How do children learn to cross the street? The process of pedestrian safety training

Objective: Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of child death and may be reduced by training children to cross streets more safely. Such training is most effective when children receive repeated practice at the complex cognitive–perceptual task of judging moving traffic and selecting safe crossing gaps, but there is limited data on how much practice is required for children to reach adult levels of functioning. Using existing data, we examined how children's pedestrian skills changed over the course of 6 pedestrian safety training sessions, each composed of 45 crossings within a virtual pedestrian environment.

Methods: As part of a randomized controlled trial on pedestrian safety training, 59 children ages 7–8 crossed the street within a semi-immersive virtual pedestrian environment 270 times over a 3-week period (6 sessions of 45 crossings each). Feedback was provided after each crossing, and traffic speed and density were advanced as children's skill improved. Postintervention pedestrian behavior was assessed a week later in the virtual environment and compared to adult behavior with identical traffic patterns.

Results: Over the course of training, children entered traffic gaps more quickly and chose tighter gaps to cross within; their crossing efficiency appeared to increase. By the end of training, some aspects of children's pedestrian behavior was comparable to adult behavior but other aspects were not, indicating that the training was worthwhile but insufficient for most children to achieve adult levels of functioning.

Conclusions: Repeated practice in a simulated pedestrian environment helps children learn aspects of safe and efficient pedestrian behavior. Six twice-weekly training sessions of 45 crossings each were insufficient for children to reach adult pedestrian functioning, however, and future research should continue to study the trajectory and quantity of child pedestrian safety training needed for children to become competent pedestrians.     

Origin,distribution, and perspective health benefits of particulate matter in the air of underground salt mine: a case study from Bochnia,Poland

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - The composition and distribution of airborne particles in different locations in a salt mine were determined in terms of their origin, the distance from the...     

An integrated method for the rapid dewatering and solidification/stabilization of dredged contaminated sediment with a high water content

• An integrated method, called PHDVPSS, was proposed for treating DCS. • The PHDVPSS method showed superior performance compared to conventional method. • Using the method, water content (%) of DCS decreased from 300 to<150 in 3 days. • The 56-day UCS from this method is 12‒17 times higher than conventional method. • Relative to PC, GGBS-MgO binder yielded greater reduction in the leachability. To more efficiently treat the dredged contaminated sediment (DCS) with a high water content, this study proposes an integrated method (called PHDVPSS) that uses the solidifying/stabilizing (S/S) agents and prefabricated horizontal drain (PHD) assisted by vacuum pressure (VP). Using this method, dewatering and solidification/stabilization can be carried out simultaneously such that the treatment time can be significantly shortened and the treatment efficacy can be significantly improved. A series of model tests was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results indicated that the proposed PHDVPSS method showed superior performance compared to the conventional S/S method that uses Portland cement (PC) directly without prior dewatering. The 56-day unconfined compressive strength of DCS treated by the proposed method with GGBS-MgO as the binder is 12‒17 times higher than that by the conventional S/S method. DCS treated by the PHDVPSS method exhibited continuous decrease in leaching concentration of Zn with increasing curing age. The reduction of Zn leachability is more obvious when using GGBS-MgO as the binder than when using PC, because GGBS-MgO increased the residual fraction and decreased the acid soluble fraction of Zn. The microstructure analysis reveals the formation of hydrotalcite in GGBS-MgO binder, which resulted in higher mechanical strength and higher Zn stabilization efficiency.     

类二噁英物质及芳香烃受体(AhR)介导的有害结局路径(AOP)研究进展

二噁英及类二噁英物质(dioxin-like compounds,DLCs)是一类高毒性化合物的统称,对其毒理学的研究一直都是备受关注的焦点。已有证据表明,高毒二噁英及DLCs主要通过激活芳香烃受体(aryl hydrocarbon receptor,AhR),进而导致一系列生物毒性。近年来越来越多的新型有机污染物被发现具有类二噁英分子结构并存在潜在生物毒性或活性。与此同时,如何评估二噁英及DLCs对本土生态生物的危害及其风险也受到更多关注。本文综述了近几年发现的新型二噁英物质、二噁英及DLCs的AhR致毒机制、相应的有害结局路径(adverse outcome pathway,AOP)及AOP在指导探索新型物质及物种敏感性方面上的新观点和发现,同时也展望了二噁英及DLCs在生态毒理及风险评估领域的未来研究方向。     

成都市冬季大气颗粒物组成特征及来源变化趋势

年冬季分别在成都市8个环境受体采样点采集PM₁₀、PM_2.5样品,同时采集颗粒物源类样品,分析上述样品质量浓度及多种无机元素、水溶性离子和碳组分的含量,以对这3 a冬季大气颗粒物浓度、特征组分、来源及变化趋势进行分析. 使用CMB-iteration模型对成都市中心城区的PM₁₀、PM_2.5进行来源解析. 结果表明: 成都市冬季ρ(PM₁₀)在工业区最高,PM_2.5污染呈现区域性特征;冬季PM₁₀的主要来源有扬尘、二次硫酸盐、煤烟尘、二次硝酸盐和机动车尾气尘,上述5类源在2010─2012年的分担率分别为24%～29%、17%～22%、13%～16%、6%～12%、6%～11%;对PM_2.5有重要贡献的源类有二次硫酸盐、扬尘、煤烟尘、二次硝酸盐和机动车尾气尘,这5类源在2010─2012年的分担率范围分别为25%～27%、19%～22%、12%～15%、11%～13%、8%～11%. 二次粒子、扬尘等是成都市大气颗粒物的主要污染源,其中扬尘、建筑水泥尘等以粗粒子为主的源类浓度贡献呈逐年下降趋势,而二次粒子等以细粒子为主的源类浓度贡献则逐年上升,成都市冬季大气细颗粒物污染加重.      

