1,339 research outputs found
Mobile Communication Signatures of Unemployment
The mapping of populations socio-economic well-being is highly constrained by
the logistics of censuses and surveys. Consequently, spatially detailed changes
across scales of days, weeks, or months, or even year to year, are difficult to
assess; thus the speed of which policies can be designed and evaluated is
limited. However, recent studies have shown the value of mobile phone data as
an enabling methodology for demographic modeling and measurement. In this work,
we investigate whether indicators extracted from mobile phone usage can reveal
information about the socio-economical status of microregions such as districts
(i.e., average spatial resolution < 2.7km). For this we examine anonymized
mobile phone metadata combined with beneficiaries records from unemployment
benefit program. We find that aggregated activity, social, and mobility
patterns strongly correlate with unemployment. Furthermore, we construct a
simple model to produce accurate reconstruction of district level unemployment
from their mobile communication patterns alone. Our results suggest that
reliable and cost-effective economical indicators could be built based on
passively collected and anonymized mobile phone data. With similar data being
collected every day by telecommunication services across the world,
survey-based methods of measuring community socioeconomic status could
potentially be augmented or replaced by such passive sensing methods in the
future
Research priorities for improving infant and young child feeding in humanitarian emergencies
Background
There are many challenges during emergencies to ensure that optimal infant and young child feeding is protected, promoted and supported, but there is a dearth of evidence on strategies and programmes to improve Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) and a need to determine research priorities.
Methods
Based on interviews with key informants who are experts in the subject, we developed a list of 48 research questions on IYCF-E. A framework, following the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative method to set priorities in child health research, was developed to rank the research questions. Four criteria were applied to create a ranking based on answerability, operational relevance, disease burden reduction and prevention, and originality. Using an on-line survey, prioritisation of research questions was done by 27 people from 14 NGOs, universities and research institutions, and UN organisations.
Results
The top-ten research questions identified focused on the following:
• Use of cash-transfer to buy breast-milk substitutes;
• Effectiveness of complementary feeding strategies;
• Long-term effect of IYCF-E interventions;
• Design of IYCF-E programmes in a context where breastfeeding rates are low and breast milk substitutes use is high;
• Design of effective re-lactation interventions;
• Provision of psychological support to young children’s care-takers;
• Determination of number of beneficiaries and coverage of IYCF-E programmes;
• Pros and cons of distributing ready-to-use infant formula compared with distributing powdered infant formula plus kit for safer use of BMS, when use of infant formula is necessary;
• Assessment of the impact of specific IYCF-E programmes on nutritional status, morbidity and mortality;
• Linking and mainstreaming IYCF-E interventions with other sectors such as health, WASH, food security and child protection.
Conclusion
The questions found by this study could form the basis of future research on IYCF-E and could be integrated into the agenda of relevant stakeholders. Results of studies based on these questions will be fundamental to fill the evidence gap in IYCF-E, improve IYCF-E programming and ultimately contribute to the reduction in morbidity and mortality among infants and young children in humanitarian emergencies
Research-driven schistosomiasis mass drug administration campaign in four Tanzanian villages along Lake Victoria
Ending malnutrition in all its forms requires scaling up proven nutrition interventions and much more: a 129-country analysis.
BackgroundSustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.2 calls for an end to all forms of malnutrition, with 2025 targets of a 40% reduction in stunting (relative to 2012), for wasting to occur in less than 5% of children, and for a 50% reduction in anaemia in women (15-49 years). We assessed the likelihood of countries reaching these targets by scaling up proven interventions and identified priority interventions, based on cost-effectiveness.MethodsFor 129 countries, the Optima Nutrition model was used to compare 2019-2030 nutrition outcomes between a status quo (maintained intervention coverage) scenario and a scenario where outcome-specific interventions were scaled up to 95% coverage over 5 years. The average cost-effectiveness of each intervention was calculated as it was added to an expanding package of interventions.ResultsOf the 129 countries modelled, 46 (36%), 66 (51%) and 0 (0%) were on track to achieve the stunting, wasting and anaemia targets respectively. Scaling up 18 nutrition interventions increased the number of countries reaching the SDG 2.2 targets to 50 (39%), 83 (64%) and 7 (5%) respectively. Intermittent preventative treatment of malaria during pregnancy (IPTp), infant and young child feeding education, vitamin A supplementation and lipid-based nutrition supplements for children produced 88% of the total impact on stunting, with average costs per case averted of US267, US1795 when interventions were consecutively scaled up, respectively. Vitamin A supplementation and cash transfers produced 100% of the total global impact on prevention of wasting, with average costs per case averted of US19,427, respectively. IPTp, iron and folic acid supplementation for non-pregnant women, and multiple micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women produced 85% of the total impact on anaemia prevalence, with average costs per case averted of US35 and US$47, respectively.ConclusionsPrioritising nutrition investment to the most cost-effective interventions within the country context can maximise the impact of funding. A greater focus on complementing nutrition-specific interventions with nutrition-sensitive ones that address the social determinants of health is critical to reach the SDG targets
Preventing the Selection of "Deaf Embryos" Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008:Problematizing Disability?
Section 14(4) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 imposes – within the general licensing conditions listed in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 – a prohibition to prevent the selection and implantation of embryos for the purpose of creating a child who will be born with a “serious disability.” This article offers a perspective that demonstrates the problematic nature of the consultation, review, and legislative reform process surrounding s 14(4). The term “serious disability” is not defined within the legislation, but we highlight the fact that s 14(4) was passed with the case of selecting deaf children in mind. We consider some of the literature on the topic of disability and deafness, which, we think, casts some doubt on the view that deafness is a “serious disability.” The main position we advance is that the lack of serious engagement with alternative viewpoints during the legislative process was unsatisfactory. We argue that the contested nature of deafness necessitates a more robust consultation process and a clearer explanation and defence of the normative position that underpins s 14(4)
Design and operation of automated ice-tethered profilers for real-time seawater observations in the polar oceans
An automated, easily-deployed Ice-Tethered Profiler (ITP) has been developed for deployment on perennial sea ice in polar oceans to
measure changes in upper ocean temperature and salinity in all seasons. The ITP system consists of three components: a surface
instrument that sits atop an ice floe, a weighted, plastic-jacketed wire-rope tether of arbitrary length (up to 800 m) suspended from the
surface instrument, and an instrumented underwater unit that profiles up and down the wire tether. The profiling underwater unit is
similar in shape and dimension to an ARGO float except that the float's variable-buoyancy system is replaced with a traction drive unit.
Deployment of ITPs may be conducted either from ice caps or icebreakers, utilizing a self contained tripod/winch system that requires no
power. Careful selection of an appropriate multiyear ice floe is needed to prolong the lifetime of the system (up to 3 years depending on
the profiling schedule). Shortly after deployment, each ITP begins profiling the water column at its programmed sampling interval. After
each acquired temperature and salinity profile, the underwater unit (PROCON) transfers the data and engineering files using an inductive
modem to the surface controller (SURFCON). SURFCON also accumulates battery voltages, buoy temperature, and locations from GPS at
specified intervals in status files, and queues that information for transmission at the start of each new day. At frequent intervals, an
Iridium satellite transceiver in the surface package calls and transmits queued status and CTD data files onto a WHOI logger computer,
which are subsequently processed and displayed in near-real time at http://www.whoi.edu/itp. In 2004 and 2005, three ITP prototypes
were deployed in the Arctic Ocean. Each system was programmed with accelerated sampling schedules of multiple one-way traverses per
day between 10 and 750-760 m depth in order to quickly evaluate endurance and component fatigue. Two of the ITPs are continuing to
function after more than 10 months and 1200 profiles. Larger motor currents are observed at times of fast ice floe motion when larger
