Coming NAFTA Crash: The Deadly Impact of a Secret NAFTA Tribunal's Decision to Open U.S. Highways to Unsafe Mexican Trucks

Report documents that Mexico's truck safety regulations are virtually non-existent, that Mexican trucks have far more safety deficiencies than U.S. trucks, that a disproportionate number of Mexican trucks crossing the border have been taken out of service for serious safety violations, and that the U.S. lacks enough inspectors to check incoming trucks. Further, Texas border communities within the commercial border zone in which Mexican trucks are permitted have seen a dramatic increase in highway fatalities and serious injuries from crashes involving trucks with Mexican registrations, the report found

P3_5 Balloon Mayhem in Gotham

The article investigates how high weather balloons made of helium rise before they burst and drop down to the Earth. Considering the pressure at higher altitudes, the radius of the balloon and the mass of the package we find that the balloon rises to an altitude of 37800m

P3_7 Meltdown!

This paper investigates the change in the albedo of the Earth due to the presence of sea ice and its impact on Earth's surface temperature. If all the sea ice melted, the albedo of the earth will increase by approximately 7.4%. This would result in an increase of surface temperature by approximately 6˚C

P3_4 Reducing blood loss through injury

On event of sustaining an injury which results in bleeding, it is advised to apply pressure on the wound and also elevate the injury above the height of the heart [1]. This paper investigates the physics behind the two actions, and shows that both cases result in the decreasing of the volumetric flow rate, and hence reduce the rate at which blood is lost.   

P3_2 Don’t smoke and drive!

This paper investigates the consequences of smoking tobacco cigarettes in a car. With an average smoking rate of 5 minutes per cigarette and with no air entering or released from the car, we find that if the carbon monoxide (CO) content in the air is over 1000ppm, you would have to smoke approximately 32 cigarettes within the hour to fall unconscious from CO poisoning. Furthermore we consider whether opening a window would make it safe to smoke in a car as the air flow rate through the window would remove the CO content from the car

Number of Recent Stressful Life Events and Incident Cardiovascular Disease: Moderation by Lifetime Depressive Disorder

Objective We investigated whether number of recent stressful life events is associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and whether this relationship is stronger in adults with a history of clinical depression. Methods Prospective data from 28,583 U.S. adults (mean age = 45 years) initially free of CVD who participated in Waves 1 (2001–2002) and 2 (2004–2005) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were examined. Number of past-year stressful life events (Wave 1), lifetime depressive disorder (Wave 1), and incident CVD (Wave 2) were determined by structured interviews. Results There were 1069 cases of incident CVD. Each additional stressful life event was associated with a 15% increased odds of incident CVD [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.15, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.11, 1.19]. As hypothesized, a stressful life events by lifetime depressive disorder interaction was detected (P = 0.003). Stratified analyses indicated that stressful life events had a stronger association with incident CVD among adults with (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.27, n = 4908) versus without (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.14, n = 23,675) a lifetime depressive disorder. Conclusion Our findings suggest that a greater number of recent stressful life events elevate the risk of new-onset CVD and that this risk is potentiated in adults with a history of clinical depression