Metal Accumulation Properties of Eight Traditionally Utilized Nutritional Plants and Their Potential as Suitable Crops for Cultivation on Acidic Soils of the Northern Province Uíge, Angola

High metal contents of acidic soils from sub-Saharan Africa often prevent the cultivation of crops and lead to a low livestock yield. The carbohydrate rich diet of the Angolan population is low in minerals and vitamins, resulting in various deficiency syndromes and a high child mortality rate. Eight traditionally utilized plants (Anisophyllea quangensis, Annona stenophylla subsp. cuneata, Canarium schweinfurthii, Eugenia malangensis, Landolphia lanceolata, Raphionacme madiensis, Tristemma mauritianum, Vitex madiensis subsp. madiensis) with nutritional value for the Angolan population were analyzed for their soil and growing conditions. The species are adapted to the local conditions and can serve as crops for the unfavorable soils of the province Uíge. Chemical and physical characteristics of the uppermost soil (0–5 cm) and in 30 cm depth were analyzed. The plant-available macro-and micronutrients were determined using Mehlich 3 extraction. Data are completed with leaf tissue analyses, examining the uptake of minerals. As aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) are plant-available in high amounts, local plants evolved mechanisms dealing with those metals. These Al accumulators with foliar contents above 1000 mg/kg are Anisophyllea quangensis (7884 mg/kg), Landolphia lanceolata (6809 mg/kg), Tristemma mauritianum (4674 mg/kg), and Eugenia malangensis (13,989 mg/kg). All four species bear edible fruits with nutritional potential. The domestication and commercialization of those plants seem to be promising, utilizing local soils without expensive amelioration techniques.

The Impact of Corruption on Health Outcomes Empirical Evidence on EU-27

In a world threatened by increasing perceived corruption, its effects upon the health of nations have been scarcely studied, in spite of the tremendous importance sustained health has held on the European agenda. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of corruption upon health outcomes within an environmental performant and urbanised setting. The determinants of health outcomes measured as wellbeing, life expectancy and under-5 child mortality rate are estimated on an unbalanced panel data set covering the 2005–2020-time interval for the 27 member states of the European Union. The resulting econometric models validate the significance of corruption, environmental performance and urbanisation upon health outcomes: subjectively perceived corruption hampers the development of nations’ health while a clean environment with an increasing tendency of urbanisation has a positive impact upon the health outcomes of European nations. This study also sketches important policy implications for improving the health status of European countries.

Levels and trends in sex ratio at birth in provinces of Pakistan from 1980 to 2020 with scenario-based missing female birth projections to 2050: a Bayesian modeling approach

BACKGROUND: Pakistan has a strong preference for boys over girls; previous evidence on sex preference is primarily reported at the postnatal stage in which the child mortality rate is higher for females than males. Prenatal sex discrimination in Pakistan, reflected in the inflated sex ratio at birth (SRB; ratio of male to female births) has been barely mentioned before this study.OBJECTIVE: We estimate the SRB and missing female births in Pakistan provinces from 1980 to 2020 and identify provinces with imbalanced SRB. We provide scenario-based projections of missing female births in provinces without the existing SRB inflation.METHODS: An extensive SRB database of 832,091 birth records was compiled from all available surveys and censuses. To synthesize different data sources and provide annual estimates and their associated uncertainties of SRBs across provinces, we adopted a Bayesian hierarchical time series model.RESULTS: As per our model, Balochistan has had SRB imbalance since 1980. The maximum SRB was estimated as 1.121 (95% credible interval [1.066; 1.142]) in 1997. Assuming different start year of SRB inflation process in provinces without existing imbalance, the largest female birth deficit is projected to be 76.2 thousand in Punjab in 2033 when the SRB inflation starts in 2021.CONTRIBUTION: This is the first study on estimating the SRB from 1980 to 2020 and providing scenario-based projections of missing female births up to 2050 by Pakistan province. We identified the Balochistan province with imbalanced SRB and demonstrated important disparities in the occurrence and quantity of female birth deficits before 2050.

The Correlation Between Availability of Pediatricians and Child Mortality within the United States

As the profession of pediatrics becomes more popular, the decision of whether a pediatrician is necessary becomes increasingly prevalent. Understanding whether the availability of pediatricians is correlated to child mortality rates in the United States is essential to provide statistical evidence on the efficacy of current pediatric practices. This study aims to find a strong negative correlation between the availability of pediatricians and the mortality rates of children 18 and under in the United States. Data on U.S. child mortality rates from the CDC’s WONDER database and data on pediatricians from the American Board of Pediatrics were collected to perform 4 separate correlational tests on Microsoft Excel. The first test examined the correlation between the ratio of pediatricians in each state with state-by-state child mortality rates in 2018. The second test examined the number of certified pediatricians from 2000-2018 in the entire U.S. population with the child mortality rate in the same time period. The third and fourth tests examined the correlation between the number of certified pediatricians in 2000-2018 in the entire U.S. population with the child mortality rate due to cardiac-related and endocrine-metabolic diseases, respectively. Each test showed a moderate negative correlation demonstrating an implied relationship in which a higher number of pediatricians relates to lower child mortality rates. These results can be used to further public knowledge on the effects and potential benefits that pediatricians have on childhood health and development, helping parents make more informed decisions regarding their child's pediatric care options.

