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Following a request from Dortmund University, the previous affiliation of the Guest Editor, Bojidarka Ivanova, in the original publication [...].Following a request from Dortmund University, the previous affiliation of the Guest Editor, Bojidarka Ivanova, in the original publication [...].

Antifouling paints incorporate biocides in their composition seeking to avoid or minimize the settlement and growing of undesirable fouling organisms. Therefore, biocides are released into the aquatic environments also affecting several nontarget organisms and, thus, compromising ecosystems. Despite global efforts to investigate the environmental occurrence and toxicity of biocides currently used in antifouling paints, the specific active ingredients that have been used in commercial products are poorly known. Thus, the present study assessed the frequencies of occurrence and relative concentrations of biocides in antifouling paint formulations registered for marketing worldwide. The main data were obtained from databases of governmental agencies, business associations, and safety data sheets from paint manufacturers around the world. The results pointed out for 25 active ingredients currently used as biocides, where up to six biocides have been simultaneously used in the examined formulations. Cuprous oxide, copper pyrithione, zinc pyrithione, zineb, DCOIT, and cuprous thiocyanate were the most frequent ones, with mean relative concentrations of 35.9 ± 12.8%, 2.9 ± 1.6%, 4.0 ± 5.3%, 5.4 ± 2.0%, 1.9 ± 1.9%, and 18.1 ± 8.0% (w/w) of respective biocide present in the antifouling paint formulations. Surprisingly, antifouling paints containing TBT as an active ingredient are still being registered for commercialization nowadays. These results can be applied as a proxy of biocides that are possibly being used by antifouling systems and, consequently, released into the aquatic environment, which can help to prioritize the active ingredients that should be addressed in future studies.

Biological activities, including cell viability, oxidative stress, genotoxicity/antigenotoxicity, and antimicrobial activity, were evaluated for a visible-light-responsive TiO[sub.2]-based ICT complex with dihydroquercetin (DHQ) and compared with pristine TiO[sub.2], its inorganic component. Pristine TiO[sub.2] did not induce cytotoxicity in MRC-5 or HeLa cells within the tested concentration range (1–20 mg/mL), while TiO[sub.2]/DHQ displayed a significant reduction in cell viability in both cell lines at higher concentrations (≥10 mg/mL). The analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production revealed that TiO[sub.2]/DHQ significantly reduced ROS levels in both cell types (MRC-5 and HeLa), with HeLa cells showing a more substantial reduction at lower concentrations. Genotoxicity assessment using the comet assay demonstrated that TiO[sub.2] induced DNA damage in MRC-5 cells, while TiO[sub.2]/DHQ did not, indicating that DHQ mitigates the genotoxic potential of TiO[sub.2]. Furthermore, TiO[sub.2]/DHQ exhibited antigenotoxic effects by reducing H[sub.2]O[sub.2]-induced DNA damage in MRC-5 cells, supporting its protective role against oxidative stress. Preliminary antimicrobial tests revealed that TiO[sub.2]/DHQ exhibits antimicrobial activity against E. coli under visible-light excitation, while TiO[sub.2] does not. These findings suggest that the TiO[sub.2]-based ICT complex with DHQ with enhanced antioxidant properties can potentially serve as a safe, non-toxic biocide agent.

Exterior plasters can be disturbed by biological biofilms. A significant part of the biofilms are green algae. Present chemical preparations for protection of plasters against algae are mostly base on artificial chemicals those can be very often persistent and danger. It is necessary to find new, more natural biocidal substances and mixtures. In the present study, five selected botanicals (thyme oil, cinnamon oil, thymol, carvacrol, eugenol) was tested for their antialgal properties in aquatic test with biofilm isolated from lime plaster. The botanicals were dissolved in an organic solvent dimethysulfoxide (DMSO). The tests were performed in plastic microplates under laboratory conditions in a biological incubator for 14 days. The total inhibition concentration (TIC) was a measured endpoint. The tests with concentrations in range of 200 to 25 mg/L and 0 mg/L were performed. The own solvent was not toxic to biofilm. The results did not show TIC effects for cinnamon oil in the tested range of concentrations. TIC values were observed in the case of thymol and thyme oil (200-100 mg/L) and eugenol or carvacrol (25 mg/L).

