Teaching infant car seat installation via interactive visual presence: An experimental trial

Objective: A large portion of child restraint systems (car seats) are installed incorrectly, especially when first-time parents install infant car seats. Expert instruction greatly improves the accuracy of car seat installation but is labor intensive and difficult to obtain for many parents. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of 3 ways of communicating instructions for proper car seat installation: phone conversation; HelpLightning, a mobile application (app) that offers virtual interactive presence permitting both verbal and interactive (telestration) visual communication; and the manufacturer's user manual.

Methods: A sample of 39 young adults of child-bearing age who had no previous experience installing car seats were recruited and randomly assigned to install an infant car seat using guidance from one of those 3 communication sources.

Results: Both the phone and interactive app were more effective means to facilitate accurate car seat installation compared to the user manual. There was a trend for the app to offer superior communication compared to the phone, but that difference was not significant in most assessments. The phone and app groups also installed the car seat more efficiently and perceived the communication to be more effective and their installation to be more accurate than those in the user manual group.

Conclusions: Interactive communication may help parents install car seats more accurately than using the manufacturer's manual alone. This was an initial study with a modestly sized sample; if results are replicated in future research, there may be reason to consider centralized “call centers” that provide verbal and/or interactive visual instruction from remote locations to parents installing car seats, paralleling the model of centralized Poison Control centers in the United States.     

Effects of speed-control measures on the safety of unsignalized midblock street crossings in China

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different speed-control measures on the safety of unsignalized midblock street crossings.

Methods: In China, it is quite difficult to obtain traffic crash and conflict data for pedestrians using such crossings, mainly due to the lack of traffic data management and organizational issues. In light of this, the proposed method did not rely on such data, but considered vehicle speed, which is a leading contributing factor of pedestrian safety at mid blocks. To evaluate the speed reduction effects at different locations, the research team utilized the following methods in this study: (1) testing speed differences—on the basis of the collected data, statistical analysis is conducted to test the speed differences between upstream and crosswalk, upstream and downstream, and downstream and crosswalk; and (2) mean distribution deviation—this value is calculated by taking the difference in cumulative speed distributions for the two different samples just mentioned. In order to better understand the variation of speed reduction effects at different distances from speed-control facilities, data were collected from six types of speed-control measures with a visual range of 60 m.

Results: The results showed that speed humps, transverse rumble strips, and speed bumps were effective in reducing vehicle speeds. Among them speed humps performed the best, with reductions of 21.1% and 20.0% from upstream location (25.01 km/h) and downstream location (24.66 km/h) to pedestrian crosswalk (19.73 km/h), respectively. By contrast, the speed reduction effects were minimal for stop and yield signs, flashing yellow lights, and crossings without treatment.

Conclusions: Consequently, in order to reduce vehicle speeds and improve pedestrian safety at mid blocks, several speed-control measures such as speed humps, speed bumps, and transverse rumble strips are recommended to be deployed in the vicinity of pedestrian crosswalks.     

The effect of precrash velocity reduction on occupant response using a human body finite element model

Objective: The objective of this study is to use a validated finite element model of the human body and a certified model of an anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD) to evaluate the effect of simulated precrash braking on driver kinematics, restraint loads, body loads, and computed injury criteria in 4 commonly injured body regions.

Methods: The Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) 50th percentile male occupant (M50-O) and the Humanetics Hybrid III 50th percentile models were gravity settled in the driver position of a generic interior equipped with an advanced 3-point belt and driver airbag. Fifteen simulations per model (30 total) were conducted, including 4 scenarios at 3 severity levels: median, severe, and the U.S. New Car Assessment Program (U.S.-NCAP) and 3 extra per model with high-intensity braking. The 4 scenarios were no precollision system (no PCS), forward collision warning (FCW), FCW with prebraking assist (FCW+PBA), and FCW and PBA with autonomous precrash braking (FCW + PBA + PB). The baseline ΔV was 17, 34, and 56.4 kph for median, severe, and U.S.-NCAP scenarios, respectively, and were based on crash reconstructions from NASS/CDS. Pulses were then developed based on the assumed precrash systems equipped. Restraint properties and the generic pulse used were based on literature.

Results: In median crash severity cases, little to no risk (<10% risk for Abbreviated injury Scale [AIS] 3+) was found for all injury measures for both models. In the severe set of cases, little to no risk for AIS 3+ injury was also found for all injury measures. In NCAP cases, highest risk was typically found with No PCS and lowest with FCW + PBA + PB. In the higher intensity braking cases (1.0–1.4 g), head injury criterion (HIC), brain injury criterion (BrIC), and chest deflection injury measures increased with increased braking intensity. All other measures for these cases tended to decrease. The ATD also predicted and trended similar to the human body models predictions for both the median, severe, and NCAP cases. Forward excursion for both models decreased across median, severe, and NCAP cases and diverged from each other in cases above 1.0 g of braking intensity.

