1,721,014 research outputs found
Exposure to silicon carbide and cancer risk: a systematic review
No full textPurpose: To conduct a systematic review of epidemiologic studies on risk of cancer from exposure to silicon carbide (SiC). Methods: We followed established guidelines to search electronic databases for studies on populations exposed to SiC. We conducted meta-analyses when the data justified it. Results: We identified two studies of SiC production workers and several studies of users. The studies of production workers indicated an increased risk of lung cancer. The increased risk was restricted to workers with elevated dust exposure and, in the most informative study from Norway, was linked to estimated cristobalite exposure, a form of crystalline silica. Increased risk was not linked to SiC particles, once cristobalite exposure was controlled for. Studies of SiC users in various industries did not reveal an increased risk of lung cancer. Conclusions: The increased risk of lung cancer detected in the SiC production industry appears to be associated with high exposure levels to total dust, including crystalline silica and cristobalite which occurred in this industry in the past decades. It may not persist under current exposure circumstances, characterized by lower levels and use of personal protection equipment. Commercial users of SiC-based products were not affected. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Occupational and Environmental Exposures and Cancers in Developing Countries
Full text linkBackground: Over the past few decades, there has been a decline in cancers attributable to environmental and occupational carcinogens of asbestos, arsenic, and indoor and outdoor air pollution in high-income countries. For low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), however, these exposures are likely to increase as industrialization expands and populations grow. Objective: The aim of this study was to review the evidence on the cancer risks and burdens of selected environmental and occupational exposures in less-developed economies. Findings: A causal association has been established between asbestos exposure and mesotheliomaand lung cancer. For arsenic exposure, there is strong evidence of bladder, skin, lung, liver, and kidney cancer effects. Women are at the highest risk for lung cancer due to indoor air pollution exposure; however, the carcinogenic effect on the risk for cancer in children has not been studied in these countries. Cancer risks associated with ambient air pollution remain the least studied in LMICs, although reported exposures are higher than World Health Organization, European, and US standards. Although some associations between lung cancer and ambient air pollutants have been reported, studies in LMICs are weak or subject to exposure misclassification. For pulmonary cancers, tobacco smoking and respiratory diseases have a positive synergistic effect on cancer risks. Conclusions: A precise quantification of the burden of human cancer attributable to environmental and occupational exposures in LMICs is uncertain. Although the prevalence of carcinogenic exposures has been reported to be high in many such countries, the effects of the exposures have not been studied due to varying country-specific limitations, some of which include lack of resources and government support
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Head and neck cancer prevention: From primary prevention to impact of clinicians on reducing burden
No full textSurvival from head and neck cancers (HNCs) of the lip, oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx has increased by 10% over the past few decades. Little over half of patients who develop HNCs will survive beyond 5 years. Survival is lower for individuals in many countries where traditional risk factors such as tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and betel quid chewing are highly prevalent but tertiary health care center access is limited or unavailable. Early diagnosis of HNC is the most important prognostic factor for each tumor site. Molecular-based research on HNC tumors holds promise for early stage detection, screening, vaccination, disease follow-up, and progression. Future investments for HNC control must consider both effectiveness and sustainability for both high-and low-resource countries alike, with priority toward risk factor prevention and earlier diagnosis
A cross-sectional analysis of ex-smokers and characteristics associated with quitting smoking: The Polish Norwegian Study (PONS)
No full textTobacco smoking remains a number one preventable risk factor of premature death worldwide. Findings of recent research show concurrent trends of lung cancer deaths in males and females in Europe. Although lung cancer death rates are consistently decreasing in male population, in women an upward trend is observed. The burden of tobacco-related harm can be prevented by smoking cessation. The main goal of this analysis is to identify the crucial correlates of successful smoking cessation in the middle-aged Polish population. The data came from 13 172 survey participants south-eastern part of Poland as part of the PONS cohort study established in 2010. A total of 6998 records of those who were either ex-smokers or current smokers at baseline were analyzed. We applied logistic regression and adjusted for sociodemographic covariates and health determinants. Characteristics related to being an ex-smoker as opposed to a current smoker included: older age [men: odds ratio (OR)=1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.05; women: OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.03-1.07], being married or living together, having secondary (OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.14-1.99) or higher (OR=2.30, 95% CI=1.75-3.18) education (women), full-time employment (men), alcohol consumer (women), being overweight (men: OR=2.85, 95% CI=2.26-3.59; women: OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.36-1.87) or obese (men: OR=3.47, 95% CI=2.67-4.51; women: OR=2.99, 95% CI=2.45-3.65), having normal fasting glucose and cholesterol blood level without any treatment (women), assessing their own health highly (9-10, on the scale from 1 to 10) and having at least one accompanying chronic disease (women, OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.07-1.45). These findings provide valuable information on characteristics of ex-smokers as well as behavioral and sociodemographic predictors of successful cessation. Such data expand our knowledge and can be used to design a more comprehensive and targeted group-specific tobacco control policy focused on increasing the number of ex-smokers
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