Incidental Exposure,Selective Exposure,and Political Information Sharing: Integrating Online Exposure Patterns and Expression on Social Media

Political information sharing in social media offers citizens opportunities to engage with news and express their political views, but how do different patterns of online political information exposure, including both incidental and selective exposure, affect sharing? Using two‐wave panel survey data collected in the United States, we examine the relationship between incidental and selective exposure and their consequent links to political information sharing, across different levels of strength of political party affiliation. Our results demonstrate that incidental exposure to counter‐attitudinal information drives stronger partisans to more actively seek out like‐minded political content, which subsequently encourages political information sharing on social media. The results highlight the need to consider both types of political information exposure when modeling citizens' political behavior online.     

A Chamber for Testing the Release of Volatile Substances Secreted by Animals,Especially Mammals,as Exemplified by Substances Released by Rats in Response to Stress

Abstract

The success of the testing of volatile organic compounds emitted by animals is dependent on the creation of appropriate conditions for air sampling subsequently used to assay and identify the compounds. These conditions play a particularly important role in the investigation of pheromones, which are secreted in extremely low concentrations. The authors have not come across any previous work which offers constructional solutions, which would allow avoidance of contamination of the air samples containing volatile substances secreted by animals.

A constructional solution was developed, which provides optimal conditions for their sampling and isolation. Its main advantages are as follows: the exposure chamber (the chamber in which the animal is studied) is filled with synthetic air; the exposure chamber is separated from the atmospheric air with a synthetic air “jacket”; the exposure chamber has been constructed using materials which do not release chemicals and absorb them in trace quantities.     

用NaI(Tl)探测器测量γ辐射场剂量特性的加权积分法研究

辐射场剂量特性的测量可以通过剂量率仪或谱 剂量转换的方法来实现。其中一种谱 剂量转换的方法是通过一个G(E)函数 ,把测得的结果直接换算成剂量而不需解谱。本文采用这种方法 ,对一个75mm× 75mm的NaI(Tl)探测器的能谱特性进行测量与分析 ,算出了该晶体的G(E)函数值及估计的误差 ,并用此方法与高气压电离室作了比对测量     

广东省部分陶瓷产品的放射性水平

对广东省主要陶瓷产地(南海、佛山和潮州三市)的陶瓷产品中的天然放射性水平进行抽样检测，结果表明：所检测154个样品中95％的样品放射性含量指标符合国家标准GB6566-2001《建筑材料放射性核素限量》规定的A类产品标准。     

大亚湾核电站大修中职业照射控制的实践与经验

大修是核电站辐射防护活动中辐射风险和集体剂量最大的一个特殊和重要阶段。本文从辐射防护人员及早介入大修准备 ,重视源项控制 ,加强大修实施过程中的辐射安全控制 ,充分发挥安全管理网络作用和全员参与优势 ,不断总结优化和持续改进等几个方面介绍大亚湾核电站在大修中的职业照射控制的实践和经验     

The effects of pause software on the temporal characteristics of computer use

The study investigated the natural work–pause pattern of computer users and the possible effects of imposing pause regimes on this pattern. Hereto, the precise timing of computer events was recorded across a large number of days. It was found that the distribution of the pause durations was extremely skewed and that pauses with twice the duration are twice less likely to occur. The effects of imposing pause regimes were studied by performing a simulation of commercially available pause software. It was found that depending on the duration of the introduced pause, the software added 25–57% of the pauses taken naturally. Analysis of the timing of the introduced pauses revealed that a large number of spontaneous pauses were taken close to the inserted pause. Considering the disappointing results of studies investigating the effects of introducing (active) pauses during computer work, this study has cast doubt on the usefulness of introducing short duration pauses.     

The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperature,apparent temperature,relative humidity,and absolute humidity

Many studies report an association between outdoor ambient weather and health. Outdoor conditions may be a poor indicator of personal exposure because people spend most of their time indoors. Few studies have examined how indoor conditions relate to outdoor ambient weather. The average indoor temperature, apparent temperature, relative humidity (RH), and absolute humidity (AH) measured in 16 homes in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, from May 2011 to April 2012 was compared to measurements taken at Boston Logan airport. The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperatures is nonlinear. At warmer outdoor temperatures, there is a strong correlation between indoor and outdoor temperature (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = 0.91, slope, β = 0.41), but at cooler temperatures, the association is weak (r = 0.40, β = 0.04). Results were similar for outdoor apparent temperature. The relationships were linear for RH and AH. The correlation for RH was modest (r = 0.55, β = 0.39). Absolute humidity exhibited the strongest indoor‐to‐outdoor correlation (r = 0.96, β = 0.69). Indoor and outdoor temperatures correlate well only at warmer outdoor temperatures. Outdoor RH is a poor indicator of indoor RH, while indoor AH has a strong correlation with outdoor AH year‐round.     

