Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in GB pig herds : farm characteristics associated with heterogeneity in seroprevalence

Background: The between- and within-herd variability of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) antibodies were investigated in a cross-sectional study of 103 British pig herds conducted 2003–2004. Fifty pigs from each farm were tested for anti-PRRSV antibodies using ELISA. A binomial logistic model was used to investigate management risks for farms with and without pigs with PRRSV antibodies and multilevel statistical models were used to investigate variability in pigs' log ELISA IRPC (relative index × 100) in positive herds. Results: Thirty-five herds (34.0%) were seronegative, 41 (39.8%) were seropositive and 27 (26.2%) were vaccinated. Herds were more likely to be seronegative if they had < 250 sows (OR 3.86 (95% CI 1.46, 10.19)) and if the nearest pig herd was ≥ 2 miles away (OR 3.42 (95% CI 1.29, 9.12)). The mean log IRPC in seropositive herds was 3.02 (range, 0.83 – 5.58). Sixteen seropositive herds had only seropositive adult pigs. In these herds, pigs had -0.06 (95% CI -0.10, -0.01) lower log IRPC for every mile increase in distance to the nearest pig unit, and -0.56 (95% CI -1.02, -0.10) lower log IRPC when quarantine facilities were present. For 25 herds with seropositive young stock and adults, lower log IRPC were associated with isolating purchased stock for ≥ 6 days (coefficient - 0.46, 95% CI -0.81, -0.11), requesting ≥ 48 hours 'pig-free time' from humans (coefficient -0.44, 95% CI -0.79, -0.10) and purchasing gilts (coefficient -0.61, 95% CI -0.92, -0.29). Conclusion: These patterns are consistent with PRRSV failing to persist indefinitely on some infected farms, with fadeout more likely in smaller herds with little/no reintroduction of infectious stock. Persistence of infection may be associated with large herds in pig-dense regions with repeated reintroduction

Public Safety Update

This presentation discusses: Current Department Services and Growing with our Community

Effect of pre-exposure to methamphetamine in male rats at two training levels subthreshold to habit

Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behaviors become more or less likely to reoccur after being rewarded or punished. Habits are motor responses performed automatically in response to a particular stimulus, which can be adaptive because it frees up cognitive workspace for other tasks. Habits form after repeated pairings of the behavior with a desirable outcome, and eventually the behavior will occur even when the outcome is no longer rewarding. The parallel to addiction is not coincidental, as substance abuse is thought to change the networks involved with habit. However, the neural circuitry underlying the transition in behavior from goal-directed to environment-elicited is not completely understood. Exposure to psychostimulants prior to training has been shown to decrease the number of reward exposures needed during operant training for an animal to begin to respond habitually rather than in a goal-directed manner. This study investigated the effect of pre-exposure to methamphetamine on Long Evans male rats with 120 and 160 response-reinforcer exposures on a variable-interval 30-s schedule, which is a level of reinforcement subthreshold to habit in male rats. Following pairing of the sugar-pellet reward with taste-aversive lithium chloride, the rate of responding (nose-poke behavior) for both the methamphetamine pre-treated and control groups showed that both were sensitive to reward devaluation. This implies that the methamphetamine pre-treatment did not accelerate habit formation at either level of training. This is a divergence from the literature which predicted that pre-exposure with psychostimulants would accelerate habit formation in males

Increasing Narcan Distribution in a Primary Care Setting

Opioid use and overdoses are an ongoing health issue in Maine, especially in the Lewiston/Auburn metropolitan area. While Maine has a robust Narcan distribution system, it is not frequently given out in primary care settings. Though interviews and an anonymous survey, it seems the reason behind this is multifaceted, so multiple interventions were created to target both patient awareness and education and provider screening and prescription, with the goal of increasing distribution in this setting.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/2017/thumbnail.jp

The effects of microcomputers on the mathematical skills of low-achieving students

