Increasing seatbelt usage in logging skidders through behaviour modification and seatbelt design : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University

This study examined methods for increasing seatbelt usage in one type of heavy logging machine (the skidder). This machine is used extensively for extracting felled trees and transporting them from where they are cut down to a central processing area. Preliminary investigations suggested that the operators of these machines failed to wear their seatbelts because they were poorly designed and because the operators simply forgot. A survey of the literature on increasing safety behaviours found that the two most powerful techniques were behaviour modification and human factors engineering (or ergonomics). Therefore, these were the two techniques used here. The standard seatbelts were redesigned to make them easier to use and an orange flashing reminder light was installed into the machines of seven full-time skidder operators. These machines were operating in either Kaingaroa, Rotoehu, Tahorakuri or Te Whakao Forests in the central North Island of New Zealand. The experiment used a multiple baseline single subject design, with the subjects receiving each treatment twice. With the installation of the redesigned seatbelt, mean seatbelt usage for six subjects rose from 21% to 31%. One subject refused to wear a seatbelt throughout the experiment. Installing the reminder light increased seatbelt usage by a further 1%. Removing the new seatbelt design caused usage to drop 16%. A further decrease of 5% occurred with the return to baseline phase when the reminder light had also been removed. The second introduction of the new seatbelt resulted in an increase in usage from 10% to a mean level of 46%. This was increased a further 22% with the reintroduction of the reminder light. The results showed that an easier to use seatbelt in combination with a reminder light can increase the level of seatbelt usage. The results also provide further evidence of the power of both behaviour modification techniques and human factors engineering in the field of occupational safety

Chimera states: Coexistence of coherence and incoherence in networks of coupled oscillators

A chimera state is a spatio-temporal pattern in a network of identical coupled oscillators in which synchronous and asynchronous oscillation coexist. This state of broken symmetry, which usually coexists with a stable spatially symmetric state, has intrigued the nonlinear dynamics community since its discovery in the early 2000s. Recent experiments have led to increasing interest in the origin and dynamics of these states. Here we review the history of research on chimera states and highlight major advances in understanding their behaviour.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figure

DO SPORTFISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES AFFECT RESERVOIR ANGLERS' SITE CHOICE?

Increasing numbers of freshwater ecosystems have had sportfish consumption advisories posted in recent years. Advisories are sometimes issued in lieu of environmental remediation if they are considered more cost-effective than "cleaning up" the resource, but this approach assumes that anglers adjust behavior in response to the warning. Previous studies, however, suggest that compliance with advisories can be quite low. In contrast, this study measures a statistically significant response by reservoir anglers to consumption advisories. In particular, anglers are less likely to choose to visit a reservoir with an advisory than a similar reservoir without an advisory. Furthermore, the economic losses due to advisories are quantified for anglers in two regions of Tennessee.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Millisecond single-molecule localization microscopy combined with convolution analysis and automated image segmentation to determine protein concentrations in complexly structured, functional cells, one cell at a time

We present a single-molecule tool called the CoPro (Concentration of Proteins) method that uses millisecond imaging with convolution analysis, automated image segmentation and super-resolution localization microscopy to generate robust estimates for protein concentration in different compartments of single living cells, validated using realistic simulations of complex multiple compartment cell types. We demonstrates its utility experimentally on model Escherichia coli bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae budding yeast cells, and use it to address the biological question of how signals are transduced in cells. Cells in all domains of life dynamically sense their environment through signal transduction mechanisms, many involving gene regulation. The glucose sensing mechanism of S. cerevisiae is a model system for studying gene regulatory signal transduction. It uses the multi-copy expression inhibitor of the GAL gene family, Mig1, to repress unwanted genes in the presence of elevated extracellular glucose concentrations. We fluorescently labelled Mig1 molecules with green fluorescent protein (GFP) via chromosomal integration at physiological expression levels in living S. cerevisiae cells, in addition to the RNA polymerase protein Nrd1 with the fluorescent protein reporter mCherry. Using CoPro we make quantitative estimates of Mig1 and Nrd1 protein concentrations in the cytoplasm and nucleus compartments on a cell-by-cell basis under physiological conditions. These estimates indicate a 4-fold shift towards higher values in concentration of diffusive Mig1 in the nucleus if the external glucose concentration is raised, whereas equivalent levels in the cytoplasm shift to smaller values with a relative change an order of magnitude smaller. This compares with Nrd1 which is not involved directly in glucose sensing, which is almost exclusively localized in the nucleus under high and..

Davis-Beirut reaction: route to thiazolo-, thiazino-, and thiazepino-2H-indazoles.

Methods for the construction of thiazolo-, thiazino-, and thiazepino-2H-indazoles from o-nitrobenzaldehydes or o-nitrobenzyl bromides and S-trityl-protected 1°-aminothioalkanes are reported. The process consists of formation of the requisite N-(2-nitrobenzyl)(tritylthio)alkylamine, subsequent deprotection of the trityl moiety with TFA, and immediate treatment with aq. KOH in methanol under Davis-Beirut reaction conditions to deliver the target thiazolo-, thiazino-, or thiazepino-2H-indazole in good overall yield. Subsequent S-oxidation gives the corresponding sulfone

Potential applications of randomised graph sampling to invasive species surveillance and monitoring.

Abstract Many invasive plants and animals disperse preferentially through linear networks in the landscape, including road networks, riparian corridors, and power transmission lines. Unless the network of interest is small, or the budget for surveillance is large, it may be necessary to draw inferences from a sample rather than a complete census on the network. Desired features of a surveillance system to detect and quantify invasion include: (1) the ability to make unbiased statements about the spatial extent of invasion, the abundance of the invading organism, and the degree of impact; (2) the ability to quantify the uncertainty associated with those statements; (3) the ability to sample by moving within the network in a reasonable fashion, and with little wasted non-measurement time; and (4) the ability to incorporate auxiliary information (such as remotely sensed data, ecological models, or expert opinion) to direct sampling where it will be most fruitful. Randomised graph sampling (RGS) has all of these attributes. The network of interest (such as a road network) is recomposed into a graph, consisting of vertices (such as road intersections) and edges (such as road segments connecting nodes). The vertices and edges are used to construct paths representing reasonable sampling routes through the network; these paths are then sampled, potentially with unequal probability. Randomised graph sampling is unbiased, and the incorporation of auxiliary information can dramatically reduce sample variances. We illustrate RGS using simplified examples, and a survey of Polygonum cuspidatum (Siebold & Zucc.) within a high-priority conservation region in southern Maine, USA