Assessment of older drivers: relationships among on-road errors, medical conditions and test outcome

PROBLEM: It is essential that driver licensing authorities have a valid and reliable system for evaluating older drivers' continuing competency; road tests are usually required as part of such a system. This study sought to find information about the nature of driving errors made during license review tests, and about relationships between error type and test outcome for older drivers. METHOD: Data from licensing authority files from 533 road tests during a 12-month period were analyzed; medical and other referral information was included. Average driver age was 76 years. Performance scores were generated for intersection negotiation, lane changing, low speed manoeuvres, positioning and speed control, safety margin, and car control. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis showed that test outcome was well predicted by a subset of driving performance scores; adding driver age to the model explained very little variance. Age alone was strongly associated with outcome. Relationships between referral information and test outcome are also reported. IMPACT: Results highlight several factors relevant to the development of more valid and reliable road tests for older drivers.     

Utilization of Photographs for Determining Impact Indicators for Trail Management

Indicators are a key component of resource management, but selecting them can be difficult and controversial. This study explores different methods for selecting impact indicators for management of trail conditions by comparing photo survey methods (PSM) with written survey methods (WSM). A total of 661 subjects participated in interviews conducted within Mudeung- Mountain Provincial Park in Kwang-ju, Korea. PSM explained variation in acceptability better than WSM. Six major photo components (in order of importance: area of large rocks on trail, area of wood steps, area of bare roots, area of bare soil, area of small stones, and area of stone steps) explained 84.7% of the variation in acceptability of trail management conditions. This study suggests that PSM can be a useful tool for selecting impact indicators. Supported by the grant of Post-Doctoral Program, Chonbuk National University (2001)     

Forest Perception and Knowledge of Hikers and Mountain Bikers in Two Different Areas in Northwestern Switzerland

Recreational activities can have major impacts on vegetation and wildlife in frequently visited forests. We assessed forest perception and knowledge (state, functions, and species diversity) among hikers and mountain bikers in a frequently visited, seminatural suburban recreation forest (Muttenz) and in a more distantly situated, naturally grown excursion forest (Wasserfallen) in northwestern Switzerland. In all, 239 hikers and 126 mountain bikers were interviewed. Mountain bikers in both forests and hikers in the more intensely used recreation forest at Muttenz assessed the state of the forest less optimistically and showed a higher awareness of the negative impact of recreational activities on the flora and fauna than hikers at Wasserfallen. Furthermore, mountain bikers seemed aware of the social conflicts caused by their activity, since they appreciated neutral or positive encounters with other forest visitors. In contrast, 57% of hikers at Muttenz reported on negative experiences with other forest visitors, particularly with mountain bikers. In general, the interviewees ecological and biological forest knowledge (forest type and function, species diversity) was rather high. A large proportion was aware of the pros and cons of different forest conditions for plants and animals, and could name or recognize at least some plant and/or animal species typical for the visited forest. The forest knowledge was neither influenced by the type of recreational activity carried out nor by any aspect of forest visit behavior (frequency and duration of forest visits, means of transportation and travel distance to forest). However, the interviewees forest knowledge was influenced by their age and educational level.     

A CODED ALGORITHM FOR CAPACITY EXPANSION OF A WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM1

ABSTRACT: This paper describes a mathematical model, an algorithm and a computer program that were specially developed to study the problem of a water quality management system undergoing a rapidly increasing environmental stress. The model output will determine the locations, sizes and the timing of construction of new treatment plants plus an overall treatment plant operating policy so that environmental standards are maintained at a minimum cost. The model, as formulated, is a 0-1 mixed integer programming problem which is solved by decomposing it into a capital budgeting problem (solved by Little's branch and bound algorithm) and an operational policy problem (solved by linear programming). The coded algorithm (in FORTRAN 10) has been tested with a semi-realistic example.     

Rethinking receiver operating characteristic analysis applications in ecological niche modeling

The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) has become a dominant tool in evaluating the accuracy of models predicting distributions of species. ROC has the advantage of being threshold-independent, and as such does not require decisions regarding thresholds of what constitutes a prediction of presence versus a prediction of absence. However, we show that, comparing two ROCs, using the AUC systematically undervalues models that do not provide predictions across the entire spectrum of proportional areas in the study area. Current ROC approaches in ecological niche modeling applications are also inappropriate because the two error components are weighted equally. We recommend a modification of ROC that remedies these problems, using partial-area ROC approaches to provide a firmer foundation for evaluation of predictions from ecological niche models. A worked example demonstrates that models that are evaluated favorably by traditional ROC AUCs are not necessarily the best when niche modeling considerations are incorporated into the design of the test.     

