Spatial analysis of mortality rate of pedestrian accidents in Iran during 2012–2013

Objectives: Considering the high mortality rate of pedestrians in traffic accidents in Iran, the present study aimed to determine the high-risk and low-risk areas of accidents resulting in pedestrian deaths and the spatial analysis of their mortality rates.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 4,371 deceased pedestrians reported by the Legal Medicine Organization in Iran from March 2012 to March 2013. For spatial analysis, the collected data were entered into ArcGIS software version 10.2 and a spatial map of the mortality rate was drawn according to the distribution of data in the provinces. Using this software, high-risk and low-risk areas were identified by calculating the spatial autocorrelation of the data. The Moran’s index of road accident patterns was surveyed and high-risk and low-risk points were identified using the local Getis index.

Results: The age-standardized incidence rate was 6.8 per 100,000. After analyzing the data using ArcGIS software, the local Moran’s index showed a cluster pattern with a high mortality rate in 3 provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan, and Qazvin. In identifying high-risk and low-risk points, the local Getis index showed 3 hot spots with a confidence interval of 99% in Qom, Qazvin, and Mazandaran and 5 hot spots with a 95% confidence interval in Markazi, Tehran, Zanjan, Gilan, and Golestan provinces.

Conclusions: According to the cluster pattern of accidents in the 3 provinces and the presence of hot spots in 9 provinces, it is necessary to identify factors that increase the risk of death in the study provinces in order to reduce the mortality rate among pedestrians due to traffic accidents. Therefore, to reduce the pedestrian mortality rate, especially in high-risk provinces, some studies need to be conducted to determine the risk factors in pedestrian mortality.     

Effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on mortality due to road traffic accidents according to the type of victim,sex, and age in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: An interrupted time series study

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of the Brazilian zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on mortality rates due to road traffic accidents according to the type of victim, sex, and age.

Methods: An interrupted time series design was used to compare yearly mortality rates due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before and after the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law came into effect on June 19, 2008. Yearly mortality rates were compared according to the type of victim: pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, and vehicle occupant. We used the Prais-Winsten procedure of autoregression in the analysis of time series; the outcome of this analysis was the annual percentage change in the rates. Overall and stratified analyses were conducted to investigate whether the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law may have had a distributional effect on mortality rates due to road traffic accidents depending on sex and age group; a significance level of P < .01 was accepted.

Results: From 1999 to 2016, there were 15,629 deaths due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro. The effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on overall mortality rates due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro was not statistically significant. However, among cyclists and motorcyclists aged ≥60 years and among pedestrians of both sexes and aged ≥20 years, the effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law was to decrease mortality due to road traffic accidents at a yearly rate.

Conclusion: There is evidence of reduced mortality rates due to road traffic accidents among cyclists and motorcyclists aged ≥60 years and among pedestrians of both sexes aged ≥20 years in the second major Brazilian capital 9 years after the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law was adopted.     

Pollution status,ecological risk assessment and source identification of heavy metals in road dust from an Industrial Estate in Trinidad,West Indies

Road dust in an industrial estate could potentially contain toxic heavy metals as a result of various anthropogenic sources. This study investigated sixteen samples from various locations throughout the Point Lisas Industrial Estate in Trinidad, West Indies. Samples were acid-digested and analysed by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, which revealed that concentrations for Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn ranged from 2.48–5.45?μg/g, 14.2–70.5?μg/g, 15.3–130?μg/g, 219–1330?μg/g, 20.0–62.1?μg/g, 43.5–113?μg/g and 105–1154?μg/g, respectively. Different methods (Geoaccumulation index, pollution index, integrated pollution index, enrichment factor and ecological risk assessment) of assessing heavy metal contamination in road dust indicated negligible to moderate degrees of pollution, in which the associated potential ecological risk was considered low. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis (CA) grouped the heavy metals according to potential sources and indicated that the accumulation of heavy metals in the road dust of the Estate were influenced mainly by vehicular and industrial processes.     