Determinants of Under-five Child Mortality: Evidence from Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019

Background: Every year millions of under-five children die due to different causes and some of those death could be prevented by proper awareness or taking steps. Though under-five child mortality rate has reduced by a remarkable rate for last decade in Bangladesh, the rate is still high to reach the expected level of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Methods: The main aim of this study was to find out the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of under-five child mortality in Bangladesh. Nationally representative cross-sectional secondary data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019, Bangladesh had been used in this study. Outcome variable was under-five child survival status (alive or dead). Kaplan–Meier log-rank test and Cox Proportional Hazard (PH) model with 95% confidence interval (CI) were fitted to identify associated risk factors for under-five child mortality. This analysis was performed by using STATA version 16.Results: The study showed that among 5112 under-five children, 170 (3.3%) were dead. Cox proportional hazard model revealed that mother’s education [secondary (HR: 0.53, 95%CI: (0.30, 0.94), p=0.03), higher (HR: 0.41, 95% CI: (0.21, 0.81), p=0.01)], higher birth order [HR: 1.43, 95% CI: (1.13, 1.89), p=0.007], size of child at birth [HR: 2.28, 95% CI: (1.22, 4.26), p=0.009], taking antenatal care [HR: 0.77, 95% CI: (0.52, 1.15), p= 0.091] had a significant effect on child mortality. Under-five child mortality rate was varied among division and highest mortality rate was found in Sylhet [HR: 2.13, 95% CI: (0.99, 4.55), p=0.054]. Conclusions: This study identified potential risk factors for under-five child mortality, which would help the policy makers to take proper steps as community-based educational programs for mother’s and public health interventions focused on birth to reduce under-five child mortality rate in Bangladesh.

An Iconic Pillar of Hope in a Rural Township: The Emergence, Growth and Development of AIC Kapsowar Mission Hospital

The article is about the emergence, growth and development of AIC Kapsowar Mission Hospital, the hospital that was central to the development of Kapsowar town since its establishment in 1934. The hospital was so iconic in the sense that it opened Marakwet District to the rest of the world. The hospital created employment opportunities for Kenyans who flocked the town in their thousands in search of jobs. Kapsowar which was once a frontier town transformed into a medical town making it display many signs of prosperity. However, it was not easy for the Africans living in Kapsowar to let go of their lands. They had to fight back and protect what according to them was given to them by their deity ASIS. Among the Marakwet, land was communally owned and its use was decided by the community elders. Individuals did not own land as the sole owners but the land was in the custody of clans. This factor made it very hard for the missionaries to acquire land to establish the mission hospital when they first arrived at the place. The locals were only convinced after a series of successful surgeries were conducted by the mission doctors and that was when they allowed them to settle in their land. That move marked the beginning of a new civilisation among the Marakwet. Many women began to visit the hospital for child delivery, and child mortality rate reduced drastically owing to the good works of the mission doctors. All the good things brought about by the mission Hospital including the development of the town, employment opportunities, improved infrastructure among others notwithstanding, challenges never seized to hit the Mission hospital and the latest challenge was posed by the outbreak of the novel corona virus in 2020 causing a lot of fear and panic to both the doctors and the patients.

Why Does Child Mortality Decrease With Age? Modeling the Age-Associated Decrease in Mortality Rate Using WHO Metadata From 25 Countries

Background: Our previous study analyzed the age trajectory of mortality (ATM) in 14 European countries, while this study aimed at investigating ATM in other continents and in countries with a higher level of mortality. Data from 11 Non-European countries were used.Methods: The number of deaths was extracted from the WHO mortality database. The Halley method was used to calculate the mortality rates in all possible calendar years and all countries combined. This method enables us to combine more countries and more calendar years in one hypothetical population.Results: The age trajectory of total mortality (ATTM) and also ATM due to specific groups of diseases were very similar in the 11 non-European countries and in the 14 European countries. The level of mortality did not affect the main results found in European countries. The inverse proportion was valid for ATTM in non-European countries with two exceptions.Slower or no mortality decrease with age was detected in the first year of life, while the inverse proportion model was valid for the age range (1, 10) years in most of the main chapters of ICD10.Conclusions: The decrease in child mortality with age may be explained as the result of the depletion of individuals with congenital impairment. The majority of deaths up to the age of 10 years were related to congenital impairments, and the decrease in child mortality rate with age was a demonstration of population heterogeneity. The congenital impairments were latent and may cause death even if no congenital impairment was detected.

