The Complexity of Non-profit Administration in Global Development: A Case-Study on Neonatal Mortality

In 2015, 5.9 million children died with 44% of those deaths occurring in the most vulnerable period of life: the neonatal period (first 28 days of life). Because this is such a pervasive problem, in order to meet the United Nation’s third Sustainable Development Goal of reducing the global neonatal mortality rate down from 27 to 12 deaths per 1,000 live births, there needs to be more evidence-based, effective interventions. Thrive Networks addresses newborn mortality by improving facility-based care in low-resource settings via intensive training and lifesaving medical equipment built to operate in these conditions. Despite all of the evidence Thrive has depicting the success of their programs, they have decided to close down the Health Program due to a litany of moving parts ultimately forcing their hand to refocus and re-strategize their resources away from providing newborn interventions. Since this circumstance does not occur in a vacuum, it is important to understand why nonprofits like Thrive struggle to sustain their programs when they have potential to address the world’s direst problems. A systematic review of academic literature attempts to find qualitative and quantitative measurements to understand nonprofit program closure and continuation. Thrive operates as a case-study in how these measurements can make sense of the closure of its Health Program

Estimating a relationship between aerosol optical thickness and surface wind speed over the ocean

International audienceRetrieved aerosol optical thickness (AOT) based on data obtained by the Sea viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) is combined with surface wind speed, obtained at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWFs), over the North Pacific for September 2001. In this study a cloud screening approach is introduced in an attempt to exclude pixels partly or fully covered by clouds. The relatively broad swath width for which the nadir looking SeaWiFS instrument scanned over the North Pacific means that the AOT can be estimated according to relatively large range of wind speeds for each of the scenes analyzed. The sensitivity in AOT due to sea salt and hygroscopic growth of the marine aerosols has also been investigated. The validation of the results is based on previous parameterization in combination with the environmental quantities wind speed, RH and boundary layer height (BLH), estimated at the ECMWF. In this study a factor of 2 higher mean AOT is obtained for a wind speed up to about 13 m s?1 for September 2001 over remote ocean areas. Furthermore, a factor of 2 higher AOT is more or less supported by the validation of the results. Approximately, 50% of the enhancement seems to be due to hygroscopic growth of the marine aerosols and the remaining part due to increase in the sea salt particle mass concentrations, caused by a wind driven water vapor and sea salt flux, respectively. Reasonable agreement occurs also between satellites retrieved aerosol optical thickness and AOT observed at several AERONET (Aerosol Robotic NETwork) ground-based remote sensing stations. Finally, possible reasons why relatively large standard deviations occur around the mean values of AOT estimated for a single scene are discussed

Adaptively inferring human transcriptional subnetworks

Although the human genome has been sequenced, progress in understanding gene regulation in humans has been particularly slow. Many computational approaches developed for lower eukaryotes to identify cis-regulatory elements and their associated target genes often do not generalize to mammals, largely due to the degenerate and interactive nature of such elements. Motivated by the switch-like behavior of transcriptional responses, we present a systematic approach that allows adaptive determination of active transcriptional subnetworks (cis-motif combinations, the direct target genes and physiological processes regulated by the corresponding transcription factors) from microarray data in mammals, with accuracy similar to that achieved in lower eukaryotes. Our analysis uncovered several new subnetworks active in human liver and in cell-cycle regulation, with similar functional characteristics as the known ones. We present biochemical evidence for our predictions, and show that the recently discovered G2/M-specific E2F pathway is wider than previously thought; in particular, E2F directly activates certain mitotic genes involved in hepatocellular carcinomas. Additionally, we demonstrate that this method can predict subnetworks in a condition-specific manner, as well as regulatory crosstalk across multiple tissues. Our approach allows systematic understanding of how phenotypic complexity is regulated at the transcription level in mammals and offers marked advantage in systems where little or no prior knowledge of transcriptional regulation is available

Heartbeat of the Southern Oscillation explains ENSO climatic resonances

The El Ni~no-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) nonlinear oscillator phenomenon has a far reaching influence on the climate and human activities. The up to 10 year quasi-period cycle of the El Ni~no and subsequent La Ni~na is known to be dominated in the tropics by nonlinear physical interaction of wind with the equatorial waveguide in the Pacific. Long-term cyclic phenomena do not feature in the current theory of the ENSO process. We update the theory by assessing low (>10 years) and high (<10 years) frequency coupling using evidence across tropical, extratropical, and Pacific basin scales. We analyze observations and model simulations with a highly accurate method called Dominant Frequency State Analysis (DFSA) to provide evidence of stable ENSO features. The observational data sets of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), North Pacific Index Anomaly, and ENSO Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly, as well as a theoretical model all confirm the existence of long-term and short-term climatic cycles of the ENSO process with resonance frequencies of {2.5, 3.8, 5, 12–14, 61–75, 180} years. This fundamental result shows long-term and short-term signal coupling with mode locking across the dominant ENSO dynamics. These dominant oscillation frequency dynamics, defined as ENSO frequency states, contain a stable attractor with three frequencies in resonance allowing us to coin the term Heartbeat of the Southern Oscillation due to its characteristic shape. We predict future ENSO states based on a stable hysteresis scenario of short-term and long-term ENSO oscillations over the next century

A phase II study of temozolomide vs. procarbazine in patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse.

