The origin of the spicules in the middle and upper Lgota beds in the Barnasiówka Quarry (Wieliczka Foothills)

Praca ta prezentuje mikropaleontologiczną i mikrofacjalną analizę depozycji spikul pochodzących z basenu śląskiego w Karpatach Zewnętrznych. Środkowa kreda była okresem akumulacji osadów zawierających spikulity w basenie Karpat Zewnętrznych, strefy Tetydy rozpościerającej się wzdłuż południowej krawędzi Północnej Platformy Europejskiej. Tak ogromna masa bogatego w spikule materiału pochodzi z obszaru zajmowanego przez gęstą populację krzemionkowych gąbek, zlokalizowanych na środkowym i otwartym szelfie, gdzie, zostały zamknięte w siedliskach sprzyjającym ich wzrostowi. Lokalne spikule budujące gąbki zostały redeponowane do głębokowodnego środowiska z powodu spływów grawitacyjnych. Igły te mogą być jednym z głównych składników turbidytów w tym rejonie, tworząc warstwy gezowe i rogowce. Cenomańskie utwory w płaszczowinie śląskiej Karpat Zewnętrznych nazwane warstwami lgockimi środkowymi i górnymi (Rogowcami mikuszowickimi ) są przykładem takich facji. Skrzemionkowane igły gąbek z wapiennymi otwornicami bentonicznymi, promienicami i skrzemionkowanym materiałem utworzyły szczegółową serię drobnoziarnistych turbidytów, które są porównywane z głębinowymi, hemipelagicznymi, bezwapnistymi glinkami. Obecność tak bogatych zbiorowisk gąbkowych płytszych częściach zbiornika związane były z ekologicznymi czynnikami takimi jak ilość i jakość pożywienia oraz chemizm wody. Sedymentacja bogatych w spikule turbidytów rozpoczęła się w górnej części warstw lgockich środkowych. Jednak moment ten nie wiąże się z litologicznymi zmianami pomiędzy warstwami lgockimi środkowymi, a rogowcami mikuszowickimi.This paper presents the micropaleontological and microfacial analyses of the spicule-bearing deposits from the Silesian Basin of the Outer Carpathians. Mid-Cretaceous was a period of accumulation spicule-bearing deposits, in the Outer Carpathian Basin of Tethyan Domain, spreading-out along the southern edge of the North European Platform. Such huge mass of spicule-rich material derived from the area occupied by dense population of siliceous sponges located in the middle and outer shelf, thrived in the habitat favourable their growth. Locally, spicules of the sponge communites have been redeposited to deep-water environments due to gravitational flows. These spicules could be one of the main components of turbidites in such regions, forming the gaize and chert layers. The Cenomanian deposits in the Silesian nappe of the Outer Carpathians, named the Middle and Upper Lgota beds (the Mikuszowice Chert beds) are example of such facies. The siliceous sponge spicules with calcareous benthic foraminifers, radiolarians and siliciclastic material created the series of fine-grained turbidities there, which are intercalated with deep-water, hemipelagic, non-calcareous clays.Presence of the sponge-rich comunites within the shallower part of the basin were related to ecological factors as quantity and quality of food, and water chemistry. The sedimentation of the spicule-bearing turbidites started in the upper part of the Middle Lgota Beds. However this moment is not related to the lithological change between the Middle Lgota Beds and the Mikuszowice Chert Beds

Application of multi-shoots cultures in micropropagation of willow herb (Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop.)

Introduction: Willow herb (Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop. syn. Epilobium angustifolium L. from Onagraceae family is a valuable medicinal plant that has been used in the treatment of urogenital disorders including BPH (Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy). The raw material is a rich source of polyphenols as well as steroids, triterpenoids and fatty acids. Due to frequent interspecific hybridization, plants collected in wild display a very diverse and variable content of active compounds. This poses a challenge in obtaining high quality and homogenous raw material. Application of the in vitro cultures and micropropagation techniques may offer a solution for alternative methods of cultivation

The application of multi-shoots cultures in micropropagation of willow herb (Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop.)

Willow herb (Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop. syn. Epilobium angustifolium L.) from Onagraceae family is a valuable medicinal plant that has been used in the treatment of urogenital disorders including BPH (Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy). The raw material is a rich source of polyphenols as well as steroids, triterpenoids and fatty acids. The extracts show pharmacological activities: anti-androgen, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and analgesic properties. Due to frequent interspecific hybridization, plants collected in the wild display a diverse and variable content of active compounds. This poses a challenge in obtaining high quality and homogenous raw material. Application of the in vitro cultures and micropropagation techniques may offer a solution for alternative methods of cultivation. This work presents preliminary results of the implementation of Ch. angustifolium in vitro cultures to obtain raw material for the first time. Sterile seedlings were donors of explants, which were used for induction of multi-shoots culture according to a modified Turker’s protocol. Six different genotypes (lines) originating from root explants were chosen for clonal propagation. Efficiency of the elaborated method was 16 – 20 shoots per explants. Finally, over 3000 acclimatized plants were obtained and used for field crops

First case of Staphylococci carrying linezolid resistance genes from laryngological infections in Poland

Linezolid is currently used to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive cocci. Both linezolid-resistant S. aureus (LRSA) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) strains have been collected worldwide. Two isolates carrying linezolid resistance genes were recovered from laryngological patients and characterized by determining their antimicrobial resistance patterns and using molecular methods such as spa typing, MLST, SCCmec typing, detection of virulence genes and ica operon expression, and analysis of antimicrobial resistance determinants. Both isolates were multidrug resistant, including resistance to methicillin. The S. aureus strain was identified as ST-398/t4474/SCCmec IVe, harboring adhesin, hemolysin genes, and the ica operon. The S. haemolyticus strain was identified as ST-42/mecA-positive and harbored hemolysin genes. Linezolid resistance in S. aureus strain was associated with the mutations in the ribosomal proteins L3 and L4, and in S. haemolyticus, resistance was associated with the presence of cfr gene. Moreover, S. aureus strain harbored optrA and poxtA genes. We identified the first case of staphylococci carrying linezolid resistance genes from patients with chronic sinusitis in Poland. Since both S. aureus and CoNS are the most common etiological factors in laryngological infections, monitoring of such infections combined with surveillance and infection prevention programs is important to decrease the number of linezolid-resistant staphylococcal strains

May Staphylococcus lugdunensis be an etiological factor of chronic maxillary sinuses infection?

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is an opportunistic pathogen found in the healthy human skin microbiome bacterial community that is able to cause infections of diverse localization, manifestation, and course, including laryngological infections, such as necrotizing sinusitis. Chronic maxillary sinusitis is a disease present in up to one third of European and American populations, and its etiology is not fully described. Within this study, we aimed to characterize 18 S. lugdunensis strains recovered from maxillary sinuses and evaluate them as etiological agents of chronic disease. We performed MLST analysis, the complex analysis of both phenotypic and genetic virulence factors, antibiotic susceptibility profiles, and biofilm formation assay for the detection of biofilm-associated genes. Altogether, S. lugdunensis strains were clustered into eight different STs, and we demonstrated several virulence factors associated with the chronic disease. All tested strains were able to produce biofilm in vitro with numerous strains with a very strong ability, and overall, they were mostly susceptible to antibiotics, although we found resistance to fosfomycin, erythromycin, and clindamycin in several strains. We believe that further in-depth analysis of S. lugdunensis strains from different niches, including the nasal one, should be performed in the future in order to reduce infection rate and broaden the knowledge about this opportunistic pathogen that is gaining attention

The Importance of the Mining Subsidence Reservoirs Located Along the Trans-Regional Highway in the Conservation of the Biodiversity of Freshwater Molluscs in Industrial Areas (Upper Silesia, Poland)

The objectives of the survey were to analyse the structure of the mollusc communities in the mining subsidence reservoirs that were created as a result of land subsidence over exploited hard coal seams and to determine the most predictive environmental factors that influence the distribution of mollusc species. The reservoirs are located in urbanised and industrialised areas along the Trans-Regional Highway, which has a high volume of vehicular traffic. They all have the same sources of supply but differ in the physical and chemical parameters of the water. In total, 15 mollusc species were recorded including four bivalve species. Among them Anodonta cygnea is classified as Endangered according to the Polish Red Data Book of Animals and also as Near Threatened according to the European Red List of Non-marine Molluscs. Eleven of the 15 mollusc species are included on the European Red List of Nonmarine Molluscs as Least Concern. Conductivity, pH and the concentration of calcium were the parameters most associated with the distribution of mollusc species. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that Potamopyrgus antipodarum, Radix balthica, Physella acuta, Gyraulus crista and Pisidium casertanum were associated with higher conductivity and lower pH values. A. cygnea, Anodonta anatina and Ferrissia fragilis were negatively influenced by these parameters of the water. The results of this survey showed that the mining subsidence reservoirs located in urbanised and industrialised areas provide refuges for rare and legally protected species and that they play an essential role in the dispersal of alien species as well