Search Results (9)

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global health threat, with AMR Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains being a major foodborne pathogen. Integrons, a type of mobile genetic element, capture and transfer resistance genes, thereby playing a role in the spread of AMR. Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the locations of integrons carrying AMR genes within the whole genomes of 32 Salmonella Typhimurium isolates collected from dairy cattle by two U.S. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories between 2009 and 2012. Methods: Class I integrons were sequenced from PCR-amplified products. DNA was extracted, quantified, barcoded, and sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Whole genome sequences were trimmed and assembled using the SPAdes assembler in Geneious Prime^®, and plasmids were identified with the PlasmidFinder pipeline in Linux. Integron locations were determined by aligning their sequences with whole genome contigs and plasmids, while AMR genes were identified through BLAST with the MEGARes 3.0 database and confirmed by alignment with isolate, plasmid, and integron sequences. Statistical analysis was applied to compare the proportions of isolates harboring integrons on their chromosome versus plasmids and also to examine the associations between integron presence and AMR gene presence. Results: Seven plasmid types were identified from all isolates: IncFII(S) (n = 14), IncFIB(S) (n = 13), IncC (n = 7), Inc1-I(Alpha) (n = 3), and ColpVC, Col(pAHAD28), and Col8282 (1 isolate each). Of the 32 isolates, 16 (50%) carried at least one size of integron. Twelve of them carried both 1000 and 1200 bp; 3 carried only 1000 bp and 1 carried 1800 bp integrons. Of the 15 isolates that carried 1000 bp integron, 12 harbored it on IncFIB(S) plasmids, 2 on IncC plasmids, and 1 on the chromosome. The 1200 bp integrons from all 12 isolates were located on chromosomes. There were significant positive associations between the presence of integrons and the presence of several AMR genes including sul1, aadA2, blaCARB-2, qacEdelta1, tet(G), and floR (p < 0.05). AMR genes were located as follows: aadA2 on IncFIB(S) and IncC plasmids; bla_CMY-2 on IncC plasmid; qacEdelta1 on IncFIB(S), IncC, and chromosome; bla_CARB-2, floR, tet(A) and tet(G) on the chromosome. Conclusions: The findings highlight the genomic and plasmid complexity of Salmonella Typhimurium which is impacted by the presence and location of integrons, and this study provides genomic insights that can inform efforts to enhance food safety and protect both animal and public health. Full article

Straw mulching is a sustainable practice used to control soil erosion. However, different doses of mulch affect the efficiency of straw conservation. This study presents detailed research on how soil physicochemical properties and the hydrological response react to different types of vineyard soil management (Tilled, Grass, Low Straw, High Straw) and seasons (spring, summer, autumn) under conventional management on Anthrosols in Mediterranean conditions. To assess soil properties, core samples and disturbed samples were taken from the topsoil layer (0–10 cm). To evaluate erosion rates, a rainfall simulation experiment was conducted (58 mm h⁻¹ for 30 min) with 10 replicates per treatment and season (120 in total). The results show higher water-stable aggregates (WSA) and soil organic matter (SOM) and lower bulk density (BD) in the mulch and grass treatment groups compared with the Tilled treatment group. High Straw treatment successfully mitigated runoff, while other treatments had significantly higher runoff that triggered sediment loss (SL) and translocation of P, K, Zn and Ni down the slope. There were 254% and 520% higher K losses with Tilled treatment in autumn compared with Low Straw and Grass treatments, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a strong association between element loss and SL, which indicates an ecological threat in degraded and endangered vineyards. Mulch application and grass cover reduce the vulnerability of vineyards, reduce evaporation, act as insulation against high temperatures, reduce erosion and suppress weed growth. The mulch dosage varies depending on the goals and conditions of the vineyard; thus, lower mulch dosage (2 t/ha) is appropriate when soil conditions are favourable and there is no significant need for moisture retention, while higher mulch dosage is necessary in dry regions to maintain soil moisture during high-temperature periods, as well as in sloped areas subjected to erosion. Full article

