Observed LATCH use and misuse characteristics of child restraint systems in seven states

INTRODUCTION: Although the LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) holds the promise of simplifying the installation of a child restraint system (CRS) to the vehicle's seat, many drivers transporting young children have difficulties using this technology. This paper reports on an observation study of LATCH use and misuse. METHOD: Observations of approximately 1,000 children less than 5 years of age in CRSs, in the back seats of vehicles that were equipped with tether and lower anchors, in seven states. RESULTS: Tethers were used for 51% of the children when the forward-facing CRS had tether straps and the vehicle had tether anchors. Lower anchors were used for 58% of the children when the CRS had lower attachments and the vehicle had lower anchors. The most common tether and lower attachment misuses were loose tether straps (18% of cases) and loose lower attachment installation (30% of the cases), respectively. Vehicle safety belts were used in combination with lower attachments in 20% of all lower anchor installations. CONCLUSION: As more caregivers of young children drive vehicles equipped with LATCH, it will be important to promote the proper installation of CRSs using this technology. LATCH education messages must also emphasize that the lower anchors may not always be the safest choice for CRS attachment -- the safest attachment is the one that results in a tight fit and will be used correctly consistently.     

Assessing field vulnerability to phosphorus loss in Beijing agricultural area using Revised Field Phosphorus Ranking Scheme

Guanting Reservoir,one of the drinking water supply sources of Beijing,suffers from water eutrophication.It is mainly supplied by Guishui River.Thus,to investigate the reasons of phosphorus(P)loss and improve the P management strategies in Guishui River watershed are important for the safety of drinking water in this region.In this study,a Revised Field P Ranking Scheme(PRS)was developed to reflect the field vulnerability of P loss at the field scale based on the Field PRS.In this new scheme,six factors are included, and each one was assigned a relative weight and a determination method.The affecting factors were classified into transport factors and source factors,and,the standards of environmental quality on surface water and soil erosion classification and degradation of the China were used in this scheme.By the new scheme,thirty-four fields in the Guishui River were categorized as"low","medium"or"high"potential for P loss into the runoff.The results showed that the P loss risks of orchard and vegetable fields were higher than that of corn and soybean fields.The source factors were the main factors to affect P loss from the study area.In the study area,controlling P input and improving P usage efficiency are critical to decrease P loss.Based on the results,it was suggested that more attention should be paid on the fields of vegetable and orchard since they have extremely high usage rate of P and high soil test of E Compared with P surplus by field measurements,the Revised Field PRS was more suitable for reflecting the characteristics of fields,and had higher potential capacity to identify critical source areas of P loss than PRS.     

Improvement of soil aggregate stability by repeated applications of organic amendments to a cultivated silty loam soil

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of repeated field applications of three urban compost amendments and one farmyard manure amendment over a 9-year period on aggregate stability in a silty loam soil initially characterized by low clay and initial organic matter contents and poor aggregate stability. Three different aggregate stability tests with increasing disruptive intensities (fast wetting > mechanical breakdown > slow wetting tests) and different disaggregation mechanisms, were used. All of the amendments, which were applied at approximately 4 Mg C ha⁻¹ every other year, increased the organic carbon content and improved the stability of the aggregates against the disruptive action of water, as determined by each of the stability tests. However, the year-to-year variations in the aggregate stability that related to factors other than the organic inputs were greater than the cumulative increase in aggregate stability relative to the control. The positive effects of the tested amendments on aggregate stability were linked to their contribution to soil organic C contents (r = 0.54 for the fast wetting test and r = 0.41-0.42 for the mechanical breakdown and slow wetting tests; p < 0.05). The addition of urban composts had a larger positive effect on aggregate stability than farmyard manure at the majority of sampling dates. The addition of biodegradable immature compost, such as municipal solid waste (MSW), improved the aggregate stability through an enhanced resistance to slaking. The addition of mature composts, such as the co-compost of sewage sludge and green wastes (GWS) or biowaste compost (BW), improved the aggregate stability by increasing interparticular cohesion. The MSW compost was the most efficient in improving aggregate stability during the first 6 years of the experiment (average improvements of +22%, +5% and +28% in the fast wetting, mechanical breakdown and slow wetting tests, respectively, compared to the control treatment); this result was likely due to the larger labile organic pool of the MSW compost that was highly effective at stimulating soil microbial activity. After the first 6 years, the two other composts, GWS and BW, became more efficient (average improvements of +25%, +61% and +33% in the fast wetting, mechanical breakdown and slow wetting tests, respectively, compared to the control treatment), which was probably linked to the greater increase in soil organic C contents. Therefore, the application of urban compost to silty soil that is susceptible to water erosion was effective at improving aggregate stability and thus could be used to enhance the resistance of soil to water erosion.     

不同氮、磷肥用量下双季稻田的CH4和N2O排放

以红壤双季稻田为研究对象,采用静态暗箱-气相色谱法对2009年水稻生长期内不施肥（CK）,平衡施肥（BF）、减氮磷一（DNP1）、减氮磷二（DNP2）和增氮磷（INP）等5个处理的CH4和N2O排放通量以及环境因素进行观测.结果表明,早稻生长期间BF、DNP1、DNP2和INP的CH4平均排放通量为4.57、5.42、...     

