Airbag deployment–related eye injuries

Objective: We studied the correlation between airbag deployment and eye injuries using 2 different data sets.

Methods: The registry of the Finnish Road Accident (FRA) Investigation Teams was analyzed to study severe head- and eyewear-related injuries. All fatal passenger car or van accidents that occurred during the years 2009–2012 (4 years) were included (n = 734). Cases in which the driver's front airbag was deployed were subjected to analysis (n = 409). To determine the proportion of minor, potentially airbag-related eye injuries, the results were compared to the data for all new eye injury patients (n = 1,151) recorded at the Emergency Clinic of the Helsinki University Eye Hospital (HUEH) during one year, from May 1, 2011, to April 30, 2012.

Results: In the FRA data set, the unbelted drivers showed a significantly higher risk of death (odds ratio [OR] = 5.89, 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.33–10.9, P = 2.6E-12) or of sustaining head injuries (OR = 2.50, 95% CI, 1.59–3.97, P = 3.8E-5). Only 4 of the 1,151 HUEH patients were involved in a passenger car accident. In one of the crashes, the airbag operated, and the belted driver received 2 sutured eye lid wounds and showed conjunctival sugillation. No permanent eye injuries were recorded during the follow-up. The calculated annual airbag-related eye injury incidence was less than 1/1,000,000 people, 4/100,000 accidents, and 4/10,000 injured occupants.

Conclusions: Airbag-related eye injuries occurred very rarely in car accidents in cases where the occupant survived and the restraint system was appropriately used. Spectacle use did not appear to increase the risk of eye injury in restrained occupants.     

Protection performance of bicycle helmets

IntroductionThe evaluation of head protection systems needs proper knowledge of the head impact conditions in terms of impact speed and angle, as well as a realistic estimation of brain tolerance limits. In current bicycle helmet test procedures, both of these aspects should be improved. Method: The present paper suggests a bicycle helmet evaluation methodology based on realistic impact conditions and consideration of tissue level brain injury risk, in addition to well known headform kinematic parameters. The method is then applied to a set of 32 existing helmets, leading to a total of 576 experimental impact tests followed by 576 numerical simulations of the brain response. Results: It is shown that the most critical impacts are the linear-lateral ones as well as the oblique impact leading to rotation around the vertical axis (ZRot), leading both to around 50% risks of moderate neurological injuries. Based on this test method, the study enables us to compare the protection capability of a given helmet and eventually to compare helmets via a dedicated rating system.     

铁路沿线供暖用低温空气源热泵热力性能对比研究

我国北方铁路沿线站段冬季采暖主要以燃煤锅炉为主,随着冬季雾霾现象日益严重,采用空气源热泵作为北方铁路沿线传统燃煤锅炉供暖的替代方式,对于减少能源消耗、改善大气环境具有重要意义。研究跨临界CO2热回收热泵和回热循环热泵系统2种低温空气源热泵系统,对其热力性能进行了实验和对比分析。结果表明,当环境温度不变时,随着供水温度由45℃升高至55℃,跨临界CO2热回收热泵制热量和COP均升高;随着供水温度由45℃升高至50℃,回热循环热泵制热量和COP均逐渐降低。当供水温度低于50℃时,回热循环热泵COP高于跨临界CO2热回收热泵,回热循环热泵系统的节能效果更为显著;当供水温度超过50℃时,跨临界CO2热回收热泵的性能更优。在低温环境条件下,跨临界CO2热回收热泵系统能够提供更高的供水温度,并有效提升空气源热泵的制热性能,结合我国北方铁路沿线站段的供暖需求和气候条件,提出相较于回热循环热泵系统,跨临界CO2热回收热泵系统的适用性和热力性能更为优越。     

Improving body posture while fueling with a newly designed pump nozzle

Background. Although petrol pumps are a very common and highly used simple technology, their design consideration for comfort and safety to prevent high-pressure load and musculoskeletal injuries to the body is a neglected area in many countries including Iran. Objectives. This study attempted to design a new pump nozzle, and to assess the differences in musculoskeletal load related to body posture when a price/volume display is mounted on the pump nozzle. Methods. For postural analysis, photographs recording the posture of 100 randomly selected customers while fueling at petrol pumps and the rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) technique were used. Results. The results of this study showed that RULA scores improved significantly after the newly designed pump nozzle was used. Conclusion. The newly designed pump nozzle is useful in reducing load related to body posture while fueling.     

