Interventions to improve infant and young child feeding practices in Ethiopia : a systematic review

Objective In Ethiopia, despite the implementation of several interventions to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, no published studies have highlighted the most effective IYCF interventions in the country. This systematic review investigated the impacts of various interventions on IYCF in Ethiopia. Source of information A systematic search was conducted on seven computerised bibliographic databases (Embase, ProQuest Central, Scopus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE/PubMed and CINAHL) to locate experimental or quasi-experimental studies published between the year 2000 and May 2021. Study eligibility criteria Interventional studies that measured IYCF indicators (early initiation of breast feeding (EIBF), exclusive breast feeding (EBF), the introduction of complementary foods, minimum dietary diversity (MDD), minimum meal frequency (MMF) and minimum acceptable diet) as outcome variables were included. Study appraisal and synthesis All included studies were examined for biases related to interventional studies (ie, selection bias, performance bias, attrition bias, detection bias and reporting bias). Author reports of effect size measures were used to narratively report the findings of each study. Results Of the 23 eligible studies, 14 studies were quasi-experimental and 9 studies were cluster randomised trials (CRTs). Eight quasi-experimental studies had a serious risk of bias, while two CRTs had a high risk of bias. Four studies for EBF and six studies for EIBF showed significant impacts of policy advocacy, health service strengthening, interpersonal communication, community mobilisation and mass media campaigns. Six studies for MDD and three studies for MMF indicated significant effects of community-level and health facility complementary feeding promotions on infants and young children. Interventions that delivered in combination increased the impacts in improving EIBF, MDD and MMF compared with a single intervention. Conclusion Our review showed that 12 out of 21 eligible studies that implemented in the form of community-level and health facility interventions improved EIBF, EBF, and/or MDD in Ethiopia

Tourism income and economic growth in Greece: Empirical evidence from their cyclical components

This paper examines the relationship between the cyclical components of Greek GDP and international tourism income for Greece for the period 1976–2004. Using spectral analysis the authors find that cyclical fluctuations of GDP have a length of about nine years and that international tourism income has a cycle of about seven years. The volatility of tourism income is more than eight times the volatility of the Greek GDP cycle. VAR analysis shows that the cyclical component of tourism income is significantly influencing the cyclical component of GDP in Greece. The findings support the tourism-led economic growth hypothesis and are of particular interest and importance to policy makers, financial analysts and investors dealing with the Greek tourism industry

The Rise of the Resilient Local Authority?

The term resilience is increasingly being utilised within the study of public policy to depict how individuals, communities and organisations can adapt, cope, and ‘bounce back’ when faced with external shocks such as climate change, economic recession and cuts in public expenditure. In focussing on the local dimensions of the resilience debate, this article argues that the term can provide useful insights into how the challenges facing local authorities in the UK can be reformulated and reinterpreted. The article also distinguishes between resilience as ‘recovery’ and resilience as ‘transformation’, with the latter's focus on ‘bouncing forward’ from external shocks seen as offering a more radical framework within which the opportunities for local innovation and creativity can be assessed and explained. While also acknowledging some of the weaknesses of the resilience debate, the dangers of conceptual ‘stretching’, and the extent of local vulnerabilities, the article highlights a range of examples where local authorities – and crucially, local communities – have enhanced their adaptive capacity, within existing powers and responsibilities. From this viewpoint, some of the barriers to the development of resilient local government are not insurmountable, and can be overcome by ‘digging deep’ to draw upon existing resources and capabilities, promoting a strategic approach to risk, exhibiting greater ambition and imagination, and creating space for local communities to develop their own resilience

Engaging fathers: : acknowledging the barriers

Engaging fathers has the potential to benefit the entire family through 1. promoting fathers’ wellbeing directly, 2. building on fathers’ vital capacity to support mothers’ psychological wellbeing, 3. maternal health behaviours, and 4. promoting children’s mental health and development. Benefits to a child’s development include positive impacts on cognitive development, educational attainment, social competence, positive self-esteem and reduced incidence of emotional and behavioural problems. However, the barriers to father-inclusive practice are real and numerous and include personal, organisational, strategic and societal factors. This article reviews the need to work more closely and fruitfully with fathers, and acknowledges some of the barriers

The decline and rise of neighbourhoods: the importance of neighbourhood governance

There is a substantial literature on the explanation of neighbourhood change. Most of this literature concentrates on identifying factors and developments behind processes of decline. This paper reviews the literature, focusing on the identification of patterns of neighbourhood change, and argues that the concept of neighbourhood governance is a missing link in attempts to explain these patterns. Including neighbourhood governance in the explanations of neighbourhood change and decline will produce better explanatory models and, finally, a better view about what is actually steering neighbourhood change

