Muscle tetanus and loading condition effects on the elastic and viscous characteristics of the thorax

Thoracic deformation under an applied load is an established indicator of injury risk, but the force required to achieve an injurious level of deformation currently is not understood adequately. This article evaluates how two potentially important factors, loading condition and muscle tensing, affect the structural response of the dynamically loaded thorax. Structural models of two human cadaver thoraxes and two porcine thoraxes were used to quantify the effects. The human cadavers, which represent anthropometric extremes, were subjected to anterior loading from (1) a 5.1-cm-wide belt oriented diagonally (i.e., seatbelt-like loading), (2) a 15.2-cm-diameter rigid hub, and (3) a 20.3-cm-wide belt oriented laterally (i.e., a distributed load). A structural model having the mathematical formulation of a quasilinear viscoelastic material model was used to model the elastic and viscous response, with ramp-hold tests used to determine the model coefficients. The effect of thoracic musculature was assessed using similar ramp-hold tests on the porcine subjects, each with and without forced muscle contraction. Even maximally contracted thoracic musculature is shown to have a minimal effect on the response, with similar elastic and viscous characteristics exhibited by each subject regardless of muscle tone. The elastic response is shown to be approximately a factor of three stiffer for diagonal belt loading and for this distributed loading condition than for the hub loading, indicating that the response is influenced most by the particular anatomical structures that are engaged and, secondarily, by the area of load application. Specifically, shoulder involvement is shown to have a strong influence. The force relaxation is found to be pronounced, but insensitive to the loading condition, with long-time force relaxation coefficients (G( infinity )) in the range of 0.1 to 0.3. The findings of this study provide restraint-specific guidelines for the force-deflection characteristics of both physical and computational thoracic models.     

Differences in relative risks for fatal occupational highway transportation accidents

Problem and Method: This study examined the trends in the relative risks for being involved in fatal occupational highway transportation accidents based upon the age and gender of the victim. Results: Significant differences in relative risks were identified based upon age; however, there were no significant differences in relative risks based upon gender. The trend analysis of relative risks for all motor-vehicle accidents based upon age showed that males exhibited a significant cubic trend while females exhibited a significant linear trend. The trend analysis of relative risks for fatal motor-vehicle accidents specifically involving vehicle operators based upon age yielded a significant quadratic trend for males and no significant trends for females. Examining the relative risks for fatalities involving only motor-vehicle operators controlled, to a certain extent, the differences in job exposure to motor-vehicle accidents based upon age. Impact: Prevention measures are identified as most crucial for older male workers in the transportation and agriculture industries.     

Aquatic ecological risks due to cyanide releases from biomass burning

Aquatic toxicity due to the creation and mobilization of chemical constituents by fire has been little studied, despite reports of post-fire fish kills attributed to unspecified pyrogenic toxicants. We examined releases of cyanides from biomass burning and their effect on surface runoff water. In laboratory test burns, available cyanide concentrations in leachate from residual ash were much higher than in leachate from partially burned and unburned fuel and were similar to or higher than the 96-h median lethal concentration (LC50) for rainbow trout (45 microg/l). Free cyanide concentrations in stormwater runoff collected after a wildfire in North Carolina averaged 49 microg/l, again similar to the rainbow trout LC50 and an order of magnitude higher than in samples from an adjacent unburned area. Pyrogenic cyanide inputs, together with other fire-related stressors, may contribute to post-fire fish mortalities, particularly those affecting salmonids.     

ELEVATED ATMOSPHERIC CO2 INCREASES WATER AVAILABILITY IN A WATER-LIMITED GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM1

ABSTRACT: Californian annual grassland on sandstone (moderately fertile) and serpentine (very infertile) soils at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford, California, were exposed to ambient or elevated (ambient + 36 Pa CO₂) atmospheric CO₂ in open-top chambers since December 1991. We measured ecosystem evapotranspiration with open gas-exchange systems, and soil moisture with time-domain reflectometry (TDR) over 0–15 cm (serpentine) and 0–30 cm (sandstone) depths, at times of peak above ground physiological activity. Evapotranspiration decreased by 12 to 63 percent under elevated CO₂ in three consecutive years in the sandstone ecosystem (p = 0.053, p = 0.162, p = 0.082 in 1992, 1993, and 1994, respectively). In correspondence with decreased evapotranspiration, late-season soil moisture reserves in the sandstone were extended temporally by 10 ± 3 days in 1993 and by 28 ± 11 days in 1994. The effect of elevated CO₂ on soil moisture was greater in the drier spring of 1994 (419 mm annual rainfall) than in 1993 (905 mm annual rainfall). In the serpentine ecosystem, evapotranspiration and soil moisture reserves were not clearly affected by elevated CO₂. Soil water may be conserved in drought-affected ecosystems exposed to elevated CO₂, but the amount of conservation appears to depend on the relative importance of transpiration and soil evaporation in controlling water flux.     

