Serious road injuries in The Netherlands dissected

Objective: This article discusses the characteristics and injury patterns of serious road injuries (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale [MAIS] 2+ inpatients) in The Netherlands.

Methods: In The Netherlands, the actual number of serious injuries is estimated by linking police data to hospital data. The distribution of serious road injuries over (1) travel mode and gender and (2) crash type and age are compared for the years 2000 and 2011. Moreover, the distribution of the injuries over the body regions is illustrated using colored injury body profiles.

Results: The number of serious injuries is higher for men than for women and increased from 16,500 in 2000 to 19,700 in 2011. In 2011, about half (51%) of the serious road injuries were due to a bicycle crash not involving a motor vehicle. The share of casualties aged 60 years and older is relatively high (43% in 2011) in these crashes. The injury body profiles show that head injuries (31%) and injuries to the lower extremities (37%) are most prevalent. Compared to other travel modes, pedestrians and riders of powered 2-wheelers relatively often sustain lower-leg injuries compared to other travel modes. Head injuries are most prevalent in cyclists who are injured in a crash with a motorized vehicle. Cyclists who are injured in a crash not involving a motor vehicle and casualties of 60 years and older relatively often include hip or upper-leg injuries.

Conclusion: The characteristics of serious road injuries differ from those of fatalities and the distribution of injuries over the body differs by travel mode, gender, and age.     

How do children learn to cross the street? The process of pedestrian safety training

Objective: Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of child death and may be reduced by training children to cross streets more safely. Such training is most effective when children receive repeated practice at the complex cognitive–perceptual task of judging moving traffic and selecting safe crossing gaps, but there is limited data on how much practice is required for children to reach adult levels of functioning. Using existing data, we examined how children's pedestrian skills changed over the course of 6 pedestrian safety training sessions, each composed of 45 crossings within a virtual pedestrian environment.

Methods: As part of a randomized controlled trial on pedestrian safety training, 59 children ages 7–8 crossed the street within a semi-immersive virtual pedestrian environment 270 times over a 3-week period (6 sessions of 45 crossings each). Feedback was provided after each crossing, and traffic speed and density were advanced as children's skill improved. Postintervention pedestrian behavior was assessed a week later in the virtual environment and compared to adult behavior with identical traffic patterns.

Results: Over the course of training, children entered traffic gaps more quickly and chose tighter gaps to cross within; their crossing efficiency appeared to increase. By the end of training, some aspects of children's pedestrian behavior was comparable to adult behavior but other aspects were not, indicating that the training was worthwhile but insufficient for most children to achieve adult levels of functioning.

Conclusions: Repeated practice in a simulated pedestrian environment helps children learn aspects of safe and efficient pedestrian behavior. Six twice-weekly training sessions of 45 crossings each were insufficient for children to reach adult pedestrian functioning, however, and future research should continue to study the trajectory and quantity of child pedestrian safety training needed for children to become competent pedestrians.     

Risk factors for the severity of injury incurred in crashes involving on-duty police cars

Objective: This article explores the risk factors associated with police cars on routine patrol and/or on an emergency run and their effects on the severity of injuries in crashes.

Methods: The binary probit model is used to examine the effects of important factors on the risk of injuries sustained in crashes involving on-duty police cars.

Results: Several factors significantly increase the probability of crashes that cause severe injuries. Among those causes are police officers who drive at excessive speeds, traffic violations during emergency responses or pursuits, and driving during the evening (6 to 12 p.m.) or in rainy weather. Findings also indicate some potential issues associated with an increase in the probability of crashes that cause injuries. Younger police drivers were found to be more likely to be involved in crashes causing injuries than middle-aged drivers were. Distracted driving by on-duty police officers as well as civilian drivers who did not pull over to let a police car pass in emergency situations also caused serious crashes.

Conclusions: Police cars are exempted from certain traffic laws under emergency circumstances. However, to reduce the probability of being involved in a crash resulting in severe injuries, officers are still obligated to drive safely and follow safety procedures when responding to emergencies or pursuing a car. Enhancement of training techniques for emergency situations or driving in pursuit of an offender and following the safety procedures are essential for safety in driving during an emergency run by police.     

