Age-Dependent Factors Affecting Thoracic Response: A Finite Element Study Focused on Japanese Elderly Occupants

Objectives: The ultimate goal of this research is to reduce thoracic injuries due to traffic crashes, especially in the elderly. The specific objective is to develop and validate a full-body finite element model under 2 distinct settings that account for factors relevant for thoracic fragility of elderly: one setting representative of an average size male and one representative of an average size Japanese elderly male.

Methods: A new thorax finite element model was developed from medical images of a 71-year-old average Japanese male elderly size (161cm, 60 kg) postmortem human subject (PMHS). The model was validated at component and assembled levels against original series of published test data obtained from the same elderly specimen. The model was completed with extremities and head of a model previously developed. The rib cage and the thoracic flesh materials were assigned age-dependent properties and the model geometry was scaled up to simulate a 50th percentile male. Thereafter, the model was validated against existing biomechanical data for younger and elderly subjects, including hub-to-thorax impacts and frontal impact sled PMHS test data. Finally, a parametric study was conducted with the new models to understand the effect of size and aging factors on thoracic response and risk of rib fractures.

Results: The model behaved in agreement with tabletop test experiments in intact, denuded, and eviscerated tissue conditions. In frontal impact sled conditions, the model showed good 3-dimensional head and spine kinematics, as well as rib cage multipoint deflections. When properties representative of an aging person were simulated, both the rib cage deformation and the predicted number of rib fractures increased. The effects of age factors such as rib cortical thickness, mechanical properties, and failure thresholds on the model responses were consistent with the literature. Aged and thereby softened flesh reduced load transfer between ribs; the coupling of the rib cage was reduced. Aged costal cartilage increased the severity of the diagonal belt loading sustained by the lower loaded rib cage.

Conclusions: When age-specific parameters were implemented in a finite element (FE) model of the thorax, the rib cage kinematics and thorax injury risk increased. When the effect of size was isolated, 2 factors, in addition to rib material properties, were found to be important: flesh and costal cartilage properties. These 2 were identified to affect rib cage deformation mechanisms and may potentially increase the risk of rib fractures.     

ALOHA在突发性大气污染事故中的应用

以天津市某化工厂液氨罐泄漏为背景,在氨泄漏后果分析的基础上,用ALOHA(有害大气区域定位)模拟软件对事故影响范围进行模拟,得到可能事故场景下的氨气扩散区域、闪火可燃区域和蒸气云爆炸超压影响区域,以及射火和BLEVE火球热辐射影响.结果表明,液氨爆炸和火灾事故中BLEVE事故造成的危害范围最大,其次是蒸气云、闪火,最后是射火.液氨泄漏扩散事故影响范围可达几千米,应针对不同伤害区域采取不同方式和不同程度的救援措施.     

溴氰菊酯对菲律宾蛤仔体内酶活性和组织损伤的初步探索

采用不同质量浓度的溴氰菊酯(0.0070 mg·L~(-1)、0.014 mg·L~(-1)、0.020 mg·L~(-1)、0.027 mg·L~(-1))对菲律宾蛤仔进行20 d半静置染毒,测定不同时间淋巴液中乙酰胆碱酯酶(ACh E)和钠离子-钾离子-三磷酸腺苷酶(Na~+-K~+-ATPase)活性、鳃和肝脏中谷胱甘肽转硫酶(GST)活性的变化,并观察染毒20 d后鳃丝组织和消化盲囊组织的损伤情况。酶活性分析结果显示,与对照组相比,低浓度组(0.0070 mg·L~(-1))试验期间酶活性均无显著差异(P0.05);中浓度组(0.014 mg·L~(-1)、0.020 mg·L~(-1))淋巴液中ACh E和Na~+-K~+-ATPase均呈先激活后抑制的变化规律(P0.05),鳃和肝脏中GST活性均呈上升趋势(P0.05);高浓度组(0.027mg·L~(-1))淋巴液中ACh E和Na~+-K~+-ATPase、肝脏中GST活性在试验期间持续下降(P0.01),而鳃中GST活性呈先抑制后升高的趋势(P0.05)。研究表明,低中浓度的溴氰菊酯对菲律宾蛤仔体内的酶活性表现为先诱导后抑制,具有明显的时间、剂量效应;高浓度的溴氰菊酯对菲律宾蛤仔体内酶活持续抑制,且染毒浓度越高,组织细胞变异越显著,表现为鳃丝上皮细胞纤毛层萎缩、纤毛脱落,消化盲囊上皮细胞膨胀,出现包涵体样结构。     

甲烷煤尘耦合爆炸传播特性及伤害研究

为探究煤尘质量浓度对甲烷煤尘耦合爆炸传播特性及伤害距离的影响,自制长15 m的爆炸管道系统,用体积分数为7％甲烷分别与质量浓度为0、50、100和200 g/m3的煤尘进行耦合爆炸试验,并根据质量、动量和能量守恒理论推导出最大压力计算公式.结果 表明:不同质量浓度煤尘与甲烷耦合爆炸时,最大压力均随与爆源距离的增加呈现出...     

