Lead exposure in an urban population of free-ranging kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Veterinary Science in Wildlife Health at Massey University, Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand

Anthropogenic lead use has resulted in widespread environmental lead contamination known to affect wildlife populations worldwide. Lead is a highly toxic, non-essential heavy metal recognised as a cause of morbidity and mortality in birds. Ecotoxicological investigations in wild birds have thus far prioritised waterfowl and raptor species and primarily addressed contamination in natural ecosystems. Urban areas are increasingly associated with high levels of heavy metal contamination, however the risk of lead exposure in urban wildlife is less well known. This study aimed to identify the significance of lead exposure in a well-established urban population of kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis). Blood lead concentrations were assessed in adult and nestling birds to quantify exposure prevalence and magnitude. The impact of lead exposure on physiological and neurological function was assessed using behavioural and physiological parameters. Finally, lead stable isotope analysis was employed to identify the primary sources of lead in the urban environment. Lead exposure is prevalent in this kaka population, with 43.2% of adults and 36.7% of nestlings with detectable blood lead concentrations. Blood lead concentrations in nestlings ranged from <3.3 to 42.9ug/dL, with no detectable neurological or physiological deficits. The pattern of exposure in chicks is suggestive of parental feeding of lead, however detection of lead in some eggshells suggests that maternal transfer is another route of exposure in this species. Blood lead concentrations in adult birds ranged between 3.4 to 50.7ug/dL. Although no acute clinical signs of toxicity were observed, lead exposure was associated with reduced body condition in adults. Behavioural changes were present in one individual with the highest recorded blood lead concentration. Lead isotope ratios in kaka blood samples overlap with isotope values of roof-collected rainwater, suggesting this to be an important source of exposure in this population. The prevalence of lead exposure observed in this study suggests that lead is a threat to kaka interacting with urban areas. Wildlife intoxications largely result from anthropogenic lead sources and this study identifies a previously undescribed urban source of lead in wildlife. The well-described subclinical and persistent effects of lead highlight the need for abatement strategies to reduce lead exposure and its effects in this population

The Political Morality of Convergence in Contract

One of the most interesting recent developments in contract law has been an academic and political effort to integrate private law. The proposed Common European Sales Law was ultimately withdrawn, and a series of setbacks, including the British referendum to exit the EU, has recast the politics of convergence. But it remains an objective for many European scholars. This essay considers the wisdom of convergence on a single law of transactions from the perspective of philosophical contract theory. The essay proceeds by disaggregating the rights at stake in contract law. It characterises the formal right to contract and describes its moral impetus as one that should underwrite contract law in all states, especially liberal states. But the essay argues that the legitimate contours of the formal right are contingent on tenets of political culture that vary across Member States. Similarly, substantive regulation of contract is morally compulsory and serves universal interests; the essay takes regulation of permissible work and remuneration for work as examples. But the rules and standards that best advance those moral interests depend on economic facts specific to individual political communities. The essay concludes by arguing that contract law is a poor tool by which to accelerate political and economic convergence

Production Liability

It is well known that many consumer goods are produced under dangerous working conditions. Employers that directly supervise the production of these goods evade enforcement. Activists and scholars have argued that we must hold the manufacturers and retailers that purchase goods made in sweatshops accountable. However, there has been little movement toward such accountability. Responsibility for the conditions under which goods are made—what I call “production liability”—entails assigning responsibility for workers to firms that do not directly employ them. Production liability, therefore, conflicts with deep intuitions about the boundaries of individual responsibility. This Article offers a moral and economic defense of production liability that is responsive to that challenge. The Article identifies the particular moral responsibility that manufacturers bear as a public form of complicity. It further considers the economic logic of assigning legal liability to such firms and the optimal form that liability should take. This Article makes the case that production liability can update our legal regime for employment in the way that products liability did for consumer law

Optimum Design of High Speed Prop-Rotors

The objective of this research is to develop optimization procedures to provide design trends in high speed prop-rotors. The necessary disciplinary couplings are all considered within a closed loop optimization process. The procedures involve the consideration of blade aeroelastic, aerodynamic performance, structural and dynamic design requirements. Further, since the design involves consideration of several different objectives, multiobjective function formulation techniques are developed

Performance of an optimized rotor blade at off-design flight conditions

An investigation is made of the dynamic and aerodynamic performance of a helicopter rotor previously optimized for minimum 4/rev vertical shear and blade weight subject to certain dynamic and structural constraints. The program CAMRAD which was used in designing the optimized blade is used for both dynamic and aerodynamic analaysis. The behavior of the optimized rotor is analyzed over a wide range of operating conditions and for a larger number of rotor characteristics than those considered in designing the blade. To assess the dynamic behavior, the blade root vibratory shears and moments that are transmitted to the rotor hub are calculated. The aerodynamic performance assessments are made based on the power required by the rotor for a given rotor task, the rotor lifting efficiencies, maximum rotor thrust envelopes and the control margins. Results are presented for the optimized blade and the control margins. Results are presented for the optimized blade and the reference blade, which was used as the baseline for the optimized blade, for two rotor tasks