Non-collision injuries in public buses: a national survey of a neglected problem

Objectives: This prospective, nationally representative, multi-centre study was undertaken to assess non-collision injuries sustained by public bus passengers in Israel. Methods: The emergency departments (EDs) of six medical centres, which participated in this eight month study, were chosen to represent both urban and rural catchment areas. All patients diagnosed with injuries sustained on a public bus not involved in a road traffic accident were promptly evaluated for mechanism and nature of injury and demographic parameters. Results: The study cohort consisted of 120 patients (86 were female, 34 were male, age range 3–89 years). Over half were older than 55 years. The most common injuries were to the limbs, vertebral column, and head. The major mechanism of injury was acceleration/deceleration. Most patients were standing when they sustained the injuries. There were no fatalities, and 17 patients were admitted to hospital (9 of 17, 52% older than 55 years). Extrapolation to yearly national statistics suggests a probable total of 729 such injuries. Conclusion: The significant injuries inflicted on passengers of public buses not involved in road traffic accidents warrant decisive preventative measures by transportation authorities

Physiologia Plantarum

Abstract At the reproductive stage, lily plants bear two morphological types of mature leaves, one at the lower and one at the upper part of the stem. At the vegetative stage, all the leaves are similar to each other and to the reproductive plant's lower leaves. This heterophylly has not yet been explored. In this study, we show that it is not a result of the plant's age but rather an outcome of floral induction. The induction appears as an on-going process, during which the meristem still produces leaves but progressively becomes committed to reproduction. This intermediate period lasts until the ultimate switch to flower primordia occur. The leaves produced during floral induction, termed here as 'inductive', appear at the upper part of the stem. Besides their typical higher stomata density, these leaves have a poly-layered palisade mesophyll, whose cells exhibit a unique morphology and contain more chlorophyll than leaves of vegetative plants. These leaves display higher carbon assimilation, soluble sugars production and chloroplast-lipid accumulation. Accordingly, genes associated with stomata, chloroplast and photosynthesis are upregulated in these leaves. Our results were obtained when floral induction was achieved either by vernalization or photoperiod signals, ruling out a mere environmental effect. We suggest that lily plants prepares themselves for the high energy-demanding bloom by producing leaves with enhanced photosynthetic capacity, leading to an increase in soluble sugars. These novel findings introduce an adjacent affinity between photosynthesis and flowering and provide a non-destructive tool for identifying the plant's developmental stage ? vegetative or reproductive. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved