Examination of factors associated with use rates after transition from a universal to partial motorcycle helmet use law

Objectives: Motorcycle riders account for a disproportionately high number of traffic injuries and fatalities compared to occupants of other vehicle types. Though research has demonstrated the benefits of helmet use in preventing serious and fatal injuries in the event of a crash, helmet use has remained relatively stable in the United States, where the most recent national estimates show a 64% use rate. Use rates have been markedly lower among those states that do not have a universal helmet law for all riders. In 2012, the state of Michigan repealed its longstanding mandatory helmet use law. In order to gain insights as to the effects of this legislative change, a study was conducted to examine short-term changes in helmet use and identify factors associated with use rates.

Methods: A statewide direct observation survey was conducted 1 year after the transition from a universal helmet law to a partial helmet law. A random parameters logistic regression model was estimated to identify motorcyclist, roadway, and environmental characteristics associated with helmet use. This modeling framework accounts for both intravehicle correlation (between riders and passengers on the same motorcycle) as well as unobserved heterogeneity across riders due to important unobserved factors.

Results: Helmet use was shown to vary across demographic segments of the motorcyclist population. Use rates were higher among Caucasian riders, as well as among those age 60 and above. No significant difference was observed between male and female riders. Use was also found to vary geographically, temporally, and with respect to various environmental characteristics. Geographically, helmet use rates tended to be correlated with historical restraint use trends, which may be reflective of riding environment and general differences in the riding population. To this end, rates were also highly variable based upon the type of motorcycle and whether the motorcyclist was wearing high-visibility gear.

Conclusions: The study results demonstrate the short-term reduction in helmet use following transition from a universal to partial motorcycle helmet law. The reduction in use is somewhat less pronounced than has been experienced in other states, which may be reflective of general differences among Michigan motorcyclists because the state has also generally exhibited higher use rates of seat belts and other forms of occupant protection. The study results also highlight potential target areas for subsequent education and public awareness initiatives aimed at increasing helmet use.     

Beyond geomorphosites: trade-offs, optimization, and networking in heritage landscapes

This study uses Danxiashan, a world heritage site in Guangdong province, China, as a case study for planning a hypothetical geotourism network of heritage sites. This landscape has a multiplicity of values—its geoheritage cannot be separated from its ecological or cultural heritage. When designing a network of heritage sites for such a diversely valued landscape trade-offs must be made between differing and potentially conflicting objectives such as geotourism and geoconservation. To solve this multi-criteria decision problem, sites with potential value for people were designated as heritage sites, adapting the concept of geomorphosites—i.e., geomorphological heritage sites—to represent the intersection of anthropic values. In a GIS-based spatial decision support system heritage values for each site were weighted and ranked using the analytic hierarchy process and scenarios for alternative trail systems, and networks of tourism sites were generated by multi-criteria map overlay analysis and networking algorithms. The scenarios generated show how trade-offs can be made between oft-conflicting tourism and conservation objectives, how the design of parks can be optimized for multiple objectives, and how alternative design strategies can be explored. Such an approach could be used in scenario planning workshops to engage stakeholders in participatory design and consensus-based decision-making driven by geospatial science.     

An integrated approach to the toxicity assessment of Irish marine sediments: validation of established marine bioassays for the monitoring of Irish marine sediments

This paper describes the ecotoxicological evaluation of marine sediments from three sites around Ireland representative of a range of contaminant burdens. A comprehensive assessment of potential sediment toxicity requires the consideration of multiple exposure phases. In addition to the evaluation of multi-exposure phases the use of a battery of multi-trophic test species has been advocated by a number of researchers as testing of single or few organisms may not detect toxicants with a specific mode of action. The Microtox(R) solid phase test (SPT) and the 10-d acute amphipod test with Corophium volutator were used to assess whole sediment toxicity. Porewater and elutriates were assessed with the Microtox(R) acute test, the marine prasinophyte Tetraselmis suecica, and the marine copepod Tisbe battagliai. Solvent extracts were assayed with the Microtox(R) and T. battagliai acute tests. Alexandra Basin was identified as the most toxic site according to all tests, except the Microtox(R) SPT which identified the Dunmore East site as being more toxic. However, it was not possible to correlate the observed ecotoxicological effects with a specific and/or class of contaminants based on sediment chemistry alone. Therefore porewaters found to elicit significant toxicity (Dunmore East and Alexandra Basin) with the test battery were selected for further TIE assessment with T. battalgiai and the Microtox(R) system. The results of this study have important implications for risk assessment in estuarine and coastal waters in Ireland, where, at present the monitoring of sediment and water quality is predominantly reliant on chemical analysis alone.     