Examination of naturalistic driving practices in drivers with Parkinson's disease compared to age and gender-matched controls

A few studies suggest that drivers with Parkinson's disease (PD) may self-regulate or modify their driving behavior more than drivers without neurological disorders; however findings are limited to self-report. The purpose of this study was to objectively examine whether drivers with PD show more restrictive driving practices (exposure and patterns). Electronic devices were installed in the vehicles of 27 drivers with PD (71.6 ± 6.6; 78% men) and 20 matched controls (70.6 ± 7.9; 80% men) for two weeks and driving data were matched with aerial maps, weather and daylight archives and trip logs to examine driving context. Compared to controls, the PD group drove significantly less overall (number of trips, kilometres, duration), and proportionately less at night and on days with bad weather suggesting more restricted driving practices, congruent with lower ratings of driving comfort and abilities. However, they may not necessarily drive more cautiously or safely as they drove significantly faster (and over the speed limit) on highways and freeways and 19% reported driving problems over the two weeks. These preliminary findings need to be replicated and longitudinal studies using objective indicators are needed to examine changes in driving practices, as well as crash outcomes, as disease severity progresses.     

Endotoxin levels in settled airborne dust in European schools: the HITEA school study

Indoor exposure to microbial agents is known to influence respiratory health. Besides home exposure, exposure in schools can affect respiratory health. In this study, we measured endotoxin in settled dust in primary schools in three European countries from three different geographical regions with different climates. Our aim was to characterize endotoxin levels in primary schools and evaluate associations with potential determinants. Endotoxin levels were repeatedly assessed in 23 schools in Spain (n = 7), the Netherlands (n = 10), and Finland (n = 6) using electrostatic dustfall collectors. In total, 645 measurements were taken in 237 classrooms. Endotoxin levels differed significantly between countries; Dutch schools had the highest levels, while Finnish schools showed the lowest levels. In each country, differences in endotoxin levels were observed between schools and over the sampling periods. Estimates improved after adjustment for sampling period. Factors affecting endotoxin levels in a school differed per country. In general, endotoxin levels were higher in lower grades and in classrooms with higher occupancy. School endotoxin levels may contribute significantly to total endotoxin exposure in children and teachers. As the correlation between the repeated measurements is reasonable, single endotoxin measurements form a reasonable basis for estimating annual endotoxin levels in schools.     

Road safety performance measures and AADT uncertainty from short-term counts

ObjectiveThe objective of this paper is to enable better risk analysis of road safety performance measures by creating the first knowledge base on uncertainty surrounding annual average daily traffic (AADT) estimates when the estimates are derived by expanding short-term counts with the individual permanent counter method.BackgroundMany road safety performance measures and performance models use AADT as an input. While there is an awareness that the input suffers from uncertainty, the uncertainty is not well known or accounted for.MethodThe paper samples data from a set of 69 permanent automatic traffic recorders in Manitoba, Canada, to simulate almost 2 million short-term counts over a five year period. These short-term counts are expanded to AADT estimates by transferring temporal information from a directly linked nearby permanent count control station, and the resulting AADT values are compared to a known reference AADT to compute errors. The impacts of five factors on AADT error are considered: length of short-term count, number of short-term counts, use of weekday versus weekend counts, distance from a count to its expansion control station, and the AADT at the count site.ResultsThe mean absolute transfer error for expanded AADT estimates is 6.7%, and this value varied by traffic pattern group from 5% to 10.5%. Reference percentiles of the error distribution show that almost all errors are between −20% and +30%. Error decreases substantially by using a 48-h count instead of a 24-h count, and only slightly by using two counts instead of one. Weekday counts are superior to weekend counts, especially if the count is only 24 h. Mean absolute transfer error increases with distance to control station (elasticity 0.121, p = 0.001), and increases with AADT (elasticity 0.857, p < 0.001).ImplicationsThese results can support evidence-based risk analysis of road safety performance measures that use AADT as inputs. Analytical frameworks for such analysis exist but are infrequently used in road safety because the evidence base on AADT uncertainty is not well developed.