1,720,995 research outputs found
FORMALDEHYDE RISK ASSESSMENT: PROPOSAL OF EXPOSURE LIMITS, CHARACTERISATION OF EXPOSURE, AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCENARIOS.
Full text linkEuropean Project INDEX-UPRIC 2009
In 2009, DG SANCO funded an update of the 2005 project INDEX “Critical Appraisal of the Setting and Implementation of Indoor Exposure Limits in the EU”. DG SANCO required a particular focus on formaldehyde, on the basis of new papers published following its re-classification in Group 1 (sufficient epidemiological and scientific evidence for an association with nasopharyngeal cancer) by IARC. INDEX-UPRIC 2009 (“UPdate of PRIority Compounds”) aimed at reviewing recent scientific data, but also at re-examining previous studies and re-considering the reference values proposed in 2005. From selected results of scientific literature and an innovative approach in applying uncertainty factors, making the best use of chemical specific data on toxicodynamics and toxicokinetics, new reference limits have been proposed for exposure to formaldehyde in indoor settings.
The reference range of values for short-term exposure (30 minutes) proposed at EU level is 70-100 ppb (or 90-120 μg/m3); it is comparable to most of exposure limits set by other national or international organisation. WHO in particular, in the latest version of IAQ guidelines (just published in December 2010), even if resulting from a different calculation, recommends a limit of 100 μg/m3 (~80 ppb) for short-term exposure.
The reference values proposed by INDEX UPRIC 2009 should be used for the risk characterisation of situations related to acute exposure to formaldehyde indoors. In the light of scientific data available, it can be considered protective from carcinogenic effects in relation to short-term exposure, although it is derived from an irritation endpoint. Always looking at the scientific evidence available so far, there is no indication of cumulative effects following exposure to low concentrations (below 1 ppm), as adverse effects seem
to recover shortly after exposure period. Current knowledge allows to reasonably assume that the proposed reference range of concentrations is also protective from long-term health effects due to repetitive short-term exposures. However, attention must be paid at the outcomes of genotoxicity studies (currently inconclusive), particularly with concern to a potential association of formaldehyde with increased incidence of tumours other than those located in the site of exposure (airways tissues).
Exposure characterisation and Exposure Scenarios in hospitals
The hazard characterisation of formaldehyde carried out in INDEX UPRIC project indicates that recurrent, short-term, peak exposures, rather than exposure to constant levels, are expected to adversely affect eyes and upper airways in exposed subjects, posing also a potential risk for more severe health outcomes. Exposure to formaldehyde in occupational settings, and particularly in Pathology labs, appears to be characterised by concentration fluctuations and peaks. To perform a correct exposure assessment in Pathology Units, and to eventually associate exposure levels with health effects, an in-depth understanding of determinant factors of exposure and actual air levels, is a requirement. The project aimed to reach this goal through the development of detailed Exposure Scenarios and the characterisation of concentration fluctuations during specific tasks in Pathology Units of two different hospitals.
Three monitoring methods have been adopted: passive, active and in-continuous techniques have been tested and their outcomes analysed. Potential hazards for operators’ health have been identified during the performance of several tasks, being measured formaldehyde levels clearly above the TLV-C set by US ACGIH (0.3 ppm). From circumstances observed during monitoring, some misuses have been identified as well as inappropriateness of some organisational, logistic, and mitigation factors leading to high level of exposure (even above 1 ppm). Exposure Scenarios for critical tasks have been presented, including operational conditions, formaldehyde levels detected by the three techniques, possible causes of rises above the TLV-C, and proposed RMMs .
Due to intrinsic properties of formaldehyde, its release from formalin solution is unavoidable, thus the implementation of RMMs is particularly crucial to avoid excessive exposure of operators. Much can be done in order to reduce critical situations, but measures to put into practice must be shared within all personnel working in the Unit. Less problematic alternatives (i.e. glutaraldehyde) should be also taken into account, considering the current debate on carcinogenicity and being formaldehyde in revision of classification at EU level as a consequence of a French request to place it among Carcinogens Category 1.
Proposed RMMs have started to be put into place by Prevention and Protection Service of both hospitals. Very soon after their implementation another monitoring survey is foreseen, in order to check their effectiveness and appropriateness
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
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902
No full textIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
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