Frontal impact dummy kinematics in oblique frontal collisions: evaluation against post mortem human subject test data

OBJECTIVE: Today, a predominant percentage of vehicles involved in car crashes are exposed to oblique or frontal offset collisions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the 50th percentile male Hybrid III, THOR 99, and THOR Alpha dummies by comparing them with the corresponding kinematics of post mortem human subjects (PMHS) in this type of collision. METHODS: The PMHS data include results from oblique frontal collision tests. They include sled tests with near-side and far-side belt geometries at 15 degrees , 30 degrees , and 45 degrees angles. The test subjects were restrained with a three-point lap-shoulder belt and the Delta V was 30 km/h. RESULTS: The results from the Hybrid III and THOR 99 tests showed that, in most of the test, the head trajectories were an average of approximately 0.1 m shorter than those from equivalent PMHS. The Hybrid III and THOR 99 far-side belt geometry tests showed that the belt remained in place longer on the shoulder of the Hybrid III than on the THOR 99 and the THOR Alpha. This was probably due to a stiffer lumbar spine in the Hybrid III and to a large groove in the steel of the superior surface of the Hybrid III shoulder structure. The THOR 99 escaped from the shoulder belt about 40-50 ms earlier than the THOR Alpha. The results from the THOR Alpha tests show that the head trajectory accorded fairly well with the PMHS data, as long as the shoulder belt did not slip off the shoulder. Although the THOR Alpha shoulder escaped the shoulder belt in the 45 degrees far-side belt geometry, the PMHS did not. This may be due to the THOR Alpha shoulder design, with approximately 0.05 m smaller superior and medial shoulder range-of-motion, in combination with a relatively soft lumbar spine. CONCLUSIONS: The THOR Alpha provides head trajectories similar to those of the PMHS under these loading conditions, provided the shoulder belt remains in position on the shoulder. When the shoulder belt slipped off the dummy shoulder, the head kinematics was altered. The shoulder range-of-motion may be a contributing factor to the overall kinematics of an occupant in oblique frontal impact situations where the occupant moves in a trajectory at an angle from that of the longitudinal direction of the car.     

Evaluation of 20 years of environmental monitoring data around Swedish nuclear installations

Twenty years of environmental monitoring data around the Swedish nuclear power plants and the Studsvik research facilities have been evaluated. In the marine environment, Fucus vesiculosus generally has high activity concentrations and the presence of a large variety of radionuclides in comparison with other bioindicators. However, for single nuclides the detection frequency was higher for 110mAg in Littorina spp and for 152Eu in Macoma baltica in comparison with other bioindicators. Close to the discharge point the activity concentration of 60Co in F. vesiculosus and in the discharge water were correlated. In the terrestrial environment, few radionuclides were detected and the activity concentrations were generally low. Of the terrestrial indicators, mosses had the highest activity concentrations and also comprised the largest variety of radionuclides. The radiation doses to humans based on measurements of released activity were small. Based on the results from the evaluation, alternative sampling strategies for the monitoring program are discussed.     

Environmental Information Management in Municipalities

This paper presents results from a study on the present needs for and management of environmental information in three Swedish municipalities. It was found that there are considerable differences between the municipalities studied, regarding needs for environmental information as well as approaches and tools used for providing the information needed--differences that seem closely related to the structures of the municipalities. The paper ends with a discussion on some general requirements for municipal environmental information management. Besides a need for analytical tools, it is argued that municipalities would have to pay more attention to political aspects of the environmental situation in environmental decision making, and thus in environmental information management.     

Release of sex pheromone and its precursors in the pine sawfly Diprion pini (Hym., Diprionidae)

Summary. The first identification of a sex pheromone of a pine sawfly (Hymenoptera, Diprionidae) dates back almost thirty years. Since then, female-produced pheromones of over twenty diprionid species have been investigated by solvent extraction followed by separation and identification. However, no study has shown what the females actually release. Collection of airborne compounds using absorbtion on charcoal filter as well as solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by analysis employing gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), revealed an unusual system in Diprion pini, in which the pheromone precursor alcohol, 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, is released together with acetic, propionic, butyric and isobutyric acids. The corresponding acetate, propionate and butyrate esters of 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol were also found in the samples. All esters were electrophysiologically active, and the propionate and isobutyrate were attractive in trapping experiments. Based on these and earlier reported results, it seems that at least in part of its range, the pheromone response of D. pini is not very specific with regard to the functional group, as long as this is an ester.     

Farm cooperation to improve sustainability

In this paper, it is demonstrated that partnership arrangements between farmers might be a way to secure the economic viability of their farms as well as to increase profitability. The article discusses empirical analyses of three different forms of collaboration, with an emphasis on the environmental improvements associated with collaboration. Collaboration between a dairy farm and a crop farm is analyzed in the first case. The results show that potential gains from improved diversification and crop rotation are substantial, and even larger when the collaboration also involves machinery. The second analysis considers external integration between farrowing and finishing-pig operations. Gains from collaboration originate from biological and technical factors, such as improved growth rate of the pigs and better utilization of buildings. Finally, an evaluation of a group of collaborating crop farmers is performed. In this case, the benefits that arise are mainly due to reduced machinery costs and/or gains due to other factors, such as improved crop rotation and managerial/marketing strategies.     

