Does Mother\u27s Migrant Status Affect Child Fostering in sub-Saharan Africa?: Evidence from Two Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya

Poster Presentation Children across sub-Saharan Africa reside in a variety of different living arrangements. In slum communities with high rates of circular migration and urban poverty, parents may choose alternative living arrangements for young children other than co-residence. Despite the importance of residence for child well-being, we know relatively little about the number of children out-fostered from slums and with whom they reside. Using birth history data from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System collected between 2005 and 2009, we will determine percentages of children under 15 living away from their mothers by mothers’ migrant status and duration of stay. We use logistic regression to analyze characteristics of migrant and non-migrant mothers in order to determine what may influence child fosterage out of Nairobi’s slum settlements. We find approximately 15% of children under age 15 live apart from their mothers, with mothers’ socio-demographic characteristics, child’s age, and mother’s migrant status associated with child fostering

"One hand does not bring up a child:" Child fostering among single mothers in Nairobi slums

Background: Childrearing in sub-Saharan Africa is often viewed as collaborative, where children benefit from support from kin. For single mothers living in informal settlements, kin networks may be highly dispersed and offer little day-to-day childrearing support, but may provide opportunities for child fostering. Objective: Our study uses a linked lives approach, where single mothers' connections with kin and romantic partners may influence whether - and what type of - kin are relied on to support child fostering. Methods: We leverage an innovative survey on the kin networks of 404 single mothers and 741 children, collected in 2016, and 41 in-depth interviews conducted in 2011 and 2013, to explore fostering among single mothers in Korogocho and Viwandani, two slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Results: Quantitative findings show 6.2Š of single mothers' children are fostered, with provision of emotional support associated with lower likelihood of fostering. Both quantitative and qualitative results reflect strong reliance on maternal kin. Maternal kin play a key role in fostering to protect children, to fulfill traditional lineage obligations, and due to their willingness to foster when others will not. Contribution: This study contributes to a growing body of research on the role of kin in contemporary fostering arrangements in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, we highlight fostering among a potentially highly vulnerable group: the children of single mothers in slum settlements. Sending children to live with kin may be an important coping strategy for single mothers, both to reduce the burden of raising children alone and to provide children with opportunities to grow up outside the slums

