Etiology of fatal thoracic aortic injuries: Secondary data analysis

Objectives: Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death in the United States (US). Thoracic aortic dissection due to blunt trauma remains a major injury mechanism, and up to 90% of these injuries result in death on the scene. The objective of this study is to understand the modern risk factors and etiology of fatal thoracic aortic injuries in the current US fleet.

Methods: Using a unique, linked, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Multiple Cause of Death (MCOD) database from 2000–2010, 144,169 drivers over 16 years of age who suffered fatal injuries were identified. The merged database provides an unparalleled fidelity for identifying thoracic aortic injuries due to motor vehicle accidents. Thoracic aortic injuries were defined by ICD-10 codes S250. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models for presence of any thoracic aortic injuries were fitted. Age, gender, BMI weight categories, vehicle class, model year, crash type/direction, severity of crash damage, airbag deployment location, and seatbelt use, fatal injury codes, and location of injury were considered. Odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) are calculated.

Results: There were 2953 deaths (2.10%) related to thoracic aortic injuries that met the inclusion criteria. Nearside crashes were associated with an increased odds (OR = 1.42, 1.1-1.83), while rollover crashes (OR =.44,.29-.66) were associated with a reduced odds of fatal thoracic aortic injury. Using backward selection on the full multivariate model, the only significant model effects that remained were vehicle type, crash type, body region, and injury type.

Conclusions: The increased prevalence of fatal thoracic aortic injury in nearside crashes, increasing age, and vehicle type provide some insight into the current US fleet. Important factors, including model year, had significantly lower levels of the injury in univariate analysis, demonstrating the effect of safety improvements in newer model vehicles. Further study of this fatal injury is warranted, including comparisons of those who survive the injury.     

微波催化剂CuO/AC微波催化氧化降解废水中的苯酚

通过浸渍法制备了CuO/AC作为微波催化剂,并采用XRD、FT-IR进行表征分析。考察了CuO担载量,微波催化剂用量、微波功率、辐照时间、pH值等因素对苯酚废水去除率的影响。结果表明,在微波功率600 W条件下,使用3 g CuO担载量0.5%的CuO/AC催化剂处理100 mL初始浓度为500 mg/L的苯酚模拟废水,反应18 min,去除率可达99.42%,相应TOC去除率为90.4%。通过添加不同氧化基团清除剂的实验发现,反应过程中产生了羟基自由基(·OH)。而添加大量H2O2或持续鼓入O2并不能有效提高苯酚的去除率。同时,还对微波催化氧化降解苯酚废水进行了动力学分析,发现其符合一级动力学方程模型,并得出表观速度常数随微波功率密度增加而增大的关系。