Parameters influencing AIS 1 neck injury outcome in frontal impacts

In order to gain more knowledge of the neck injury scenario in frontal impacts, a statistical study of parameters influencing incidences of AIS 1 neck injuries was performed. The data set consisted of 616 occupants in Volvo cars. Information regarding the crash, the safety systems, occupant characteristics (including prior neck problems), behavior and sitting posture at the time of impact, and neck symptoms (including duration) was collected and analyzed. Occupant characteristics (mainly gender, weight, and age), kinematics (head impacts) and behavior at the time of impact were identified as the most prominent parameter areas with regard to AIS 1 neck injury outcome. Specifically, women had a significantly higher AIS 1 neck injury rate as compared to men, occupants under the age of 50 had a significantly higher AIS 1 neck injury rate as compared to those above 50 and occupants weighing less than 65 kg have a significantly higher AIS 1 neck injury rate than heavier occupants. Drivers stating that they impacted their head against a frontal interior structure had a significantly higher AIS 1 neck injury rate than those without head impact. Also, occupants who stated they had tensed their neck muscles at the time of impact, had a significantly higher AIS 1 neck injury rate as compared to occupants who did not. Occupant activities, such as tightly gripping the steering wheel or straightening their arms showed a significantly increased AIS 1 neck injury rate, indicating that occupant behavior at time of impact could be influential with respect to AIS 1 neck injury outcome. Also, occupants reporting prior neck problems had a higher rate of persistent symptoms (>1 year) but no difference with respect to passing symptoms (<3 months) as compared to those without prior neck problems. Additionally, there was no distinct pattern for the duration of neck symptoms.     

正面碰撞事故中大客车乘员损伤影响因素分析

为研究乘客在大客车正面碰撞事故中的损伤机理,建立某全承载大客车有限元模型,并通过试验验证有限元模型的仿真精度。基于验证模型对不同碰撞速度条件下大客车车身结构力学响应、生存空间、座椅固定件强度、乘员运动响应和损伤等进行综合分析及评价。结果表明:高速碰撞条件下,驾驶员生存空间容易被侵入,座椅固定件强度存在失效的风险;乘员头部、颈部和胸部的损伤值受碰撞速度、安全带类型和乘员位置影响较大;三点式安全带保护效果明显优于两点式安全带。     

Variations in occupant response with seat belt slack and anchor location during moderate frontal impacts

Both seat belt slack and anchor location are known to affect occupant excursion during high-speed frontal collisions, but their effects have not been studied at moderate collision severities. The goal of this study was to quantify how seat belt slack and anchor location affect occupant kinematics and kinetics in moderate severity frontal collisions. A Hybrid III 50th percentile male dummy was seated on a programmable sled and exposed to frontal collisions with a speed change of 17.5 km/h. The seat belt was adjusted either snugly or with 10 cm slack (distributed 60/40 between the shoulder and lap portions) and the anchor location was varied by adjusting the seat position either fully forward or rearward (seat travel = 13 cm). Accelerations and displacements of the head, T1 and pelvis were measured in the sagittal plane. Upper neck loads and knee displacements were also measured. Five trials were performed for each of the four combinations of belt adjustment (snug, slack) and anchor location (seat forward, seat rearward). For each trial, kinematic and kinetic response peaks were determined and then compared across conditions using ANOVAs. Peak displacements, accelerations and loads varied significantly with both seat belt slack and anchor location. Seat belt slack affected more parameters and had a larger effect than anchor location on most peak response parameters. Head displacements increased a similar amount between the snug/slack belt conditions and the rearward/forward anchor locations. Overall, horizontal head displacements increased from 23.8 cm in the snug-belt, rearward-anchor configuration to 33.9 cm in the slack-belt, forward-anchor configuration. These results demonstrated that analyses of occupant displacements, accelerations and loads during moderate frontal impacts should consider potential sources of seat belt slack and account for differences in seat belt anchor locations.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of occupant characteristics on contemporary seat belt payout behavior in frontal impacts

Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of the occupant characteristics on seat belt force vs. payout behavior based on experiment data from different configurations in frontal impacts.

