Defying the Treaty: The Influence of the Polish and Lithuanian Council Presidencies on the Development of the Eastern Partnership. EU Diplomacy Paper No. 6, October 2014

Many scholars now argue that the Treaty of Lisbon has removed the role and influence of the rotating Council Presidency in the domain of the European Union’s foreign affairs. This paper will, however, go beyond a superficial, treaty-based analysis of the influence of the post-Lisbon rotating Council Presidency and instead look at two primary, residual, informal Presidential roles, namely agenda-shaping and brokering. It will examine the extent to which these informal roles allowed the Polish and Lithuanian Council Presidencies of July to December 2011 and 2013 respectively to influence the development of the bilateral, multilateral and internal tracks of the Eastern Partnership. The paper will argue that the considerable influence of these rotating Presidencies defied the logic of the Lisbon Treaty, suggesting that the ‘golden age’ of this six-month position, whereby individual Member States pursue foreign policy issues of significant domestic interest at the European level, has not yet passed

Apoptosis of Epithelial Cells and Macrophages due to Nonpigmented Serratia marcescens Strains

Serratia marcescens strains are opportunistic pathogens that are increasingly recognized as a cause of severe nosocomial infections. In this study we observed interactions between nonpigmented strains with human epithelial and macrophage-like cells. The strains revealed hemolytic activity only after the contact of the cells with erythrocytes. The contact of the bacteria with the host cells was also essential to their cytotoxicity. Moreover, all strains revealed adherence ability and were invasive to epithelial cells. Analyses of cellular morphology and DNA fragmentation of the HEp-2 and J774 cells exhibited typical features of cells undergoing apoptosis. We observed morphological changes, including condensation of nuclear chromatin and formation of membrane-bound apoptotic bodies. The lowest apoptotic index in HEp-2 cells did not exceed 25%, whereas the highest reached 59% at 24 h and 72% at 48 h after infection. Most of the strains (60%) induced fragmentation of nuclear DNA. The process depended on the activation of caspases, and was completely blocked by the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk. This study provided new insights into the mechanisms of nonpigmented S. marcescens pathogenesis. The results revealed that the strains produce cell-contact toxins that facilitate bacterial invasion, induce hemolysis, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis of host cells

Insecticidal Activity of Bacillus thuringiensis Strains Isolated from Soil and Water

We attempted to search novel Bacillus thuringiensis strains that produce crystals with potential utility in plant protection and with higher activity than strains already used in biopesticide production. Seven B. thuringiensis soil and water isolates were used in the research. We predicted the toxicity of their crystals by cry gene identification employing PCR method. The isolate MPU B63 with interesting, according to us, genes content was used in evaluating its crystal toxicity against Cydia pomonella caterpillars. The strain MPU B63 was cultured from water sample and had cry1Ab, cry1B, and cry15 genes. The LC50 crystals of MPU B63 were compared to LC50 of commercial bioinsecticide Foray determined against C. pomonella (codling moth). The activity of MPU B63 inclusions against codling moth larvae was approximately 24-fold higher than that of Foray. The results are a promising introduction for further study evaluating the potential usefulness of isolate MPU B63 crystals in plant protection

Characterization of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis Strains Isolated from Biomaterial-Associated Infections and their Antibiotic Resistance Patterns

This work aims to provide an insight into staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec elements and antibiotic resistance in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis. The dominating type was SCCmec – IV. Fifteen isolates were assigned to SCCmec type III, two isolates to SCCmec type II. Most isolates were resistant to at least three of the non-β-lactam antibiotics tested. None of the strains exhibited resistance to new generation antibiotics, such as daptomycin and linezolid. Also, none of these strains showed resistance to tigecycline and only four strains were resistant to rifampin i.e. antibiotics which are very efficient in treating biofilm-associated infections

Wartość diagnostyczna wybranych markerów biochemicznych w diagnostyce wznowy raka rdzeniastego tarczycy — porównanie kalcytoniny, prokalcytoniny, chromograniny A i antygenu karcynoembrionalnego

