The increase in wind energy production has been relatively rapid and is expected to continue at a global scale. However, numbers of bat carcasses found at wind turbines in North America in the early 21st century raised concern about the plight of this taxon with the growth in wind-energy generation. This led to carcass searches for bats becoming commonplace at wind farms globally. However, few large scale systematic studies have assessed the effects of wind turbines on bats, especially for species considered potentially at higher risk in Europe. In this thesis the number and species of bats killed from wind farms were estimated across Britain, and the important predictors (i.e. activity, turbine characteristics and habitat) of fatality were determined. Insect abundance, biomass and bat activity was also quantified at turbine and control locations, to assess if insects and hence bats were attracted to turbines. In addition, assessments were made of the effects of increasing temporal and spatial replication of acoustic monitoring on estimates of species composition and bat activity. This was assessed for activity monitored at ground and at the centre of the rotor sweep area (the nacelle). Carcass searches were conducted using trained search dogs and concurrently bats were surveyed acoustically at three randomly selected turbines at ground and from the nacelle at 48 wind farms throughout Britain. Bats were also monitored acoustically at paired controls (with a randomly selected turbine) at 20 of the wind farms sites. In addition, nocturnal Diptera were sampled at 18 of the sites using a paired turbine and control design. Across 139 wind turbines, 188,335 bat passes were recorded and 2,973 carcass searches performed. Edge and open aerial foraging species, in particular Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus were most at risk of fatality 4 at wind farms in Britain. The number of Pipistrellus pipistrellus killed annually in Britain between mid-July and mid-October was estimated at 2,373 95% CI 513 to 4,233 and the number of P. pygmaeus at 3,082 95% CI 1,270 to 4,894. When compared to population estimates, the number of Pipistrellus pygmaeus killed was 57% higher than the number of P. pipistrellus killed (0.19% of the population versus 0.43%, respectively). This may be due to Pipistrellus pygmaeus flying more often within the rotor sweep area compared to P. pipistrellus. Activity measured at the nacelle, which is generally assumed to be a better predictor of fatalities, was not a significant predictor of the probability of a fatality for all species combined, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, or P. pygmaeus. Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity and P. pygmaeus activity, measured at ground level were not good predictors of their respective fatalities. Whilst there was some evidence that Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus activity monitored at ground level, was a significant predictor of the probability of their respective fatalities occurring, across wide ranging turbine types, fatality estimates were large. This is presumably due to the importance of turbine characterises (the wind speed that turbines become operational (cut-in speeds) turbine and the distance between the ground and blade tip at the bottom of the rotor sweep area) both being important negative predictors of fatalities for Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Predicting from models, if the cut-in speed is increased from 3.5 to 5 m s-1 the number of Pipistrellus pipistrellus fatalities would be reduced by 76% (0.23 fatalities per turbine per month to 0.06). These findings have important implications for guidance, since activity is the ubiquitous measure used to assess fatality risk for all species. Since, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus were detected at 98% and 92% of sites respectively; it could be 5 assumed that these species would be detected at the majority of wind farms within their range. Therefore, in a British context, curtailing wind turbines below 5 m s-1 could be an effective mitigation strategy without the costly requirement to monitor activity. Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus activity was 46% (6.3 ± 1.3 SE mean passes per night c.f. 3.4 ± 1.3 SE) and 34% (4.0 ± 1.4 SE c.f. 2.7 ± 1.4 SE) higher at turbines compared to controls, respectively. Given that habitat and elevation were consistent between paired turbines and controls and monitoring was conducted on the same nights, higher activity at turbines compared to controls provides evidence that these two species are attracted to wind turbines. Furthermore, since the biomass of nocturnal Diptera, the main insect prey for Pipistrellus spp., was higher at controls compared to turbines, and bat foraging at turbines was not predicted by insect abundance or biomass, attraction is unlikely to be due to insects. Evidence presented here shows that bats are attracted to turbines, and therefore measuring activity at pre-construction sites for environmental impact assessments is unlikely to be effective. In conclusion, these results provide further evidence that common species are killed but generally in relatively low numbers, they also support the view that monitoring activity for assessing fatality risk at wind farms is ineffective. It is imperative that wind energy is developed using an evidence based approach. However, it also important that wind energy continues to contribute to an increasing renewable energy sector. In conclusion, results presented here, support that wind turbines are likely to be having a small impact on bat populations in Britain.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) show that homicide is the major cause of death with firearms and sharp objects as the main external causes of death in South Africa. The current study is a descriptive study, describing the epidemiology of sharp object fatalities in the city of East London (also known as Buffalo City) in South Africa. It is a secondary data analysis of mortuary data collected by morticians trained in data collection methods according to World Health Organisation standards. This descriptive study aimed to develop the profile of sharp object fatalities in East London. Most of the findings were consistent with other literature on sharp object violence/homicide and on homicide in general using rates per population denominator data. It also combined variables to arrive at more complex descriptions. The following risk factors were identified: male, between the ages 30-34, being from a disadvantaged population group, alcohol consumption, weekend, between the times 20h00 and 23h59 and if we discount the place of death, 'unknown' then the greatest percentage of deaths occurred in a private house. The results were interpreted within an ecological and contextual theoretical framework to hypothesize possible etiological factors. The conclusion was that there were multiple variables which all interact and influence one another across all ecological levels and as other studies have recommended, this study too also recommends that more work is needed in order to identify the multiple pathways leading to fatalities, perhaps by way of multivariate studies as well as qualitative studies with perpetrators of sharp object fatalities. / South Africa

The purpose of this study is to investigate the main causes of fall accidents and, to pinpoint the factors that influence the risk of falls in the U.S. construction industry. This study employed the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to examine 9,141 fall accidents, recorded for the period of last 20 years. The results show that specialty trade contractors working on low-budget, residential housing and commercial building projects are more susceptible to fall accidents. In terms of fall height, 85% of the fall accidents occurred on heights less than 30 ft., and most of them are not equipped with a fall protection tool. The main contribution of this study is that it has specifically analyzed fall heights and the current state of usage of fall protection using actual accident data. Since there has been hardly any research done in the last decade to study falls in the U.S. construction industry, by examining the IMIS database; this study also presents updated analysis on fall accidents.

No description available.

With rising valuation of mineral commodities, mining has been envisioned as a profitable industry regardless of many challenges it entails. This comprehensive review provides the state of knowledge about several aspects of the metal mining industry, including (a) the basic mining processes with reasons for mine closure, (b) the potential environmental and human health impacts associated with mining, (c) the potential techniques for impact mitigation, (d) the latest production statistics for the base and precious metals with identification of currently operational major metal mines for different countries, and (e) how mining activities are regulated in different nations. Finally, the authors provide critical appraisal on the debatable issue of mining and sustainability to stimulate thoughts on how metal mining can be made sustainable, and suggest a path forward.

With rising valuation of mineral commodities, mining has been envisioned as a profitable industry regardless of many challenges it entails. This comprehensive review provides the state of knowledge about several aspects of the metal mining industry, including (a) the basic mining processes with reasons for mine closure, (b) the potential environmental and human health impacts associated with mining, (c) the potential techniques for impact mitigation, (d) the latest production statistics for the base and precious metals with identification of currently operational major metal mines for different countries, and (e) how mining activities are regulated in different nations. Finally, the authors provide critical appraisal on the debatable issue of mining and sustainability to stimulate thoughts on how metal mining can be made sustainable, and suggest a path forward.

An analysis of snow removal injury data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) revealed a persistent gender gap in injuries and deaths during snow clearing activities. In general, men, those who identified as White and those aged 60-79 represented the vast majority of injuries and deaths sustained during automated snow removal. Injuries and deaths from manual snow clearing had greater representation across gender lines, as well as across various age groups and race categories. This indicates that a greater cross-section of society relies on the standard shovel in comparison to the snow blower for snow removal. The most likely injuries sustained during shoveling were to the neck and back, while hand and finger injuries were far more common during the use of a snow blower. Similar percentages of cardiac (30%) and non-cardiac chest injuries (70%) were found for both manual and automated modes of snow removal. While the majority of cardiac chest injuries were in those aged 40-59 for shoveling and 60-79 for snow blowing, the majority of cardiac fatalities were in those aged 60-79 for both methods of snow removal. Daily all-cause mortality and daily deaths from acute heart attacks showed a weak but inverse relationship to daily maximum, minimum and average temperatures. Mortality related to temperatures had significant lag effects for two days. Daily all-cause and heart attack mortality were also significantly related to the depth of the existing snowpack. Snow to liquid ratios indicating differences between heavy, wet snow and dry, powdery snow were not significant. However, the water equivalent of the existing snowpack was significantly related to daily mortality. Comparisons between all age and elderly mortality showed weaker and opposite relationships for the elderly group suggesting the use of protective behaviors such as cold and snow avoidance.

