Exposure of workers to dust and bioaerosol on a poultry farm

Poultry houses are known for generating excessive dust, which originates from bedding materials, fiberglass insulations, feed, dried fecal materials, and feather particles. Dust may contain microorganisms, including endotoxins, fungi, and bacteria, that may affect living things when inhaled. Dust that contains living organisms is referred to as bioaerosol, and its particle size may range from 0.5 to 100 µm. Respirable dust, which has an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to 4 µm, can travel to and be deposited in the gas-exchange region of the human respiratory system. This is of particular concern because of the greater health hazard that it poses. The concentrations of respirable dust and bioaerosol measured with samplers attached to the workers (worker-exposure concentrations) were more than 3 (0.82 vs. 0.26 mg/m3) and one-and-a-half times (58.46 vs. 33.79 cfu/m3) higher, respectively, than the concentrations measured with stationary samplers indoors. The respirable dust is still below the permissible exposure limit (5 mg/m3) set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but beyond the limit for animal buildings suggested by other researchers

Returns, Volatility and Liquidity on the ASX: Undisclosed vs. Disclosed Limit Orders

This paper investigates the information content of the two types of limit orders on the Australian Stock Exchange ASX: undisclosed orders (ULOs) and limit orders. Given the large order quantity contained in ULOs, we attempt to examine the impact of ULO submissions, cancellations and executions on price changes and volatility over differing intervals within a day. Motivation is generated by the ASX decision to abolish the use of ULOs in favour of iceberg orders. Intraday analysis shows that the impact of both ULO and disclosed order submissions are no longer than one day. ULO buying/selling order submissions at the best bid/ask price increase/decrease returns and price volatility significantly more than disclosed orders. The cancellations of ULOs cause significantly larger price volatility than disclosed limit order cancellations. Compared with disclosed limit order submissions, there is an increase in liquidity from the significantly reduced spread upon DLO submissions.Intraday effects, Return volatility, Undisclosed limit orders

Unusually rapid β-cell failure in a patient newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes presenting acutely with unprovoked severe hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar state: a case report

Pancreatic β-cell failure on a background of insulin resistance results in the inability to compensate for fasting hyperglycaemia and eventually produces type 2 diabetes mellitus. We describe an interesting case of a patient who presented acutely with unprovoked severe hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar state and was subsequently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus on a background of only impaired first phase insulin secretion 4 months prior. Glucagon stimulation test detected significant β-cell failure necessitating long term exogenous insulin therapy which is highly unusual by virtue of the rapid apparent deterioration

Status Competition and Peer Relationships in Childhood

Status competition is the contest or rivalry between two or more individuals over the pursuit of influence, deference, attention, and associated resources. Peer relationships are associations between two or more individuals that may vary in closeness and duration and which reflect and sometimes lead to the creation of friendships, partnerships, allegiances, and group membership

On the dynamics of social hierarchy: A longitudinal investigation of the rise and fall of prestige, dominance, and social rank in naturalistic task groups

The pursuit of social rank pervades all human societies and the position that an individual occupies within a hierarchy has important effects on their social and reproductive success. Whilst recent research has indicated that there are two distinct routes to rank attainment—dominance (through the induction of fear) and prestige (through respect and admiration)—this empirical evidence has generally provided only a cross-sectional snapshot of how the two processes operate in human hierarchy. Whether dominance and prestige are potentially viable long-term strategies, rather than more effective short-term tactics, for acquiring rank in groups remains an open question. The current research addresses this gap by examining the temporal dynamics between prestige, dominance and social rank using a dynamic, evolutionary approach to understanding human social hierarchy, and thus supplies the first longitudinal empirical assessment of these variables’ relationships. Using naturalistic student project groups comprised of 3-5 teammates, the present research tracks the temporal relationships between prestige, dominance and social rank— provided through round-robin teammate-ratings—from the initial formation of collaborative task groups through to the end of a 16-week long academic semester. Results indicate that, whilst dominance and prestige both promoted social rank in unacquainted groups initially and were distinct processes throughout the period examined, only prestige had a positive effect on social rank over time. Further results reveal that the temporal relationship between prestige and social rank was bidirectional, such that acquiring social rank further perpetuates future prestige. Overall, findings present a framework for the longitudinal distinction between prestige and dominance

Corrigendum: Editorial: Sex and gender effects on power, status, dominance, and leadership – an interdisciplinary look at human and other mammalian societies

In the published article, there was an error in Research investigating sex effects in non-human mammals, paragraph 5. We omitted a few words in two places of the same sentence. The sentence previously stated: “Several papers in this Research Topic investigated whether the degree of dominance of females over males depends on morphological, demographic or ecological factors such as relative body size, adult sex ratio, sexual maturity or mating season.” The corrected sentence appears below: “Several papers in this Research Topic investigated whether the degree of dominance of females over males depends on morphological, demographic, ecological or social factors such as relative body size, adult sex ratio, sexual maturity, mating season or social support.” In the published article, there was an error in Research investigating sex effects in non-human mammals, paragraph 7. We omitted a full sentence citing the results of one study of the Research Topic. This sentence previously stated: “Conversely, Koenig et al. show in wild gray langurs that male dominance appears inflexible across contexts, and that the rare events of female aggression toward males are aimed at infant protection, while most male aggression towards females occur in a feeding context. This work suggests that intersexual feeding competition may contribute to shaping male-female relationships.” The corrected sentence appears below: “Conversely, Koenig et al. show in wild gray langurs that male dominance appears inflexible across contexts, and that the rare events of female aggression toward males are aimed at infant protection, while most male aggression towards females occur in a feeding context. This work suggests that intersexual feeding competition may contribute to shaping male-female relationships. Moreover, McCormick et al. report support for the idea that sex differences in agonistic behavior as well as in social support both mediate female dominance over males in clans of spotted hyenas, even though adult females can often dominate immigrant males without any support.” In the published article, there was an error in Research investigating sex effects in non-human mammals, paragraph 8. A couple of words need to be changed to the following sentence to avoid repeats arising from the inserted sentence. This sentence previously stated: “Finally, in the female-dominated society of spotted hyenas, East et. al., show that male fitness is substantially affected by the loss of offspring due to infanticide by females.” The corrected sentence appears below: “Finally, also in spotted hyenas, East et al. show that male fitness is substantially affected by the loss of offspring due to infanticide by females.” The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.</p

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure