The natural infection of birds and ticks feeding on birds with Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella burnetii in Slovakia.

Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are known as primary vectors of many pathogens causing diseases in humans and animals. Ixodes ricinus is a common ectoparasite in Europe and birds are often hosts of subadult stages of the tick. From 2012 to 2013, 347 birds belonging to 43 species were caught and examined for ticks in three sites of Slovakia.

On-line biosensor for the detection of putative toxicity in water contaminants.

Potential threat on drinking water requires monitoring solutions, such as the one proposed herein, as a real-time, wide ranged, water monitoring system to detect the presence of toxicants in water. We studied the role of a selected number of parameters affecting performance and, thus, improved the prototype into an optimized next-generation device, resulting in enabling increased measurement duration, coupled with increased sensitivity. The chosen parameters in question were the peristaltic flow system, the fiber probe matrix stability through a re-design of the fiber probe holder and flow unit cell, as well as the modulation of bacterial medium concentration to increase bioreporter performance while keeping biofouling in check.