Contexts of Reproduction:Gender Dynamics and Unintended Birth in sub-Saharan Africa

Objective This study examines how women's chances of having an unintended birth is related to gender inequalities in education, employment, intra-household decision-making, and norms at individual, household, and community levels in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Background Women in SSA have the highest rates of unintended births in the world, often with severe implications for the health and well-being of families. A comprehensive understanding of how gender dynamics are associated with their chances of unintended birth is however lacking. Method Multilevel binomial logistic regression models of unintended birth were estimated with harmonized data from 123 Demographic and Health Surveys including 534,533 married women living in 43,136 communities within 39 SSA countries over the period 1992–2019. Results The odds of unintended birth are higher among higher-educated women, women with a small age difference with their husband, and women living in communities with more higher-educated women, and better (reproductive) health facilities. These women are more willing to acknowledge a birth as unintended. In communities where women are relatively more educated than their husband and in households where husbands and wives are equal in terms of education, higher occupational status, and fertility preferences, odds of unintended birth are lower. Conclusion Unintended birth is a complex reproductive experience related to local gender systems, women's relative position in intra-household power relations, and their willingness to acknowledge a birth as unintended. Implications Improving gender equality at household level may result in women's improved reproductive health. However, outcomes are also strongly shaped by the local gender system

Inequality in Human Development across the Globe

The Human Development Index is the world's most famous indicator of the level of development of societies. A disadvantage of this index is however that only national values are available, whereas within many countries huge subnational variation in development exists. We therefore have developed the Subnational Human Development Index (SHDI), which shows within-country variation in human development across the globe. Covering more than 1600 regions within 161 countries, the SHDI and its underlying dimension indices provide a ten times higher-resolution picture of human development than previously available. The newly observed within-country variation is particularly strong in low and middle developed countries. Education disparities explain most SHDI inequality within low-developed countries and standard of living differences are most important within the more highly developed ones. Strong convergence forces operating both across and within countries have compensated the inequality enhancing force of population growth. These changes will shape the 21st century agenda of scientists and policy-makers concerned with global distributive justice

Effects of water and health on primary school enrolment and absenteeism in Indonesia

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Laser-induced forward transfer-assisted flip-chip bonding of optoelectronic components

We report the Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) of micro-bumps of silver nanoparticle and solder based paste for flip-chip bonding of single VCSEL chips. The electrical characterization results of the bonded chips are also presented

Subnational Human Development Database

In this paper we describe the Subnational Human Development Database. This database contains for the period 1990-2017 for 1625 regions within 161 countries the national and subnational values of the Subnational Human Development Index (SHDI). The subnational values of the SHDI are computed on the basis of three dimension indices, one for education, one for health and one for standard of living, which were constructed using subnational data on four indicators: expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling, life expectancy and gross national income per capita. The subnational values of the four indicators were computed using data from statistical offices and from the Area Database of the Global Data Lab, which contains indicators aggregated from household surveys and census datasets. Values for missing years were estimated by interpolation and extrapolation from real data. The four indicators were constructed in such a way that their population-weighted national averages are equal to their national values in the UNDP-HDI database. At the national level, the SHDI is therefore equal to the official Human Development Index of the UNDP

Household and context determinants of child labor in 221 districts of 18 developing countries

Abstract We develop a new theoretical framework that explains the engagement in child labor of children in developing countries. This framework distinguishes three levels (household, district and nation) and three groups of explanatory variables: Resources, Structure and Culture. Each of the three groups refers to another strand of the literature; economics, sociology and anthropology. The framework is tested by applying multilevel analysis on data for 239,120 children living in 221 districts of 18 developing countries. This approach allows us to simultaneously investigate effects of household and context factors. At the household level, we find that resources and structural characteristics influence child labor, whereas cultural characteristics have no effect. With regard to context factors, we find that children work more in rural areas, especially if there are more unskilled manual jobs, and in more traditional urban areas. In more developed regions, girls tend to work significantly less

Complete genome sequence of the Clostridium difficile laboratory strain 630Δerm reveals differences from strain 630, including translocation of the mobile element CTn5

Molecular Technology and Informatics for Personalised Medicine and Healt

Inequality in human development across the globe

The Human Development Index is the world's most famous indicator of the level of development of societies. A disadvantage of this index is however, that only national values are available, whereas within many countries huge subnational variation exists in income, health and education. Here we present the Subnational Human Development Index (SHDI), which shows within-country variation in human development and its dimension indices for over 1600 regions within 160 countries. The newly observed variation is particularly strong in low and middle developed countries (home to 70% of the world population) but less important in the most developed ones. While education disparities explain most of the SHDI inequality within low-developed countries, income differences are increasingly responsible for SHDI inequality within more highly developed countries. The new SHDI opens the possibility of studying global socio-economic change with unprecedented coverage and detail, increasing the ability of policy-makers to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals

Neonatal critical illness and development: white matter and hippocampus alterations in school-age neonatal ECMO survivors

Aim: Examine the neurobiology of long-term neuropsychological deficits following neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Method: This cross-sectional study assessed white matter integrity and hippocampal volume of ECMO survivors (8-15yrs) and healthy controls (8-17yrs) using Diffusion Tensor Imaging and structural MRI, respectively. Neuropsychological outcome was evaluated in patients. Included clinical predictors of white matter integrity: age start ECMO, ECMO duration, highest oxygenation index before ECMO, highest mean airway pressure and mechanical ventilation duration. Results: Patients (n=23) had lower global fractional anisotropy than controls (n=54)(patients=.368; controls=.381; p=.02), but similar global mean diffusivity (p=.41). Patients had lower fractional anisotropy in the left cingulum bundle (patients=.345; controls=.399; p<.001) and higher mean diffusivity in a region of the left parahippocampal cingulum (patients=.916; controls=.871; p<.001). Higher global mean diffusivity predicted worse verbal memory in patients (n=17)(β=-.74, p=.01). Patients (n=23) had smaller bilateral hippocampal volume than controls (n=43)(left: p< .001; right: p< .001). In patients, this was related to worse verbal memory (left: β=.65, p=.02; right: β=.71, p=.01). Interpretation: Neonatal ECMO survivors are at risk for long-term brain alterations, which may partly explain long-term neuropsychological impairments. Neuroimaging may contribute to better risk stratification of long-term impairments