Health insurance coverage and maternal healthcare services utilization in Jordan: evidence from the 2017–18 Jordan demographic and health survey

Background Despite the relationship between health insurance coverage and maternal healthcare services utilization, previous studies in Jordan on the use of maternal healthcare services have mainly focused on patterns and determinants of maternal healthcare services utilization in Jordan. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between health insurance coverage and maternal healthcare services utilization in Jordan. Methods This study used secondary data published in 2017-18 Jordan Demographic and Health Survey on 4656 women of reproductive age (15–49 years). The independent variable was health insurance coverage and the outcome variable was maternal healthcare services utilization, measured through timing of first antenatal visit, four or more antenatal care visits, and skilled birth attendance. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Results Out of the total number of women who participated in the study, 38.2% were not covered by health insurance. With maternal healthcare utilization, 12.5%, 23.2%, and 10.1% respectively, failed to make early first antenatal care visit, complete four or more antenatal care visits and have their delivery attended by a skilled worker. After controlling for the socio-demographic factors, health insurance coverage was associated with increased odds of early timing of first antenatal care visits and completion of four or more antenatal care visits (aOR = 1.33, p < 0.05, aOR = 1.25, p < 0.01, respectively). However, women who were covered by health insurance were less likely to use skilled birth attendance during delivery (aOR = 0.72 p < 0.001). Conclusions Jordanian women with health insurance coverage were more likely to have early first antenatal care visits and complete four or more antenatal care visits. However, they were less likely to have their delivery attended by a skilled professional. This study provides evidence that health insurance coverage has contributed to increased maternal healthcare services utilization, only in terms of number and timing of antenatal care visits in Jordan. It is recommended that policy makers in Jordan should strengthen the coverage of health insurance in the country, especially among women of reproductive age in order to enhance the use of maternal healthcare services in the country

Inhibitory effect of chlorogenic acid on digestion of potato starch

The effect of the chlorogenic acid isomer 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) on digestion of potato starch by porcine pancreatic alpha amylase (PPAA) was investigated using isolated starch and cooked potato tuber as substrates. In vitro digestion was performed on five varieties of potato with varying phenolic content. Co- and pre-incubation of PPAA with 5-CQA significantly reduced PPAA activity in a dose dependent manner with an IC50 value of about 2 mg mL-1. Lineweaver-Burk plots indicated that 5-CQA exerts a mixed type inhibition as km increased and Vmax decreased. The total polyphenol content (TPC) of peeled tuber tissue ranged from 320.59 to 528.94 mg 100g-1 dry weight (DW) in raw tubers and 282.03 to 543.96 mg 100g-1 DW in cooked tubers. With the exception of Désirée, TPC and 5-CQA levels decreased after cooking. Principle component analysis indicated that digestibility is affected by multiple factors including phenolic, dry matter and starch content

“Nossa luta é pela vida”: relato de experiência de pesquisa em ambiente virtual sobre a atuação de movimentos sociais no contexto da pandemia de Covid-19 em países da América Latina

This article aims to present an experience report on the research "Mapping the digital actions and initiatives of social movements of vulnerable populations to confront the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador (2020 - 2021)". Given the rise of social research on the internet, the study made use of virtual ethnography to search for the main initiatives digitally embraced by social movements of indigenous and non-indigenous populations in urban contexts in the three countries. The report discusses the process, results and products of this research, with emphasis on the strategic networks adopted by social movements according to their specificities.Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar un informe de experiencia sobre la investigación "Mapeo de las acciones e iniciativas digitales de movimientos sociales de poblaciones vulnerables para enfrentar la pandemia de COVID-19 en Brasil, México y Ecuador (2020 - 2021)". Ante el crecimiento de la investigación social en internet, el estudio utilizó la etnografía virtual para buscar las principales iniciativas incorporadas digitalmente por movimientos sociales de poblaciones indígenas y no indígenas en un contexto urbano en los tres países. El informe aborda cómo se realizó el estudio, los resultados y los productos, con énfasis en las redes estratégicas adoptadas por los movimientos sociales en función de sus especificidades.O presente artigo pretende apresentar um relato da experiência sobre a pesquisa “Mapeamento das ações e iniciativas digitais dos movimentos sociais de populações vulnerabilizadas para o enfrentamento da pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil, México e Equador (2020 - 2021)”. Diante da ascensão da pesquisa social na internet, o estudo fez uso da etnografia virtual para buscar as principais iniciativas encampadas digitalmente por movimentos sociais de populações indígenas e de não indígenas em contexto urbano nos três países. No relato, aborda-se a condução do estudo, resultados e produtos, com ênfase às redes estratégicas adotadas pelos movimentos sociais de acordo com suas especificidades

