Eurofins (Germany)

Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced via pyrolysis that is increasingly recognized for its role in carbon sequestration, particularly through its application in agriculture and materials. However, accurately predicting the long-term persistence of biochar in the environment remains challenging. While incubation trials have been widely used to assess biochar degradation, their extrapolation beyond centennial timescales is uncertain. In this study, we evaluate the consistency between three physicochemical characterization methods that are considered as proxies for biochar persistence—hydropyrolysis (HyPy), solid-state electric conductivity (SEC), and elemental analysis to obtain molar hydrogen:carbon ratios. We produced 42 biochars from straw and wood using a continuously operated pilot-scale auger reactor at temperatures ranging from 400 to 800 °C under otherwise constant pyrolysis conditions. We then systematically analyzed the elemental composition, SEC and the fraction of biochar carbon that is resistant to HyPy (BCHyPy). Hydropyrolysis eliminates all free and covalently bound non-aromatic species and all aromatic species consisting of up to seven fused rings. Our results confirm that BCHyPy content increases with pyrolysis temperature and stabilizes above 600–680 °C, reaching >90% of total carbon in high-temperature biochars. Similarly, SEC increased exponentially with pyrolysis severity, correlating strongly with BCHyPy and H/C molar ratio. The latter has so far been used to predict biochar persistence. Our findings from a controlled temperature series of biochars highlight that SEC and BCHyPy could be useful proxies for parameterizing multi-pool decay models of biochars produced in practice.

Abstract Background In the United States, the use of Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed, approved, or cleared tests is required for infectious disease screening and determining the eligibility of deceased donors for all Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products (HCT/Ps). With the discontinuation of two manual enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) tests, automated Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) technology was introduced as the primary alternative. This study compares serologic reactivity rates between manual EIA and automated CMIA methods. Methods Serology testing was performed on blood specimens from deceased tissue and cornea donors using either manual EIA assays or automated CMIA platforms. A retrospective analysis of approximately 140,000 donors was conducted to evaluate assay-specific reactive rates. Concordance between serology and Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) results was also assessed. Results Reactive rates for HBsAg, HIV-1/2 antibodies, and HTLV-I/II antibodies increased following the transition to CMIA-based testing compared to manual EIA methods. However, these increases were not associated with a corresponding rise in NAT reactive results, indicating a potential increase in false-positive or non-viremic results. Conclusions Automated testing offers improved quality control and reduces variability associated with manual techniques. However, the shift to CMIA assays resulted in a higher number of reactive serology results, leading to increased donor ineligibility despite negative NAT results. The data presented here highlights the potential impact on donor deferral rates for tissue and cornea donors due to assay platform changes.

Purpose This is an official guideline of the German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics ( Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe , DGGG), the Austrian Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics ( Österreichische Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe , ÖGGG) and the Swiss Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics ( Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe , SGGG). Shoulder dystocia is a rare but feared obstetric complication with potentially far-reaching medical consequences for mother and child. The purpose of this guideline is to standardize the processes which provide individual obstetric solutions for shoulder dystocia in accordance with current scientific knowledge and current clinical practice. The aim is also to emphasize that no matter how good the medical care, shoulder dystocia and its associated complications cannot be entirely prevented and are not fully controllable. Methods Representative members from different medical specialties were commissioned by the guidelines programm of the DGGG, OEGGG and SGGG to develop this S2k-guideline using a structured consensus process. Recommendations The guideline provides recommendations about the definition, diagnosis, epidemiology, risk factors and prevention, logistics, and measures to treat shoulder dystocia including an algorithm for action, and the associated complications, documentation requirements, debriefing, forensic aspects, education, training and simulation as well as follow-up discussions on the shoulder dystocia event.

An inhalation-based Biopharmaceutics Classification System for pulmonary drugs (iBCS) holds the perspective to allow for scientifically sound prediction of differences in the in vivo performance of orally inhaled drug products (OIDPs).A set of nine drug substances were selected, that are administered via both the oral and pulmonary routes. Their solubility was determined in media representative for the oral (Fasted State Simulated Intestinal Fluid (FaSSIF)) and pulmonary (Alveofact medium and Simulated Lung Fluid (SLF)) routes of administration to confirm the need for a novel approach for inhaled drugs. The complexity of these media was then stepwise reduced with the purpose of understanding the contribution of their components to the solubilizing capacity of the media. A second reason for varying the complexity was to identify a medium that would allow robust but accurate dissolution testing. Hence, Hank’s balanced salt solution (HBSS) as a medium used in many in vitro biological tests, non-buffered saline solution, and water were included.For some drug substances (salbutamol sulfate, tobramycin, isoniazid, and tiotropium bromide), no significant differences were observed between the solubility in the media used. For other drugs, however, we observed either just small (rifampicin, budesonide, salmeterol) or unexpectedly large differences (beclomethasone dipropionate).Based on the minimum theoretical solubility required for their common pulmonary dose in 10 ml of lung lining fluid, drug solubility was classified as either high or low. Two high solubility and two low solubility compounds were then selected for refined solubility testing in pulmonary relevant media by varying their content of phospholipids, surfactant proteins and other proteins.The solubility of drug substances in simulated lung lining fluids was found to be dependent on the physicochemical properties of the drug substance and the composition of the media. While a pulmonary dissolution medium that would fit all drugs could not be established, our approach may provide guidance for finding the most suitable dissolution medium for a given drug substance and better designing in vitro tests for predicting the in vivo performance of inhalable drug products.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of Raman spectroscopy for pre-diagnostic estimation of weed response to bleaching herbicides. Model plants were Chenopodium album and Abutilon theophrasti treated with mesotrione (120 g a.i. ha−1). Raman single-point measurements were taken 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after herbicide application from different points on the leaves. Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out on data normalized by the highest intensity band at 1522 cm−1 and using spectral region from 950 to 1650 cm−1 comprising mainly contributions of carotenoids. The carotenoids by intensive band at ∼1522 cm−1 and bands with lower intensity at ∼1155 and 1007 cm−1 in treated plants were confirmed. According to PC1 (the first principal component) and PC2 (the second principal component), the highest intensity bands responsible for treatment differentiation in C. album could be assigned to chlorophyll, lignin, and carotenes. According to PC1 in A. theophrasti leaves the treatment differences could be observed 7 days after mesotrione treatment and PC2 gave a clear separation between all control and treated leaf samples. Raman spectroscopy may be a good complement to invasive analytical methods, in assessing the plant abiotic stress induced by bleaching herbicides.

