Side airbag deployments in the UK - initial case reviews

As in-vehicle safety technology becomes more prevalent, the corresponding fitment of side airbags in the United Kingdom is now more commonplace. This study adds to the body of knowledge on real world impacts by presenting initial cases of deployment from the UK, including examples where there is some suggestion that side airbag deployment may have contributed to injury outcomes. With the introduction of new restraint devices into the vehicle fleet, manufacturers and engineers are not only eager to quantify their benefit and injury mitigation effectiveness but to also consider the performance and application in the real world. Whilst there are presently insufficient numbers of cases to fully evaluate injury benefit in side impacts, individual case evaluations can provide an initial assessment of side airbag field performance. In this study, data from 47 crashes in which the side airbag deployed were available for analysis. Of these, 19 occupants sustained a MAIS ≥ 2 injury. Case reviews have identified 2 occupants where serious (AIS 3) thoracic injuries may have occurred through interaction with the deploying side airbag and a further case involving upper extremity fracture (AIS 3) was also thought to have been associated with side airbag deployment. In these 3 cases, crash severity and compartmental deformation were not considered to be extensive. However in the majority of cases, side airbag deployment did not cause injury to the occupant and a general overview of these cases is given

The Near-Infrared Broad Emission Line Region of Active Galactic Nuclei -- I. The Observations

We present high quality (high signal-to-noise ratio and moderate spectral resolution) near-infrared (near-IR) spectroscopic observations of 23 well-known broad-emission line active galactic nuclei (AGN). Additionally, we obtained simultaneous (within two months) optical spectroscopy of similar quality. The near-IR broad emission line spectrum of AGN is dominated by permitted transitions of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, and calcium, and by the rich spectrum of singly-ionized iron. In this paper we present the spectra, line identifications and measurements, and address briefly some of the important issues regarding the physics of AGN broad emission line regions. In particular, we investigate the excitation mechanism of neutral oxygen and confront for the first time theoretical predictions of the near-IR iron emission spectrum with observations.Comment: 45 pages, 17 figures, accepted by ApJ

Head and chest injury outcomes in struck side crashes

This study examines injury outcomes for front seat passengers of European passenger cars in struck-side crashes. The UK National Accident Database (STATS 19) and UK In-depth Accident Database (CCIS) were analysed to determine how injury outcomes have changed between two distinct sets of vehicles; older cars manufactured pre 1993 and newer cars manufactured post 1998. Overall trends in injury outcome are reported with comparisons made to outcomes in frontal and non struck-side impact crashes. More detailed results relating specifically to head and chest injury outcome are given. Additionally an assessment of the performance of side airbags is made. In general, improvements in the killed and seriously injured (KSI) rates for struck-side occupants are observed in newer cars compared with older vehicles and when fatalities are considered the greatest improvement is seen in the reduction of mAIS (i.e. highest AIS injury) 4+ chest injuries. However, when side airbags are considered, the rate of serious chest injury is higher in the sample of cars with side airbag deployment (25.0%) than the sample of cars with no side airbag deployment (10.2%). Of these serious chest injuries the rate of multiple rib fracture on the struck-side is almost double in cases where a side airbag has deployed compared with when no side airbag has deployed. Regulation seems to have been effective in reducing the rate of KSI injury outcome in struck-side crashes with slight benefits in terms of head injury mitigation and more apparent benefits in terms of chest injury mitigation. There are however some preliminary contrary indications regarding the benefits of the side airbag which may indicate a problem with out-of-position occupants

Advancing Monitoring Infrastructure for Oregon’s Native Freshwater Turtles with Citizen Science Platforms

Monitoring is a core component of conservation plans as well as an opportunity for local stakeholders to contribute. Our objective was to advance monitoring infrastructure for the protection of native, threatened freshwater turtles in the Pacific Northwest through the creation of a citizen science application. This was done by researching previous designs of citizen science projects over the past ten years and improving the platform based on recommendations by practitioners. Current platforms can be improved by better crediting the work of citizen scientists, improving communication between scientists and users, building in flexibility for scientists, and accommodating for disabilities through ergonomic design. This set the framework to design and build a new multi-platform monitoring application. The final product is a mobile and web application that embodies these concepts and is ready for user-testing in the summer, providing scientists with critical data to help monitor multiple species of conservation concern, while engaging the public in this important task

Participation in voluntary and community organisations in the United Kingdom and the influences on the self-management of long-term conditions

Voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) have health benefits for those who attend and are viewed as having the potential to support long-term condition management. However, existing community-level understandings of participation do not explain the involvement with VCOs at an individual level, or the nature of support, which may elicit health benefits. Framing active participation as ‘doing and experiencing’, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore why people with long-term vascular conditions join VCOs, maintain their membership and what prevents participation. Twenty participants, self-diagnosed as having diabetes, chronic heart disease or chronic kidney disease, were purposefully sampled and recruited from a range of VCOs in the North West of England identified from a mapping of local organisations. In semi-structured interviews, we explored the nature of their participation. Analysis was thematic and iterative involving a continual reflection on the data. People gave various reasons for joining groups. These included health and well-being, the need for social contact and pursuing a particular hobby. Barriers to participation included temporal and spatial barriers and those associated with group dynamics. Members maintained their membership on the basis of an identity and sense of belonging to the group, developing close relationships within it and the availability of support and trust. Participants joined community groups often in response to a health-related event. Our findings demonstrate the ways in which the social contact associated with continued participation in VCOs is seen as helping with long-term condition management. Interventions designed at improving chronic illness management might usefully consider the role of VCOs

The position of graptolites within Lower Palaeozoic planktic ecosystems.

An integrated approach has been used to assess the palaeoecology of graptolites both as a discrete group and also as a part of the biota present within Ordovician and Silurian planktic realms. Study of the functional morphology of graptolites and comparisons with recent ecological analogues demonstrates that graptolites most probably filled a variety of niches as primary consumers, with modes of life related to the colony morphotype. Graptolite coloniality was extremely ordered, lacking any close morphological analogues in Recent faunas. To obtain maximum functional efficiency, graptolites would have needed varying degrees of coordinated automobility. A change in lifestyle related to ontogenetic changes was prevalent within many graptolite groups. Differing lifestyle was reflected by differing reproductive strategies, with synrhabdosomes most likely being a method for rapid asexual reproduction. Direct evidence in the form of graptolithophage 'coprolitic' bodies, as well as indirect evidence in the form of probable defensive adaptations, indicate that graptolites comprised a food item for a variety of predators. Graptolites were also hosts to a variety of parasitic organisms and provided an important nutrient source for scavenging organisms

Climate Action In Megacities 3.0

"Climate Action in Megacities 3.0" (CAM 3.0) presents major new insights into the current status, latest trends and future potential for climate action at the city level. Documenting the volume of action being taken by cities, CAM 3.0 marks a new chapter in the C40-Arup research partnership, supported by the City Leadership Initiative at University College London. It provides compelling evidence about cities' commitment to tackling climate change and their critical role in the fight to achieve global emissions reductions