In vivo laboratory practicals in research-led teaching: An example using glucose tolerance tests in lean and obese mice

The use of animal models is an essential part of medical research and drug development. The essential skills required to be able to do such research includes experimental design, statistical analysis and the actual handling and treating of the animals (in vivo skills). The number of students in the U.K. receiving training in handling and experimenting on animals has declined rapidly in the last few decades which has led to initiatives to increase numbers of students with these skills to meet demand. Within the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at King's College London, we run a course for 2nd year undergraduates entitled “Animal models of disease and injury”. This course not only covers the theoretical and ethical aspects of using animals in research, but also contains practical laboratory classes in which students get hands-on experience using animals. One of the laboratory classes we run is a glucose tolerance test in obese and lean mice. This is an example of research-led teaching which aims to develop research skills through engaging students in research like activities. In this paper, we outline the methodology of the glucose tolerance practical and highlight some of the skills we and the students think they gain by research-led teaching such as this

Test of CPT Symmetry and Quantum Mechanics with Experimental data from CPLEAR

We use fits to recent published CPLEAR data on neutral kaon decays to $\pi^+\pi^-$ and $\pi e\nu$ to constrain the CPT--violation parameters appearing in a formulation of the neutral kaon system as an open quantum-mechanical system. The obtained upper limits of the CPT--violation parameters are approaching the range suggested by certain ideas concerning quantum gravity.Comment: 9 pages of uuencoded postscript (includes 3 figures

Female firesetters: gender associated psychological and psychopathological features

Objective: Female firesetters are reported to commit nearly a third of deliberately set fires, yet there are limited studies examining the characteristics that distinguish them from suitable comparison groups. The aim of this study is to compare incarcerated female firesetters with incarcerated male firesetters and female offender controls on psychopathological and psychological features that could be targeted via therapeutic interventions. Method: Sixty-five female firesetters, 128 male firesetters, and 63 female offenders were recruited from the prison estate. Participants completed a battery of validated tools assessing psychiatric traits and psychological characteristics (i.e., inappropriate fire interest, emotion/self-regulation, social competence, self-concept, offense-supportive attitudes, and boredom proneness) highlighted in the existing literature. Results: Major depression and an internal locus of control distinguished female firesetters from male firesetters. Alcohol dependence, serious/problematic fire interest, and more effective anger regulation distinguished female firesetters from the female offender control group. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine differences between female firesetters, male firesetters, and female control offenders on both psychopathological features and psychological traits. These findings highlight the gender-specific and offence-specific needs of female firesetters that clinicians need to consider when implementing programs that ensure client responsivity. Keywords: firesetting, arson, psychopathology, female offender

Estimation of proteinuria as a predictor of complications of pre-eclampsia: a systematic review

Background Proteinuria is one of the essential criteria for the clinical diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. Increasing levels of proteinuria is considered to be associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. We aim to determine the accuracy with which the amount of proteinuria predicts maternal and fetal complications in women with pre-eclampsia by systematic quantitative review of test accuracy studies. Methods We conducted electronic searches in MEDLINE (1951 to 2007), EMBASE (1980 to 2007), the Cochrane Library (2007) and the MEDION database to identify relevant articles and hand-search of selected specialist journals and reference lists of articles. There were no language restrictions for any of these searches. Two reviewers independently selected those articles in which the accuracy of proteinuria estimate was evaluated to predict maternal and fetal complications of pre-eclampsia. Data were extracted on study characteristics, quality and accuracy to construct 2 × 2 tables with maternal and fetal complications as reference standards. Results Sixteen primary articles with a total of 6749 women met the selection criteria with levels of proteinuria estimated by urine dipstick, 24-hour urine proteinuria or urine protein:creatinine ratio as a predictor of complications of pre-eclampsia. All 10 studies predicting maternal outcomes showed that proteinuria is a poor predictor of maternal complications in women with pre-eclampsia. Seventeen studies used laboratory analysis and eight studies bedside analysis to assess the accuracy of proteinuria in predicting fetal and neonatal complications. Summary likelihood ratios of positive and negative tests for the threshold level of 5 g/24 h were 2.0 (95% CI 1.5, 2.7) and 0.53 (95% CI 0.27, 1) for stillbirths, 1.5 (95% CI 0.94, 2.4) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.39, 1.4) for neonatal deaths and 1.5 (95% 1, 2) and 0.78 (95% 0.64, 0.95) for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission. Conclusion Measure of proteinuria is a poor predictor of either maternal or fetal complications in women with pre-eclampsia