June 09-41-2.indd - Kma.org.kw

166KUWAIT MEDICAL JOURNAL June 2009Selected Abstracts of Articles PublishedElsewhere by Authors in KuwaitKuwait Medical Journal 2009, 41 (2): 166-169Comparative Hydrocarbon Utilization by Hydrophobic and HydrophilicVariants of Pseudomonas AeruginosaObuekwe CO, Al-Jadi ZK, Al-Saleh ESMicrobiology Division, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait City,Kuwait. E-mail: okey@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kwJ Appl Microbiol 2008; 105:1876-1887Aims: To investigate hydrocarbon degradation by hydrophobic, hydrophilic and parental strains ofPseudomonas aeruginosa.Methods and results: Partitioning of hydrocarbon-degrading P. aeruginosa strain in a solvent/aqueoussystem yielded hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions. Exhaustive partitioning of aqueous-phase cellsyielded the hydrophilic variants (L), while sequential fractionation of the hydrophobic phase cells yieldedsuccessive fractions exhibiting increasing cell-surface hydrophobicity (CSH). In hydrocarbon adherenceassays (bacterial attachment to hydrocarbon), L had a value of 20%, which increased from 61.7% infirst hydrophobic fraction (H(1)) to 72.2% in the third (H(3)). Crude oil degradation by L was 70%, butincreased from 82% in H(1) to 93% in H(3). L variant produced most exopolysaccharides and reducedsurface tension from about 73 to 49 mN m(-1). Rhamnolipid production was highest in L, but was notdetected in all crude oil cultures.Conclusions: Hydrophobic subpopulations of hydrocarbon-degrading P. aeruginosa exhibited greaterhydrocarbon-utilizing ability than hydrophilic ones, or the parental strain.Significance and impact of the study: Results demonstrate that a population of P. aeruginosa consists ofcells with different CSH which affect hydrocarbon utilization. This potentially provides the populationwith the capacity to utilize different hydrophobic substrates found in petroleum. Judicious selection ofsuch hydrophobic subpopulations can enhance hydrocarbon pollution bioremediation.Survival of Male Breast Cancer Patients:Population-Based Cohort StudyThalib L, Hall PDepartment of Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences (Biostatistics), Faculty of Medicine, KuwaitUniversity, PO BOX 24923, Safat 13110 KuwaitCancer Sci 2008 Dec 11 [Epub ahead of print]Little information is available on the survival of male breast cancer patients because the disease is extremelyrare in men. Moreover, previous reports on the prognosis of male breast cancer have been conflicting. Wetook advantage of a number of large, nationwide registries in Sweden to evaluate the prognostic valueof sex in breast cancer patients. A population-based cohort of 269 male and 30 011 female breast cancerpatients born after 1935 and diagnosed with primary breast cancer between 1970 and 1997 was generatedby linking a number of Swedish registries, including the Swedish Cancer Registry, the Cause of DeathRegistry, the Swedish Generation Registry, and the Registry of Population and Population Changes.