Since the accidental introduction of the yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) at the beginning of 21st century in Europe, it has become a threat to many pollinators, including domestic bees. After its arrival in France in 2004, it quickly spread across the continent, reaching Gipuzkoa (Basque Country) in 2010, where it poses a serious problem for beekeeping. To reduce this problem, various control strategies have been developed, such as the removal of nests or the capture of founder queens in spring. However, these methods have not been effective in reducing the impact of hornets on beekeeping. The use of protein baits with biocides has shown to be an effective method to control invasive wasp populations in natural environments, however, they have not been used to control V. velutina. This study evaluated the efficacy of these baits in reducing the impact of hornets in apiaries. The results have shown that when the presence of hornets in apiaries is high, high-bait consumption is produced, leading to a significant reduction in the number of hornets within 48 h. This reduction lasts for at least two weeks after baiting and allows the honey bees to recover and return to their normal activity. The yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax), outside its natural range, has become a major threat to domestic bees. Several control methods have been used to fight against V. velutina, but the results achieved are not satisfactory. The use of protein baits with biocides has shown to be an effective method to control invasive wasp populations, but they have not been used to control V. velutina. Thus, the efficacy of protein baits containing fipronil to reduce the presence of hornets in apiaries was evaluated in this study. After laboratory determination of the optimal efficacy of a protein bait at a 0.01% concentration of fipronil, field trials were conducted involving 222 beekeepers. The data reported by the 90 beekeepers who completed the requested questionnaire demonstrated that in the groups of apiaries with the highest pressure of hornets (groups with 10-30 and >30 hornets), there was a significant decrease in the presence of V. velutina, lasting at least two weeks. The reduction in the number of hornets was positively correlated with bait consumption, and bait consumption was positively correlated with the number of hornets present at the time of treatment. Although the method used has shown good efficacy and the concentration of fipronil used was very low; possible negative effects on the environment should also be evaluated.

The rapid increase in the antibiotic resistance of microorganisms, capable of causing diseases in humans as destroying cultural heritage sites, is a great challenge for modern science. In this regard, it is necessary to develop fundamentally novel and highly active compounds. In this study, a series of N[sup.4]-alkylcytidines, including 5- and 6-methylcytidine derivatives, with extended alkyl substituents, were obtained in order to develop a new generation of antibacterial and antifungal biocides based on nucleoside derivatives. It has been shown that N[sup.4]-alkyl 5- or 6-methylcytidines effectively inhibit the growth of molds, isolated from the paintings in the halls of the Ancient Russian Paintings of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Russia, Moscow. The novel compounds showed activity similar to antiseptics commonly used to protect works of art, such as benzalkonium chloride, to which a number of microorganisms have acquired resistance. It was also shown that the activity of N[sup.4]-alkylcytidines is comparable to that of some antibiotics used in medicine to fight Gram-positive bacteria, including resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium smegmatis. N[sup.4]-dodecyl-5- and 6-methylcytidines turned out to be the best. This compound seems promising for expanding the palette of antiseptics used in painting, since quite often the destruction of painting materials is caused by joint fungi and bacteria infection.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant public health threat. With the rise of affordable whole genome sequencing, in silico approaches to assessing AMR gene content can be used to detect known resistance mechanisms and potentially identify novel mechanisms. To enable accurate assessment of AMR gene content, as part of a multi-agency collaboration, NCBI developed a comprehensive AMR gene database, the Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance Reference Gene Database and the AMR gene detection tool AMRFinder. Here, we describe the expansion of the Reference Gene Database, now called the Reference Gene Catalog, to include putative acid, biocide, metal, stress resistance genes, in addition to virulence genes and species-specific point mutations. Genes and point mutations are classified by broad functions, as well as more detailed functions. As we have expanded both the functional repertoire of identified genes and functionality, NCBI released a new version of AMRFinder, known as AMRFinderPlus. This new tool allows users the option to utilize only the core set of AMR elements, or include stress response and virulence genes, too. AMRFinderPlus can detect acquired genes and point mutations in both protein and nucleotide sequence. In addition, the evidence used to identify the gene has been expanded to include whether nucleotide or protein sequence was used, its location in the contig, and presence of an internal stop codon. These database improvements and functional expansions will enable increased precision in identifying AMR genes, linking AMR genotypes and phenotypes, and determining possible relationships between AMR, virulence, and stress response.

