Analysis of injury mechanism of the elderly and non-elderly groups in minor motor vehicle accidents

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the injury patterns of noncatastrophic accidents by individual age groups.

Methods: Data were collected from the Korean In-Depth Accident Study database based on actual accident investigation. The noncatastrophic criteria were classified according to U.S. experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for field triage guidelines of high-risk automobile crash criteria by vehicle intrusions more than 12 in. on occupant sites (including the roof) and more than 18 in. on any site. The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) was used to determine injury patterns for each body region. Severely injured patients were classified as Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3 or higher.

Results: In this study, the most significant injury regions were the head and neck, extremities, and thorax. In addition, the incidence of severe injury among elderly patients was nearly 1.6 times higher than that of non-elderly patients. According to age group, injured body regions among the elderly were the thorax, head and neck, and extremities, in that order. For the non-elderly groups, these were head and neck, extremities, and thorax. Severe injury rates were slightly different for the elderly group (head and neck, abdomen) and non-elderly group (thorax, head and neck).

Conclusions: In both age groups, the rate of severe injury is proportional to an increase in crush extent zone. Front airbag deployment may have a relatively significant relationship to severe injuries.     

The effects of driver factors and sign design features on the comprehensibility of traffic signs

PROBLEM: This paper addresses the effects of driver factors and sign design features on the comprehensibility of traffic signs. METHODS: A survey was designed to capture subjects' personal particulars, ratings on sign features, and comprehension scores, and then administered to 109 Hong Kong full driving license holders. RESULTS: Years with driving license and education level were significant predictors of sign comprehensibility. Contrary to expectation, the driver factors of age group, years of active driving, hours of driving, last time driving, driving frequency, and non-local driving experience had no effect on comprehension performance. Sign familiarity was correlated with comprehension score for licensed drivers, whereas sign concreteness, simplicity, and meaningfulness were not. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results of this study provide useful guidelines for designing more user-friendly traffic signs in the future. It identified particular driver groups who lacked good understanding of traffic signs, and this information may assist the relevant organizations to better allocate traffic training resources, and better target future studies of traffic sign comprehension.     

Bioaccessibility of polychlorinated biphenyls in different foods using an in vitro digestion method

Bioaccessibility of organic pollutants in food is important for exposure estimation and risk assessment. An in vitro enzyme digestion experiment was carried out to analyze the bioaccessibility of PCBs in different foods including freshwater fish (bighead carp and oriental weather fish) and vegetables (spinach and cabbage). The results indicated that the bioaccessibility of PCBs in freshwater fish (3%) was much lower than that in leafy vegetables (25%). Based on field survey, the daily exposure TEQ value from these two types of food was 17.9 pg/kg bw/day. However, when bioaccessibility was taken into consideration, the value decreased to 0.61 pg/kg bw/day. Therefore, the forms of PCBs existing in food strongly influenced the bioavailability for humans, which may have important implications on dietary exposure. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to illustrate the bioaccessibility of PCBs in different foods using an in vitro digestion method.     

VE生产废水的短程硝化反硝化研究

应用短程硝化 反硝化工艺在维生素E废水生物脱氮处理中的实验研究。结果表明 ,当溶解氧浓度为 0 85mg L时的亚硝化率 (NO-2 N NO-x N)为 18 9% ,远远 >溶解氧 2 6 5mg L时的 1 13% ;通过对回流污泥 12h的缺氧选择处理 ,出水中的NO-2 由原来的 2 5mg L上升到 2 5 6mg L ,相应的污泥中亚硝化细菌与硝化细菌的数量比值由 0 4 5提高到 2 4 4 ;在进水中投加 5～ 10mg L的ClO-3能够使污泥中硝酸细菌的活性受到明显抑制 ,但污泥中硝酸细菌的数量却增加了。在停止向进水中投加氯酸根离子后硝酸细菌活性可以缓慢恢复 ,15d后系统的亚硝化率稳定在 5 5 %～ 5 8%。     

A comparison of European and North American atmospheric deposition networks: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and lindane

