A multi-directional tracer test in the fractured Chalk aquifer of E. Yorkshire, UK

A multi-borehole radial tracer test has been conducted in the confined Chalk aquifer of E. Yorkshire, UK. Three different tracer dyes were injected into three injection boreholes and a central borehole, 25 m from the injection boreholes, was pumped at 330 m(3)/d for 8 days. The breakthrough curves show that initial breakthrough and peak times were fairly similar for all dyes but that recoveries varied markedly from 9 to 57%. The breakthrough curves show a steep rise to a peak and long tail, typical of dual porosity aquifers. The breakthrough curves were simulated using a 1D dual porosity model. Model input parameters were constrained to acceptable ranges determined from estimations of matrix porosity and diffusion coefficient, fracture spacing, initial breakthrough times and bulk transmissivity of the aquifer. The model gave equivalent hydraulic apertures for fractures in the range 363-384 microm, dispersivities of 1 to 5 m and matrix block sizes of 6 to 9 cm. Modelling suggests that matrix block size is the primary controlling parameter for solute transport in the aquifer, particularly for recovery. The observed breakthrough curves suggest results from single injection-borehole tracer tests in the Chalk may give initial breakthrough and peak times reasonably representative of the aquifer but that recovery is highly variable and sensitive to injection and abstraction borehole location. Consideration of aquifer heterogeneity suggests that high recoveries may be indicative of a high flow pathway adjacent, but not necessarily connected, to the injection and abstraction boreholes whereas low recoveries may indicate more distributed flow through many fractures of similar aperture.     

Study of chest injuries to 3-year-old child occupants seated in impact shield and 5-point harness CRSs

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the 5-point harness or the impact shield child restraint system (CRS) or both have the potential to cause chest injuries to children. This is determined by examining whether the loading to the chest reaches the internal organ injury threshold for children.

Method: The chest injury risk to a child occupant in a CRS was investigated using Q3 dummy tests, finite element (FE) simulations (Q3 dummy and human models), and animal tests. The investigation was done for 2 types of CRSs (i.e., the impact shield CRS and 5-point harness CRS) based on the UN R44 dynamic test specifications.

Results: The tests using a Q3 dummy indicated that although the chest deflection of the dummy in the impact shield CRS was large, it was less than the injury threshold (40 mm). Computational biomechanics simulations (using finite element FE analysis) showed that the Q3 dummy's chest is loaded by the shield and deforms substantially under this load. To clarify whether chest injuries due to chest compression can occur with an impact shield or with the 5-point harness CRS, 7 experiments were performed using Tibetan miniature pigs with weights ranging from 9.7 to 13 kg. Severe chest and abdominal injuries (lung contusion, coronary artery laceration, liver laceration) were found in the tests using the impact shield CRS. No chest injuries were present when using the 5-point harness CRS.

Conclusion: When using the impact shield CRS, the chest deformed substantially in dummy tests and FE simulations, and chest and abdominal injuries were observed in pig tests. It is possible that these chest injuries could also occur to child occupants sitting in the impact shield CRS.     

基于正交试验的谷物粉尘燃烧特性影响因素研究

为了研究谷物粉尘燃烧特性影响因素，以可食用玉米淀粉为研究对象，通过ZY6243锥形量热仪（CONE）进行了单因素和正交试验，研究了粉尘粒径、惰性介质CaCO3质量分数、热辐射通量对玉米淀粉燃烧特性的影响效应。应用直观分析法和方差分析法定性地研究了各因素对玉米淀粉热释放速率峰值的影响程度并进行了排序，2种方法得出的结论基本一致。研究结果表明:各因素对玉米淀粉热释放速率峰值的影响程度依次为:CaCO3质量分数＞粉尘粒径＞热辐射通量；其中惰性介质CaCO3对热释放速率峰值和引燃时间的影响最为显著。     

Evaluating the impact of criminalizing drunk driving on years of life lost due to road traffic deaths in one megacity,China

Objective: Road safety is an important public health issue worldwide. However, few studies have analyzed the association between criminalizing drunk driving and years of life lost (YLL) due to road traffic deaths (RTDs). Our study can provide useful information about this policy.

Methods: We used interrupted time-series analysis to find the changes in monthly YLL and RTD before and after law enforcement began using RTD data from 2008 to 2014 in Tianjin.

Results: After adjustment for seasonality, months, holidays, and the number of people in each district, criminalizing drunk driving was followed by a 11.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–21.1%) reduction in risk of RTDs and a corresponding 778.1-year (95% CI, 200–1,355.1) reduction in monthly YLL. The reduction in YLL was especially significant among males, those aged 16–64 years old, and suburban residents.

Conclusions: This study highlights that the law can lead to a reduction in YLL due to RTDs in Tianjin, China. Large immediate public health benefits resulted from the new road traffic law in China. YLL provides a complementary measure for examining the effect of criminalization on drunk driving RTDs.     

Driving under the influence of alcohol and the effects of alcohol prohibition—Case study in Serbia

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) according to day of the week, specific roads (urban/rural), daytime or nighttime, and vehicle category. In addition, this study examines how the prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks in shops and supermarkets (not in restaurants) after 10 p.m. has affected the prevalence of DUI.

Method: Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) was collected from all drivers through police checkpoints at 54 locations in Serbia. In this study, 17,945 drivers were tested in urban areas and 19,507 in rural areas. The relationship between DUI during the prohibition on alcohol sales in Belgrade and other large cities in Serbia was determined using logistic regression.