Spatio-temporal patterns of juvenile marine turtle occurrence in waters of the European continental shelf

We present data spanning approximately 100 years regarding the spatial and temporal occurrence of marine turtle sightings and strandings in the northeast Atlantic from two public recording schemes and demonstrate potential signals of changing population status. Records of loggerhead (n = 317) and Kemp’s ridley (n = 44) turtles occurring on the European continental shelf were most prevalent during the autumn and winter, when waters were coolest. In contrast, endothermic leatherback turtles (n = 1,668) were most common during the summer. Analysis of the spatial distribution of hard-shell marine turtle sightings and strandings highlights a pattern of decreasing records with increasing latitude. The spatial distribution of sighting and stranding records indicates that arrival in waters of the European continental shelf is most likely driven by North Atlantic current systems. Future patterns of spatial-temporal distribution, gathered from the periphery of juvenile marine turtles habitat range, may allow for a broader assessment of the future impacts of global climate change on species range and population size.     

Determination of toxic cyclic heptapeptides by liquid chromatography with detection using ultra-violet, protein phosphatase assay and tandem mass spectrometry

Microcystins, toxic cyclic heptapeptides and nodularin-R, a toxic cyclic pentapeptide, were determined using liquid chromatography (LC) with detection using photo-diode array ultra-violet (PDA-UV) and protein phosphatase (PP) assay. Positive fractions were analysed for toxins using collision-induced dissociation (CID) and tandem MS/MS experiments which were carried out simultaneously using electrospray ion-trap instrumentation. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) using an acetonitrile/water gradient was used for the LC-MS(2) determination of six microcystins standards and nodularin. The molecular related ion species, [M+H](+)([M+2H](2+) in the case of MC-RR), were used as the precursor ions for MS(2) experiments. Optimum calibration and reproducibility data were obtained for MC-LR using LC-MS(2); 0.1-5.0 microg/ml, r2 = 0.992 (n = 3); % RSD < or =7.3 at 0.25 microg MC-LR/ml (n = 3). The detection limit (S/N = 3) was better than 0.1 ng. Water samples for microcystin analysis were first screened using protein phosphatase (PP) assays and positives were concentrated using C-18 solid-phase extraction. The developed method was applied to examine a lake in Ireland contaminated by Microcystis sp. and MC-LR and MC-LA were identified.     

Phylogenetic relationships within the class holothuroidea,inferred from 18S rRNA gene data

This molecular phylogenetic analysis of 18S ribosomal RNA (18SrDNA) gene sequences from 16 species of holothuroid, suggests strong support for an alternative taxonomic scheme to replace the existing classification. When trees drawn from the 18S rDNA data were constrained to show expected relationships between the holothourid orders, they were significantly worse than the best tree under SH tests. These analyses indicated strongly that the subclass Aspidochirotacea is paraphyletic. Sequences from the order Dendrochirotida grouped with aspidochiroitid sequences, with high bootstrap support, to the exclusion of the elasipod sequence. In line with recent morphological studies the order Apodida were a basal sister group to the other three holothuroid orders examined and the Dendrochirotida was a derived holothuroid order. Brendan F. Keegan, Richard Powell: R.I.P     

Driver speed selection on high-speed two-lane highways: Comparing speed profiles between uniform and differential speed limits

Objective: Although a considerable amount of prior research has investigated the impacts of speed limits on traffic safety and operations, much of this research, and nearly all of the research related to differential speed limits, has been specific to limited access freeways. The unique safety and operational issues on highways without access control create difficulty relating the conclusions from prior freeway-related speed limit research to 2-lane highways, particularly research on differential limits due to passing limitations and subsequent queuing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess differences in driver speed selection with respect to the posted speed limit on rural 2-lane highways, with a particular emphasis on the differences between uniform and differential speed limits.

Methods: Data were collected from nearly 59,000 vehicles across 320 sites in Montana and 4 neighboring states. Differences in mean speeds, 85th percentile speeds, and the standard deviation in speeds for free-flowing vehicles were examined across these sites using ordinary least squares regression models.

