Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring & Modelling Programme ERAMMP Report-65: The development of a hazard map to inform an environmental AMR monitoring programme in Welsh rivers.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the most serious global health threats facing society. Anthropogenic sources of pollution, e.g., human, animal and industrial wastewater and agriculture, have been implicated in the dissemination, selection and transmission of AMR in the environment. This project was commissioned by the Welsh Government as a response to recommendations suggested in the Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring & Modelling Programme (ERAMMP)-55 report (Singer et al., 2021). This project aimed to undertake an evidence-gathering phase compiling data on sources of AMR and AMR driving chemicals (ARDCs) to the environment, and to use these data to inform the creation of hazard maps investigating the effects of catchment-scale pollution on AMR in Welsh river environments. This report details the outcomes of this project. For the evidence-gathering phase of this project, data was sourced that would influence AMR in the natural environment. This included data on anthropogenic sources with the potential to release and/or elevate concentrations of ARDCs, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). Datasets were collated by searching government websites, asking key experts in the field and generating datasets that were previously non-existent (or not publicly available). A total of 54 datasets of relevance were identified and compiled in a spreadsheet along with their attributes (including URL, description, relevance to environmental monitoring of AMR, and spatial and temporal completeness). Hazard maps were produced from the number of datasets included in the data register, attributing a level of AMR hazard to each catchment within Wales. Firstly, a map showing catchments with potentially elevated levels of AMR in the environment was produced. This map was influenced by data indicating total population equivalents served by wastewater treatment plants, combined sewer overflows spills and duration, hospital bed numbers, and the presence of various agricultural inputs. The catchment with the highest unadjusted hazard score, indicative of having the highest likelihood of elevated levels of AMR in the environment, was the Dee Estuary catchment. Secondly, a map ranking catchments by likelihood of human exposure to environmental AMR was produced. This map was driven by the location of designated recreational bathing waters and wild swimming in catchments. The catchments with the highest potential likelihood of exposure of humans to AMR in the environment, were the Dwyfor, Dyfi Lower and Gwyrafi Seiont catchments. Finally, both the AMR abundance hazard map and the exposure map were combined to create a map showing the hazard posed by AMR abundance in catchments where human exposure is likely to occur. Notably, the Gwyrafi Seiont catchment had the highest adjusted hazard score for potential for AMR abundance in catchments where human exposure is most likely to occur (i.e. using these metrics, human exposure to high levels of AMR is most likely to occur). These hazard maps can inform and guide future AMR monitoring campaigns, as well as to test and refine our understanding of the drivers of AMR in the Welsh aquatic environments. The conclusions presented in this report are constrained by the availability of data. The availability of more granular, and temporally and spatially complete data will result in more refined estimations of AMR hazard. The hazard maps are to be used to test assumptions about AMR drivers in the aquatic environment in Wales

Predicting the dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from the wastewater treatment plant to the coast

Viral pathogens including SARS-CoV-2 RNA have been detected in wastewater treatment effluent, and untreated sewage overflows, that pose an exposure hazard to humans. We assessed whether SARS-CoV-2 RNA was likely to have been present in detectable quantities in UK rivers and estuaries during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. We simulated realistic viral concentrations parameterised on the Camel and Conwy catchments (UK) and their populations, showing detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations for untreated but not for treated loading, but also being contingent on viral decay, hydrology, catchment type/shape, and location. Under mean or low river flow conditions, viral RNA concentrated within the estuaries allowing for viral build-up and caused a lag by up to several weeks between the peak in community infections and the viral peak in the environment. There was an increased hazard posed by SARS-CoV-2 RNA with a T90 decay rate >24 h, as the estuarine build-up effect increased. High discharge events transported the viral RNA downstream and offshore, increasing the exposure risk to coastal bathing waters and shellfisheries – although dilution in this case reduced viral concentrations well below detectable levels. Our results highlight the sensitivity of exposure to viral pathogens downstream of wastewater treatment, across a range of viral loadings and catchment characteristics – with implications to environmental surveillance

Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring & Modelling Programme - ERAMMP Report-55: Evidence Review on the Entry and Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the Rural Water Environment in Wales

Antimicrobials (antivirals, antibacterials, antifungals, antiprotozoals, anthelmintics) represent a fraction of all chemicals that are known to select for or aid in the dispersal of ARGs. The chemicals that drive AMR, i.e., antimicrobial resistance-driving chemicals (ARDCs), include metals, biocides, pesticides and many other environmental pollutants. Areas of significant anthropogenic impact can be areas of elevated AMR, including manufacturing and industry discharge, agriculture, municipal wastewater (wastewater treatment plants [WWTPs], combined-sewer outfalls, sewage sludge) and meat animal, egg, sport animal and dairy production activities (feed, chemotherapy, biosecurity, manure, slurry). Concentrations of ARDCs that do not kill bacteria (i.e. sub-lethal concentrations) have been shown to be sufficient to drive the selection and mobilisation of ARGs in many environmental compartments, e.g., freshwater and soils, as would also be the case in humans, e.g., the gut. In addition to chemical pollution, environmental pollutants that can increase the dissemination of ARGs represent a major mechanism for ARG dissemination, particularly from major human and animal waste sources such as wastewater and meat animal production