Methods: The data set reviewed consists of 58 frontal sled tests using several anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and postmortem human subjects (PMHS), restrained by different belt systems (standard belt, SB; force-limiting belt, FLB) at 2 impact severities (48 and 29 km/h). The seat belt behavior was characterized in terms of the shoulder belt force vs. belt payout behavior. A univariate linear regression was used to assess the factor significance of the occupant body mass or stature on the peak tension force and gross belt payout.

Results: With the SB, the seat belt behavior obtained by the ATDs exhibited similar force slopes regardless of the occupant size and impact severities, whereas those obtained by the PMHS were varied. Under the 48 km/h impact, the peak tension force and gross belt payout obtained by ATDs was highly correlated to the occupant stature (P =.03, P =.02) and body mass (P =.05, P =.04), though no statistical difference with the stature or body mass were noticed for the PMHS (peak force: P =.09, P =.42; gross payout: P =.40, P =.48). With the FLB under the 48 km/h impact, highly linear relationships were noticed between the occupant body mass and the peak tension force (R² = 0.9782) and between the gross payout and stature (R² = 0.9232) regardless of the occupant types.

Conclusions: The analysis indicated that the PMHS characteristics showed a significant influence on the belt response, whereas the belt response obtained with the ATDs was more reproducible. The potential cause included the occupant anthropometry, body mass distribution, and relative motion among body segments specific to the population variance. This study provided a primary data source to understand the biomechanical interaction of the occupant with the restraint system. Further research is necessary to consider these effects in the computational studies and optimized design of the restraint system in a more realistic manner.     

职业危害监管影响因素的分析与研究

进行区域职业危害总体状况影响因素的研究,从而为职业危害监管工作的开展提供依据.从系统工程的角度,运用层次分析法的基本原理构建区域职业危害总体状况AHP(层次分析法)模型并确定指标体系,通过计算排序权向量并进行一致性检验,得到相关指标因子的权重.计算结果表明,区域内的职业危害状况是影响职业危害监管工作的首要因素,其次是职业病发生情况、职业危害管理状况和职业危害临管资源状况,最后是职业卫生技术服务资源状况.计算结果符合当前职业卫生工作的实际情况.     

有机锡化合物的毒性效应及其影响因素

以斜生栅藻(Scenedesmus obliquus)和大型蚤(Daphniamagna)为受试生物,采用静水试验法评价了5种有机锡化合物的毒性效应,并初步探讨了化合物结构和性质对其毒性效应的影响.结果表明,有机锡化合物对两种水生生物均显示出较强的毒性,且具有相同的变化规律,即毒性效应均表现为三丁基锡＞四丁基锡＞二丁基锡＞一丁基锡,但由于种间差异及外部因素的影响,同一有机锡化合物对两种水生生物的毒性作用差异明显.同时,有机锡化合物自身的理化性质和分子结构也影响着它们对水生生物的毒性效应,只有当Sn原子与C原子相连时才表现出毒性,即有机锡对水生生物具有毒性.在同一取代系列的有机锡化合物中,取代烷基的数目越多,毒性越大,但是当取代烷基数增加到一定程度后,由于分子体积过大,毒性反而降低.     

Computational investigation of the effects of knee airbag design on the interaction with occupant lower extremity in frontal and oblique impacts

Objective: The lower extremity of the occupant represents the most frequently injured body region in motor vehicle crashes. Knee airbags (KABs) have been implemented as a potential countermeasure to reduce lower extremity injuries. Despite the increasing prevalence of KABs in vehicles, the biomechanical interaction of the human lower extremity with the KAB has not been well characterized. This study uses computational models of the human body and KABs to explore how KAB design may influence the impact response of the occupant's lower extremities.

Methods: The analysis was conducted using a 50th percentile male occupant human body model with deployed KABs in a simplified vehicle interior. The 2 common KAB design types, bottom-deploy KAB (BKAB) and rear-deploy KAB (RKAB), were both included. A state-of-the-art airbag modeling technique, the corpuscular particle method, was adopted to represent the deployment dynamics of the unfolding airbags. Validation of the environment model was performed based on previously reported test results. The kinematic responses of the occupant lower extremities were compared under both KAB designs, 2 seating configurations (in-position and out-of-position), and 3 loading conditions (static, frontal, and oblique impacts). A linear statistical model was used to assess factor significance considering the impact responses of the occupant lower extremities.