Assessing potential bioavailability of metals in sediments: A proposed approach

Due to anthropogenic inputs, elevated concentrations of metals frequently occur in aquatic sediments. In order to make defensible estimates of the potential risk of metals in sediments and/or develop sediment quality criteria for metals, it is essential to identify that fraction of the total metal in the sediments that is bioavailable. Studies with a variety of benthic invertebrates indicate that interstitial (pore) water concentrations of metals correspond very well with the bioavailability of metals in test sediments. Many factors may influence pore water concentrations of metals; however, in anaerobic sediments a key phase controlling partitioning of several cationic metals (cadmium, nickel, lead, zinc, copper) into pore water is acid volatile sulfide (AVS). In this paper, we present an overview of the technical basis for predicting bioavailability of cationic metals to benthic organisms based on pore water metal concentrations and metal-AVS relationships. Included are discussions of the advantages and limitations of metal bioavailability predictions based on these parameters, relative both to site-specific assessments and the development of sediment quality criteria.     

The application of spatial‐perceptual wilderness mapping to protected areas management in New Zealand

The paper examines the application of a spatial‐perceptual approach to the wilderness management issue of preserving natural ecological processes while also permitting appropriate wilderness use in protected areas. An approach to delimit the spatial extent of multiple perceptions of wilderness held by backcountry users is used—the wilderness perception mapping (WPM) methodology. The results obtained from employing the WPM.methodology are considered for the North West Nelson region of New Zealand. The map product provides new and useful information that has applicability to protected areas management. The role of WPM is discussed with reference to wilderness management in North West Nelson and New Zealand, and to protected areas management in general. The study demonstrates how a technology can be combined with a critical and sensible analysis of needs and procedures to give useful results, and highlights the value of applied interdisciplinary research.     

Backfilling canals to mitigate Wetland dredging in Louisiana coastal marshes

Returning canal spoil banks into canals, or backfilling, is used in Louisiana marshes to mitigate damage caused by dredging for oil and gas extraction. We evaluated 33 canals backfilled through July 1984 to assess the success of habitat restoration. We determined restoration success by examining canal depth, vegetation recolonization, and regraded spoil bank soils after backfilling. Restoration success depended on: marsh type, canal location, canal age, marsh soil characteristics, the presence or absence of a plug at the canal mouth, whether mitigation was on- or off-site, and dredge operator performance.Backfilling reduced median canal depth from 2.4 to 1.1 m, restored marsh vegetation on the backfilled spoil bank, but did not restore emergent marsh vegetation in the canal because of the lack of sufficient spoil material to fill the canal and time. Median percentage of cover of marsh vegetation on the canal spoil banks was 51.6%. Median percentage of cover in the canal was 0.7%. The organic matter and water content of spoil bank soils were restored to values intermediate between spoil bank levels and predredging marsh conditions.The average percentage of cover of marsh vegetation on backfilled spoil banks was highest in intermediate marshes (68.6%) and lowest in fresh (34.7%) and salt marshes (33.9%). Average canal depth was greatest in intermediate marshes (1.50 m) and least in fresh marshes (0.85 m). Canals backfilled in the Chenier Plain of western Louisiana were shallower (average depth = 0.61 m) than in the eastern Deltaic Plain (mean depth range = 1.08 to 1.30 m), probably because of differences in sediment type, lower subsidence rate, and lower tidal exchange in the Chenier Plain. Canals backfilled in marshes with more organic soils were deeper, probably as a result of greater loss of spoil volume caused by oxidation of soil organic matter. Canals ten or more years old at the time of backfilling had shallower depths after backfilling. Depths varied widely among canals backfilled within ten years of dredging. Canal size showed no relationship to canal depth or amount of vegetation reestablished. Plugged canals contained more marsh reestablished in the canal and much greater chance of colonization by submerged aquatic vegetation compared with unplugged canals. Dredge operator skill was important in leveling spoil banks to allow vegetation reestablishment. Wide variation in dredge performance led to differing success of vegetation restoration.Complete reestablishment of the vegetation was not a necessary condition for successful restoration. In addition to providing vegetation reestablishment, backfilling canals resulted in shallow water areas with higher habitat value for benthos, fish, and waterfowl than unfilled canals. Spoil bank removal also may help restore water flow patterns over the marsh surface. Increased backfilling for wetland mitigation and restoration is recommended.     