Smart mobility supports smart city ideas and concepts. A consequences of smart mobility activities are more wide and common using electromobility. There is no doubt that electromobility is a global trend that unequivocally supports the principles of sustainable development, while being one of the basic elements of the smart mobility. The following discussion critically addresses the indicated topic, especially in the context of the barriers that currently exist and that stand in the way of implementing the expected expansion of electric cars into urban markets. Considering the following assumptions, the threat of urban pollution associated with the increasing number of vehicles (passenger and freight) should be mitigated using smart mobility solutions. In addition, solutions should include that electromobility promotes zero-emissions. Furthermore, the inadequate development of charging infrastructure and the projected energy crisis may result in plans to develop the electromobility market in cities that are under threat and impossible to meet. We highlight the current state and development level of the electric vehicle market, in particular the market for light commercial vehicles (LCVs). In this market, electric cars account for less than 1% of total cars. In truth, as shown in articles in recent years, the growth of new electric cars is significant; however, as shown by forecasts, the growth is insufficient to achieve the planned goals so the market share of LCVs will only increase to about 25% in 2030 and there will only be about 600,000 electric LCVs on the market. In this article, the authors focus on answering the question of if the upcoming energy crisis can significantly affect the further dynamic development of electromobility as an element of the smart city and undermine the plans to create zero-emission economies, with a particular focus on cities. Not only do we point to electromobility as a positive trend, but we stress that optimistic assumptions in its development in the current economic situation, especially in Europe, may be difficult to realize. The theoretical assumptions are reflected in the statistical analyses and forecasts of market development and their interpretation. Full article

Stressful events and chronic tension are considered a burden and a threat to physical, mental, and social health. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the associations of variation in stress exposure with social factors, physical activity, basic components of physical fitness, body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (BFP). An additional objective was to identify the main BFP modifiers among those analyzed. The material consisted of data of ethnically homogeneous group 355 men (32–87 yrs), invited to the study as part of the Wroclaw Male Study research project. The analyzed features included socioeconomic status (age, educational level), elements of lifestyle (physical activity), major and most important stressful life events—Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) and basic parameters of the somatic structure of the body (BMI, BFP). Statistical analyses included: chi-square test, Mann–Whitney U test and backward stepwise regression (significance level α = 0.05). Stress exposure showed significant socioeconomic variation among the adult Poles studied. Higher levels of education were associated with higher levels of stress. Significant correlations between SRRS and physical activity were found, especially in men older than 60 years and with higher levels of education. A positive relationship was shown between SRRS and BFP, especially in men under 60 years of age. BFP appeared to depend mainly on age and stress. The main determinants of SRRS were age and education level, while BFP turned out to be more sensitive to stress than BMI. The modifying force of physical activity for SRRS appears to be age dependent. Full article

Escherichia coli isolated from meat of different animal species may harbour antimicrobial resistance genes and may thus be a threat to human health. The objectives of this study were to define antimicrobial resistance genes in E. coli isolates from pork, beef, chicken- and turkey meat and analyse whether their resistance genotypes associated with phylogenetic groups or meat species. A total number of 313 E. coli samples were isolated using standard cultural techniques. In 98% of resistant isolates, a dedicated resistance gene could be identified by PCR. Resistance genes detected were tet(A) and tet(B) for tetracycline resistance, strA and aadA1 for streptomycin resistance, sulI and sulII for resistance against sulphonamides, dfr and aphA for kanamycin resistance and bla_TEM for ampicillin resistance. One stx1 harbouring E. coli isolated from pork harboured the tet(A) gene and belonged to phylogenetic group B2, whilst another stx1 positive isolate from beef was multi-resistant and tested positive for bla_TEM,aphA, strA–B, sulII, and tet(A) and belonged to phylogenetic group A. In conclusion, the distribution of resistance elements was almost identical and statistically indifferent in isolates of different meat species. Phylogenetic groups did not associate with the distribution of resistance genes and a rather low number of diverse resistance genes were detected. Most E. coli populations with different resistance genes against one drug often revealed statistically significant different MIC values. Full article