Results: The presence of a KAB had a significant influence on the lower extremity kinematics compared to no KAB (P <.05) by providing early restraint and distributing contact force on the legs during airbag deployment. For in-position occupants, the KAB generally tended to decrease tibia loadings. The RKAB led to greater lateral motion of the legs compared to the BKAB, resulting in higher lateral displacement at the knee joint and abduction angle change (51.2 ± 21.7 mm and 15° ± 6.0°) over the dynamic loading conditions. Change in the seating position led to a significant difference in occupant kinematic and kinetic parameters (P <.05). For the out-of-position (forward-seated) occupant, the earlier contact between the lower extremity and the deploying KAB resulted in 28.4° ± 5.8° greater abduction, regardless of crash scenarios. Both KAB types reduced the axial force in the femur relative to no KAB. Overall, the out-of-position occupant sustained a raised axial force and bending moment of the tibia by 0.8 ± 0.2 kN and 21.1 ± 8.7 Nm regardless of restraint use.

Conclusions: The current study provided a preliminary computational examination on KAB designs based on a limited set of configurations in an idealized vehicle interior. Results suggested that the BKAB tended to provide more coverage and less leg abduction compared to the RKAB in oblique impact and/or the selected out-of-position scenario. An out-of-position occupant was associated with larger abduction and lower extremity loads over all occupant configurations. Further investigations are recommended to obtain a full understanding of the KAB performance in a more realistic vehicle environment.     

Reporting practices in merchant shipping,and the identification of influencing factors

The objective of this paper is to identify the factors determining the reporting frequency of experience data e.g. incidents and accidents. The empirical setting is the Norwegian controlled merchant fleet. Data were collected from a survey carried out in 2006, where 1262 questionnaires were gathered from 76 vessels. The data were subjected to explorative factor analysis, method of principal component and varimax rotation. Seven factors, representing latent dimensions of safety culture, were extracted. Internal consistency (Cronbach Alpha) and scale reliability were found to be acceptable. The factor scores were used in an ordered logistic regression to examine the factors’ relationships to reporting frequency. The results show that enhanced safety related training, a trusting and open relationship among the crew, safety oriented ship management, performance of pro-active risk identification activities and feedback on reported events all are significantly related to higher reporting frequency. On the other hand, demand for efficiency and lack of attention to safety from shore personnel, are significantly related to lower reporting frequency. The results also show a significantly lower reporting frequency among those who have worked with their local manager less than 1 year. Bulk and dry cargo vessels also show significantly lower reporting frequency than those working on liquid bulk carriers.     

变电站操作不安全行为核心影响因素分析*

为分析变电站中操作不安全行为的核心影响因素,基于国家电网某省变电站员工安全心理自评数据,运用心理学模型确定9种主要心理维度,融合Bayesian Search和Peter Clark(PC)算法,并使用专家知识修正以训练贝叶斯网络模型结构,应用Expectation Maximization(EM)算法训练模型参数,并运用Mutual Information(MI)和预测推理2种方法分析核心影响因素。研究结果表明:训练模型的预测错误率为14.8%,AUC为0.945 8,变电站操作不安全行为的核心影响因素为情绪稳定性和心理承受力。     

火灾发生率空间分异及影响因素研究

为了探究我国火灾空间聚集特征与影响因素的空间异质性,采用全局莫兰指数、局部莫兰指数、逐步回归模型、地理加权回归模型、地理探测器方法对我国地级市单元进行研究。研究结果表明:我国火灾发生率具有显著的聚集性;我国火灾发生率较低的“冷点”区域有1个,火灾发生率较高的“热点”区域有4个;人均GDP、城镇居民人均可支配收入、人口密度、年平均气温4 个因素的影响效应具有空间异质性。人均GDP与火灾发生率为正相关,另外3影响因素对火灾发生率的作用表现出正负2种相关关系;2因素交互作用要比单因素作用于火灾发生率时影响力更显著,各影响因素的交互作用类型有非线性增强型和双因子增强型2种。     

Chest injuries of elderly postmortem human surrogates (PMHSs) under seat belt and airbag loading in frontal sled impacts: Comparison to matching THOR tests

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the study was to develop experimental chest loading conditions that would cause up to Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2 chest injuries in elderly occupants in moderate-speed frontal crashes. The new set of experimental data was also intended to be used in the benchmark of existing thoracic injury criteria in lower-speed collision conditions.