wire angles develop and drag forces on the profiler are increased. The CTD profile data so far obtained document interesting spatial
variations in the major water masses of the Beaufort Gyre, show the double-diffusive thermohaline staircase that lies above the warm,
salty Atlantic layer, and many mesoscale eddys. Deployed together with CRREL Ice Mass Balance (IMB) buoys, these ITP systems also
operate as part of an Ice Based Observatory (IBO). Data returned from an array of IBOs within an Arctic Observing Network will provide
valuable real time observations, support studies of ocean processes, and facilitate numerical model initialization and validation.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under Contract Nos. OCE-0324233 and ARC-0519899
Mobile Phone Data for Children on the Move: Challenges and Opportunities
Today, 95% of the global population has 2G mobile phone coverage and the
number of individuals who own a mobile phone is at an all time high. Mobile
phones generate rich data on billions of people across different societal
contexts and have in the last decade helped redefine how we do research and
build tools to understand society. As such, mobile phone data has the potential
to revolutionize how we tackle humanitarian problems, such as the many suffered
by refugees all over the world. While promising, mobile phone data and the new
computational approaches bring both opportunities and challenges. Mobile phone
traces contain detailed information regarding people's whereabouts, social
life, and even financial standing. Therefore, developing and adopting
strategies that open data up to the wider humanitarian and international
development community for analysis and research while simultaneously protecting
the privacy of individuals is of paramount importance. Here we outline the
challenging situation of children on the move and actions UNICEF is pushing in
helping displaced children and youth globally, and discuss opportunities where
mobile phone data can be used. We identify three key challenges: data access,
data and algorithmic bias, and operationalization of research, which need to be
addressed if mobile phone data is to be successfully applied in humanitarian
contexts.Comment: 13 pages, book chapte
Hyaluronan Binding Motifs of USP17 and SDS3 Exhibit Anti-Tumor Activity
BACKGROUND: We previously reported that the USP17 deubiquitinating enzyme having hyaluronan binding motifs (HABMs) interacts with human SDS3 (suppressor of defective silencing 3) and specifically deubiquitinates Lys-63 branched polyubiquitination of SDS3 resulting in negative regulation of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity in cancer cells. Furthermore, USP17 and SDS3 mutually interact with each other to block cell proliferation in HeLa cells but the mechanism for this inhibition in cell proliferation is not known. We wished to investigate whether the HABMs of USP17 were responsible for tumor suppression activity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Similarly to USP17, we have identified that SDS3 also has three consecutive HABMs and shows direct binding with hyaluronan (HA) using cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) assay. Additionally, HA oligosaccharides (6-18 sugar units) competitively block binding of endogenous HA polymer to HA binding proteins. Thus, administration of HA oligosaccharides antagonizes the interaction between HA and USP17 or SDS3. Interestingly, HABMs deleted USP17 showed lesser interaction with SDS3 but retain its deubiquitinating activity towards SDS3. The deletion of HABMs of USP17 could not alter its functional regulation on SDS3-associated HDAC activity. Furthermore, to explore whether HABMs in USP17 and SDS3 are responsible for the inhibition of cell proliferation, we investigated the effect of USP17 and SDS3-lacking HABMs on cell proliferation by soft agar, apoptosis, cell migration and cell proliferation assays. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have demonstrated that these HABMs in USP17 and its substrate SDS3 are mainly involved in the inhibition of anchorage-independent tumor growth
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Scalable and privacy-respectful interactive discovery of place semantics from human mobility traces
Mobility diaries of a large number of people are needed for assessing transportation infrastructure and for spatial development planning. Acquisition of personal mobility diaries through population surveys is a costly and error-prone endeavour. We examine an alternative approach to obtaining similar information from episodic digital traces of people’s presence in various locations, which appear when people use their mobile devices for making phone calls, accessing the internet, or posting georeferenced contents (texts, photos, or videos) in social media. Having episodic traces of a person over a long time period, it is possible to detect significant (repeatedly visited) personal places and identify them as home, work, or place of social activities based on temporal patterns of a person’s presence in these places. Such analysis, however, can lead to compromising personal privacy. We have investigated the feasibility of deriving place meanings and reconstructing personal mobility diaries while preserving the privacy of individuals whose data are analysed. We have devised a visual analytics approach and a set of supporting tools making such privacy-preserving analysis possible. The approach was tested in two case studies with publicly available data: simulated tracks from the VAST Challenge 2014 and real traces built from georeferenced Twitter posts
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