REGIONAL RAINFALL INTENSITY-DURATION-FREQUENCY CURVES FOR PENNSYLVANIA1

ABSTRACT: A statistical analysis of all available continuous hourly and 15-minute duration rainfall records for Pennsylvania was performed to develop an updated procedure to estimate design storms. As a resuit of this study, Pennsylvania was divided into five homogeneous rainfall regions and a set of rainfall intensity-duration curves developed for each region, for return periods of 1 to 100 years and durations ranging from 5 minutes to 24 hours. The PDT-IDF curves were judged to be a better representation of Pennsylvania rainfall than the nationwide TP-40 maps, particularly for storm events of 10-years and lower return periods. The average time distribution of 24-hour storms in Pennsylvania was found to be well represented by the SCS Type II distribution. The Corps of Engineers SPS 24-hour distribution was found to differ appreciably from both the SCS Type H and the Pennsylvania 24-hour storm distribution. For storm durations between 15 and 90 minutes the standard Yarnell intensity-duration curves closely resemble Pennsylvania storm distributions.     

The adequacy of training for EIA in the United States of America

The well-established environmental impact assessment requirements in the United States have given rise to a number of training needs within federal and state agencies. Requirements for training vary for EIA project managers, technical specialists, senior managers and others involved in EIA. Information needs about EIA vary also, but include general awareness, procedural knowledge, substantive methodological knowledge and technical knowledge. While EIA training is provided in short courses, on the job, and in universities there remain deficiencies in the training of specialists, senior managers, and others. Proposals are made here to help overcome these. This paper examines the needs and provisions for training in environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the USA federal system and in the system created by the California Environmental Quality Act. The investigation is based on the very limited literature on training, on responses to letters, on the printed material requested from agencies and, most importantly, on the results of a series of interviews of personnel in various federal agencies at central and regional levels, in California, and elsewhere. A recent report by the Environmental Law Institute (1981) furnished invaluable background information on EIA training in the federal agencies. The list of liaison officers printed by the Council on Environmental Quality (1982a) was used to request interviews and information.     

Ecotoxicological implications of aquatic disposal of coal combustion residues in the United States: a review

We provide an overview of research related to environmental effects of disposal of coal combustion residues (CCR) in sites in the United States. Our focus is on aspects of CCR that have the potential to negatively influence aquatic organisms and thehealth of aquatic ecosystems. We identify major issues of concern, as well as areas in need of further investigation.Intentional or accidental release of CCR into aquatic systemshas generally been associated with deleterious environmental effects. A large number of metals and trace elements are presentin CCR, some of which are rapidly accumulated to high concentrations by aquatic organisms. Moreover, a variety of biological responses have been observed in organisms following exposure to and accumulation of CCR-related contaminants. In some vertebrates and invertebrates, CCR exposure has led to numerous histopathological, behavioral, and physiological (reproductive, energetic, and endocrinological) effects. Fish kills and extirpation of some fish species have been associatedwith CCR release, as have indirect effects on survival and growth of aquatic animals mediated by changes in resource abundance or quality. Recovery of CCR-impacted sites can be extremely slow due to continued cycling of contaminants withinthe system, even in sites that only received CCR effluents forshort periods of time. The literature synthesis reveals important considerations for future investigations of CCR-impacted sites. Many studies have examined biological responses to CCR with respect to Se concentrations and accumulation because of teratogenic andreproductively toxic effects known to be associated with thiselement. However, the complex mixture of metals and traceelements characteristic of CCR suggests that biologicalassessments of many CCR-contaminated habitats should examine avariety of inorganic compounds in sediments, water, and tissuesbefore causation can be linked to individual CCR components. Most evaluations of effects of CCR in aquatic environments havefocused on lentic systems and the populations of animalsoccupying them. Much less is known about CCR effects in loticsystems, in which the contaminants may be transported downstream,diluted or concentrated in downstream areas, and accumulated bymore transient species. Although some research has examinedaccumulation and effects of contaminants on terrestrial and avianspecies that visit CCR-impacted aquatic sites, more extensiveresearch is also needed in this area. Effects in terrestrial orsemiaquatic species range from accumulation and maternal transferof elements to complete recruitment failure, suggesting that CCReffects need to be examined both within and outside of theaquatic habitats into which CCR is released. Requiring specialattention are waterfowl and amphibians that use CCR-contaminatedsites during specific seasons or life stages and are highlydependent on aquatic habitat quality during those periods.Whether accidentally discharged into natural aquatic systems or present in impoundments that attract wildlife, CCR appears topresent significant risks to aquatic and semiaquatic organisms. Effects may be as subtle as changes in physiology or as drasticas extirpation of entire populations. When examined as a whole,research on responses of aquatic organisms to CCR suggests thatreducing the use of disposal methods that include an aquaticslurry phase may alleviate some environmental risks associatedwith the waste products.