Determination of explosion limits – Criterion for ignition under non-atmospheric conditions

Many industrial processes are run at non-atmospheric conditions (elevated temperatures and pressures, other oxidizers than air). To judge whether and if yes to what extent explosive gas(vapor)/air mixtures will occur or may be generated during malfunction it is necessary to know the safety characteristic data at the respective conditions. Safety characteristic data like explosion limits, are depending on pressure, temperature and the oxidizer. Most of the determination methods are standardized for ambient conditions. In order to obtain determination methods for non-atmospheric conditions, particularly for higher initial pressures, reliable ignition criteria were investigated. Ignition tests at the explosion limits were carried out for mixtures of methane, propane, n-butane, n-hexane, hydrogen, ammonia and acetone in air at initial pressures up to 20 bar. The tests have been evaluated according to different ignition criteria: visual flame propagation, temperature and pressure rising. It could be shown that flame propagation and occasionally self-sustained combustion for several seconds occurred together with remarkable temperature rise, although the pressure rise was below 3%. The results showed that the combination of a pressure rise criterion of 2% and a temperature rise criterion of 100 K seems to be a suitable ignition criterion for the determination of explosion limits and limiting oxidizer concentration at higher initial pressures and elevated temperatures. The tests were carried out within the framework of a R&D project founded by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology.     

运行参数对水蚯蚓生物吸持六价铬性能影响研究

水蚯蚓能通过摄食剩余污泥而使污泥减量,但剩余污泥中常含有各种重金属污染物.本文以颤蚓科蠕虫(Tubificidae)为研究对象,以六价铬为典型重金属污染物,考察运行工艺参数:初始铬浓度、p H、水蚯蚓投加量和温度对水蚯蚓吸持六价铬的影响.实验结果表明,在研究浓度范围内(0.1~8.0 mg·L-1),水蚯蚓对六价铬的吸持速率随铬浓度的增大而加快,单位质量吸持量从14.4 mg·kg-1(以干重计,下同)增加到312.7 mg·kg-1,但六价铬的吸持率却随Cr6+初始浓度的增加而降低;p H从6.0增加到8.0,水蚯蚓对六价铬的吸持速率随p H的上升而提高,吸持率和单位质量吸持量先明显增强,p H达到7.5后逐渐趋于平衡,即吸持最佳p H为7.5;水蚯蚓投加量从1.0 g(以湿重计,下同)增加到5.0 g时,吸持速率及吸持率均上升,但单位质量吸持量却随着水蚯蚓投加量的增加而减少;当温度在10~20℃范围内时,水蚯蚓对六价铬的吸持速率相对较慢,到25℃时,吸持速率明显加快,吸持率和单位质量水蚯蚓的吸持量的变化趋势与吸持速率的变化相一致,但当温度达到30℃,水蚯蚓会大量死亡,综合考虑,处理系统最佳温度宜控制在25℃.     

超高速瞬态测试系统软硬件构架设计研究

目的研究采样频率为2~10 MHz的64通道超高速同步瞬态测试系统的设计技术,实现两类典型超高速瞬态测试系统的硬件架构设计与软件架构设计。方法一类采用PXI-Express高带宽总线和高速RAID磁盘阵列架构构建持续流盘存储的连续高速测试系统,另一类是采用大容量板载数据缓存和PXI总线事后下载传输数据的架构构造高速测试系统。在高性能测试软件设计方面,主要应用生产者/消费者结构与有限状态机相结合的软件架构进行高性能测试系统软件设计。结果目前64通道下基于持续流盘架构的测试系统受数据记录的速度限制系统最高采样频率仅达2.5 MHz,而基于板载缓存数据与PXI总线事后下载数据架构的测试系统最高采样频率可达10 MHz,测试时长可达5 s。结论当前两类架构的测试系统均可满足超高速瞬态测试需求,设计时需根据需求的最高采样频率决定使用的架构形式。     

基于GB/T 29309标准的HALT测试技术分析

本文以标准GB/T 29309-2012为基础,以某款开关电源为例,对HALT试验设备、工作极限与破坏极限、试验步骤及设备运行中注意点等方面展开介绍,为电子产品可靠性测试提供相关探讨。     

车载接地装置的冲击接地阻抗研究

为解决车载装置在不同路面的接地问题,我们研制了可迅速安装和撤收的便携式接地装置,并选取一种组合在不同岩土介质地面上进行了实验,测得各自的冲击接地阻抗。然后,采用时域有限差分法对实验装置进行了数值分析,得出了该接地装置冲击接地阻抗的时域特性。与实验结果进行对比的结果表明,两者具有较好的一致性。