Background:The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)became a global pandemic within several months after it was first reported at the end of December,2019.Countries in the Northern Hemisphere have been affected the most,...Background:The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)became a global pandemic within several months after it was first reported at the end of December,2019.Countries in the Northern Hemisphere have been affected the most,including the United States and European countries.Contrary to the common knowledge that infectious diseases are more prevalent in low-and middle-income countries,COVID-19 appears to affect wealthy countries more.This paper attempts to quantify the relationship between COVID-19 infections and levels of economic development with data from the U.S.and Europe.Methods:Public domain data on the confirmed COVID-19 cases during January 1 and May 31,2020 by states and territories in the U.S.and by countries in Europe were included.Incidence rate was estimated using the 2019 total population.COVID-19 cases were associated with 2019 gross domestic product(GDP)using regression models after a logarithmic transformation of the data.The U.S.data and European data were analyzed separately,considering significant heterogeneity between the two.Results:A total of 2451691 COVID-19 cases during a 5-month period were analyzed,including 1787414 from 50 U.S.states and territories and 664277 from 28 European countries.The overall incidence rate was 5.393/1000 for the U.S.and 1.411/1000 for European countries with large variations.Lg(total cases)was significantly associated with lg(GDP)for U.S.states(=1.2579,P<0.001)and European countries(=0.7156,P<0.001),respectively.Conclusion:This study demonstrated a positive correlation between COVID-19 case incidence and GDP in the United States and 28 European countries.Study findings suggest a potential role of high-level development in facilitating infectious disease spread,such as more advanced transportation system,large metropolitan cities with high population density,better domestic and international travel for businesses,leisure,and more group activities.These factors must be considered in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic.This study focuses on the impact of economic development,many other factors might also have contributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in these countries and states,such as differences in national and statewide anti-epidemic strategies,people's behavior,and healthcare systems.Besides,low-and middle-income countries may have an artificially low COVID-19 case count just due to lack of diagnostic capabilities.Findings of this study also encourage future research with individual-level data to detect risk factors at the personal level to understand the risk of COVID-19.展开更多
AIM: To compare the racial differences of anatomical distribution of colorectal cancer (CRC) and determine the association of age, gender and time with anatomical distribution between patients from America (white) and...AIM: To compare the racial differences of anatomical distribution of colorectal cancer (CRC) and determine the association of age, gender and time with anatomical distribution between patients from America (white) and China (oriental).METHODS: Data was collected from 690 consecutive patients in Cleveland Clinic Florida, U.S.A. and 870consecutive patients in Nan Fang Hospital affiliated to the First Military Medical University, China over the past 11years from 1990 to 2000. All patients had colorectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed by histology and underwent surgery.RESULTS: The anatomical subsite distribution of tumor,age and gender were significantly different between white and oriental patients. Lesions in the proximal colon (P＜0.001) were found in 36.3 % of white vs 26.0 % of oriental patients and cancers located in the distal colon and rectum in 63.7 % of white and 74 % of oriental patients (P＜0.001). There was a trend towards the redistribution from distal colon and rectum to proximal colon in white males over time, especially in older patients (＞80 years).No significant change of anatomical distribution occurred in white women and Oriental patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 69.0 years in white patients and 48.3 years in Oriental patients (P＜0.001).CONCLUSION: This is the first study comparing the anatomical distribution of colorectal cancers in whites and Chinese patients. White Americans have a higher risk of proximal CRC and this risk increased with time. The proportion of white males with CRC also increased with time.Chinese patients were more likely to have distal CRC and developed the disease at a significantly earlier age than white patients. These findings have enhanced our understanding of the disease process of colorectal cancer in these two races.展开更多