In-utero exposure to the popular ‘recreational’ drugs MDMA (Ecstasy) and Methamphetamine (Ice, Crystal): preliminary findings

Review of preliminary evidence of the impact of MDMA and Methamphetamine on the developing infan

Towards Solving QCD - The Transverse Zero Modes in Light-Cone Quantization

We formulate QCD in (d+1) dimensions using Dirac's front form with periodic boundary conditions, that is, within Discretized Light-Cone Quantization. The formalism is worked out in detail for SU(2) pure glue theory in (2+1) dimensions which is approximated by restriction to the lowest {\it transverse} momentum gluons. The dimensionally-reduced theory turns out to be SU(2) gauge theory coupled to adjoint scalar matter in (1+1) dimensions. The scalar field is the remnant of the transverse gluon. This field has modes of both non-zero and zero {\it longitudinal} momentum. We categorize the types of zero modes that occur into three classes, dynamical, topological, and constrained, each well known in separate contexts. The equation for the constrained mode is explicitly worked out. The Gauss law is rather simply resolved to extract physical, namely color singlet states. The topological gauge mode is treated according to two alternative scenarios related to the In the one, a spectrum is found consistent with pure SU(2) gluons in (1+1) dimensions. In the other, the gauge mode excitations are estimated and their role in the spectrum with genuine Fock excitations is explored. A color singlet state is given which satisfies Gauss' law. Its invariant mass is estimated and discussed in the physical limit.Comment: LaTex document, 26 pages, one figure (obtainable by contacting authors). To appear in Physical. Review

Strong-coupling study of the Gribov ambiguity in lattice Landau gauge

We study the strong-coupling limit beta=0 of lattice SU(2) Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory. In this limit the lattice spacing is infinite, and thus all momenta in physical units are infinitesimally small. Hence, the infrared behavior can be assessed at sufficiently large lattice momenta. Our results show that at the lattice volumes used here, the Gribov ambiguity has an enormous effect on the ghost propagator in all dimensions. This underlines the severity of the Gribov problem and calls for refined studies also at finite beta. In turn, the gluon propagator only mildly depends on the Gribov ambiguity.Comment: 14 pages, 22 figures; minor changes, matches version to appear in Eur. Phys. J.

A comparison of precipitation and filtration-based SARS-CoV-2 recovery methods and the influence of temperature, turbidity, and surfactant load in urban wastewater

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become a complimentary surveillance tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Viral concentration methods from wastewater are still being optimised and compared, whilst viral recovery under different wastewater characteristics and storage temperatures remains poorly understood. Using urban wastewater samples, we tested three viral concentration methods; polyethylene glycol precipitation (PEG), ammonium sulphate precipitation (AS), and CP select™ InnovaPrep® (IP) ultrafiltration. We found no major difference in SARS-CoV-2 and faecal indicator virus (crAssphage) recovery from wastewater samples (n = 46) using these methods, PEG slightly (albeit non-significantly), outperformed AS and IP for SARS-CoV-2 detection, as a higher genome copies per litre (gc/l) was recorded for a larger proportion of samples. Next generation sequencing of 8 paired samples revealed non-significant differences in the quality of data between AS and IP, though IP data quality was slightly better and less variable. A controlled experiment assessed the impact of wastewater suspended solids (turbidity; 0–400 NTU), surfactant load (0–200 mg/l), and storage temperature (5–20 °C) on viral recovery using the AS and IP methods. SARS-CoV-2 recoveries were >20% with AS and  0.05), whilst surfactant and storage temperature combined were significant negative correlates (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). In conclusion, our results show that choice of methodology had small effect on viral recovery of SARS-CoV-2 and crAssphage in wastewater samples within this study. In contrast, sample turbidity, storage temperature, and surfactant load did affect viral recovery, highlighting the need for careful consideration of the viral concentration methodology used when working with wastewater samples

The Gribov-Zwanziger action in the presence of the gauge invariant, nonlocal mass operator Tr∫d4xFμν(D2)−1FμνTr \int d^4x F_{\mu\nu} (D^2)^{-1} F_{\mu\nu} in the Landau gauge

We prove that the nonlocal gauge invariant mass dimension two operator $F_{\mu\nu} (D^2)^{-1} F_{\mu\nu}$ can be consistently added to the Gribov-Zwanziger action, which implements the restriction of the path integral's domain of integration to the first Gribov region when the Landau gauge is considered. We identify a local polynomial action and prove the renormalizability to all orders of perturbation theory by employing the algebraic renormalization formalism. Furthermore, we also pay attention to the breaking of the BRST invariance, and to the consequences that this has for the Slavnov-Taylor identity.Comment: 30 page