Antimicrobial activity of Lactobacillus strains of chicken origin against bacterial pathogens

This study was conducted to identify and evaluate the antimicrobial activity of some Lactobacillus isolates of chicken origin. Among 90 isolates 14 Lactobacillus species were distinguished using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and 16S-ARDRA. The dominant species was L. salivarius (34.4%), followed by L. johnsonii (23.3%), L. crispatus (13.3%) and L. reuteri (11.1%). All lactobacilli were screened for antimicrobial activity against wild-type strains of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium perfringens. Results from the agar slab method showed that all Lactobacillus isolates were able to produce active compounds on solid media with antagonistic properties against these pathogens. The highest sensitivity to lactobacilli was observed in C. perfringens strains, and the lowest in E. coli. Lactobacillus salivarius exhibited particularly strong antagonism towards all of the indicator bacteria. Strains of L. ingluviei and L. johnsonii and one strain of L. salivarius (10d) selectively inhibited the growth of C. perfringens. No antimicrobial activity of many Lactobacillus isolates was observed when cell-free culture supernatant was used in a well diffusion assay. All Lactobacillus isolates exhibited the ability to produce H2O2 and proved to be hydrophobic (excluding one of L. salivarius). [Int Microbiol 19(1):57-67 (2016)]Keywords: Lactobacillus spp. · avian lactobacilli · antimicrobial activity · gut health · poultry pathogen

Public awareness of circular economy in southern Poland : case of the Malopolska region

In the transition to the circular economy (CE) model in Europe, increasing public awareness is one of the major driving forces. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of public awareness and attitudes about CE in the Malopolska region of southern Poland. The data used in this study was collected by random distribution of questionnaires in the Malopolska region and interviews with 430 respondents. Malopolska was chosen for research because the region has significant economic and social potential, but features serious environmental problems - primarily air pollution. As environmental protection has become an important aspect for regional and local policy, the CE concept has already begun to be promoted. The questionnaires distributed to residents were divided into three areas: (1) knowledge and attitudes about CE, (2) CE-related behaviour, and (3) future development of CE in the region. The results show that the CE concept was well recognized mainly by the younger generation, which is more familiar with CE-related behaviours like waste segregation and buying recycled and remanufactured goods. The findings additionally indicate that sharing and collaborative economy practices are becoming popular among residents due to the belief that such services create more economic, environmental, and social benefits for users. People's awareness of the CE concept also has a positive correlation with their educational level, such individuals believing that the CE model could, in the future, be implemented in the region. However, this requires time and additional economic and educational resources

