@inproceedings{vanBruggenBockmuehlBruckmannetal., author = {van Bruggen, Jannike and Bockm{\"u}hl, Dirk and Bruckmann, Dirk and Gebauer, Jens and Reiser, Dirk and Wichern, Florian and Darr, Dietrich}, title = {SUFACHAIN - Sustainable Agroforestry Value Chains in Central Asia}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-17660}, abstract = {The agricultural sector represents an important means of livelihood for the rural population in Central Asia, while the region's agricultural and forest landscapes are at risk of degradation due to population growth and economic development. The SUFACHAIN project aims to analyse agroforestry systems and integrate them into local land use systems, while developing products and technologies that contribute to the sustainable use of resources and create local value. In close collaboration with local partners, the project will (1) analyse and design sustainable agroforestry systems, (2) improve quality in the foods made from agroforestry products, (3) develop efficient technologies for the re-use of waste materials from the processing chain, (4) improve transparency along the supply chain, (5) increase local value by valorising selected ecosystem services and (6) develop attractive market niches for agroforestry products.}, language = {en} } @misc{RalfNicoleDirk, author = {Ralf, Lucassen and Nicole, van Leuven and Dirk, Bockm{\"u}hl}, title = {Biological and Synthetic Surfactants Increase Class I Integron Prevalence in Ex-Situ Biofilms}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-18712}, abstract = {Abstract: The role of biocides in the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been ad-dressed but only few studies focus on the impact of surfactants on microbial diversity and AMR, although they are common constituents of cleaners, disinfectants and personal care products and are thus released into the environment in large quantities. In this study, we used an ex situ biofilm model to examine the development of four biofilms exposed to surfactants and analyzed the biofilms for their prevalence of class I integrons (intI1). We furthermore de-termined the bacterial community composition by high-resolution melt analysis and 16S ri-bosomal DNA RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequencing. Depending on the initial intrinsic prevalence of intI1 in the respective ex situ biofilm, Benzalkonium Chloride, Alkylbenzene Sulfonate and Cocamidopropyl Betaine increased intI1 prevalence by an average of up to six fold. For surfac-tants, such as Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylate and the biosurfactants Sophorolipide and Rhamnoli-pide, the mean increase in intI1 prevalence did not exceed two fold. Across all surfactants the increase of intI1 was accompanied by a shift in bacterial community composition. Especially Benzalkonium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine and Alkylbenzene Sulfonate changed the communities, while Fatty Alcohol Ethoxylate, Sophorolipide and Rhamnolipide had a lower effect on the bacterial biofilm composition.}, language = {de} } @misc{KudlaTewesGibbinLameiraetal., author = {Kudla, Matthias and Tewes, Thomas and Gibbin-Lameira, Emma and Harcq, Laurence and Bockm{\"u}hl, Dirk}, title = {Unlocking the Power of Short Cycles: Enhancing Hygiene in Domestic Dishwashers}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-22153}, abstract = {This study investigated how factors associated with Sinner's principle—namely temperature, time and the chemical composition of detergents—affected the antimicrobial efficacy of domestic dishwashers, particularly during short cycles. We chose a range of bacterial strains, including standard test strains such as Micrococcus luteus and Enterococcus faecium, as well as important foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella Typhimurium. To account for the complexity of dishwasher cycles, we correlated hygiene efficacy with area under the curve (AUC) measurements derived from the respective cycle profiles. Our findings revealed that the reductions in M. luteus and E. faecium were minimally affected by the reference detergent. In contrast, a high-tier market detergent demonstrated a significant decrease in bacterial counts. Notably, both strains exhibited reduced efficacy at a main cycle temperature of 45 °C, suggesting that temperatures below 50 °C might represent a critical threshold at which the hygiene efficacy of domestic dishwashing processes declines. However, since food-related pathogens were more susceptible to the dishwashing process, even lower temperatures might deliver a sufficient level of hygiene. Plotting the logarithmic reduction/AUC ratio against the AUC indicated that the main cycle contributed approximately 10-fold more to microbial reduction than the rinse cycle. Furthermore, the antimicrobial impact of detergents was greatest at the lowest AUC values (i.e. during short cycles). Taken together, our results suggest that the main wash temperature, the type of detergent, and the specific strain tested all impact bacterial hygiene performance.}, language = {de} } @misc{vanLeuvenLucassenDicksetal., author = {van Leuven, Nicole and Lucassen, Ralf and Dicks, Anna and Braß, Patrick and Lipski, Andr{\´e} and Bockm{\"u}hl, Dirk}, title = {Does antibiotic use contribute to biofilm resistance in sink drains? A case study from four German hospital wards.}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-20820}, abstract = {As biofilms are known to harbour (multi-)resistant species, their presence in health settings must be considered critical. Although there is evidence that bacteria spread from drains to the outside, there is still a lack of research data focusing on drain biofilms from hospitals. We sampled biofilms from various wards of Helios Hospital Krefeld (Germany), where comprehensive antibiotic consumption data were available. Biofilms were analysed by cell counting, isolation of relevant bacterial groups and genetic and phenotypical resistance parameters. Data were correlated with the prescribed antibiotics of the respective ward. Furthermore, an ex-situ biofilm model was employed to investigate the influence of sub-inhibitory antibiotics on the bacterial community and the prevalence of class 1 integrons. Our results show, that every ward harboured medically relevant bacterial species. While no significant differences were found in cell counts, the median prevalence of the resistance marker gene intI1 correlated with the amount of prescribed antibiotics. In contrast, phenotypical resistances showed no similar tendency. In addition, melting curve analysis data and changes in intI1 prevalence show that the composition of the bacterial community shifted depending on the biofilm and antibiotic. Based on our results we conclude, that sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics have no general effect on biofilms in terms of bacterial community shift and occurrence of antibiotic resistant species. The effect depends on the initial composition of the bacterial community, the antibiotic used and the intrinsic bacterial resistance e.g. prevalence of class 1 integrons.}, language = {en} } @misc{DobariyaBockmuehl, author = {Dobariya, Binal and Bockm{\"u}hl, Dirk P.}, title = {Comparative analysis of microbial community on apricot kernel shells and walnut shells influenced by post-harvest conditions.}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-22214}, abstract = {Apricot kernel shells (AKS) and walnut shells (WS) are byproducts from fruit processing lines and may serve as sustainable alternatives to microplastics in industrial applications due to their high content of natural polymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Their use necessitates understanding the associated microbial risks to secure the quality of raw materials. This study investigates microbial communities on AKS and WS collected from Kyrgyzstan over a three-year period of harvests (2022-2024), using culture-dependent total viable count (TVC) as well as culture-independent shotgun metagenomic sequencing to explore the taxonomic and functional profile of microorganisms present on the shells. Results indicated higher microbial loads in more recent harvests with a dominance of Proteobacteria on WS comprising Pantonea agglomerans and Xanthomonas arboricola. On AKS, the phylum Firmicutes was prevalent emphasizing on Weissella confusa and Weissella cibaria. Incubation at humid conditions increased the fungal diversity in particular, especially Rhizopus microsporus in WS and Pichia membranifaciens in AKS, highlighting storage humidity as a critical factor which may induce microbial shifts. Functional metagenomic profiling based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database, highlighted metabolic and relational pathways of microbial community present on AKS and WS. Furthermore, microbial similarities between shell samples and their respective storage environments suggest that handling and storage practices may significantly affect contamination profiles.}, language = {en} }