A model of magnetic order in hexagonal HoMnO3

Symmetry arguments are used to develop a spin Hamiltonian for the description of the complex magnetic ordering in HoMnO$_3$. Using a novel application of the Landau Lifshitz Gilbert dynamic torque equations to this model of the frustrated Mn ions on an $AB$ stacked triangular antiferromagnetic, it is shown that the four principal spin configurations observed in this compound are stabilized. Ho-Mn coupling is found to be a consequence of an unusual trigonal anisotropy term which is responsible for simultaneous Mn spin reorientation and onset of Ho magnetic order. Based on these microscopic considerations, a mean-field Landau-type free energy is derived which reproduces the succession of observed temperature driven magnetic phase transitions at zero field, including re-entrant behavior. In addition, our analysis suggests that the basal-plane magnetic order should be slightly incommensurate with the lattice.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Urbanization and mortality in Britain, c. 1800-50.

In the long-running debate over standards of living during the industrial revolution, pessimists have identified deteriorating health conditions in towns as undermining the positive effects of rising real incomes on the 'biological standard of living'. This article reviews long-run historical relationships between urbanization and epidemiological trends in England, and then addresses the specific question: did mortality rise especially in rapidly growing industrial and manufacturing towns in the period c. 1830-50? Using comparative data for British, European, and American cities and selected rural populations, this study finds good evidence for widespread increases in mortality in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. However, this phenomenon was not confined to 'new' or industrial towns. Instead, mortality rose in the 1830s especially among young children (aged one to four years) in a wide range of populations and environments. This pattern of heightened mortality extended between c. 1830 and c. 1870, and coincided with a well-established rise and decline in scarlet fever virulence and mortality. The evidence presented here therefore supports claims that mortality worsened for young children in the middle decades of the nineteenth century, but also indicates that this phenomenon was more geographically ubiquitous, less severe, and less chronologically concentrated than previously argued.Leverhulme Trust (award RPG-2012-803) Wellcome Trust (award no. 103322

Assessment of factors associated with complete immunization coverage in children aged 12-23 months: a cross-sectional study in Nouna district, Burkina Faso

This study identifies specific factors associated with immunization status in Nouna health district (Burkina Faso) in order to advance improved intervention strategies in this district and in those with similar environmental and social contexts. While comprehensive communication may improve understanding about immunization, local interventions should also take into account religious specificities and critical economic periods. Communication problems need to be examined; for instance, many respondents did not understand what the health workers wanted; and or they assumed their child was already totally immunized. Particular approaches that take into consideration local distinctions need to be applied

Population-Based Incidence of Typhoid Fever in an Urban Informal Settlement and a Rural Area in Kenya: Implications for Typhoid Vaccine Use in Africa

Background: High rates of typhoid fever in children in urban settings in Asia have led to focus on childhood immunization in Asian cities, but not in Africa, where data, mostly from rural areas, have shown low disease incidence. We set out to compare incidence of typhoid fever in a densely populated urban slum and a rural community in Kenya, hypothesizing higher rates in the urban area, given crowding and suboptimal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Methods: During 2007-9, we conducted population-based surveillance in Kibera, an urban informal settlement in Nairobi, and in Lwak, a rural area in western Kenya. Participants had free access to study clinics; field workers visited their homes biweekly to collect information about acute illnesses. In clinic, blood cultures were processed from patients with fever or pneumonia. Crude and adjusted incidence rates were calculated. Results: In the urban site, the overall crude incidence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) bacteremia was 247 cases per 100,000 person-years of observation (pyo) with highest rates in children 5–9 years old (596 per 100,000 pyo) and 2–4 years old (521 per 100,000 pyo). Crude overall incidence in Lwak was 29 cases per 100,000 pyo with low rates in children 2–4 and 5–9 years old (28 and 18 cases per 100,000 pyo, respectively). Adjusted incidence rates were highest in 2–4 year old urban children (2,243 per 100,000 pyo) which were.15-fold higher than rates in the rural site for the same age group

The impact of breastfeeding patterns on regional differences in infant mortality in Germany, 1910

This paper examines the impact of breastfeeding practices on the large regional differences in infant mortality in Germany around 1910. Breastfeeding is strongly negatively associated with infant mortality and remains so after controlling for public health measures and for demographic, economic, and social factors that also affect infant mortality. But it contributes much less to regional differences in infant mortality than do access to medical care, percentage illegitimate and marital fertility. Breastfeeding is less important than these other factors because it affects fewer causes of death and has a smaller impact on cause-specific infant mortality rates. L'auteur étudie l'impact des pratiques d'allaitement sur les grandes différences régionales de mortalité infantile observées en Allemagne aux alentours de 1910. Il existe une association fortement négative entre l'allaitement et la mortalité infantile, même quand on contrôle les facteurs démographiques, économiques, sociaux et de politique sanitaire, qui, eux aussi, affectent la mortalité infantile. Mais les différences régionales de mortalité infantile s'expliquent nettement moins par l'allaitement que par l'accessibilité des soins médicaux, le taux d'illégitimité des naissances et la fécondité légitime. L'allaitement est un facteur de moindre importance que ceux-ci parce qu'il n'a d'impact que sur un petit nombre de causes de décès, et un faible impact sur les taux de mortalité infantile par cause.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42730/1/10680_2005_Article_BF01796777.pd

Zájmové skupiny věnující se uprchlíkům a rámování tohoto tématu v České republice ve světle války na Ukrajině

Department of International RelationsKatedra mezinárodních vztahůFaculty of Social SciencesFakulta sociálních vě