Evaluation of give kids a boost: A school-based program to increase booster seat use among urban children in economically disadvantaged areas

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a series of 1-year multifaceted school-based programs aimed at increasing booster seat use among urban children 4–7 years of age in economically disadvantaged areas.

Methods: During 4 consecutive school years, 2011–2015, the Give Kids a Boost (GKB) program was implemented in a total of 8 schools with similar demographics in Dallas County. Observational surveys were conducted at project schools before project implementation (P₀), 1–4 weeks after the completion of project implementation (P₁), and 4–5 months later (P₂). Changes in booster seat use for the 3 time periods were compared for the 8 project and 14 comparison schools that received no intervention using a nonrandomized trial process.

The intervention included (1) train-the-trainer sessions with teachers and parents; (2) presentations about booster seat safety; (3) tailored communication to parents; (4) distribution of fact sheets/resources; (5) walk-around education; and (6) booster seat inspections.

The association between the GKB intervention and proper booster seat use was determined initially using univariate analysis. The association was also estimated using a generalized linear mixed model predicting a binomial outcome (booster seat use) for those aged 4 to 7 years, adjusted for child-level variables (age, sex, race/ethnicity) and car-level variables (vehicle type). The model incorporated the effects of clustering by site and by collection date to account for the possibility of repeated sampling.

Results: In the 8 project schools, booster seat use for children 4–7 years of age increased an average of 20.9 percentage points between P₀ and P₁ (P₀ = 4.8%, P₁ = 25.7%; odds ratio [OR] = 6.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.5, 8.7; P < .001) and remained at that level in the P₂ time period (P₂ = 25.7%; P < .001, for P₀ vs. P₂) in the univariate analysis. The 14 comparison schools had minimal change in booster seat use. The multivariable model showed that children at the project schools were significantly more likely to be properly restrained in a booster seat after the intervention (OR = 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2, 3.3) compared to the P₀ time period and compared to the comparison schools.

Conclusion: Despite study limitations, the GKB program was positively associated with an increase in proper booster seat use for children 4–7 years of age in school settings among diverse populations in economically disadvantaged areas. These increases persisted into the following school year in a majority of the project schools. The GKB model may be a replicable strategy to increase booster seat use among school-age children in similar urban settings.     

Effects of alcohol at 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) on low speed urban driving

ABSTRACT

Objective: Alcohol-impaired driving presents a continued risk for traffic safety and results in a significant proportion of fatalities on the roadway. We examined how alcohol at a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) compares to 0.10% BAC (above the current U.S. legal limit) in terms of impact on driving performance.

Methods: Utilizing a within-subjects design, we recruited 108 healthy experienced drivers who were moderate to heavy drinkers. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, we administered placebo and alcohol at the 0.05% and 0.10% BAC levels in a standardized simulated driving protocol. Drives occurred on the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve. This analysis focuses on the urban portion of the drive

Results: The study observed clear differences in performance for lateral and longitudinal driving performance and glance behavior. Variability in lane keeping and average speed increased with BAC level, with degraded performance observed at 0.05% BAC. The frequency of lane departures and percentage of time focused on the forward roadway at 0.05% BAC did not differ from placebo but differed from the 0.10% BAC level.

Conclusions: Overall, our results show that there is degraded performance in the urban driving environment and that much of that begins at or below the 0.05% BAC level.     

Trees on the move: using decision theory to compensate for climate change at the regional scale in forest social-ecological systems

Regional Environmental Change - The adaptation of social-ecological systems such as managed forests depends largely on decisions taken by forest managers who must choose among a wide range of...     

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food,energy, water and the environment

Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the ‘nexus’ of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.     

Best Practices in Environmental Communication: A Case Study of Louisiana's Coastal Crisis

This mixed-method case study of environmental communication best practices in Louisiana, USA, identifies trends and approaches as informed by environmental psychology. The results provide key insights for environmental communicators, especially communicators in coastal regions. In-depth interviews with both environmental psychologists and environmental communicators showed that both groups emphasized knowing the audience, telling local stories, building relationships with target audiences and targeted messaging. Both psychologists and communicators also frequently mentioned general messaging concerns of source credibility, avoiding controversial terms and talking about issues, impacts and solutions to which the target audience can relate. A representative survey revealed that Louisiana residents are most interested in hearing about how environmental issues such as climate change, coastal land loss and flooding are affecting their own communities. This finding supports the idea that environmental communicators could do a better job tapping into strong place attachment and sense of community among coastal residents to promote action.     

