Analyzing injury severity of bus passengers with different movements

Objective: Though public transport vehicles are rarely involved in mass casualty accidents, when they are, the number of injuries and fatalities is usually high due to the high passenger capacity. Of the few studies that have been conducted on bus safety, the majority focused on vehicle safety features, road environmental factors, as well as driver characteristics. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to investigate the underlying risk factors related to bus occupants. This article presents an investigation aimed at identifying the risk factors affecting injury severity of bus passengers with different movements.

Method: Three different passenger movement types including standing, seated, and boarding/alighting were analyzed individually using classification and regression tree (CART) method based on publicly available accident database of Great Britain.

Results: According to the results of exploratory analyses, passenger age and vehicle maneuver are associated with passenger injury severity in all 3 types of accidents. Moreover, the variable “skidding and overturning” is associated with injury severity of seated passengers and driver age is correlated with injury severity of standing and boarding/alighting passengers.

Conclusions: The CART method shows its ability to identify and easily explain the complicated patterns affecting passenger injury severity. Several countermeasures to reduce bus passenger injury severity are recommended.     

Transition to large-scale organic vegetable production in the Salinas Valley, California

Studying the management strategies suited to large-scale organic production, particularly during the mandated 3-year transition period from conventional management, is a unique research challenge. Organic production traditionally relies on small, diverse plantings and complex management responses to cope with soil fertility and pest pressures, so research should represent decision-making options of an organic grower at the farm scale. This study analyzes crop, soil, pest and management changes during the organic transition period on two ranches (40 and 47 ha) in the Salinas Valley, California in cooperation with a large conventional vegetable producer, Tanimura and Antle, Inc. Permanent transects were established across the two ranches at the onset of adoption of organic practices, and soil and plants were sampled at harvest of almost all crops, while all management operations were recorded by the co-operator. The 10 ha blocks were divided into many small plantings, and 17 different cash crop and cover crop species were planted during the transition period. Management inputs consisted of a range of organic fertilizers and amendments, sprinkler and drip irrigation, cultivation and hand-hoeing, and several types of organic pesticides. Results from the 3-year period followed these general trends: increase in soil biological indicators (microbial biomass and arbuscular mycorrhizae), low soil nitrate pools, adequate crop nutrients, minor disease and weed problems, and sporadic mild insect damage. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that some crops and cultivars consistently produced higher yields than others, relative to the maximum yield for a given crop. Multi-factor contingency tables showed clear differences in insect and disease damage between crop taxa. Although Tanimura and Antle, Inc. used some of the principles of organic farming (e.g., crop diversity, crop rotation, and organic matter (OM) management), they also relied on substitution-based management, such as fertigation with soluble nutrients, initially heavy applications of organic pesticides, and use of inputs derived from off-farm sources. Their initial production of a large number of crop taxa in small plantings at staggered intervals proved to be an effective strategy for avoiding risks from low yields or crop failure and allowed them to move towards a smaller number of select, successful crops towards the end of the transition. This study demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale producers to transition to organic practices in a manner that was conducive to both production goals and environmental quality, i.e., increased soil C pools, low soil nitrate, and absence of synthetic pesticides.     

广州城市行道树特征分析

本文运用生态学方法，探讨了广州市区行道树的生物群落，生态质量及空间分布特下。     

行道树对城市道路交通环境的响应研究

以南方常见的8种城市行道树作为研究对象,并以各自在远离城市道路交通环境生长的树种作为对照,对行道树及其对照样品叶片和树皮的重金属铅和镉、电导率、pH值、叶片伤斑率及叶片表皮结构气孔数等进行测定,以探讨不同树种对交通环境的响应.结果表明,与对照树种比较,行道树叶片和树皮能累积城市道路交通环境中的重金属铅和镉,其电导率和叶片的伤斑率增加,pH值下降.叶片气孔数的变化随树种不同有所差别,如阴香〔Cinnamomumbur-manii(Nees)〕等的叶片气孔数比对照少,而细叶榕(FicusmicrocarpaL.)等比对照多.根据行道树的生长状况及净化重金属的能力,8种供试植物中,白兰(MicheliaalbaDC.)和垂叶榕(FicusbenjaminaL.)最适合选作行道树,而阴香因其在交通环境中生长不良,净化效益差,不宜选作交通密集区的行道树种.图3表3参17     

8种乡土树种在铁矿废弃地的定植与生长

应用生态系统演替原理,选取青冈(Cyclobalanopsis glauca)、苦槠(Castanopsis sclerophylla)、白栎(Quercus fabri)、麻栎(Quercus acutissima)、小叶栎(Quercus chenii)、榔榆(Ulmus parvifolia)、紫楠(Phoebe sheareri)和薄叶润楠(Machilus leptophylla)8种乡土树种在安徽省马鞍山市南山铁矿排土场进行定植试验.定植后3 a小叶栎高度达(194.89±2.71) cm(平均值±标准误,下同),比移栽时增加119.89 cm,平均年增高39.96 cm,高度最小的紫楠也达(72.67±2.91) cm,比移栽时增加了62.67 cm,平均年增高20.89 cm;地径最大的榔榆已达(3.87±0.11) cm,最小的紫楠也达(1.27±0.15) cm,说明在人工管理条件下,这些植物生长良好.观测结果表明,落叶阔叶树种比常绿阔叶树种定植成活率高,株高和地径增长速度也较快,是该地自然群落恢复的重要候选树种.     

