Reality and risk of contact-type head injuries related to bicycle-mounted child seats

Objective

The authors have treated numerous children who have been injured by falling from bicycle-mounted child seats. Despite the greatly increased use of such seats, the understanding of their risk and the importance of helmet use remains alarmingly poor. The objective of this study was to confirm the risk of bicycle-mounted child seats and to evaluate the efficacy of helmets, seat belts, and back seat height in terms of preventing or mitigating contact-type head impacts that occur in falls from bicycle-mounted child seats.

Materials and methods

Biometrical dummy tests were performed to examine contact-type head injuries in falls from stationary bicycles. A bicycle with an anthropometric test dummy placed in a bicycle-mounted child seat was tipped over. Each test was repeated three times and three-dimensional acceleration was measured using accelerometer. Head Injury Criteria (HIC) were calculated and the respective influences of a helmet, a seat belt, and increased height of the back of the seat on such impacts were evaluated.

Results

Only helmets unequivocally lowered maximal acceleration and/or HIC values with statistical significance. The seat belt lowered HIC values as long as it was used with the high-back seat. Only when the dummy wore a helmet sitting in a high-back seat did the HIC show less than the threshold of 570 for three-year-old children. The HIC showed the lowest score of 161.5 when the dummy wore both a helmet and a seat belt sitting in a high-back seat.

Conclusions

Riders in bicycle-mounted child seats definitely have higher risks of contact-type head injuries. In transporting a child on a bicycle-mounted child seat, parents must use both a child-bicycle helmet and a high-back child seat at least; a seat belt is highly recommended as long as it is used with the other safety devices.

Impact on Industry

The bicycle-mounted child seat should have a high enough back and an appropriate seat belt to protect the head of the child from a contact-type injury.     

A model for measuring leaf growth rate of vegetative shoot in the seagrass, Zostera marina

A new model for determining leaf growth in vegetative shoots of the seagrass Zostera marina (eelgrass) is described. This model requires the weights of individual mature and immature whole leaves and leaf plastochrone interval (P_L) as parameters, differing from the conventional leaf marking technique (CLM) that requires cutting and separation between new and old tissue of leaves. The techniques required for the model are the same as for the plastochrone method, but the parameters differ between both methods in use of the weight of individual immature leaves. In a mesocosm study, eelgrass growth was examined, and parameters for the new model and plastochrone method (the weights of individual mature and immature leaves and P_L) were measured. Leaf growth rate was measured using the CLM and determined by the new method and the plastochrone method. The results were then compared between the CLM, the new model, and the plastochrone method. The results obtained with the new model were similar to those obtained with the CLM. However, the results of the plastochrone method differed from those of the CLM, while the weight of immature leaves varied seasonally. The new model was also used to determine leaf growth in a natural eelgrass bed in Mikawa Bay, Japan, and revealed the growth rates in all shoots and those of different ages. This method would be advantageous as an accurate means of direct measurement in fieldwork, and should therefore be a useful tool for monitoring seagrass growth.     

New technique using galactose-specific lectin for isolation of fetal cells from maternal blood

To isolate fetal cells from maternal blood, we developed a new method based on galactose-bearing conjugation. Nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs), which highly express galactose on their surface, were selectively attached to a substrate coated with a galactose-containing polymer via soybean agglutinin (SBA), a galactose-specific lectin. Cord blood samples were used to evaluate enrichment efficacy of NRBCs by this method. Blood samples were obtained from 131 pregnant women between 6 and 27 gestational weeks. After preliminary condensation of fetal cells by Ficoll gradient centrifugation, NRBCs were enriched using galactose-positive selection by adjusting SBA concentration. We isolated one to severalhundred NRBCs (mean±SD, 7.8±8.5) in 2.3 ml of peripheral blood samples from 96% of pregnantwomen. The isolated NRBCs were analyzed by a Y-chromosome FISH probe in eight cases carrying male fetuses. Y-signals were detected in all eight cases and more than half of the NRBCs wereoffetal origin. The study demonstrates that our new method using galactose-specific lectin provides effective enrichment of fetal NRBCs allowing non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activities of hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in recombinant yeast cells

Hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAH) with less than four rings are frequently found in the environment, whereas the toxicities associated with these compounds remain unclear. In this study, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)–ligand binding activities of OH-PAH were investigated by using a recombinant yeast assay system. The majority of the OH-PAH tested showed AhR–ligand binding activities, especially, when the hydroxylated derivatives of naphthalene were incubated with recombinant yeast. The structure–activity relationship between AhR activity and molecular weight or the octanol–water partition coefficient value of OH-PAH displayed significant correlations. These findings indicate that the site and number of hydroxy-groups substituted on PAH skeleton apparently influenced the AhR – ligand binding activity in the recombinant yeast assay.     