Purpose： In this contribution, we want to detect the document type profiles of the three prestigious journals Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States （PNAS） with re...Purpose： In this contribution, we want to detect the document type profiles of the three prestigious journals Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States （PNAS） with regard to two levels： journal and country. Design/methodology/approach： Using relative values based on fractional counting, we investigate the distribution of publications across document types at both the journal and country level, and we use （cosine） document type profile similarity values to compare pairs of publication years within countries. Findings： Nature and Science mainly publish Editorial Material, Article, News Item and Letter, whereas the publications of PNAS are heavily concentrated on Article. The shares of Article for Nature and Science are decreasing slightly from 1999 to 2014, while the corresponding shares of Editorial Material are increasing. Most studied countries focus on Article and Letter in Nature, but on Letter in Science and PNAS. The document type profiles of some of the studied countries change to a relatively large extent over publication years. Research limitations： The main limitation of this research concerns the Web of Science classification of publications into document types. Since the analysis of the paper is based on document types of Web of Science, the classification in question is not free from errors, and the accuracy of the analysis might be affected.Practical implications： Results show that Nature and Science are quite diversified with regard to document types. In bibliometric assessments, where publications in Nature and Science play a role, other document types than Article and Review might therefore be taken into account. Originality/value： Results highlight the importance of other document types than Article and Review in Nature and Science. Large differences are also found when comparing the country document type profiles of the three journals with the corresponding profiles in all Web of Science journals.展开更多
The European Union(EU)and the United States(US)determine municipal solid waste(MSW)statistics differently.The EU applies a site-specific methodology that directly measures waste whereas the US employs a materials flow...The European Union(EU)and the United States(US)determine municipal solid waste(MSW)statistics differently.The EU applies a site-specific methodology that directly measures waste whereas the US employs a materials flow methodology that estimates MSW statistics indirectly based on production and recovery data from industries.This study dissects the materials flow methodology and presents quantitative materials flow Sankey diagrams for the primary MSW materials to highlight data gaps that can be addressed to improve the methodology’s accuracy.Private industry plastics data were applied to the materials flow methodology,and the results were within 10%of the plastics statistics reported by the US Environmental Protection Agency(US EPA).Drawbacks to the methodologies include EU measurement inaccuracies due to double-counting and not accounting for residual waste in the US.The latter may partially explain why landfilling tonnages reported by the US EPA were approximately 60%less than the tonnages reported by the Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council(WTERT)in its national MSW survey that applied the EU methodology in the US.Unlike the EU,there is no US national policy that requires states to measure and report state-level waste data to the US EPA.Future improvements in US MSW statistics rely heavily on the implementation of national policies to homogenize the measurement and collection of waste data from states.展开更多
文摘Background:The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)became a global pandemic within several months after it was first reported at the end of December,2019.Countries in the Northern Hemisphere have been affected the most,including the United States and European countries.Contrary to the common knowledge that infectious diseases are more prevalent in low-and middle-income countries,COVID-19 appears to affect wealthy countries more.This paper attempts to quantify the relationship between COVID-19 infections and levels of economic development with data from the U.S.and Europe.Methods:Public domain data on the confirmed COVID-19 cases during January 1 and May 31,2020 by states and territories in the U.S.and by countries in Europe were included.Incidence rate was estimated using the 2019 total population.COVID-19 cases were associated with 2019 gross domestic product(GDP)using regression models after a logarithmic transformation of the data.The U.S.data and European data were analyzed separately,considering significant heterogeneity between the two.Results:A total of 2451691 COVID-19 cases during a 5-month period were analyzed,including 1787414 from 50 U.S.states and territories and 664277 from 28 European countries.The overall incidence rate was 5.393/1000 for the U.S.and 1.411/1000 for European countries with large variations.Lg(total cases)was significantly associated with lg(GDP)for U.S.states(=1.2579,P<0.001)and European countries(=0.7156,P<0.001),respectively.Conclusion:This study demonstrated a positive correlation between COVID-19 case incidence and GDP in the United States and 28 European countries.Study findings suggest a potential role of high-level development in facilitating infectious disease spread,such as more advanced transportation system,large metropolitan cities with high population density,better domestic and international travel for businesses,leisure,and more group activities.These factors must be considered in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic.This study focuses on the impact of economic development,many other factors might also have contributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in these countries and states,such as differences in national and statewide anti-epidemic strategies,people's behavior,and healthcare systems.Besides,low-and middle-income countries may have an artificially low COVID-19 case count just due to lack of diagnostic capabilities.Findings of this study also encourage future research with individual-level data to detect risk factors at the personal level to understand the risk of COVID-19.
