Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a ubiquitous environmental organism, is a difficult-to-treat opportunistic pathogen due to its broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance and its ability to form biofilms. In this study, we investigate the link between resistance to a clinically important antibiotic, imipenem, and biofilm formation. First, we observed that the laboratory strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 carrying a mutation in the oprD gene, which confers resistance to imipenem, showed a modest reduction in biofilm formation.We also observed an inverse relationship between imipenem resistance and biofilm formation for imipenem-resistant strains selected in vitro, as well as for clinical isolates.We identified two clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients that formed robust biofilms, but were sensitive to imipenem (MIC≤2 μg/ml). To test the hypothesis that there is a general link between imipenem resistance and biofilm formation, we performed transposon mutagenesis of these two clinical strains to identify mutants defective in biofilm formation, and then tested these mutants for imipenem resistance. Analysis of the transposon mutants revealed a role for previously described biofilm factors in these clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, including mutations in the pilY1, pilX, pilW, algC, and pslI genes, but none of the biofilmdeficient mutants became imipenem resistant (MIC≥8 μg/ml), arguing against a general link between biofilm formation and resistance to imipenem. Thus, assessing biofilm formation capabilities of environmental isolates is unlikely to serve as a good predictor of imipenem resistance. We also discuss our findings in light of the limited literature addressing planktonic antibiotic resistance factors that impact biofilm formation.
Hypothesis Nanofluid flooding has been identified as a promising method for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improved Carbon geo-sequestration (CGS). However, it is unclear how nanoparticles (NPs) influence the CO2-brine interfacial tension (γ), which is a key parameter in pore-to reservoirs-scale fluid dynamics, and consequently project success. The effects of pressure, temperature, salinity, and NPs concentration on CO2-silica (hydrophilic or hydrophobic) nanofluid γ was thus systematically investigated to understand the influence of nanofluid flooding on CO2 geo-storage. Experiments Pendant drop method was used to measure CO2/nanofluid γ at carbon storage conditions using high pressure-high temperature optical cell. Findings CO2/nano
... Show MoreSIFCON is characterized as a construction material of high ductility and very high strength. It is suitable for concrete structures used for special applications. However, the density of SIFCON is much higher than that of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) due to the need for a large amount of high-density steel fibers. This work examines the split tensile behavior of modified weight slurry infiltrated fiber concrete utilizing a mixture of two types of fibers, steel fiber, and polyolefin fiber. For the investigation, 30 cylinders and 15 cubes were poured. The used volume fraction (V.F) is (6 %) and the use of five series once as each type separately and once a hybrid in proportions of 2/3 polyolefin with 1/3 steel fiber and
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In the present work, thermal diffusivity and heat capacity measurements have been investigated in temperature range between RT and 1473 K for different duplex stainless steel supplied by Outokumpu Stainless AB, Sweden. The purpose of this study is to get a reliable thermophysical data of these alloys and to study the effect of microstructure on the thermal diffusivity and heat capacity value. Results show the ferrite content in the duplex stainless steel increased with temperature at equilibrium state. On the other hand, ferrite content increased with increasing Cr/Ni ratio and there is no significant effect of ferrite content on the thermal diffusivity value at room temperature. Furthermore, the heat capacity of all sam
... Show MoreThe personality of the hero Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (may God have mercy on him) came from the womb of jihad after difficult travails that the Arab Islamic nation experienced through the jihad of its loyal and honest sons who vowed themselves to God in defense of his religion and law, so between 490 AH - 540 AH outstanding jihadi leaders emerged who took upon themselves the responsibility of jihad and mobilizing the nation's energies To fight its enemies - the Franks, the Crusaders - in the Levant, and those leaders succeeded in achieving impressive victories over the Frankish military effort and regained some cities that were usurped by the Franks. Balak bin Bahram, Suqman, and Jakarmish, but these leaders could not maintain a state of un
... Show MoreThe purpose of present work is to study the relationship of the deformed shape of the nucleus with the radioactivity of nuclei for (Uranium-238 and Thorium-232) series. To achieve our purposes we have been calculated the quadruple deformation parameter (β2) and the eccentricity (e) and compare the radioactive series with the change of the and (e) as indicator for the changing in the nucleus shape with the radioactivity. To obtain the value of quadruple deformation parameter (β2), the adopted value of quadruple transition probability B (E2; 0+ → 2+) was calculated from Global Best fit equation. While the eccentricity (e) was calculated from the values of the minor and major ellipsoid axis’s (a & b). From the results, it is obvi
... Show MoreThis article introduces the concept of finitely null-additive set function relative to the σ– ring and many properties of this concept have been discussed. Furthermore, to introduce and study the notion of finitely weakly null-additive set function relative to the σ– ring as a generalization of some concepts such as measure, countably additive, finitely additive, countably null-additive, countably weakly null-additive and finitely null-additive. As the first result, it has been proved that every finitely null-additive is a finitely weakly null-additive. Finally, the paper introduces a study of the concept of outer measure as a stronger form of finitely weakly null-additive.
The study aims to investigate the relationship between the gender diversity of board director, the accounting conservatism and firm value in Iraqi firms. The sample was represented by 30 Iraqi firms listed on the Iraqi market over the period 2017. The research was based on the main hypothesis that gender diversity has a positive relationship with conservatism and firm value, that conservatism as an intermediate variable will enhance the positive relationship between gender diversity and firm value. The study reached results that support the research hypotheses. The appointment of females to the board helps improve the provision of conservative accounting information and avoids overstate when reporting earnings. Based on these res
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