Distractions and the risk of car crash injury: the effect of drivers' age

PROBLEM: Motor-vehicle accidents are one of the major causes of injury in most motorized countries. Driver distractions have been suggested as a contributor to traffic accidents. Moreover, age of the driver seems to have a role in the relationship between distractions and car crashes. But very few studies have investigated the effect of driver's age on this relationship. This exploratory study investigated the association between distractions, both inside and outside the vehicle, and the increased risk of car crash injury among drivers across different ages. METHOD: This study used a case series design to analyze data routinely collected by the NSW police in Australia. A special focus of this study was on how drivers' age affects the risk of car crash injury, which was determined by using a well-documented risk estimation methodology. RESULTS: The results obtained indicated that drivers of all ages, on the whole, are more susceptible to distractions inside the vehicle than distractions coming from outside. Age was shown to affect the relationship between in-vehicle distraction and the risk of car crash injury. A separate analysis was also conducted on hand-held phone usage while driving with results supplementing previous findings reported in the literature. IMPACT TO INDUSTRY: Safety strategies to countermeasure in-vehicle distractions have been suggested and discussed.     

Integrated Estimation of the Effect of Physical Factors on Human Functional State During Mental Work

The purpose of this study was to develop a model for an integrated estimation of the functional state of the human organism (FSHO) and an integral estimation of physical factors (PF) for hygienic rating. Tests were performed twice with 3 men in 0.7-clo clothing during 4-hr mental work with 9 combinations of 4 PF: wideband noise (55–83 dB(A)), whole-body vibration (6 Hz, a_z = 0.2–1.8 ms^?2), air temperature (18–30 °C), and illumination (1, 3, 5 lx). Thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and psychophysiological reactions and temporary threshold of hearing (TTS₂) shifts were studied. For the integral estimation of PF influence on FSHO the model F(y₁, y₂, ... y_m) = f(x₁, x₂, ... x_n) was used, relating both FSHO and PF sets. The most important physiological parameters in creating FSHO are defined and the contribution of individual parameters of FSHO and PF is found.     

Quantitative assessment in safety reports of the consequences from the detonation of solid explosives

Safety reports are mandatory documents in member states of European Union whenever any threshold limits of amounts of either stored or processed hazardous substances are exceeded. After a short introduction to EU Seveso Directives on major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances and to the transposition and implementation by member states, with a brief comment on last 2012/18/EU Directive (also known as Seveso III directive), the paper focuses on drafting of safety reports for industrial activities involving solid explosives. Specifically, the quantitative assessment of consequences from detonation is tackled respect to the side-on overpressure and the debris production. Both direct and inverse problems are illustrated to determine respectively the overpressure value at a given distance, and the explosive amount that allows respecting the regulations. Their solution is based on either analytic or numerical techniques and being based on recent scientific publications on the matter either evaluates or zeroes nonlinear algebraic equations. The availability of these equations avoids grounding the consequences assessment on diagrams and nomograms that otherwise would lead to interpretation and usage errors besides avoiding the automatic solution of the inverse problem. The paper focuses also on details such as embankment, crater, munitions, rocket propellant, building structure, and wall material that, at different levels, play a role in the assessment of detonation consequences. A discussion on debris formation, the available literature, and the evaluation of the impact probability of fragments on both fixed and moving targets closes the paper.     

房屋结构损伤及安全性评估实例分析

随着我国部分房屋建筑使用年限接近设计期限,或者说结构进入老化阶段,结构的健康状况和安全性评估逐步引起人们的关注。现代测试技术和计算机信息处理方法的结合,结构工程损伤检测方法、技术的规范化和科学化,基于时域和频域分析的结构参数辨识理论和技术、人工智能技术和专家系统也开始应用于结构健康监测和评估。简要评述了结构损伤检测方法进展和理论分析方法,并结合某体育场馆的结构安全性评估为实例,从结构设计、材料强度检测和实际结构状态进行全面检测和分析,并对其健康状况和安全性进行评估。     

爆炸冲击荷载对动物杀伤作用距离的试验研究

采用3 kg、5 kg和10 kg装药在自由场中爆炸,观察分析距炸点不同距离的家兔在爆炸冲击波下的伤亡情况.试验同时使用冲击波超压测量仪记录不同位置的冲击波超压.试验结果表明,在超压小于0.08×105 Pa时家兔基本安全,3 kg、5 kg、10 kg炸药爆炸时的安全距离分别为20 m、25 m、30 m.     

