Prevalence of alcohol among nonfatally injured road accident casualties in two level III trauma centers in northern Ghana

Background: Alcohol use is pervasive among motorists on the road in Ghana; however, we do not know the extent to which this behavior is implicated in road accidents in this country.

Objectives: The main objective of this research was to establish the prevalence of alcohol in the blood of nonfatally injured casualties in the emergency departments (EDs) in northern Ghana.

Method: Participants were injured road traffic crash victims, namely, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers seeking treatment at an ED. The study sites were 2 level III trauma centers located in Wa and Bolgatanga. Participants were screened for alcohol followed by breath tests for positive participants using breathalyzers.

Results: Two hundred and sixty-two accident victims visited EDs, 58% of whom were in Wa. Among the victims, 41% were hospitalized and 57% experienced slight injuries. The vast majority (76%) of the casualties were motorcyclists, 13% were pedestrians, 8% were cyclists, and 2% were drivers. Casualties who had detectable alcohol in their blood were predominantly vulnerable road users. In all, 34% of participants had detectable blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and the mean BAC for all casualties who tested positive and could give definitive BACs was 0.2265 (226 mg/dl). The prevalence of alcohol use was 53% among cyclists, 34% among motorcyclists, 21% among pedestrians, and 17% among drivers. Male casualties were more likely to test positive for alcohol than females. In addition, the prevalence of alcohol was significantly higher among injured casualties in Bolgatanga compared to Wa.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of alcohol use among nonfatally injured casualties in northern Ghana and injury severity increased with BAC. AUDIT screening in the hospital, alcohol consumption guideline, road safety education with an emphasis on minimizing or eliminating alcohol consumption, and enhanced enforcement of the BAC limit among motorists are recommended.     

The effects of breath alcohol concentration on postural control

Background: Two of the 3 standardized field sobriety tests that U.S. law enforcement uses at roadside checks have a postural equilibrium component to them. Those tests have been validated to detect impairment caused by blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.08 g/dL or above. Many medical and traffic safety associations support a lower limit, and one state, Utah, has passed a law to lower the limit to 0.05 g/dL. Many studies have examined the effects of alcohol on postural control (of which postural equilibrium is a component), with a consensus emerging that impairment is usually found at BACs greater than 0.06 g/dL. Most of these studies, however, had a relatively small number of subjects, usually between 10 and 30. The current study collected data from a much larger sample.

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide additional evidence that posture control is negatively affected at BACs greater than 0.06 g/dL or breath alcohol concentrations (BrACs) of 0.06 g/210 L.

Method: This was a between-subjects study, with BrAC group as the independent variable (5 levels: 0.00, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10 g/210 L); 4 measures of postural control as the dependent variables; and age, height, and weight as the covariates. Posture control was measured with a force-sensing platform connected to a computer. The feet's center of pressure (CoP) on the platform was recorded and the corresponding movement of the body in the anterior–posterior and lateral planes was derived. Participants (N = 96) were randomly assigned to one of the BrAC groups. Positive BrAC groups were compared to the zero BrAC group. Data were examined with hierarchical multiple regression.

Results: Adjusted for age, height, and weight, the main effect of lateral CoP with eyes open was not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant main effect of alcohol on anterior–posterior CoP excursion with eyes open and with eyes closed and lateral CoP excursion with eyes closed. For all 3 of those variables, only BrACs of 0.08 and 0.10 g/210 L produced differences against zero BrAC. Although the main effect of alcohol on Lateral CoP Excursion with eyes open was not statistically significant, the contrasts between 0 and 0.08 and 0 and 0.10 g/210L BrAC were in the hypothesized direction.

Conclusion: The current study did not directly address the issue of whether the sobriety tests are sensitive to BrACs of 0.05 g/210 L or above; rather, it provides additional evidence that postural control, one of the components of those tests, is relatively unaffected by BrACs lower than 0.08 g/210 L. Additional research is needed on the diagnostic characteristics of the sobriety tests at BrACs lower than 0.08 g/210 L.     

Effects of alcohol at 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) on low speed urban driving

ABSTRACT

Objective: Alcohol-impaired driving presents a continued risk for traffic safety and results in a significant proportion of fatalities on the roadway. We examined how alcohol at a 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) compares to 0.10% BAC (above the current U.S. legal limit) in terms of impact on driving performance.