Design of water quality monitoring networks with two information scenarios in tropical Andean basins

Design and redesign of water quality monitoring networks were evaluated for two similarly sized watersheds in the tropical Andes via optimization techniques using geographic information system technology (GIS) and a matter-element analysis of 5-day biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) and total suspended solids (TSS). This resulted in a flexible, objectively based design for a 1128-km² watershed without prior water quality data (La Miel River), and a network redesign of a 1052-km² watershed with historical water quality monitoring (Chinchiná River). Monitoring design for the undocumented basin incorporated mathematical expressions for physical, anthropological, and historical factors—and was based on clear objectives for diagnosis and intervention of water pollution. Network redesign identified network redundancy, which resulted in a 64% reduction in the number of water quality monitoring stations along the channel, and a 78% reduction of stations throughout the basin. Most tropical drainage basins throughout the world have little to no prior water quality data. But even in well-studied drainage basins like the Chinchiná River, which is among the most thoroughly studied basins in Colombia, redesign of historical and existing monitoring networks will become a standard tool to advance the restoration of polluted surface waters, not only in Colombia, but also throughout the world.     

Optimum ridge-to-furrow ratio in ridge-furrow mulching systems for improving water conservation in maize (Zea may L.) production

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Water-saving cultivation techniques have been attracting increased attention worldwide. Ridge-furrow mulching system (RFMS), as a prospective...     

Vegetation cover and rainfall seasonality impact nutrient loss via runoff and erosion in the Colombian Andes

Regional Environmental Change - Mountain ecosystems provide key services to a large portion of the population in the tropics. However, they are particularly vulnerable to regional environmental...     

煤粉炉掺烧干化污泥的污染物排放研究

结合某电厂420 t/h四角煤粉炉掺烧污泥项目的实验室分析测试,了解煤粉掺烧不同含水率不同比例的干化污泥条件下烟气中污染物和灰渣中重金属的排放特性。结果表明,在实验研究配比和燃烧的条件下,大部分重金属元素Pb、Cu、Cr和Ni残留在灰渣中,Zn、Cd部分残留在灰渣中,As、Hg和Se等易挥发元素释放到烟气中,在灰渣中的含量很小。掺烧污泥后,灰渣中的重金属含量较单烧单煤都有了一定幅度的升高,Zn的含量是单煤的2倍,其余重金属是单煤的1.1~1.2倍。3种不同的掺混比例之间的污染气体排放浓度基本相似。烟气中主要污染物及重金属浓度可以满足现行国家标准。与单烧单煤相比,CO、HCl以及其他有机气体排放浓度基本相同;NH3的排放浓度较单煤有所升高;SO2、NOx和CO2排放浓度略有降低;飞灰浓度有所升高。烟气中的重金属,Hg含量升高了30%,Pb含量约为单煤的4.3~4.8倍。以上研究结果可为环保达标和飞灰利用提供基础数据。     

江汉平原土地利用对钉螺分布的影响研究

分析了江汉平原2009年易于钉螺孳生的3种土地利用类型（滩地、河渠和水田）比例与钉螺密度的关系。首先,在ERDAS9.2和ENVI4.7软件中对江汉平原2009年的Landsat5TM遥感影像进行了预处理。在已有的多期土地利用数据的基础上,借助eCognition软件利用向量相似度指标来提取土地利用变化区域,结合目视解译经验并运用遥感指标通过建立规则集对变化区域进行分类,将变化区域的分类结果更新2000年数据,得到了该区域2009年的土地利用数据。接下来,整理了江汉平原2009年螺情资料并计算出村级钉螺平均密度,绘制了2009年钉螺分布图。将绘制的钉螺分布图与土地利用分类图叠置分析,并结合收集的螺情数据确定了钉螺易于孳生的3种土地利用类型,分别为滩地、河渠和水田。最后,将钉螺密度与这3种土地利用比例进行线性回归分析。研究结果表明,钉螺密度与这三种土地利用类型比例存在线性回归关系,模型精度为R2=0857。该结论对通过遥感影像来估算钉螺密度具有指导意义,另外也可以为湖北省提出合理用地和灭螺并重的土地利用模式提供一定的科学参考