Relationship between caregivers’ income generation activities and their children’s animal source food intake

Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project provided financial and technical support for caregivers’ Income Generation Activities (IGA) with the aim of increasing their access to Animal Source Foods (ASF) for improved child nutrition. Using baseline data from the ENAM project, this study assessed the relationship between the type of caregivers’ IGA -whether it is related to ASF [ASF-R] or unrelated [ASF-U] - and the quantity and diversity of ASF consumed by their children. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on household socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and children’s ASF consumption in the past week from 530 caregivers of children 2-to5 years old in 12 communities in three agro-ecological zones of Ghana. A weighed food record of children’s dietary intakes was also completed during two 12-hour home observations on a randomly selected sample of 117 children. Approximately 6% (n=32) of caregivers were not engaged in any IGA. Of the caregivers who were involved in an IGA (n=498), approximately one-third of them were engaged in an ASF-R IGA, such as selling smoked fish, selling eggs and the selling cooked food that included ASF. Caregivers (67%) were engaged in ASF-U IGA, such as crop farming, petty trading in non ASF items and artisanal work. The quantity and diversity of ASF consumed by the children did not differ (p=0.988 and p=0.593, respectively) by the type of caregiver IGA. However, after accounting for agro-ecological zone, being involved in an ASF-R IGA positively predicted children’s ASF diversity (p<0.001). The number of children in the household negatively predicted children’s ASF diversity (p=0.011) whereas high/medium household wealth status tended to be positively associated with ASF diversity (p=0.064).The study suggested that there is need to promote ASF-R IGA among caregivers to increase the ability to purchase more varied and nutritious food items for improving children’s growth

Metabolic syndrome among individuals living with hypertension in Accra, Ghana

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major risk factor to cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we investigate the prevalence and associated risky behaviour of MetS in resource-poor urban communities in Accra, Ghana. We analysed data on 111 persons with hypertension, screened and recruited for a therapeutic lifestyle intervention program in August 2015. MetS was measured using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization definitions. The prevalence of MetS was 58.4% and 16.8% by the IDF and WHO definitions respectively. More women (61.8%) compared to men (31.8%) had MetS (p = 0.011). Approximately 31% of the hypertensive patients were engaged in moderate-intensity physical activity; 9.0% were current smokers, 42.0% consumed excess alcohol over the past month prior to the interview and 41.0% discontinued taking their antihypertensive medications without consulting with a doctor. About 42.0% and 37.0% of respondents always consumed fruits and vegetables respectively at least two times a day. The binary logistic regression showed that compared to women, men had lower odds of consuming two or more servings of vegetable in a day (OR: 0.2; 95% CI; 0.1, 0.8). Increase in age was associated with higher odds of consuming fruits at least twice a day (1.0; 1.0, 1.1) but with lower odds of engaging in moderate intensity physical activity (0.9; 0.8, 1.0). Being married was associated with higher odds of engaging in moderate physical activity (2.8; 1.0, 8.2). Therapeutic methods essential for the management of patients with hypertension and MetS should include non-pharmacological remedies targeting the promotion of medication adherence, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and physical activities; these are vital to changing unhealthy lifestyle which worsens the underlying pathology

Obesity and diabetes mellitus association in rural community of Katana, South Kivu, in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo : Bukavu Observ Cohort study results

Background: Factual data exploring the relationship between obesity and diabetes mellitus prevalence from rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa remain scattered and are unreliable. To address this scarceness, this work reports population study data describing the relationship between the obesity and the diabetes mellitus in the general population of the rural area of Katana (South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Methods: A cohort of three thousand, nine hundred, and sixty-two (3962) adults (>15 years old) were followed between 2012 and 2015 (or 4105 person-years during the observation period), and data were collected using the locally adjusted World Health Organization's (WHO) STEPwise approach to Surveillance (STEPS) methodology. The hazard ratio for progression of obesity was calculated. The association between diabetes mellitus and obesity was analyzed with logistic regression. Results: The diabetes mellitus prevalence was 2.8 % versus 3.5 % for obese participants and 7.2 % for those with metabolic syndrome, respectively. Within the diabetes group, 26.9 % had above-normal waist circumference and only 9.8 % were obese. During the median follow-up period of 2 years, the incidence of obesity was 535/100,000 person-years. During the follow-up, the prevalence of abdominal obesity significantly increased by 23 % (p < 0.0001), whereas the increased prevalence of general obesity (7.8 %) was not significant (p = 0.53). Finally, diabetes mellitus was independently associated with age, waist circumference, and blood pressure but not body mass index. Conclusion: This study confirms an association between diabetes mellitus and abdominal obesity but not with general obesity. On the other hand, the rapid increase in abdominal obesity prevalence in this rural area population within the follow-up period calls for the urgent promoting of preventive lifestyle measures

Operational Significance of Discord Consumption: Theory and Experiment

Coherent interactions that generate negligible entanglement can still exhibit unique quantum behaviour. This observation has motivated a search beyond entanglement for a complete description of all quantum correlations. Quantum discord is a promising candidate. Here, we demonstrate that under certain measurement constraints, discord between bipartite systems can be consumed to encode information that can only be accessed by coherent quantum interactions. The inability to access this information by any other means allows us to use discord to directly quantify this `quantum advantage'. We experimentally encode information within the discordant correlations of two separable Gaussian states. The amount of extra information recovered by coherent interaction is quantified and directly linked with the discord consumed during encoding. No entanglement exists at any point of this experiment. Thus we introduce and demonstrate an operational method to use discord as a physical resource.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, updated with Nature Physics Reference, simplified proof in Appendi

Analysing and Recommending Options for Maintaining Universal Coverage with Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets: The Case of Tanzania in 2011.