Surveillance of public water supply fluoridation and municipal indicators: an analysis in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil

This study investigated the demographic, socioeconomic, and municipal health indicators related to the quality of water fluoridation. An ecological study was carried out in Espirito Santo state (ES), based on data from the Drinking Water Quality Surveillance Information, from 2014 to 2017. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Spearman tests were applied to compare municipal indicators with the availability of information and the quality of fluoridation, respectively. Fluoridation quality was calculated to define the percentage of fluoride concentration values in each municipality within the range of the optimal level corresponding to the maximum benefit for preventing dental caries and minimum risk for the occurrence of dental fluorosis. The proportion of 80% or more samples were defined as a compliance criterion. In 2014, 62.8% of the municipalities had information available, and 16.7% performed analyses of fluoride concentration. The percentage of available data increased about 30%, in 2017, with 3.8% referring to fluoride. The quality of fluoridation remained high (> 80%) in ES in almost every year, except in 2014. The municipalities with the largest population, the highest GDP per capita, and the lowest coverage of the oral health team exhibited a greater availability of information about fluoride (p <0.05). The child mortality rate showed a strong negative correlation with the quality of fluoridation. The findings reinforce the importance of directing public policies that ensure the correct practices for monitoring and maintaining the quality of fluoridation.

Quality attributes of maize-based supplementary diets in the in vitro for the management of moderately acute malnourished children

Background and aimsModerate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) is a major global health problem threatening the life of approximately 33 million children and affects 15% of under- five children in sub-Saharan Africa. The efforts to reduce the burden of severe acute malnutrition and drop child mortality rate require appropriate dietary management of MAM through promotion of an affordable, readily available and locally produced supplementary food. The aim of this study was therefore to formulate and evaluate the quality of locally produced maize-peanut and maize-soybean supplementary food.ResultProximate composition was moisture (74.62%±0.02; 69.11%±0.01), crude protein (7.59%±0.02; 7.19%±0.02), crude fat (3.81%±0.02; 4.79%± 0.04), crude fiber (0.17%±0.02; 0.28%±0.03), ash (0.11%±0.02; 0.10%±0.02), carbohydrate (88.31%±0.02; 87.63%±0.06) and energy (417.96 ± 0.08; 424.05 ± 0.22) Kcal for MSB and MPN gruels, respectively. The mineral contents were calcium (14.15 ± 0.00; 11.81 ± 0.00) mg, iron (5.54 ± 0.00; 4.84 ± 0.00) mg, zinc (3.98 ± 0.00; 3.13 ± 0.00) mg, and iodine (297.33 ± 1.16; 293.00 ± 2.00) µg for MSB and MPN gruels, respectively. Vitamin contents of MSB and MPN gruels were B1 (2.30 ± 0.02; 2.22 ± 0.03) mg, B3(0.08 ± 0.02; 0.06 ± 0.03) mg, B9 (300.00 ± 26.46; 150.00 ± 17.32) mg, A (1.24 ± 0.05; 1.13 ± 0.04) RE, and K (0.86 ± 0.02; 1.98 ± 0.02) µg, respectively. Tannin (0.90 ± 0.03; 0.93 ± 0.02) %, saponin (0.30 ± 0.04; 0.34 ± 0.03) %, oxalate (0.24 ± 0.02; 0.11 ± 0.01) mg and alkaloid (0.12 ± 0.02; 0.10 ± 0.02) mg contents were not significantly different between MSB and MPN gruels.ConclusionThe formulation diets are suitable as supplementary food for the management of moderate malnutrition in children6-59 months, they provided all the required macro and micronutrients as recommended for children under this condition.

The Role of Socio-economic and Female Indicators on Child Mortality Rate in Bangladesh: A Time Series Analysis

This study aims to identify the role of socio-economic and female indicators on child mortality in Bangladesh from the data of 1975 – 2019. A number of econometric techniques of time series analysis like Augmented Dickey-Fuller, Autoregressive Distributive Lag bounds and pair-wise Granger causality tests have been applied to ascertain the desired outcomes. The Augmented Dickey-Fuller test has confirmed that neither series is integrated at level two and the Autoregressive Distributive Lag bounds testing approach has shown the cointegration and short-run and long-run relationship between the variables. Total fertility rate and urbanization have a positive effect, and female education, female life expectancy at birth, and economic growth rate have a negative effect on the child mortality rate. The pair-wise Granger causality test has shown the unidirectional and bidirectional causal relationship among the studied variables. All the outcomes are theoretically consistent and the policy recommendations are made based on findings.