Environmental sustainability assessments of pharmaceuticals: an emerging need for simplification in life cycle assessments.

The pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries are eager to strive toward innovative products and technologies. This study first derives hotspots in resource consumption of 2839 Basic Operations in 40 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient synthesis steps through Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA). Second, since companies are increasingly obliged to quantify the environmental sustainability of their products, two alternative ways of simplifying (E)LCA are discussed.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics: an emerging class of environmental micropollutants.

The aim of this review paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of different chemical and environmental aspects concerning fluoroquinolone antibiotics as emerging contaminants. A literature survey has been performed based on 204 papers from 1998 to mid-2013, resulting in a dataset consisting out of 4100 data points related to physical-chemical properties, environmental occurrence, removal efficiencies, and ecotoxicological data. In a first part, an overview is given on relevant physical-chemical parameters to better understand the behavior of fluoroquinolones during wastewater treatment and in the environment.

Assigning defined daily doses animal: a European multi-country experience for antimicrobial products authorized for usage in pigs.

Objectives: To establish a consensus defined daily dose animal (DDDA) for each active substance (AS) and administration route for porcine veterinary antimicrobial products authorized in four European countries, thus allowing cross-country quantification and comparison of antimicrobial usage data.

Methods: All veterinary antimicrobial products authorized for porcine use in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden were listed for each administration route. First, separate DDDAs for each product were defined based on the recommended dosing for the main indication.

Virulence comparison and quantification of horizontal bovine viral diarrhoea virus transmission following experimental infection in calves.

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) causes persistent infections by infecting the fetus of susceptible animals during gestation. These persistently infected (PI) animals are important sources of infection. On the contrary, transiently infected (TI) animals are believed to be less important, but transient infections with a severe BVDV-2 strain can spread explosively.

Biocheck.UGent: a quantitative tool to measure biosecurity at broiler farms and the relationship with technical performances and antimicrobial use.

The Biocheck.UGent scoring system has been developed to measure and quantify the level of biosecurity on broiler farms. This tool is composed of all relevant components of biosecurity on broiler farms and is subdivided into external (purchase of 1-d-old chicks, off-farm movements of live animals, feed and water supply, removal of manure and dead birds, entrance of visitors and personnel, supply of materials, infrastructure and biological vectors, location of the farm) and internal (disease management, cleaning and disinfection, materials, and measures between compartments) biosecurity.

A survey on biosecurity and management practices in selected Belgian cattle farms.

The shift from cure towards prevention in veterinary medicine involves the implementation of biosecurity, which includes all measures preventing pathogens from entering a herd and reducing the spread of pathogens within a herd. In Belgium no studies have considered the implementation of biosecurity measures in the daily management of cattle farms. Therefore the aim of the study was to map the current application of biosecurity measures in Belgian cattle farms in the prevention of disease transmission within and between farms.

Multilayered modeling of particulate matter removal by a growing forest over time, from plant surface deposition to washoff via rainfall.

Airborne fine particulate matter (PM) is responsible for the most severe health effects induced by air pollution in Europe. Vegetation, and forests in particular, can play a role in mitigating this pollution since they have a large surface area to filter PM out of the air. Many studies have solely focused on dry deposition of PM onto the tree surface, but deposited PM can be resuspended to the air or may be washed off by precipitation dripping from the plants to the soil.

Individual commitment to a group effect: strengths and weaknesses of bovine embryo group culture.

Recently, new culture devices such as Corral and Primo Vision dishes have been designed for the culture of human embryos to allow the combination of group culture plus follow-up of individual embryos. Bovine inseminated oocytes were allocated to Primo Vision dishes, Corral dishes, individual culture or classical group culture. Blastocyst development in Primo Vision dishes was similar to classical group culture (34.

Presence of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use in sows are risk factors for antimicrobial resistance in their offspring.

This study investigated whether antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in apparently healthy sows and antimicrobial administration to sows and piglets influenced antimicrobial resistance in fecal commensal E. coli from piglets. Sixty sows from three herds and three of their piglets were sampled at several time points.

Effect of liquid hot water pre-treatment on sugarcane press mud methane yield.

Sugarcane press mud was pretreated by liquid hot water (LHW) at different temperatures (140-210 °C) and pre-treatment times (5-20 min) in order to assess the effects on the chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilisation, inhibitors formation and methane yield. The experimental results showed that a high degree of biomass solubilisation was possible using LHW. Higher methane yields were obtained at lower severities (log(Ro) = 2.

Quantification of spatially differentiated resource footprints for products and services through a macro-economic and thermodynamic approach.

Although natural resources form the basis of our economy, they are not always used in a sustainable way. To achieve a more sustainable economic growth, resource consumption needs to be measured. Therefore, resource footprint frameworks (RFF) are being developed.

Inferring time-variable effects of nutrient enrichment on marine ecosystems using inverse modelling and ecological network analysis.

We combined data from an outdoor mesocosm experiment with carbon budget modelling and an ecological network analysis to assess the effects of continuous nutrient additions on the structural and functional dynamics of a marine planktonic ecosystem. The food web receiving no nutrient additions was fuelled by detritus, as zooplankton consumed 7.2 times more detritus than they consumed algae.

Extended transmission of two H5/H7 low pathogenic avian influenza viruses in chickens.

Transmission experiments are useful for investigating the mechanisms of low pathogenic notifiable avian influenza virus (LPNAI) transmission. In this study, the hypothesis that inoculation-infected chickens are more infectious than contact-infected chickens was tested. To this end, extended transmission experiments with one H5N2 and one H7N1 LPAIV which had previously been characterized in a series of standard transmission experiments were conducted in specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens.

