Objective: Traffic crashes result in a loss of life but also impact the quality of life and productivity of crash survivors. Given the importance of traffic crash outcomes, the issue has received attention from researchers and practitioners as well as government institutions, such as the European Commission (EC). Thus, to obtain detailed information on the injury type and severity of crash victims, hospital data have been proposed for use alongside police crash records. A new injury severity classification based on hospital data, called the maximum abbreviated injury scale (MAIS), was developed and recently adopted by the EC. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the factors that affect injury severity as classified by the MAIS score.
Method: In this study, the MAIS score was derived from the International Classification of Diseases. The European Union adopted an MAIS score equal to or greater than 3 as the definition for a serious traffic crash injury. Gains are expected from using both police and hospital data because the injury severities of the victims are detailed by medical staff and the characteristics of the crash and the site of its occurrence are also provided. The data were obtained by linking police and hospital data sets from the Porto metropolitan area of Portugal over a 6-year period (2006–2011). A mixed logit model was used to understand the factors that contribute to the injury severity of traffic victims and to explore the impact of these factors on injury severity. A random parameter approach offers methodological flexibility to capture individual-specific heterogeneity. Additionally, to understand the importance of using a reliable injury severity scale, we compared MAIS with length of hospital stay (LHS), a classification used by several countries, including Portugal, to officially report injury severity. To do so, the same statistical technique was applied using the same variables to analyze their impact on the injury severity classified according to LHS.
Results: This study showed the impact of variables, such as the presence of blood alcohol, the use of protection devices, the type of crash, and the site characteristics, on the injury severity classified according to the MAIS score. Additionally, the sex and age of the victims were analyzed as risk factors, showing that elderly and male road users are highly associated with MAIS 3+ injuries. The comparison between the marginal effects of the variables estimated by the MAIS and LHS models showed significant differences. In addition to the differences in the magnitude of impact of each variable, we found that the impact of the road environment variable was dependent on the injury severity classification.
Conclusions: The differences in the effects of risk factors between the classifications highlight the importance of using a reliable classification of injury severity. Additionally, the relationship between LHS and MAIS levels is quite different among countries, supporting the previous conclusion that bias is expected in the assessment of risk factors if an injury severity classification other than MAIS is used. 相似文献
An urban survey of Lisbon, the largest city in Portugal, was carried out to investigate its environmental burden, emphasizing metallic elements and their public health impacts. This paper examines the geochemistry of lead (Pb) and its influence on human health data. A total of 51 soil samples were collected from urban recreational areas used by children to play outdoors. The semi-quantitative analysis of Pb was carried out by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after an acid digestion. X-ray diffraction was used to characterize the soil mineralogy. The solid-phase distribution of Pb in the urban soils was investigated on a subset of 7 soils, out of a total of 51 samples, using a non-specific sequential extraction method coupled with chemometric analysis. Oral bioaccessibility measurements were obtained using the Unified BARGE Method developed by the Bioaccessibility Research Group of Europe. The objectives of the study are as follows: (1) investigation of Pb solid-phase distribution; (2) interpretation of Pb oral bioaccessibility measurements; (3) integration of metal geochemistry with human health data; and (4) understanding the influence of geochemistry and mineralogy on oral bioaccessibility. The results show that the bioaccessible fraction of Pb is lower when major metal fractions are associated with less soluble soil phases such as Fe oxyhydroxides, and more increased when the metal is in the highly soluble carbonate phase. However, there is some evidence that the proportion of carbonates in the soil environment is also a key control over the oral bioaccessibility of Pb, irrespective of its solid-phase fractionation. 相似文献
Despite the increasing concern given to air quality in urban and industrial areas in recent years, particular emphasis on regulation, control, and reduction of air pollutant emissions is still necessary to fully characterize the chain emissions–air quality–exposure–dose–health effects, for specific sources. The Estarreja region was selected as a case study because it has one of the largest chemical industrial complexes in Portugal that has been recently expanded, together with a growing urban area with an interesting location in the Portuguese coastland and crossed by important road traffic and rail national networks. This work presents the first air quality assessment for the region concerning pollutant emissions and meteorological and air quality monitoring data analysis, over the period 2000–2009. This assessment also includes a detailed investigation and characterization of past air pollution episodes for the most problematic pollutants: ozone and PM10. The contribution of different emission sources and meteorological conditions to these episodes is investigated. The stagnant meteorological conditions associated with local emissions, namely industrial activity and road traffic, are the major contributors to the air quality degradation over the study region. A set of measures to improve air quality—regarding ozone and PM10 levels—is proposed as an air quality management strategy for the study region. 相似文献
