Examination of factors associated with use rates after transition from a universal to partial motorcycle helmet use law

Objectives: Motorcycle riders account for a disproportionately high number of traffic injuries and fatalities compared to occupants of other vehicle types. Though research has demonstrated the benefits of helmet use in preventing serious and fatal injuries in the event of a crash, helmet use has remained relatively stable in the United States, where the most recent national estimates show a 64% use rate. Use rates have been markedly lower among those states that do not have a universal helmet law for all riders. In 2012, the state of Michigan repealed its longstanding mandatory helmet use law. In order to gain insights as to the effects of this legislative change, a study was conducted to examine short-term changes in helmet use and identify factors associated with use rates.

Methods: A statewide direct observation survey was conducted 1 year after the transition from a universal helmet law to a partial helmet law. A random parameters logistic regression model was estimated to identify motorcyclist, roadway, and environmental characteristics associated with helmet use. This modeling framework accounts for both intravehicle correlation (between riders and passengers on the same motorcycle) as well as unobserved heterogeneity across riders due to important unobserved factors.

Results: Helmet use was shown to vary across demographic segments of the motorcyclist population. Use rates were higher among Caucasian riders, as well as among those age 60 and above. No significant difference was observed between male and female riders. Use was also found to vary geographically, temporally, and with respect to various environmental characteristics. Geographically, helmet use rates tended to be correlated with historical restraint use trends, which may be reflective of riding environment and general differences in the riding population. To this end, rates were also highly variable based upon the type of motorcycle and whether the motorcyclist was wearing high-visibility gear.

Conclusions: The study results demonstrate the short-term reduction in helmet use following transition from a universal to partial motorcycle helmet law. The reduction in use is somewhat less pronounced than has been experienced in other states, which may be reflective of general differences among Michigan motorcyclists because the state has also generally exhibited higher use rates of seat belts and other forms of occupant protection. The study results also highlight potential target areas for subsequent education and public awareness initiatives aimed at increasing helmet use.     

基于光谱混合分析和反照率-植被盖度特征空间的土地荒漠化遥感评价

采用线性光谱混合分析模型对Landsat TM遥感影像进行混合像元分解,获取植被、裸土和水体组分的相对丰度分布;在反演地表反照率的基础上,构建了基于Albedo-Vegetation特征空间的土地荒漠化遥感监测模型;以黑河中游部分区域为例,进行了实证研究,并利用实地调查数据进行精度验证。结果表明:此方法充分利用了多维遥感信息,反映了荒漠化土地地表覆盖、水热组合及其变化,具有明确的生物物理意义,而且指标简单、易于获取,精度较高,有利于荒漠化的定量分析与监测。     

雅鲁藏布江源区风沙化土地演变趋势

雅鲁藏布江源区是世界上最高的江河源,其生态功能状况直接影响其水源涵养功能以及中下游地区,特别是日喀则和拉萨等地区的生态安全。源区内土壤发育程度低,气候干旱多风、植被稀疏,风沙地貌发育。论文以雅鲁藏布江源区所在的马泉河流域为研究对象,借助RS和GIS技术,解译了1990年、2000年和2008年3期近20 a遥感影像,并结合DEM数据,分析风沙化土地的分布特征及演变趋势,对准确把握源区内风沙化土地现状及发展趋势具有重要意义。研究结果表明:①2008年,源区共有风沙化土地1 376.22 km2,其中,固定沙地占风沙地总面积的36.03%,半固定沙地占28.10%,流动沙地占9.39%,裸露砂砾地和半裸露砂砾地分别占14.64%和11.84%;②源区风沙化土地呈逐年递增趋势,其中,1990年为1 281.78km2,2000年为1 359.7km2,2008年为1 376.22km2,近20 a增加了94.44 km2;③从高程上看,分布在海拔4 600~4 800 m范围内的风沙化土地占风沙地总面积的76.13%;从坡向上看,分布在平坦地区的风沙化土地占风沙地总面积的56.97%,其次为西南坡和南坡,比例分别为11.20%和8.66%。     

BDE-47对2种海洋微藻光合特性的影响

研究了不同浓度的2,2′,4,4′-四溴联苯醚(BDE-47)对2种海洋微藻的光合特性的影响. 结果表明, 在试验所设定的浓度范围内 (0.1~2.5μg/L),海水小球藻和赤潮异弯藻的PSII最大光能转化效率(Fv/Fm)、光化学淬灭系数(qP)未受到显著抑制,表明2种微藻PSII反应中心在试验过程中未受到损伤.当BDE-47浓度为2.5μg/L时,海水小球藻的PSII潜在活性(Fv/Fo)、PSII实际光能转化效率(φPSII)和光合电子传递效率(ETR)在96h受到显著抑制,而赤潮异湾藻的3个参数在暴露期间均未受到抑制,表明赤潮异湾藻对BDE-47的耐受性强于海水小球藻.各叶绿素荧光参数中, Fv/Fo、φPSII、ETR更适合作为指示海洋环境中BDE-47污染水平的生物标志物.     

