Exploring simulated driving performance among varsity male soccer players

Background: It is documented that male athletes display riskier behaviors while driving (as well as in life in general) than female athletes and nonathletes. However, the literature has reported that athletes show better driving ability than nonathletes. This paradox between behaviors and abilities motivated the present study to further understand the collision risk of varsity athletes.

Objective: The current study estimates the performance differences between varsity male soccer players and male undergraduate nonathletes on (1) a driving task and (2) three perceptual–cognitive tasks (associated with collision risk prediction; i.e., Useful Field of View [UFOV] test).

Methods: Thirty-five male undergraduate students (15 varsity soccer players, 20 undergraduate nonathletes) took part in this study. Driving performance was assessed during 14?min of urban commuting using a driving simulator. While completing the simulated driving task and UFOV test, the physiological responses were monitored using an electrocardiograph (ECG) to document heart rate variability (HRV).

Results: Varsity soccer players showed more risky behaviors at the wheel compared to their nonathlete student peers. Varsity soccer players spent more time over the speed limit, committed more driving errors, and adopted fewer safe and legal behaviors. However, no difference was observed between both groups on driving skill variables (i.e., vehicle control, vehicle mobility, ecodriving). For subtests 1 and 2 of the UFOV (i.e., processing speed, divided attention), both groups performed identically (i.e., 17?ms). The nonathlete group tended to perform better on the selective attention task (i.e., subtest 3 of UFOV test; 63.2?±?6.2?ms vs. 87.2?±?10.7?ms, respectively; this difference was not significant, P = .76).

Conclusion: Preventive driving measures should be enforced in this high-risk population to develop strategies for risk reduction in male team athletes.     

Fuel cell system with sodium borohydride hydrogen generator for small unmanned aerial vehicles

A 100 W proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system with a sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) hydrogen generator was investigated for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The performance of a cobalt–phosphorous/nickel foam catalyst was evaluated to determine the change in catalytic activity under real operating conditions. The response time increased owing to oxidation of the metals and accumulation of sodium; however, the catalyst remained active at high reaction temperatures. A NaBH₄ hydrogen generator with the catalyst was developed for a 100 W PEMFC system. The hydrogen generation rate was stable for 3 h, and the conversion efficiency was 97.8%. Finally, a 100 W PEMFC system with the NaBH₄ hydrogen generator was investigated for small UAVs. The maximum power and energy density of the PEMFC system were 95.96 W and 185.2 Wh/kg, respectively.     

Anthropometric hand dimensions in a population of Iranian male workers in 2012

Background. The mismatch between the hand size of workers and the size of industrial instruments is a growing concern; it can lead to various musculoskeletal complications. Currently, there are few reliable studies available to address this concern in Iran. This study was conducted to measure 30 upper-extremity parameters in a group of Iranian industrial workers. Methods. This study is a cross-sectional study on 529 workers. The study population was randomly selected from male Iranian industrial workers who were referred to the Yazd hospital occupational medicine clinic for surveillance evaluations. Results. The M (SD) age of the participants was 30.13 (8.29) years. Statistical analysis was performed using the mean, standard deviation and 5th, 50th and 90th percentiles for each measured hand dimension. A considerable number of dimensions were significantly different between the measurements of right and left hands in each examinee. The results showed significant differences between Iranian hand size and that of other populations. Conclusion. This study provided a valuable databank of hand dimensions in a population of Iranian male workers. These data can be used by manufacturers in designing high-quality hand-tools and industrial gloves, taking into consideration Iranian worker characteristics.     

Driver injury severity related to inclement weather at highway–rail grade crossings in the United States

Objective: Previous studies on crash modeling at highway–rail grade crossings were aimed at exploring the factors that are likely to increase the crash frequencies at highway–rail grade crossings. In recent years, modeling driver's injury severity at highway–rail grade crossings has received interest. Because there were substantial differences among different weather conditions for driver's injury severity, this study attempts to explore the impact of weather influence on driver injury at highway–rail grade crossing.

Method: Utilizing the most recent 10 years (2002–2011) of highway–rail grade crossing accident data, this study applied a mixed logit model to explore the determinants of driver injury severity under different weather conditions at highway–rail grade crossing.

Results: Analysis results indicate that drivers' injury severity at highway–rail grade crossings is strongly different for different weather conditions. It was found that the factors significantly impacting driver injury severity at highway–rail grade crossings include motor vehicle speed, train speed, driver's age, gender, area type, lighting condition, highway pavement, traffic volume, and time of day.

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that crashes are more prevalent if vehicle drivers are driving at high speed or the oncoming trains are high speed. Hence, a reduction in speed limit during inclement weather conditions could be particularly effective in moderating injury severity, allowing more reaction time for last-minute maneuvering and braking in moments before impacts. In addition, inclement weather-related crashes were more likely to occur in open areas and highway–rail grade crossings without pavement and lighting. Paved highway–rail grade crossings with installation of lights could be particularly effective in moderating injury severity.     

