The stereotypes of man and woman in Poland - content and factor structures

"Gender stereotypes have been an object of interest in psychology for merely thirty years. Pioneer research on this subject was conducted by Broverman et al. (1972) in the United States, in the 1970s. It indicated the existence of two “concentrations” of stereotypical traits, which were significantly different in content; i.e. warmth and expressiveness as the female content, and competence and rationality as the male stereotype contents. In the 1980s, also in the USA, Deaux and Lewis (1983, 1984) successively proved that gender stereotypes do not constitute a chaotic and disorderly set of general convictions about the nature of women and men. On the contrary, they possess a coherent and multi-level structure, implicating mutual and complex relationships which determine the social perception of members of both sexes"

Evaluation of acidogenesis products’ effect on biogas production performed with metagenomics and isotopic approaches

Anna Detman, Michał Bucha, Laura Treu, Aleksandra Chojnacka, Łukasz Pleśniak, Agnieszka Salamon, Ewa Łupikasza, Robert Gromadka, Jan Gawor, Agnieszka Gromadka, Wojciech Drzewicki, Marta Jakubiak, Marek Janiga, Irena Matyasik, Mieczysław K. Błaszczyk, Mariusz Orion Jędrysek, Stefano Campanaro, Anna Sikora.Background: During the acetogenic step of anaerobic digestion, the products of acidogenesis are oxidized to substrates for methanogenesis: hydrogen, carbon dioxide and acetate. Acetogenesis and methanogenesis are highly interconnected processes due to the syntrophic associations between acetogenic bacteria and hydrogenotrophic methanogens, allowing the whole process to become thermodynamically favorable. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the dominant acidic products on the metabolic pathways of methane formation and to find a core microbiome and substrate-specific species in a mixed biogas-producing system. Results: Four methane-producing microbial communities were fed with artificial media having one dominant component, respectively, lactate, butyrate, propionate and acetate, for 896 days in 3.5-L Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) bioreactors. All the microbial communities showed moderately different methane production and utilization of the substrates. Analyses of stable carbon isotope composition of the fermentation gas and the substrates showed differences in average values of δ13C(CH4) and δ13C(CO2) revealing that acetate and lactate strongly favored the acetotrophic pathway, while butyrate and propionate favored the hydrogenotrophic pathway of methane formation. Genome-centric metagenomic analysis recovered 234 Metagenome Assembled Genomes (MAGs), including 31 archaeal and 203 bacterial species, mostly unknown and uncultivable. MAGs accounted for 54%–67% of the entire microbial community (depending on the bioreactor) and evidenced that the microbiome is extremely complex in terms of the number of species. The core microbiome was composed of Methanothrix soehngenii (the most abundant), Methanoculleus sp., unknown Bacteroidales and Spirochaetaceae. Relative abundance analysis of all the samples revealed microbes having substrate preferences. Substrate-specific species were mostly unknown and not predominant in the microbial communities. Conclusions: In this experimental system, the dominant fermentation products subjected to methanogenesis moderately modified the final effect of bioreactor performance. At the molecular level, a different contribution of acetotrophic and hydrogenotrophic pathways for methane production, a very high level of new species recovered, and a moderate variability in microbial composition depending on substrate availability were evidenced. Propionate was not a factor ceasing methane production. All these findings are relevant because lactate, acetate, propionate and butyrate are the universal products of acidogenesis, regardless of feedstock

Comprehensive phenomic and genomic studies of the species, Pectobacterium cacticida and proposal for reclassification as Alcorniella cacticida comb. nov

IntroductionPectobacterium cacticida was identified as the causative agent of soft rot disease in cacti. Due to a high potential of spread in the face of global warming, the species poses a significant threat to horticultural and crop industry. The aim of this study was to revise the genomic, physiology and virulence characteristics of P. cacticida and update its phylogenetic position within the Pectobacterium genus.MethodsWhole genome sequences of five P. cacticida strains were obtained and subjected to comprehensive genomic and phylogenomic data analyses. We assessed the presence of virulence determinants and genes associated with host and environmental adaptation. Lipidomic analysis, as well as biochemical and phenotypic assays were performed to correlate genomic findings.ResultsPhylogenomic analysis revealed that P. cacticida forms a distinct lineage within the Pectobacterium genus. Genomic evaluation uncovered 516 unique proteins, most of which were involved in cellular metabolism. They included genes of carbohydrate metabolism and transport and ABC transporters. The main differing characteristics from other Pectobacterium species were the lack of a myo-inositol degradation pathway and the presence of the malonate decarboxylase gene. All tested strains were pathogenic towards Opuntia spp., chicory, Chinese cabbage, and potato, but exhibited only mild pathogenicity towards carrot.DiscussionThis study sheds light into the genomic characteristics of P. cacticida and highlights the pathogenic potential of the species. Unique genes found in P. cacticida genomes possibly enhance the species’ survival and virulence. Based on phylogenomic analyses, we propose the reclassification of P. cacticida to a new genus, Alcorniella comb. nov

