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Relationship between stunting, wasting, underweight and geophagy and cognitive function of children
No full textObjectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and both geophagy and cognitive function of children. Study design: The study prospectively followed singleton children whose mothers participated in the MiPPAD clinical trial in Allada, Benin, from birth to age 12 months. Anthropometric measurements were taken at birth and 9 and 12 months. Wasting, stunting and underweight were defined as weight-for-length, length-for-age and weight-for-age Z-scores less than -2, respectively. Cognitive and motor functions were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Parent-reported geophageous habits of children were collected when the children were 12 months. Multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 632 children (49.7% girls) were involved in the study. Stunting, wasting and underweight were observed in 14.1%, 13.6% and 17.7%, respectively, at 9 months and 17.3%, 12.7% and 17.2%, respectively, at 12 months. The prevalence of geophagy among the children was 48.2%. Impaired growth at 9 and 12 months was consistently associated with low cognitive and gross motor (GM) score. Children stunted at 9 months had lower GM scores at 12 months compared with their non-stunted peers (beta = 3.48, 95% confidence interval -6.62 to -0.35). Conclusions: Stunting, wasting and underweight are associated with cognitive and GM deficits in infants. In this setting, impaired growth was not associated with geophagy. Further research evaluating geophagy and growth prospectively and concurrently from birth to 36 months is needed
Plio-Quaternary landscape evolution in the uplifted Ardennes : new insights from Al-26/Be-10 data from cave-deposited alluvium (Meuse catchment, E. Belgium)
No full textDespite a wealth of recent studies dealing with the evolution of the drainage network in the uplifted Ardennes massif (E. Belgium), especially from the Middle Pleistocene onwards, the Ardennian landscape evolution and long-term incision rates in the Meuse catchment remain poorly documented over the whole Plio-Quaternary. Alluvium-filled multilevel cave systems represent a relevant setting to unravel the Late Cenozoic history of re-gional river incision. We present here a dataset of Al-26/Be-10 concentration data obtained from fifteen pebble samples washed into the Chawresse system, one of the largest multi-level cave systems of Belgium, which developed in Devonian limestones of the lower Ourthe Valley, the main Ardennian tributary of the Meuse. The sample collection spans an elevation difference higher than 120 m and their depleted Al-26/Be-10 ratios yield burial ages ranging from-0.25 to 3.28 Ma. After critical assessment of our dataset for intra-karstic reworking issues, the most striking outcome of the obtained burial ages is the acceleration by a factor five of the incision rates (from-30 to-150 m/Ma) during the first half of the Middle Pleistocene. Integrating this incision peak and our pre-burial denudation rates, we then revisit the existing framework of Plio-Quaternary denudation and river incision in the Ardennian Meuse catchment. Whilst our Al-26/Be-10 concentration data shed new light on the temporal and spatial variability of the local river and hillslope system response to coupled tectonic and climatic forcings, it simultaneously highlights sampling issues and the need for further chronological data
Late Cenozoic evolution of the Ariege River valley (Pyrenees) constrained by cosmogenic Al-26/Be-10 and Be-10/Ne-21 dating of cave sediments
No full textDespite increasing knowledge on the orogenic phases of the Pyrenees, the Neogene evolution of the range re-mains poorly constrained. The central Pyrenees, particularly the Ariege River valley and its terrace systems and glacial extensions, are key to reconstructing Pyrenean evolution during the Neogene. However, few terrace relics remain on the piedmont edges. To overcome this limitation and temporally extend the dataset obtained from terraces, we focus on alluvium-filled horizontal epiphreatic passages developed in limestone karstic networks. These landforms record the transient position of former local base levels during the process of valley deepening, similar to fluvial terraces. The alluvium fills of the studied caves in the Tarascon-sur-Ariege area, in the transition zone between the upper range and the piedmont, therefore enable the reconstruction of the geodynamic evolution of the Ariege River valley. All studied caves are developed on at least eight levels. Based on burial durations determined by Al-26/Be-10 and Be-10/Ne-21 terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide dating of samples from epiphreatic levels, our results indicate Langhian to Messinian (similar to 13-5 Ma) incision rates averaging 48 m Myr(-1). However, the obtained record does not allow us to accurately retrace the Pliocene evolution of the area due to the lack of known caves at corresponding levels. Moreover, raised local base levels during glacial phases both make the re-cord more complex and call into question the methodological approach in terms of potential internal sediment remobilization and mixing related to implied re-flooding period
Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests
No full textThe carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing>3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted-modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth-survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality. Tree mortality has been shown to be the dominant control on carbon storage in Amazon forests, but little is known of how and why Amazon forest trees die. Here the authors analyse a large Amazon-wide dataset, finding that fast-growing species face greater mortality risk, but that slower-growing individuals within a species are more likely to die, regardless of size
Factors related to excessive out-of-pocket expenditures among the ultra-poor after discontinuity of PBF : a cross-sectional study in Burkina Faso
No full textBackground Measuring progress towards financial risk protection for the poorest is essential within the framework of Universal Health Coverage. The study assessed the level of out-of-pocket expenditure and factors associated with excessive out-of-pocket expenditure among the ultra-poor who had been targeted and exempted within the context of the performance-based financing intervention in Burkina Faso. Ultra-poor were selected based on a community-based approach and provided with an exemption card allowing them to access healthcare services free of charge. Methods We performed a descriptive analysis of the level of out-of-pocket expenditure on formal healthcare services using data from a cross-sectional study conducted in Diebougou district. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate the factors related to excessive out-of-pocket expenditure among the ultra-poor. The analysis was restricted to individuals who reported formal health service utilisation for an illness-episode within the last six months. Excessive spending was defined as having expenditure greater than or equal to two times the median out-of-pocket expenditure. Results Exemption card ownership was reported by 83.64% of the respondents. With an average of FCFA 23051.62 (USD 39.18), the ultra-poor had to supplement a significant amount of out-of-pocket expenditure to receive formal healthcare services at public health facilities which were supposed to be free. The probability of incurring excessive out-of-pocket expenditure was negatively associated with being female (beta = - 2.072, p = 0.00, ME = - 0.324; p = 0.000) and having an exemption card (beta = - 1.787, p = 0.025; ME = - 0.279, p = 0.014). Conclusions User fee exemptions are associated with reduced out-of-pocket expenditure for the ultra-poor. Our results demonstrate the importance of free care and better implementation of existing exemption policies. The ultra-poor's elevated risk due to multi-morbidities and severity of illness need to be considered when allocating resources to better address existing inequalities and improve financial risk protection
Do slum upgrading programmes improve employment ? Evidence from Djibouti
No full textSlum upgrading programmes are high on the international community's agenda. Yet their impact evaluations remain few and far between, especially when the programmes include different components such as roads, water supply, electricity, and community facilities. In addition, employment is rarely considered as an outcome in the evaluation of slum upgrading programmes, although it is often one of the main priorities of slum upgrading policies. This article analyses the effects on employment of such a programme in a Djibouti slum. It uses a difference-in-difference approach to evaluate the average impact and heterogeneous effects of the programme. We find that the project is unlikely to have improved access to employment in general and to formal wage jobs in particular, as was expected at the start of the project. It has also failed to increase earned income. Nonetheless, we show that self-employed activities have developed, more particularly in places adjacent to the project roads
Accumulation of methylmercury in the high-altitude lake Uru Uru (3686 m a.s.l, Bolivia) controlled by sediment efflux and photodegradation
