The effect of helmets on motorcycle outcomes in a level I trauma center in Connecticut

Objective: The State of Connecticut has a partial motorcycle helmet law, which has been linked to one of the lowest helmet compliance rates in the Northeast. We examine the clinical and financial impact of low motorcycle helmet use in the State of Connecticut.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study comparing the outcomes between helmeted and nonhelmeted motorcycle crash victims over a 12.5-year period, from July 2, 2002, to December 31, 2013. All patients who were admitted to the hospital after a motorcycle crash were included in the study. Patients were stratified into helmeted and nonhelmeted cohorts. Group differences were compared using t-test or Wilcoxon rank test for continuous variables and chi-square test for dichotomous outcomes. Regression models were created to evaluate predictors of helmet use, alcohol and drugs as confounding variables, and factors that influenced hospital costs.

Results: The registry included 986 eligible patients. Of this group, 335 (34%) were helmeted and 651 (66%) were nonhelmeted. Overall, nonhelmeted patients had a worse clinical presentation, with lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS; P <.01), higher Injury Severity Score (ISS; P <.01), higher incidence of loss of consciousness (LOC; P <.01), longer intensive care unit (ICU; P <.01) admissions, and higher incidence of head (P <.01) or face injuries (P <.01). Nonhelmeted patients were also twice as more likely to die from their injuries (P =.04, odds ratio [OR] = 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–3.45). Financially, nonhelmeted patients incurred mean hospital costs of $18,458, whereas helmeted patients incurred $14,970 (P =.18). ISS, GCS, and ICU length of stay were significantly correlated with increased hospital costs (P <.01). Not using a helmet was a significant predictor of mortality (P =.04) after adjusting for alcohol/drug use and age.

Conclusions: Helmet use is associated with lower injury severity and increased survival after a motorcycle crash. These outcomes remained consistent even after controlling for age and alcohol and drug use. The medical and financial impact of Connecticut's partial helmet law should be carefully evaluated to petition for increased education and enforcement of helmet use.     

基于特征基元的航空遥感海域使用信息提取技术研究

近年来,随着沿海经济的发展,海域使用状况日新月异,传统的人工监测已经不能满足海域使用变化的需求.如何快速、实时了解我国沿海海域使用现状,为政府管理部门提供管理、决策依据,是一个亟待解决的问题.航空遥感因其快速、灵活、宏观等特点被应用到海域使用动态监视监测中来.本文在充分了解归纳国内外高分辨率遥感信息提取技术的基础上,研究了适合航空遥感数据信息提取技术和方法,并将其应用到海域使用动态监视监测中.     

基于ABAQUS二次开发的头盔防碰撞仿真系统及应用

目前国内的航空头盔设计仍依赖于经验设计,设计出来的头盔冗余较大,且需要大量的实验进行验证,研制周期长,效率低。针对这些问题,笔者基于ABAQUS平台,并针对航空头盔的特殊性进行二次开发,得到了一款能够进行防碰撞仿真的系统。应用该系统,仿真了3种不同规格的头盔,3种不同装配误差的泡沫硬衬垫共计6种模型的碰撞结果。仿真结果对头盔的设计有一定的指导价值。     

The unintended impact of helmet use on bicyclists’ risk-taking behaviors

Introduction: Safety is a critical factor in promoting sustainable urban non-motorized travel modes like bicycles. Helmets have shown to be effective in reducing injury severity in bicycle crashes, however, their effects on bicyclists’ behaviors still requires deeper understanding, especially amid the emerging trend of using shared bicycles. Risk compensation effects suggest that bicyclists may offset perceived gains in safety from wearing a helmet by increasing risk-taking behaviors. A better understanding of these compensation effects can be useful in assessing various bicycle safety related programs. Method: Using a sample of 131 bicyclists from the San Francisco Bay area, this research studies how bicyclists respond with respect to risk-taking behaviors under various urban-street conditions, as a function of helmet use. Study participants were each shown 12 videos, shot in Berkeley, California, from the perspective of a bicyclist riding behind another bicyclist. A fractional factorial experiment design was used to systematically vary contextual attributes (e.g., speed, bike lane facilities, on-street parking, passing vehicles) across the videos. After each video, participants were asked to indicate if they would overtake the bicyclist in the video. With the help of data adaptive estimation techniques, targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) was applied to estimate the average risk difference between helmeted users and non-users, controlling for self-selection effects. Individual-based nonparametric bootstrap was performed to assess the uncertainty associated with the estimator. Results: Our findings suggest, on average, individuals more likely to wear a helmet are 15.6% more likely to undertake a risky overtaking maneuver. Practical Applications: This study doesn’t try to oppose mandatory helmet laws, but rather serves as a cautionary warning that road safety programs may need to consider strategies in which unintended impact of bicycle helmet use can be mitigated. Moreover, our findings also provide additional evaluation component when it comes to the cost-benefit assessment of helmet-related laws.     

污水深度处理及回收利用的可行性分析

大庆炼化公司从单一化工污水深度处理及回收利用发展为炼油、化工、生活污水统一处理和回用于循环水,既充分利用了现有污水处理场的处理余量,同时由于生活污水中含有比例适当的微生物需要的营养物质,对炼油和化工污水起到补充和稀释作用。这种处理方法既降低了工业污水对污水处理场的冲击,又起到了稳定水质的作用。     

CSTR-SBR工艺在畜禽废水处理中的应用

针对当前我国规模化养殖场排放污染物的特点 ,以实际工程为例 ,介绍了“CSTR +SBR”工艺在畜禽废水处理中的设计及其运行情况。其中好氧反应池的脱氮效果特别理想 ,达 99%以上 ,而且合理的池型结构确保了良好的出水效果 ,供同类工程参考     

酒精废醪液回流复用技术的应用实例

勐棒糖厂一个榨季的实践表明，酒精废醪液回流复用技术有效地削减了废醪液排放量，且对产酒率无明显影响，是一项具有环境效益，社会效益和经济效益的技术。     

抚顺市工业用水现状及合理使用措施

水资源日益缺乏的客观现状及企业自身发展的需要，工业用水从粗放式的任意取用向集约式的科学使用转变是工业用水发展的必然，如何合理地使用工业用水，是节约水资源工作的重中之重，研究制定科学，客观，实用的利用措施，是实现工业用水合理使用的关键。     

酒精废水EIC处理技术及综合利用

介绍了旋流内循环（EIC）厌氧反应器处理高浓度酒精废水的方法及效果，用EIC反应器代替UASB处理工艺，具有污染物去除率高、沼气产生量大等优点，产生的沼气用于发电供热，取得了良好的经济效益、环境效益和社会效益。     

防霉剂在军用物资集装箱储运中的应用研究

针对军用物资集装箱储运过程中存在各种霉菌的实际情况,详细分析了防霉剂选择的基本条件,介绍了防霉剂的作用原理,提出了军用集装箱中防霉剂的使用方法,并对影响防霉剂效果的因素进行了较为系统的探讨.