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using the microcomputer to improve mathematics achievement for those students who did not pass the mathematics section of the State Literacy Passport Test in Grade 6.;The sample consisted of nine classes of seventh grade students who had not passed the LPT and whose parent(s) committed to the five week summer program. Students were assigned randomly to the nine teachers. The teachers were then assigned randomly to either the microcomputer or non microcomputer group with five being assigned to the microcomputer group. to control for teacher variability staff development and a detailed teacher\u27s guide were provided. The topics covered in both groups were those which are addressed on the State LPT: numbers and numeration; relations and functions; computation with whole numbers, decimals, and fractions; measurement and geometry; and applications. The lessons for both groups included identical teacher directed activities. Students in the microcomputer group were assigned in pairs to a microcomputer and spent approximately 20% of the time using the microcomputer for follow-up activities whereas the students in the non microcomputer group worked on more conventional follow-up activities such as games and puzzles. The students attended classes for two and one-half hours, four days a week for five weeks.;A literacy passport test developed by the project director which was previously examined for content and concurrent validity and reliability was the posttest assessment. The pretest assessment was the State LPT.;The major findings of the study were: (1) Students in the microcomputer group scored significantly higher on the posttest for the total test and for the subtests of--computation with decimals, computations with fractions, and measurement and geometry. (2) Students in the microcomputer group experienced significant posttest gains on the subtest on computation with whole numbers but the posttest differences were not significant (p {dollar}\u3c{dollar}.05). This was due to the significant differences in pretest scores in favor of the non microcomputer group

Competition in financial services

In the financial services sector, the failure of a single institution can have a compounding effect on the sector, and on national and global economies. In particular, there is systemic risk from inter-institution lending, and this effect is more complex in Australia due to the small number of major players. In retail banking in Australia, following a similar practice in most developed countries, if an unsecured creditor is a retail depositor, their deposit is insured by the government. That is, if a retail bank fails, the Federal Government will make the depositors whole. The regulatory system, particularly the prudential regulatory system, is designed to protect depositors’ and borrowers’ interests, and this protects the interest of the government. The effect is that regulatory policy on banking has prioritised stability in consideration of the sovereign risk associated with the risk of retail bank failure. However, this approach also creates a policy dilemma. The dilemma concerns the extent to which the retail banking sector can attain the benefits of the vigorous rivalry from effective and efficient competition, without unduly risking stability and the potential of a devastating call on the public purse. Specifically, in the context of effective and efficient competition, there is limited competitiveness in retail banking in Australia. This is reflected in the static state of market share between the four major banks, and very slow and marginal improvements gains even by strong second tier competitors. Furthermore, the retail banking sector’s capacity for product and service innovation is limited. Although the absence of vigorous rivalry is conducive to stability within the retail banking sector, it is likely to detract from the welfare of retail banking consumers. Furthermore, the level of innovation may not be as high as is feasible and barriers, including prudential regulatory barriers to entry or expansion, mean that the extent of rivalry is unlikely to change without some form of promotion of competition. The paper consequently makes a four-point recommendation for the removal of the ‘four pillars’ policy:&nbsp; The four major banks are protected by an implicit government guarantee that impacts market operation with little observable benefit to consumers, and may be a source of consumer disutility.&nbsp; The four pillars policy has prompted increased vertical integration within the sector, particularly in the area of mortgage products.&nbsp; There are sufficient merger protections provided by Part IV of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).&nbsp; Competition and contestability arise when there are reasonably low barriers to entry and exit from the sector. It is not clear that low barriers to entry exist in Australia, and evidence to support this view comes from the failure of international banks to gain a significant toehold in the retail banking sector in Australia. One deterrent to entry is the regulatory focus on the four pillars. The authors recognise that this position is at odds with the view of the Financial System Inquiry. However, the rationale in the report of the Inquiry was to prevent mergers, and the current competition law achieves this objective. The paper recommends two specific policies to promote competition in retail banking without the structural intervention that would otherwise be required to improve the intensity of competition in the retail banking sector:&nbsp; Introduce bank account number portability. This would use ‘know your customer’ and central database systems in a similar form to those that have been used for mobile number portability in Australia for the last decade and a half.&nbsp; Introduce customer access to data held by banks to allow third parties to compare bank offerings across all banks.&nbsp; Significantly, these two recommendations are consistent with the productivity proposals issued by the UK Government in July 2015. The research paper also examines crowd equity funding as a disruptive force in the banking sector, and recommends that crowd equity funding be permitted with the following safeguards:&nbsp; ASIC should take an active role in monitoring crowd equity funding and be willing to sue in case of fraudulent action.&nbsp; Any intermediary online platform should have a financial services licence with limited duty of care.&nbsp; There should be a cap for business raisings through crowd equity funding of $2 million in a 12-month period.&nbsp; Crowd equity funding is a social phenomenon. Through its use of social media, it has attracted people who have previously never been interested in investing in companies. Instead of being feared, this interest should be nurtured through the promotion of investors’ financial education

