Objectives: The accuracy of self-reported driving exposure has questioned the validity of using self-reported mileage to inform research questions. Studies examining the accuracy of self-reported driving exposure compared to objective measures find low validity, with drivers overestimating and underestimating driving distance. The aims of the current study were to (1) examine the discrepancy between self-reported annual mileage and driving exposure the following year and (2) investigate whether these differences depended on age and annual mileage.
Methods: Two estimates of drivers’ self-reported annual mileage collected during vehicle installation (obtained via prestudy questionnaires) and approximated annual mileage driven (based upon Global Positioning System data) were acquired from 3,323 participants who participated in the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study.
Results: A Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that there was a significant difference between self-reported and annual driving exposure during participation in SHRP 2, with the majority of self-reported responses overestimating annual mileage the following year, irrespective of whether an ordinal or ratio variable was examined. Over 15% of participants provided self-reported responses with over 100% deviation, which were exclusive to participants underestimating annual mileage. Further, deviations in reporting differed between participants who had low, medium, and high exposure, as well as between participants in different age groups.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that although self-reported annual mileage is heavily relied on for research, such estimates of driving distance may be an overestimate of current or future mileage and can influence the validity of prior research that has utilized estimates of driving exposure. 相似文献
Benthic macroinvertebrate communities in streams adjacent to cornfields, streams where cows had unrestricted access, and reference locations without agriculture were compared to examine the effects of local land use and land use/land cover in the watershed. At each local site, macroinvertebrates and a variety of habitat parameters were measured upstream, adjacent, downstream, and farther downstream of the local land use. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to calculate drainage basin area, land use/land cover percentages in each basin, and the distance from sample sites to the stream source. Three‐way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tests with date, site type, and sampling location as main effects were used to explore differences in macroinvertebrate metrics using median substrate size, percent hay/pasture area, and stream depth as covariates. The covariates significantly improved model fit and showed that multiple contributing factors influence community composition. Local impacts were greatest at sites where cows had access, probably because of sedimentation and embeddedness in the substrate. Differences between the upstream and the adjacent and downstream locations were not as great as expected, perhaps because upstream recolonization was reduced by agricultural impacts or because of differences in the intensity or proximity of agriculture to riparian areas in the watershed. The results underscore the importance of both local and watershed factors in controlling stream community composition. 相似文献
The main purpose of this study is to assess economic vulnerability of small island development regions as part of their sustainability constraints. By combining economic and environmental time series data, we assessed a composite index of economic vulnerability which is constructed from three exogenous variables, namely economic exposure, economic remoteness, and economic impact of environmental and natural disasters. We used the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan as the case studies for this paper.The results indicated that using a gross island products based valuation index, Kikaijima is the most vulnerable island in the Amami Islands with a composite economic vulnerability index (CEVI) value of 0.678, while by using a per capita based index, Okinoerabujima is considered the most vulnerable island with a CEVI value of 0.680. From the results we also revealed that smaller islands have relative higher vulnerability than the bigger one, which also confirms some previous country-level vulnerability studies.However, it is matter of fact that some islands that have relatively high vulnerability also have good economic performance as shown by their per capita income. In this regard, it can be argued that the success of these small islands could have been achieved in spite of and not because of their inherent vulnerability conditions as an indicator of sustainability constraint. Regarding these findings, we also examined a comparison between vulnerability results and the preliminary concept of an island's resilience in order to capture another perspective on sustainability assessment in a small island region. 相似文献
Background, Aims and Scope Sediments of the Spittelwasser creek are highly polluted with organic compounds and heavy metals due to the discharge of untreated
waste waters from the industrial region of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany over the course of more than one century. However, relatively
few data have been published about the chloroorganic contamination of the sediment. This paper reports on the content of different
(chloro)organic compounds with special emphasis on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F), and chlorobenzenes. Existing concepts for the remediation of Spittelwasser sediment include
the investigation of natural attenuation processes, which largely depend on the presence of an intact microbial food web.
In order to gain more insight in terms of biological activity, we analyzed the capacity of sediment microflora to degrade
organic matter by measuring the activities of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes involved in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. Furthermore, the detection of physiologically active bacteria in the sediment, particularly
of those known for their capability to reductively dehalogenate organochlorine compounds, illustrates the potential for intrinsic
bioremediation processes.
Methods PCDD/F and chlorobenzenes were analyzed by gas chromatography(GC)/mass spectrometry and GC/flame ionization detection, respectively.
