Using alcohol intoxication goggles (Fatal Vision® goggles) to detect alcohol related impairment in simulated driving

Objective: Fatal vision goggles (FVGs) are image-distorting equipment used within driver education programs to simulate alcohol-related impairment. However, there is no empirical evidence comparing the behavioral effects associated with wearing FVGs to alcohol intoxication. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of FVGs in producing alcohol-related impairment in simulated driving.

Methods: Twenty-two healthy males (age: 23 ± 3 years, mean ± SD) participated in a placebo-controlled crossover design study involving 4 experimental trials. In each trial, participants completed a baseline level simulated driving task followed by an experimental driving task, involving one of 4 treatments: (1) a dose of alcohol designed to elicit 0.080% breath alcohol concentration (BrAC; AB), (2) an alcohol placebo beverage (PB), (3) FVG (estimated % blood alcohol concentration [BAC] 0.070–0.100+), and (4) placebo goggles (PGs). The driving tasks included 3 separate scenarios lasting ～5 min each; these were a simple driving scenario, a complex driving scenario, and a hazard perception driving scenario. Selected lateral control parameters (standard deviation of lane position [SDLP]; total number of lane crossings [LCs]) and longitudinal control parameters (average speed; standard deviation of speed [SDSP]; distance headway; minimum distance headway) were monitored during the simple and complex driving scenarios. Latency to 2 different stimuli (choice reaction time [CRT]) was tested in the hazard perception driving scenario. Subjective ratings of mood and attitudes toward driving were also provided during each of the trials.

Results: Neither placebo treatment influenced simulated driving performance. Mean BrAC was 0.060 ± 0.010% at the time of driving on the AB trial. Lateral control: In the simple driving scenario, SDLP and LC were not affected under any of the experimental treatments. However, in the complex driving scenario, significantly greater SDLP was observed on both the FVG and AB trials compared to their respective baseline drives. LC increased significantly from baseline on the AB trial only. Longitudinal control: Speed was not affected by any of the experimental treatments; however, SDSP increased significantly from baseline on the FVG trial. A significant reduction in distance headway and minimum distance headway was detected on the FVG trial compared to baseline. Hazard perception: Neither AB nor FVG trials were influential on CRT. Subjective mood ratings were significantly altered on the AB and FVG trials compared to baseline and placebo conditions. Participants reported reduced willingness and ability to drive under the active treatments (AB and FVG) than the placebo treatments (PB and PG).

Conclusions: FVGs may have some utility in replicating alcohol-related impairment on specific driving performance measurements. Hence, the equipment may offer an alternative approach to researching the impact of alcohol intoxication on simulated driving performance among populations where the provision of alcohol would otherwise be unethical (e.g., prelicensed drivers).     

Living within fallen palm leaves: the discovery of an unknown Blommersia (Mantellidae: Anura) reveals a new reproductive strategy in the amphibians of Madagascar

We describe a new mantelline frog of the genus Blommersia found in rainforest in North East Madagascar, from the protected areas of Ambatovaky, Betampona, Masoala, and Zahamena. Blommersia angolafa n.sp. is a small frog, with a body size of 17–21 mm, expanded finger and toe tips, and colouration ranging from yellow to dark brown, with pale-bluish spots on the flanks and light tips of fingers and toes. A peculiar aspect characterising this new species is its novel life history and reproductive mode. Both sexes live and breed in a phytotelmic habitat of water accumulated within fallen prophylls and fallen leaf sheaths of at least three species of Dypsis palms. Within these phytotelmata, egg laying and complete larval development occur. Thus, B. angolafa n.sp. represents a new evolutionary lineage of Malagasy frogs in which phytotelmy is known. Up to now, reproduction in phytotelmata in Malagasy frogs has been reported for many cophyline microhylids, most species of Guibemantis, Mantella laevigata, and possibly in a still-undescribed species belonging to the genus Spinomantis. We consider the reproductive mode of B. angolafa as a derived character, having evolved from the more typical reproduction in lentic water bodies. The general scarcity of lentic habitats in Malagasy rainforests may have provided the conditions that favoured the evolution of this phytotelmic breeding strategy. The new species, being specialised to a habitat represented by a few selected Dypsis species, potentially suffers the selective exploitation of these palms.     

The carbon budget of California

The carbon budget of a region can be defined as the sum of annual fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) greenhouse gases (GHGs) into and out of the regional surface coverage area. According to the state government's recent inventory, California's carbon budget is presently dominated by 115 MMTCE per year in fossil fuel emissions of CO₂ (>85% of total annual GHG emissions) to meet energy and transportation requirements. Other notable (non-ecosystem) sources of carbon GHG emissions in 2004 were from cement- and lime-making industries (7%), livestock-based agriculture (5%), and waste treatment activities (2%). The NASA-CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) simulation model based on satellite observations of monthly vegetation cover (including those from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS) was used to estimate net ecosystem fluxes and vegetation biomass production over the period 1990–2004. California's annual NPP for all ecosystems in the early 2000s (estimated by CASA at 120 MMTCE per year) was roughly equivalent to its annual fossil fuel emission rates for carbon. However, since natural ecosystems can accumulate only a small fraction of this annual NPP total in long-term storage pools, the net ecosystem sink flux for atmospheric carbon across the state was estimated at a maximum rate of about 24 MMTCE per year under favorable precipitation conditions. Under less favorable precipitation conditions, such as those experienced during the early 1990s, ecosystems statewide were estimated to have lost nearly 15 MMTCE per year to the atmosphere. Considering the large amounts of carbon estimated by CASA to be stored in forests, shrublands, and rangelands across the state, the importance of protection of the natural NPP capacity of California ecosystems cannot be overemphasized.     