The Ability of Lytic Staphylococcal Podovirus vB_SauP_phiAGO1.3 to Coexist in Equilibrium With Its Host Facilitates the Selection of Host Mutants of Attenuated Virulence but Does Not Preclude the Phage Antistaphylococcal Activity in a Nematode Infection Model

Phage vB_SauP_phiAGO1.3 (phiAGO1.3) is a polyvalent Staphylococcus lytic podovirus with a 17.6-kb genome (Gozdek et al., 2018). It can infect most of the Staphylococcus aureus human isolates of dominant clonal complexes. We show that a major factor contributing to the wide host range of phiAGO1.3 is a lack or sparcity of target sites for certain restriction-modification systems of types I and II in its genome. Phage phiAGO1.3 requires for adsorption β-O-GlcNAcylated cell wall teichoic acid, which is also essential for the expression of methicillin resistance. Under certain conditions an exposure of S. aureus to phiAGO1.3 can lead to the establishment of a mixed population in which the bacteria and phages remain in equilibrium over multiple generations. This is reminiscent of the so called phage carrier state enabling the co-existence of phage-resistant and phage-sensitive cells supporting a continuous growth of the bacterial and phage populations. The stable co-existence of bacteria and phage favors the emergence of phage-resistant variants of the bacterium. All phiAGO1.3-resistant cells isolated from the phage-carrier-state cultures contained a mutation inactivating the two-component regulatory system ArlRS, essential for efficient expression of numerous S. aureus virulence-associated traits. Moreover, the mutants were unaffected in their susceptibility to infection with an unrelated, polyvalent S. aureus phage of the genus Kayvirus. The ability of phiAGO1.3 to establish phage-carrier-state cultures did not preclude its antistaphylococcal activity in vivo in an S. aureus nematode infection model. Taken together our results suggest that phiAGO1.3 could be suitable for the therapeutic application in humans and animals, alone or in cocktails with Kayvirus phages. It might be especially useful in the treatment of infections with the majority of methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains

Amyloidoza łańcuchów lekkich immunoglobulin z punktu widzenia kardiologa

Light-chain amyloidosis (amyloidosis AL) is diagnosed in approx. 70% of patients with cardiac amyloidosis. This type of amyloidosis has the worst prognosis, especially if the diagnosis is made in advanced stages. The majority of patients are referred to a cardiologist, but unfortunately only every fifth of them has the proper diagnosis. Therefore, strategies promoting early diagnosis are important. One of them is the measurement of serum free light chains concentration in every patient with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The acknowledgement of free light chains (FLCs) cardiotoxicity rendered the picture of AL amyloidosis from infiltrative cardiomyopathy into a toxic one. Best improvement in regard to heart failure is achieved upon hematological treatment resulting in decrease of FLCs concentration. Therefore, cardiological treatment is rather a supportive therapy. The role of cardiologist is the rapid diagnosis of the disease and referral of the patient to the hematologist. The standard heart failure treatment encompassing use of beta-blockers and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors aggravates orthostatic hypotension and congestion. Instead, up-to-date hematological treatment improves the prognosis of AL amyloidosis markedly, as long as early diagnosis is made.Amyloidozę łańcuchów lekkich (amyloidozę AL) rozpoznaje się u około 70% pacjentów z amyloidozą serca. Ta postać choroby wiąże się z najgorszym rokowaniem, szczególnie jeśli wykrywa się ją na zaawansowanym etapie. Kardiolog jest najczęściej odwiedzanym specjalistą przez pacjentów z amyloidozą AL. Niestety tylko u co piątego pacjenta jest stawiana właściwa diagnoza. Dlatego ważne jest, aby promować działania umożliwiające wczesne stwierdzenie choroby. Należy do nich oznaczanie wolnych łańcuchów lekkich (FLC) w surowicy u pacjentów z niewydolnością sercaz zachowaną frakcją wyrzutową. Wykazanie kardiotoksycznej roli FLC zmieniło postrzeganie amyloidozy AL jako choroby polegającej wyłącznie na pozakomórkowym gromadzeniu się nieprawidłowych złogów białkowych. Największą poprawę funkcji serca uzyskuje się, obniżając stężenie FLC w surowicy poprzez leczenie cytoredukcyjne. Leczenie kardiologiczne ma znaczenie uzupełniające. Rola kardiologa sprowadza się do jak najszybszego rozpoznania choroby i przekazania pacjenta do hematologa. Standardowa farmakoterapia niewydolności serca, obejmująca beta-adrenolityki i inhibitory konwertazy angiotensyny, u pacjentów z amyloidozą wywołuje nasilenie hipotensji ortostatycznej i objawów zastoinowych. Natomiast dzięki nowoczesnemu leczeniu cytoredukcyjnemu i antyamyloidowemu istotnie poprawiły się wyniki leczenia, pod warunkiem wczesnego rozpoznania amyloidozy AL

