Creating and validating GIS measures of urban design for health research

Studies relating urban design to health have been impeded by the unfeasibility of conducting field observations across large areas and the lack of validated objective measures of urban design. This study describes measures for five dimensions of urban design - imageability, enclosure, human scale, transparency, and complexity - created using public geographic information systems (GIS) data from the US Census and city and state government. GIS measures were validated for a sample of 588 New York City block faces using a well-documented field observation protocol. Correlations between GIS and observed measures ranged from 0.28 to 0.89. Results show valid urban design measures can be constructed from digital sources.     

Living in grey areas: Industrial activity and psychological health

The main goal of this paper was to explore the relationship between living in industrial areas and individual’s level of psychological health. Using a quasi-experimental design main findings suggest that, regardless of the type of industry that is operating, there was a significant association between living in industrialized areas and decreased levels of well being, optimism and use of active coping strategies. However, results on anxiety and depression were especially high in areas associated with air pollution. Moreover, there was also a significant association between more subjective meanings of place and psychological health. According to a reality-orientation criterion, evidences showed that when individuals live in industrial areas perceptions of their places as industrial are associated with lower depression, anxiety and psychiatric symptoms.     

电子工业体力劳动强度分析调查研究

为调查电子行业工人的体力劳动强度，对北京电子行业系统９个工厂的２０个工种岗位的１９３名工人进行了调查测定，结果表明，体力劳动强度Ⅰ级的工种占８５％；Ⅱ级的占１５％。     

Safety analysis of instantaneous release of compressed natural gas from a cylinder

This study presents a numerical model to analyze the sudden failure of compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinder onboard a CNG vehicle. The model is developed using COMSOL. It accounts for the real gas effects, physical energy, and combustion of the flammable gas. The model is tested using experimental data.The study highlight compression energy as one of the serious concern. An unintentional rupture of a compressed cylinder filled with natural gas would generate a rapid energy release in the form of the pressure energy (blast). The release of energy and gas would cause rapid mixing and generate overpressure and may also cause flash fire. A detailed failure frequency analysis is also done to analyze the effectiveness of barriers. This study identifies critical points for the safe operation of the CNG system onboard a vehicle.     

中国沙尘气溶胶的间接辐射强迫与气候效应

利用在线耦合的区域气候化学模式系统(RegCCMS),对2003~2007年的3,4,5月中国沙尘气溶胶的空间分布,间接辐射强迫和间接气候效应进行模拟.结果表明:沙尘分布主要集中在中国西北的新疆、内蒙、甘肃等地区.5月份最高的中心值浓度达到3500μg/m3,3个月地面浓度依次增大.3,4,5月由沙尘气溶胶造成的第一间接辐射强迫平均值分别为-1.26,-2.0,-2.69W/m2.局部地区达到-7W/m2.考虑到沙尘气溶胶的第一间接气候效应后,使近地面气温下降,降水减少,3,4,5月地面气温变化的平均值为-0.05,-0.07,-0.08K. 3,4,5月降水变化平均值分别为-0.0037,-0.037,-0.1mm/d. 不同的月份和地区,温度和降水的变化存在明显的差异.