To study the population structure of Enterococcus faecalis from Polish hospitals, 291 isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and a novel multilocus sequence typing scheme (P. Ruiz-Garbajosa et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 44:2220-2228, 2006). The isolates originated from geographically widespread medical institutions and were recovered during a 10-year period (1996 to 2005) from different clinical sources. The analysis grouped the isolates into five epidemic and 71 sporadic clones. The importance of the previously identified global clonal complexes CC2 and CC9 was corroborated by our findings that two of the Polish epidemic clones, A and J, were classified into these clonal complexes (CCs). However, the two most predominant clones, C (ST40) and F (CC87), did not cluster in the aforementioned CCs and may represent novel epidemic CCs. These clones may have emerged in Central Europe. Clone F, carrying glycopeptide resistance determinants of VanA or VanB phenotypes, caused several outbreaks in hematology units and appeared to be the most prevalent clone in recent years in Poland. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and additional tests for pathogenicity-related phenotypes (hemolysin and gelatinase production) and genes (asa1 and esp) were performed to further characterize these epidemic clones. Multidrug resistance, glycopeptide resistance, presence of asa1, and production of hemolysin appeared to be statistically significant features related to epidemicity. Production of gelatinase was significant for two of the epidemic clones, whereas presence of the esp gene was not specific for the epidemic clones.Enterococci are known to be opportunistic nosocomial pathogens capable of causing life-threatening infections, such as endocarditis and bacteremia, mostly in immunocompromised patients (17,18,20). Since Enterococcus spp. are resistant to multiple antibacterial drugs, there are only limited options for effective therapy and prophylaxis of serious infections (16, 21). The two enterococcal species most often isolated from clinical infections are Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, the first of which is responsible for the majority of infections, whereas in the latter, multidrug resistance has predominantly accumulated (18).Molecular epidemiological studies of E. faecium using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed the existence of hostspecific lineages and a distinct genetic subpopulation named clonal complex 17 (CC17) (12,34,35) that is responsible for the majority of hospital-related infections and outbreaks and that has spread globally. Until now, less has been known about the population structure of E. faecalis. Analyzing 110 isolates by MLST, Ruiz-Garbajosa et al. identified 55 sequence types (ST) and four major CCs, two of which, CC2 and CC9, were significantly enriched among nosocomial isolates and were considered to represent hospital-adapted complexes, equivalent to E. faecium CC17. Furthermore, CC2 and CC9 corresponded to the previously identified E. faecalis BVE complex (␤-lactama...

Purpose: The aim of the article is to diagnose knowledge about greenwashing and consumer attitudes towards this phenomenon on selected markets of European organic food products. The main principle of greenwashing is the attempt to give the impression that the company is doing more for the environment than it actually does. The article discusses the characteristics of greenwashing and also examines the level of awareness among young consumers about the knowledge of this type of practices on the organic food market. Approach/Methodology/Design: The subjects of the research are young people, aged 12-35, from two European countries: Poland and Turkey. The research material was collected by direct interview method using a questionnaire, which contained 15 closed questions and 5 survey questions. The selection of the sample was deliberately random. Findings. Demographic characteristics such as sex, education or other descriptions of consumers as net monthly income, place of residence do not change the knowledge about greenwashing. Practical Implications: Greenwashing is a barrier to economic development in a sustainable way, because it contributes to the increase of skepticism among consumers towards proenvironmental initiatives. Greenwashing companies use resources that could be used in an environmentally friendly way. Originality/Value: It cannot be ruled out that the results obtained may also affect other groups of consumers and other markets.

Purpose:The aim of the research has been to identify the water conservation consumer behaviour in young Europeans. Approach/Methodology/Design: A total of 737 people were studied, mostly aged 18-30, from 16 European countries. A hypothesis has been formulated that consumer behaviours related to water saving consumption are intuitive and not conscious. The study involved the CAWI questionnaire to collect data and the classification tree analysis, the Chi-Square test of independence and the factor analysis were used for data analysis. Findings: The results demonstrate that an informed and responsible water consumption is low. It has been found what characteristics affect the water consumer behavior. It means that even if the consumers apply some practices to save water, the behaviors result from their individual reasons and not from the need of global water saving, namely the sense of social responsibility. Practical Implications: The study covered selected practices applied to save water in households, or during a direct drinking water consumption. The study covered the demographic characteristics of the respondents, their economic and lifestyle characteristics. Originality/Value: Over the recent years water saving has been more and more covered by scientific research. Water is one of the critical resources. For that reason, the actions counteracting water wasting require a collective approach, considering the participation of enterprises, the governments and consumers. The role of consumer behaviors is a decisive factor determining a long-term success of the initiatives of balanced production and consumption; however, it remains little investigated.

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