A randomized, multicentre, open-label, phase II study compared temozolomide (TMZ), an oral second-generation alkylating agent, and procarbazine (PCB) in 225 patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse. Primary objectives were to determine progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months and safety for TMZ and PCB in adult patients who failed conventional treatment. Secondary objectives were to assess overall survival and health-related quality of life (HRQL). TMZ was given orally at 200 mg/m(2)/day or 150 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 5 days, repeated every 28 days. PCB was given orally at 150 mg/m(2)/day or 125 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 28 days, repeated every 56 days. HRQL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30 [+3]) and the Brain Cancer Module 20 (BCM20). The 6-month PFS rate for patients who received TMZ was 21%, which met the protocol objective. The 6-month PFS rate for those who received PCB was 8% (P = 0.008, for the comparison). Overall PFS significantly improved with TMZ, with a median PFS of 12.4 weeks in the TMZ group and 8.32 weeks in the PCB group (P = 0.0063). The 6-month overall survival rate for TMZ patients was 60% vs. 44% for PCB patients (P = 0.019). Freedom from disease progression was associated with maintenance of HRQL, regardless of treatment received. TMZ had an acceptable safety profile; most adverse events were mild or moderate in severity

The secret world of shrimps: polarisation vision at its best

Animal vision spans a great range of complexity, with systems evolving to detect variations in optical intensity, distribution, colour, and polarisation. Polarisation vision systems studied to date detect one to four channels of linear polarisation, combining them in opponent pairs to provide intensity-independent operation. Circular polarisation vision has never been seen, and is widely believed to play no part in animal vision. Polarisation is fully measured via Stokes' parameters--obtained by combined linear and circular polarisation measurements. Optimal polarisation vision is the ability to see Stokes' parameters: here we show that the crustacean \emph{Gonodactylus smithii} measures the exact components required. This vision provides optimal contrast-enhancement, and precise determination of polarisation with no confusion-states or neutral-points--significant advantages. We emphasise that linear and circular polarisation vision are not different modalities--both are necessary for optimal polarisation vision, regardless of the presence of strongly linear or circularly polarised features in the animal's environment.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Globalization and pollution: tele-connecting local primary PM2.5 emissions to global consumption

Globalization pushes production and consumption to geographically diverse locations and generates a variety of sizeable opportunities and challenges. The distribution and associated effects of short-lived primary fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a representative of local pollution, are significantly affected by the consumption through global supply chain. Tele-connection is used here to represent the link between production and consumption activity at large distances. In this study, we develop a global consumption-based primary PM2.5 emission inventory to track primary PM2.5 emissions embodied in the supply chain and evaluate the extent to which local PM2.5 emissions are triggered by international trade. We further adopt consumption-based accounting and identify the global original source that produced the emissions. We find that anthropogenic PM2.5 emissions from industrial sectors accounted for 24 Tg globally in 2007; approximately 30% (7.2 Tg) of these emissions were embodied in export of products principally from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (3.8 Tg) to developed countries. Large differences (up to 10 times) in the embodied emissions intensity between net importers and exporters greatly increased total global PM2.5 emissions. Tele-connecting production and consumption activity provides valuable insights with respect to mitigating long-range transboundary air pollution and prompts concerted efforts aiming at more environmentally conscious globalization

An examination of the association between seeing smoking in films and tobacco use in young adults in the west of Scotland: cross-sectional study

The objective is to examine the association between the amount of smoking seen in films and current smoking in young adults living in the west of Scotland in the UK. Cross-sectional analyses (using multivariable logistic regression) of data collected at age 19 (2002–04) from a longitudinal cohort originally surveyed at age 11 (1994–95) were conducted. The main outcome measure is smoking at age 19. No association was found between the number of occurrences of smoking estimated to have been seen in films (film smoking exposure) and current (or ever) smoking in young adults. This lack of association was unaffected by adjustment for predictors of smoking, including education, risk-taking orientation and smoking among peers. There was no association between film smoking exposure and smoking behaviour for any covariate-defined subgroup. Associations have been found between film smoking exposure and smoking initiation in younger adolescents in the United States. In this study, conducted in Scotland, no similar association was seen, suggesting that there may be age or cultural limitations on the effects of film smoking exposure on smoking. The lack of association could be due to methodological issues or greater sophistication of older adolescents and young adults in interpreting media images or the greater ubiquity of real-life smoking instances in Scotland. If the latter, film smoking exposure could become a more important risk factor for smoking uptake and maintenants in older adolescents following the recent ban on smoking in public places in Scotland

Compromise or Capitulation? US Food and Drug Administration Jurisdiction Over Tobacco Products

Stanton Glantz and colleagues critique the recent policy decision in the United States to grant the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products, a decision that has broad but not unanimous support among health care professionals