Methods: Utilizing a within-subjects design, we recruited 108 healthy experienced drivers who were moderate to heavy drinkers. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, we administered placebo and alcohol at the 0.05% and 0.10% BAC levels in a standardized simulated driving protocol. Drives occurred on the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve. This analysis focuses on the urban portion of the drive

Results: The study observed clear differences in performance for lateral and longitudinal driving performance and glance behavior. Variability in lane keeping and average speed increased with BAC level, with degraded performance observed at 0.05% BAC. The frequency of lane departures and percentage of time focused on the forward roadway at 0.05% BAC did not differ from placebo but differed from the 0.10% BAC level.

Conclusions: Overall, our results show that there is degraded performance in the urban driving environment and that much of that begins at or below the 0.05% BAC level.     

臭氧氧化法降解聚氯乙烯离心母液废水中3种有机物

以聚氯乙烯离心母液废水中含量较高的3种有机物(聚乙烯醇、异辛醇和α-甲基苯乙烯)作为目标物,考察臭氧氧化工艺对3种有机物的去除效果,同时考察反应时间、臭氧投加量和初始pH对处理效果的影响。实验结果表明,臭氧氧化处理3种废水的最佳反应时间和臭氧投加量分别为:聚乙烯醇25 min,136 mg/L;异辛醇60min,312 mg/L;α-甲基苯乙烯60 min,32 mg/L。在此条件下,3种有机物的去除率分别为98%、85%和95%。此外,碱性条件有助于臭氧氧化工艺对3种有机物的降解。产物分析结果表明,经臭氧氧化,聚乙烯醇断链后进一步反应生成了草酸单乙酯,异辛醇和α-甲基苯乙烯分别生成了和苯乙酮。     

The structure of the fire fighting foam surfactant Forafac®1157 and its biological and photolytic transformation products

For several decades, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has widely been used as a fluorinated surfactant in aqueous film forming foams used as hydrocarbon fuel fire extinguishers. Due to concerns regarding its environmental persistence and toxicological effects, PFOS has recently been replaced by novel fluorinated surfactants such as Forafac®1157, developed by the DuPont company. The major component of Forafac®1157 is a 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide alkylbetaine (6:2 FTAB), and a link between the trade name and the exact chemical structure is presented here to the scientific community for the first time. In the present work, the structure of the 6:2 FTAB was elucidated by ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Moreover, its major metabolites from blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and its photolytic transformation products were identified. Contrary to what has earlier been observed for PFOS, the 6:2 FTAB was extensively metabolized by blue mussel and turbot exposed to Forafac®1157. The major metabolite was a deacetylated betaine species, from which mono- and di-demethylated metabolites also were formed. Another abundant metabolite was the 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide. In another experiment, Forafac®1157 was subjected to UV-light induced photolysis. The experimental conditions aimed to simulate Arctic conditions and the deacetylated species was again the primary transformation product of 6:2 FTAB. A 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonamide was also formed along with a non-identified transformation product. The environmental presence of most of the metabolites and transformation products was qualitatively demonstrated by analysis of soil samples taken in close proximity to an airport fire training facility.     

Anaerobic Biodegradation of Blends Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol

The presented work deals with blends composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and biopolymers (protein hydrolysate, starch, lignin). PVA does not belong to biologically inert plastics but its degradation rate (particularly under anaerobic conditions) is low. A potential solution to the issue problem lies in preparation of blends with readily degradable substrates. We studied degradation of blow-molded films made of commercial PVA and mentioned biopolymers in an aqueous anaerobic environment employing inoculation with digested activated sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Films prepared in the first experimental series were to be used for comparing biodegradation of blends modified with native or plasticized starch; in this case effect of plasticization was not proved. The degree of PVA degradation after modification with native or plasticized starch increases in a striking and practically same manner already at a starch level as low as approximately 5 wt.%. Films of the second experimental series were prepared as additionally modified with protein hydrolysate and lignin. Only lignin-modified samples exhibited a somewhat lower degree of biodegradation but regarding the measure of lignin present in blend this circumstance is not essential. Level of biodegradation with all discussed films differed only slightly—within range of experimental error.     

