Neonatal deaths account for 40% of global under-five mortality and are ever more important if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) on child survival. We applied a results ...framework to evaluate global and national changes for neonatal mortality rates (NMR), healthy behaviours, intervention coverage, health system change, and inputs including funding, while considering contextual changes. The average annual rate of reduction of NMR globally accelerated between 2000 and 2010 (2.1% per year) compared with the 1990s, but was slower than the reduction in mortality of children aged 1-59 months (2.9% per year) and maternal mortality (4.2% per year). Regional variation of NMR change ranged from 3.0% per year in developed countries to 1.5% per year in sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries have made remarkable progress despite major challenges. Our statistical analysis identifies inter-country predictors of NMR reduction including high baseline NMR, and changes in income or fertility. Changes in intervention or package coverage did not appear to be important predictors in any region, but coverage data are lacking for several neonatal-specific interventions. Mortality due to neonatal infection deaths, notably tetanus, decreased, and deaths from complications of preterm birth are increasingly important. Official development assistance for maternal, newborn and child health doubled from 2003 to 2008, yet by 2008 only 6% of this aid mentioned newboms, and a mere 0.1% (US$4.56m) exclusively targeted newborn care. The amount of newborn survival data and the evidence based increased, as did recognition in donor funding. Over this decade, NMR reduction seems more related to change in context, such as socio-economic factors, than to increasing intervention coverage. High impact cost-effective interventions hold great potential to save newborn lives especially in the highest burden countries. Accelerating progress requires data-driven investments and addressing context-specific implementation realities.
We studied the effect of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) browsing and fire on diversity and number of prairie-forb flowering stems in a remnant tallgrass prairie in northern ...Illinois. Our study included two plots protected from deer browsing since 1992 and two unprotected plots. All plots were burned twice in late April of 1990 and 1991. Deer densities of 32–50 km⁻² (1992–96) declined to 7–9 km⁻² in 1998 and 1999 after controlled hunting. Similarity between protected and unprotected plots was initially 82%, declined to 49% during the period of high deer density, and increased to 68% in 2001 with managed hunting. Flowering stems for all forbs were tallied in 1998–2001. Diversity (Shannon index H′ and effective number of stems HO) of flowering stems was higher on protected than on unprotected plots for all study years. Differences in composition and diversity between protected and unprotected plots were associated with interactions between fire and protection from deer browsing as measured by total number of flowering stems, which was significantly higher on protected than on unprotected plots in nonburn years (3.4–3.5-fold) but not in burn years (1.0–1.2-fold). The two leading species on protected plots (ashy sunflower Helianthus mollis Lam. and Culver's root Veronicastrum virginicum (L.) Farw.) tended to have fewer flowering stems in burn years and always had them in protected plots (54-fold and 70-fold higher in protected plots for the two species, respectively). For the second leading species on unprotected sites (wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium L.), the number of flowering stems was significantly higher in burn years (27-fold); however, there was no significant difference in the number of stems between protected and unprotected plots. These results show strong interactions between fire and deer-browsing disturbances in communities recovering from deer overabundance.
Remarkable progress over the last decade has put Bangladesh on track for Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 for child survival and achieved a 40% decline in maternal mortality. However, since ...neonatal deaths make up 57% of under-five mortality in the country, increased scale up and equity in programmes for neonatal survival are critical to sustain progress. We examined change for newborn survival from 2000 to 2010 considering mortality, coverage and funding indicators, as well as contextual factors. The national neonatal mortality rate has undergone an annual decline of 4.0% since 2000, reflecting greater progress than both the regional and global averages, but the mortality reduction for children 1-59 months was double this rate, at 8.6%. Examining policy and programme change, and national and donor funding for health, we identified various factors which contributed to an environment favourable to newborn survival. Locally-generated evidence combined with re-packaged global evidence, notably The Lancet Neonatal Series, has played a role, although pathways between research and policies and programme change are often complex. Several high-profile champions have had major influence. Attention for community initiatives and considerable donor funding also appear to have contributed. There have been some increases in coverage of key interventions, such as skilled attendance at birth and postnatal care, however these are low and reach less than one-third of families. Major reductions in total fertility, some change in gross national income and other contextual factors are likely to also have had an influence in mortality reduction. However, other factors such as socio-economic and geographic inequalities, frequent changes in government and pluralistic implementation structures have provided challenges. As coverage of health services increases, a notable gap remains in quality of facility-based care. Future gains for newborn survival in Bangladesh rest upon increased implementation at scale and greater consistency in content and quality of programmes and services.
In 2013, an estimated 2.8 million newborns died and 2.7 million were stillborn. A much greater number suffer from long term impairment associated with preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, ...congenital anomalies, and perinatal or infectious causes. With the approaching deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, there was a need to set the new research priorities on newborns and stillbirth with a focus not only on survival but also on health, growth and development. We therefore carried out a systematic exercise to set newborn health research priorities for 2013-2025.
We used adapted Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methods for this prioritization exercise. We identified and approached the 200 most productive researchers and 400 program experts, and 132 of them submitted research questions online. These were collated into a set of 205 research questions, sent for scoring to the 600 identified experts, and were assessed and scored by 91 experts.