Over the past twenty years bicycle use as a mode of transportation has grown considerably in the United States. Other studies have examined the individual bicyclist’s risk in proportion to the growth in cycling across cities, a phenomenon referred to as ‘safety in numbers.’ This study expands from that research and examines the effect of cyclists on road safety for all road users. The study examines the roles of bicycle modal split, a city wide analysis, and bicycle infrastructure, a site based analysis, in road safety outcomes. For the city based analysis, twenty years of crash data in 12 California cities were analyzed over a 20 year period. This study primarily used census data and State wide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) data. This study concludes that as bicycle modal split increases in a city, the traffic fatalities tend to decrease and the relationship is an exponential function. The site based analysis focuses on the effects of installing a bicycle lane on a street and examined its effect on injury crashes. 20 sites in San Francisco, CA that had bike lanes installed on them were compared to 25 control group sites, also in San Francisco, that did not have any bike lanes or other significant changes. An Empirical Bayes method of analysis was done to test its effects and determined that the effects were statistically significant.

The work of an international team of forensic experts led to the final determination that Salvador Allende, former Chilean president (1970-1973), committed suicide by firearm during the military coup against his socialist government on September 11, 1973. Included in the final report was the anthropologists’ skeletal trauma analysis documenting the gunshot trauma to the skull as consistent with the passage of a high velocity projectile under the chin and through the cranial cavity. The anthropological report was part of a multidisciplinary effort to finally address the questions surrounding the manner of Salvador Allende’s death, and to eliminate speculations that he was killed by the military. Although it is not the role of the anthropologist to determine manner of death in a forensic case, expertise in osteology and the biomechanics of high velocity projectile trauma to bone may contribute to the pathologist’s final conclusions about manner of death in firearm fatalities. Previous research looking at variation between homicides and suicides in firearm fatalities has used soft tissue trauma analysis and autopsy reports to identify common characteristics specific to these manners of death. They have found that anatomic location of entrance trauma, bullet direction, number of shots, and range of fire are important factors in understanding this variation. Anthropological research has not explored these differences as they are expressed on the skeleton, however; knowledge of variation in skeletal gunshot trauma, between self-inflicted and other-inflicted gunshot wounds, can better equip anthropologists to report pertinent information that can lead to accurate determinations of manner of death. The current study explores the factors of anatomic location of entrance trauma, bullet direction, and number of shots, with additional consideration to fracture severity and fracture patterns, in place of range of fire. The William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection and the Antioquia Modern Skeletal Reference Collection provided a total sample of 15 suicide and 19 homicide cases for this analysis. This research found that localized entry sites to the front and right sides of the head and to the chest were common in suicides. Entries to the left and front sides of the head and to the posterior side of the head and body were common in homicides. Further analysis of sequence of shots and entry sites revealed that the front of the head, common in both homicides and suicides, was more common in secondary gunshot wounds in homicides. Bullet directions common in suicides were right to left through the sagittal plane, and anterior to posterior through the coronal plane. The left to right direction through the sagittal plane was most common for homicides, whereas the anterior to posterior and posterior to anterior directions through the coronal plane were almost equally represented in homicides. Further analysis of sequence of shots and bullet direction revealed that the anterior to posterior direction was more common in secondary gunshot wounds in homicides. The transverse plane did not show statistically significant differences between homicides and suicides for either the inferior to superior or superior to inferior directions. For number of shots, homicides more commonly expressed multiple gunshot wounds and suicides more commonly expressed single gunshot wounds. Fracture severity analyses revealed that the presence of tertiary fractures (concentric fractures) in entrance wounds was more common in suicides. The presence of secondary fractures (radiating fractures) as the most severe fracture in entrance wounds was more common in homicides. These results suggest that fracture severity is higher in suicides, based on the amount of kinetic energy dispersed at impact, although it is unclear what factor influences these differences (range of fire, type of firearm, caliber of bullet, etc.). There was also a significant difference between homicides and suicides in fracture patterns for both entrance and exit wounds. These findings are based on a small sample and should be considered with caution, especially for use in a forensic setting. Further research is crucial to better understanding the variations seen in this study. Specifically, sequencing of shots should be further explored for its utility in distinguishing homicides and suicides as well as providing a better understanding of multi-shot cases. Additionally, more research should be conducted on fracture severity and fracture patterns with specific consideration to the factors that influence the variation seen between homicides and suicides.

No description available.