Recently, issues related to the effects (benefit or harm) of processing nuclear waste and its further use as fuel have been increasingly often raised in the scientific discussion. In this regard, the research aims to investigate issues related to the assessment of the economic potential of nuclear waste use, as well as the cooperation between states in the context of the reduction of risks associated with nuclear waste storage and processing. The research methodology is based on an integrated approach, including statistical, factor analysis, and the proposed system of performance indicators for managing spent nuclear fuel use. The research was carried out on the basis of materials from Russia and the EU countries. In the course of the study, a model of cooperation between states has been developed (based on the example of technologies and methods of processing nuclear waste used in the EU and Russia) according to the nuclear waste (spent nuclear fuel) management algorithm. The model considers the risks and threats associated with ecology and safety. The developments and other results described in the study should be used in further research devoted to the use of nuclear waste as heat-producing elements. Full article

The issue of economic security is becoming an increasingly urgent one. The purpose of this article is to develop a method for assessing threats to the economic security of the Russian region. This method is based on step-by-step actions: first of all, choosing an element of the region’s economic security system and collecting its descriptive indicators; then grouping indicators by admittance-process-result categories and building hypotheses about their influence; testing hypotheses using a statistical package and choosing the most significant connections, which can pose a threat to the economic security of the region; thereafter ranking regions by the level of threats and developing further recommendations. The importance of this method is that with the help of grouping regions (territory of a country) based on proposed method, it is possible to develop individual economic security monitoring tools. As a result, the efficiency of that country’s region can be higher. In this work, the proposed method was tested in the framework of public procurement in Russia. A total of 14 indicators of procurement activity were collected for each region of the Russian Federation for the period from 2014 to 2018. Regression models were built on the basis of the grouped indicators. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Estimation was used. As a result of pairwise regression models analysis, we have defined four significant relationships between public procurement indicators. There are positive connections between contracts that require collateral and the percentage of tolerances, between the number of bidders and the number of regular suppliers, between the number of bidders and the average price drop, and between the number of purchases made from a single supplier and the number of contracts concluded without reduction. It was determined that the greatest risks for the system were associated with the connection between competition and budget savings. It was proposed to rank analyzed regions into four groups: ineffective government procurement, effective government procurement, and government procurement that threatens the system of economic security of the region, that is, high competition with low savings and low competition with high savings. Based on these groups, individual economic security monitoring tools can be developed for each region. Full article

In 2012, Google first proposed the knowledge graph and applied it in the field of intelligent searching. Subsequently, knowledge graphs have been used for in-depth association analysis in different fields. In recent years, composite attacks have been discovered through association analysis in the field of cyber security. This paper proposes an attack analysis framework for cyber-attack and defense test platforms, which stores prior knowledge in a cyber security knowledge graph and attack rule base as data that can be understood by a computer, sets the time interval of analysis on the Spark framework, and then mines attack chains from massive data with spatiotemporal constraints, so as to achieve the balance between automated analysis and real-time accurate performance. The experimental results show that the analysis accuracy depends on the completeness of the cyber security knowledge graph and the precision of the detection results from security equipment. With the rational expectation about more exposure of attacks and faster upgrade of security equipment, it is necessary and meaningful to constantly improve the cyber security knowledge graph in the attack analysis framework. Full article

Agricultural soils from Dongchuan copper mining area were sampled and analyzed to determine the concentrations of selected trace elements, namely As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn. The main objectives of this study were: (1) To determine the levels of trace elements and their spatial distribution in soils; (2) to evaluate the potential ecological risk; and (3) to identify the main sources of risk element pollution. The environmental risks were assessed using five different contamination and pollution indexes. Descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses were performed to identify the relations among the trace elements in soils and possible sources of pollution. Although the values of As, Cu and Zn in the soils were significantly higher than Yunnan background values and exceeded the limits of the Chinese national standards in several sampling points, the most serious threat for the ecosystem and human health was represented by Cd. The main sources of Cu and As were identified mining activities, airborne particulates from smelters and the weathering of tailings, and partly also agricultural fertilizers. The major source of Cd was agricultural fertilizers and partly sources associated with mining and smelting activities. Full article