Planting History and Propagule Pressure as Predictors of Invasion by Woody Species in a Temperate Region

Abstract:  We studied 28 alien tree species currently planted for forestry purposes in the Czech Republic to determine the probability of their escape from cultivation and naturalization. Indicators of propagule pressure (number of administrative units in which a species is planted and total planting area) and time of introduction into cultivation were used as explanatory variables in multiple regression models. Fourteen species escaped from cultivation, and 39% of the variance was explained by the number of planting units and the time of introduction, the latter being more important. Species introduced early had a higher probability of escape than those introduced later, with more than 95% probability of escape for those introduced before 1801 and <5% for those introduced after 1892. Probability of naturalization was more difficult to predict, and eight species were misclassified. A model omitting two species with the largest influence on the model yielded similar predictors of naturalization as did the probability of escape. Both phases of invasion therefore appear to be driven by planting and introduction history in a similar way. Our results demonstrate the importance of forestry for recruitment of invasive trees. Six alien forestry trees, classified as invasive in the Czech Republic, are currently reported in nature reserves. In addition, forestry authorities want to increase the diversity of alien species and planting area in the country.     

Spatial and temporal analysis of vegetation change in agricultural landscapes: A case study of two brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) landscapes in Queensland, Australia

The majority of landscapes around the world have been modified or transformed by human activities to meet the needs of human societies. The loss of native vegetation for agricultural development affects the sustainability of growing proportion of the world's ecosystems. Factors such as land tenure, roads and agricultural intensification, together with biophysical properties, have been cited as drivers of deforestation. This paper combined analysis of the historical drivers of change with analysis of the trends of deforestation since 1945 in two brigalow landscapes (100,000 ha) in sub-tropical Australia. A selection of these drivers were then applied at a property-level (1000 ha) to test their influence on native vegetation retention. Regression trees were used to identify significant human drivers and biophysical properties, and then a generalised linear modelling approach was used to quantify the effect of these factors on the proportion of remnant native vegetation. Results showed that until the mid-20th century, government policies to intensify settlement did not result in increased agricultural production, but since this time, landscape change has been rapid, and has particularly affected ecosystems on fertile clay soils. Although socio-economic factors were critical in driving deforestation, after 60 years of agricultural intensification by far the most significant explanatory variable determining the proportion of native vegetation retained at a property scale was the suitability of the soil for agriculture. Property size was an important secondary influence. The results were not, by and large, consistent with other studies of landscape change and suggest that generalised principles explaining deforestation may be elusive. Solutions to the problem of over-clearance of native vegetation, therefore, need to be tailored to the specific regional situations encountered.     

CART-分类与回归树方法介绍

分类与回归树（CART－ClassificationandRegressionTrees）是一种非常有趣并且十分有效的非参数分类和回归方法．它通过构建二叉树达到预测目的。该方法是四位美国统计学家耗时十多年辛勤劳动的成果。在他们所著的“ClassificationandRegressionTrees（1984）”一书中有该方法的详细说明。笔者认为该方法在古生物化石分类和鉴定以及矿产资源预测等方面颇有用武之地。本文只对该方法作简单介绍,希望能对从事预测工作的读者有所启发。美国加利福尼亚统计软件公司已歼发了CART方法软件。     

城市交通环境对行道树叶片表皮结构影响的研究

以珠江三角洲常见的 8种受到交通环境影响的城市行道树及其对照树作为研究材料 ,对其叶片的上下表皮结构进行了研究。结果表明 ,交通环境引起城市行道树叶片表皮结构如气孔数、气孔口等发生变化 ,但不同的树种的叶片表皮结构对交通环境的响应不同。     

新《森林法》背景下的补种树木责任承担方式

补种树木是森林生态环境修复的有效途径,而我国立法对补种树木责任承担方式的规定未形成体系,亟待完善。在新《森林法》出台的背景下,运用比较分析法对新旧《森林法》的修订变化进行阐释和探析,可得出:补种树木责任承担方式在执法与司法领域适用的过程中,遇到原地与异地补种的适用顺位不明、补种树木执法主体的确立不明确、缺乏补种树木执法监督程序等问题。因此,应准确区分原地与异地补种树木的适用、确立补种树木执法主体、以及建立补种树木全过程监督程序。