No full textIn shallow aquatic environments, sediment is a significant source of monomethylmercury (MMHg) for surface water (SW). High-altitude aquatic ecosystems are characterized by extreme hydro-climatic constraints (e.g., low oxygen and high UV radiation). We studied, during two seasons, the diel cycles of MMHg in SW and sediment porewaters (PW) of Lake Uru Uru (3686 m a.s.l, Bolivia) contaminated by urban and mining activities. Our results show that diel changes in SW MMHg concentrations (up to 1.8 ng L-1) overwhelm seasonal ones, with higher MMHg accumulation during the night-time and the dry season. The calculation of MMHg diffusive fluxes demonstrates that the sediment compartment was the primary source of MMHg to the SW. Most MMHg efflux occurred during the dry season (35.7 +/- 17.4 ng m(-2) day(-1)), when the lake was relatively shallow, more eutrophicated, and with the redoxcline located above the sediment-water interface (SWI). Changes in MMHg accumulation in the PWs were attributed to diel redox oscillations around the SWI driving both the bacterial sulfate reduction and bio-methylation. Finally, we highlight that although MMHg loading from the PW to the SW is large, MMHg photodegradation and demethylation by microorganisms control the net MMHg accumulation in the water column
Naître et grandir : normes du Sud, du Nord, d'hier et d'aujourd&8217;hui
No full textCet article s'appuie sur des terrains ethnographiques menés dans le cadre du programme de recherche " Risques et enjeux sociaux de la reproduction à Madagascar ", financé par l'Institut de Recherche pour le Développement et l'Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, en collaboration avec l'Université Catholique de Madagascar. Ce programme de recherche visait à comprendre les modalités de recours aux soins biomédicaux et traditionnels pour le suivi de la grossesse et la prise en charge de l'accouchement
Pour une approche alternative des circulations musicales à partir d'un rythme commun dans l'océan Indien
No full textLa présence d'un rythme commun, utilisé dans plusieurs genres musicaux de différentes îles du Sud-Ouest de l'océan Indien, est au coeur de représentations, de discours et d'analyses menés à travers le prisme des notions d'origine, de trace ou d'atavisme. Notre hypothèse est que ce rythme commun, qui a certes traversé le temps long, ne peut être appréhendé comme trace d'une histoire linéaire ou d'une origine première. Nous proposons plutôt de comprendre ce temps long comme une succession de moments clés, de différents contextes historiques et de "branchements" qui, à partir de ce rythme commun, ont nourri des redéfinissions esthétiques et identitaires de l'autre et du même, dans des jeux de miroirs et d'interrelations
Flooding effect on mineralogical and geochemical changes in alkaline-sodic soil system of northern Pantanal wetlands, Brazil
No full textIn the northern Pantanal wetlands of Brazil, alkaline sodic soils play a significant role in the ecological functioning of the region, but little is known about their mineralogical equilibria in current flooding dynamics, which is necessary for good management of these areas. This study focused on a transition between sodic and non-sodic soils, identified by low frequency electromagnetic induction survey. Samples of B horizons from alkaline-sodic and non-sodic soils were analyzed via soil solution from saturated paste, decomposition of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission electron microscopy with X-ray dispersive energy spectroscopy (TEM-EDS) analysis. The transition between alkaline-sodic and non-sodic soils matches with the transition between flooded and non-flooded areas. The soil solution shows a concentration factor of about 40 along this transition. The formation of sodic soils results from an accumulation by evaporation of solutions with a positive calcite residual alkalinity (RA(calcite)), probably imposed by the chemistry of the Sao Lourenco River. An increasing Na:Ca ratio caused solonization of the exchange complex. These alkaline-sodic soils, however, can be interpreted as declining soils in the current context with an evacuation of soluble salts during flood cycles. The detailed investigation of the fine clay fraction (< 0.2 mu m) using full profile modelling and decomposition of XRD patterns and TEM-EDS analysis demonstrates gradual transformations of trioctahedral to dioctahedral smectite by Mg - Al substitutions on octahedral sites, leading to the prevalence of kaolinite-smectite interstratified minerals when the conditions become more acidic via the solodization process. Highlights Clay minerals of alkaline-sodic soil have been altered due to flooding dynamic. Clay minerals are a useful tool for understanding environmental changes. Interstratified clay minerals result from current acidification. The evolution of soil mineral suite is related to the environmental changes