Tanzania achieved universal coverage with long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in October 2011, after three years of free mass net distribution campaigns and is now faced with the challenge of maintaining high coverage as nets wear out and the population grows. A process of exploring options for a continuous or "Keep-Up" distribution system was initiated in early 2011. This paper presents for the first time a comprehensive national process to review the major considerations, findings and recommendations for the implementation of a new strategy. Stakeholder meetings and site visits were conducted in five locations in Tanzania to garner stakeholder input on the proposed distribution systems. Coverage levels for LLINs and their decline over time were modelled using NetCALC software, taking realistic net decay rates, current demographic profiles and other relevant parameters into consideration. Costs of the different distribution systems were estimated using local data. LLIN delivery was considered via mass campaigns, Antenatal Care-Expanded Programme on Immunization (ANC/EPI), community-based distribution, schools, the commercial sector and different combinations of the above. Most approaches appeared unlikely to maintain universal coverage when used alone. Mass campaigns, even when combined with a continuation of the Tanzania National Voucher Scheme (TNVS), would produce large temporal fluctuations in coverage levels; over 10 years this strategy would require 63.3 million LLINs and a total cost of $444 million USD. Community mechanisms, while able to deliver the required numbers of LLINs, would require a massive scale-up in monitoring, evaluation and supervision systems to ensure accurate application of identification criteria at the community level. School-based approaches combined with the existing TNVS would reach most Tanzanian households and deliver 65.4 million LLINs over 10 years at a total cost of$449 million USD and ensure continuous coverage. The cost of each strategy was largely driven by the number of LLINs delivered. The most cost-efficient strategy to maintain universal coverage is one that best optimizes the numbers of LLINs needed over time. A school-based approach using vouchers targeting all students in Standards 1, 3, 5, 7 and Forms 1 and 2 in combination with the TNVS appears to meet best the criteria of effectiveness, equity and efficiency

p3d – Python module for structural bioinformatics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-throughput bioinformatic analysis tools are needed to mine the large amount of structural data via knowledge based approaches. The development of such tools requires a robust interface to access the structural data in an easy way. For this the Python scripting language is the optimal choice since its philosophy is to write an understandable source code.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>p3d is an object oriented Python module that adds a simple yet powerful interface to the Python interpreter to process and analyse three dimensional protein structure files (PDB files). p3d's strength arises from the combination of a) very fast spatial access to the structural data due to the implementation of a binary space partitioning (BSP) tree, b) set theory and c) functions that allow to combine a and b and that use human readable language in the search queries rather than complex computer language. All these factors combined facilitate the rapid development of bioinformatic tools that can perform quick and complex analyses of protein structures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>p3d is the perfect tool to quickly develop tools for structural bioinformatics using the Python scripting language.</p

Large tunable valley splitting in edge-free graphene quantum dots on boron nitride

Coherent manipulation of binary degrees of freedom is at the heart of modern quantum technologies. Graphene offers two binary degrees: the electron spin and the valley. Efficient spin control has been demonstrated in many solid state systems, while exploitation of the valley has only recently been started, yet without control on the single electron level. Here, we show that van-der Waals stacking of graphene onto hexagonal boron nitride offers a natural platform for valley control. We use a graphene quantum dot induced by the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and demonstrate valley splitting that is tunable from -5 to +10 meV (including valley inversion) by sub-10-nm displacements of the quantum dot position. This boosts the range of controlled valley splitting by about one order of magnitude. The tunable inversion of spin and valley states should enable coherent superposition of these degrees of freedom as a first step towards graphene-based qubits

Bayesian Fit of Exclusive b→sℓˉℓb \to s \bar\ell\ell Decays: The Standard Model Operator Basis

We perform a model-independent fit of the short-distance couplings $C_{7,9,10}$ within the Standard Model set of $b\to s\gamma$ and $b\to s\bar\ell\ell$ operators. Our analysis of $B \to K^* \gamma$, $B \to K^{(*)} \bar\ell\ell$ and $B_s \to \bar\mu\mu$ decays is the first to harness the full power of the Bayesian approach: all major sources of theory uncertainty explicitly enter as nuisance parameters. Exploiting the latest measurements, the fit reveals a flipped-sign solution in addition to a Standard-Model-like solution for the couplings $C_i$. Each solution contains about half of the posterior probability, and both have nearly equal goodness of fit. The Standard Model prediction is close to the best-fit point. No New Physics contributions are necessary to describe the current data. Benefitting from the improved posterior knowledge of the nuisance parameters, we predict ranges for currently unmeasured, optimized observables in the angular distributions of $B\to K^*(\to K\pi)\,\bar\ell\ell$.Comment: 42 pages, 8 figures; v2: Using new lattice input for f_Bs, considering Bs-mixing effects in BR[B_s->ll]. Main results and conclusion unchanged, matches journal versio