考虑街区尺寸的应急救援路径选择仿真研究

为分析街区尺寸对应急救援车辆行程时间的影响，基于小（120 m）、中（264 m）、大（440 m）3种典型街区尺寸，将救援车辆行程时间分为街区内、外2部分，以总行程时间最小为目标，构建基于背景流量水平的救援车辆路径选择仿真模型。设置4种救援场景，分别求解各救援场景在不同街区尺寸下的最短路径时间、冗余度及复杂度。结果表明:街区尺寸对街区内、外部救援时间均有影响，而前者在救援路径距离较短、街区尺寸较大的路网中占据较大比例（可达50%以上）；救援路径包含路段的流量较小时，中、大街区尺寸路网表现类似，而高流量下大尺寸具备更优的救援时间；街区尺寸越小，救援路径冗余度与复杂度均越大。     

超大城市昼夜交通事故严重程度致因对比分析——以深圳市为例

为研究夜间交通事故严重程度致因，基于深圳市3年3 244起交通事故数据，获取昼夜交通事故分布的时空特征；进一步选取交通事故集聚的南山区、福田区、罗湖区的1 798起交通事故，以交通事故严重程度为因变量，以事故原因、日期、事故形态等10个因素为候选自变量，构建广义有序Logit回归模型，对比分析昼夜不同严重程度交通事故的影响因素。结果表明:路口路段类型、疲劳驾驶、事故日期在夜间模型参数估计值分别为0.493，-0.363，-0.309，而在日间模型表现为不显著，道路路面材料在日间模型参数估计值为-0.232，而在夜间表现为不显著；事故原因、道路横断面渠化方式等因素在日间和夜间所引起交通事故的严重等级均存在较大差异。     

突发公共卫生事件下公交暴露风险辨识方法:以深圳应对新型冠状病毒肺炎为例

为定量评估突发公共卫生事件下的公交暴露风险,基于公交线网、交通分析区及新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)疫情信息等多源数据,考虑公交站点、交通分析区及疫情场所3种研究尺度,集成公交网络结构拓扑模型、公交网络中心性模型及核密度分析等空间分析方法,提出公交暴露风险的多尺度辨识方法,并以深圳市为例进行验证。结果表明:公交站点暴露风险在空间上呈现多中心—圈层结构,较高及高暴露风险站点多为交通枢纽、商场等,占比达26.40%;较高及高暴露风险交通分析区主要分布在工业、商业聚集区及居民点密集区,占比达32.84%;较高及高暴露风险疫情场所主要集中在城市核心区域,占比为28.92%。     

基于交通的城市突发事件分级及响应措施研究

突发事件分级是事故信息报送和分级处置的依据,在分析已有的突发事件分级标准的基础上,考虑突发事件救援的交通保障,从突发事件的紧急程度和交通的便捷程度两个方面,提出了突发事件分级标准及相应的交通响应措施。     

Biochemical study of retired pentachlorophenol workers with and without following dietary exposure to PCDD/Fs

Objectives

This is the first research study to compare among female, non-smoker workers: (a) the exposure to benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTXs) in urban air during work in the street (traffic policewomen, TP) vs. work in vehicles (police drivers, PD); (b) the exposure to BTXs in urban environments (in street and in car) vs. rural environments (roadwomen, RW); (c) the values of blood benzene, urinary trans, trans muconic acid (t,t-MA) and urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) in urban areas (in street and in car) vs. rural areas.

Methods

Passive personal samplings and data acquired using fixed monitoring stations located in different areas of the city were used to measure environmental and occupational exposure to BTXs during the work shift in 48 TP, 21 PD and 22 RW. In the same study subjects, blood benzene, t,t-MA and S-PMA were measured at the end of each work shift.

Results

Personal exposure of urban workers to benzene seemed to be higher than the exposure measured by the fixed monitoring stations. Personal exposure to benzene and toluene was (a) similar among TP and PD and (b) higher among urban workers compared to rural workers. Personal exposure to xylenes was (a) higher in TP than in PD and (b) higher among urban workers compared to rural workers. Blood benzene, t,t-MA and S-PMA levels were similar among TP and PD, although the blood benzene level was significantly higher in urban workers compared to rural workers. In urban workers, airborne benzene and blood benzene levels were significantly correlated.

Conclusions

Benzene is a human carcinogen, and BTXs are potential reproductive toxins at low dose exposures. Biological and environmental monitoring to assess exposure to BTXs represents a preliminary and necessary tool for the implementation of preventive measures for female subjects working in outdoor environments.     

公路交通噪声预测模型FHWA与RLS90的比较

为了了解我国长期以来使用的两种公路交通噪声预测模型,即美国联邦公路局(FHWA)模型和德国RLS90模型的预测精确性,通过理论分析,比较了RLS90分段模型、RLS90长直线模型、FHWA模型的差异,并通过实际测量值对3种模型的计算结果进行了验证,表明RLS90模型在高速公路交通噪声预测中略优于FHWA模型。