Kobieta czy polityk? : treść i struktura stereotypu kobiety zajmującej się polityką

Zapoczątkowane w 1989 roku przemiany w życiu społecznym, gospodarczym i politycznym Polski zmieniają sposób myślenia, na temat obecności w nich kobiet. Zmienia się też obraz kobiet zarówno w świadomości jednostek, jak i klas rządzących. Kobiety coraz częściej spostrzegane są jako te, które nie tylko zajmują się domem i dziećmi, ale także na równi z mężczyznami pracują zawodowo, nierzadko w "tradycyjnie" męskich profesjach także w polityce[...

Creativity as one of trainers' key competences - implications for trainers education

The aim of this study was to examine the level of creativity among trainers of soft skills. Creativity is one of the key competence in the profession of trainers. 80 participants response on the Polish adaptation of Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production, (TCT-DP) by Klaus K. Urban & Hans G. Jellen. This study shows that psychological education and graduation of professional school for trainers coexist with high score in creativity. Gender is not related with the score in the creativity test. They also confirm results of few prior metanalisys which reveal the lack of differences in creativity between genders. These studies are an important factor in the discussion about the relevance of creating the qualification framework in the profession of trainers

Social Competencies and Transgressive Behavior in Raising Career Capital

To obtain employment university graduate is obliged to develop, aside from professional skills, a capital of social and stress-coping competencies. To achieve these, transgressive behavior is required. The objective of the study was to present levels of transgressive behavior, social competences, styles of coping with stress and their mutual relations among university students. Eighty-four students (men and women) of Opole University were surveyed. Correlations between social competencies and transgressive behavior were observed i.e. social exposition effectiveness correlated with assertiveness and task-oriented style of coping. Gender differences were also observed i.e. male students were more assertive than females students. Results suggest that there is a need for the increase of levels the individual abilities in order to increase the chance to obtain employment

Identification of pig-specific Cryptosporidium species in mixed infections using Illumina sequencing technology

Nowadays molecular methods are widely used in epidemiological studies of Cryptosporidium infections in humans and animals. However to gain better understanding of parasite species or genotypes, especially when mixed infections are noticed, highly sensitive tools with adequate resolution power need to be employed. In this article, we report an application of the next generation sequencing method (NGS) for detection and characterisation of Cryptosporidium species concurrently present in pig faeces. A mixture of Cryptosporidium DNA obtained from two faecal samples was amplified at the 18 SSU rRNA gene locus and the resulting amplicons were subsequently used for MiSeq sequencing. Although initial molecular analyses indicated the possible presence of another Cryptosporidium species other than Cryptosporidium scrofarum and Cryptosporidium suis, deep sequencing only confirmed the presence of pig-specific Cryptosporidium

Genomic and transcriptomic analysis of Ligilactobacillus salivarius IBB3154—in search of new promoters for vaccine construction

Transcriptomic analysis of the genome sequenced Ligilactobacillus salivarius strain IBB3154 grown at two different temperatures (37°C vs 42°C) identified differentially expressed genes involved in metabolic pathways, osmoregulation, and surface protein expression. Two highly expressed genes, sasA1 and sasA2, which encode cell wall-anchored proteins belonging to the serine-rich repeat protein group, were found to be temperature-inducible. Moonlighting proteins with various functions, such as glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, elongation factor Tu, and enolase, were highly expressed at both temperatures. The efficiency of promoters has been confirmed by the β-glucuronidase activity test; however, temperature dependence was not detected. We also found that the P sasA1 promoter retained its activity in the presence of bile salts. Knowledge of promoters that are highly active in L. salivarius cells can be used to produce strains that are carriers of immunogenic proteins