SafeOrganic

Restrictive use of antibiotics in organic animal farming – a potential for safer, high quality products with less antibiotic resistant bacteria

Final Report for the CORE Organic II funded project "Restrictive use of antibiotics in organic animal farming – a potential for safer, high quality products with less antibiotic resistant bacteria - SafeOrganic"

• The level of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from organic vs. conventional pigs has been compared for approximate 25 herds of each production system in DK, FR, IT and SE, by sampling faeces at farm or colon content at slaughterhouse from two pigs per herd. • An E. coli isolate was obtained from each sample and subjected to analysis of MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values for comparison of the resistance towards 10 antibiotics between production systems. Resistance to ampicillin, streptomycin, sulphonamides, tetracycline and trimethoprim was most common – ranging from 14% to 75% of E. coli isolates from conventional pigs and from 1% to 46% of isolates from organic pigs. The resistance towards these five antibiotics varied markedly between the four countries, but the resistance was always significantly lower in organic pigs than in conventional pigs, except for tetracycline in Sweden, where both production systems had a low occurrence. • However, DNA based real-time PCR quantification of cat, strA, sul2, sul1, tetA and tetB genes encoding resistances to chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphonamides and tetracycline, respectively, was unable to show a difference in the occurrence of resistance genes in the microbiota of organic vs. conventional pigs from the same country. • The quantitative level of antimicrobial resistance carried by the individual animal in faeces /intestinal content and on the carcass was assessed by determining the number of E. coli resistant to tetracycline (TET), out of total E. coli (i.e. proportion of TET E. coli). Tetracycline is one of the most commonly used antimicrobials in swine production. Except from Sweden, TET resistant E. coli was found in close to all pigs of both organic and conventional origin in DK, FR and IT. This was unexpected considering the restrictions on antimicrobial usage in organic pig production. Still, the proportion of E. coli carrying TET resistance in the colon was significant lower in the organic pigs, except in Sweden where both production systems had a low occurrence • Organic pigs are often slaughtered together with conventional pigs implying a risk of contaminating organic pork with resistant bacteria. Therefore, the bacteria present in pigs’ own intestinal content was compared with those present on their carcass at end of slaughter to elucidate potential cross-contamination. In France and Denmark, the prevalence of TET resistant E. coli was generally lower on the carcasses than in the colon. However, the observed difference in the proportion of TET resistant E. coli in the colon of organic vs. conventional pigs was no longer apparent on carcasses. This may indicate that organic pigs are prone to lose their inherent lower level of resistance during the slaughter process. France is already slaughtering organic pigs before conventional, which points to the importance of hygienic measures in general. • Different methods were applied in the search for potential markers for (imprudent) antibiotic use in organic animal production. The genetic diversity of bacteria was suggested to be a possible marker as the diversity was hypothesised to be higher in organic pigs due to less selection pressure from antimicrobials. This could however, not be supported as DNA genotyping by PFGE (pulse-field gel electrophoresis) in France revealed a very high genetic diversity of E. coli strains in both production systems and it was not possible to associate specific PFGE profiles to either organic or conventional origin. Also an examination of pigs’ entire intestinal microbiota by pyrosequencing was unable to resolve a difference between organic and conventional pigs. Alternatively, differences in antibiotic resistance profiles were investigated by PCA (Principal Component Analysis) for the potential as marker. PCA of MIC data for E. coli (IT and SE) was shown to be able to point out organic herds with unusual (conventional-like) resistance profiles. The PCA analysis is seen as a promising tool to enable a more targeted control of antimicrobial consumption in organic pig production. • Sampling at slaughterhouses is easier and more cost-effective than sampling of live animals at each farm, but foreign bacteria ingested from the surrounding environment (truck, lairage) may bias results obtained at slaughter. Therefore, we investigated for an intestinal sampling site where the level of antibiotic resistance can be considered to resemble the herd status. This was done by assessing the time for ingested particles to reach different intestinal sampling points. The particles were found to reach the mid-colon in 2 of 6 pigs within 4 h. However, the proportion of TET resistant E. coli in each pig seemed stable in both caecum and mid-colon independent on sampling time (up to 8 h). This supported that that our sampling procedure at slaughterhouse fitted the purpose of our project