Assessing local-scale inclusive wealth: a case study of Sado Island,Japan

Present trends of urbanization are accompanied by increasing demographic and economic shrinkage of rural regions. In countries such as Japan, these rural regions trail behind metropolitan counterparts according to GDP, the conventional measure used to guide governmental policies. Yet, past research suggests that these regions may be undervalued. Further, the Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI), largely only used at the national level, may be able to capture aspects previously missed. As such, our study attempts to highlight the wealth of rural regions by comparing the inclusive wealth of Sado Island and Japan between 1990 and 2014. Minor methodological modifications were made according to data availability at the local level and to improve the accuracy of human capital estimations. Results captured the ongoing shrinkage of Sado and demonstrate the distinct potential of the IWI as a stock measure. Sado’s per capita wealth was about 10% lower than the national averages, but its natural capital was about threefold national averages. Supplementary estimations of the natural capital of fisheries and cultivated forests suggest that inclusion of additional factors in the evaluation would further increase the relative valuation of rural regions. We discuss implications of our estimations for wellbeing, and conclude with a critical appraisal of the IWI calculation towards policy implementation of the index.     

Performance of water cut-off and remediation promotion techniques at coastal waste landfill sites

This paper proposes the construction of steel pipe sheet pile (SPSP) cutoff walls for promoting remediation of water-soluble toxic substances and containment of water-soluble toxic substances at landfill sites in order to maintain and ensure the environmental safety of waste landfill sites over time. It investigates environmental safety at coastal waste landfill sites by applying water cut-off and remediation promotion techniques to the joint sections of SPSP water cut-off walls that provide shore protection for waste landfills. Results from the research herein show that the construction of SPSP water cut-off walls with features such as the containment of water-soluble toxic substances and remediation promotion is possible by applying water cut-off and remediation techniques to H–H joints, which are structural joint components of SPSP walls. In addition, they show that the performance of remediation in H–H joints can be controlled by adjusting the water cut-off efficiency of the H–H joint flange.     

Novel enzymatic activity of cell free extract from thermophilic Geobacillus sp. UZO 3 catalyzes reductive cleavage of diaryl ether bonds of 2,7-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

We characterized the ability of the cell free extract from polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins degrading bacterium Geobacillus sp. UZO 3 to reduce even highly chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins such as octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxins in incineration fly ash. The degradation of 2,7-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,7-DCDD) as a model dioxin catalyzed by the cell free extract from this strain implicates that the ether bonds of 2,7-DCDD molecule undergo reductive cleavage, since 4′,5-dichloro-2-hydroxydiphenyl ether and 4-chlorophenol were detected as intermediate products of 2,7-DCDD degradation.     

Challenges to the implementation of a sustainable development certification programme for the minerals and metals industry

Private, voluntary eco-labelling and certification programmes are being developed for a number of industries to promote and verify higher environmental, economic and social standards. In some cases, these initiatives have developed regardless of whether there is initial, broad support within industry. This article seeks to identify some of the challenges inherent in the implementation of a sustainable development certification programme for the minerals and metals industry. The article looks for guidance from initiatives that are drawn for the most part from other resource industries, most notably forestry. While the article takes a Canadian perspective, many of the challenges raised in the article are also applicable internationally. The article concludes that stakeholders can learn from other resource industries if a decision is made to develop a certification programme for the minerals and metals industry. Crucial to the long-term success of such a programme will be the establishment of a true partnership among stakeholders throughout the initiative's development. Crown Copyright.     

Vertical distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Todarodes pacificus</Emphasis> (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) paralarvae near the Oki Islands,southwestern Sea of Japan

The diel vertical distribution patterns of Japanese common squid, Todarodes pacificus, paralarvae were examined using a Multiple Opening Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS) in the southwest Sea of Japan near the Oki Islands (Japan) during five late-autumn surveys in 1998–2002. A total of 1,511 paralarvae ranging in mantle length (ML) from 0.7 to 7.3 mm were collected at 63 of the 68 stations surveyed. Most (84%) were collected above 75 m depth and in the mixed layer. The vertical distribution patterns varied little between day and night. Hatchling-sized (<1.0 mm ML) paralarvae were abundant at 0–25 m depth, and paralarval ML increased with increasing sampling depth. Our results suggest that T. pacificus paralarvae do not exhibit large diel vertical migration patterns, but as they increase in size, paralarvae gradually descend in the water column and the variability in depth increases with ontogeny.