Nine out of top ten identified priorities were in the domain of research on improving delivery of known interventions, with simplified neonatal resuscitation program and clinical algorithms and improved skills of community health workers leading the list. The top 10 priorities in the domain of development were led by ideas on improved Kangaroo Mother Care at community level, how to improve the accuracy of diagnosis by community health workers, and perinatal audits. The 10 leading priorities for discovery research focused on stable surfactant with novel modes of administration for preterm babies, ability to diagnose fetal distress and novel tocolytic agents to delay or stop preterm labour.
These findings will assist both donors and researchers in supporting and conducting research to close the knowledge gaps for reducing neonatal mortality, morbidity and long term impairment. WHO, SNL and other partners will work to generate interest among key national stakeholders, governments, NGOs, and research institutes in these priorities, while encouraging research funders to support them. We will track research funding, relevant requests for proposals and trial registers to monitor if the priorities identified by this exercise are being addressed.
Accreditation may be coming to the geology discipline. Views of 142 Department Chairpersons/heads are divided, with 43 welcoming, 61 neutral or uncertain, and 38 opposing disciplinary accreditation. ...Only 24 respondents would welcome the establishment of standards by a committee largely external to academe, whereas 51 are neutral and 65 oppose. However, if accreditation were in place, 74 would probably seek it, 57 would consider it, and only 11 would not. Thirty-eight respondents anticipated no effect on the department, if they were denied or chose not to seek it. With regard to their choice of accreditation model, 62 preferred the American Chemical Society model, 42 the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology model, 28 expressed no preference, and 10 chose not to answer.
Detrended correspondence analysis indicates that attitudes toward accreditation are not related to department size, yet there are patterns in the answers of a given respondent. Chi square tests for heterogeneity or independence indicate that those opposing accreditation for his/her department tend to oppose having curricular standards by a committee largely external to academe. The same respondents also tend to think that not seeking or obtaining potential accreditation would have no negative ramifications on the department.
Most departments would not currently welcome accreditation. Those persons currently neutral or uncertain about disciplinary accreditation need to learn more about it and take a firm position. Detailed information on ABET and ACS accreditation are available from their websites.
Neonatal deaths account for 40% of global under-five mortality and are ever more important if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) on child survival. We applied a results ...framework to evaluate global and national changes for neonatal mortality rates (NMR), healthy behaviours, intervention coverage, health system change, and inputs including funding, while considering contextual changes. The average annual rate of reduction of NMR globally accelerated between 2000 and 2010 (2.1% per year) compared with the 1990s, but was slower than the reduction in mortality of children aged 1-59 months (2.9% per year) and maternal mortality (4.2% per year). Regional variation of NMR change ranged from 3.0% per year in developed countries to 1.5% per year in sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries have made remarkable progress despite major challenges. Our statistical analysis identifies inter-country predictors of NMR reduction including high baseline NMR, and changes in income or fertility. Changes in intervention or package coverage did not appear to be important predictors in any region, but coverage data are lacking for several neonatal-specific interventions. Mortality due to neonatal infection deaths, notably tetanus, decreased, and deaths from complications of preterm birth are increasingly important. Official development assistance for maternal, newborn and child health doubled from 2003 to 2008, yet by 2008 only 6% of this aid mentioned newborns, and a mere 0.1% (US$4.56m) exclusively targeted newborn care. The amount of newborn survival data and the evidence based increased, as did recognition in donor funding. Over this decade, NMR reduction seems more related to change in context, such as socio-economic factors, than to increasing intervention coverage. High impact cost-effective interventions hold great potential to save newborn lives especially in the highest burden countries. Accelerating progress requires data-driven investments and addressing context-specific implementation realities. Adapted from the source document.
Corbett, E. A. (Department of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK 74701-0609) and R. C. Anderson (Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, Department ...of Biological Sciences 4120, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120). Landscape analysis of Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairies. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133(2): 267–279. 2006.—We examined Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairie data to determine regional patterns of species composition as influenced by landforms with different topographic positions and soil properties resulting from glacial history. Three data sets were used, including 84 sites from Wisconsin sampled in the 1950s; 216 sites from Illinois sampled as part of the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) in the 1970s; and a subset of 29 INAI sites resampled in 1998. These data sets are the best characterization of remnant prairie vegetation in the two states after most of the original prairies were lost. Data were analyzed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), principal components analysis (PCA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). CCA was used only for the INAI sites resampled in 1998 that had a complete set of soils data. Results from all analyses were similar. We determined that an interaction between topographic position and soil texture, which affected moisture availability, was most important in influencing species composition and abundance in Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairies. Separation of dominant prairie species in Illinois and Wisconsin followed similar patterns, if differences in community designation for similar vegetation types were considered. However, Wisconsin and Illinois sites separated on DCA axis 2, which was negatively correlated with calcium and phosphorus. The first DCA ordination axis for INAI prairie sites was correlated with a topographically-based Integrated Moisture Index (IMI). For the 1998 INAI data, PCA was used to reduce soil variables to fewer dimensions and resulting axis 1 scores were used in stepwise multiple regression analysis to determine relationships between environmental variables and DCA ordination axis scores. The IMI was the first variable entered in the stepwise multiple regression model; however, PCA axis 1 stand scores based on soil variables did not meet criteria for entry into the model. For all data sets, including the CCA ordination of the resampled INAI sites, there was a secondary separation at the dry end of the moisture gradient between hill prairies and dry sand prairies, which was related to differences in soil texture and availability of calcium and phosphorus. In general, soil nutrients and texture were less important than topographically controlled moisture availability in determining prairie species composition and abundance at this scale of analysis.
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