Organised crime in Poland and its combat system

Celem przedmiotowej pracy magisterskiej jest ukazanie z punktu widzenia teoretycznego, charakterystyki pojęcia przestępczość zorganizowana, struktury zorganizowanych grup przestępczych oraz przedstawienie istoty wybranych aspektów zorganizowanych grup przestępczych w Polsce, a także poruszenie kwestii wynikających z praktycznego przeciwdziałania przestępczości zorganizowanej. Niniejsza praca magisterska składa się z trzech rozdziałów. Rozdział pierwszy pracy ma na celu zdefiniowanie pojęcia przestępczość zorganizowana, jak również ukazanie rodzajów przestępczości zorganizowanej. W tym fragmencie pracy ukazana została ponadto obszerna geneza przestępczości zorganizowanej w Polsce i na świecie oraz wykazano formy zbliżone do przestępczości zorganizowanej, celem ukazania różnic pomiędzy przestępczością zorganizowaną, a innymi formami działalności przestępczej, które często bywają z nią utożsamiane. Rozdział drugi skupiony jest w dużej mierze na ukazaniu form przestępczości zorganizowanej z podziałem na grupy kryminalne, narkotykowe oraz gospodarcze. W każdej z wymienionych grup zostały omówione najważniejsze rodzaje przestępstw popełnianych w zorganizowanych grupach przestępczych, kolejno o charakterze kryminalnym, narkotykowym oraz gospodarczym. Ponadto, w tej części pracy zawarto informacje dotyczące struktury zorganizowanych grup przestępczych oraz efektów działalności organizacji mafijnych. W ostatnim rozdziale pracy omówiono system zwalczania przestępczości zorganizowanej w ujęciu prawnym, penitencjarnym oraz instytucjonalnym. Zwieńczeniem pracy jest jej zakończenie zawierające analizę realizacji założonych celów pracy, podtrzymanie postawionej na wstępie pracy tezy oraz wnioski autorki pracy.The aim of this thesis is to show the theoretical point of view, the characteristics of the concept of organized crime, the structure of organized crime groups and to present the essence selected aspects of organized crime groups in Poland, and also raise the issue arising from the practical prevention of organized crime.This thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter of work is to define the concept of organized crime, as well as to show the types of organized crime. In this passage work was also shown extensive genesis of organized crime in Poland and in the world and shown similar forms of organized crime, in order to show the differences between organized crime and other forms of criminal activity that are often equated with it. The second chapter is focused largely on showing forms of organized crime broken down by criminal groups, drug and economic conditions. In each of these groups they have been discussed the most important types of crimes committed in organized crime, subsequently a criminal, drug and economically. Moreover, in this part of the paper provides information on the structure of organized crime groups and the performance of the organization mafia. In the last chapter we discuss the system of combating organized crime in legal terms, penitentiary and institutions. The culmination of the work is to be completed including an analysis of implementation of the goals of work, maintaining bet at the beginning of the work and conclusions of the author's thesis work

Bacteriophage therapy to combat bacterial infections in poultry

Abstract Infections in poultry are an economic and health problem in Europe and worldwide. The most common infections are associated with salmonellosis, colibacillosis, campylobacteriosis, and others. The prevalence of Campylobacter-positive poultry flocks in European countries varies from 18% to 90%. In the United States, the prevalence of infected flocks is nearly 90%. A similar percentage of infection has been noted for salmonellosis (about 75–90%) and E. coli (90–95%). The occurence of Clostridium perfringens is a major problem for the poultry industry, with some estimates suggesting colonization of as many as 95% of chickens, resulting in clinical or subclinical infections. In the US, annual economic losses due to Salmonella infections run from $1.188 billion to over$11.588 billion, based on an estimated 1.92 million cases. Similar costs are observed in the case of other types of infections. In 2005 economic losses in the the poultry industry due to mortalities reached 1,000,000 USD. Infections caused by these pathogens, often through poultry products, are also a serious public health issue. The progressive increase in the number of multi-drug resistant bacteria and the complete ban on the use of antibiotics in livestock feed in the EU, as well as the partial ban in the US, have led to the growth of research on the use of bacteriophages to combat bacterial infections in humans and animals. The high success rate and safety of phage therapy in comparison with antibiotics are partly due to their specificity for selected bacteria and the ability to infect only one species, serotype or strain. This mechanism does not cause the destruction of commensal bacterial flora. Phages are currently being used with success in humans and animals in targeted therapies for slow-healing infections. They have also found application in the US in eliminating pathogens from the surface of foods of animal and plant origin. At a time of growing antibiotic resistance in bacteria and the resulting restrictions on the use of antibiotics, bacteriophages can provide an alternative means of eliminating pathogens

