New denitrifying bacteria isolated from Red Sea sediments

Sediments of various newly discovered deeps in the Red Sea were analyzed for the occurrence of denitrifying bacteria. The samples were collected in 1972 during the Valdivia cruises. Among the 27 different samples investigated, 17 revealed both coccoid and rod-shaped bacteria when enriched in complex nutrient broth (with 10% NaCl). Denitrifiers were recorded abundantly in the sediments, their population decreasing from some 10⁶/g in the surface material to only a few in the subsediment. A total of 16 pure cultures of denitrifying bacteria were isolated from the Suakin-and Thetis-deeps and studied morphologically, physiologically and biochemically. Genetics (molar percentage of guanine plus cytosine, % GC) and numerical taxonomy were included to reveal relationships and improve taxonomic classification. Fifteen isolates were described as Gram-negative, aerobic and facultative anaerobic (with NO ₃ ^- as H⁺-acceptor), polarly flagellated rods (Pseudomonas spp.); one was an inmotile, Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic coccus. None of the 15 Pseudomonas-isolates could be identified with one of the denitrifying species so far described and recognized. The strains should be regarded as hitherto undescribed denitrifying marine bacteria.Supported by the Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie, Bonn, Germany (FRG).     

Trace metals in the hair of habitants of the Ok Tedi region, Papua New Guinea

It has long been known that mining activity can markedly change the level and distribution of certain heavy metals in the adjacent environment. This pollution can be quite widespread and long lasting and often has deleterious effects on the health of local populations. In the present study scalp hair was used as the biopsy material because of its ease of collection and long history of use in this connection. Hair was collected from all the local villages in the vicinity of the mine site, as well as from Papua New Guinean nationals from other provinces, and European expatriates who were employed by the mining company and who were resident in the area. Hair from local people showed a remarkably high iron content by comparison with previously studied populations. The extreme variations in hair iron levels were reflected in the differential distribution of levels according to location, age and sex. Hair cadmium was also high in the population studied. Hair copper, lead, zinc and mercury all appeared to be within 'normal' limits by comparison with other general populations. These results are discussed in the context of the environmental and social impact of the mining operations on the local people.     

Exploratory analysis of the safety climate and safety behavior relationship

Problem: Safety climate refers to the degree to which employees believe true priority is given to organizational safety performance, and its measurement is thought to provide an “early warning” of potential safety system failure(s). However, researchers have struggled over the last 25 years to find empirical evidence to demonstrate actual links between safety climate and safety performance.Method: A safety climate measure was distributed to manufacturing employees at the beginning of a behavioral safety initiative and redistributed one year later.Results: Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that perceptions of the importance of safety training were predictive of actual levels of safety behavior. The results also demonstrate that the magnitude of change in perceptual safety climate scores will not necessarily match actual changes (r=0.56, n.s.) in employee's safety behavior.Discussion: This study obtained empirical links between safety climate scores and actual safety behavior. Confirming and contradicting findings within the extant safety climate literature, the results strongly suggest that the hypothesized climate-behavior-accident path is not as clear cut as commonly assumed.Summary: A statistical link between safety climate perceptions and safety behavior will be obtained when sufficient behavioral data is collected.Impact on Industry: The study further supports the use of safety climate measures as useful diagnostic tools in ascertaining employee's perceptions of the way that safety is being operationalized.     

