Vulnerable newborn types: analysis of subnational, population-based birth cohorts for 541 285 live births in 23 countries, 2000-2021.

OBJECTIVE: To examine prevalence of novel newborn types among 541 285 live births in 23 countries from 2000 to 2021. DESIGN: Descriptive multi-country secondary data analysis. SETTING: Subnational, population-based birth cohort studies (n = 45) in 23 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) spanning 2000-2021. POPULATION: Liveborn infants. METHODS: Subnational, population-based studies with high-quality birth outcome data from LMICs were invited to join the Vulnerable Newborn Measurement Collaboration. We defined distinct newborn types using gestational age (preterm [PT], term [T]), birthweight for gestational age using INTERGROWTH-21st standards (small for gestational age [SGA], appropriate for gestational age [AGA] or large for gestational age [LGA]), and birthweight (low birthweight, LBW [<2500 g], nonLBW) as ten types (using all three outcomes), six types (by excluding the birthweight categorisation), and four types (by collapsing the AGA and LGA categories). We defined small types as those with at least one classification of LBW, PT or SGA. We presented study characteristics, participant characteristics, data missingness, and prevalence of newborn types by region and study. RESULTS: Among 541 285 live births, 476 939 (88.1%) had non-missing and plausible values for gestational age, birthweight and sex required to construct the newborn types. The median prevalences of ten types across studies were T+AGA+nonLBW (58.0%), T+LGA+nonLBW (3.3%), T+AGA+LBW (0.5%), T+SGA+nonLBW (14.2%), T+SGA+LBW (7.1%), PT+LGA+nonLBW (1.6%), PT+LGA+LBW (0.2%), PT+AGA+nonLBW (3.7%), PT+AGA+LBW (3.6%) and PT+SGA+LBW (1.0%). The median prevalence of small types (six types, 37.6%) varied across studies and within regions and was higher in Southern Asia (52.4%) than in Sub-Saharan Africa (34.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Further investigation is needed to describe the mortality risks associated with newborn types and understand the implications of this framework for local targeting of interventions to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in LMICs

A Critical Study of Daniel Defoe's Verse

I review the standard paradigm for understanding the formation and evolution of cosmic structure, based on the gravitational instability of dark matter, but many variations on this basic theme are viable. Despite the great progress that has undoubtedly been made, steps are difficult because of uncertainties in the cosmological parameters, in the modelling of relevant physical processes involved in galaxy formation, and perhaps most fundamentally in the relationship between galaxies and the underlying distribution of matter. For the foreseeable future, therefore, this field will be led by observational developments allowing model parameters to be tuned and, hopefully, particular scenarios falsified. In these lectures I focus on two ingredients in this class of models: (i) the role of galaxy bias in interpreting clustering data; and (ii) the statistical properties of the initial fluctuations. In the later case, I discuss some ideas as to how the standard assumption - that the primordial density fluctuations constitute a Gaussian random field - can be tested using measurements galaxy clustering and the cosmic microwave background.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Proceedings of International School of Physics `D. Chalonge' "Phase Transitions in the Early Universe: Theory and Observations", Erice, December 2000, Eds. H.J.de Vega, I.Khalatnikov, N.Sanchez. Uses kluwer.cls; igh resolution Figure 1 courtesy of the Virgo Consortium can be found at http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/Virgo/virgopics.htm

Variability of a dynamic visual signal: The fiddler crab claw-waving display

Fiddler crabs use elaborate, species-specific claw-waving displays to communicate with rivals and mates. However, detailed comparative studies of fiddler crab signal structure and structural variations are lacking. This paper provides an analysis of the claw-waving displays of seven Australian species of fiddler crab, Uca mjoebergi, U. perplexa, U. polita, U. seismella, U. signata, U. elegans and U. vomeris. We used digital video to record and analyse the fine-scale spatiotemporal properties of these movement-based visual signals. We found that the structure and timing of the displays is species-specific, exhibiting inter-specific differences that follow phylogenetic relationships. The displays showed intra-specific variation according to individual identity, geographic location and fine-scale behavioural context. The observed differences and variations are discussed in the light of the evolutionary forces that may shape their design

Vulnerable newborn types: analysis of subnational, population‐based birth cohorts for 541 285 live births in 23 countries, 2000–2021

Objective: To examine prevalence of novel newborn types among 541 285 live births in 23 countries from 2000 to 2021. Design: Descriptive multi-country secondary data analysis. Setting: Subnational, population-based birth cohort studies (n = 45) in 23 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) spanning 2000–2021. Population: Liveborn infants. Methods: Subnational, population-based studies with high-quality birth outcome data from LMICs were invited to join the Vulnerable Newborn Measurement Collaboration. We defined distinct newborn types using gestational age (preterm [PT], term [T]), birthweight for gestational age using INTERGROWTH-21st standards (small for gestational age [SGA], appropriate for gestational age [AGA] or large for gestational age [LGA]), and birthweight (low birthweight, LBW [<2500 g], nonLBW) as ten types (using all three outcomes), six types (by excluding the birthweight categorisation), and four types (by collapsing the AGA and LGA categories). We defined small types as those with at least one classification of LBW, PT or SGA. We presented study characteristics, participant characteristics, data missingness, and prevalence of newborn types by region and study. Results: Among 541 285 live births, 476 939 (88.1%) had non-missing and plausible values for gestational age, birthweight and sex required to construct the newborn types. The median prevalences of ten types across studies were T+AGA+nonLBW (58.0%), T+LGA+nonLBW (3.3%), T+AGA+LBW (0.5%), T+SGA+nonLBW (14.2%), T+SGA+LBW (7.1%), PT+LGA+nonLBW (1.6%), PT+LGA+LBW (0.2%), PT+AGA+nonLBW (3.7%), PT+AGA+LBW (3.6%) and PT+SGA+LBW (1.0%). The median prevalence of small types (six types, 37.6%) varied across studies and within regions and was higher in Southern Asia (52.4%) than in Sub-Saharan Africa (34.9%). Conclusions: Further investigation is needed to describe the mortality risks associated with newborn types and understand the implications of this framework for local targeting of interventions to prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in LMICs