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Curtin University
AU
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2018 · JAMA Oncology · 1,548 citations
Global, Regional, and National Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for 29 Cancer Groups, 1990 to 2016
Importance: The increasing burden due to cancer and other noncommunicable diseases poses a threat to human development, which has resulted in global political commitments reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on Non-Communicable Diseases. To determine if these commitments have resulted in improved cancer control, quantitative assessments of the cancer burden are required. Objective: To assess the burden for 29 cancer groups over time to provide a framework for policy discussion, resource allocation, and research focus. Evidence Review: Cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were evaluated for 195 countries and territories by age and sex using the Global Burden of Disease study estimation methods. Levels and trends were analyzed over time, as well as by the Sociodemographic Index (SDI). Changes in incident cases were categorized by changes due to epidemiological vs demographic transition. Findings: In 2016, there were 17.2 million cancer cases worldwide and 8.9 million deaths. Cancer cases increased by 28% between 2006 and 2016. The smallest increase was seen in high SDI countries. Globally, population aging contributed 17%; population growth, 12%; and changes in age-specific rates, -1% to this change. The most common incident cancer globally for men was prostate cancer (1.4 million cases). The leading cause of cancer deaths and DALYs was tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer (1.2 million deaths and 25.4 million DALYs). For women, the most common incident cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths and DALYs was breast cancer (1.7 million incident cases, 535 000 deaths, and 14.9 million DALYs). In 2016, cancer caused 213.2 million DALYs globally for both sexes combined. Between 2006 and 2016, the average annual age-standardized incidence rates for all cancers combined increased in 130 of 195 countries or territories, and the average annual age-standardized death rates decreased within that timeframe in 143 of 195 countries or territories. Conclusions and Relevance: Large disparities exist between countries in cancer incidence, deaths, and associated disability. Scaling up cancer prevention and ensuring universal access to cancer care are required for health equity and to fulfill the global commitments for noncommunicable disease and cancer control.
2015 · Injury Prevention · 1,353 citations
The global burden of injury: incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years and time trends from the Global Burden of Disease study 2013
BACKGROUND: The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors study used the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. This paper provides an overview of injury estimates from the 2013 update of GBD, with detailed information on incidence, mortality, DALYs and rates of change from 1990 to 2013 for 26 causes of injury, globally, by region and by country. METHODS: Injury mortality was estimated using the extensive GBD mortality database, corrections for ill-defined cause of death and the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on inpatient and outpatient data sets, 26 cause-of-injury and 47 nature-of-injury categories, and seven follow-up studies with patient-reported long-term outcome measures. RESULTS: In 2013, 973 million (uncertainty interval (UI) 942 to 993) people sustained injuries that warranted some type of healthcare and 4.8 million (UI 4.5 to 5.1) people died from injuries. Between 1990 and 2013 the global age-standardised injury DALY rate decreased by 31% (UI 26% to 35%). The rate of decline in DALY rates was significant for 22 cause-of-injury categories, including all the major injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Injuries continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed and developing world. The decline in rates for almost all injuries is so prominent that it warrants a general statement that the world is becoming a safer place to live in. However, the patterns vary widely by cause, age, sex, region and time and there are still large improvements that need to be made.
1987 · Australian Journal of Ecology · 202 citations
Pollination biology of the Proteaceae in Australia and southern Africa
Abstract Proteaceae are most diverse in southern Africa and Australia, especially in the south‐western portions of these regions. Most genera have some species in flower at all times of the year, although generally there is a preponderance of species that flower between late winter and early summer. The one genus that is an exception to this generalization is Banksia, which either has approximately the same percentage of species in flower at various times of the year (southwestern Australia) or peaks in autumn (southeastern Australia). Within particular communities, opportunities for hybridization among congeneric species are minimized by staggered flowering times, different pollen vectors and/or various incompatibility mechanisms. Birds, mammals and arthropods have been identified as visitors to the inflorescences of many Proteaceae. The most common avian visitors to the majority of genera in Australia are honeyeaters, although lorikeets, silvereyes and approximately 40 other species sometimes may be important. Sugarbirds and sunbirds are seen most frequently at inflorescences of Protea, Leucospermum and Mimetes in southern Africa, although they rarely visit other genera. In most cases, avian visitors forage in a manner that permits the acquisition and transfer of pollen. Limited evidence supports the hypothesis that birds are selective in their choice of inflorescences, responding to morphological and/or colour changes and usually visiting those inflorescences that offer the greatest nectar rewards. Arthropods may be equally selective, although it is possible that only the larger moths, bees and beetles are important pollinators, even for those plant species that rely entirely on arthropods for pollen transfer. Mammals are pollen vectors for some Proteaceae, especially those that have geoflorous and/or cryptic inflorescences. In Australia, small marsupials may be the most important mammalian pollinators, although rodents fill this niche in at least some southern African habitats. All but two genera of Proteaceae are hermaphroditic and protandrous, the exceptions being the dioecious southern African genera Aulax and Leucadendron. For hermaphroditic species, the timing of visits by animals to inflorescences is such that they not only acquire pollen from freshly opened flowers but also brush against pollen presenters and stigmas of others that have lost self‐pollen and become receptive. Birds and insects (and probably mammals) generally forage in such a way as to facilitate both outcrossing and selfing. Some species are self‐compatible, although many require outcrossing if viable seed is to be formed. Regardless of which animals are the major pollen vectors, fruit set is low relative to the number of flowers available, especially in Australian habitats. Functional andromonoecy of the majority of flowers is advanced as the major cause of poor fruit set. The pollination biology and breeding systems of Australian and southern African Proteaceae resemble one another in many ways, partly because of their common ancestry, but also due to convergence. Divergence is less obvious, apart from the dichotomy between dioecious and hermaphroditic genera, and differences in the levels of seed set for Australian and African species. Future studies should concentrate on identifying the most important pollinators for various Proteaceae, the manner in which their visits are integrated with floral development and factors responsible for limiting fruit set.
1990 · Journal of Research in Science Teaching · 154 citations
The effect of concept mapping on students' anxiety and achievement in biology
Abstract The results of recent studies into the use of the concept mapping heuristic seem to demonstrate that meaningful learning results through its use in science classrooms. While this underscores the need to use more effective instructional strategies in science teaching, the issue of the intervening variable of anxiety in learning and science achievement, and the possible use of a metacognitive strategy in anxiety reduction have not been addressed. This study, therefore, sought to find out if the metacognitive strategy of concept mapping reduces anxiety and thereby enhances achievement in biology. A total of 51 (30 boys, 21 girls) senior secondary one (grade 10) students participated in this experiment. Two instruments—the Zuckerman Affect Adjective Checklist and the Biology Achievement Test—were used in pre‐ and posttest administrations to measure the treatment effect on anxiety and achievement, respectively. Findings support the stand that concept mapping is significantly more effective than the traditional/expository teaching strategy in enhancing learning in biology. In addition, it apparently reduces students' anxiety towards the learning of biology. A significant reduction of anxiety was noticed for male subjects.