【推荐1】Imagine if it were easy for everyone to get to the seashore, to smell the sea winds and to feel seawater on their skin. Wouldn’t it be great if people with walking difficulty could also get closer to the ocean to enjoy the thrill of a sunset, watching the sun’s rays light up the waves? The good news is that things are moving in the right direction!

In a CDC study, around 14% of adults in the US report a mobility disability, defined as serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. This can make vacation planning a challenge and put some destinations off-limits. But technology companies like Mobi-mat are making a day at the beach for people with limited mobility a reality.

Mobi-mat has developed some exciting innovations like non-slip roll-out accessibility mats(垫子). These function like red carpets at movie premieres(首映), taking people with special needs right to the seashore. They are made of a fine nylon material that is designed for people who use wheelchairs or may otherwise need a firmer surface to cross the sand.

More cities are working to make enjoyment of the beach much more wide-ranging in other creative ways based on regional conditions. The town of Jupiter in Florida has opened up access to its beaches to people who have trouble going up and down stairs via three new wide wooden walkovers. The Miami Herald recently reported on the upcoming construction of a wheelchair-accessible beachfront observation platform, and upgraded park with adaptive playground and exercise equipment for people with disabilities in Miami Beach.

Inspired by creative innovation, forward-looking policymakers and companies, and the shared demands of disabled people who are calling for better access to beautiful beach locations, it seems that many more people of all abilities will be able to head to the beach.

【推荐2】Researchers have proposed a novel method for counting and tracking vehicles on public roads, a development that could improve current traffic systems and help travelers get to their destinations faster.

Using the cameras already installed on campus buses at the Ohio State University, researchers proved that they could automatically and accurately measure counts of vehicles on urban roadways, detect objects in the road and distinguish parked vehicles from those that are moving.

In previous studies, Ohio State researchers found that using these mobile cameras provides much better spatial and temporal (时间的) coverage than relying on often temporarily placed sensors that don’t provide a view of many streets and roads in a city.

“If we collect and process more high-resolution (高清) spatial information about what’s happening on the roads, then planners could better understand changes in demand, effectively improving efficiency in the broader transportation system,” said Keith Redmill, lead author of the study.

“If we can measure traffic in a way that is as good or better than what is conventionally done with fixed sensors, then we will have created something incredibly useful extremely cheaply,” he said. “Our goal is to start building a system that could do this without much manual intervention because if you want to collect this information over lots of potential vehicles and lots of time, it’s worth fully automating that process.”

While still a long way from total implementation (实施), the study suggests the system’s results bear promise for the future of intelligent traffic surveillance. Transportation planners, engineers and operators make vital decisions about the future of our roadways, so when designing transportation systems to work over the next 30 to 50 years, it’s necessary that we give them data that allows them to improve the efficiency of the system and the level of service provided to travelers.

【推荐1】A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can damage human brain function in only a matter of hours.

“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”

For the study, the researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust (柴油废气) and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.

“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” said Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author. “While more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it’s possible that they may impair (损害) people’s thinking or ability to work.”

Notably, the changes in the brain were temporary and participants’ connectivity returned to normal after the exposure. Dr. Carlsten assumed that the effects could be long lasting where exposure is continuous. He said that people should be mindful of the air they’re breathing and take appropriate steps to minimize their exposure to potentially harmful air pollutants like car exhaust.