Purple Clouds

Purple America

A merica, we are told, is a nation divided. Maps of the electoral votes cast by the states in recent U.S. presidential elections reveal a striking pattern. The base of the Democratic Party is firmly rooted in the northeast and upper Midwest—a region stretching from Maine to Minnesota—plus the Pacific West, anchored by California. The Republicans are said to own an L-shaped region covering the S...

Detection of Purple Sulfur Bacteria in Purple and Non-purple Dairy Wastewaters.

The presence of purple bacteria in manure storage lagoons is often associated with reduced odors. In this study, our objectives were to determine the occurrence of purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) in seven dairy wastewater lagoons and to identify possible linkages between wastewater properties and purple blooms. Community DNA was extracted from composited wastewater samples, and a conservative 16S ...

Purple urine bag syndrome.

A 70 year old lady of recurrent ischaemic stroke on a chronic urinary catheter presented with purple discoloration of her catheter bag. Clinically, she was febrile. The urinary catheter drainage bag (Panel A) was purple stained. Her urine pH was alkaline at 7.5 with leucocytes present. The urine culture grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. She was treated with ampicillin/sulbactam which led to the resol...

Purple Bacterial Genomics

Deep purple urine.

A 50-year-old man was admitted with a complicated pneumonia. During his long-term inpatient stay, a plastic urinary catheter was positioned. A month after admission the patient’s urine became purple (Picture 1). The patient was apyretic and did not have lower urinary tract symptoms but was constipated. Urinalysis revealed pH 7.8, leucocyturia and negative nitrites. Urine culture isolated Proteu...