The Effect of Weight Bias on the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease

The condition of obesity has been recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a multi-faceted chronic disease. Previous studies have shown an associational relationship between recorded weight bias in healthcare providers, in society at large, andtowards oneself and negative health outcomes. In addition, the increased rate of recorded obesity is often tied to the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in the population. Therefore, it is imperative to discuss the causes of this relationship and an updated course of treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the attitudes and beliefs of healthcare providers towards people who are considered overweight and obese affects the management and treatment of cardiovascular disease in this same population. In addition, this study will explore the intersectionality of health disparities along both weight and racial lines. A survey was created and sent to Lynchburg area healthcare providers and health science graduate students to analyze their attitudes and beliefs towards obese persons. Variables studied include the following: level of weight bias (explicit); the racial composition of the provider’s patient case load; if the physician treats patients with cardiovascular disease; the provider\u27s medical specialty; the number of years spent practicing; healthcare provider’s age and gender; and recency of weight bias training. The results of this survey were analyzed and discussed. No statistically significant differences were found between ATOP and BAOP scores for most independent variables. However, the BAOP score for respondents who see a patient population ≥ 50% Black was found to be statistically significant. This variable requires additional focused study before conclusions can be made

Non-radial Pulsations in the Open Cluster NGC 3766

Non-radial pulsations (NRPs) are a proposed mechanism for the formation of decretion disks around Be stars and are important tools to study the internal structure of stars. NGC 3766 has an unusually large fraction of transient Be stars, so it is an excellent location to study the formation mechanism of Be star disks. High resolution spectroscopy can reveal line profile variations from NRPs, allowing measurements of both the degree, l, and azimuthal order, m. However, spectroscopic studies require large amounts of time with large telescopes to achieve the necessary high S/N and time domain coverage. On the other hand, multi-color photometry can be performed more easily with small telescopes to measure l only. Here, we present representative light curves of Be stars and non-emitting B stars in NGC 3766 from the CTIO 0.9m telescope in an effort to study NRPs in this cluster.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 266: Star Cluster

Dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorus under the impact of climate change and agricultural land use in the West African Sudan Savannah

