OBJECTIVE The correlation between high body mass index and outcomes after esophagectomy has not been systematically addressed. Some studies have shown that patients with a high body mass index had better overall survival and disease-free survival compared with those with a normal/low body mass index, whereas others have shown that the body mass index was not of prognostic value. METHODS Ninet...

Sea-ice hazard causes serious harm to aquaculture, marine navigation, offshore oil production and other activities in the Bohai Sea, China. To study the spatial distribution characteristics of sea-ice-hazard risk in Bohai is therefore desirable. The thickness and area of sea ice in the Bohai Sea during the winters (December–March) of 1987–2011 were estimated using data from the NOAA (US Nationa...

Background: The natural radioactivity levels in ceramic tiles produced in Turkey were determined and the related radiological hazards were assessed. Materials and Methods: The natural radioactivity levels (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) in the ceramic tiles were measured using high-purity germanium detector system (HPGe) and the related radiological hazards were assessed by radium equivalent activity (R...

ABSTRACT- Overgrazing accelerates soil and vegetation degradation in rangelands. This study aimed to assess livestock pressure on natural resources of Khuzestan province, located in the south western part of Iran, using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and a model-based procedure. FAO/UNEP Model which uses a ratio of potential carrying capacity of region to current liv...

Background: There have been growing concerns about environmental pollution and public health issues associated with metal(loid)s and radionuclides. As a baseline for monitorisation, radioactivity and specific metal(loid) levels have been measured to investigate the estimated environmental health risks in Igdir province at the Turkish side of the border, in the vicinity of the Metsamor Nuclear P...

An erosion hazard index methodology (EHIM) was developed for assessing stream erosion. The index of stream erosion is designed as a management tool. Assessing stream erosion involves consideration of a range of aspects of streams and a value judgment about a desirable state. The assessment of the erosion indicators of streams was based on a state-wide assessment of physical stream condition. A ...

BACKGROUND Body fat distribution has been cross-sectionally associated with atherosclerotic disease risk factors, but the prospective relation with coronary heart disease remains uncertain. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined the prospective relation between fat distribution indices and coronary heart disease among 24,508 men and women 45 to 79 years of age using proportional hazards regression. ...

To evaluate worker's exposure to mixed solvents, equations for the calculation of the biological hazard index, which is defined as biological levels tolerable for exposure to mixture, were developed. When biological levels of exposure indicators were not affected by coexposure, rules similar to those for airborne monitoring could be applied. Namely, when the components had additive effects, the...

Most of the world’s poor face large risks, which affect their investment decisions and contribute to the perpetuation of poverty (Karlan et al. forthcoming). In this context, insurance products targeted at the poor are seen as having substantial promise, as opportunities both to make pro!t and to improve ef!ciency and social welfare. The marketing of insurance products to the poor has faced two...