Results: Ultimately, the results of the analysis show that the mean speed, 85th percentile speed, and variability in travel speeds for free-flowing vehicles on 2-lane highways are generally lower at locations with uniform 65 mph speed limits, compared to locations with differential limits of 70 mph for cars and 60 mph for trucks.

Conclusions: In addition to posted speed limits, several site characteristics were shown to influence speed selection including shoulder widths, frequency of horizontal curves, percentage of the segment that included no passing zones, and hourly volumes. Differences in vehicle speed characteristics were also observed between states, indicating that speed selection may also be influenced by local factors, such as driver population or enforcement.     

Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds

Although evidence-based approaches have become commonplace for determining the success of conservation measures for the management of threatened taxa, there are no standard metrics for assessing progress in research or management. We developed 5 metrics to meet this need for threatened taxa and to quantify the need for further action and effective alleviation of threats. These metrics (research need, research achievement, management need, management achievement, and percent threat reduction) can be aggregated to examine trends for an individual taxon or for threats across multiple taxa. We tested the utility of these metrics by applying them to Australian threatened birds, which appears to be the first time that progress in research and management of threats has been assessed for all threatened taxa in a faunal group at a continental scale. Some research has been conducted on nearly three-quarters of known threats to taxa, and there is a clear understanding of how to alleviate nearly half of the threats with the highest impact. Some management has been attempted on nearly half the threats. Management outcomes ranged from successful trials to complete mitigation of the threat, including for one-third of high-impact threats. Progress in both research and management tended to be greater for taxa that were monitored or occurred on oceanic islands. Predation by cats had the highest potential threat score. However, there has been some success reducing the impact of cat predation, so climate change (particularly drought), now poses the greatest threat to Australian threatened birds. Our results demonstrate the potential for the proposed metrics to encapsulate the major trends in research and management of both threats and threatened taxa and provide a basis for international comparisons of evidence-based conservation science.     

Using decision science to evaluate global biodiversity indices

Global biodiversity indices are used to measure environmental change and progress toward conservation goals, yet few indices have been evaluated comprehensively for their capacity to detect trends of interest, such as declines in threatened species or ecosystem function. Using a structured approach based on decision science, we qualitatively evaluated 9 indices commonly used to track biodiversity at global and regional scales against 5 criteria relating to objectives, design, behavior, incorporation of uncertainty, and constraints (e.g., costs and data availability). Evaluation was based on reference literature for indices available at the time of assessment. We identified 4 key gaps in indices assessed: pathways to achieving goals (means objectives) were not always clear or relevant to desired outcomes (fundamental objectives); index testing and understanding of expected behavior was often lacking; uncertainty was seldom acknowledged or accounted for; and costs of implementation were seldom considered. These gaps may render indices inadequate in certain decision-making contexts and are problematic for indices linked with biodiversity targets and sustainability goals. Ensuring that index objectives are clear and their design is underpinned by a model of relevant processes are crucial in addressing the gaps identified by our assessment. Uptake and productive use of indices will be improved if index performance is tested rigorously and assumptions and uncertainties are clearly communicated to end users. This will increase index accuracy and value in tracking biodiversity change and supporting national and global policy decisions, such as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.     

Professional diversity,identity salience and team innovation: The moderating role of openmindedness norms

The impact of diverse composition in teams is neither straightforward nor direct, and evidence suggests that diversity can be either conducive or detrimental to team innovation. Professionally diverse healthcare teams are increasingly used to develop innovative clinical approaches and solve complex healthcare problems; however, there is evidence that collaboration across professional boundaries creates conflict and is frequently unsuccessful. Healthcare organizations consequently face a dilemma. If they embrace professional diversity in teams, they risk interprofessional hostility, but if they choose homogeneous teams, they diminish their teams' capacity to innovate. We respond to this quandary by utilizing social identity theory to better understand the mechanisms through which professional diversity can enhance team innovation. In particular, we argue that professional identity salience operates as a mediator capable of explaining both positive and negative outcomes of professional diversity, contingent on the moderating effect of openmindedness norms. Analysis of survey data from 70 healthcare teams supports our model and indicates that professional salience can both enhance and undermine team innovation, depending on the extent of team openmindedness. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.