Introduction. In spite of its low incidence, childhood cancer is becoming increasingly more relevant in Argentina. More advances have been made in cancer treatment than in the study of its etiology or determining factors. There are no investigations that analyze its spatial and temporal distribution or potential clustering. Objective. To perform exploratory spatial and temporal analyses based on the database of the Registry of Tumors of the Province of Córdoba (2004Córdoba ( -2013 to determine the clustering of childhood cancer incidence in Córdoba (Argentina). Populations and methods. Epidemiological, retrospective, ecological study. Data from 1098 patients with malignancies aged 0-14 years old from the Registry of Tumors of the Province of Córdoba (2004Córdoba ( -2013 were used. A geographic information system model was developed. The presence of spatial, temporal, and spatialtemporal clusters was analyzed in the districts of Córdoba using the SaTScan software. Results. Spatial clusters were detected, with a high number of cases, for total tumors (p= 0.01), leukemias (p= 0.02), malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, hematopoietic and related tissue (p= 0.03), central nervous system tumors (p= 0.03), and a high level of indicators of risk for renal tumors (p= 0.01). In addition, a temporal cluster (p= 0.01) and a spatial-temporal cluster (p= 0.02) for neuroblastoma and other peripheral nervous cell tumors were also observed. Conclusions. Significant clusters were determined, with important associated indicators observed in several districts of Córdoba. This is the first methodological step towards the development of new investigations on the risk factors for childhood cancer and its etiology.
The agro-industrial production of genetically modified organisms uses great amounts of pesticides, close to cities, which generates growing concern due to the numerous evidence of their negative effects on health and the environment. In a context of the lack, or inaccessibility, of official data on crop dynamics and pesticide use, environmental indicators using satellite data are needed for the proper monitoring of peri-urban areas. The objective of this research is to make a crop proximity index using satellite information to assess and monitor peri-urban agro-industrial activity. Twenty cities in Argentina and ten in the United States were selected. The CPI index is designed to evaluate a city and its peri-urban areas as a whole by taking account of the land uses and factors that can potentially influence the proximity to agro-industrial activity to the population living in those cities. Agriculture factor was weighted by proximity or remoteness using perimeter rings from the urban edge. All the necessary data for the calculation of the CPI index were obtained through the classification and processing of Sentinel 2 satellite images with software and the Google Earth Engine platform. The results show a worrying situation, 90% of cities in Argentina and 80% in the United States have a negative CPI. Most of the cities examined are extremely close to extensive areas of crops, that use a high amount of pesticides and which do not have the protection of trees or buffer zones.
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