Contemporary human activities such as tropical deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, pest control and grassland management lead to biomass burning, which in turn leads to land-cover changes. However, biomass burning emissions are not correctly measured and the methods to assess these emissions form a part of current research area. The traditional methods for estimating aerosols and trace gases released into the atmosphere generally use emission factors associated with fuel loading and moisture characteristics and other parameters that are hard to estimate in near real-time applications. In this paper, fire radiative power (FRP) products were extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) fire products and new South America generic biomes FRE-based smoke aerosol emission coefficients were derived and applied in 2002 South America fire season. The inventory estimated by MODIS and GOES FRP measurements were included in Coupled Aerosol-Tracer Transport model coupled to the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (CATT-BRAMS) and evaluated with ground truth collected in Large Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Smoke, Aerosols, Clouds, rainfall, and Climate (SMOCC) and Radiation, Cloud, and Climate Interactions (RaCCI). Although the linear regression showed that GOES FRP overestimates MODIS FRP observations, the use of a common external parameter such as MODIS aerosol optical depth product could minimize the difference between sensors. The relationship between the PM2.5μm (Particulate Matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm) and CO (Carbon Monoxide) model shows a good agreement with SMOCC/RaCCI data in the general pattern of temporal evolution. The results showed high correlations, with values between 0.80 and 0.95 (significant at 0.5 level by student t test), for the CATT-BRAMS simulations with PM2.5μm and CO. 相似文献
Large dam construction in water deficient areas is a management decision often controversial. Besides providing water storage, economical benefits, and a source of renewable energy, the construction and flooding caused by large dams cause disruptions in natural systems. We monitored the pre- and post-Alqueva dam impacts on the threatened carnivore species (polecat, otter, wildcat and Iberian lynx) populations in SE Portugal, and assessed which factors mostly contribute to post-dam distribution. Major short term impacts of large dams are: (1) increase in accessibility and human presence; (2) movement of heavy machinery and dam-workers; (3) deforestation with habitat loss and fragmentation; (4) change from lotic to lentic system; (5) lower prey availability and harsher capture; and (6) changes in land use adjacent to the reservoir. Thus, the response to those impacts can be predicted as a decline of polecat, wildcat and lynx distribution ranges, and a recovery of the otter from the severe short term impacts. Our results corroborate this hypothesis for all the species, especially during deforestation/early flooding. Otter's distribution range increased in the phase of greater impact, with a subsequent decrease with flooding. Our results suggest carnivores used "escape" areas with favourable habitat and prey conditions, however, the areas with higher probability of species presence decreased by two fold showing a drastic range reduction. To ensure populations' survival of these charismatic threatened carnivore populations of Mediterranean landscapes of south-east Portugal, we propose continuing the monitoring program and the development of a conservation program for the subsisting areas of optimal and suboptimal habitats. 相似文献
Fishery wastewater treatment can be compromised due to seasonal production. The use of sequencing batch reactors is not completely
successful, despite flexibility being one of the principal advantages. Most research on activated sludge is performed using
synthetic wastewater to ensure a stable and constant feed. The current work compared biomass morphology and settling ability
using image analysis of synthetic and real fishery wastewaters, with and without NaCl addition. 相似文献
When performed without technical criteria, the rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural frontiers can result in overexploitation of water, causing worrying impacts on the balance of agroecosystems. This study proposes a model applied to the state of Bahia, to estimate the water demand of areas irrigated by a central pivot, in order to contribute to information that will subsidize the inspection and planning of water resources in the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The irrigated areas were identified and measured by photointerpretation using orbital images from the Landsat-8 satellite. With a historical series of data, the reference evapotranspiration was calculated and monthly water balance was elaborated. The data obtained were spatialized by kriging, and with punctual values of water deficit (mm), the water demand of the irrigated perimeter of the equipment was estimated. The results were described considering strategic planning units, proposed from municipalities, hydrographic basins and biomes. A total of 4075 pivots were quantified, covering an irrigated area of 265,896.30 ha and with an average annual consumption of 1,333,473,208.02 m3 of water. Areas of high demand were identified, especially in the western region of Bahia, which includes the hydrographic basin of the São Francisco River and the Cerrado biome, concentrating 80.85% and 75.47% of the state water demand for pivots, respectively. Considering possible points of water vulnerability and continuity of this expansion, the results provide the primary information needed to encourage the adoption of public policies aimed at the management of water resources. The study method proposes guidelines that condition the application in any region of interest in the world.
