Analysis of risky driving behaviors among bus drivers in China: The role of enterprise management, external environment and attitudes towards traffic safety.

Several studies have shown that enterprise management (e.g. culture, salary) and external environment (e.g. traffic congestion) predict risky driving behaviors and accident involvement. However, this process has not been systematically investigated in bus drivers. The present study uses structural equation model to assess whether enterprise management and external environment are associated with risky self-reported driving behaviors both directly and indirectly, through the effects of attitudes towards traffic safety in a large sample of bus drivers. Three hundred and thirty-one bus drivers (mean age = 39.5, SD = 5.6 years) completed a structured and anonymous questionnaire measuring enterprise management, external environment, attitudes toward traffic safety, and self-reported risky driving behaviors (i.e., speeding, fatigue driving, running the light) in the last 6 months. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that enterprise management, and external environment were associated with risky driving behaviors both directly and indirectly. In particular both of them were directly correlated with bus drivers' attitudes toward traffic safety which, in turn, were related to the five types of self-reported risky driving behaviors. The present findings suggest that measures related to the impact factors could be carried out to reduce the probabilities of the risky driving behaviors among bus drivers, such as improving the salary level of bus drivers, setting up bus lanes and priority signals to alleviate road congestion, optimizing shift schedules, implementing effective safety education, etc. These findings can provide the empirical basis for evidence-based road safety interventions in the context of public transport.

Effects of Adenovirus-Mediated Hepatocyte Growth Factor Gene Therapy on Postinfarct Heart Function: Comparison of Single and Repeated Injections.

Clinical trials testing the effects of a single injection of adenovirus carrying the human hepatocyte growth factor gene (Ad-HGF) in patients with chronic ischemic heart failure failed to show consistent improvements in cardiac function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of repeated injections of Ad-HGF in a rat model of postinfarct heart failure. Ad-HGF or Ad-green fluorescent protein (GFP) was administered to Sprague Dawley rat models of postinfarct heart failure via single or fractional repeated intrapericardial injection. Heart function was monitored by magnetic resonance imaging for 4 and 8 weeks after injections. The expression of HGF or factor VIII/Ki-67 was evaluated by Western blot assay or immunofluorescence. We found that Ad-HGF gene expression could be prolonged in vivo by repeated injections and that cardiac function was significantly improved in the Ad-HGF repeat-injection group compared with the Ad-HGF single-injection group. Newly formed capillary density was similarly higher in the Ad-HGF repeat-injection group compared with that in the Ad-HGF single-injection group. We therefore conclude that fractional repeated injections of Ad-HGF may represent a promising therapeutic strategy to improve cardiac function in the setting of postinfarct heart failure.