Safer Truck Front Design for Pedestrian Impacts*

Truck and bus frontal impacts account for a major proportion of pedestrian fatalities in many less motorized countries. To understand this phenomenon, we have collected injury data on pedestrian impacts with buses and trucks and performed computer simulations to identify critical design parameters at 15–45 km/h impact velocities for further investigation. A male dummy which was scaled to fifty percentile Indian dimensions has been used for simulations using MADYMO. Bumper height, bumper offset and grille inclination affect the pelvis and thorax forces and Head Injury Criterion values critically. Bumper width has less effect. Simulations were performed to optimize for the above–mentioned three parameters. Changes in front geometric parameters reduce injury to the upper body and head below safety limits for the existing force–displacement properties but do not affect leg injuries significantly. Hence bumpers need to be made less stiff. Injury data shows that pedestrians also sustain tibia fractures in bus/truck impacts in apparent low velocity impacts. The computer modeling does not offer adequate explanation for this phenomenon. These simulations confirm that it is theoretically possible to make truck/bus fronts safer for pedestrians in impacts up to 35 km/h.     

汽车组装流水线作业工人慢性肌肉骨骼损伤调查研究

从调查３１６名汽车组装流水线作业工人的慢性肌肉损伤情况中发现，其主要不适有右手或右肩的疲劳、下背痛、手腕压痛、前臂压痛及下背压痛等。汽车组装流水作业工人的这些症状和体征与其工作时右上肢活动明显多于左上肢及常处于前倾弯腰体位有关     

建筑施工伤亡事故现状、原因及其对策

应用安全系统工程学原理及方法分析建筑行业伤亡事故增多的根本原因；综合阐述建筑安全的基本对策，以求标本兼治，使建筑施工伤亡严峻形势得到根本好转     

玉米育苗移栽防御低温冷害和春旱试验研究

为防御玉米低温冷害和春旱,在吉林省东部开展了玉米育苗移栽田间试验。结果表明,玉米育苗移栽是一项简便有效的防灾、减灾实用技术。利用该项技术可增加220～250℃·d积温,因此可采用较当地大田播种生育期长10～15天、所需积温多230℃·d的偏晚熟品种,以避开播种出苗期干旱;产量和产值分别提高40%和35%左右,并可提早成熟,防霜害,提高玉米品质。     

论大气环境污染与人体肺癌发生率

大气环境污染和人体肺癌发生率密切相关。工业和交通排放大气污染物、厨房污染、吸烟、复印机和居室装饰等造成的大气环境污染过程均能造成居民肺癌发病率的上升。应通过控制工业污染、改变能源结构、戒烟及绿化造林等措施加以解决。     

Assessing effects of ambient ozone on injury and yield of bean with ethylenediurea (EDU): three years of plant monitoring at four sites in The Netherlands

EDU (ethylenediurea) and non-EDU-treated bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) L. cv. Lit) were exposed to ambient air at four rural sites in the Netherlands during the growing seasonsof 1994 through 1996 to investigate the responses to ambient ozone. Ozone-induced foliar injury was observed each year anddifferences in injury between sites depended on year. On average,injury amounted to 27% in 1994, to 8% in 1995 and to 1% in 1996. Injury increased with increasing ozone exposure (AOT40) and the estimated AOT40 value corresponding with 5% injury wascirca 3650 nl l^-1 h ozone. The highest ozone levels accumulated at each site for five consecutive days before injuryexceeded the proposed short-term critical level for injury development. EDU reduced injury and its protective effect was positively related to the injury intensity in non-EDU-treatedplants. Yield of green marketable pods (intermediate harvest) andmature pods (final harvest) was generally reduced in non-EDU-treated plants compared to EDU-treated plants and differences inyield reduction between harvests varied between years. The yield of mature pods was reduced in 1994 and 1996 while the yield ofgreen pods was reduced in 1995 by ozone only. Since yield reduction was not correlated with AOT40, the EDU method was notvalid to determine an ozone exposure-yield reponse relationshipfor bean.