The foliar wash-off coefficient is a parameter used by environmental fate models to estimate the amount of chemical removed from leaf surfaces by rainfall. In the European Union it is used by FOCUS surface water models to estimate soil loadings following rainfall after leaf surfaces have been treated with plant protection products. Currently, a default value of 0.5/cm is assumed for this parameter, although there is provision to provide experimental data to replace this default. The European Food Safety Authority proposed to increase the default parameter value to 1.0/cm. This increases the need for experimental refinement studies. However, no guidance for a harmonized protocol exists to estimate this parameter. We describe the results of a ring-test conducted to start a process of developing a harmonized experimental protocol to measure the foliar wash-off parameters, conducted by several laboratories across Europe. The proposed design uses whole plants (rather than individual leaves) to retain as much realism as possible. The extent of wash-off is then determined by comparison of compound residues in two sets of plants (with and without a defined rainfall event) measured using a fully validated crop residue method. This initial ring test used tebuconazole (Folicur EW 250) sprayed at 100 g ai/ha onto tomato plants at BBCH25. Each laboratory measured the residues before and after a rainfall event of 20 mm/h for 1 h and calculated the percentage of wash-off from these data. There was good agreement across the eight participating laboratories with a mean percentage of wash-off of 66.8% and a 95% confidence interval of ±11.8%. Determination of robust wash-off parameters was therefore considered feasible using the proposed test design. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:535-541. © 2022 SETAC.

In Europe, the risk assessment for bees at the European Union or national level has always focussed on potential impacts on honeybees. During the revision of the European Food Safety Authority bee guidance it was explicitly stated that bumblebees and solitary bees should be considered as well and consequently concerns were raised regarding the representativeness of honeybees for these other bee species. These concerns originate from differences in size as well as differences in behavioral and life history traits of other bee species. In response to this concern, the non-Apis working group of the International Commission for Plant-Pollinator Relationships initiated a ring-test of a semifield tunnel study design using the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Nine laboratories participated, validating and improving the proposed design over a 2-year period. The intention of the ring-test experiments was to develop and if possible, establish a test protocol to conduct more standardized semifield tests with bumblebees. In the present study, the results of the ring-tests are summarized and discussed to give recommendations for a promising experimental design. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:2548-2564. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) are the most common type of passive air sampler used for a range of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), including regulated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and emerging contaminants (e.g., novel flame retardants, phthalates, current-use pesticides). Data from PUF-PAS are key indicators of effectiveness of global regulatory actions on SVOCs, such as the Global Monitoring Plan of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. While most PUF-PAS use similar double-dome metal shielding, there is no standardized dome size, shape, or deployment configuration, with many different PUF-PAS designs used in regional and global monitoring. Yet, no information is available on the comparability of data from studies using different PUF-PAS designs. We brought together 12 types of PUF-PAS used by different research groups around the world and deployed them in a multi-part intercomparison to evaluate the variability in reported concentrations introduced by different elements of PAS monitoring. PUF-PAS were deployed for 3 months in outdoor air in Kjeller, Norway in 2015–2016 in three phases to capture (1) the influence of sampler design on data comparability, (2) the influence of analytical variability when samplers are analyzed at different laboratories, and (3) the overall variability in global monitoring data introduced by differences in sampler configurations and analytical methods. Results indicate that while differences in sampler design (in particular, the spacing between the upper and lower sampler bowls) account for up to 50 % differences in masses collected by samplers, the variability introduced by analysis in different laboratories far exceeds this amount, resulting in differences spanning orders of magnitude for POPs and PAHs. The high level of variability due to analysis in different laboratories indicates that current SVOC air sampling data (i.e., not just for PUF-PAS but likely also for active air sampling) are not directly comparable between laboratories/monitoring programs. To support on-going efforts to mobilize more SVOC data to contribute to effectiveness evaluation, intercalibration exercises to account for uncertainties in air sampling, repeated at regular intervals, must be established to ensure analytical comparability and avoid biases in global-scale assessments of SVOCs in air caused by differences in laboratory performance.