Methods: Six male elderly (age >63) postmortem human subjects (PMHS) were exposed to a 35?km/h (nominal) frontal sled impact. The test fixture consisted of a rigid seat, rigid footrest, and cable seat back. Two restraint conditions (A and B) were compared. Occupants were restrained by a force-limited (2.5?kN [A] and 2?kN [B]) seat belt and a preinflated (16?kPa [A] and 11?kPa [B]; airbag). Condition B also incorporated increased seat friction. Matching sled tests were carried out with the THOR-M dummy. Infra-red telescoping rod for the assessment of chest compression (IRTRACC) readings were used to compute chest injury risk. PMHSs were exposed to a posttest injury assessment. Tests were carried out in 2 stages, using the outcome of the first one combined with a parametric study using the THUMS model to adjust the test conditions in the second. All procedures were approved by the relevant ethics board.

Results: Restraint condition A resulted in an unexpected high number of rib fractures (fx; 10, 14, 15 fx). Under condition B, the adjustment of the relative airbag/occupant position combined with a lower airbag pressure and lower seat belt load limit resulted in a reduced pelvic excursion (85 vs. 110?mm), increased torso pitch and a substantially lower number of rib fractures (1, 0, 4 fx) as intended.

Conclusions: The predicted risk of rib fractures provided by the THOR dummy using the C_max and PC Score injury criteria were lower than the actual injuries observed in the PMHS tests (especially in restraint condition A). However, the THOR dummy was capable of discriminating between the 2 restraint scenarios. Similar results were obtained in the parametric study with the THUMS model.     

水体监测中氨氮测定的影响因素分析

目前,水质监测的范围非常广泛,通常包括易受污染水体和未受污染水体的监测。一般在水质监测过程中,首先需要确定的是科学合理的检测方法,然后对影响该检测方法精度的因素进行综合分析并进行有效监测,当今水质监测中氨氮浓度是评价水质好坏的重要指标之一。基于此,文章综合分析了水体中氨氮浓度检测的基本原理并重点探讨了水体监测中影响氨氮测定的主要因素。     

Job insecurity in managers: Antecedents and consequences

To date, popular accounts and systematic studies of the effects of job insecurity have focused exclusively on firms in acute crisis. In contrast, this study examines perceptions of the reactions to insecurity as a chronic, ambiguous threat. None of the 1291 managers surveyed was currently facing layoff, but half worked for firms that had laid off managers in the previous five years and half worked in a stable, expanding firm. As in previous studies, concern about any aspect of job insecurity was associated with decreased personal well-being and deterioration of work behavior and attitudes. However, only a small minority of managers were seriously worried about imminent job loss, with substantially more anxious about a deterioration in working conditions and long-term security.     

Teenage driver crash incidence and factors influencing crash injury by rurality

BackgroundPrevious research has identified teenage drivers as having an increased risk for motor-vehicle crash injury compared with older drivers, and rural roads as having increased crash severity compared with urban roads. Few studies have examined incidence and characteristics of teen driver-involved crashes on rural and urban roads.MethodsAll crashes involving a driver aged 10 through 18 were identified from the Iowa Department of Transportation crash data from 2002 through 2008. Rates of overall crashes and fatal or severe injury crashes were calculated for urban, suburban, rural, and remote rural areas. The distribution of driver and crash characteristics were compared between rural and urban crashes. Logistic regression was used to identify driver and crash characteristics associated with increased odds of fatal or severe injury among urban and rural crashes.ResultsFor younger teen drivers (age 10 through 15), overall crash rates were higher for more rural areas, although for older teen drivers (age 16 through 18) the overall crash rates were lower for rural areas. Rural teen crashes were nearly five times more likely to lead to a fatal or severe injury crash than urban teen crashes. Rural crashes were more likely to involve single vehicles, be late at night, involve a failure to yield the right-of-way and crossing the center divider.ConclusionsIntervention programs to increase safe teen driving in rural areas need to address specific risk factors associated with rural roadways.Impact on IndustryTeen crashes cause lost work time for teen workers as well as their parents. Industries such as safety, health care, and insurance have a vested interest in enhanced vehicle safety, and these efforts should address risks and injury differentials in urban and rural roadways.