Occupational health and safety of Finnish dairy farmers using automatic milking system

Introduction: Conventional pipeline and parlor milking expose dairy farmers and workers to adverse health outcomes. In recent years, automatic milking system (AMS) has gained much popularity in Finland, but the changes in working conditions when changing to AMS are not well-known. The aim of this study was to investigate the occupational health and safety risks in using AMS, compared to conventional milking systems (CMS). Methods: An anonymous online survey was sent to each Finnish dairy farm with an AMS in 2014. Only those dairy farmers with prior work experience in CMS were included in the final analysis consisting of descriptive statistics and frequency distributions. Results: We received 228 usable responses (131 male and 97 female; 25.2% response rate). The majority of the participants found that AMS had brought flexibility to the organization of farm work, and it had increased leisure time, quality of life, productivity of dairy work, and the attractiveness of dairy farming among the younger generation. In addition, AMS reduced the perceived physical strain on the musculoskeletal system as well as the risk of occupational injuries and diseases, compared to CMS. However, working in close proximity to the cattle, particularly training of heifers to use the AMS, was regarded as a high-risk work task. In addition, the daily cleaning of the AMS and manual handling of rejected milk were regarded as physically demanding. The majority of the participants stated that mental stress caused by the monotonous, repetitive, paced, and hurried work had declined after changing to AMS. However, some indicated increased mental stress because of the demanding management of the AMS. In addition, nightly alarms caused by the AMS, lack of adequately skilled hired labor or farm relief workers, and taking care of the 24/7 standby for the AMS caused mental stress. Conclusions: Based on this study, AMS may have significant potential in the prevention of adverse health outcomes in milking of dairy cows. In addition, AMS may improve the productivity of dairy work and sustainability of dairy production. However, certain characteristics of the AMS require further attention with regard to occupational health and safety risks

Enhanced dielectrophoresis of nanocolloids by dimer formation

We investigate the dielectrophoretic motion of charge-neutral, polarizable nanocolloids through molecular dynamics simulations. Comparison to analytical results derived for continuum systems shows that the discrete charge distributions on the nanocolloids have a significant impact on their coupling to the external field. Aggregation of nanocolloids leads to enhanced dielectrophoretic transport, provided that increase in the dipole moment upon aggregation can overcome the related increase in friction. The dimer orientation and the exact structure of the nanocolloid charge distribution are shown to be important in the enhanced transport

Comment on ``Passage Times for Unbiased Polymer Translocation through a Narrow Pore''

One of the most fundamental quantities associated with polymer translocation through a nanopore is the translocation time $\tau$ and its dependence on the chain length $N$. Our simulation results based on both the bond fluctuation Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics methods confirm the original prediction $\tau\sim N^{2\nu+1}$, which scales in the same manner as the Rouse relaxation time of the chain except for a larger prefactor, and invalidates other scaling claims.Comment: 1+pages, 1 Figure, Minor change

Phase Diagram and Commensurate-Incommensurate Transitions in the Phase Field Crystal Model with an External Pinning Potential

We study the phase diagram and the commensurate-incommensurate transitions in a phase field model of a two-dimensional crystal lattice in the presence of an external pinning potential. The model allows for both elastic and plastic deformations and provides a continuum description of lattice systems, such as for adsorbed atomic layers or two-dimensional vortex lattices. Analytically, a mode expansion analysis is used to determine the ground states and the commensurate-incommensurate transitions in the model as a function of the strength of the pinning potential and the lattice mismatch parameter. Numerical minimization of the corresponding free energy shows good agreement with the analytical predictions and provides details on the topological defects in the transition region. We find that for small mismatch the transition is of first-order, and it remains so for the largest values of mismatch studied here. Our results are consistent with results of simulations for atomistic models of adsorbed overlayers

Nutrient and energy potential for sustainable biorefineries based on wastes of agrifood systems: two regional cases

The aim of our study is to identify business models and opportunities with corporate social responsibility(CSR) presented by biorefineries based on wastes and return flows of agrifood systems. Two regional cases are explored and methods for generalisation are developed

Collapses and explosions in self-gravitating systems

Collapse and reverse to collapse explosion transition in self-gravitating systems are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. A microcanonical ensemble of point particles confined to a spherical box is considered; the particles interact via an attractive soft Coulomb potential. It is observed that the collapse in the particle system indeed takes place when the energy of the uniform state is put near or below the metastability-instability threshold (collapse energy), predicted by the mean-field theory. Similarly, the explosion in the particle system occurs when the energy of the core-halo state is increased above the explosion energy, where according to the mean field predictions the core-halo state becomes unstable. For a system consisting of 125 -- 500 particles, the collapse takes about $10^5$ single particle crossing times to complete, while a typical explosion is by an order of magnitude faster. A finite lifetime of metastable states is observed. It is also found that the mean-field description of the uniform and the core-halo states is exact within the statistical uncertainty of the molecular dynamics data.Comment: 9 pages, 14 figure

[Ge₂]⁴⁻Dumbbells with Very Short Ge−Ge Distances in the Zintl Phase Li₃NaGe₂: A Solid-State Equivalent to Molecular O₂

The novel ternary Zintl phase Li3NaGe2 comprises alkali-metal cations and [Ge2]4− dumbbells. The diatomic [Ge2]4− unit is characterized by the shortest Ge−Ge distance (2.390(1) Å) ever observed in a Zintl phase and thus represents the first Ge=Ge double bond under such conditions, as also suggested by the (8−N) rule. Raman measurements support these findings. The multiple-bond character is confirmed by electronic-structure calculations, and an upfield 6Li NMR shift of −10.0 ppm, which was assigned to the Li cations surrounded by the π systems of three Ge dumbbells, further underlines this interpretation. For the unperturbed, ligand-free dumbbell in Li3NaGe2, the π- bonding py and pz orbitals are degenerate as in molecular oxygen, which has singly occupied orbitals. The partially filled π-type bands of the neat solid Li3NaGe2 cross the Fermi level, resulting in metallic properties. Li3NaGe2 was synthesized from the elements as well as from binary reactants and subsequently characterized crystallographically.O.P. acknowledges support from a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. L.M.S. is further grateful to the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie and the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes for her fellowships. A.J.K. gratefully acknowledges funding from the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and computational resources from CSC – the Finnish IT Center for Science.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/ange.201508044/abstract