酒精在常见可燃地面材料燃烧痕迹特征规律研究

易燃液体燃烧痕迹识别对助燃剂放火火灾调查至关重要。选用丙纶地毯和PVC地板革作为纤维和塑料地板的代表,以工业酒精作为易挥发助燃剂的代表,研究酒精用量、灭火方式等对燃烧痕迹形成及痕迹稳定性的影响。通过与未加载酒精的痕迹对比,发现丙纶地毯因热稳定性较差,燃烧后往往能形成烧坑或烧洞,其燃烧轮廓以典型的灰化形式存在,加载酒精的部位熔融严重,与地面紧紧粘连在一起;PVC地板革因为表面光滑,酒精在其表面不断流淌,燃烧后会留下清晰的轮廓,类似于细线状的印痕,而地板革本身基本不会燃烧。燃烧熄灭的方式也会对其炭化程度、燃烧图痕、残余形状产生影响。     

Auto-adaptive Air Distribution and Structure Optimization of Ejector Burner for Biomass Alcohol Fuels

A plenty of studies on the utilization of biomass alcohol fuels have been conducted, but combustion efficiency and stability of this fuels still need to be improved. Based on biomass alcohol fuels (bio-methanol and bio-ethanol), this paper studied auto-adaptive air distribution characteristics and optimum structure parameters of an ejector burner by numerical simulation method. Also, an experiment was conducted to verify the numerical results. The results show that the mole air entrainment ratio (MAER) keeps almost constant when the ejector fuel nozzle exit locates at the segment between the ejector throat and the suction chamber entrance, but a bigger ratio α would lead to a higher MAER till the α is bigger than 8.5 for bio-methanol and 11.5 for bio-ethanol. The bio-ethanol fuel is more beneficial for air carrying role because of its big molecular weight. Operation pressure (P_w) has a little impact on MAER of the two fuels, but the rise of back pressure (P_b) would lead to rapid decrease of MAER for the two fuels. For the optimum structure burners, the MAER can be maintained at the value of theoretical complete combustion. Its changing rate is less than 2.3% for bio-methanol and 2.5% for bio-ethanol when the burner load changes from 30% to 120%, which is highly consistent with the experimental results. The optimum burner can distribute air supply automatically with the changing of burner load.     

顶空气相色谱法测定工业废水中乙醇和异丙醇研究

建立了测定工业废水中乙醇和异丙醇的顶空毛细管气相色谱法.采用顶空进样技术,分析过程不使用有机试剂,避免了对分析人员和环境的危害.乙醇和异丙醇在3.00～ 20.0mg/L浓度范围内呈良好线性关系,水样测定结果重现性较好,相对标准偏差范围均小于2％,乙醇加标回收率为93.6％～104.0％,异丙醇加标回收率为94.0％～ 102.0％.本方法操作简单快速,灵敏度高,能满足工业废水中乙醇和异丙醇的监测.     

Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ)铁氧体工艺原位处理PVA废水及其沉淀物回收利用

为了评价Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺对PVA（聚乙烯醇）废水处理的可行性,采用Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺原位处理PVA模拟废水,考察不同作用时间、总铁投加量、初始ρ（PVA）和废水硬度对该工艺处理效果的影响.利用XRD（X射线衍射）、FT-IR（傅里叶转换红外光谱）、BET比表面积、VSM（磁滞回线测试）对沉淀物进行表征,解析该工艺原位处理PVA模拟废水的主要机理,并以该工艺沉淀物为吸附剂,通过锑吸附试验,探讨该工艺沉淀物的回用性.结果表明:①Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺对PVA模拟废水具有良好的处理能力,初始ρ（PVA）为1 000 mg/L时,该工艺在20 min以内即可达到80%以上的去除率,并且基本没有金属铁的残余,该工艺对PVA的去除率随总铁投加量的增加而提高且基本不受水体硬度影响. ②在Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺对PVA的原位去除过程中,PVA作为一种反应物参与沉淀物Fe₃O₄的生成,并促进纳米Fe₃O₄比表面积增大,最终形成一种类似于凝胶的Fe₃O₄聚合物. ③Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺可高效处理模拟PVA-MB（亚甲基蓝）染料废水.对于含有100 mg/L MB（亚甲基蓝三水）和500 mg/L PVA的混合溶液,MB和COD_Cr去除率在1 min时分别达到97.37%和89.47%.沉淀物通过磁分离、乙醇和水清洗后,在水中浸出的ρ（TOC）和ρ（COD_Cr）很低,分别为0.86和2 mg/L,可作为吸附剂直接使用,得益于其具有较高的比表面积,对金属锑的拟合吸附量可达71.94 mg/g. ④Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺具有一定的实际应用价值.对东莞某实际印染废水处理5 min,COD_Cr和染料的去除率分别为85.71%和98.98%.研究显示,Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺可高效去除PVA,沉淀物为易回收的磁性Fe₃O₄,可作为吸附剂直接使用.