Effect of wearing a helmet on the occurrence of head injuries in motorcycle riders in Benin: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: In Benin, motorcycles are the main means of transport for road users and are involved in more than half of crashes. This study aims to determine the effect of wearing a helmet on reducing head injuries in road crashes in Benin. METHODS: This case-control study took place in 2020 and focused on road trauma victims. The sample, consisting of 242 cases (trauma victims with head injuries) for 484 controls (without head injuries), was drawn from a database of traffic crash victims recruited from five hospitals across the country from July 2019 to January 2020. Four groups of independent variables were studied: socio-demographic and economic variables, history, behavioural variables including helmet use and road-related and environmental variables. To assess the shape of the association between the independent variables and the dependent variable, a descending step-by-step binary logistic regression model was performed using an explanatory approach. RESULTS: Fewer of the subjects with a head injury were wearing a helmet at the time of the crash 69.8% (95% CI = 63.6-75.6) compared to those without a head injury 90.3% (95% CI = 87.3-92.8). Adjusting for the other variables, subjects not wearing helmets were at greater risk of head injuries (OR = 3.8, 95% CI (2.5-5.7)); the head injury rating was 1.9 (95% CI = 1.2-3.3) times higher in subjects who were fatigued during the crash than among those who were not and 2.0 (95% CI = 1.2-3.3) times higher in subjects with no medical history. CONCLUSION: Failure to wear a helmet exposes motorcyclists to the risk of head injuries during crashes. It is important to increase awareness and better target such initiatives at the subjects most at risk

Development of a system for determination of the C-13/C-12 isotopic ratio with high spatial resolution

Stable carbon isotopes play an important role in the interpretation of biological activity, particularly when the fossil record is studied. In combination with morphological and chemical data, isotopic information can be useful in paleontology and astrobiology. In this paper the development of a microanalytical ion beam system for the measurement of the carbon isotope ratio with high spatial resolution and good statistics is presented. The technique used is elastic scattering of alpha particles with an energy of 2.75 MeV. At this energy the C-13 cross-section is enhanced relative to the Rutherford cross-section and while the C-12 cross-section is reduced. The optimisation of the system is described, including sample preparation and the design of the particle detection system for high efficiency combined with good energy resolution. Finally, some results from the initial test run of the system are shown and discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Variability of sediment observations across the sand-mud inner shelf near Ocean City Inlet

Sediment samples were acquired along a cross-shore transect extending roughly 5 nautical miles offshore starting in 10 m water depth and ending in 17 m water depth near Ocean City Inlet, MD. Sediment sampling was repeated 3 times at 4 cross-shore stations during a series of cruises from May 2019 through July 2019. Diver push cores were logged, sectioned, and analyzed for grain size. A multibeam survey was conducted to map the bathymetry along the cross-shore transect. Additionally, regions around the sampling stations were surveyed with a side-scan sonar. Backscatter from the side-scan sonar correlates well with sediment observations. During one cruise in July 2019 water samples taken near the bed were analyzed with high-speed photogrammetry onboard the ship to estimate suspended sediments size and concentrations. Discussion will focus on understanding the hydrodynamic and geologic controls driving the strong sediment heterogeneity observed among the four stations along the cross-shore transect