Conclusions: The addition of precrash systems simulated through reduced precrash speeds caused reductions in some injury criteria, whereas others (chest deflection, HIC, and BrIC) increased due to a modified occupant position. The human model and ATD models trended similarly in nearly all cases with greater risk indicated in the human model. These results suggest the need for integrated safety systems that have restraints that optimize the occupant's position during precrash braking and prior to impact.     

宿迁市公众环境意识调查研究

采用问卷调查与社会访问相结合的方法,对江苏省宿迁市居民的环境意识进行了调查。统计结果表明宿迁市居民对当地环境处于基本满意阶段,并认为政府对环境保护工作比较重视;宿迁市公众具备了一定的环境保护基础知识．但是环境意识比较低,环境保护行为相对滞后,需要政府加以引导,加强环境宣传教育,提高民众的环境意识。     

“城市地震安全社区”建设方法研究——以昌平区“城市地震安全社区”建设为例

当前国内各"安全社区"建设还都没有考虑地震安全建设,而地震安全已经是当今城市发展中越来越突出的问题."城市地震安全社区"建设是保障人民生命财产安全和社会经济的可持续发展,是构建平安和谐社会的重要组成部分.本文通过在北京市昌平区积极开展"城市地震安全示范社区"建设与合作研究,探索出了"地震安全社区"建设内容和评估标准,为制定全国"城市地震安全社区"建设标准提供科学依据.     

条件价值评估法研究居民改善空气质量需求

采用条件价值评估方法,调查了北京市居民改善空气质量的支付意愿,初步分析居民对空气质量这种公共环境物品的需求状况,探讨了影响居民对公共环境物品需求的人口和社会经济因素.研究结果表明,居民的经济状况是影响对公共环境物品需求的重要因素,居民的经济状况比较好则对公共环境物品的需求越高,但是支付意愿与家庭收入弹性<1.随着教育水平的提高,对公共环境物品的需求也增加.另外,性别和健康状况也影响居民对公共环境物品的需求.从政策实施的角度来看,政府必须完善人们对公共环境物品需求偏好的表达机制,才能制定政策实现公共环境物品的有效供给.     

高温水萃取在食品安全快速检测中的应用研究

采用高温水萃取方法对食品中农药残留、甲醛、亚硝酸盐、抗生素等成分进行快速萃取,结合分光光度法、液相色谱等分析方法进行了上述成分的快速检测研究。结果表明,蔬菜中甲胺磷的萃取条件为pH=8.0的磷酸缓冲溶液、萃取温度120℃、萃取时间2～3min;腐竹中甲醛的萃取条件为0.1mLH3PO4溶液/10mL、萃取温度120℃、萃取时间5min;肉制品中亚硝酸盐的萃取条件为5mL硼砂饱和溶液/10mL、萃取温度120℃、萃取时间5min;饲料中四环素的萃取条件为pH=2.0的盐酸溶液、萃取温度100℃、萃取时间4min。与现有的蒸馏、振荡萃取、超声萃取等预处理方法比较,高温水萃取法具有萃取效率高、精密度好、快速、简便和不使用有机溶剂的优点,可以满足实际样品快速检测的需要。     

管道防腐行业的粉尘危害及安全评价

在简要介绍管道防腐过程中粉尘的产生及其危害的基础上,采用LEC评价法和马尔柯夫链预测法对粉尘危害进行了安全评价,并提出了具体的防治措施,以保护操作人员的身体健康,确保生产的正常运行。     

湖南省湘江流域环境污染的安全性研究

文章从水质、底泥、两岸土壤和植物以及两岸人群患病率分析了湖南省湘江流域的环境污染情况,结果表明湖南省湘江流域的污染较为严重。分析认为历史污染物排放,地质原因,矿山开采,植被变迁以及蚋污能力变小是导致湘江污染的主要原因。最后提出了污染治理的相关措施。     

浅谈我国安全评价工作存在的问题及对策

针对我国目前安全评价工作中存在缺乏依法行政、评价标准不规范、管理不到位等问题和不足之处,提出了一些改进的建议和对策,以为企业实行安全生产目标管理提供科学标准以及为政府及行业实施宏观安全管理提供科学的依据。