Population Structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Five Mediterranean Countries: Evidence for Frequent Recombination and Epidemic Occurrence of CC235

Several studies in recent years have provided evidence that Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a non-clonal population structure punctuated by highly successful epidemic clones or clonal complexes. The role of recombination in the diversification of P. aeruginosa clones has been suggested, but not yet demonstrated using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). Isolates of P. aeruginosa from five Mediterranean countries (n = 141) were subjected to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), serotyping and PCR targeting the virulence genes exoS and exoU. The occurrence of multi-resistance (≥3 antipseudomonal drugs) was analyzed with disk diffusion according to EUCAST. MLST was performed on a subset of strains (n = 110) most of them had a distinct PFGE variant. MLST data were analyzed with Bionumerics 6.0, using minimal spanning tree (MST) as well as eBURST. Measurement of clonality was assessed by the standardized index of association (IAS). Evidence of recombination was estimated by ClonalFrame as well as SplitsTree4.0. The MST analysis connected 70 sequence types, among which ST235 was by far the most common. ST235 was very frequently associated with the O11 serotype, and frequently displayed multi-resistance and the virulence genotype exoS−/exoU+. ClonalFrame linked several groups previously identified by eBURST and MST, and provided insight to the evolutionary events occurring in the population; the recombination/mutation ratio was found to be 8.4. A Neighbor-Net analysis based on the concatenated sequences revealed a complex network, providing evidence of frequent recombination. The index of association when all the strains were considered indicated a freely recombining population. P. aeruginosa isolates from the Mediterranean countries display an epidemic population structure, particularly dominated by ST235-O11, which has earlier also been coupled to the spread of ß-lactamases in many countries

INVESTIGATION OF ADSORPTION AND INHIBITIVE EFFECT OF CALIXARENE DERIVATIVE NEWLY SYNTHESIZED TOWARDS C38 STEEL IN MOLAR HCl

The focus of this study is to synthesize a new calixarene derivative namely calix[6]arene (C21) and to test its performance as corrosion inhibitor of C38 steel in molar HCl at 308 K. Polarization and weight loss measurements were used. Weight loss tests show that C21 retards until to stop corrosion phenomenon at 5 × 10-5 M. C21 is an excellent inhibitor and its inhibition efficiency increases with its concentration to reach 100% since 5 × 10-5 M. Polarization curves revealed that C21 affects both cathodic and anodic domains by decreasing current densities and then it may be classified as a mixed type inhibitor. The calixarene tested is adsorbed on the surface according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Free enthalpy of adsorption reveals that C21 acts from chemisorption onto the steel surface.Corrosion, steel, calixarene, inhibition, hydrochloric acid