Striving to promote male involvement in maternal health care in rural and urban settings in Malawi - a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding the strategies that health care providers employ in order to invite men to participate in maternal health care is very vital especially in today's dynamic cultural environment. Effective utilization of such strategies is dependent on uncovering the salient issues that facilitate male participation in maternal health care. This paper examines and describes the strategies that were used by different health care facilities to invite husbands to participate in maternal health care in rural and urban settings of southern Malawi.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data was collected through in-depth interviews from sixteen of the twenty health care providers from five different health facilities in rural and urban settings of Malawi. The health facilities comprised two health centres, one district hospital, one mission hospital, one private hospital and one central hospital. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data from health care providers with the aim of understanding strategies they used to invite men to participate in maternal health care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Four main strategies were used to invite men to participate in maternal health care. The strategies were; health care provider initiative, partner notification, couple initiative and community mobilization. The health care provider initiative and partner notification were at health facility level, while the couple initiative was at family level and community mobilization was at village (community) level. The community mobilization had three sub-themes namely; male peer initiative, use of incentives and community sensitization. The sustainability of each strategy to significantly influence behaviour change for male participation in maternal health care is discussed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Strategies to invite men to participate in maternal health care were at health facility, family and community levels. The couple strategy was most appropriate but was mostly used by educated and city residents. The male peer strategy was effective and sustainable at community level. There is need for creation of awareness in men so that they sustain their participation in maternal health care activities of their female partners even in the absence of incentives, coercion or invitation.</p

A comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity and environmental adaptability in worldwide Merino and Merino-derived sheep breeds

BACKGROUND: To enhance and extend the knowledge about the global historical and phylogenetic relationships between Merino and Merino-derived breeds, 19 populations were genotyped with the OvineSNP50 BeadChip specifically for this study, while an additional 23 populations from the publicly available genotypes were retrieved. Three complementary statistical tests, Rsb (extended haplotype homozygosity between-populations), XP-EHH (cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity), and runs of homozygosity (ROH) islands were applied to identify genomic variants with potential impact on the adaptability of Merino genetic type in two contrasting climate zones. RESULTS: The results indicate that a large part of the Merino's genetic relatedness and admixture patterns are explained by their genetic background and/or geographic origin, followed by local admixture. Multi-dimensional scaling, Neighbor-Net, Admixture, and TREEMIX analyses consistently provided evidence of the role of Australian, Rambouillet and German strains in the extensive gene introgression into the other Merino and Merino-derived breeds. The close relationship between Iberian Merinos and other South-western European breeds is consistent with the Iberian origin of the Merino genetic type, with traces from previous contributions of other Mediterranean stocks. Using Rsb and XP-EHH approaches, signatures of selection were detected spanning four genomic regions located on Ovis aries chromosomes (OAR) 1, 6 and 16, whereas two genomic regions on OAR6, that partially overlapped with the previous ones, were highlighted by ROH islands. Overall, the three approaches identified 106 candidate genes putatively under selection. Among them, genes related to immune response were identified via the gene interaction network. In addition, several candidate genes were found, such as LEKR1, LCORL, GHR, RBPJ, BMPR1B, PPARGC1A, and PRKAA1, related to morphological, growth and reproductive traits, adaptive thermogenesis, and hypoxia responses. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive dataset that includes most of the Merino and Merino-derived sheep breeds raised in different regions of the world. The results provide an in-depth picture of the genetic makeup of the current Merino and Merino-derived breeds, highlighting the possible selection pressures associated with the combined effect of anthropic and environmental factors. The study underlines the importance of Merino genetic types as invaluable resources of possible adaptive diversity in the context of the occurring climate changes

El Conocimiento Didáctico del Contenido en ciencias: estado de la cuestión

This paper gives a descriptive overview of the literature related to Pedagogical Content Knowledge - PCK - in the sciences. It is expected that this review can contribute to a better understanding of PCK, pointing out what has been investigated about this concept. Specifically, we analyze: a) how PCK is defined, what are its main features and how it has been appropriated by teachers; b) the relationship between PCK, knowledge of the contents to be taught and students learning; c) how PCK was actually used in teachers' training and teachers' evaluation; and, d) the scientific areas in which PCK has been studied. It concludes that PCK is an essential tool for improving the quality of teacher training

Social Dominance in South African Indigenous Zulu Rams

Social ranking is usually caused by limited access to resources such as feed, water as well as mating partners. In rams, social dominance is mostly related to physical traits such as body weight, horn size, body length and scrotal circumference. The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between physical traits of Zulu sheep rams and the establishment of social rankings. The social dominance rank was determined by a feed competition test using rams of the same age. Physical traits such as body weight, chest girth, horn length, scrotal circumference and withers height were measured for each ram. Sheep A was ranked first with a 100% number of wins (P  0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between the proportions of wins against horn length (P < 0.05) and chest girth length (P < 0.05). Time spent at the feeder was positively correlated with body weight and withers height (P < 0.05). Social dominance in Zulu sheep can be determined by particular physical traits such as horn length and chest girth

Lagged association between climate variables and hospital admissions for pneumonia in South Africa

Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization in South Africa. Climate change could potentially affect its incidence via changes in meteorological conditions. We investigated the delayed effects of temperature and relative humidity on pneumonia hospital admissions at two large public hospitals in Limpopo province, South Africa. Using 4062 pneumonia hospital admission records from 2007 to 2015, a time-varying distributed lag non-linear model was used to estimate temperature-lag and relative humidity-lag pneumonia relationships. Mean temperature, relative humidity and diurnal temperature range were all significantly associated with pneumonia admissions. Cumulatively across the 21-day period, higher mean daily temperature (30 C relative to 21 C) was most strongly associated with a decreased rate of hospital admissions (relative rate ratios (RR): 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14–0.82), whereas results were suggestive of lower mean daily temperature (12 C relative to 21 C) being associated with an increased rate of admissions (RR: 1.27, 95%CI: 0.75–2.16). Higher relative humidity (>80%) was associated with fewer hospital admissions while low relative humidity (<30%) was associated with increased admissions. A proportion of pneumonia admissions were attributable to changes in meteorological variables, and our results indicate that even small shifts in their distributions (e.g., due to climate change) could lead to substantial changes in their burden. These findings can inform a better understanding of the health implications of climate change and the burden of hospital admissions for pneumonia now and in the future.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Supplementary Figures S1–S11. Figure S1: Daily pneumonia hospital admissions with model fitted values; Figure S2: The association between mean daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across different lag durations at 12 and 28 C; Figure S3: The association between relative humidity and pneumonia hospital admissions across different lag durations at 24 and 92% relative humidity; Figure S4: Model residual deviances plotted by date of admission; Figure S5: Model residual deviances plotted against model predictors for mean daily temperature, relative humidity, daily temperature range, and day of the week; Figure S6: Partial autocorrelation of model residuals between neighboring days separated by different lags; Figure S7: Cumulative association between minimum daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag period; Figure S8: Cumulative association between maximum daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag period; Figure S9: Cumulative associations between mean daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag for models with different degrees of freedom used to fit the natural cubic spline function exposure and lag components; Figure S10: Cumulative associations between relative humidity and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag for models with different degrees of freedom used to fit the natural cubic spline function exposure and lag components; Figure S11: Cumulative associations between Daily Temperature Range (DTR) and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag for models with different degrees of freedom used to fit the natural cubic spline function exposure component.The iDEWS (infectious Diseases Early-Warning System) project supported by SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) Program of JICA (JAPAN International Cooperation Agency)/AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development) in Japan, the ACCESS (Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science) program of NRF (National Research Foundation), DST (Department of Science and Technology in South Africa) and from the Quality Related Global Challenges Research Fund of the University of Bristol as well as the South African Medical Research Council.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerpham2022Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

Lagged association between climate variables and hospital admissions for pneumonia in South Africa

Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization in South Africa. Climate change could potentially affect its incidence via changes in meteorological conditions. We investigated the delayed effects of temperature and relative humidity on pneumonia hospital admissions at two large public hospitals in Limpopo province, South Africa. Using 4062 pneumonia hospital admission records from 2007 to 2015, a time-varying distributed lag non-linear model was used to estimate temperature-lag and relative humidity-lag pneumonia relationships. Mean temperature, relative humidity and diurnal temperature range were all significantly associated with pneumonia admissions. Cumulatively across the 21-day period, higher mean daily temperature (30 C relative to 21 C) was most strongly associated with a decreased rate of hospital admissions (relative rate ratios (RR): 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14–0.82), whereas results were suggestive of lower mean daily temperature (12 C relative to 21 C) being associated with an increased rate of admissions (RR: 1.27, 95%CI: 0.75–2.16). Higher relative humidity (>80%) was associated with fewer hospital admissions while low relative humidity (<30%) was associated with increased admissions. A proportion of pneumonia admissions were attributable to changes in meteorological variables, and our results indicate that even small shifts in their distributions (e.g., due to climate change) could lead to substantial changes in their burden. These findings can inform a better understanding of the health implications of climate change and the burden of hospital admissions for pneumonia now and in the future.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Supplementary Figures S1–S11. Figure S1: Daily pneumonia hospital admissions with model fitted values; Figure S2: The association between mean daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across different lag durations at 12 and 28 C; Figure S3: The association between relative humidity and pneumonia hospital admissions across different lag durations at 24 and 92% relative humidity; Figure S4: Model residual deviances plotted by date of admission; Figure S5: Model residual deviances plotted against model predictors for mean daily temperature, relative humidity, daily temperature range, and day of the week; Figure S6: Partial autocorrelation of model residuals between neighboring days separated by different lags; Figure S7: Cumulative association between minimum daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag period; Figure S8: Cumulative association between maximum daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag period; Figure S9: Cumulative associations between mean daily temperature and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag for models with different degrees of freedom used to fit the natural cubic spline function exposure and lag components; Figure S10: Cumulative associations between relative humidity and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag for models with different degrees of freedom used to fit the natural cubic spline function exposure and lag components; Figure S11: Cumulative associations between Daily Temperature Range (DTR) and pneumonia hospital admissions across a 21-day lag for models with different degrees of freedom used to fit the natural cubic spline function exposure component.The iDEWS (infectious Diseases Early-Warning System) project supported by SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) Program of JICA (JAPAN International Cooperation Agency)/AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development) in Japan, the ACCESS (Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science) program of NRF (National Research Foundation), DST (Department of Science and Technology in South Africa) and from the Quality Related Global Challenges Research Fund of the University of Bristol as well as the South African Medical Research Council.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerpham2022Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog