Growing water and land pollution, the possibility of exhaustion of raw materials and resistance of plastics to physical and chemical factors results in increasing importance of synthetic polymers waste recycling, recovery and environmentally friendly ways of disposal. Polyurethanes (PU) are a family of versatile synthetic polymers with highly diverse applications. They are class of polymers derived from the condensation of polyisocyanates and polyalcohols. This paper reports the latest developments in the field of polyurethane disposal, recycling and recovery. Various methods tested and applied in recent years have proven that the processing of PU waste can be economically and ecologically beneficial. At the moment mechanical recycling and glycolysis are the most important ones. Polyurethanes’ biological degradation is highly promising for both post-consumer and postproduction waste. It can also be applied in bioremediation of water and soil contaminated with polyurethanes. Another possibility for biological methods is the synthesis of PU materials sensitive to biological degradation. In conclusion, a high diversity of polyurethane waste types and derivation results in demand for a wide range of methods of processing. Furthermore, already existing ones appear to be enough to state that the elimination of not reprocessed polyurethane waste in the future is possible.

The objective of this study was to examine ochratoxin A (OTA) binding by three lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species: Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis, and L. sanfranciscensis. Experiments were conducted using MRS medium and PBS buffer contaminated with 1000 ng/mL OTA and inoculated with live or thermally inactivated bacterial biomass at a concentration of 1 or 5 mg dry weight/mL. It was found that, depending on the strain and biomass density, live bacterial cells reduced OTA content by 16.9% to 35% in MRS medium and by 14.8% to 26.4% in PBS after 24 h of contact. OTA binding was higher in the case of thermally inactivated bacterial biomass (46.2% to 59.8%). The process is very rapid: OTA was removed from PBS as early as after 30 min of contact. The binding of the toxin by cells was partially reversible under the treatment by water and 1 M HCl. The results show that OTA is adsorbed to the surface structures of the cell wall, which is promoted not only by the hydrophobic properties of the cell wall, but also by electron donor-acceptor and Lewis acid-base interactions.

Museums, archives and libraries have large working environments. The goal of this study was to determine microbial contamination in these work places and estimate the influence of microclimatic parameters and total dust content on microbial contamination. In addition, research included evaluation of ergosterol concentration and fungal bioaerosol particle size distribution. Numbers of micro-organisms in the air and on the surfaces in museums were higher (2.1 × 10²–7.0 × 10³ cfu/m³ and 1.4 × 10²–1.7 × 10⁴ cfu/100 cm², respectively) than in archives and libraries (3.2 × 10²–7.2 × 10² cfu/m³ and 8.4 × 10²–8.8 × 10² cfu/100 cm², respectively). The numbers of micro-organisms detected in the tested museums, archives and libraries did not exceed occupational exposure limits proposed by Polish Committee for the Highest Permissible Concentrations and Intensities of Noxious Agents at the Workplace. The concentrations of respirable and suspended dust in museum storerooms were 2–4 times higher than the WHO-recommended limits. We found a correlation between microclimatic conditions and numbers of micro-organisms in the air in the tested working environments. In addition, a correlation was also found between ergosterol concentration and the number of fungi in the air. Fungi were the dominant micro-organisms in the working environments tested. Particles within the dominant fractions of culturable fungal aerosols sampled from museum storerooms had aerodynamic diameters between 1.1 and 2.1 µm.

Plant mucilage is a renewable and cost-effective source of plant-based compounds that are biologically active, biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly. Until recently, plant mucilage has been of interest mostly for technological purposes. This review examined both its traditional uses and potential modern applications in a new generation of health-promoting foods, as well as in cosmetics and biomaterials. We explored the nutritional, phytochemical, and pharmacological richness of plant mucilage, with a particular focus on its biological activity. We also highlighted areas where more research is needed in order to understand the full commercial potential of plant mucilage.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall preparations in the adsorption of ochratoxin A (OTA). The study involved the use of a brewer’s yeast cell wall devoid of protein substances, glucans obtained by water and alkaline extraction, a glucan commercially available as a dietary supplement for animals and, additionally, dried brewer’s yeast for comparison. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis of the obtained preparations showed bands characteristic for glucans in the resulting spectra. The yeast cell wall preparation, water-extracted glucan and the commercial glucan bound the highest amount of ochratoxin A, above 55% of the initial concentration, and the alkaline-extracted glucan adsorbed the lowest amount of this toxin. It has been shown that adsorption is most effective at a close-to-neutral pH, while being considerably limited in alkaline conditions.

The contamination of food and feeds with mycotoxins poses a global health risk to humans and animals, with major economic consequences. Good agricultural and manufacturing practices can help control mycotoxin contamination. Since these actions are not always effective, several methods of decontamination have also been developed, including physical, chemical, and biological methods. Biological decontamination using microorganisms has revealed new opportunities. However, these biological methods require legal regulations and more research before they can be used in food production. Currently, only selected biological methods are acceptable for the decontamination of feed. This review discusses the literature on the use of microorganisms to remove mycotoxins and presents their possible mechanisms of action. Special attention is given to Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and lactic acid bacteria, and the use of yeast cell wall derivatives.