The sex disparity in risky driving: A survey of Colombian young drivers

Objective: The overrepresentation of young drivers in poor road safety outcomes has long been recognized as a global road safety issue. In addition, the overrepresentation of males in crash statistics has been recognized as a pervasive young driver problem. Though progress in road safety evidenced as a stabilization and/or reduction in poor road safety outcomes has been made in developed nations, less-developed nations contribute the greatest road safety trauma, and developing nations such as Colombia continue to experience increasing trends in fatality rates. The aim of the research was to explore sex differences in self-reported risky driving behaviors of young drivers, including the associations with crash involvement, in a sample of young drivers attending university in Colombia.

Methods: The Spanish version of the Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale (BYNDS-Sp) was applied in an online survey to a sample of 392 students (225 males) aged 16–24 years attending a major university. Appropriate comparative statistics and logistic regression modeling were used when analyzing the data.

Results: Males reported consistently more risky driving behaviors, with approximately one quarter of all participants reporting risky driving exposure. Males reported greater crash involvement, with violations such as speeding associated with crash involvement for both males and females.

Conclusion: Young drivers in Colombia appear to engage in the same risky driving behaviors as young drivers in developed nations. In addition, young male drivers in Colombia reported greater engagement in risky driving behaviors than young female drivers, a finding consistent with the behaviors of young male drivers in developed nations. As such, the research findings suggest that general interventions such as education, engineering, and enforcement should target transient rule violations such as speeding and using a handheld mobile phone while driving for young drivers in Colombia. Future research should investigate how these interventions could be tailored specifically for the Colombian cultural context, including how their effects can be evaluated, prior to implementation.     

人群聚集行为对空气微生物组成及人体健康风险影响分析

受相关疫情的影响,人群聚集行为对空气中微生物的组成及人体健康风险的影响成为研究的热点。以西安两处典型公共场所为观察对象,基于传统培养分离方法和16S rDNA分子生物学技术,结合《中国人群暴露参数手册(成人卷)》中的相关参数,揭示了人群聚集行为对空气微生物组成的影响,评估了微生物暴露对人体造成的健康风险。结果表明,较之人群聚集前,人群聚集时两个地点的空气微生物污染级别皆由清洁变成中污染。分离培养数据显示:人群聚集时,空气中的细菌种类较人群聚集前增加了11种,真菌种类增加了5种,且微生物菌落颜色、形态、湿润度和生理生化特征等均出现了变动;病原性微生物的种类由2种增加到9种,其中有5种达到了BSL-2级高生物风险,且属于人畜共患病病原菌。健康风险评价结果显示,人群聚集时,人体健康暴露风险系数相比人群聚集前增加了1.28~4.96倍,且男性的暴露风险系数显著高于女性。因此,建议在人群高聚集时段适当限制人流量并保持空间空气流通,以预防潜在传染病的暴发,有效保障人群健康。     

环境中抗生素残留潜在风险及其研究进展

抗生素是一类目前在各国广泛应用的药物,主要通过粪便散布于环境中。在一些国家的河流和湖泊已经检测到了不同种类的抗生素,其在环境中的残留引起了研究者的关注。文章就抗生素的生产和使用、环境中抗生素的暴露途径以及其生态影响进行了综合归纳,并对目前国内外的研究进展进行了分析和讨论,提出了今后的研究重点和方向。