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

Migration and motherhood in sub-saharan Africa

Internal migration is a normal but complex part of life in sub-Saharan Africa. As women's migration rises in much of Africa, we must examine the consequences of migration for the lives of women and their children. This dissertation seeks to answer a central question: How does women's migration affect family dynamics and well-being in sub-Saharan Africa? I explore two dimensions of women's internal migration, focusing on maternal health and migrant women's relationships with children.In the first paper, I examine the association of mother's migration and child fostering. Specifically, I investigate whether migrant mothers foster their children more frequently than non-migrant women in slums, and whether economic and social disadvantage impact decisions about child residence. Using data collected in two slums of Nairobi, I find migrant women are significantly more likely to foster than non-migrant women, even controlling for economic and social precariousness. Though many women living in Nairobi's slums are disadvantaged, migrants who are unmarried and have fewer nearby kin to help buffer precarious slum conditions are at greater risk of fostering. In the second paper, I explore relationships between internal migrant mothers and the children they foster. Using qualitative data I collected in Nairobi in 2011 and 2013, I build on literature on child fostering in sub-Saharan Africa, where biological mothers often have no relationship with fostered children, and research on transnational motherhood which suggests international migrants use new strategies to parent their children. I find internal migrant mothers in Kenya actively pursue motherhood through long-distance mothering like transnational mothers. Specifically, migrant mothers living in Korogocho and Viwandani, like international migrants, migrate to support fostered children, in stark contrast to fostering arrangements where financial responsibility is shifted to foster parents. In addition to provision of goods and remittances, migrant mothers rely heavily on the provision of emotional care through communication to minimize emotional distance over time and space.In the final paper, I investigate the relationship between adolescent migration and maternal care use among young mothers. Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 27 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, I look at the role of place, disruption, and adaptation on whether young mothers use maternal care. Focusing on differences between non-migrants (rural, urban), lateral migrants (rural-rural, urban-urban), and non-lateral migrants (rural-urban, urban-rural), I find evidence of a strong, significant advantage in migration to urban versus rural areas. There are also lingering positive effects of urban residence for urban-rural migrants, who maintain high use of maternal care even after migration.Together, the papers of this dissertation contribute to a greater understanding of the mechanisms of women's migration for family dynamics and women's health. Through these studies, I highlight the importance of considering mother's migration on the lives of her children and in her own life. I show that migrant women in Kenya make difficult choices about child residence, choosing between exposing them to hazardous slum conditions and fostering them resulting in separation. These separations deeply affect mother-child relationships, with migrant women actively seeking innovative ways to mother children. These studies are among the first to explore dimensions of fostering among migrant women in slums, which are rapidly increasing in Africa. The final study focuses on implications of women's migration on health, targeting young mothers who are highly mobile and may experience disadvantage during these transitions. In focusing on these areas rarely examined in the context of women's migration, I demonstrate how maternal migration shapes well-being and family dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa.La migration est un aspect normal mais complexe de la vie familiale en Afrique subsaharienne. Comme les taux de migration des femmes augmentent, il est important d'examiner les conséquences de la migration sur la vie des femmes et de leurs enfants. Cette thèse cherche à répondre à une question centrale : comment la migration des femmes affecte-t-elle la dynamique familiale et le bien-être des femmes en Afrique subsaharienne ? J'examine deux dimensions de la migration des femmes : la santé maternelle et les relations mères-enfants.Dans le cadre du premier article, j'examine l'association entre la migration de la mère et le confiage des enfants. Je cherche à savoir si les mères migrantes confient leurs enfants plus fréquemment que les femmes non migrantes et si les désavantages influent sur les décisions. En utilisant les données recueillies à Nairobi, je conclus que le risque de confiage est beaucoup plus élevée chez les femmes migrantes que chez les femmes non migrantes, même en contrôlant pour leur précarité économique et sociale. Bien que de nombreuses femmes vivant dans les bidonvilles de Nairobi soient défavorisées, les migrantes qui ont moins de proches parents pour aider à les protéger des conditions précaires sont plus à risque de confier leurs enfants. Le deuxième article cherche à comprendre les relations entre les mères migrantes et les enfants qu'elles confient. À l'aide des données qualitatives recueillies à Nairobi en 2011 et 2013, je trouve que les mères migrantes au Kenya poursuivent activement des stratégies parentales similaires à celles utilisées par les mères transnationales. Les mères migrent souvent pour soutenir les enfants confiés, en contraste avec les stratégies de confiage où la responsabilité est souvent déléguée à la famille d'accueil. Au-delà des obligations financières, les mères migrantes comptent beaucoup sur la création de connexions émotionnelles. Dans le dernier article, j'étudie la relation entre la migration et l'utilisation des services de santé maternelle chez les jeunes mères. À l'aide des données recueillies dans 27 pays d'Afrique, j'examine le rôle de la place, de l'interruption, et de l'adaptation pour savoir si les jeunes mères migrantes ont accès aux soins de santé. En mettant l'accent sur les différences entre les non-migrants (ruraux, urbains), migrants entre zones semblables (rural-rural, urbain-urbain), et migrants entre zones dissemblables (rural-urbain, urbain-rural), j'identifie un avantage de la migration vers les zones urbaines. J'identifie aussi des effets positifs persistants de la résidence urbaine pour les migrants urbaines-rurales, même après la migration. À travers ces études, je souligne l'importance de considérer la migration de la mère sur la vie de ses enfants et dans sa propre vie. Je montre que les femmes migrantes qui se déplacent au Kenya font des choix difficiles au sujet de leurs enfants, choisissant d'une part les exposer à des conditions dans les bidonvilles et d'autre part les confier à une famille d'accueil. Ces séparations affectent profondément les relations mère-enfant, les femmes migrantes cherchant des nouvelles façons de prendre soin de leurs enfants. Ces études sont les premières à explorer les décisions concernant le confiage des femmes migrantes qui migrent vers des bidonvilles, qui se développent rapidement. La dernière étude se concentre sur les implications de la migration des femmes sur leur propre santé, ciblant les jeunes mères qui sont très mobiles et peuvent connaître un désavantage pendant ces transitions. En mettant l'accent sur ces domaines rarement examinés dans le contexte de la migration des femmes, je montre comment la migration maternelle informe le bien-être et la dynamique familiale en Afrique subsaharienne