Risk governance guidelines for bioenergy policies

These Notes from the Field summarise the governance guidelines developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) to address the key challenges that policy-makers face when designing and implementing policies and regulations for the increasing production, trade and use of bioenergy.The guidelines comprise an integrated and coherent set of policy recommendations and practical actions to help policy-makers and industry account for the various trade-offs presented by bioenergy and develop sustainable bioenergy production for domestic use and international trade. They include land-use policies, full life-cycle assessments, as well as sustainability standards and certification criteria.     

Factors affecting conviction rates of intoxicated driver patients in two large trauma centers

Objective: Outcomes from previous studies report the driving under the influence (DUI) conviction rates for trauma patients in several cities within Canada and the United States over the last 2 decades. This study reports charge, conviction, and prosecution rates for trauma patients at 2 level I trauma centers servicing a large metropolitan city.

Methods: A retrospective review of the trauma databases was completed to identify patients meeting inclusion criteria. Four hundred sixty patients were identified and their records were compared with the district attorney's records for DUI charges and convictions.

Results: The conviction rate for this study was 8.7%, demonstrating continued low rates of conviction despite growing interest and public awareness of drinking and driving.

Conclusions: We discuss legal considerations that providers should consider when treating patients who have been drinking and driving.     

Application of Pesticide Sprays to Fresh Produce: A Risk Assessment for Hepatitis A and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella</Emphasis>

The purpose of this study was to quantify the transfer of viral and bacterial pathogens in water used to dilute pesticides sprayed onto the surfaces of cantaloupe, iceberg lettuce, and bell peppers. The average percent transfer of bacteria was estimated to range from 0.00021 to 9.4%, while average viral transfer ranged from 0.055 to 4.2%, depending on the type of produce. Based on these values the concentrations of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Salmonella in water necessary to achieve a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection were calculated. Under worst case scenario assumptions, in which a pesticide is applied on the same day that the produce is harvested and when maximum transfer values are used, concentrations of 1.5 × 10⁻³ CFU Salmonella or 2.7 × 10⁻⁷ MPN HAV per 100 ml of the water used for application would result in 1:10,000 annual infection risk to anyone who consumes the fresh produce. If harvesting does not occur until at least 14 days after the application, to produce the same risk of infection, the numbers of Salmonella in 100 ml of water used to dilute the pesticides will be greater by up to five orders of magnitude, while the HAV numbers will have increased by up to two orders of magnitude. Based on the reported concentrations of enteric viruses in surface and ground waters in the United States, a 1:10,000 annual risk of infection could easily be exceeded with some groundwater sources used in the United States. To reduce the risks associated with the consumption of fresh produce, water used to prepare pesticides in spray applications should be evaluated for its microbiological quality.     

Winners and Losers in a World with Global Warming: Noncooperation, Altruism, and Social Welfare

In this paper, global warming is an asymmetric transboundary externality which benefits some countries or regions and harms others. We use a simple two-country model to analyze the effects of global warming on resource allocations, the global-warming stock, and national and global welfare.     

A multilevel analysis of procedural justice context

Using a multilevel framework, we hypothesized that both employee perceptions of procedural justice and a work unit level measure of procedural justice context would be associated with employee reports of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Three hundred and twenty-three employees from 53 branches of a financial services organization were used to test this hypothesis. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that procedural justice context explained variance in employee job satisfaction beyond that accounted for by individual perceptions of procedural justice. With regard to organizational commitment, this hypothesis was not supported. The results are discussed in connection with contextual aspects of procedural justice. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spillover effects of yield-to-pedestrian channelizing devices

A great number of pedestrians are killed or injured in traffic crashes every year in the US. Vehicle crashes involving pedestrians are often more severe than other crashes because pedestrians are unprotected and are hence more likely to suffer injuries or death if struck by a motor vehicle. To improve pedestrian safety, a variety of treatments such as overhead flashing beacons, in-street crossing signs, in-roadway warning lights, and traffic calming measures have been used. One treatment, in-street yield-to-pedestrian channelizing devices (YTPCD), has been used in many states, including Pennsylvania, where approximately 10% of traffic crash fatalities are pedestrians each year.In an effort to improve pedestrian safety, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has widely deployed YTPCD. This study examines the spillover (indirect) effects of such devices on motorist and pedestrian behavior. With data collected from eight sites that did not have but were in the vicinity of YTPCD implementations, analysis results show that such devices have significantly positive spillover effects on pedestrian safety at intersections, but they tend to have negative spillover effects at mid-block locations. Overall, the YTPCD appear to have a positive impact on changing motorist and pedestrian behavior, and merit consideration for future usage of this type of device.