In this work, Lavandula x intermedia essential oil (LEO) was encapsulated in lipid-based nanoemulsions (NanoLEO) using the solvent-displacement technique. In order to preserve the colloidal stability of the formulation, LEO was appropriately doped with the incorporation of different levels of a water-insoluble oil used as a ripening inhibitor. All the nanoemulsion samples were evaluated in terms of the impact of the water-insoluble oil on the nanoemulsion formation, physical–chemical properties, and antibacterial effectiveness against E. coli (Gram-negative) and B. cereus (Gram-positive). The presence of the inert oil added benefits to the formulations in terms of appearance, colloidal stability, and loss of volatile components. However, the antimicrobial activity of the nanoemulsions dramatically decreased with the ripening inhibitor addition, probably because it hampered the internalization of the antimicrobial components of LEO within the bacterial cell membranes, thus nullifying the delivery ability of the nanoemulsion formulation. On the contrary, the undoped NanoLEO formulation showed unaltered antibacterial activity in both E. coli and B. cereus up to 40 weeks from the preparation.

Background Antibacterial biocides and metals can co-select for antibiotic resistance when bacteria harbour resistance or tolerance genes towards both types of compounds. Despite numerous case studies, systematic and quantitative data on co-occurrence of such genes on plasmids and chromosomes is lacking, as is knowledge on environments and bacterial taxa that tend to carry resistance genes to such compounds. This effectively prevents identification of risk scenarios. Therefore, we aimed to identify general patterns for which biocide/metal resistance genes (BMRGs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that tend to occur together. We also aimed to quantify co-occurrence of resistance genes in different environments and taxa, and investigate to what extent plasmids carrying both types of genes are conjugative and/or are carrying toxin-antitoxin systems. Results Co-occurrence patterns of resistance genes were derived from publicly available, fully sequenced bacterial genomes ( n  = 2522) and plasmids ( n  = 4582). The only BMRGs commonly co-occurring with ARGs on plasmids were mercury resistance genes and the qacE∆1 gene that provides low-level resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds. Novel connections between cadmium/zinc and macrolide/aminoglycoside resistance genes were also uncovered. Several clinically important bacterial taxa were particularly prone to carry both BMRGs and ARGs. Bacteria carrying BMRGs more often carried ARGs compared to bacteria without ( p  < 0.0001). BMRGs were found in 86 % of bacterial genomes, and co-occurred with ARGs in 17 % of the cases. In contrast, co-occurrences of BMRGs and ARGs were rare on plasmids from all external environments (<0.7 %) but more common on those of human and domestic animal origin (5 % and 7 %, respectively). Finally, plasmids with both BMRGs and ARGs were more likely to be conjugative ( p  < 0.0001) and carry toxin-antitoxin systems ( p  < 0.0001) than plasmids without resistance genes. Conclusions This is the first large-scale identification of compounds, taxa and environments of particular concern for co-selection of resistance against antibiotics, biocides and metals. Genetic co-occurrences suggest that plasmids provide limited opportunities for biocides and metals to promote horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance through co-selection, whereas ample possibilities exist for indirect selection via chromosomal BMRGs. Taken together, the derived patterns improve our understanding of co-selection potential between biocides, metals and antibiotics, and thereby provide guidance for risk-reducing actions.