Transitions to adulthood in urban Kenya: A focus on adolescent migrants

BACKGROUND Migration is often intrinsically tied to key adolescent transitions in sub-Saharan Africa. However, while many adolescents move in order to improve their life trajectories, migration may also coincide with new challenges and considerable disruption of family support. OBJECTIVE This paper seeks to better understand how migration and associated changes in family support are related to youth's prospects of finishing secondary school, finding employment, getting married, and initiating child-bearing. METHODS Drawing on detailed life history data from over 600 young men and women in Kisumu, Kenya, we use piecewise exponential survival analysis to examine how migration is related to key transitions to adulthood and how variation in family support moderates these relationships. All analyses are run separately for young men and women. RESULTS Migration is associated with a sharp decline in parental support and a corresponding rise in reliance on other relatives, partners, or one's self. For both men and women, migration also frequently coincides with a permanent exodus from school, which cannot be fully explained by changes in family support or transitions into marriage or work. We find strong evidence that young men move to Kisumu to obtain their first jobs and little evidence of subsequent discrimination against male migrants in the labor market. For young women, not only does migration coincide with marriage, but young female migrants also get married and become pregnant at younger ages after they have moved. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent migrants experience significantly lower levels of parental support, are more likely to drop out of school, and make earlier transitions to adult roles, potentially increasing their long-term economic and social vulnerability

Electronic spectroscopy of jet-cooled YbNH 3

We report the first spectroscopic study of a complex consisting of a rare earth atom in combination with ammonia. Using two-color resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy, the lowest energy electronic transition of YbNH(3) has been found in the near-infrared. The spectrum arises from a spin-forbidden transition between the (1)A(1) ground electronic state and the lowest (3)E excited electronic state. The transition is metal centered and approximately correlates with the Yb 6s6p (3)P ← 6s(2) (1)S transition. The observation of clear spin-orbit structure in the spectrum confirms the C(3v) symmetry of YbNH(3). Vibrational structure is also observed in the REMPI spectrum, which is dominated by excitation of the Yb-N stretching vibration

Effects of the different time length of heat treatments in E. coli K12 in raw shelled walnuts

Introduction: Escherichia coli (E. coli) are found in the environment, in animals, and are found on everyday food items. E. coli bacteria are very diverse and can live in different environments which can cause many problems in our food supply. E. coli can grow and survive in low water activity food like walnuts, and are also known to survive thermal heat treatments. Purpose: This study focuses on the effects of thermal heat on E. coli on walnuts and the duration of time it takes to kill the gram negative bacteria. Methods: The oven was set to 280⁰F, treatment one was a ten minute duration and treatment two was a twenty minute duration. The raw, shelled walnuts were inoculated with 107 CFU/ml E. coli concentration, divided into 10 gram bunches and were treated to the thermal heat. Once both treatments were applied to the inoculated walnuts they were placed in a stomacher bag for one minute. Three dilutions were applied; 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, and were placed on three different media plates; PCA, PDA, McConkey, and placed incubator at 95⁰F, for optimum growth. During the three day experiment a total of 270 plates, with a negative control, positive control, treatment one and treatment two were plated. Results: During the duration of this experiment there was no growth for the negative control. The positive control showed a two log reduction during the three days. Both treatments showed a decline in E. coli growth. The p-values for PCA <.0001, PDA < .001, and McConkey < .0002, all show that these treatments were significant. Therefore, using thermal heat Killed E. coli, and we reject the null hypothesis. Significance: The results of this study demonstrated the presence of E. coli on walnuts was killed with treatments one, and two