Examination of attitudes and awareness related to circular economy

Opracowanie i wdrażanie działań dotyczących transformacji polskiej gospodarki w kierunku gospodarki o obiegu zamkniętym (GOZ) zostało zainicjowane i jest realizowane przez Ministerstwo Rozwoju. Wytypowano główne priorytety dla Polski w obszarze GOZ i opracowano Mapę drogową transformacji w kierunku GOZ (I wersja 2016, aktualizacja 2017). Równolegle do prowadzonych prac na szczeblu centralnym, istotne znaczenie ma badanie poziomu świadomości konsumentów i ich oczekiwań w zakresie działań w obszarze GOZ oraz odpowiedzialności za ich realizację. W rozdziale zaprezentowano wyniki badań ankietowych dotyczące postaw i świadomości w obszarze GOZ osób mieszkujących w województwie małopolskim z uwzględnieniem podziału na mieszkańców miasta Kraków i pozostałych. Celem badań było także zidentyfikowanie oczekiwań mieszkańców w zakresie wdrażania koncepcji i zasad GOZ przez poszczególnych decydentów. Porównanie odpowiedzi respondentów w poszczególnych grupach pozwoliło na wskazanie podobieństw i różnic w postawach w obszarze GOZ w zależności od wieku, płci, wykształcenia oraz miejsca zamieszkania

Identification and antibiotic susceptibility of lactobacilli isolated from turkeys

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to identify Lactobacillus isolates derived from turkeys from six Polish farms and to characterize their phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance profiles. Results Among 62 isolates identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and restriction analysis of 16S rDNA, the dominant species was L. salivarius (35%), followed by L. crispatus (21%), L. ingluviei (14.5%) and L. johnsonii (10%). A high prevalence of resistance to tetracycline (68% resistant isolates), lincomycin (64.5%) and enrofloxacin (60%) among the lactobacilli tested was observed. Fewer than 50% isolates were resistant to ampicillin (47%), erythromycin (45%), streptomycin (31%), chloramphenicol (29%) and gentamicin (10%). As many as 64,5% of the isolates showed multidrug resistance. High MIC values for ampicillin (≥64 μg/ml) were usually accompanied by elevated MICs for cephalosporins (≥16 μg/ml) and high MICs for tiamulin, i.e. ≥32 μg/ml, were noted in most of the turkey lactobacilli (61%). The occurrence of resistance genes was associated with phenotypic resistance, with the exception of five phenotypically susceptible isolates that contained the tetM, tetL, ermC, ermB or cat genes. The most frequently identified were ermB (45% isolates), tetL (40%), tetW (37%) and tetM (29%), and the occurrence of lnuA (18%), cat (10%), ermC (6%), ant(6)-Ia (5%) and aadE (5%) was less frequent. The mechanism of ampicillin resistance has not been elucidated, but the results of nitrocefin test confirmed that it is not involved in the production of beta-lactamases. Conclusions The high rate of antibiotic resistance observed in this study indicates the need to implement the principles of rational use of antibiotics in poultry. The presence of transmissible resistant genes in lactobacilli may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistant pathogenic strains that pose a threat to both poultry and consumers. The results of these studies may be useful for committees providing guidance on antibiotic susceptibility of microorganisms in order to revise and supplement current microbiological cut-offs values within the genus Lactobacillus

Biofilm-Formation Ability and the Presence of Adhesion Genes in Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Isolates from Chicken Broilers

The aim of the study was to analyze the biofilm-production capacity of 87 coagulase-negative Staphylococcus strains (CoNS) isolated from broiler chickens and to determine the occurrence of biofilm-associated genes. The biofilm production capacity of staphylococci was assessed using the microtiter plate method (MTP), and the frequency of genes was determined by PCR. The ability to form a biofilm in vitro was shown in 79.3% of examined strains. Strong biofilm capacity was demonstrated in 26.4% of strains, moderate capacity in 25.3%, weak capacity in 27.6%, and a complete lack of biofilm production capacity in 20.7% of strains. The icaAB gene responsible for the production of extracellular polysaccharide adhesins was detected in 6.9% of strains. The other four genes, i.e., bap (encoding biofilm-associated protein), atlE (encoding cell surface protein exhibiting vitronectin-binding activity), fbe (encoding fibrinogen-binding protein), and eno (encoding laminin-binding protein) were detected in 5.7%, 19.5%, 8%, and 70.1% of strains, respectively. Demonstration of genes that play a role in bacterial biofilm formation may serve as a genetic basis to distinguish between symbiotic and potentially invasive coagulase-negative staphylococcal strains