Constraint programming for user-interface construction

Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosoph

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

GPS-guided mobile robot platform featuring modular design elements for agricultural applications : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Engineering in Mechatronics at Massey University Turitea Campus, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The agricultural industry has not seen significant innovation in development of low-cost automated farming solutions, with current systems costing several thousands of dollars to implement. Currently these automated solutions are primarily implemented around crop planting and harvesting, and the large implementation cost of these systems makes them unfeasible for small-scale operations. Within many agricultural industries, workers expend a considerable amount of time undertaking simple tasks that are labour intensive. Many of these tasks could instead be completed using a self-driving robotic platform outfitted with the appropriate devices required for the tasks. This thesis covers the research work aiming to produce a solution that could turn an existing farming vehicle into a multipurpose low-cost agricultural platform, to act as the platform for an autonomous vehicle capable of performing pre-programmed tasks within an agricultural environment. A quad bike was selected as the vehicle platform for this research in which the control modules would control the speed and direction of this farm bike. Four modules were developed to control the vehicle components that would normally be operated by a human operator. These modules are comprised of mechanical actuators coupled with a microcontroller control system and includes some specific designs to maintain the user's ability to manually control the pre-existing systems. A gear-changing module controls the vehicles manual gearbox, providing a method to detect and control the vehicles current gear. A speed control module was developed to control the vehicles throttle and braking system and detects the vehicles speed. A steering module controls the vehicles steering system, allowing for accurate control of the vehicles direction. Finally, a vehicle controller module provides a central command interface that ties the previous three modules together and controls the vehicles electrical components and engine. Development of a low-cost differential GPS (DGPS) system was also undertaken to reduce the implementation cost of the system. Due to inconclusive results in relation to the positional accuracy of this system is was decided that a standard GPS system would be used for the vehicle prototype with further development on the DGPS system would be undertaken in future development of the research. The successful development of a farm automated vehicle platform was achieved through this research. With further improvement on software, intelligent control and the development of a low-cost differential global positioning satellite (GPS) system, a fully autonomous farm platform that can be outfitted with different tools or devices for the required farm tasks is feasible and practical

Gold in Devono-Carboniferous red beds of northern Britain

We are grateful to D. Craw and an anonymous reviewer for comments that helped to clarify the paper. Research was funded by NERC grants NE/L001764/1 and NE/M010953/1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Leadership tools for wicked problems

Leadership for the Greater Good is not easy to achieve. Many of the issues leaders face are so complex that they have been called ‘wicked problems’ – not in the sense of being evil, but because they seem almost intractable. Patience, insight and collaboration are required to resolve wicked problems and, even then, many preferred solutions often lead to unintended consequences that demand new actions that, unfortunately, too often descend in a cycle of quick-fix solutions. Policy failure and crisis management often result, as seen in wicked problem areas such as climate change, resources tax policy, refugee responses, and Indigenous health. This Working Paper utilises Grint’s 2008 model of critical, tame and wicked problems to differentiate between the needs and uses for command, management and leadership approaches to the exercise of authority in working with them. The paper suggests that the increasing complexity of the problems leaders in all sectors of society are facing, together with the increasing volatility and uncertainty of contemporary social, business and political affairs, demand special efforts to develop and enhance leadership for wicked problems. Five tools for working with wicked problems are suggested: collaboration, character, continuity of commitment, competence and communication

Swinburne leadership survey: index of leadership for the greater good

Summary The Swinburne Leadership Survey is the flagship research program of the Swinburne Leadership Institute that examines Australian’s beliefs about the nation’s leaders and citizens. Conducted in late 2014, the Swinburne Leadership Survey is a benchmark study and underpins our goal of contributing to the renewal of Leadership for the Greater Good in Australia. The aim of the Swinburne Leadership Survey is to benchmark public opinion about: The trustworthiness and competence of leaders across different social and economic sectors The responsibilities of leaders in contributing to the Greater Good How well national political leaders are delivering on these responsibilities How Australians would like our leaders to address our major challenges The roles ordinary citizens can play as change agents or local leaders of change for the Greater Good The Survey provides Australians with a rigorous snapshot of leadership in Australia and, over time, a powerful tool to measure the direction in which Leadership for the Greater Good in Australia is heading. The inaugural Swinburne Leadership Survey and Index of Leadership for the Greater Good will be released in April 2015. The Swinburne Leadership Institute will conduct the Survey annually, to measure changes and trends in Australian perceptions of leadership

Polar group exchange receptor-ligand engineering of protein kinase B's pleckstrin homology domain

A diverse range of cellular functions are influenced by the activity of protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt). PKB is involved in a number of physiological pathways, perturbation of which can lead to pathological conditions. PKB activation has been shown to involve binding of its pleckstrin homology (PH) domain to PtdIns(3,4)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 generated on the inner face of the plasma membrane upon receipt of an external hormonal signal. To study PKB independently of other inositol-phospholipid binding proteins which recognise the same lipid signals, their mutual dependence on the same ligand must be broken. It is proposed that this can be achieved by mutating PKB‟s PtdInsPn binding PH domain to accept an unnatural ligand. By altering the inositol-phospholipid head-group to include an additional carboxylic acid substituent, its binding to the wild-type PH domains should be inhibited through steric compression. Disruption of a salt-bridge in the wall of the binding pocket by point mutation of glutamate 17 to alanine, E17A, introduces an additional positively charged pocket into the PH domain of PKB, which should bind with the tailored lipid, resulting in a polar group exchange receptor-ligand pair. To this end, a novel 2-O-acetic acid functionalised analogue of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was synthesised. The key steps were the protection/deprotection of myo-inositol‟s hydroxyls, enabling selective functionalisation of the 2-hydroxyl, and phosphorylation of the 1,3,4,5-O positions. Using an allyl ether as a masked form of acetic acid allowed a divergent synthetic strategy to be employed to access additional 2-O analogues. Both the wild-type and the E17A mutant of the PH domain were expressed in order to assess ligand binding, and determine whether an ion pair exchange receptor-ligand interaction occurred. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectrometry was initially used, but was unsuccessful due to denaturing problems arising from isolating the protein. Isothermal titration calorimetry suggested binding, but protein concentration could not be increased high enough for the binding energy to become significantly greater than the energy of mixing. The analogues were also tested as potential inositol poly-phosphate phosphatase catalytic (IPPc) domain inhibitors