高速公路汽车追尾预警系统的开发研究

对高速公路汽车追尾预警系统进行了总体设计,把系统划分为主控单元、雷达测距单元、信息采集单元、显示-声光报警单元4个子系统。在分析汽车动力学基础上,提出了系统安全距离模型,并对各子系统进行了软、硬件设计。通过模拟试验和实际装车实验,验证了系统所要求的各种性能,雷达测距准确,系统报警及时有效.     

有风情况池火灾热辐射下的最小安全距离

防火间距是石油化工企业平面设计中的一个重要参数,开放环境下的火灾热辐射受大气稳定程度的影响.本文从计算流体力学角度出发,应用CFD(Computationsl Fluid Dynamics)软件Fluent,基于SCI爆炸火灾工程试验"Pool Fire A"的大气条件,对"有风情况下,直径为10 m的苯液池火灾"进行数值模拟,得出非绝热条件下,苯燃烧的峰温以及产物组分、池火灾对周围环境热辐射的空间分布.温度最高点在对称面y=0上,最高温度为1 478 K、火焰倾斜角度为32°(与竖直方向的夹角)、火焰高10.2 m.对于锰钢材料、内径为10 m苯储罐,2～3级风力情况下,相邻两储罐间最小安全距离在上风向为20 m,下风向为27 m.最后对模拟结果进行了分析.     

细水雾灭火技术在微重力环境下应用的可行性分析

针对细水雾灭火技术在载人航天器安全中应用的可行性,通过理论分析研究了微重力环境下液滴滞止距离与初始速度、粒径的关系,并利用Fluent模拟研究了水雾喷嘴雾场结构.理论分析结果表明,初始速度一定,水雾粒径越小,其滞止距离也越短;初始速度越大,其滞止距离越长.粒径小于50μm时,初始速度对滞止距离影响不大.数值模拟结果表明,微重力下的雾场分布与常重力下有明显差异,水雾主要集中在喷嘴附近,而且水雾蒸发速率较慢,液滴存活时间长.对比理论分析和模拟结果,模拟的迁移距离要小于理论值,这是因为理论分析中忽略了液滴的蒸发.为解决液滴滞止的问题,建议微重力环境下采取气体载运水雾的方式.     

碳排放交易制度下城市减排的机会成本研究——基于中国碳排放试点城市的实证检验

作为全球气候治理的重要手段,碳排放交易制度受到了广泛的关注与讨论。基于此,本文采用我国2010-2016年城市面板数据,运用非参数方法构建方向性环境距离函数测算了2009-2015年城市减排的机会成本,计算结果显示,试点地区与非试点地区的碳排放的机会成本整体表现为上升的趋势,且试点地区的碳排放的机会成本总体低于非试点地区。在测算城市减排机会成本的基础上,运用双重差分法来检验碳排放交易制度的有效性。经检验发现：碳排放交易制度有利于降低城市减排的机会成本,然而由于碳排放交易制度还存在碳排放权初始分配制度缺失、碳排放交易制度的定价机制扭曲等问题,因此其对降低城市减排的机会成本作用较小,并且进一步通过对政策时间趋势的分析得出政策效应随时间推移而逐渐减弱。     

有机氯农药污染土壤的Fenton氧化修复研究

研究了Fenton氧化对某实际有机氯农药污染场地土壤的修复效果。结果显示:Fenton氧化能够快速有效地降解污染土壤中的六氯和DDTs。当Fe2+浓度为80 mmol/L,Fe2+与H2O2的摩尔浓度比为1∶5,水土比10∶1时,反应6 h,土壤中六氯和总DDT的去除率分别为:96.7%和78.2%。每方土的修复成本估算为951元。