Conducted Improvisation

The purpose of this thesis Conducted Improvisation is to study how a musical sign language can effect creativity, musical interaction and sense of freedom in ensemble playing by analyzing Extemporize, a sign system I have developed, with the further goal to explore the pedagogical potential in this practice. The research questions that drive this study are: In what ways does the sign system effect creativity and playfulness in improvised performance? In what ways does the sign system affect the sense of freedom in ensemble performance? In what ways does the sign system effect musical interaction? The material for the survey has been acquired through video documentation of rehearsals and concerts and interviews with the participants. 15 musicians took part in this study whereof 10 of them were interviewed. The results of the study indicate that sign language is effective in working with improvisation in ensemble and can have an impact on both freedom and constraint, it has the possibility to strengthen the voice of the musicians and push them in other musical directions than normally. But conducted improvisation can also create frustrations in the musicians, especially if the sign system is not rehearsed enough.Formålet med denne afhandling Conducted Improvisation er at undersøge, hvordan et musikalsk tegnsprog kan påvirke kreativitet, musikalsk interaktion og følelse af frihed i sammenspilssituationer ved at analysere Extemporize, et tegnsprog jeg har udarbejdet, med yderligere det formål at udforske det pædagogiske potentiale i denne praksis. Forskningsspørgsmålene, der driver denne undersøgelse er: På hvilke måder påvirker tegnsproget kreativitet og leg i improvisation? På hvilke måder påvirker tegnsproget følelsen af frihed i sammenspilssituationer? Hvilken effekt har tegnsproget på musikalsk interaktion? Materialet til undersøgelsen er erhvervet gennem video dokumentation af øvere og koncerter og interviews med deltagerne. 15 musikere deltog i denne undersøgelse, hvoraf 10 af dem blev interviewet. Resultaterne af undersøgelsen viser, at tegnsproget er effektiv i arbejdet med improvisation i ensemble og kan have en indvirkning på både frihed og tvang, det har mulighed for at styrke musikernes stemmer og skubbe dem i andre musikalske retninger end normalt. Men dirigeret improvisation kan også skabe frustrationer i musikerne, især hvis tegnsproget ikke er øvet nok

SafeOrganic - Restrictive use of antibiotics in organic animal farming – a potential for safer, high quality products with less antibiotic resistant bacteria

Main research questions: Antimicrobial resistance (AR) in the food-chain is a concern due to risk of treatment failure of humans. - Do restrictions on antimicrobial (AB) usage in organic pig production lead to lower AR levels in organic pigs compared to conventional ones? - Is lower AR a quality trait of organic pork? - Does slaughtering of organic and conventional pigs together abolish this potential quality trait? - Can markers for imprudent AR use in organic pig herds be identified

Evaluation of intestinal sampling sites in pigs at slaughter for assessing antibiotic resistance level in swine herds

A small-scale study has indicated that faecal samples collected from the mid-colon of pigs at the slaughterhouse within 4 hrs after deliverance from the farm, can be considered representative for presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria the farm. Sampling at slaughterhouses offers an easy/cost-effective alternative to sampling at each far

Restricted use of antibiotics in organic pig farming

Can the restricted use of antibiotics in organic pig farming be documented to provide a safer, high quality meat product with less antibiotic resistant bacteria? The project SafeOrganic aims to document that the restricted use of antimicrobials in organic pig production leads to lower levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria compared with the level in conventional pigs. However, the project will also address the risk of losing this quality parameter, due to a widespread practice of slaughtering organic pigs together with conventional pigs,implying a risk of cross-contamination

Firm-Specific Foreign Exchange Exposure Identification: The Fallacy of the Stock Market Approach

Abstract Previous studies have used the stock market approach to find the aggregate number of (firms with) foreign exchange exposures in a given country, region, or industry. Methodologies have differed in many aspects but two of the most basic differences relate to observation frequency and the choice of market index. Aggregate numbers have been shown to be (marginally) sensitive to the methodology employed. However, a corporate manager, an investor, or a stock analyst following a specific firm is not interested in the sensitivity on an aggregated level but on a firm-specific level. If the results for a specific firm are robust across methodologies, the corporate manager, the investor, or the stock analyst will rely on such results to a larger extent that if the results are highly sensitive to e.g. a change in observation frequency. We apply firm-specific sensitivity analysis to Scandinavian non-financial firms and find limited consistency in the detected exchange rate exposures when altering methodology in terms of observation frequency and choice of market index. The results put a question mark to the validity of the stock market approach for exchange rate exposure identification at the firm-specific level