文摘AIM: To compare the racial differences of anatomical distribution of colorectal cancer (CRC) and determine the association of age, gender and time with anatomical distribution between patients from America (white) and China (oriental).METHODS: Data was collected from 690 consecutive patients in Cleveland Clinic Florida, U.S.A. and 870consecutive patients in Nan Fang Hospital affiliated to the First Military Medical University, China over the past 11years from 1990 to 2000. All patients had colorectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed by histology and underwent surgery.RESULTS: The anatomical subsite distribution of tumor,age and gender were significantly different between white and oriental patients. Lesions in the proximal colon (P＜0.001) were found in 36.3 % of white vs 26.0 % of oriental patients and cancers located in the distal colon and rectum in 63.7 % of white and 74 % of oriental patients (P＜0.001). There was a trend towards the redistribution from distal colon and rectum to proximal colon in white males over time, especially in older patients (＞80 years).No significant change of anatomical distribution occurred in white women and Oriental patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 69.0 years in white patients and 48.3 years in Oriental patients (P＜0.001).CONCLUSION: This is the first study comparing the anatomical distribution of colorectal cancers in whites and Chinese patients. White Americans have a higher risk of proximal CRC and this risk increased with time. The proportion of white males with CRC also increased with time.Chinese patients were more likely to have distal CRC and developed the disease at a significantly earlier age than white patients. These findings have enhanced our understanding of the disease process of colorectal cancer in these two races.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.:L1524037)
文摘Purpose： In this contribution, we want to detect the document type profiles of the three prestigious journals Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States （PNAS） with regard to two levels： journal and country. Design/methodology/approach： Using relative values based on fractional counting, we investigate the distribution of publications across document types at both the journal and country level, and we use （cosine） document type profile similarity values to compare pairs of publication years within countries. Findings： Nature and Science mainly publish Editorial Material, Article, News Item and Letter, whereas the publications of PNAS are heavily concentrated on Article. The shares of Article for Nature and Science are decreasing slightly from 1999 to 2014, while the corresponding shares of Editorial Material are increasing. Most studied countries focus on Article and Letter in Nature, but on Letter in Science and PNAS. The document type profiles of some of the studied countries change to a relatively large extent over publication years. Research limitations： The main limitation of this research concerns the Web of Science classification of publications into document types. Since the analysis of the paper is based on document types of Web of Science, the classification in question is not free from errors, and the accuracy of the analysis might be affected.Practical implications： Results show that Nature and Science are quite diversified with regard to document types. In bibliometric assessments, where publications in Nature and Science play a role, other document types than Article and Review might therefore be taken into account. Originality/value： Results highlight the importance of other document types than Article and Review in Nature and Science. Large differences are also found when comparing the country document type profiles of the three journals with the corresponding profiles in all Web of Science journals.
文摘The European Union(EU)and the United States(US)determine municipal solid waste(MSW)statistics differently.The EU applies a site-specific methodology that directly measures waste whereas the US employs a materials flow methodology that estimates MSW statistics indirectly based on production and recovery data from industries.This study dissects the materials flow methodology and presents quantitative materials flow Sankey diagrams for the primary MSW materials to highlight data gaps that can be addressed to improve the methodology’s accuracy.Private industry plastics data were applied to the materials flow methodology,and the results were within 10%of the plastics statistics reported by the US Environmental Protection Agency(US EPA).Drawbacks to the methodologies include EU measurement inaccuracies due to double-counting and not accounting for residual waste in the US.The latter may partially explain why landfilling tonnages reported by the US EPA were approximately 60%less than the tonnages reported by the Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council(WTERT)in its national MSW survey that applied the EU methodology in the US.Unlike the EU,there is no US national policy that requires states to measure and report state-level waste data to the US EPA.Future improvements in US MSW statistics rely heavily on the implementation of national policies to homogenize the measurement and collection of waste data from states.