Heterogeneous photocatalysis of moxifloxacin in water: chemical transformation and ecotoxicity.

This work provides new insights on the impact of TiO2/UV catalyzed chemical transformation of moxifloxacin on ecotoxicity effects towards the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. The moxifloxacin median effect concentration (EC-50=0.78 [0.

Pig, cattle and poultry farmers with a known interest in research have comparable perspectives on disease prevention and on-farm biosecurity.

To motivate farmers for the implementation of preventive measures for animal health, it is crucial to understand their perspective on disease prevention and on-farm biosecurity. To study this, an online questionnaire was conducted in which 218 pig, 279 cattle and 61 poultry farmers in Flanders, Belgium have participated. The participants are farmers known for their interest in research and are therefore probably better informed on these topics.

Effect of a DIVA vaccine with and without in-feed use of coated calcium-butyrate on transmission of Salmonella Typhimurium in pigs.

Background: For satisfactory Salmonella control, good biosecurity along the pork production chain is crucial, although additional control measures on-farm need to be considered. This study evaluated the effect of two potential control measures against the spread of Salmonella Typhimurium via a transmission experiment with 56 piglets (3-15 weeks of age): two groups were orally vaccinated with 107 - 108 Colony Forming Units (CFU)/2 mL of a new attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium vaccine 'Salmoporc-∆rfaJ' with DIVA capacities (Differentiation between Infected and Vaccinated Animals) (n = 2x16); the feed of one group was additionally supplemented with coated calcium-butyrate salt. Two weeks post vaccination, four pigs per group were orally challenged with 107 CFU/2 mL of a Salmonella Typhimurium strain 112910a.

Relationship between biosecurity and production/antimicrobial treatment characteristics in pig herds.

The biosecurity status of 95 breeder-finisher pig herds was quantified using a risk-based weighted scoring system. Data relating to herd-, farmer- and production-characteristics and to the prophylactic use of antimicrobials were also collected. The average external biosecurity score (measures to prevent pathogens from entering a herd) was 65 (range, 45-89) and the average internal score (measures to reduce the within-herd spread of pathogens) was 52 (range, 18-87).

Modeling fossil energy demands of primary nonferrous metal production: the case of copper.

The methodologies for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of metal resources are rather diverse. Some LCIA methods are based on ore grade changes, but they typically do not consider the impact of changes in primary metal extraction technology. To characterize the impact of technology changes for copper, we modeled and analyzed energy demand, expressed in fossil energy equivalents (FEE) per kilogram of primary copper, taking into account the applied mining method and processing technology.

An experimental model to analyse the risk of introduction of a duck-originated H5 low-pathogenic avian influenza virus in poultry through close contact and contaminative transmission.

Aquatic wild birds are often carriers of low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs). If H5 and H7 LPAIVs are transmitted to poultry and have the opportunity to circulate, a highly pathogenic AIV may arise. Contact with aquatic wild birds is one of the most important ways in which these LPAIVs can be introduced into poultry flocks.

Correlation between veterinary antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals: a report on seven countries.

Objectives: To evaluate correlations between antimicrobial use and the prevalence of resistance in commensal Escherichia coli isolates from pigs, poultry and cattle, using data from publicly available national or international reports from seven European countries.

Methods: The link between the quantities of different classes of antimicrobials administered to food-producing animals per country (expressed in mg/population correction unit) and the prevalence of resistance to the different antimicrobial classes (interpreted by EUCAST epidemiological cut-off values) in E. coli isolates (4831 isolates in total) was assessed by means of polynomial regression analysis and determination of Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

Quantifying the environmental impact of an integrated human/industrial-natural system using life cycle assessment; a case study on a forest and wood processing chain.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool to assess the environmental sustainability of a product; it quantifies the environmental impact of a product's life cycle. In conventional LCAs, the boundaries of a product's life cycle are limited to the human/industrial system, the technosphere. Ecosystems, which provide resources to and take up emissions from the technosphere, are not included in those boundaries.

The absence of zoonotic agents in invasive bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Exotic invasive bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) are considered to exert a considerable negative impact on native amphibian communities. This can be due to competition and predation, but they are also a notorious source of the infectious diseases chytridiomycosis and ranavirosis, affecting amphibian populations globally. Little is known regarding their carriage of other microbial agents that might be transferred to humans or other animals.

The environmental sustainability of microalgae as feed for aquaculture: a life cycle perspective.

The environmental sustainability of microalgae production for aquaculture purposes was analyzed using exergy analysis (EA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). A production process (pilot 2012, 240 m(2)) was assessed and compared with two upscaling scenarios (pilot 2013, 1320 m(2) and first production scale 2015, 2.5 ha).

Salmonella Gallinarum field isolates from laying hens are related to the vaccine strain SG9R.

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serotype Gallinarum can cause severe systemic disease in chickens and a live Salmonella Gallinarum 9R vaccine (SG9R) has been used widely to control disease. Using whole-genome sequencing we found point mutations in the pyruvate dehydrogenase (aceE) and/or lipopolysaccharide 1,2-glucosyltransferase (rfaJ) genes that likely explain the attenuation of the SG9R vaccine strain. Molecular typing using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis and Multiple-Locus Variable number of tandem repeat Analysis showed that strains isolated from different layer flocks in multiple countries and the SG9R vaccine strain were similar.

Moderate prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolates from lettuce, irrigation water, and soil.

Fresh produce is known to carry nonpathogenic epiphytic microorganisms. During agricultural production and harvesting, leafy greens can become contaminated with antibiotic-resistant pathogens or commensals from animal and human sources. As lettuce does not undergo any inactivation or preservation treatment during processing, consumers may be exposed directly to all of the (resistant) bacteria present.