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Background: About 1.35 million people died in traffic accidents around the world in 2018, make this type of accidents the 8th cause of death in the world. Particularly, in Spain, there were 204,596 traffic accidents during 2016 and 2017, out of which 349,810 drivers were injured. The objective of this study was to understand to what extent seat belt non-use and human factors contribute to drivers injury severity. Methodology: The results are based on the information and 2016–17 data provided by the Spain national traffic department "Dirección General de Tráfico" (DGT). The discretization model and Bayesian Networks were developed based on important variables from the literature. These variables were classified as; human factor, demographic factor, conditioning factor and seat belt use. Results: The results showed that failure to wear the seat belt by drivers are likely to increase the risk of fatal and sever injury significantly. Moreover, distraction and road type road can contribute to the accident severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Road traffic injuries are now regarded as the eighth leading cause of death globally. For example, in 2016, 102,362 traffic injuries took place in Spain in which 174,679 drivers suffered injuries. These findings necessitated the development of the current study which focuses on the prime factors that cause this type of injuries. The aim of this study, therefore, is to explore the behavioral factors that entail a higher risk of suffering either a serious or a fatal injury for drivers. Methods. The findings are based on information and data provided by "Dirección General de Tráfico" (DGT) in Spain on traffic injuries that occurred in the year 2016. Reviewing a wide range of the literature, the authors identified the most influential variables and created a model using the Bayesian networks. The variables that define the model are grouped into four factors: vehicle factor, road factor, circumstantial factor and human factor. Results. The results suggest that the principal variables that determine a higher probability of serious or fatal injuries in traffic injuries are: lack of using appropriate safety accessories, high-speed violations, distractions as well as errors. Finally, the research shows the severity probability based on reason of displacement ("in itinere," on business, or in leisure). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the sustainable use of recycled plastics, specifically polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), in the manufacture of geogrids for geotechnical and civil engineering applications. Plastics were collected from a recycling center, specifically targeting containers used for food, cleaning products, and other domestic packaging items. These plastics were sorted according to the Möbius triangle classification system, with HDPE (#2) and PP (#5) being the primary categories of interest. The research methodologically evaluates the mechanical properties of PP/HDPE (0/100, 25/75, 50/50, 75/25 and 100/0% w/w) composites through tensile and flexural tests, exploring various compositions and configurations of geogrids. The results highlight the superiority of pure recycled HDPE processed into 1.3 mm thick laminated yarns and hot air welded for 20 to 30 s, exhibiting a deformation exceeding 60% in comparison to the PP/HDPE composites. Through SolidWorks® Simulation, it was shown that the adoption of a trigonal geogrid geometry optimizes force distribution and tensile strength, significantly improving slope stabilization efficiency. Based on the results obtained, a laboratory-scale prototype geogrid was developed using an extrusion process. The results underscore the importance of careful composite design and yarn configuration selection to achieve the desired mechanical properties and performance in geogrid applications. It emphasizes the potential of recycled plastics as a viable and environmentally friendly solution for stabilizing slopes, contributing to the reduction in plastic waste and promoting sustainable construction practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breutelia tomentosa (Sw. ex Brid.) A. Jaeger, Leptodontium viticulosoides (P. Beauv.) Wijk & Margad., Macromitrium perreflexum Steere, Campylopus richardii Brid., Rhacocarpus purpurascens (Brid.) Paris., and Thuidium peruvianum Mitt. essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation. Using gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC/MS), a total of ninety four constituents were identified, representing for 80.5 93.8 % of the chemical composition. The major components were epizonarene (8.7 %) and α-selinene (6.7 %) in the oil of B. tomentosa, β-selinene (13.5 %) and α-selinene (10.5 %) in the oil of L. viticulosoides, selina-3,11-dien-6-α-ol (19.7 %) and curcuphenol (10.6 %) in the oil of M. perreflexum, epi-α-muurulol (15.1 %) and α-cadinol (12.5 %) in the oil of C. richardii. α-cadinol (36.8 %) and α-santalene (8.4 %) in the oil of R. purpurascens, and phytol (21.7 %) and valerenol (10.1 %) in the oil of T. peruvianum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]