The useful field of view assessment predicts simulated commercial motor vehicle driving safety

Objective: The Useful Field of View (UFOV) assessment, a measure of visual speed of processing, has been shown to be a predictive measure of motor vehicle collision (MVC) involvement in an older adult population, but it remains unknown whether UFOV predicts commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driving safety during secondary task engagement. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the UFOV assessment predicts simulated MVCs in long-haul CMV drivers.

Method: Fifty licensed CMV drivers (M_age = 39.80, SD = 8.38, 98% male, 56% Caucasian) were administered the 3-subtest version of the UFOV assessment, where lower scores measured in milliseconds indicated better performance. CMV drivers completed 4 simulated drives, each spanning approximately a 22.50-mile distance. Four secondary tasks were presented to participants in a counterbalanced order during the drives: (a) no secondary task, (b) cell phone conversation, (c) text messaging interaction, and (d) e-mailing interaction with an on-board dispatch device.

Results: The selective attention subtest significantly predicted simulated MVCs regardless of secondary task. Each 20 ms slower on subtest 3 was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of an MVC in the simulated drive. The e-mail interaction secondary task significantly predicted simulated MVCs with a 4.14 times greater risk of an MVC compared to the no secondary task condition. Subtest 3, a measure of visual speed of processing, significantly predicted MVCs in the email interaction task. Each 20 ms slower on subtest 3 was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of an MVC during the email interaction task.

Conclusions: The UFOV subtest 3 may be a promising measure to identify CMV drivers who may be at risk for MVCs or in need of cognitive training aimed at improving speed of processing. Subtest 3 may also identify CMV drivers who are particularly at risk when engaged in secondary tasks while driving.     

Study on the effect of landfill leachate on nutrient removal from municipal wastewater

In this study, landfill leachate with and without pre-treatment was co-treated with municipal wastewater at different mixing ratios. The leachate pre-treatment was achieved by air stripping to removal ammonia. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of landfill leachate on nutrient removal of the wastewater treatment process. It was demonstrated that when landfill leachate was co-treated with municipal wastewater, the high ammonia concentration in the leachate did not have a negative impact on the nitrification. The system was able to adapt to the environment and was able to improve nitrification capacity. The readily biodegradable portion of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the leachate was utilized by the system to improve phosphorus and nitrate removal. However, this portion was small and majority of the COD ended up in the effluent thereby decreased the quality of the effluent. The study showed that the 2.5% mixing ratio of leachate with wastewater improved the overall biological nutrient removal process of the system without compromising the COD removal efficiency.     

镰刀菌(Fusarium sp.)对2,4,6-三氯苯酚的降解特性及其机制

为了解镰刀菌(Fusarium sp.)降解2,4,6-三氯苯酚(TCP)的因素影响规律,研究了温度、p H、外加碳源、氮源、氯离子及TCP浓度对其降解特性的影响,分析了其降解动力学与降解途径.结论:镰刀菌能以TCP为唯一碳源和能源物质进行生长繁殖,TCP降解最适条件为:氮源Na NO3(0.2 g·L~(-1)),30℃,p H=6~7.外加碳源葡萄糖对降解TCP具有明显的抑制作用.氯离子浓度低于0.2 g·L~(-1)时对降解TCP具有一定的促进作用,但随着氯离子浓度的增加,TCP的降解受到了抑制.镰刀菌对TCP降解速率随着其浓度的升高而减缓.镰刀菌能降解10~50 mg·L~(-1)的TCP,其降解反应符合零级降解动力学方程.镰刀菌降解TCP过程中检测到2,6-二氯苯酚(RT 12.521 min),可推测TCP是通过2,6-二氯苯酚途径进行降解的.     

复合材料太阳翼基板声学疲劳特性研究

研究航天器在声激励下的疲劳行为及其演变规律,对证航天器的运行安全。针对碳纤维蒙皮-铝蜂窝的太阳翼基板声致疲劳问题,使用耦合FE/BEM方法,建立航天器太阳翼基板的数值分析模型,以声学试验结果为依据,对仿真模型进行验证。噪声激励持续作用60 s后,损伤率分布呈沿结构长轴对称状态,疲劳危险点处最大损伤率D=0.0232,太阳翼基板未出现疲劳破坏,最短疲劳寿命T=2.58×103s。太阳翼基板中心区域为结构设计薄弱处,该区域在多阶模态下的应力水平较高,疲劳寿命较短,极易导致疲劳破坏。     

Nodes of a peri-urban agricultural landscape at local level: an interpretation of their contribution to the eco-structure

The ecological value of some fine-scale landscape elements tends to be overlooked when they are found in highly human-influenced landscapes, such as peri-urban agricultural ones. These landscapes usually fall beyond the scope of the defined categories of landscape protection, and are thus mapped as areas of little or no ecological interest in the context of extensive analysis. In this paper, we present a method for assessing and visualizing the existing nodes in the field pattern of a peri-urban agricultural landscape. Nodes are identified from the field pattern and characterized according to the presence of relevant features and land uses from the viewpoint of their ecological functions. The method is applied in the Vega del Guadalfeo (south of Spain). Our results show an innovative map of the Vega which may be interpreted as its eco-structure; a model based on nodes to represent the ecological value of the peri-urban agricultural landscape.     