东莞市蔬菜基地土壤中喹诺酮类抗生素的污染特征研究

抗生素作为新兴环境污染物在区域农业土壤污染特征研究中鲜见报道.本文利用固相萃取-高效液相色谱-串联质谱分析方法,调查了东莞市18个区镇24个代表性蔬菜基地土壤中喹诺酮类抗生素(QNs)的含量与分布特征.结果表明,4种喹诺酮类化合物的检出率均在90%以上,以环丙沙星(平均含量24.93μg·kg-1)和恩诺沙星(平均含量...     

大连金州地区海陆风及热内边界层研究

根据大连金州2009年常规气象站资料分析大连金州地区海陆风变化特征,并用MM5V3模式模拟典型日的海陆风风场变化和热内边界层位温场结构变化,结果表明:海风和陆风出现的频率有明显的季节性变化。冬季陆风较多,春夏海风较多,春季、冬季易形成海陆风;海风起止时间夏季长冬季短,陆风起止时间秋冬季较夏季长;典型海陆风日中,海风造成陆地湿度变大,海风风速大于陆风风速;通过海风的数值模拟,海风由生成到成熟海岸吹向内陆其厚度可增厚到1 000 m以上,伸向内陆距离可到18.9 km;热内边界层向内陆呈舌状分布,海岸边界层高度在700 m之间,抛物面高度随着向内陆延伸的距离增加而升高。热内边界层最高达1 000 m。     

2000年1月15日姚安6.5级地震余震序列震源机制解与震源区应力场分析

本文利用垂直向的Pg和Sg波的最大振幅比方法,计算2000年1月15日云南姚安6.5级地震后余震序列震源机制解,通过统计和系统聚类分析,再结合震中分布图,综合分析了云南姚安6.5级地震的震源机制解和震源区应力场破裂特征,研究结果表明震源断层的走向为SEE-NWW占主导,其平均解为120°,震区主压应力轴平均解为145°,即SSE向,与震源区现今构造应力场主压应力方向一致,表明余震的应力场主要受区域应力场的控制.     

中亚热带针阔混交林土壤-大气界面释汞通量研究

为了揭示不同气候条件下森林与大气间汞交换的规律,应用动力学通量箱与Lumex RA 915+测汞仪联用技术,选择重庆缙云山国家级自然保护区为研究地点,于2011年4月~2012年3月对针阔混交林土/气界面释汞通量进行了为期1 a的连续监测,并考察了各环境因子对土壤释汞通量的影响.结果表明,缙云山针阔混交林林地土壤年平均释汞通量值为(16.82±6.70)ng·(m2·h)-1,明显高于欧美国家自然背景区;受光照、温度、相对湿度等气象因素以及亚热带地区森林植被生长变化规律影响,缙云山地区林地土壤释汞通量存在显著的季节性差异,暖季林地土壤释汞通量[(22.23±13.19)ng·(m2·h)-1]明显高于冷季[(6.01±4.05)ng·(m2·h)-1];通径分析结果表明林地土壤释汞通量的日变化特征和1 d中光照强度变化有密切关系,土温、气温和相对湿度与土壤释汞通量之间的显著相关关系可能是光照强度与土壤释汞通量相关关系的表象.     

海洋环境水下电场时频特征分析

目的掌握海洋环境水下电场主要能量来源和衰减规律。方法结合理论研究环境电场幅值随时间的变化规律,重点分析水下环境电场不同频带的频谱分布,最后计算得到海洋环境水下电场不同频点的幅值在整个频带所占比重。结果海洋环境水下电场随海水电导率和海水运动强度的减弱,幅值降低,能量主要集中在0.01~1 Hz的低频以及工频处,在一定的空间范围内海洋环境水下电场的一致性较强。结论实验结果与理论分析结果具有一定的吻合度。     

模拟烹饪油烟的粒径分布与扩散

烹饪油烟颗粒物粒径分布与扩散特性研究有助于解析其对室内空气质量和居民健康的影响,采用电子低压撞击器(ELPI)实时监测了油烟机开启和关闭状态下,模拟烹饪油烟发生处和3 m外位置处,0.03~10μm范围内油烟颗粒数浓度和质量浓度随粒径分布.油烟颗粒主要以655 nm以下的细颗粒为主.油烟机能够显著降低室内油烟浓度,开启油烟机后,油烟发生处颗粒数浓度从2.8×106个·cm-3降低到2.3×105个·cm-3,PM2.5(空气动力学直径≤2.5μm的颗粒)质量浓度从85.9 mg·m-3降低到6.2 mg·m-3.油烟机对PM10的净化效率高于PM2.5.油烟迅速从发生处扩散到3 m外,无通风状态下,总颗粒数浓度衰减达65%,PM2.5质量浓度衰减达75%.计算流体动力学(CFD)模拟了油烟机对油烟PM2.5质量浓度场扩散分布影响.红外摄像仪监测了油烟温度场分布扩散,以扇形向外扩散,伴随着油烟温度梯度降低.