The effectiveness of a social media intervention for reducing portion sizes in young adults and adolescents

open access journalAbstract Objective: Adolescents and young adults select larger portions of energy-dense food than recommended. The majority of young people have a social media profile, and peer influence on social media may moderate the size of portions selected. Methods: Two pilot-interventions examined whether exposure to images of peers’ portions of high-energy-dense (HED) snacks and sugar-sweetened-beverages (SSBs) on social media (Instagram) would influence reported desired portions selected on a survey. Confederate peers posted ‘their’ portions of HED snacks and SSBs on Instagram. At baseline and intervention end participants completed surveys that assessed desired portion sizes. Results: In intervention 1, Undergraduate students (N=20, Mean age=19.0y, SD=0.65y) participated in a two-week intervention in a within-subjects design. Participants reported smaller desired portions of HED snacks and SSBs following the intervention, and smaller desired portions of HED snacks for their peers. In intervention 2, adolescents (N=44, Mean age=14.4y, SD=1.06y) participated in a four-week intervention (n=23) or control condition (n=21) in a between-subjects design. Intervention 2 did not influence adolescents to reduce their desired reported portion sizes of HED snacks or SSBs relative to control. Conclusions: These preliminary studies demonstrated that social media is a feasible way to communicate with young people. However, while the intervention influenced young adults’ reported desired portions and social norms regarding their peers’ portions, no significant impact on desired reported portion sizes was found for HED snacks and SSBs in adolescents. Desired portion sizes of some foods and beverages may be resistant to change via a social media intervention in this age group

[Introduction] Settler colonialism and French Algeria

The unusual trajectory of settler colonialism in French Algeria, which culminated in Algerian independence and the exodus of European settlers, has often limited the interest of scholars who seek to understand settler colonialism as an enduring structure of oppression. For their part, scholars of French Algeria have yet to fully engage with the intellectual propositions of settler colonial studies, which has focused primarily on Anglophone and Israeli–Palestinian contexts. The Introduction seeks to open a dialogue between these groups of scholars, mobilising the propositions of settler colonial theory to outline the dynamics of the operations of power in settler colonial Algeria, before describing the evolution of these dynamics over five historical phases. Correspondingly, by bringing to the fore questions of cultural and linguistic diversity within both settler and indigenous populations, and underscoring the emotional dynamics of Empire, it is hoped that research on French Algeria might help shed light on understudied aspects of other settler colonial contexts. Through such dialogue, we seek to facilitate comparative and globally connected histories of settler colonialism, bringing multiple imperial spaces into the same frame of analysis

Dissipation in monotonic and non-monotonic relaxation to equilibrium

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study field free relaxation from a non-uniform initial density, monitored using both density distributions and the dissipation function. When this density gradient is applied to colour labelled particles, the density distribution decays to a sine curve of fundamental wavelength, which then decays conformally towards a uniform distribution. For conformal relaxation, the dissipation function is found to decay towards equilibrium monotonically, consistent with the predictions of the relaxation theorem. When the system is initiated with a more dramatic density gradient, applied to all particles, non-conformal relaxation is seen in both the dissipation function and the Fourier components of the density distribution. At times, the system appears to be moving away from a uniform density distribution. In both cases, the dissipation function satisfies the modified second law inequality, and the dissipation theorem is demonstrated