Household expenditure for dental care in low and middle income countries.

This study assessed the extent of household catastrophic expenditure in dental health care and its possible determinants in 41 low and middle income countries. Data from 182,007 respondents aged 18 years and over (69,315 in 18 low income countries, 59,645 in 15 lower middle income countries and 53,047 in 8 upper middle income countries) who participated in the WHO World Health Survey (WHS) were analyzed. Expenditure in dental health care was defined as catastrophic if it was equal to or higher than 40% of the household capacity to pay. A number of individual and country-level factors were assessed as potential determinants of catastrophic dental health expenditure (CDHE) in multilevel logistic regression with individuals nested within countries. Up to 7% of households in low and middle income countries faced CDHE in the last 4 weeks. This proportion rose up to 35% among households that incurred some dental health expenditure within the same period. The multilevel model showed that wealthier, urban and larger households and more economically developed countries had higher odds of facing CDHE. The results of this study show that payments for dental health care can be a considerable burden on households, to the extent of preventing expenditure on basic necessities. They also help characterize households more likely to incur catastrophic expenditure on dental health care. Alternative health care financing strategies and policies targeted to improve fairness in financial contribution are urgently required in low and middle income countries

Microplastics in the Antarctic marine system: An emerging area of research

It was thought that the Southern Ocean was relatively free of microplastic contamination; however, recent studies and citizen science projects in the Southern Ocean have reported microplastics in deep-sea sediments and surface waters. Here we reviewed available information on microplastics (including macroplastics as a source of microplastics) in the Southern Ocean. We estimated primary microplastic concentrations from personal care products and laundry, and identified potential sources and routes of transmission into the region. Estimates showed the levels of microplastic pollution released into the region from ships and scientific research stations were likely to be negligible at the scale of the Southern Ocean, but may be significant on a local scale. This was demonstrated by the detection of the first microplastics in shallow benthic sediments close to a number of research stations on King George Island. Furthermore, our predictions of primary microplastic concentrations from local sources were five orders of magnitude lower than levels reported in published sampling surveys (assuming an even dispersal at the ocean surface). Sea surface transfer from lower latitudes may contribute, at an as yet unknown level, to Southern Ocean plastic concentrations. Acknowledging the lack of data describing microplastic origins, concentrations, distribution and impacts in the Southern Ocean, we highlight the urgent need for research, and call for routine, standardised monitoring in the Antarctic marine system

Live Demonstration: Multiplexing AER Asynchronous Channels over LVDS Links with Flow-Control and Clock- Correction for Scalable Neuromorphic Systems

In this live demonstration we exploit the use of a serial link for fast asynchronous communication in massively parallel processing platforms connected to a DVS for realtime implementation of bio-inspired vision processing on spiking neural networks

New notes on the nesting of some species of Northwestern Argentina birds

We present new dat on nesting of 12 bird species of the Yungas (montane forests ) of Salta and Jujuy provinces. We provide information on date, location, size, materials and contents of the nests. The nest and eggs of Atlapetes torquatus, apparently unknown, are described. Most avian species bred in the wet season, but Amazilia chionogaster nested in the dry season

Double burden of malnutrition as a risk factor for overweight and obesity

OBJECTIVE To assess the longitudinal effect of double burden of malnutrition (DBM) on the risk of developing child and adolescent overweight or obesity. METHODS Analysis of the Peruvian Young Lives Study, younger cohort: baseline (2002) and 4 follow-ups (2006–2007, 2009–2010, 2013–2014, and 2016–2017). Outcomes were the incidence of overweight and obesity as defined by the World Health Organization standards. The exposure comprised a variable with 4 categories: non-stunted child with a non-overweight mother (reference group), non-stunted child with an overweight mother, stunted child with a non-overweight mother, and stunted child with an overweight mother (i.e., DBM). Poisson regression models were built to assess the association of interest, and relative risks (RR) and 95%CI were reported. RESULTS Data from 2,034 children; 50.0% were girls and the mean age was 12.0 (3.6) months at baseline. Non-stunted children with an overweight mother had greater risk (RR = 1.64; 95%CI: 1.35–1.99) of developing overweight, compared with the risk for stunted children with a non-overweight mother (RR = 1.38; 95%CI: 1.10–1.72), and for those with DBM (RR = 1.28; 95%CI: 1.02–1.61). When compared with the reference group, obesity risk was greater among non-stunted children with an overweight mother (RR = 2.33; 95%CI: 1.68–3.22), greater among stunted children with a non-overweight mother (RR = 2.59; 95%CI: 1.75–3.84), and greater among those with DBM (RR = 2.14; 95%CI: 1.39–3.28). CONCLUSIONS DBM is a risk factor for childhood overweight and obesity in Peru. Dual-duty policies tackling both undernutrition in children and overweight in mothers are needed to reduce DBM and its future effects in Peru