在模拟酸性海洋大气环境中锌缓蚀剂的研制

目的寻找有效抑制锌大气腐蚀的缓蚀剂配方。方法采用静态失重法、极化曲线法和交流阻抗法,研究模拟酸性海洋大气环境中,多聚磷酸钠单独使用以及分别与香草醛、碘化钾、硫脲复配使用时对锌腐蚀的缓蚀作用。结果多聚磷酸钠单独使用时对腐蚀介质中的锌具有较好的缓蚀作用,多聚磷酸钠与香草醛、碘化钾、硫脲之间有良好的协同缓蚀效应,最佳质量配比分别为3∶1,1∶2,1∶4。多聚磷酸钠以及多聚磷酸钠复配缓蚀剂属于混合抑制型缓蚀剂;它们能够在锌表面形成一层保护膜,从而抑制锌的腐蚀。结论寻找到的缓蚀剂配方能够有效抑制锌的大气腐蚀。     

降低SnO2基CO气敏材料工作温度的方法

本文简要说明了SnO2的结构及其对CO的气敏原理。针对SnO2基CO气敏材料工作温度较高、能耗较大的缺点，提出了降低其工作温度的几种方法：扩大比表面积、掺入适当的杂质和添加适当的催化剂。     

曝气生物滤池（BAF）在处理蓝莓果酒废水中的应用

蓝莓果酒生产废水的水质、水量季节性差异很大,污染物浓度较高,属中浓度有机废水,直接排放将对环境造成严重污染。采用曝气生物滤池工艺废水中CODcr、BOD5、SS去除率分别可达95%、97%、89%,系统运行稳定,处理效果较好。     

V2O5/AC催化剂脱除烟气中SO2的微观动力学研究

利用热重分析仪对V2O3/AC脱除SO2的微观动力学进行了研究,考察了催化剂V2O5的含量[w(V2O5)]、反应物SO2和H2O的浓度[ψ(SO2)和ψ(H2O)]及反应温度对催化剂增重分率的影响,并采用微孔填充模型描述V2O5/AC的脱硫行为.模型研究表明:V2O5/AC脱除SO2反应速率由吸附-催化剂表面化学反应控制,SO2和H2O的吸附可用Langmuir-Hinshelwood模型分析.将活性组分表面分率和V2O5/AC的微孔孔容随反应的变化用参数n表示,n类似于反应级数,以表示二者对反应的影响程度.     

V2O5/AC在含SO2气氛中对气态Hg0的吸附脱除研究

利用固定床反应器研究了模拟烟气(N_2、SO_2、O_2)气氛下,气态Hg~0在V_2O_5/AC催化剂上的吸附脱除行为.考察了V_2O_5担载量、SO_2浓度和吸附温度等对V_2O_5/AC吸附脱除Hg~0的影响,并对V_2O_5/AC上吸附汞的形态进行了XPS分析表征.研究发现,V_2O_5/AC对Hg~0的吸附能力远大于载体AC.汞的吸附量与V_2O_5/AC中V_2O_5的质量分数有关,随着V_2O_5质量分数从0.5%增加到1.0%,汞的吸附量从75.9 μg·g~(-1)增加到89.6 μg·g~(-1) (无氧) 和115.9 μg·g~(-1)增加到185.5 μg·g~(-1) (有氧),远高于相同吸附条件下的AC上的汞吸附量 (9.6 μg·g~(-1)和23.3 μg·g~(-1)).SO_2对Hg~0的吸附有促进作用,主要是由于SO_2和Hg~0在V_2O_5/AC上发生了化学反应.但是当SO_2体积分数从500×10~(-6)增加到2 000×10~(-6)时,V_2O_5/AC对汞的吸附量只增加了5%.不同温度下的实验结果表明,V_2O_5/AC催化剂在150℃左右的吸附脱除Hg~0的能力最高,汞的吸附量达到98.5 μg·g~(-1) (无氧) 和187.7 μg·g~(-1) (有氧).XPS 分析结果表明,在V_2O_5/AC催化剂表面有HgO和HgSO_4生成,证实了V_2O_5和SO_2的作用.     

In situ adsorption-catalysis system for the removal of o-xylene over an activated carbon supported Pd catalyst

An activated carbon (AC) supported Pd catalyst was used to develop a highly efficient in situ adsorption-catalysis system for the removal of low concentrations of o-xylene. In this study, three kinds of Pd/AC catalysts were prepared and tested to investigate the synergistic efficiency between adsorption and catalysis for o-xylene removal. The Pd/AC catalyst was first used as an adsorbent to concentrate dilute o-xylene at low temperature. After saturated adsorption, the adsorbed o-xylene was oxidized to CO2 and H2O by raising the temperature of the catalyst bed. The results showed that more than 99% of the adsorbed o-xylene was completely oxidized to CO2 over a 5% Pd/AC catalyst at 140℃. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) were applied to investigate the physical properties of o-xylene adsorption-desorption and the in situ adsorption-catalysis activity of the AC support and Pd/AC catalyst. A synergistic relationship between the AC support and the active Pd species for the removal of low concentrations of o-xylene was established.