2014 Swine CAFO Study SE for Agricultural Antibiotic Resistance in Mississippi State, Mississippi The environmental influence of farm management in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) can yield vast changes to the microbial biota and ecological structure of both the pig and waste manure lagoon wastewater. While some of these changes may not be negative, it is possible that CAFOs can enrich antibiotic resistant bacteria or pathogens based on farm type, thereby influencing the impact imparted by the land application of its respective wastewater. The purpose of this study was to measure the microbial constituents of swine-sow, -nursery, and -finisher farm manure lagoon wastewater and determine the changes induced by farm management. A total of 37 farms were visited in the Mid-South USA and analyzed for the genes 16S rRNA, spaQ (Salmonella spp.), Camp-16S (Campylobacter spp.), tetA, tetB, ermF, ermA, mecA, and intI using quantitative PCR. Additionally, 16S rRNA sequence libraries were created. Overall, it appeared that finisher farms were significantly different from nursery and sow farms in nearly all genes measured and in 16S rRNA clone libraries. Nearly all antibiotic resistance genes were detected in all farms. Interestingly, the mecA resistance gene (e.g. methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) was below detection limits on most farms, and decreased as the pigs aged. Finisher farms generally had fewer antibiotic resistance genes, which corroborated previous phenotypic data; additionally, finisher farms produced a less diverse 16S rRNA sequence library. Comparisons of Camp-16S and spaQ GU (genomic unit) values to previous culture data demonstrated ratios from 10 to 10,000:1 depending on farm type, indicating viable but not cultivatable bacteria were dominant. The current study indicated that swine farm management schemes positively and negatively affect microbial and antibiotic resistant populations in CAFO wastewater which has future “downstream” implications from both an environmental and public health perspective.

An Environmental Component of a "One Health" approach, the mission of the Agricultural Antibiotic Resistance (AgAR) project is to develop practical tools and protocols to measure antibiotic drugs, resistant bacteria and resistance genes in agriculturally-impacted soil, water, air, and food; design and evaluate agricultural best management practices to limit the persistence and spread of antibiotic resistance from agroecosystems; facilitate sharing of ideas and resources among ARS scientists by establishing an agency-wide network of researchers with the common goal of conducting science-based research on AgAR topics. ANTIBIOTIC DRUGS: Which drugs are the most relevant for each type of ag production system? At what level do excreted drugs continue to provide selective pressure in the environment? RESISTANT BACTERIA: What is the relative contribution of specific bacteria to resistance in human clinical settings? Are some bacteria more likely than others to donate or receive resistance genes? What is the relative contribution of clonal spread of pathogens versus horizontal gene transfer? RESISTANT GENES: How long do specific types of genes persist in agricultural samples? What conditions increase or decrease the likelihood of a successful transfer in manure, soil, water, and air? What is the role of the natural soil "resistome"? AgAR Network Goals: Connect ARS researchers at multiple locations in order to develop and assess methods for measuring resistance that are robust, and that are validated across production systems and geographical areas. Identify which types of resistance are relevant to measure, based on an understanding of individual production systems and prioritized human health threats as identified by WHO and CDC Encourage the collection of baseline data and control samples so that the impact of agricultural best management practices can be accurately determined. Assess persistence of antibiotic drugs, resistant bacteria and resistance genes in environmental and pre-harvest settings. Long term goal: Discover the details of how, and at what rate bacteria and genes move back and forth between animals and humans through agricultural systems (soil, water, air wildlife, insects, and food). The AgAR network is composed of ARS scientists with an interest in understanding the ecology of antibiotic resistance in soil, water, air, insects, wildlife, and food. The network currently represents 4 national programs at 10 ARS locations across the United States, with over 200 peer-reviewed publications on AgAR topics, authored and co-authored by over 70 current and former ARS employees. Activities: Facilitate routine communication between AgAR members to address priority research areas, encourage agency and location wide collaboration and minimize research overlap. Establish a framework for the cross-laboratory validation of AgAR methods. Serve as a resource to scientists, stakeholders and administrators on current and past projects that address AgAR. Provide a point of contact for agency coordinators to solicit information and transmit agency goals to relevant research groups. Importance: While there is broad agreement the use of antibiotics in food animals has the potential to adversely impact human clinical outcomes, the details of how this happens are unknown, and there is a critical need for information on antibiotic resistance (AR) in agricultural settings (AgAR). U.S. and international health organizations have taken the lead on identifying specific antibiotic drugs and resistant infections that are critical to human health. ARS is uniquely positioned to provide information on the "farm" side of the "farm to fork continuum". ARS scientists are able to address these questions in a practical way, by combining their experience (over 200 peer-reviewed ARS publications on antibiotic resistance) with their applied understanding of agricultural production systems. ORGANIZATION: Scientists work on their own, individual research projects. The AgAR network provides resources to participants to encourage collaboration across program areas and geographical location. MANAGEMENT: The AgAR network is operated using a wiki community approach. All participating scientists are encouraged to contribute to and share in the community resources. Currently, the group resources will be curated by the group coordinator, with input and guidance from a five person advisory panel. RESOURCES: Bibliography of peer-reviewed AgAR papers by ARS authors • AgAR topic reference lists • information on meetings and conferences • "AR_in_environment" listserve • Community webinars

In 2002 and 2003 a collaborative effort was undertaken between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the USGS Menlo Park, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and Electromagnetic Instruments Inc. to study the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii using the magnetotelluric (MT) technique. The work was motivated by a desire to improve understanding of the magma reservoirs and conduits within Kilauea and the East and Southwest Rift zones, which has implications for understanding Kilaueas plumbing system. An improved understanding of the rift zones has implications in understanding large-scale landslides that are generated in the Hilina Slump, which produce significant impacts on coastal communities. Up to eight stations operated simultaneously, with multiple remote reference sites, and data were processed using multi-station robust processing techniques. In total, data were acquired at 70 sites over the Southwest and East rift zones. Good to excellent quality data were obtained even in the harshest conditions, such as those encountered on the fresh lava flows of the East Rift Zone (ERZ), where electrical contact resistances are on the order of 100 kOhm. This data supports the continuing efforts to increase geothermal power on the island of Hawaii. Each of the 70 EDI files are the MT impedance tensors for 1 site. There is also a description of the processing of the data and a site map showing the locations of each site.

Polymer-cement experiments were conducted in order to assess the chemical and thermal properties of various polymer-cement composites. This file set includes the following polymer-cement analyses: Polymer-Cement Composite Synthesis Polymer-Cement Interactions by Atomistic Simulations Polymer-Cements Compressive Strength & Fracture Toughness Polymer-Cements Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Analysis Polymer-Cements Resistance to Thermal Shock-CO2 and H2SO4 Attack Polymer-Cements Rheology Analysis Polymer-Cements Self-Repairing Permeability Analysis Polymer-Cements Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) Compositional Analysis Polymer-Cements Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Total Organic and Inorganic Carbon Analysis (TOC and TIC) Polymer-Cements X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Analysis

Data includes characterization results for novel thermoelectric materials developed specifically for power generation from low temperature geothermal brines. Materials characterization data includes material density, thickness, resistance, Seebeck coefficient. This research was carried out by Novus Energy Partners in Cooperation with Southern Research Institute for a Department of Energy Sponsored Project.