Changing climate and agricultural land-use dynamics seriously challenge the future of cropping in the West African Dry Savannah, and, in turn, the livelihoods and food security of rural populations. Current production systems, already vulnerable to soil fertility depletion, are increasingly exposed to rainfall variability and generally to climate change, which, reportedly is expected to increase. Although consent exist that under the “business-as-usual-scenarios” these challenges will exacerbate resource use efficiency and jeopardize the sustainability of the agro-ecosystems, little is predicted about the magnitude of the adverse effects of changing climate on crop responses and hence land use. This obviously hampers the essential development and implementation of both appropriate adaptation measures and policies to increase the resilience of production systems. This study therefore aimed at quantifying and assessing the impact of predicted climate change on growth, yields, and water- and nutrient- use efficiencies of maize-, sorghum-, and cotton-based production systems in the dry savannah of northern Benin. Through a series of farmer- and researcher-managed on-farm trials, data were collected on crop responses to an un-amended soil (no fertilizer application), an integrated soil-crop management practice (recommended fertilizer rates and crop residues retention), a low use of external inputs (i.e. farmers determined the mineral fertilizer rate), and a high rate of mineral fertilizer use. The datasets, collected in 2014 and 2015 at Ouri Yori village in northern Benin, were used to investigate productivity and nutrient use efficiency of three target crops, and to parameterize and evaluate the CERES-Maize, CERES-Sorghum, and CROPGRO-Cotton Cropping System Models. The three crop models were subsequently applied to assess the impact of climate change on responses of maize, sorghum, and cotton to the different soil fertility management practices tested, considering the historical climate (1986-2005) and the ensemble mean of bias-corrected projected climate (2080-2099) from three Global Climate Models for three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5). Biomass and economic yields of all three crops responded to both the high use of mineral fertilizer and the integrated soil-crop management practice, but the extent of this response was crop-specific. The highest agronomic efficiencies of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), their apparent recovery as well as the positive partial N and P balances were recorded with the integrated soil-crop management practice, irrespective of the crops. The CERES-Maize model satisfactorily simulated in-season soil moisture and nitrate dynamics, N and P uptake, biomass accumulation, and grain yield. CERES-Maize predicted furthermore a more vigorous crop growth in the projected than in the historical runs, albeit only during the vegetative growth phase. Under the projected climate change, CERES-Maize predicted decreases in water- and N-use efficiencies, N and P uptake, and grain yield, irrespective of the soil fertility management strategies assumed. Similarly, CERES-Sorghum adequately simulated the observed soil water and N dynamics, biomass accumulation, N and P uptake, and the yield of sorghum. It predicted reductions in water- and N- use efficiencies, N and P uptake, and yield across all climate change scenarios and soil fertility management options. CROPGRO-Cotton simulated well soil water dynamics and N uptake during cotton growth, and seed cotton yield. Under the projected climate scenarios, CROPGRO-Cotton predicted increases in water- and N- use efficiencies and yield with the high use of mineral fertilizer or the integrated soil-crop management practice. Cotton responded more efficiently to N applied with integrated soil-crop management practice under future climate scenarios. The increases in productivity will occur, however, at the expense of soil fertility, unless targeted fertilizer management practices are introduced. The overall increase in understanding water- and nutrient- use efficiencies and yields of maize, sorghum, and cotton under both historical and future climate conditions can contribute to updating soil fertility management recommendations for reaching sustainable agricultural production in the Dry Savannah region of West Africa.Einfluss von Klimawandel und Landnutzungsänderungen auf die Stickstoff und Phosphor Dynamik in Anbausystemen der westafrikanischen Trockensavanne Changing climate and agricultural land-use dynamics seriously challenge the future of cropping in the West African Dry Savannah, and, in turn, the livelihoods and food security of rural populations. Current production systems, already vulnerable to soil fertility depletion, are increasingly exposed to rainfall variability and generally to climate change, which, reportedly is expected to increase. Although consent exist that under the “business-as-usual-scenarios” these challenges will exacerbate resource use efficiency and jeopardize the sustainability of the agro-ecosystems, little is predicted about the magnitude of the adverse effects of changing climate on crop responses and hence land use. This obviously hampers the essential development and implementation of both appropriate adaptation measures and policies to increase the resilience of production systems. This study therefore aimed at quantifying and assessing the impact of predicted climate change on growth, yields, and water- and nutrient- use efficiencies of maize-, sorghum-, and cotton-based production systems in the dry savannah of northern Benin. Through a series of farmer- and researcher-managed on-farm trials, data were collected on crop responses to an un-amended soil (no fertilizer application), an integrated soil-crop management practice (recommended fertilizer rates and crop residues retention), a low use of external inputs (i.e. farmers determined the mineral fertilizer rate), and a high rate of mineral fertilizer use. The datasets, collected in 2014 and 2015 at Ouri Yori village in northern Benin, were used to investigate productivity and nutrient use efficiency of three target crops, and to parameterize and evaluate the CERES-Maize, CERES-Sorghum, and CROPGRO-Cotton Cropping System Models. The three crop models were subsequently applied to assess the impact of climate change on responses of maize, sorghum, and cotton to the different soil fertility management practices tested, considering the historical climate (1986-2005) and the ensemble mean of bias-corrected projected climate (2080-2099) from three Global Climate Models for three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5). Biomass and economic yields of all three crops responded to both the high use of mineral fertilizer and the integrated soil-crop management practice, but the extent of this response was crop-specific. The highest agronomic efficiencies of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), their apparent recovery as well as the positive partial N and P balances were recorded with the integrated soil-crop management practice, irrespective of the crops. The CERES-Maize model satisfactorily simulated in-season soil moisture and nitrate dynamics, N and P uptake, biomass accumulation, and grain yield. CERES-Maize predicted furthermore a more vigorous crop growth in the projected than in the historical runs, albeit only during the vegetative growth phase. Under the projected climate change, CERES-Maize predicted decreases in water- and N-use efficiencies, N and P uptake, and grain yield, irrespective of the soil fertility management strategies assumed. Similarly, CERES-Sorghum adequately simulated the observed soil water and N dynamics, biomass accumulation, N and P uptake, and the yield of sorghum. It predicted reductions in water- and N- use efficiencies, N and P uptake, and yield across all climate change scenarios and soil fertility management options. CROPGRO-Cotton simulated well soil water dynamics and N uptake during cotton growth, and seed cotton yield. Under the projected climate scenarios, CROPGRO-Cotton predicted increases in water- and N- use efficiencies and yield with the high use of mineral fertilizer or the integrated soil-crop management practice. Cotton responded more efficiently to N applied with integrated soil-crop management practice under future climate scenarios. The increases in productivity will occur, however, at the expense of soil fertility, unless targeted fertilizer management practices are introduced. The overall increase in understanding water- and nutrient- use efficiencies and yields of maize, sorghum, and cotton under both historical and future climate conditions can contribute to updating soil fertility management recommendations for reaching sustainable agricultural production in the Dry Savannah region of West Africa

