Early Life Child Micronutrient Status, Maternal Reasoning, and a Nurturing Household Environment have Persistent Influences on Child Cognitive Development at Age 5 years : Results from MAL-ED

Funding Information: The Etiology, Risk Factors and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development Project (MAL-ED) is carried out as a collaborative project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for the NIH, and the National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center. This work was also supported by the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health (D43-TW009359 to ETR). Author disclosures: BJJM, SAR, LEC, LLP, JCS, BK, RR, RS, ES, LB, ZR, AM, RS, BN, SH, MR, RO, ETR, and LEM-K, no conflicts of interest. Supplemental Tables 1–5 and Supplemental Figures 1–3 are available from the “Supplementary data” link in the online posting of the article and from the same link in the online table of contents at https://academic.oup.com/jn/. Address correspondence to LEM-K (e-mail: [email protected]). Abbreviations used: HOME, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment inventory; MAL-ED, The Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development Project; TfR, transferrin receptor; WPPSI, Wechsler Preschool Primary Scales of Intelligence.Peer reviewe

Early life child micronutrient status, maternal reasoning, and a nurturing household environment have persistent influences on child cognitive development at age 5 years: Results from MAL-ED

Background: Child cognitive development is influenced by early-life insults and protective factors. To what extent these factors have a long-term legacy on child development and hence fulfillment of cognitive potential is unknown. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relation between early-life factors (birth to 2 y) and cognitive development at 5 y. Methods: Observational follow-up visits were made of children at 5 y, previously enrolled in the community-based MAL-ED longitudinal cohort. The burden of enteropathogens, prevalence of illness, complementary diet intake, micronutrient status, and household and maternal factors from birth to 2 y were extensively measured and their relation with the Wechsler Preschool Primary Scales of Intelligence at 5 y was examined through use of linear regression. Results: Cognitive T-scores from 813 of 1198 (68%) children were examined and 5 variables had significant associations in multivariable models: mean child plasma transferrin receptor concentration (β: −1.81, 95% CI: −2.75, −0.86), number of years of maternal education (β: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.45), maternal cognitive reasoning score (β: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.15), household assets score (β: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.24, 1.04), and HOME child cleanliness factor (β: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.05, 1.15). In multivariable models, the mean rate of enteropathogen detections, burden of illness, and complementary food intakes between birth and 2 y were not significantly related to 5-y cognition. Conclusions: A nurturing home context in terms of a healthy/clean environment and household wealth, provision of adequate micronutrients, maternal education, and cognitive reasoning have a strong and persistent influence on child cognitive development. Efforts addressing aspects of poverty around micronutrient status, nurturing caregiving, and enabling home environments are likely to have lasting positive impacts on child cognitive development.publishedVersio

Fraksies en geïsoleerde verbindings uit Tecoma stans (Bignoniaceae), ’n indringerplant het belowende aktiwiteit teen fungus fitopatogene

Fungi wat plante aanval lei tot groot verliese in plantproduktiwiteit en ook tot verliese in opbrengs nadat die produkte geoes is. Die beheer van hierdie fungi deur chemiese fungisiede lewer komplikasies vanweë menslike en omgewingstoksisiteit. Die koste en die ontwikkeling van weerstand deur plant patogeniese fungi teen fungisiede lewer ook probleme. Sekondêre plant metaboliete het ‘n goeie potensiaal as antifungusverbindings. Die doel van die studie was om die aktiwiteit van Tecoma stans ekstrakte en fraksies te bepaal en om die aktiewe verbinding te isoleer deur die bioaktiwiteit van fraksies gedurende die fraksionering te bepaal. Die dichlorometaanfraksie het die hoogste aktiwiteit gehad en die geïsoleerde verbinding se struktuur is bepaal as oleanoliese suur. Die antifungus aktiwiteit en is bepaal teen tien belangrike plant fungus patogene (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Collectotrichum glaeospariodes, Fusarium oxysporium, Penicillum expansum, Penicillum janthinellum, Pythium ultimum, Phytophthora nicotiana, Trichoderma harzianum en Rhizoctonia solani). Die gemiddelde minimum iinhiberende konsentrasie was 130 μg/mL. Die DCM-ekstrak en oleanoliese suur was minder toksies as die positiewe kontrole berberien teen Vero-selle met LC50 waardes van 0.413 mg/mL, 0.129 mg/mL en 15.48 µg/mL respektiewelik. Die selektiwiteitindeks van 20 met verskeie fungi dui op moontlike relatiewe veiligheid om onder gekontroleerde toestande selfs vir eetbare produkte te gebruik. Die groot massa plantmateriaal wat beskikbaar is van hierdie indringeplant mag tot ‘n kommersieel bruikbare produk lei in die bekamping van fitopatogeniese fungi

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Rainfall and Temperature Extreme Indices in Tanzania

Climate extreme indices in Tanzania for the period 1961-2015 are analyzed using quality controlled daily rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures data. RClimdex and National Climate Monitoring Products (NCMP) software developed by the commission for Climatology of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) were used for the computation of the indices at the respective stations at monthly and annual time scales. The trends of the extreme indices averaged over the country were computed and tested for statistical significance. Results showed a widespread statistical significant increase in temperature extremes consistent with global warming patterns. On average, the annual timescale indicate that mean temperature anomaly has increased by 0.69˚C, mean percentage of warm days has increased by 9.37%, and mean percentage of warm nights has increased by 12.05%. Mean percentage of cold days and nights have decreased by 7.64% and 10.00% respectively. A non-statistical significance decreasing trends in rainfall is depicted in large parts of the country. Increasing trend in percentage of warm days and warm nights is mostly depicted over the eastern parts of the country including areas around Kilimanjaro, Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Mtwara, and Mbeya regions. Some parts of the Lake Victoria Basin are also characterized by increasing trend of warm days and warm nights. However, non-statistical significant decreasing trends in the percentage of warm days and warm nights are depicted in the western parts of the country including Tabora and Kigoma regions and western side of the lake Victoria. These results indicate a clear dipole pattern in temperature dynamics between the eastern side of the country mainly influenced by the Indian Ocean and the western side of the country largely influenced by the moist Congo air mass associated with westerly winds. The results also indicate that days and nights are both getting warmer, though, the warming trend is much faster in the minimum temperature than maximum temperature.The paper is publishedThe authors wish to thank The Tanzania Meteorological Agency for providing data used in this study and WMO for providing guidance in the analysis of climate extreme in climate time series