Improved protection for children in forward-facing restraints during side impacts

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the potential for improved child occupant protection in side impacts that can be obtained using rigid and semi-rigid anchorage systems and the addition of energy-absorbing padding in the side structures of child restraints. METHODS: This study uses a comprehensive set of simulated side impacts to evaluate the potential for improved side impact protection in forward-facing child restraints. Factors investigated included methods of anchoring the restraint to the vehicle, energy-absorbing materials in the side structure of restraints, and design features of the restraints such as side wing geometry and seat belt routing. RESULTS: The results show clearly that completely rigid lower attachment of restraints offers the potential for great reductions in head injury risk, which anchorage systems employing a combination of a rigid anchorage bar and webbing attached to a child restraint cannot match. The addition of energy absorbing material in the side structure of restraint systems is effective when the head is fully contained within an adequately designed side wing structure. For restraints anchored by seat belts and loop style semi rigid anchorage straps, belt routing has the potential to significantly affect occupant head excursion. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that current child restraint standards and consumer testing protocols do not adequately encourage best practice design of child restraints for side impact protection.     

Application of capillary electrophoresis combined with a modified BCR sequential extraction for estimating of distribution of selected trace metals in PM2.5 fractions of urban airborne particulate matter

The capillary electrophoresis (CE) method combined with a sequential extraction was applied to determine the distribution of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn and Cd in urban ambient air PM2.5 samples. PM2.5 was collected on Teflon filters with dichotomous sampler, and the modified extraction procedure following the BCR leaching procedure was used to chemically fractionate metals into "easily exchangeable" with water, "acid extractable" with 0.11 mol/l acetic acid, "reducible" with 0.1 mol/l hydroxylamine hydrochloride acidified to pH 2.0 with nitric acid, and "oxidisable" with oxidation by 8.8 mol/l hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) followed by extraction with 1.0 mol/l ammonium acetate. Based on the obtained results it was concluded that the application of the studied methodology provides chemical fractionation data that reflect the general sources and potential health hazards of the studied metals.     

Solubilization of manganese and trace metals in soils affected by acid mine runoff

Manganese solubility has become a primary concern in the soils and water supplies in the Alamosa River basin, Colorado due to both crop toxicity problems and concentrations that exceed water quality standards. Some of the land in this region has received inputs of acid and trace metals as a result of irrigation with water affected by acid mine drainage and naturally occurring acid mineral seeps. The release of Mn, Zn, Ni, and Cu following saturation with water was studied in four soils from the Alamosa River basin. Redox potentials decreased to values adequate for dissolution of Mn oxides within 24 h following saturation. Soluble Mn concentrations were increased to levels exceeding water quality standards within 84 h. Soluble concentrations of Zn and Ni correlated positively with Mn following reduction for all four soils studied. The correlation between Cu and Mn was significant for only one of the soils studied. The soluble concentrations of Zn and Ni were greater than predicted based on the content of each of these metals in the Mn oxide fraction only. Increases in total electrolyte concentration during reduction indicate that this may be the result of displacement of exchangeable metals by Mn following reductive dissolution of Mn oxides.     

Trace elements and organochlorines in surf scoters from San Francisco Bay, 1985

Surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) were collected from 6 locations in San Francisco Bay during January and March 1985. Overall, mean concentrations of cadmium and zinc were higher in livers of scoters from the southern region of the Bay, whereas mean iron and lead were higher in those from the northern Bay region. Mean concentrations of arsenic, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum (January only) and iron (January) also differed among individual locations. Mean concentrations of copper and zinc increased, arsenic decreased, and cadmium remained the same between January and March. Selenium and mercury concentrations in scoter livers were not significantly correlated (P>0.05), but cadmium concentrations in livers and kidneys were positively correlated (P<0.0001), and body weight was negatively related to mercury concentration in the liver (P<0.05). Body weight differed among locations but not between January and March. Body weight was correlated with lipid content (P<0.0001). DDE and PCBs were each detected in 34 of 36 scoter carcasses. DDE increased significantly between January and March at Richmond Harbor, but BCBs did not differ between January and March at the 3 locations that could be tested.     

THE DETERMINATION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION IN A STREAM USING AN EXACT SOLUTION TO THE OXYGEN BALANCE EQUATION1

ABSTRACT. A promising technique for recognition of early stages of cultural eutrophication relies on determining production and respiration in streams. The most successful and most widely used method of estimating production of a segment of a stream is the upstream-downstream, diurnal curve method introduced by Odum [1956]. This technique is equivalent to obtaining an approximate solution to the oxygen balance equation. We report here an exact solution of the balance equation as a method for calculating primary production. Data presented by Owens [1966] are analyzed; effects of depth and oxygen saturation are studied. A major advantage of the method described here is that continuous temporal variation of net production may be rigorously handled. The method is shown to be well suited to our ultimate goal of studying energy budgets of streams, and thereby the eutrophication process.     

