Solvent neurotoxicity in vehicle collision repair workers : a thesis by publications presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Chapter 3 was published as Keer, S., Taptiklis, P., Glass, B., McLean, D., McGlothlin, J.D., & Douwes, J. (2018). Determinants of airborne solvent exposure in the collision repair industry. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 62(7), 871–883. Chapter 4 was published as Keer, S., Glass, B., Prezant, B., McLean, D., Pearce, N., Harding, E., Echeverria, D., McGlothlin, J., Babbage, D.R., & Douwes, J. (2016). Solvent neurotoxicity in vehicle collision repair workers in New Zealand. NeuroToxicology, 57, 223-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2016.10.005 Chapter 5 was published as Keer, S., Glass, B., McLean, D., Harding, E., Babbage, D., Leathem, J., Brinkmann, Y., Prezant, B., Pearce, N., & Douwes, J. (2017). Neuropsychological performance in solvent-exposed vehicle collision repair workers in New Zealand. PLoSONE 12(12), e0189108. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189108 Chapter 6 was published as Keer, S., McLean, D., Glass, B., & Douwes, J. (2018). Effects of personal protective equipment use and good workplace hygiene on symptoms of neurotoxicity in solvent-exposed vehicle spray painters. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 62(3), 307–32.Previous studies have shown that vehicle collision repair workers may be at risk of solvent-induced symptoms of neurotoxicity. Changes in industry practices have likely resulted in reduced exposure, but little research has been conducted to assess whether this has reduced the risk of neurotoxicity. This thesis describes a series of studies, which aimed to assess: i) contemporary airborne solvent exposures in collision repair workers; ii) the determinants of airborne solvent exposures; iii) the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of neurotoxicity and objectively measured neuropsychological performance, compared to an unexposed reference group; iv) dose-response associations; and v) the effect of personal protective equipment (PPE) and good workplace hygiene on symptom prevalence. In total, 370 vehicle collision repair and 211 construction workers (reference group) were recruited. Personal airborne solvent exposure was assessed in 85 collision repair workers, and information on demographics, work practices and symptoms was collected by questionnaire. A sub-group of 47 collision repair and 51 reference workers also completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. Full-shift, airborne exposures were well below New Zealand and international occupational exposure limits (range, 0.04 – 16.5 ppm). Job title was the strongest predictor of exposure, and non-spraying tasks (e.g. mixing paint and cleaning equipment) were associated with higher exposures than spray painting itself. Collision repair workers reported significantly more symptoms of neurotoxicity than the reference group, with odds ratios (ORs) of 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.3; 2.4, 1.2-4.8; and 6.4, 1.8-23.0, for reporting ≥5, ≥10 and ≥15 symptoms, respectively. They also performed more poorly on neuropsychological tests, particularly those that measure attention/concentration and motor speed/dexterity (e.g. reference vs. collision repair group score on the RBANS total attention scale, -9.5, 95% CI, -15.9, -2.8). Consistent use of PPE (particularly gloves) and good workplace hygiene practices were strongly protective against symptoms, with reductions in risk of up to 90% for those who most consistently wore PPE. In conclusion, despite relatively low airborne exposure levels, collision repair workers continue to be at risk of solvent-induced neurotoxicity. These findings provide a strong evidence-base for the development and implementation of intervention programmes to reduce solvent exposures and associated morbidity in this population

Relationship - An art bookstore in Macau

Mentioned to Macau, most people have the first impression of Macau is the splendid casinos and hotels. Many people think that Macau is just a gambling city. In fact, Macau has a unique culture that is memorable. There are more than 100 ancient architectural relics、20 Western-style churches、40 temples and 20 Museums in the land. As we know, many cities around the world are famous for their unique cultural identity, while Macau is characterized by a blend of multicultural. This business plan is to create and expand the field of commercial art with the background and advantages of Macau\u27s multiculturalism. Therefore, we have decided to use the policy and impact of the art entity bookstore to create a unique art bookstore in a luxury resort hotel in Macau. Through the connection and cooperation with various overseas museums and art galleries, we can provide a comfortable and comfortable place for art lovers who come to Macau. Helpful place. In addition, based on a large number of Macau\u27s tourist population data, R Bookstore in Macau will definitely obtain unexpected economic and commercial benefits