On a smoothed penalty-based algorithm for global optimization

This paper presents a coercive smoothed penalty framework for nonsmooth and nonconvex constrained global optimization problems. The properties of the smoothed penalty function are derived. Convergence to an ε -global minimizer is proved. At each iteration k, the framework requires the ε(k) -global minimizer of a subproblem, where ε(k)→ε . We show that the subproblem may be solved by well-known stochastic metaheuristics, as well as by the artificial fish swarm (AFS) algorithm. In the limit, the AFS algorithm convergence to an ε(k) -global minimum of the real-valued smoothed penalty function is guaranteed with probability one, using the limiting behavior of Markov chains. In this context, we show that the transition probability of the Markov chain produced by the AFS algorithm, when generating a population where the best fitness is in the ε(k)-neighborhood of the global minimum, is one when this property holds in the current population, and is strictly bounded from zero when the property does not hold. Preliminary numerical experiments show that the presented penalty algorithm based on the coercive smoothed penalty gives very competitive results when compared with other penalty-based methods.The authors would like to thank two anonymous referees for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the paper. This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Fundac¸ao para a Ci ˜ encia e Tecnologia within the projects UID/CEC/00319/2013 and ˆ UID/MAT/00013/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Theoretical and practical convergence of a self-adaptive penalty algorithm for constrained global optimization

This paper proposes a self-adaptive penalty function and presents a penalty-based algorithm for solving nonsmooth and nonconvex constrained optimization problems. We prove that the general constrained optimization problem is equivalent to a bound constrained problem in the sense that they have the same global solutions. The global minimizer of the penalty function subject to a set of bound constraints may be obtained by a population-based meta-heuristic. Further, a hybrid self-adaptive penalty firefly algorithm, with a local intensification search, is designed, and its convergence analysis is established. The numerical experiments and a comparison with other penalty-based approaches show the effectiveness of the new self-adaptive penalty algorithm in solving constrained global optimization problems.The authors would like to thank the referees, the Associate Editor and the Editor-in-Chief for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the paper. This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Funda¸c˜ao para a Ciˆencia e Tecnologia within the projects UID/CEC/00319/2013 and UID/MAT/00013/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reconstruction of cell population dynamics using CFSE

Background: Quantifying cell division and death is central to many studies in the biological sciences. The fluorescent dye CFSE allows the tracking of cell division in vitro and in vivo and provides a rich source of information with which to test models of cell kinetics. Cell division and death have a stochastic component at the single-cell level, and the probabilities of these occurring in any given time interval may also undergo systematic variation at a population level. This gives rise to heterogeneity in proliferating cell populations. Branching processes provide a natural means of describing this behaviour. Results: We present a likelihood-based method for estimating the parameters of branching process models of cell kinetics using CFSE-labeling experiments, and demonstrate its validity using synthetic and experimental datasets. Performing inference and model comparison with real CFSE data presents some statistical problems and we suggest methods of dealing with them. Conclusion: The approach we describe here can be used to recover the (potentially variable) division and death rates of any cell population for which division tracking information is available

Estimating the Relevance of World Disturbances to Explain Savings, Interference and Long-Term Motor Adaptation Effects

Recent studies suggest that motor adaptation is the result of multiple, perhaps linear processes each with distinct time scales. While these models are consistent with some motor phenomena, they can neither explain the relatively fast re-adaptation after a long washout period, nor savings on a subsequent day. Here we examined if these effects can be explained if we assume that the CNS stores and retrieves movement parameters based on their possible relevance. We formalize this idea with a model that infers not only the sources of potential motor errors, but also their relevance to the current motor circumstances. In our model adaptation is the process of re-estimating parameters that represent the body and the world. The likelihood of a world parameter being relevant is then based on the mismatch between an observed movement and that predicted when not compensating for the estimated world disturbance. As such, adapting to large motor errors in a laboratory setting should alert subjects that disturbances are being imposed on them, even after motor performance has returned to baseline. Estimates of this external disturbance should be relevant both now and in future laboratory settings. Estimated properties of our bodies on the other hand should always be relevant. Our model demonstrates savings, interference, spontaneous rebound and differences between adaptation to sudden and gradual disturbances. We suggest that many issues concerning savings and interference can be understood when adaptation is conditioned on the relevance of parameters