Graduated driver licensing restrictions: awareness, compliance, and enforcement in North Carolina

PROBLEM: This study examined the extent to which critical restrictions in North Carolina's graduated driver licensing (GDL) system are known, adhered to, and enforced. METHOD: Teenagers and their parents were recruited as they applied for either an intermediate or full license at 1 of 23 licensing offices. Telephone interviews were conducted with 900 teenagers and their parents. RESULTS: Awareness of North Carolina's night and passenger restrictions was very high among both parents and teenagers. Ten percent of teenagers reported violating the night restriction without their parents' knowledge, and 15% had done so with their parents' approval. Only 4% of parents reported allowing their teenagers to drive with more than one teenage passenger, but 19% of teenagers reported that they were allowed to do this. Violations of the passenger restriction without parental knowledge were more common than violations of the night restriction (22% vs. 10%, respectively). Among teenagers who violated restrictions without their parents' knowledge, most reported doing so only once or a few times. Teenagers expressed little concern about detection, although a majority reported driving more carefully to avoid police notice. Neither parents nor teenagers knew much about police enforcement of GDL restrictions. To obtain a sense of the views of law enforcement officers, informal interviews were conducted with 20 officers from five diverse communities and the state highway patrol. These officers were highly supportive of GDL but unfamiliar with many of the specific provisions. Moreover, enforcement of GDL restrictions did not appear to be a high priority. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: There is a need to increase the belief among teens (and parents) that police are enforcing GDL restrictions in their community; law enforcement participation in well-publicized traffic safety enforcement efforts would likely produce this result.     

Alcohol ignition interlock programs

The alcohol ignition interlock is an in-vehicle DWI control device that prevents a car from starting until the operator provides a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) test below a set level, usually .02% (20 mg/dl) to .04% (40 mg/dl). The first interlock program was begun as a pilot test in California 18 years ago; today all but a few US states, and Canadian provinces have interlock enabling legislation. Sweden has recently implemented a nationwide interlock program. Other nations of the European Union and as well as several Australian states are testing it on a small scale or through pilot research. This article describes the interlock device and reviews the development and current status of interlock programs including their public safety benefit and the public practice impediments to more widespread adoption of these DWI control devices. Included in this review are (1) a discussion of the technological breakthroughs and certification standards that gave rise to the design features of equipment that is in widespread use today; (2) a commentary on the growing level of adoption of interlocks by governments despite the judicial and legislative practices that prevent more widespread use of them; (3) a brief overview of the extant literature documenting a high degree of interlock efficacy while installed, and the rapid loss of their preventative effect on repeat DWI once they are removed from the vehicles; (4) a discussion of the representativeness of subjects in the current research studies; (5) a discussion of research innovations, including motivational intervention efforts that may extend the controlling effect of the interlock, and data mining research that has uncovered ways to use the stored interlock data record of BAC tests in order to predict high risk drivers; and (6) a discussion of communication barriers and conceptual rigidities that may be preventing the alcohol ignition interlock from taking a more prominent role in the arsenal of tools used to control DWI. Whether interlock programs can help public policymakers achieve their expressed goals of substantially reducing the level of impaired driving will remain uncertain until procedural barriers and intransigent judiciary practices can be overcome that provide for more systematic routine use of interlock programs. Despite strong effectiveness evidence in all studies to date, the real potential of this technology to reduce the road toll cannot be estimated until they are more widely adopted.     

Association between older driver characteristics, on-road driving test performance, and crash liability

From May 1999, a new system for licensing older drivers was introduced in New Zealand. It included a practical on-road driving test with expanded scope, to be completed every two years from the time the driver turns 80. The relationship between crashes and test performance needed to be studied to inform the debate regarding the testing system. The population studied was all drivers who entered this licensing system during its first three years of operation. They were defined as crash involved if they were involved in an injury crash during the two years following their first licensure under the new system. Logistic regression was used to describe the risk of crash involvement in terms of driving test performance and other driver characteristics. Each driving test failure was associated with a 33% increase in the odds of crash involvement (95% CI 14% to 55%), controlling for age, gender, minor traffic violations, and whether the older driver lived with another licensed driver or not. Minor traffic violations in the two years following the driving test were associated with twice the odds of crash involvement. These results suggest that the new on-road driving test does identify older driver behaviors or limitations that are related to crash liability. It is anticipated that the results presented here will provide essential information for discussing older driver licensing systems, whose impact will grow in importance as the population of drivers ages.