The activities of hydrolytic enzymes were determined from freshly sampled sediment layers using 4-methylumbelliferyl (MUF)
or 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin-conjugated model compounds and kinetic fluorescence measurements. Physiologically active bacteria
from different sediment layers were microscopically visualized by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Specific bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing.
Results and Discussion The PCDD/F congener profile was dominated by dibenzofurans. In addition, the presence of specific tetra and pentachlorinated
dibenzofurans supported the assumption that extensive magnesium production was one possible source for the high contamination.
A range of other chloroorganic compounds, including several isomers of chlorobenzenes, hexachlorocyclohexane and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis
(p-chloro-phenyl)ethane (DDT), was present in the sediment. Activities of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes showed a strong
decrease in those sediment layers that were characterized by high contents of absorbable organic halogen (AOX), indicating
disturbed organic matter decay. Interestingly, an abnormal increase of cellulolytic enzyme activities below the organochlorine-rich
layers was observed, possibly caused by residual cellulose from discharges of sulfite pulping wastes. FISH revealed physiologically
active bacteria in most sediment layers from the surface down to the depth of about 60 cm, including members of Desulfitobacterium (D.) and Sulfurospirillum. The presence of D. dehalogenans was confirmed by its partial 16S rRNA gene sequence.
Conclusions Results of chemical sediment analyses demonstrated high loads of organochlorine compounds, particularly of PCDD/F. Several
years after stopping the waste water discharge to Spittelwasser creek, this sediment remains a main source for pollution of
the downstream river system by way of the ongoing mobilization of sediment during high floods. As indicated by our enzyme
activity measurements, the decomposition potential for organic matter is low in organochlorine-rich sediment layers. In contrast,
the comparably higher enzyme activities in less organochlorine-polluted sediment layers as well as the presence of physiologically
active bacteria suggest a considerable potential for natural attenuation.
Recommendations and Perspectives From our data we strongly recommend to explore the degradative capacity of sediment microorganisms and the limits for in situ activity towards specific sediment pollutants in more detail. This will give a sound basis for the integration of bioremediation
approaches into general concepts to reduce the risk that permanently radiates from this highly contaminated sediment.
Submission Editor: Dr. Henner Hollert (Henner.Hollert@urz.uniheidelberg.de) 相似文献
Summary The leaf gland volatile oils of ten sweet gale plants from a Scottish population were extracted in early summer. The results differed notably from reports of other populations in respect of the sesquiterpenes, -elemenone and germacrone, which were major components of the volatile oil. Three dihydrochalcones were also detected in the volatile oil. Variation within the population existed, particularly with respect to the relative importance of germacrone. Five plants were resampled in late summer and exhibited a marked reduction in -elemenone, a lesser reduction in germacrone and changes in the proportions of some monoterpenes. 相似文献
为了研究好氧颗粒污泥系统处理低碳氮比废水的长期运行稳定性,采用低碳氮比(C/N)条件下逐步增加碳氮负荷的进水方法,分别在反应器A和B中接种好氧颗粒污泥,考察其长期运行过程中的理化性质、处理性能及应对冲击负荷的稳定性.其中A反应器的碳氮比一直维持在2,而B则由4逐步降至2.结果表明,在4℃存储30d的好氧颗粒污泥,经过25d的培养,其活性基本恢复,A、B反应器化学需氧量(COD)和氨氮(NH4+-N)的去除效率均达到90%以上.在其后的稳定阶段,B反应器COD和NH4+-N去除率达到90%以上,实现了完全硝化;而A反应器COD去除率仅80%左右,虽然NH4+-N去除率最终也达到90%以上,但仅实现短程硝化.在冲击负荷阶段,A和B反应器COD去除率仍维持在80%以上,但是NH4+-N去除受到很大冲击.A反应器NH4+-N去除效率恶化,B反应器仅实现了部分硝化.整个运行过程,好氧颗粒污泥的物理性质受到的影响不大,A和B反应器的污泥容积指数(SVI30)分别维持在60 mL ·g-1和75 mL ·g-1左右,混合液悬浮固体(MLSS)在5g ·L-1和3.7g ·L-1左右.颗粒污泥微生物群落分析表明,B反应器相对于A反应器丰富度和多样性更高.同时B反应器具有更高丰度的Zoogloea属,在颗粒中能产生更多的胞外蛋白促使颗粒结构更稳定,保证系统的长期稳定运行.以上结果表明,与C/N为2的好氧颗粒污泥系统相比,C/N为4的系统脱碳硝化效果好,抗冲击负荷能力强,更有利于颗粒污泥的长期稳定运行. 相似文献