Evaluation of vulnerability of Suillus variegatus and Suillus granulatus mushrooms to sequester mercury in fruiting bodies

This work determined the mercury (Hg) contents and bioconcentration potential of two Suillus mushrooms, and the probable dietary intake of this element from a mushroom meal. The determination of total Hg content of fungal and soil samples was performed using cold-vapour atomic absorption spectroscopy by a direct sample thermal decomposition coupled with gold wool trap of Hg and its further desorption and quantitative measurement at a wavelength of 253.7 nm. The median values of Hg contents (mg kg^?1 dry biomass) in 213 specimens of S. variegatus from 12 background areas varied widely from 0.087 to 0.51 for caps and from 0.041 to 0.24 for stipes. In 52 specimens of S. granulatus, the Hg contents ranged from 0.30 to 0.41 for caps and from 0.058 to 0.14 for stipes. Both species could be classified as moderate accumulators of Hg and the median bioconcentration factor values ranged from 7.0 to 14 (caps) and 2.1 to 13 (stipes) for S. variegatus and 9.5 (caps) and 1.3 (stipes) for S. granulatus. The estimated intake rates of Hg with the consumption of 300-g caps were from 0.0026 to 0.015 per capita or from 0.000037 to 0.00022 mg kg^?1 body mass and this do not indicate any cause for concern associated with eating a meal once or more in a week during the mushrooming season.     

Microbial characterization of nitrification in a shallow, nitrogen-contaminated aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts and detection of a novel cluster associated with nitrifying Betaproteobacteria

Groundwater nitrification is a poorly characterized process affecting the speciation and transport of nitrogen. Cores from two sites in a plume of contamination were examined using culture-based and molecular techniques targeting nitrification processes. The first site, located beneath a sewage effluent infiltration bed, received treated effluent containing O₂ (> 300 µM) and NH₄⁺ (51–800 µM). The second site was 2.5 km down-gradient near the leading edge of the ammonium zone within the contaminant plume and featured vertical gradients of O₂, NH₄⁺, and NO₃⁻ (0–300, 0–500, and 100–200 µM with depth, respectively). Ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizers enumerated by the culture-based MPN method were low in abundance at both sites (1.8 to 350 g^− 1 and 33 to 35,000 g^− 1, respectively). Potential nitrifying activity measured in core material in the laboratory was also very low, requiring several weeks for products to accumulate. Molecular analysis of aquifer DNA (nested PCR followed by cloning and 16S rDNA sequencing) detected primarily sequences associated with the Nitrosospira genus throughout the cores at the down-gradient site and a smaller proportion from the Nitrosomonas genus in the deeper anoxic, NH₄⁺ zone at the down-gradient site. Only a single Nitrosospira sequence was detected beneath the infiltration bed. Furthermore, the majority of Nitrosospira-associated sequences represent an unrecognized cluster. We conclude that an uncharacterized group associated with Nitrosospira dominate at the geochemically stable, down-gradient site, but found little evidence for Betaproteobacteria nitrifiers beneath the infiltration beds where geochemical conditions were more variable.     

Bacillus thuringiensis field applications: Effect of nozzle type,drop size,and application timing on efficacy against gypsy moth

Abstract

In a series of recent studies, we evaluated the influence of delivery systems, drop size and application timing on the efficacy of aerially applied Bacillus thuringiensis against gypsy moth infestations. Use of different nozzle systems including Micronair, Flat Fan or Twin Jet, did not appear to result in significant differences in Bt coverage efficiency, foliage protection or population reduction. Nor was there any significant difference in population reduction when Bt was applied at two different drop sizes with volume median diameters of 110 and 163 μm. The efficacy of different formulations on larval populations were similar when used against the younger 1st and 2nd instar but differed when treatment was delayed until the population matured to the 3rd and 4th instar stages.     

A sceptical vision of the environmental Kuznets curve: The case of sulfur dioxide

The aim of this paper is to check the hypothesis for the environmental Kuznets curve for sulfur dioxide. This involved analysis of: 1. the theoretical basis of the model; 2. the technical problem of SO2 generation; 3 the kind of information used in the estimations; 4. changes in the structure of electric energy production; 5. improvements in energy efficiency; and 6. the recent introduction of cleaning mechanisms in a favourable political context. The conclusion is that, if it is possible to prove the existence of environmental Kuznets curve models, their utility as instruments of economic policy is debatable.