Modeling level-of-safety for bus stops in China

Objective: Safety performance at bus stops is generally evaluated by using historical traffic crash data or traffic conflict data. However, in China, it is quite difficult to obtain such data mainly due to the lack of traffic data management and organizational issues. In light of this, the primary objective of this study is to develop a quantitative approach to evaluate bus stop safety performance.

Methods: The concept of level-of-safety for bus stops is introduced and corresponding models are proposed to quantify safety levels, which consider conflict points, traffic factors, geometric characteristics, traffic signs and markings, pavement conditions, and lighting conditions. Principal component analysis and k-means clustering methods were used to model and quantify safety levels for bus stops.

Results: A case study was conducted to show the applicability of the proposed model with data collected from 46 samples for the 7 most common types of bus stops in China, using 32 of the samples for modeling and 14 samples for illustration. Based on the case study, 6 levels of safety for bus stops were defined. Finally, a linear regression analysis between safety levels and the number of traffic conflicts showed that they had a strong relationship (R² value of 0.908).

Conclusions: The results indicated that the method was well validated and could be practically used for the analysis and evaluation of bus stop safety in China. The proposed model was relatively easy to implement without the requirement of traffic crash data and/or traffic conflict data. In addition, with the proposed method, it was feasible to evaluate countermeasures to improve bus stop safety (e.g., exclusive bus lanes).     

WO_3/Ag_3VO_4复合光催化剂的制备及其可见光催化性能

采用超声辅助沉淀法—浸渍法制备了WO3/Ag3VO4复合光催化剂,对其进行了表征,考察了其在可见光条件下对罗丹明B的催化降解性能,并对催化机理进行了探讨。表征结果显示:WO3紧密包覆在Ag3VO4颗粒的表面,并未改变Ag3VO4的晶体结构;与Ag3VO4和WO3相比,WO3/Ag3VO4的吸收带边发生了红移。实验结果表明:w(WO3)为3.5%时,WO3/Ag3VO4对罗丹明B的可见光催化降解效果最好;在光催化剂加入量0.8 g/L、初始罗丹明B质量浓度10 mg/L的条件下,于室温下光照180 min时的罗丹明B去除率达95.76%,TOC去除率达96.5%;WO3与Ag3VO4在能带间的耦合作用下形成异质结结构,很好地抑制了光生电子-空穴对的复合。     

温岭市高架道路交通噪声空间分布规律与防治对策研究

为评价温岭市东环高架道路交通噪声的环境影响,采用实测法对东环高架附近代表性点位及不同时间段进行噪声监测,记录等效连续A声级(Leq),以及同步监测车流量、车型等相关数据.根据《声环境质量标准》(GB 3096-2008),由所得监测数据,推测其交通噪声空间分布规律.结果表明,噪声最大值发生于上下班高峰期,交通噪声则随距离的增加而衰减,而道路两侧高层建筑交通噪声随着高度的增加先由小变大后变小.此外,还为该高架道路交通噪声的防治提供一定的参考依据.     

上海市西部郊区PM2.5污染状况及影响因素

通过2014年上海市西部郊区PM2.5的浓度变化分析了该地区的PM2.5污染分布状况,并且从温度、湿度和风向等方面讨论了PM2.5浓度与气象因子的关联性.结果表明:该地区2014全年超标天数有112天,超标率为30.7％,PM2.5月均浓度呈夏低冬高的趋势状态,并且PM2.5浓度与气象条件有密切的联系.该地区气温在5～15℃、湿度在60～70％时PM2.5浓度最高;在以东风为主导风盛行时,该地区PM2.5浓度较低,而在以西风为主导风盛行时,该地区易受到周边区域的高污染因素影响,形成PM2.5高浓度累积现象.     

Lignin-Based Magnetic Nanoparticle Adsorbent for Diclofenac Sodium Removal: Adsorption Behavior and Mechanisms

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Diclofenac sodium, as a typical deputation of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, is widely used in clinical treatment. Due to the heavy use, diclofenac...     

Climate variations and New Zealand agriculture: the CLIMPACTS system and issues of spatial and temporal scale.

Internationally and nationally, New Zealand has a growing requirement to assess and report on the possible effects of climate change. In association with this requirement, the science of climate change is rapidly evolving requiring a capacity for rapid reassessment of effects to take account of scientific advances. Consequently, past assessment methods, which have not been computationally efficient, nor easily repeated, are becoming outdated. To address this gap, an integrated assessment model (IAM), the CLIMPACTS system, has been developed for New Zealand. The CLIMPACTS system has been developed to provide flexibility in application, to be easily updated to take account of scientific advances, and capable of providing information in a manner that is relevant to policymakers. In order to be relevant in New Zealand, it has been necessary to account for different scales of assessment, nationally, at specific sites, and regionally. Nationally, the focus is on spatial applications (e.g., changes in areas of suitability), whereas at sites, the focus is on temporal applications (e.g., changes in risk). The regional capacity in the CLIMPACTS system has required an integration of spatial and temporal applications. This paper describes briefly the capability that has been developed at these different scales of assessment, with brief examples for each. The CLIMPACTS system has enhanced New Zealand's capability to examine environmental sensitivities to climate change, as a basis for better informed policy decisions. Importantly, it is an evolving platform that can be readily extended to other sectors and updated, for example, to account for the effects of internationally agreed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets.     

Displacement as a predictor of functional impairment in tsunami‐exposed children

Thirty months after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, thousands of families in Aceh Province, Indonesia, remained in temporary barracks while sanitation conditions and non‐governmental organisation support deteriorated. This study sought to determine the factors associated with functional impairment in a sample of 138 displaced and non‐displaced Acehnese children. Using multivariate linear regression models, it was found that displacement distance was a consistent predictor of impairment using the Brief Impairment Scale. Exposure to tsunami‐related trauma markers was not significantly linked with impairment in the model. Paternal employment was a consistent protective factor for child functioning. These findings suggest that post‐disaster displacement and the subsequent familial economic disruption are significant predictors of impaired functioning in children's daily activities. Post‐disaster interventions should consider the disruption of familiar environments for families and children when relocating vulnerable populations to avoid deleterious impacts on children's functioning.     

Numerical simulation and optimization study of surface pressure and flow field around a triangular prism behind a porous fence

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The flow structure around upright porous fences and a triangular prism was numerically investigated by using the RNG k-ε turbulence model. The numerical method...