacteria, it is possible that some of the bacteria present in this 35-million-year-old deep clay deposit derive from cells initially trapped during the sedimentation process.

Bacteria↗

PubMed1995

Comparison of phenotypical and molecular methods for the identification of bacterial strains isolated from a deep subsurface environment.

Vol. 61, no. 9, p. 3406: the Acknowledgments should read as follows. "This work was supported by the CNRS and by grants of the European Community and ANDRA as part of the project Archimede-Argiles and of the Direction de la Recherche et des Etudes Doctorales. V.B. was a recipient of a CIFRE fellowship." [This corrects the article on p. 3400 in vol. 61.].

Journal Article↗

PubMed1995

Comparison of phenotypical and molecular methods for the identification of bacterial strains isolated from a deep subsurface environment.

Seventy-four bacterial strains were freshly isolated from a mine gallery. Using these bacteria, we have investigated how a molecular identification based on the analysis of small subunit rDNA sequences would compare in terms of precision and reliability to a more classical comparison of phenotypical descriptions (100 morphological and physiological traits). Our data clearly showed that a phylogenetic analysis of small subunit rDNA sequences is more efficient than classical phenotypic methods for the identification of bacterial strains freshly isolated from a natural environment, because occurrences of misidentification are very much decreased by this method. The lack of rDNA sequences for many described species is probably the major cause of a few failures in molecular identification, as the completeness of the database of small subunit rDNA sequences holds much importance in the degree of uncertainty in such identifications.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1993

Measurement of the net production of acidity by a sulphate-reducing bacterium: experimental checking of theoretical models of microbially influenced corrosion.

The net production and consumption of acidity by Desulfovibrio fructosovorans, growing with lactate as the carbon and energy source, were measured in an unbuffered medium in a pH-controlled bioreactor. At alkaline pH (7.2 and 8.5), net acidity production was measured. At pH 6.0, acidity consumption was obtained, although bacterial growth was not observed. These observations are in good agreement with theoretical predictions emphasizing the key role of H+ ions in the relationship between the metabolism of sulphate-reducing bacteria and microbially influenced corrosion.

Acetates↗

PubMed1988

Desulfotomaculum geothermicum sp. nov., a thermophilic, fatty acid-degrading, sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated with H2 from geothermal ground water.

A strictly anaerobic, thermophilic, fatty acids-degrading, sporulating sulfate-reducing bacterium was isolated from geothermal ground water. The organism stained Gram-negative and formed gas vacuoles during sporulation. Lactate, ethanol, fructose and saturated fatty acids up to C18 served as electron donors and carbon sources with sulfate as external electron acceptor. Benzoate was not used. Stoichiometric measurements revealed a complete oxidation of part of butyrate although growth with acetate as only electron donor was not observed. The rest of butyrate was oxidized to acetate. The strain grew chemolithoautotrophically with hydrogen plus sulfate as energy source and carbon dioxide as carbon source without requirement of additional organic carbon like acetate. The strain contained a c-type cytochrome and presumably a sulfite reductase P582. Optimum temperature, pH and NaCl concentration for growth were 54 degrees C, pH 7.3-7.5 and 25 to 35 g NaCl/l. The G + C content of DNA was 50.4 mol %. Strain BSD is proposed as a new species of the spore-forming sulfate-reducing genus Desulfotomaculum, D. geothermicum.

Culture Media↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Medical treatment of Graves' disease. Long term results (author's transl)].

Out of 115 patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease who were treated for 18 months methimazole alone, only 35% had remained in remission for at least 3 years after cessation of antithyroid therapy. A significant correlation was found between recurrent hyperthyroidism and the presence antithyroid antibodies (microsomal antibodies) in the sera of these patients. Periodic assessments of TSH responses to TRH and thyroid suppressibility may be useful in determining the duration of medical therapy.

Adult↗