Introduction: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a malignancy of the thyroid gland, which derives from parafollicular C cells. Periodic measurement of biochemical markers of MTC remains a crucial part of patient follow-up and disease monitoring. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic value of four selected markers — calcitonin (Ct), procalcitonin (PCT), chromogranin A (CgA), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Material and methods: Patients with histopathologically confirmed MTC hospitalised in a single department between January 2015 and December 2015 were included in the study. Patients were subdivided into two groups: a remission group and an active disease group, based upon serum markers of MTC and imaging. Levels of Ct, PCT, CgA, and CEA were compared between the groups. Results: Forty-four patients were included; 20 patients presented active disease and 24 were in remission. All patients with active disease had Ct exceeding the upper limit of normal range (10 pg/mL) — for that threshold the sensitivity was 100.0% and the specificity was 73.9%; for the best-fit threshold of 121.0 pg/mL the specificity was 95.8% with sensitivity 100.0%. There was significant correlation between Ct and PCT — p < 0.000001, r = 0.93. All patients with active disease exceeded the upper limit of the normal range (0.5 ng/mL) — for that threshold the sensitivity was 100.0% and the specificity was 83.3%; for the best-fit threshold of 0.95 ng/mL the specificity was 95.8% with sensitivity 100.0%. In case of CEA for the best-fit threshold of 12.66 ng/mL the specificity was 100.0% with sensitivity 57.9%; for CgA the best-fit threshold was 75.66 ng/mL with specificity 83.3% and sensitivity 75.0%. Conclusions: Our study confirms that PCT can be considered as an equivalent alternative for measurement of calcitonin. On the other hand, it is also worth noting that MTC can be a rare cause of very high levels of PTC not resulting from infectious diseases. The diagnostic value of CEA and chromogranin A is much lower and can be within the normal range even in patients with advanced, metastatic MTC. They should be used only as accessory markers.Wstęp: Rak rdzeniasty tarczycy (RRT) to nowotwór złośliwy tarczycy wywodzący się z przypęcherzykowych komórek C. Okresowa kontrola markerów biochemicznych RRT stanowi kluczowy element prowadzenia pacjenta i monitorowania choroby. Celem obecnej pracy było porównanie wartości diagnostycznej czterech wybranych markerów — kalcytoniny (Ct), prokalcytoniny (PCT), chromograniny A (CgA) i antygenu karcynoembrionalnego (CEA). Metody: Do badania włączono pacjentów z histopatologicznie potwierdzonym RRT hospitalizowanych w jednym oddziale szpitalnym w 2015 roku. Pacjentów podzielono na dwie podgrupy — grupę pacjentów w remisji oraz z aktywną chorobą zależnie od wartości markerów osoczowych oraz wykonanej diagnostyki obrazowej. Wyniki: Włączono czterdziestu czterech pacjentów; 20 pacjentów prezentowało cechy aktywnej choroby, 24 było w remisji. Wszyscy pacjenci z aktywną chorobą wykazywali stężenia Ct przekraczające górną granicę normy (10 pg/ml); dla optymalnego punktu odcięcia 121,0 pg/ml swoistość wyniosła 95,8% przy czułości 100,0%. Wykazano istotną korelację pomiędzy Ct i PCT- p < 0.000001, r = 0.93. Dla optymalnego punktu odcięcia wynoszącego 0.95 ng/ml swoistość wyniosła 95.8% przy czułości 100.0%. W przypadku CEA dla najlepiej dopasowanego progu 12,66 ng/ml swoistość wyniosła 100,0% przy czułości 57,9%; dla CgA optymalny punkt odcięcia wyniósł 75,66 ng/ml przy swoistości 83,3% i czułości 75,0%. Wnioski: Nasze badanie potwierdza, że PCT może być uważana za równoważną alternatywę dla oznaczenia kalcytoniny. Wartość diagnostyczna CEA i chromograniny A jest znacznie mniejsza i parametry te mogą pozostawać w granicach normy nawet u pacjentów z zaawansowanym RRT z przerzutami odległymi. Powinny być one traktowane jedynie jako pomocnicze markery

Transferable integrons of Gram-negative bacteria isolated from the gut of a wild boar in the buffer zone of a national park

The aim of this study was to determine the presence of integron-bearing Gram-negative bacteria in the gut of a wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) shot in the buffer zone of a national park. Five Gram-negative strains of Escherichia coli, Serratia odorifera, Hafnia alvei and Pseudomonas sp. were isolated. Four of these strains had class 2 integrase (intI2), and one harbored class 1 integrase (intI1). The integron-positive strains were multiresistant, i.e., resistant to at least three unrelated antibiotics. All of the integrons were transferred to E. coli J-53 (RifR) in a conjugation assay. The results showed that a number of multiresistant, integron-containing bacterial strains of different genera may inhabit a single individual of a wild animal, allowing the possibility of transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes

Aeromonas spp.-mediated cell-contact cytotoxicity is associated with the presence of type III secretion system

In the study we examined the production of cytotonic and cytotoxic toxins and the presence of a type III secretion system (TTSS) in 64 Aeromonas spp. strains isolated from fecal specimens of patients with gastroenteritis. We observed that contact of the bacteria with host epithelial cells is a prerequisite for their cytotoxicity at 3 h incubation. Cell-contact cytotoxic activity of the strains was strongly associated with the presence of the TTSS. Culture supernatants of the strains induced low cytotoxicity effects at the same time of incubation. Cell-free supernatants of 61 (95%) isolates expressed cytotoxic activity which caused the destruction of HEp-2 cells at 24 h. Moreover, 44% strains were cytotonic towards CHO cells and 46% of strains invaded epithelial cells

Phylogenetic groups, virulence genes and quinolone resistance of integron-bearing Escherichia coli strains isolated from a wastewater treatment plant

We investigated phylogenetic affiliation, occurrence of virulence genes and quinolone resistance in 109 integron-containing strains of Escherichia coli isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. Selection for integron-bearing strains caused a shift toward phylogroup D, which was most numerous, followed by A, B1 and B2. Phylogroups D and B2, both of which are reported to include virulent extraintestinal pathotypes, made up 50.5% of all isolates and were present in every stage of wastewater treatment, including final effluent. Diarrheagenic pathotypes made up 21% of the strains. The average virulence factor genes score was low (1.40) and the range was from 0 to 5. Quinolone and fluoroquinolone resistance was observed in 56.0% and 50.4% of the strains, respectively; however, it was not associated with virulence factor score. Although the average virulence factor score was low, 17.4% of strains had three and more virulence genes. They were isolated mostly from raw sewage, but 30% of them were cultured from final effluent. Release of multiresistant integron-bearing E. coli strains with virulence traits into the environment may create potential threat and be of public health concern