Dzieci sieci 2.0. Kompetencje komunikacyjne młodych

Monografia, którą oddajemy w Państwa ręce, jest efektem drugiego już projektu badawczego realizowanego pod szyldem Dzieci sieci. Raport to wynik ośmiomiesięcznej pracy dziesięcioosobowego zespołu badaczek i badaczy, którzy zajęli się tematem kompetencji komunikacyjnych związanych z korzystaniem z internetu uczniów na trzecim etapie edukacyjnym. Celem projektu była diagnoza owych umiejętności oraz określenie stanu działań odnoszących się do omawianych kompetencji w zakresie edukacji prowadzonej w ramach formalnego systemu kształcenia. Zadanie Dzieci Sieci – kompetencje komunikacyjne młodych realizował Ośrodek Badań i Analiz Społecznych wspólnie z Instytutem Kultury Miejskiej w Gdańsku, a finansowało Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego. Omawiany projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie w programie Obserwatorium kultury, a działania badawcze trwały od marca do grudnia 2013 roku. Koordynatorem projektu jest Piotr Siuda, jego asystentem Grzegorz D. Stunża. W skład zespołu badawczego weszli również: Anna Justyna Dąbrowska, Marta Klimowicz, Emanuel Kulczycki, Damian Muszyński, Renata Piotrowska, Ewa Rozkosz, Marcin Sieńko oraz Krzysztof Stachura.Dofinansowano ze środków Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego

A proteomic approach to investigating gene cluster expression and secondary metabolite functionality in Aspergillus fumigatus.

A combined proteomics and metabolomics approach was utilised to advance the identification and characterisation of secondary metabolites in Aspergillus fumigatus. Here, implementation of a shotgun proteomic strategy led to the identification of non-redundant mycelial proteins (n = 414) from A. fumigatus including proteins typically under-represented in 2-D proteome maps: proteins with multiple transmembrane regions, hydrophobic proteins and proteins with extremes of molecular mass and pI. Indirect identification of secondary metabolite cluster expression was also achieved, with proteins (n = 18) from LaeA-regulated clusters detected, including GliT encoded within the gliotoxin biosynthetic cluster. Biochemical analysis then revealed that gliotoxin significantly attenuates H2O2-induced oxidative stress in A. fumigatus (p>0.0001), confirming observations from proteomics data. A complementary 2-D/LC-MS/MS approach further elucidated significantly increased abundance (p<0.05) of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), NADH-quinone oxidoreductase and the gliotoxin oxidoreductase GliT, along with significantly attenuated abundance (p<0.05) of a heat shock protein, an oxidative stress protein and an autolysis-associated chitinase, when gliotoxin and H2O2 were present, compared to H2O2 alone. Moreover, gliotoxin exposure significantly reduced the abundance of selected proteins (p<0.05) involved in de novo purine biosynthesis. Significantly elevated abundance (p<0.05) of a key enzyme, xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase Xpt1, utilised in purine salvage, was observed in the presence of H2O2 and gliotoxin. This work provides new insights into the A. fumigatus proteome and experimental strategies, plus mechanistic data pertaining to gliotoxin functionality in the organism

Analysis of biofilm production in Enterococcus faecium strains depending on clinical source

Purpose: Enterococcus faecium strains have been reported worldwide as etiologic factors of many nosocomial infections, which are difficult to manage because of the constantly increasing resistance of these microorganisms to antibiotics and the ability to form biofilm. The aim of this study was to analyze the ability to produce a biofilm in E. faecium strains, depending on the patient’s clinical material. Materials and methods: Sixty-six E. faecium strains were investigated. Identification and susceptibility testing were conducted by the VITEK2 system. The ability to form biofilm was assessed by phenotypic methods. The presence of selected virulence genes was established by PCR followed by gel electrophoresis and sequencing. Results: Among the tested E. faecium isolates, 72.7% were biofilm-positive (BIO+) and 27.3% biofilm-negative (BIO-). Strains were collected mostly from rectal swabs (30.4%) and blood (18.3%). BIO+ strains from infections constituted 31.8% (52.4% isolated from blood) and from colonization 40.9% (48.2% from rectal swabs). 91.7% of the Blood Group strains and 68.5% of the Other Group strains produced biofilm. Strains from the Colonization Group produced biofilm in a proportion similar to the Infection Group (about 75%). There were no statistically significant differences in virulence and resistance, except for vancomycin (more resistant BIO+ Other than the BIO+ Blood Group, and more resistant BIO+ Colonization than BIO+ Infection Group) and teicoplanin (more resistant BIO+ Colonization than the BIO+ Infection Group). Conclusion: The majority of E. faecium isolates carries high levels of resistance to many antimicrobials, is well equipped with virulence genes, and possesses the ability to form biofilm

Occurrence of high-level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR) among Enterococcus species strains

Purpose: Today, Enterococcus species are one of the most frequent etiological agents in nosocomial infections. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility to antibiotics and the prevalence of high-level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR) among Enterococcus strains. Materials and methods: The susceptibility of 85 isolates of Enterococcus (47 E. faecalis and 38 E. faecium) was determined using the disk diffusion method. The results were interpreted according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Suscepti-bility Testing (EUCAST) guidelines. PASW Statistics 17.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: E. faecalis strains showed the highest susceptibility to ampicillin, tigecycline, vanco-mycin, imipenem, and linezolid and E. faecium to linezolid, tigecycline, and quinupristin/dalfopristin. Among all tested strains, high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR) was found in 4% of E. faecalis and 8% of E. faecium strains, high-level strepto-mycin resistance (HLSR) in 45% and 42%, and HLAR in 50% and 32% of strains, respectively. HLGR was detected only in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)− strains (12%), while HLSR in 76.9% of VRE+ and 24% of VRE− strains, and HLAR in 23.1% of VRE+ and 64% of VRE− strains. The tested strains were also divided into two groups: HLSR+ and HLAR+. In both groups, statistically significant susceptibility differences (p<0.05) were found for ampicillin, imipenem and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The most frequent antibiotic resistance profile among E. faecalis strains was SR (resistance phenotype to strepto-mycin), and among E. faecium, AMPR, IMPR, CNR, SR, SXTR (ampicillin, imipenem, gentamicin, streptomycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). Conclusions: This study showed the slowly increasing prevalence of HLAR and resistance to newer antibiotics (linezolid and tigecycline) among Enterococcus strains. It is necessary to search for new directions in the treatment of enterococcal infections