A comparison between the sampling and analytical methods used by Canadian (IADN) and German (OSPAR) regional monitoring networks for persistent organic pollutants was conducted from September 2002 to October 2003 at a rural site in Ontario, Canada. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the currently-used pesticide lindane were measured in precipitation and ambient air samples. Overall the two networks sampling and analytical methods agreed well in their results of deposition (wet and dry particulate). Lindane concentrations between the two networks agreed well in the air samples while too few precipitation samples could be compared to conclude on agreement. The lindane seasonal profile with a peak in spring-early summer was consistent with previous results pointing to the continued use of this pesticide in 2002-2003 in Canada. Annual lindane wet depositions were comparable between the two network methodologies. PAHs concentrations in precipitation and in gas phase agreed well while there was a discrepancy for particulate PAHs in air. This study confirmed that the use of data from the two regional POPs monitoring networks for hemispherical modelling studies is warranted.     

Communication,neighbourhood belonging and household hurricane preparedness

This paper reports on an examination of data on how local residents in Tuscaloosa, a mid‐sized city in the state of Alabama, United States, responded to Hurricane Ivan of September 2004. The evaluation revealed that an integrated connection to community‐level communication resources—comprising local media, community organisations and interpersonal networks—has a direct impact on the likelihood of engaging in pre‐hurricane preparedness activities and an indirect effect on during‐hurricane preparedness activities. Neighbourhood belonging mediated the relation between an integrated connection to community‐level communication resources and during‐hurricane preparedness activities. Neighbourhood belonging was determined to increase the likelihood of taking preparedness actions during Hurricane Ivan, but not prior to it. In addition, we discovered an interesting pattern for two different types of risk perceptions: social and personal risk perceptions. Social risk perceptions increase the likelihood of taking preventative steps before a hurricane while personal risk perceptions are positively related to engaging in preventative action during a hurricane.     

佛山市垃圾填埋场地下废气组成与产量研究

在佛山市五峰山垃圾卫生填埋场安装地下废气监测井,对地下废气的组成与性质进行监测,在位于较迟填埋垃圾区域的监测井内,地下废气ＣＨ４、ＣＯ２的浓度较高,较稳定,在位于较早填埋垃圾区域的监测井内,地上废气ＣＨ４、ＣＯ２的浓度较低,变化也较大,且在最后一次监测中,井内的废气已失去了垃圾填埋场废气的特征,说明地下垃圾的厌氧分解过程已经完成或者厌氧环境已被破坏,前后只约持续了４ａ的时间,远低于预期所需的１０－     

The ionic compositions of fine and coarse particle fractions in the two urban areas of Korea

The ionic composition of PM2.5 and PM10 was investigated using PM samples collected from Seoul and Busan during the winter of 2002. Based on the measurement data, we attempted to investigate the relative roles of different source processes in the composition of airborne particles at the two distinct urban areas. According to our measurements, the major components of both PM fractions were clearly distinguished from each other at the two different sites. It was found that the ionic concentrations in coarse fractions were generally compatible with each other at the two sites (NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-), NSSS, etc.). However, differences in their concentration levels were significant in the fine fractions and their mass concentration levels in Seoul exhibit threefold enhancement relative to Busan. The results further indicated that anthropogenic signatures were generally more evident in the fine rather than coarse fractions at both sites. However, a comparison of the coarse fraction data indicated the dominance of natural (oceanic) processes at the Busan site and conservative relationships among the different ionic components. The results of the back trajectory analysis confirmed that air mass movement patterns influence the ionic compositions of PM across different particle fractions and between different study sites.     

玻璃幕墙改造:兼顾现代与节能的选择

从节约能源与保护环境的角度来说,玻璃幕墙的改造成效如何,事关建筑行业的可持续发展。为此,广州目前正在对玻璃幕墙进行专项治理和改造,推进公共建筑节能的落实。     

可持续农耕理念的跨越

新农村建设,首先是新农村的经济发展。这样的定义,是为了强调它意在告别那种破坏耕作环境、高化肥使用,以及生产的农作物高残留的旧现象,这一建设是将可持续发展的理念,切实地贯彻到农村和农业生产中,以符合保护生态环境的农耕方法,使用有机肥料和生态农药,生产出高质量的农产品。