Results: On average, every 100th driver in traffic in Serbia was DUI (0.99%). This study shows that the 0 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for motorcyclists does not have an influence on DUI. Moreover, motorcyclists represent the category with the highest share of DUI, with a statistically significantly larger difference compared to drivers of other vehicle categories. These results may be a consequence of the fact that a large number of drivers drive both motorcycles and other vehicle categories (cars or mopeds), so the different BAC limits for nonprofessional drivers may create confusion about the legal BAC limit.

Conclusions: This study suggests that the required legal BAC limit for nonprofessional drivers should be the same. The prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks in Belgrade after 10 p.m. does not decrease the prevalence of DUI.     

Isotopes in teeth and a cryptic population of coastal freshwater seals

Human activities threaten the biodiversity of aquatic mammals across the globe. Conservation of these species hinges on the ability to delineate movements and foraging behaviors of animals, but gaining such insights is hampered by difficulties in tracing individuals over their lives. We determined isotope ratios in teeth (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹³C/¹²C, and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O) to examine lifelong movement and resource-use patterns of a unique freshwater population of a wide-ranging pinniped species (harbor seal [Phoca vitulina]) that resides in Iliamna Lake, Alaska (U.S.A.). This population's potentially unique migratory behavior and use of different trophic resources are unknown. The isotope ratios we measured in teeth showed that seals were born in the lake, remained lifelong residents, and relied principally on resources produced from in the lake, even when seasonally abundant and nutrient-dense spawning anadromous fish (i.e., sockeye salmon [Oncorhynchus nerka]) were available in the lake. Our results illustrate how serial isotope records in teeth, particularly ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, can be used to quantify how coastal mammal populations exploit both freshwater and marine ecosystems. Understanding lifelong patterns of habitat and resource use is essential information when designing effective conservation plans for threatened coastal mammals. We present the Iliamna Lake harbor seals as a unique case study into how isotope records within teeth can help reveal the cryptic ecology of such a population residing in an intact ecosystem. The results also provide critical baseline information for the Kvichak River system, which is facing an uncertain future due to proposed large-scale industrial development and a rapidly changing climate.     

Cross-correlation between the controlled collision environment and real-world motor vehicle collisions: Evaluating the protection of the thoracic side airbag

Objective: Thoracic side airbags (tSABs) were integrated into the vehicle fleet to attenuate and distribute forces on the occupant's chest and abdomen, dissipate the impact energy, and move the occupant away from the intruding structure, all of which reduce the risk of injury. This research piece investigates and evaluates the safety performance of the airbag unit by cross-correlating data from a controlled collision environment with field data.

Method: We focus exclusively on vehicle–vehicle lateral impacts from the NHTSA's Vehicle Crash Test Database and NASS-CDS database, which are replicated in the controlled environment by the (crabbed) barrier impact. Similar collisions with and without seat-embedded tSABs are matched to each other and the injury risks are compared.

Results: Results indicated that dummy-based thoracic injury metrics were significantly lower with tSAB exposure (P <.001). Yet, when the controlled collision environment data were cross-correlated with NASS-CDS collisions, deployment of the tSAB indicated no association with thoracic injury (tho. MAIS 2+ unadjusted relative risk [RR] = 1.14; 90% confidence interval [CI], 0.80–1.62; tho. MAIS 3+ unadjusted RR = 1.12; 90% CI, 0.76–1.65).

Conclusion: The data from the controlled collision environment indicated an unequivocal benefit provided by the thoracic side airbag for the crash dummy; however, the real-world collisions demonstrate that no benefit is provided to the occupant. This has resulted from a noncorrelation between the crash test/dummy-based design taking the abstracting process too far to represent the real-world collision scenario.     

基质固相分散-快速溶剂萃取-GC/MS法同时测定土壤中有机氯农药和多环芳烃

建立了基质固相分散-ASE提取-GC/MS法同时测定土壤中8种有机氯农药和16种多环芳烃的方法。对方法的线性、检出限、精密度、回收率及土壤质控样品进行了分析,结果表明,8种有机氯农药和16种多环芳烃线性良好,相关系数为0.997 5～0.999 8,方法检出限为0.39～1.57μg/kg,空白加标样品的相对标准偏差小于20%,实际土壤样品加标回收率为60.6%～125%,土壤质控样品结果均在范围内。该方法能够满足土壤中8种有机氯农药和16种多环芳烃的检测要求。     

多尺度环境空气质量预报业务产品测试研究

为了探讨NAQPMS数值模式预报产品及其他预报业务所需产品在国家-区域-城市不同尺度单位的有效使用率、重污染过程中的作用,以及不同地区(城市)预报业务需求及作业产品需求偏差,选取17家单位进行测试研究。分析数据显示:15类参与研究产品均为各省市监测中心空气质量日常预报业务的开展作出了重要贡献,NAQPMS数值预报产品准确率最高可达到84.72%,省会城市准确率略低,总体平均可达50.21%,重污染过程的平均捕捉准确率为52.33%;研究测试产品在各尺度的获取时间均可控制在2.5 h左右。研究结果表明,指导产品能基本反映污染物形成、发展及变化趋势,明确不同地区城市预报业务需求及产品偏差,在PM_(2.5)和O_3预报准确率和重污染过程捕捉预报结果偏低等方面有待加强。     

加速溶剂萃取气相色谱负化学离子源质谱法分析土壤中有机氯农药

通过优化萃取条件建立了一套土壤中有机氯农药的加速溶剂萃取方法;采用固相萃取实现了样品的净化,气相色谱负化学离子源质谱实现了高灵敏度检测,建立了一套土壤中19种有机氯农药的快速分析方法,各目标物的检出限为0.001～0.009μg/g,采用来自于不同地区的砂土、黏土、亚黏土等不同类型的样品进行加标实验,回收率为60%～120%。