What is the potential of trauma registry data to be used for road traffic injury surveillance and informing road safety policy?

Introduction

Information from hospital trauma registries is increasingly being used to support injury surveillance efforts. This research examines the potential of using trauma registry data for road traffic injury surveillance for different types of road users in terms of both the information collected and how representative trauma data are compared to two population-based road traffic injury data collections.

Methods

The three data collections were assessed against recommended variables to be collected for injury surveillance purposes and the representativeness of the distribution of road traffic-related injury data from the trauma registry was compared to hospital admission and road traffic authority data collections.

Results

Data from the trauma registry was largely not representative of the distribution of age groups or activities compared to the two population-based collections, but was representative for gender for some road user groups to at least one population-based data collection.

Conclusions

Trauma data could be used to supplement information from population-based data collections to inform road safety efforts.

Impact on Industry

Road safety policy makers should be aware of the potential and the limitations of using trauma registry data for road traffic injury surveillance.     

A long-term survey of heavy metals and specific organic compounds in biofilms, sediments, and surface water in a heavily affected river in the Czech Republic

To assess the long-term anthropogenic load of the Bílina River (Czech Republic), the concentrations of heavy metals and specific organic compounds in different river ecosystem matrices (water, biofilms, and sediments) were determined. Although the current concentrations of pollutants in surface water are low, frequently below the limits of the quantitative analytical methods used, the river ecosystem is still heavily loaded by anthropogenic pollution, mainly from the chemical and mining industries. This was demonstrated by analyzing biofilms and sediments. These matrices are more accurate representatives of the actual situation in the river and do not depend on hydrological conditions or random variability in water quality. The results indicate that the middle and the lower parts of the river are heavily polluted by mercury, arsenic, vanadium, polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene, and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane. As a tributary of the Elbe River, the Bílina River represents a significant risk for the development of quality in this major European river.     

Numerical Model Inter-comparison for Wind Flow and Turbulence Around Single-Block Buildings

Wind flow and turbulence within the urban canopy layer can influence the heating and ventilation of buildings, affecting the health and comfort of pedestrians, commuters and building occupants. In addition, the predictive capability of pollutant dispersion models is heavily dependent on wind flow models. For that reason, well-validated microscale models are needed for the simulation of wind fields within built-up urban microenvironments. To address this need, an inter-comparison study of several such models was carried out within the European research network ATREUS. This work was conducted as part of an evaluation study for microscale numerical models, so they could be further implemented to provide reliable wind fields for building energy simulation and pollutant dispersion codes. Four computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models (CHENSI, MIMO, VADIS and FLUENT) were applied to reduced-scale single-block buildings, for which quality-assured and fully documented experimental data were obtained. Simulated wind and turbulence fields around two surface-mounted cubes of different dimensions and wall roughness were compared against experimental data produced in the wind tunnels of the Meteorological Institute of Hamburg University under different inflow and boundary conditions. The models reproduced reasonably well the general flow patterns around the single-block buildings, although over-predictions of the turbulent kinetic energy were observed near stagnation points in the upwind impingement region. Certain discrepancies between the CFD models were also identified and interpreted. Finally, some general recommendations for CFD model evaluation and use in environmental applications are presented.     

Does Human-Induced Habitat Modification Influence the Impact of Introduced Species? A Case Study on Cavity-Nesting by the Introduced Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) and Two Australian Native Parrots

Introduced species pose a major threat to biodiversity across the globe. Understanding the impact of introduced species is critical for effective management. Many species around the world are reliant on tree cavities, and competition for these resources can be intense: threatening the survival of native species. Through the establishment of 225 nest boxes, we examined the relationship between tree density and the abundance and nesting success of three bird species in Canberra, Australia. The common myna (Acridotheres tristis) is an introduced species in Australia, and the crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) and eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius) are native species. We then investigated the impact of common myna nest box occupation on crimson rosella and eastern rosella abundance. Tree density significantly influenced the abundance and cavity-nesting of all three species. Common myna abundance (birds per square kilometer) was greatest at low tree density sites (101.9 ± 22.4) and declined at medium (45.4 ± 10.1) and high (9.7 ± 3.6) tree density sites. The opposite pattern was observed for the crimson rosella, with greater abundance (birds per square kilometer) at high tree density sites (83.9 ± 9.3), declining over medium (61.6 ± 6.4) and low (31.4 ± 3.9) tree density sites. The eastern rosella was more abundant at medium tree density sites (48.6 ± 8.0 birds per square kilometer). Despite the strong influence of tree density, we found a significant negative relationship between common myna nest box occupancy and the abundance of the crimson rosella (F _1,13 = 7.548, P = 0.017) and eastern rosella (F _1,13 = 9.672, P < 0.001) at some sites. We also observed a slight increase in rosella nesting interruptions by the common myna at lower tree densities (high: 1.3 % ± 1.3, medium: 6.6 % ± 2.2, low: 12.7 % ± 6.2), although this increase was not statistically significant (F _2,40 = 2.435, P = 0.100). Our study provides the strongest evidence to date for the negative impact of the common myna on native bird abundance through cavity-nesting competition. However, due to the strong influence of habitat on species abundance and nesting, it is essential to investigate the impacts of introduced species in conjunction with habitat variation. We also suggest one component of introduced species management could include habitat restoration to reduce habitat suitability for introduced species.     

Ecological responses to variation in seasonal snow cover

Seasonal snow is among the most important factors governing the ecology of many terrestrial ecosystems, but rising global temperatures are changing snow regimes and driving widespread declines in the depth and duration of snow cover. Loss of the insulating snow layer will fundamentally change the environment. Understanding how individuals, populations, and communities respond to different snow conditions is thus essential for predicting and managing future ecosystem change. We synthesized 365 studies that examined ecological responses to variation in winter snow conditions. This research encompasses a broad range of methods (experimental manipulations, measurement of natural snow gradients, and long-term monitoring), locations (35 countries), study organisms (plants, mammals, arthropods, birds, fish, lichen, and fungi), and response measures. Earlier snowmelt was consistently associated with advanced spring phenology in plants, mammals, and arthropods. Reduced snow depth often increased mortality or physical injury in plants, although there were few clear effects on animals. Neither snow depth nor snowmelt timing had clear or consistent directional effects on body size of animals or biomass of plants. However, because 96% of studies were from the northern hemisphere, the generality of these trends across ecosystems and localities is also unclear. We identified substantial research gaps for several taxonomic groups and response types; research on wintertime responses was notably scarce. Future research should prioritize examination of the mechanisms underlying responses to changing snow conditions and the consequences of those responses for seasonally snow-covered ecosystems.