Differential protective effects of motorcycle helmets against head injury

Background: Although numerous observational studies have demonstrated a protective effect of motorcycle helmets against head injury, the degree of protection against specific head injury types remains unclear. Experimental biomechanics studies involving cadavers, animals, and computer models have established that head injuries have varying etiologies. This retrospective cross-sectional study compared helmet protection against skull fracture, cerebral contusion, intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral concussion in a consecutive series of motorcycle operators involved in recent traffic crashes in Kentucky.

Methods: Police collision reports linked to hospital inpatient and emergency department (ED) claims were analyzed for the period 2008 to 2012. Motorcycle operators with known helmet use who were not killed at the crash scene were included in the study. Helmet use was ascertained from the police report. Skull fracture, cerebral contusion, intracranial hemorrhage, and cerebral concussion were identified from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes on the claims records. The relative risks of each type of head injury for helmeted versus unprotected operators were estimated using generalized estimating equations.

Results: Helmets offer substantial protection against skull fracture (relative risk [RR] = 0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23, 0.34), cerebral contusion (RR = 0.29, 95% CI, 0.16, 0.53), and intracranial hemorrhage (RR = 0.47, 95% CI, 0.35, 0.63). The findings pertaining to uncomplicated concussion (RR = 0.80, 95% CI, 0.64, 1.01) were inconclusive. A modest protective effect (20% risk reduction) was suggested by the relative risk estimate, but the 95% confidence interval included the null value.

Conclusions: Motorcycle helmets were associated with a 69% reduction in skull fractures, 71% reduction in cerebral contusion, and 53% reduction in intracranial hemorrhage. This study finds that current motorcycle helmets do not protect equally against all types of head injury. Efforts to improve rotational acceleration management in motorcycle helmets should be considered.     

重金属由水相到沉积物相的标准迁移自由能

采用电位法测定了淀山湖水体中,Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd等重金属的氯化物由水相到沉积物相的标准迁移自由能(△Gt0)。结果表明,重金属离子的△Gt0随沉积物-水悬浮液中的沉积物含量增加而减小;△Gt0的大小次序为:Cd2+>Pb2+>Cu2+>Zn2+,即Zn2+最易迁入沉积物中,而Cu2+、Pb2+、Cd2+依次减弱,这同重金属离子在沉积物/水两相间的分配系数大小相一致。     

沉积改造型金矿床的构造古地理控制

沉积改造型金矿床系指矿源层由正常(非火山的)沉积作用形成,经后期改造未变质或弱变质的层控型金矿床,金呈微细浸染状。该类型矿床的分布明显受古地理控制,盆地边缘相、台地前缘斜坡相、台地边缘生物礁相、局限台地相以及槽盆相,特别是两相区的过渡带是矿源层形成的有利场所。其形成的大地构造环境为不同时代的被动大陆边缘区、弧后边缘海的陆侧以及初生洋盆。矿床存在的大地构造单元以加里东期、海西—印支期冒地槽褶皱带为主。     

下扬子盆地石炭系沉积相

下扬子盆地面积约十余万平方公里,石炭系分布广泛,出露完整。早石炭世有四个沉积相区和两个剥蚀区,根据各相区的沉积特征及生物群的不同,本文恢复了它的沉积环境和古地理概貌。晚石炭世为海相碳酸盐岩沉积,主要亚相类型有边缘潮坪相、开阔台地和局限台地相,浅滩相等,表明它是一种缓坡型的碳酸盐台地,盆地南部钱塘地区是下沉较深的碳酸盐台地。     

环境影响评价备案管理制度的功能定位

环境影响评价备案管理制度的功能定位决定着该制度在行政审批制度改革中的发展方向。本文基于传统行政行为理论研究范式,分析其程序性事实行为的法律性质,回答了环境影响评价备案管理制度"是什么";采用行政过程论的新型研究范式,进一步指示了其目的性功能与机制性功能,回答了环境影响评价备案管理制度要"干什么"。在转型时期,该制度应实现由政府绝对主导向企业相对自由、由政府监护向社会监督、由政府管制向社会治理、由事前审批向事中事后监管的转变。     

