Respiratory Health Risks from Exposure to Dust from Soybean and Its Products

Soybean and its processed forms have become an increasingly important part of agriculture, where they are widely used as an animal feedstuff and in an extensive range of human food products. This entails transportation from producer countries, largely the USA and South America, to importer destinations such as the EU and China. Soya is recognised as a dietary allergen, containing a number of identified allergenic proteins. Inhaled soya dust generated by occupational activities also causes respiratory health problems. Reports of “asthma epidemics” in harbour cities identified ill health in the community but were related to occupational activities of unloading/loading bulk soya without appropriate dust control measures. Inhaled allergens in already-sensitised individuals can cause a range of allergic symptoms in the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract, including occupational asthma (OA). Soybean dust can also cause health problems related to lung irritancy. Endotoxin and fungal contamination associated with soya are also potential respiratory hazards. This chapter reviews published data on ill health and symptoms from airborne exposure to allergens in dust from soybean and derivative products and the levels of exposure to dust and major allergens from a range of occupational activities. Other potential health hazards associated with soybean, such as endotoxin and fungal contamination, are also highlighted

The role of reward and reward uncertainty in episodic memory

Declarative memory has been found to be sensitive to reward-related changes in the environment. The reward signal can be broken down into information regarding the expected value of the reward, reward uncertainty and the prediction error. Research has established that high as opposed to low reward values enhance declarative memory. Research in neuroscience suggests that high uncertainty activates the reward system, which could lead to enhanced learning and memory. Here we present the results of four behavioural experiments that examined the role of reward uncertainty in memory, independently from any other theoretically motivated reward-related effects. Participants completed motivated word learn- ing tasks in which we varied the level of reward uncertainty and magnitude. Rewards were dependent upon memory performance in a delayed recognition test. Overall the results suggest that reward uncer- tainty does not affect episodic memory. Instead, only reward outcome appears to play a major role in modulating episodic memory

Levels of house dust mite allergen in cars [Razine alergena prašinskih grinja u automobilima]

This small study investigated house dust mite (HDM) allergen levels in cars and their owners’ homes in north-east Scotland. Dust samples from twelve households and cars were collected in a standardised manner. The dust samples were extracted and measured for the Dermatophagoides group 2 allergens (Der p 2 and Der f 2) and total soluble protein. Allergen levels at homes tended to be higher than in the cars, but not significantly. However, they significantly correlated with paired car dust samples expressed either per unit weight of dust or soluble protein (rho=0.657; p=0.02 and 0.769; p=0.003, respectively). This points to house-to-car allergen transfer, with the car allergen levels largely reflecting levels in the owner’s home. Car HDM allergen levels were lower than those reported in Brazil and the USA. Twenty-five percent of the houses and none of the cars had allergen levels in dust greater than 2000 ng g-1. This value is often quoted as a threshold for the risk of sensitisation, although a number of studies report increased risk of sensitisation at lower levels. This small study does not allow for characterisation of the distribution of HDM allergen in vehicles in this geographic area, or of the likely levels in other warmer and more humid areas of the UK. Cars and other vehicles are an under-investigated micro-environment for exposure to allergenic material. U ovome smo preliminarnom istraživanju izmjerili razine alergena prašinskih grinja u automobilima i domovima njihovih vlasnika u sjevernoistočnoj Škotskoj. Uzorci prašine uzeti su na standardizirani način iz dvanaest domova i dvanaest odgovarajućih automobila. Nakon ekstrakcije izmjerene su razine 2. skupine alergena grinja roda Dermatophagoides (Der p 2 i Der f 2) te njihove ukupne topljive bjelančevine. Razine alergena u kućama bile su mahom više nego u automobilima, ali ne značajno. Uočena je međutim značajna korelacija njihovih razina s razinama u automobilima, bez obzira na to jesu li iskazane udjelom težine po gramu prašine ili topljivim bjelančevinama (rho=0,657; p=0,02 odnosno 0,769; p=0,003). To upućuje na prijenos alergena iz kuće u auto tj. pokazuje da razine alergena u autima odražavaju razine u domovima njihovih vlasnika. Razine alergena kućnih prašinskih grinja u automobilima u Škotskoj bile su niže od onih izmjerenih u Brazilu i SAD-u. U 25 % domova razina alergena bila je viša od 2000 ng g-1, a ni u jednom uzorku nije izmjerena razina viša od te. Ta se vrijednost često smatra graničnom za rizik od senzitizacije, premda neka istraživanja govore o povišenom riziku od senzitizacije i pri nižim razinama alergena. Rezultati ovog istraživanja ne daju uvida u stvarnu prisutnost alergena kućnih prašinskih grinja u vozilima u sjeveroistočnoj Škotskoj niti upućuju na to kolike bi mogle biti njihove razine u toplijim i vlažnijim krajevima Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva. Automobili i ostala vozila zanemareni su kao izvori izloženosti alergenima

Twistor and Polytope Interpretations for Subleading Color One-Loop Amplitudes

We use the relation of the one-loop subleading-color amplitudes to the one-loop $n$-point leading color amplitudes in ${\cal N}=4$ SYM, to derive a polytope interpretation for the former in the $MHV$ case, and a representation in momentum twistor space for the general $N^kMHV$ case. These techniques are explored in detail for the 5-point and 6-point amplitudes. We briefly discuss the implications for IR divergences.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures; typos corrected, citations added; fig2 modified, fig. 1 and explanations added, mostly around eq. 2.11; version accepted in Nucl.Phys.

Directors of public health as ‘a protected species’: qualitative study of the changing role of public health professionals in England following the 2013 reforms

Background: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 gave councils in England responsibility for improving the health of their populations. Public health teams were transferred from the NHS, accompanied by a ring-fenced public health grant. This study examines the changing role of these teams within local government. Methods: In-depth case study research was conducted within 10 heterogeneous councils. Initial interviews (n=90) were carried out between October 2015 and March 2016, with follow-up interviews (n=21) 12 months later. Interviewees included elected members, directors of public health (DsPH) and other local authority officers, plus representatives from NHS commissioners, the voluntary sector and Healthwatch. Results: Councils welcomed the contribution of public health professionals, but this was balanced against competing demands for financial resources and democratic leverage. DsPH – seen by some as a ‘protected species’ – were relying increasingly on negotiating and networking skills to fulfil their role. Both the development of the existing specialist public health workforce and recruitment to, and development of, the future workforce were uncertain. This poses both threats and opportunities. Conclusions: Currently the need for staff to retain specialist skills and maintain UKPH registration is respected. However, action is needed to address how future public health professionals operating within local government will be recruited and developed

A poor man's positive energy theorem: II. Null geodesics

We show that positivity of energy for stationary, or strongly uniformly Schwarzschildian, asymptotically flat, non-singular domains of outer communications can be proved using Galloway's null rigidity theorem.Comment: Latex2e, 24 A4 pages, minor change