南方小流域典型水污染调查研究

某河流的污染状况在南方小流域中具有普遍性。本研究通过传统调查分析＋卫星遥感监测的技术手段,摸清掌握该河流各主要断面水质污染状况及流域内各类污染源的排放情况,在此基础上对水质污染程度、污染特征及污染成因进行了分析评价。调查表明,该流域水质污染程度与降水量密切相关,生活污水是水体污染的主要来源,治理的关键在于截污,同时要解决一定的补水问题。研究结果可为该流域环境综合整治提供必要的技术支持,研究方法可为今后开展类似小流域污染调查提供可行借鉴。     

基于水热因子波动的呼伦贝尔草原产草量模型

基于多年气象资料(温度和降水量)和产草量监测数据,采用相关分析、主成分分析和回归分析等方法,构建呼伦贝尔草原产草量与气象因子统计学模型,并对二者之间的关系进行了分析.结果表明:利用水热波动因子建立的多项式回归模型具有较好的拟合效果,所建立的呼伦贝尔草原产草量预测模型为y=100.209+1.6410x-0.00559x2.F值显著性检验表明,其复相关系数R2=0.4713,F=8.0239(P=0.0033),在α=0.01水平上显著.利用1989─2009年呼伦贝尔草原产草量数据进行模型精度检验,模型预测精度在85%以上.该预测模型具有选用参数易得、易于代入遥感数据中进行栅格计算、精度高于基于植被指数预测模型等特点.     

Denitrification potential enhancement by addition of external carbon sources in a pre-denitrification process

The aim of this study is to investigate the denitrification potential enhancement by addition of external carbon sources and to estimate the denitrification potential for the predenitrification system using nitrate utilization rate （NUR） batch tests. It is shown that the denitrification potential can be substantially increased with the addition of three external carbon sources, i.e. methanol, ethanol, and acetate, and the denitrification rates of ethanol, acetate, and methanol reached up to 9.6, 12, and 3.2 mgN/（g VSS.h）, respectively, while that of starch wastewater was only 0.74 mgN/（g VSS,h）. By comparison, ethanol was found to be the best external carbon source. NUR batch tests with starch wastewater and waste ethanol were carried out. The denitfification potential increased from 5.6 to 16.5 mg NO3-N/L owing to waste ethanol addition. By means of NUR tests, the wastewater characteristics and kinetic parameters can be estimated, which are used to determine the denitrification potential of wastewater, to calculate the denitrification potential of the plant and to predict the nitrate effluent quality, as well as provide information for developing carbon dosage control strategy.     

Artificial neural network model for identifying taxi gross emitter from remote sensing data of vehicle emission

Vehicle emission has been the major source of air pollution in urban areas in the past two decades. This article proposes an artificial neural network model for identifying the taxi gross emitters based on the remote sensing data. After carrying out the field test in Guangzhou and analyzing various factors from the emission data, the artificial neural network modeling was proved to be an advisable method of identifying the gross emitters. On the basis of the principal component analysis and the selection of algorithm and architecture, the Back-Propagation neural network model with 8-17-1 architecture was established as the optimal approach for this purpose. It gave a percentage of hits of 93%. Our previous research result and the result from aggression analysis were compared, and they provided respectively the percentage of hits of 81.63% and 75%. This comparison demonstrates the potentiality and validity of the proposed method in the identification of taxi gross emitters.     

高分辨率遥感影像在生态环境状况评价中的应用——以戚浦塘生态调查为例

以苏州市戚浦塘疏浚工程生态调查为例,分别解译分辨率30 m和2.5 m的遥感图像,对比分析解译结果,量化研究了不同分辨率的解译数据对生物丰度指数、植被覆盖指数和生态环境状况指数的影响,为进一步探讨高分辨率遥感图像在区域生态环境状况评价中的应用指明了方向.     

生态环境变化遥感评价指数的应用研究——以敖江流域为例

利用1994年5月12日与2009年6月6日的Landsat TM和2001年5月23日的Landsat ETM＋卫星影像,选用遥感生态指数（RSEI）,结合流域的植被覆盖度状况,定量评价了15年间敖江流域的生态环境变化与植被覆盖度变化情况,并对二者的关系进行了简要分析.结果表明：15年间,敖江流域生态等级为优所占的面积比例从13.48％上升到24.90％,增加了304.29 km2;植被覆盖度等级为极高的面积增加比例为29.31％.总体看来,敖江流域生态环境状况和植被覆盖状况均有明显的提高,两者具有较好的对应关系.