光记录相纸由湿度引起的量算误差

光记录相纸在不同的湿度下其宽度变化达 4 2 % ,而由此引起的误差将大大超过资料质量评比条例所规定的量标误差值 ,给数据处理带来影响。本文通过实验 ,得出了在不同湿度下的误差值 ,并提出解决该问题的一些办法与建议。     

两宋时期自然灾害的文学记述与地理分布规律

两宋320年间共发生灾害1739次,灾害种类14种,如此深重的灾害是导致两宋"积贫积弱,国力不强"的一大主要因素.由于宋朝时期的地理气候特点,水灾、旱灾接连不断发生,并且成为两宋最主要的自然灾害.古代自然灾害研究主要依据史书记载,中国是世界上少数灾害多发的国家之一,文学作品中反映出来的灾难与救世观念可以给人们很多启发.以王禹偁为代表的宋代文学家给后世留下了许多记述灾害的文学作品,从文学作品的记述中可以提取古代灾害的准确信息.北宋都城位于开封,南宋京都在杭州,由于史料对当时中央政府所在地省份的记述颇为翔实,两宋自然灾害的省区分布,以河南、浙江灾害次数最多.     

Uncertain sightings and the extinction of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

The extinction of a species can be inferred from a record of its sightings. Existing methods for doing so assume that all sightings in the record are valid. Often, however, there are sightings of uncertain validity. To date, uncertain sightings have been treated in an ad hoc way, either excluding them from the record or including them as if they were certain. We developed a Bayesian method that formally accounts for such uncertain sightings. The method assumes that valid and invalid sightings follow independent Poisson processes and use noninformative prior distributions for the rate of valid sightings and for a measure of the quality of uncertain sightings. We applied the method to a recently published record of sightings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). This record covers the period 1897-2010 and contains 39 sightings classified as certain and 29 classified as uncertain. The Bayes factor in favor of extinction was 4.03, which constitutes substantial support for extinction. The posterior distribution of the time of extinction has 3 main modes in 1944, 1952, and 1988. The method can be applied to sighting records of other purportedly extinct species.     

Sedimentary record of hydrophobic organic compounds in relation to regional economic development: A study of Taihu Lake, East China

Sediment cores taken from Taihu Lake, East China were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The results showed a general sharp increase of HCH, DDT, PAH and PBDE concentrations in the surface layers, corresponding to a sedimentation time of 1980 and 1990 onward in the Meiliang Bay and Xukou Bay, respectively. The source of PAHs has largely transferred from petrogenic to pyrogenic origin, and good relationships were observed between sediment PAH concentrations and the regional gross domestic product. The sharp increase of DDTs in recent years may be related to the mobilization and migration of these chemicals from surface soil to lake sediment, as a result of enhanced soil run-off due to large scale land transform, as well as the contribution of current usage of dicofol and DDT-containing anti-fouling paints.     

西南地区全新世气候变化概述

本文较为系统地分析了西南地区石笋、泥炭和湖泊沉积物等自然记录恢复古气候的其本原理,概述了西南地区全新世(近万年来)气候变化研究的主要进展。鉴于西南地区古气候研究的现状,未来应着重加强三个方面的研究:1)加强石笋、泥炭和湖泊沉积物等代用指标记录气候变化的机理研究,建立更为有效的古气候定量/半定量重建方法;2)加强高分辨率、多指标的综合对比研究,揭示重大气候变化事件(如8.2 ka事件4、.2 ka事件和小冰期等)的性质及其对西南地区生态环境的影响;3)加强不同区域气候变化的对比研究,为揭示气候变化驱动力和合理预测西南未来可能出现的气候变化提供科学基础。