Use of Hygiene Protocols to Control the Spread of Viruses in a Hotel

The goals of this study were to observe the spread of viruses in a hotel setting and to assess the effectiveness of a hygiene intervention in reducing their spread. Selected fomites in one hotel room were inoculated with bacteriophage ?x-174, and fomites in a conference center within the same hotel were inoculated using bacteriophage MS2. Cleaning of the contaminated room resulted in the spread of viruses to other rooms by the housekeeping staff. Furthermore, viruses were transferred by hotel guests to the conference center and a communal kitchen area. Additionally, conference attendees transferred viruses from the conference center to their hotel rooms and a communal kitchen area. This study demonstrated how viruses can be spread throughout a hotel setting by both housekeepers and guests. A hygiene intervention, which included providing hand hygiene products and facial tissues to the guests and disinfecting solutions with disposable wipes to the housekeeping staff, was successful in reducing the spread of viruses between the hotel guest rooms and conference center. The hygiene intervention resulted in significantly reduced transfer of the ?x-174 between the contaminated hotel room and other hotel rooms, communal areas, and the conference center (p = 0.02).     

UV-vis光照下唑类抗菌药氟康唑的光化学反应类型

以唑类抗菌药氟康唑为模型化合物,考察了其在纯水中的光降解动力学和光化学反应类型,发现模拟日光(λ>290nm)照射下氟康唑未发生光解,在UV-vis(λ>200 nm)光照下,氟康唑发生了光降解并服从准一级反应动力学.采用活性氧物种猝灭实验和竞争动力学方法,研究发现氟康唑发生了直接光解和·OH参与的自敏化光解,氟康唑与.OH的反应速率常数为(5.95±0.58)×109L·(mol·s)-1,表层水体中相应的半减期为(32.41±3.16)h·通过鉴定光解产物,得知氟康唑发生了脱氟、光致水解、光氧化等光化学反应.     

淮北市煤炭开采与生态系统服务耦合度研究

为研究煤炭资源型城市煤炭开采与生态系统服务的耦合协调发展态势,以我国高潜水位煤炭资源型城市——淮北市为研究对象,在分析煤炭开采与生态系统服务耦合作用机理的基础上,采用基于灰色关联分析的关联度模型和耦合度模型,揭示了1990-2016年该地区煤炭开采与生态系统服务耦合度的时序变化规律.结果表明:①淮北市煤炭开采与生态系统服务两个系统指标间的关联度均在0.447 5~0.553 4之间,其中,煤炭开采对生态系统服务的胁迫作用主要是水资源破坏,而生态系统服务对煤炭开采的约束作用主要来自调节服务.②淮北市煤炭开采与生态系统服务耦合度表现为1990-1999年逐渐降低、2000-2008年不断升高、2009年之后又呈下降趋势,反映了该地区煤炭开采与生态系统之间的矛盾趋于缓和,出现了统筹协调发展的大好形势.研究显示,1990-2016年淮北市煤炭开采与生态系统服务总体上呈中等耦合态势,耦合度时序变化总体上呈"倒N"型变化特征,今后需继续推进资源型城市转型建设,加大生态治理力度,以保持统筹协调发展态势.      

亚南极潮间带生物体中PAHs组成特征及源解析

该研究在中国第27次南极科考(27th CHINARE)度夏期间(2009.11-2010.01)在长城湾潮间带采集了11种常见生物样品,通过GC-MS检测了生物体内的16种常见多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,PAHs)的含量,根据检测数据分析亚南极地区海域潮间带生物群落中的PAHs在潮间带生物群落中的含量状况,初步探讨该地区PAHs的潜在来源。ΣPAHs为136.97~649.31(ng/g干重,下同),萘、菲、蒽、芴等低环芳烃所有生物样品均检出包括萘、菲、蒽、芴等常见低环芳烃,苯并芘(a)、茚苯(1,2,3-cd)芘、二苯并(a,h)蒽、苯并(g,h,i)芘少数样品苯并芘(a)、茚苯(1,2,3-cd)芘、二苯并(a,h)蒽、苯并(g,h,i)芘未检出,ΣPAHs为136.97~649.31(ng/g干重,下同),低环芳烃占57.45%~86.27%,Phe和Nap是最主要的2种PAHs。采用比值法分析该地区PAHs组成可知该地区PAHs主要来自柴油燃烧和柴油泄漏。对不同生物体内的16种多环芳烃组成比例进行比较,可以发现长城湾潮间带生物群落具有相似的PAHs组成比例。     

Evaluation of the efficiency of a Venturi scrubber in particulate matter collection smaller than 2.5 µm emitted by biomass burning

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Energy demand has increased worldwide, and biomass burning is one of the solutions most used by industries, especially in countries that have a great...