飞机蒙皮用含氟聚氨酯涂层老化原因分析

选用飞机蒙皮常用的含氟聚氨酯涂层体系为研究对象,结合飞机服役环境的主要特点,开展了实验室模拟加速老化试验研究,并利用电化学阻抗谱对老化试验后的涂层进行了表征.结果表明,紫外线仅对涂层的表面结构产生影响,紫外试验后的涂层电阻下降较慢.在紫外-盐雾循环试验中,紫外线引起涂层表面结构发生变化,涂层的耐水性变差,水更快地进入涂...     

受限空间煤尘爆炸毒害气体传播伤害研究

为减少煤矿煤尘爆炸后毒气对人的危害,为煤矿防爆、抑爆和安全评价,以及事故应急救援等提供理论依据,研究了煤尘爆炸后毒气的传播伤害规律。基于质量守恒定律与空气动力学理论,建立煤尘爆炸后风流作用下的毒害气体在受限空间内的数学传播模型,得到巷道内毒气传播的弥散系数,计算出沿爆炸传播方向毒气浓度随距离变化的关系,划分伤害三区并推导出相应的伤害范围计算公式。研究表明:毒气传播的峰值点随风流方向移动,其峰值点浓度逐渐变小。     

消防服用织物热防护性能测试分析与研究

热防护性能(Thermal protective performance—TPP)是阻燃型服装或织物隔热防护性能重要指标。本文在已研制的一种模拟人体皮肤及体形的高温"圆筒仪"上进行了改进,并用其测试阻燃服装织物的热防护性能。用膜电偶测量模拟皮肤器表面温升率,并结合烧伤积分模型的评价方法来计算达到二级烧伤的防热时间。与其它一维平面测试装置相比,本装置可较为准确评估实际服装热收缩特征对服装热防护性能的影响。     

降温背心人体降温效果评价

本文目的是评价降温背心的降温效果。通过对3名成年人在不同环境条件下,分别穿着降温背心和普通服装,测量人员胸部、上肢、下肢和直肠温度的变化,同时监测心率、呼吸和出汗量等,得出环境温度越高,降温背心的降温效果越明显;体形胖的人耐热能力相对差;耐热与出汗量密切相关等结论,并指出降温背心的降温效果显著,能够满足高温岗位的需要。     

利用人皮肤模型评价杀菌类农药腐蚀/刺激性的研究

建立人皮肤模型检测杀菌类农药的腐蚀/刺激性,探讨体外皮肤模型替代农药的动物皮肤安全性评价实验的可行性和影响因素.使用人皮肤成纤维细胞与鼠尾胶原混合培养模拟真皮层,在真皮层上接种人角化细胞,经气液培养形成表皮层.通过细胞活性和细胞因子测定鉴别化合物的腐蚀/刺激性,并比较体外皮肤模型和动物测试结果的一致性.结果表明,皮肤模型对十种农药的腐蚀性测试中,与动物安全评价测试结果完全一致.在刺激性试验中,细胞因子白介素-1a(IL-1a)作为检测终点提高了体外皮肤模型的灵敏性和准确性,人皮肤模型和动物测试结果的一致性达到80％.研究表明,构建的人皮肤模型在对杀菌类农药腐蚀/刺激性测试中初步表现出较好的性能,作为动物替代方法进行农药品安全性评价具有良好的应用前景.     

燃煤型砷中毒病区尿砷甲基化代谢和砷致皮肤损伤危险度的关系初探

砷中毒具有特异的皮肤损伤特征。为了研究燃煤型砷中毒病区高砷暴露、人体甲基化代谢能力与皮肤损伤患病风险之间的关系,在陕南典型燃煤型砷中毒村进行了皮肤损伤诊断和流行病学调查,采集尿样并分析总砷及形态砷含量,同时计算了用于表征人体砷甲基化代谢能力的指标包括尿中无机砷、一甲基砷和二甲基砷占总砷的百分含量(i As%、MMA%、DMA%),以及一甲基化率(PMI=MMA/i As)和二甲基化率(SMI=DMA/MMA)。Logistic回归分析结果表明:尿总砷含量(UTAs)是砷致皮肤损伤的危险因素(OR=1.038,95%CI:1.003~1.073),二甲基砷百分含量和SMI是皮肤损伤的保护因素(OR=0.883,95%CI:0.798~0.976;OR=0.724,95%CI:0.535~0.978);且砷致皮肤损伤的危险度随砷暴露水平的增高和甲基化能力的降低而增大。     

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.