Etude du contrôle de force-position avec modélisation des forces d'impact

Modélisation -- Collision des systèmes multi-corps -- Modèle de l'impulsion d'impact -- Modèle du robot -- Modèle de l'environnement -- Stratégies de commande force -- position -- Contrôle de force explicite -- Contrôle d'impédance -- Contrôle hybride -- Contrôle discontinu -- Méthode de simulation -- Organigramme -- Validation de la méthode de simulation -- Comparaison des contrôleurs

Use of intermittent preventive treatment among pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa : evidence from Malaria indicator surveys

Uptake of intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) is a clinically-proven method to prevent the adverse outcomes of malaria in pregnancy (MiP) for the mother, her foetus, and the neonates. The majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa have introduced IPTp policies for pregnant women during the past decade. Nonetheless, progress towards improving IPTp coverage remains dismal, with widespread regional and socioeconomic disparities in the utilisation of this highly cost-effective service. In the present study, our main objective was to measure the prevalence of IPTp uptake in selected malaria-endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and to investigate the patterns of IPTp uptake among different educational and wealth categories adjusted for relevant sociodemographic factors. For this study, cross-sectional data on 18,603 women aged between 15 and 49 years were collected from the Malaria Indicator Surveys (MIS) conducted in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. The outcome variable was taking three doses of IPTp-SP in the last pregnancy, defined as adequate by the WHO. According to the analysis, the overall prevalence of taking three doses of IPTp-SP in the latest pregnancy was 29.5% (95% CI = 28.2–30.5), with the prevalence being highest for Ghana (60%, 95% CI = 57.1–62.8), followed by Kenya (37%, 95% CI = 35.3–39.2) and Sierra Leone (31%, 95% CI = 29.2–33.4). Women from non-poor households (richer—20.7%, middle—21.2%, richest—18.1%) had a slightly higher proportion of taking three doses of IPTp-SP compared with those from poorest (19.0%) and poorer (21.1%) households. Regression analysis revealed an inverse association between uptake of IPTp-SP and educational level. With regard to wealth status, compared with women living in the richest households, those in the poorest, poorer, middle, and richer households had significantly higher odds of not taking at least three doses of IPTp-SP during their last pregnancy. The present study concludes that the prevalence of IPTp-SP is still alarmingly low and is significantly associated with individual education and household wealth gradient. Apart from the key finding of socioeconomic disparities within countries, were the between-country variations that should be regarded as a marker of inadequate policy and healthcare system performance in the respective countries. More in-depth and longitudinal studies are required to understand the barriers to, and preferences of, using IPTp-SP among women from different socioeconomic backgrounds. View Full-Tex

Performances of Elementary Pupils in French and Mathematics and Socio-Professional Category and the Formal Education Level of Parents in Togo

This study aims at verifying whether there is a relationship between the academic performance of primary school pupils and the socio-professional category of their parents on the one hand, and the formal educational level of the latter on the other hand. The method used to achieve this double objective combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. Thus, 561 primary elementary pupils from six schools in the Savannahs region participated in the quantitative survey by means of a questionnaire and 35 individual interviews were carried out with teachers and parents of pupils. The data collected was subjected to statistical processing using SPSS 20.0 software and content analysis. The results show that the parents' socio-professional category and school performance are related. Likewise, the best pupils’ performances, both in French and in Mathematics, are obtained by pupils whose parents have a higher level of education

Child Mortality and Socioeconomic Status in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines under-five mortality (U5MR) trends in sub-Saharan Africa, and the association between socio-economic status -indicated by per capita income, illiteracy, urbanization -and under-five mortality between 1960 and 2000. It shows substantial decline in U5MR in all Sub-Saharan Africa regions between 1970 and 1990. Regional differentials among West, Central and East Africa that existed in the 1960s have largely disappeared by 1990. However, the decline in U5MR appears to have stalled in 1990s and some countries have experienced increases. The analyses show a consistent negative relationship between U5MR and per capita income, but a given income implies lower U5MR as one moves towards the present. There is also a significant positive association between illiteracy and U5MR, and negative association between urbanization and U5MR. However, the effects of urbanization and illiteracy have diminished in the past decade, while the effect of per capita income has increased