Neutron star oscillations from starquakes

Glitches are sudden increases in the otherwise extremely regular spin rate of pulsars. One theory proposed to account for these glitches is the starquake model, in which the spinup is caused by a sudden rearrangement of the neutron star crust. Starquakes can be expected to excite some of the oscillation modes of the neutron star. These oscillations are of interest as a source of gravitational waves, and may also modify the pulsar radio emission. In this thesis we develop a toy model of the starquake and calculate which modes of the star are excited. We start by making some order-of-magnitude upper estimates on the energy made available by the starquake and the amplitude of the modes excited, before moving on to a more detailed calculation based on a specific model of the starquake in which all strain is lost instantaneously from the star at the glitch. To find out which modes are excited by the starquake, we construct initial data describing the change in the star at the glitch, and then project this against the basis of normal modes of the star. We first carry out this procedure for a simplified model in which the star has spun down to zero angular velocity before the starquake. We find that the majority of the energy released goes into a mode similar to the fundamental mode of a fluid star. Finally, we describe the extension of this model to the more realistic case where the star is rotating before the glitch. We calculate the change in the normal modes of the star to first order in the rotation; these are no longer orthogonal, but we construct a scheme that still enables us to project our initial data against this set of modes, and discuss some preliminary results of the model

Description of Cithaeron dippenaarae sp. n. from Morocco (Araneae: Cithaeronidae)

Cithaeron dippenaarae sp. n. is described from both sexes. The species occurs in stony regions in the south of Morocco

Description of the male of Steatoda ephippiata (Araneae: Theridiidae)

The previously unknown male of Steatoda ephippiata (Thorell, 1875) is described from recently collected material in Tunisia. Some new distribution records for the species are added and all known records are mapped

On the spider species described by L. Koch in 1882 from the Balearic Islands (Araneae)

Examination of the L. Koch collection of the Zoological Museum in Berlin allows us to propose the following new synonyms and combinations: Erigone marina L. Koch, 1882 = Oedothorax fuscus (Blackwall, 1834) n. syn.; Theridion elimatum L. Koch, 1882 = Enoplognatha diversa (Blackwall, 1859) n. syn.; Liocranum variabilis Wunderlich, 2008 = Zora inornata L. Koch, 1882 n. syn. = Liocranum inornatum n. comb.; Lycosa perspicax L. Koch, 1882 = Arctosa fulvolineata (Lucas,1846) n. syn.; Alopecosella Roewer, 1960 = Arctosa C. L. Koch, 1847 n. syn.; Lycosa subhirsuta L. Koch, 1882 = Arctosa lacustris (Simon, 1876) n. syn.; Philodromus vegetus L. Koch, 1882 = Thanatus vulgaris Simon, 1870 n. syn.; Ozyptila bicuspis Simon, 1932 = Ozyptila furcula L. Koch, 1882 n. syn.; Haplodrassus maroccanus Denis, 1956 = Drassus parvulus L. Koch, 1882 n. syn. = Haplodrassus parvicorpus (Roewer, 1951) n. comb. (replacement name); Zelotes ruscinensis Simon, 1914 = Zelotes semirufa (L. Koch, 1882) n. syn.; Phlegra simoni L. Koch, 1882 = Phlegra bresnieri Lucas, 1846 n. syn.; Trochosula conspersa (L. Koch, 1882), Lycorma fraisnei (L. Koch, 1882), Lycorma insulana (L. Koch, 1882), Arctosa misella (L. Koch, 1992) and Pirata simplex (L. Koch, 1882) are all retransferred to their original genus Lycosa stat. rev. Cheiracanthium occidentale L. Koch, 1882, Ozyptila furcula L. Koch, 1882 and Zelotes callidus (Simon, 1878) are redescribed

Uncovering interactive book reading processes in first and second grade : a closer look into children’s input and interaction patterns

Being proficiently literate is essential to participate successfully in today’s information society. Interactive book reading (IBR) has been proven to be one of the most enduring and effective methods to foster children’s language and literacy development. Both the frequency and the quality of children’s contributions during IBR-activities are expected to be strongly related to language and literacy development (e.g. Dickinson & Tabors, 2001). Nevertheless, analysis of the available empirical literature on IBR reveals that the microstructure of this stimulating literacy activity was almost exclusively studied from the perspective of the adult’s input (e.g. Gonzales et al., 2014). Children’s input and adult/child interaction patterns during IBR remain underexplored. Therefore, this study aims at disclosing both adult/child and peer interactions during IBR for first and second graders. 600 minutes of video-taped IBR-activity were divided in utterances as unit of analyses and coded using a theory-driven integrated coding-scheme focusing on the core components of IBR (e.g. Mol et al., 2009; van Kleeck et al., 1997): (a) asking questions, (b) hinting, (c) expounding vocabulary, (d) explaining content, (e) illustrating images, (f) linking experiences, (g) indicating book conventions, and (h) clarifying print knowledge. 20% of the utterances were double coded by two independent trained coders resulting in a good overall agreement (κ=.84, p <.00). The presentation will report on analyses regarding the core components of IBR, whereby interaction patterns between adults and children and between children reciprocally are uncovered. Implications for teaching practice and further research optimizing IBR will be discussed