致癌性卤代醌介导的脂质氢过氧化物分解的分子机制

卤代醌是许多卤芳香持久有机污染物的致癌代谢产物和饮用水消毒副产物.13-过氧羟基-9,11-十八碳二烯酸(13-HPODE)是最为广泛研究的内源性脂质过氧化物.众所周知,过渡金属离子可以催化分解13-HPODE,但尚不清楚卤代醌是否可以通过不依赖金属离子的途径促进其分解;若是如此,又有什么特异性和相似性?我们发现卤化醌如2,5-二氯-1,4-苯醌(DCBQ)可显著促进13-HPODE的分解.综合采用电子自旋共振-自旋捕获、HPLC-MS和GC-MS等分析方法,可检测到反应形成的脂质烷基自由基如戊烷基自由基、7-羧甲基自由基以及具有基因毒性的4-羟基-2-壬烯醛(HNE)等.在DCBQ和13-HPODE的反应中也能检测到两种氯醌-脂质烷氧基耦合物.我们认为卤代醌促进内源性脂质过氧化物13-HPODE分解生成活性脂质烷基自由基和基因毒性的HNE是通过一类新型的金属非依赖亲核取代与裂解机理来实现的,这也在一定程度上解释了其潜在的基因毒性和致癌性.     

利用蚀刻废液生产碱式氯化铜过程中二英类污染物的去除

针对蚀刻废液及其回收后生产的碱式氯化铜产品中二英(PCDD/Fs)和二英类多氯联苯(dl-PCBs)进行了分析研究,并比较了采用去除工艺前后两类污染物含量水平的变化特征.利用高分辨气相色谱/高分辨质谱对样品中PCDD/Fs和dl-PCBs进行分析,结果表明,氯化铜废液中PCDD/Fs和dl-PCBs的平均总浓度分别为264、139 pg·mL-1,而铜氨液中浓度分别为0.09、0.50 pg·mL-1;碱式氯化铜产品中浓度分别为106 pg·g-1(2.79 pg WHO-TEQ2005·g-1)和27.8 pg·g-1(0.69 pg WHO-TEQ2005·g-1);而经过吸附和过滤等去除工艺后,产品中PCDD/Fs和dl-PCBs的TEQ浓度水平分别降低至0.10—0.25 pg WHO-TEQ2005·g-1和0.05—0.72 pg WHO-TEQ2005·g-1,满足欧盟对于矿物源性饲料添加剂中PCDD/Fs和dl-PCBs的限量标准要求.研究表明该工艺能够有效去除利用蚀刻废液生产碱式氯化铜过程中的二英类污染物.     

火电厂锅炉再热器联络管裂纹分析及处理

某火电厂亚临界锅炉墙式再热器蒸汽出口至屏式再热器联络管母管及排空气管接管座产生裂纹发生渗漏.通过对墙式再热器出口管道排空气管接管座裂纹特征、结构型式、管道现场布置情况、运行环境等方面进行综合分析,认为排空气管道安装布置不合理,无保温措施,导致冷凝水倒流,形成热疲劳裂纹并逐步延伸扩展.确认产生裂纹的原因后,优化管道安装布...     

沸石滤池深度处理石化废水二级出水研究

采用小试规模沸石滤池,深度处理石化废水二级出水,通过考察滤池对CODCrNH4^-N和挥发酚的去除情况,分析了沸石去除污染物的规律和机理。结果表明：沸石滤池对CODCr,NH4^＋-N和挥发酚的平均去除率分别达到27．32％、94．67％和34．47％。在滤池运行初期,离子交换起主要作用。随着反应器的运行,离子交换因沸石饱和而减弱,而生物氧化逐渐起作用。由于沸石资源丰富、价格低廉和性能优越,所以沸石滤池作为三级深度处理技术具有广阔应用前景。     

CeMn氧化物催化剂的制备及其对甲苯的催化降解性能

采用草酸沉淀法合成了铈锰 氧化物（CeMn氧化物）催化剂,在固定床反应器中考察了不同Ce-Mn摩尔比、空速对CeMn 氧化物催化剂催化降解甲苯效果的影响,通过XRD、SEM、XPS等技术表征了催化剂的理化性质。实验结果表明：当n（Ce）∶n（Mn）=1∶3时得到的Ce₁Mn₃催化剂降解甲苯的活性最佳,T₅₀=198 ℃,T₉₀=249 ℃,且Ce₁Mn₃催化剂具有较好的活性稳定性;随着空速的增加,Ce₁Mn₃催化降解甲苯的性能变差。表征结果表明：CeMn氧化物形成的Ce-Mn固溶体使CeMn氧化物表面氧空位浓度增加,加快了氧物种在催化剂内部及表面的流动传输;Ce氧化物与Mn氧化物之间的协同作用使催化剂的还原峰向低温方向偏移,CeMn氧化物展现出更优异的低温活性。