Aerosol particle number concentration measurements in five European cities using TSI-3022 condensation particle counter over a three-year period during health effects of air pollution on susceptible subpopulations

In this study, long-term aerosol particle total number concentration measurements in five metropolitan areas across Europe are presented. The measurements have been carried out in Augsburg, Barcelona, Helsinki, Rome, and Stockholm using the same instrument, a condensation particle counter (TSI model 3022). The results show that in all of the studied cities, the winter concentrations are higher than the summer concentrations. In Helsinki and in Stockholm, winter concentrations are higher by a factor of two and in Augsburg almost by a factor of three compared with summer months. The winter maximum of the monthly average concentrations in these cities is between 10,000 cm(-3) and 20,000 cm(-3), whereas the summer min is approximately 5000-6000 cm(-3). In Rome and in Barcelona, the winters are more polluted compared with summers by as much as a factor of 4-10. The winter maximum in both Rome and Barcelona is close to 100,000 cm(-3), whereas the summer minimum is > 10,000 cm(-3). During the weekdays the maximum of the hourly average concentrations in all of the cities is detected during the morning hours between 7 and 10 a.m. The evening maxima were present in Barcelona, Rome, and Augsburg, but these were not as pronounced as the morning ones. The daily maxima in Helsinki and Stockholm are close or even lower than the daily minima in the more polluted cities. The concentrations between these two groups of cities are different with a factor of about five during the whole day. The study pointed out the influence of the selection of the measurement site and the configuration of the sampling line on the observed concentrations.     

Geographic variation in maternal investment: acidity affects egg size and fecundity in Rana arvalis

Environmental-stress-mediated geographic variation in reproductive parameters has been little studied in natural vertebrate populations outside the context of climatic variation. Based on life-history theory, an increase in the degree of environmental stress experienced by a population should lead to (1) a shift in reproductive allocation from fecundity to offspring quality, (2) stronger trade-offs between reproductive parameters, and (3) changes in the relationship between female phenotype and maternal investment. To test these predictions, we investigated geographic variation in maternal investment of moor frogs (Rana arvalis) in relation to breeding site acidity (pH 4-8). We found that mean egg size increased and clutch size and total reproductive output (TRO) decreased with increasing acidity among 19 Swedish moor frog populations. Tests for variation and co-variation in maternal investment and female size and age in 233 females from a subset of four acid origin (AO) and four neutral origin (NO) populations revealed that clutch size and TRO increased with female size in both acid and neutral environments. However, in AO populations, egg size also increased with female size, and clutch size and TRO with female age, whereas in NO populations, egg size increased with female age. The strength of the egg-size-clutch-size tradeoff tended to be stronger in AO than in NO females as expected if the former experience stronger environmental constraints. All in all, these results suggest that environmental acidification selects for investment in larger eggs at a cost to fecundity, imposes negative effects on reproductive output, and alters the relationship between female phenotype and maternal investment.     

Socio-ecological implications of modifying rotation lengths in forestry

The rotation length is a key component of even-aged forest management systems. Using Fennoscandian forestry as a case, we review the socio-ecological implications of modifying rotation lengths relative to current practice by evaluating effects on a range of ecosystem services and on biodiversity conservation. The effects of shortening rotations on provisioning services are expected to be mostly negative to neutral (e.g. production of wood, bilberries, reindeer forage), while those of extending rotations would be more varied. Shortening rotations may help limit damage by some of today’s major damaging agents (e.g. root rot, cambium-feeding insects), but may also increase other damage types (e.g. regeneration pests) and impede climate mitigation. Supporting (water, soil nutrients) and cultural (aesthetics, cultural heritage) ecosystem services would generally be affected negatively by shortened rotations and positively by extended rotations, as would most biodiversity indicators. Several effect modifiers, such as changes to thinning regimes, could alter these patterns.     

An Experiment with Forced Oxygenation of the Deepwater of the Anoxic By Fjord,Western Sweden

In a 2.5-year-long environmental engineering experiment in the By Fjord, surface water was pumped into the deepwater where the frequency of deepwater renewals increased by a factor of 10. During the experiment, the deepwater became long-term oxic, and nitrate became the dominating dissolved inorganic nitrogen component. The amount of phosphate in the water column decreased by a factor of 5 due to the increase in flushing and reduction in the leakage of phosphate from the sediments when the sediment surface became oxidized. Oxygenation of the sediments did not increase the leakage of toxic metals and organic pollutants. The bacterial community was the first to show changes after the oxygenation, with aerobic bacteria also thriving in the deepwater. The earlier azoic deepwater bottom sediments were colonized by animals. No structural difference between the phytoplankton communities in the By Fjord and the adjacent Havsten Fjord, with oxygenated deepwater, could be detected during the experiment.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0524-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.