Evaluation of military helmets and roof padding on head injury potential from vertical impacts

Objective: Soldiers in military vehicles subjected to underbelly blasts can sustain traumatic head and neck injuries due to a head impact with the roof. The severity of head and neck trauma can be influenced by the amount of head clearance available to the occupant as well as factors such as wearing a military helmet or the presence of padding on the interior roof. The aim of the current study was to examine the interaction between a Hybrid III headform, the helmet system, and the interior roof of the vehicle under vertical loading.

Methods: Using a head impact machine and a Hybrid III headform, tests were conducted on a rigid steel plate in a number of different configurations and velocities to assess helmet shell and padding performance, to evaluate different vehicle roof padding materials, and to determine the relative injury mitigating contributions of both the helmet and the roof padding. The resultant translational head acceleration was measured and the head injury criterion (HIC) was calculated for each impact.

Results: For impacts with a helmeted headform hitting the steel plate only, which represented a common scenario in an underbelly blast event, velocities of ≤6 m/s resulted in HIC values below the FMVSS 201U threshold of 1,000, and a velocity of 7 m/s resulted in HIC values well over the threshold. Roof padding was found to reduce the peak translational head acceleration and the HIC, with rigid IMPAXX foams performing better than semirigid ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam. However, the head injury potential was reduced considerably more by wearing a helmet than by the addition of roof padding.

Conclusions: The results of this study provide initial quantitative findings that provide a better understanding of helmet–roof interactions in vertical impacts and the contributions of the military helmet and roof padding to mitigating head injury potential. Findings from this study will be used to inform further testing with the future aim of developing a new minimum head clearance standard for occupants of light armored vehicles.     

填埋场底土污染物浓度实测值和理论解的比较

为了研究现场条件下污染物在粘性土中的运移机理,对运行13年的苏州七子山填埋场进行了钻孔取样.通过对土样进行分层切片、加去离子水混合并结合室内小型离心机分离,得到了填埋场底土中Cl-,Na+及COD的孔隙水浓度.将室内试验测试值和一维扩散理论进行了比较,结果表明,实测浓度剖面与扩散曲线差别较大,可见水力梯度引起的对流和机械弥散作用比分子扩散作用来得重要.将实测值与一维对流弥散解析解的计算值亦进行了比较,结果表明试验数据较为发散,但可以采用一维对流弥散理论进行大致的拟合,从而可得到运移参数的取值范围.进一步的理论预测表明,当填埋场运行30年之后,Cl-的影响深度可达到10 m以上.为了防止和延缓渗滤液污染物的进一步运移,填埋场应采取有效措施阻止渗滤液的扩散.     

烟气源热泵波纹板蒸发器冷凝换热特性数值研究

对波纹板蒸发器中的烟气冷凝换热进行数值模拟,运用Fluent软件得出烟气温度场、速度场、冷凝水浓度场;分析烟气特性和波纹板蒸发器的结构参数对冷凝换热的影响,发现当过量空气系数较小、烟气流速为2~3 m/s、烟道宽度为10~12 mm、波纹高度为18~20 mm、波纹节距为36~40 mm时,能带来较好的换热效果。通过与平板换热器进行对比,波纹板的冷凝换热效果优于平板,为工程设计提供理论基础和参考。     

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) Pollution in Sea of Japan

Deep waters of the Sea of Japan and surface waters of the Pacific Coast of Honshu and the northeast Sea of Japan were analysed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pollution. the ΣPCB concentrations in solution in the Sea of Japan (50-3000 m) were between 140 and 1230 fg dm_-3. the space-integrated surface water concentration near the Pacific coast of northern Honshu was 140 fg dm_-3and for the surface water of the Sea of Japan was 230 fg dm_-3. Based on these analyses four water masses were deduced in the Sea of Japan during the summer months. It is shown for the first time in the Sea of Japan that polychlorinated biphenyls are excellent chemical indicators of not only the anthropogenic pollution, but also water masses.     

颗粒物防护口罩适合因子的影响因素研究

为设计适合国人的防护口罩,利用定量适合性检验和人体头面部尺寸测量的方法,探索影响口罩适合因子(FF)的因素。对4种颗粒物防护口罩(3M8210,3M8210v,3M9332和3M9010)的FF进行检测;测量口罩佩戴者的形态面长、面宽、两耳屏间宽、两下颌角间宽、鼻高、鼻长、鼻宽和两耳屏点间颌下弧长等头面部尺寸数据;计算身体质量指数(BMI)。探讨头面部尺寸、BMI、性别及口罩型号对FF的影响。研究表明:显著影响口罩FF的因素是头面部尺寸和口罩型号,其余因素对FF无显著影响;设计防护口罩应考虑我国人群头面部尺寸特点。