Year-round Behaviour Research Articles

Individual, Maternal, Household, and Community Level Variability in Determining Inequalities in Childhood Anaemia within Ethiopia: Four-Level Multilevel Analysis Approach

Background: Childhood anaemia is a major public health issue necessitating rapid attention due to its debilitating consequences on the child, family, and society. Previous studies have assessed the prevalence and contributing factors to childhood anaemia in many developing countries. Yet, little is known about the factors that contribute to childhood anaemia in Ethiopia. The study examined the factors associated with inequalities of childhood anaemia in Ethiopia. Methods: Data for the study were extracted from the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey of Ethiopia. A total of 7960 children were considered in the final study. Bivariate and multilevel ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to estimate determinants of inequalities of childhood anaemia status. Results: Overall, the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe anaemia among the children were 24.5%, 28.4%, and 2.2%, respectively. The child’s age (in months), sex of the child, preceding birth interval (in months), mother’s educational level, antenatal care visit, wealth index of mothers, source of drinking water, type of toilet facility, place of residence, and region were significantly associated with childhood anaemia. The multilevel random coefficient model found that there is a variation of childhood anaemia among women (intra-cluster correlation [ICC] = 15.06%), households (ICC = 15.6%), and communities (ICC = 14.22%) in Ethiopia. Conclusions: This study showed that anaemia is common among Ethiopian children. Factors found to be associated with childhood anaemia were the sociodemographic characteristics of the child and their mothers. We recommend that existing programs and interventions to prevent and reduce childhood anaemia be strengthened. Moreover, a targeted intervention includes deworming, intensified year-round behavior change communication campaigns and testing using digital methods, and point-of-care treatment.

Year-Round Behavior of Micro-plastics in Coastline Sand

This article aims to identify the behavior of light and heavy micro-plastics on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea during different seasons of the year. For this purpose, data from 15 sampling stations were gathered in four seasons, and subjected to various analyses after the samples were prepared. To separate light and heavy micro-plastics, the samples were washed with water. Analysis of TGA-DSC and FTIR imaging ‎was used to quantitatively and qualitatively identify microplastic samples and optical microscope images were used to quantify the number of particles. According to the results, the amount of light microplastics in the spring and winter is less than in the summer and autumn‎. In the spring, the highest levels of pollutants are PVC, PES, PET and PU. In the summer and autumn, the values of PE, PP, PA, PAT, PU and PVC are at a ‎relatively equal range. In the winter, most pollutants are PVC, PES, and PU.‎ In conclusion, PE, PP, PPA, and PET should be removed from the environment before they can be modified by physical and chemical processes.

A cross-sectional study on prevalence and determinants of anemia among women of reproductive age in a rural community of West Bengal.

Context:Anemia is a serious public health concern especially in women of reproductive age (WRA) as it causes a high burden of morbidity and mortality and persists through intergenerational cycle. As most of the risk factors are preventable, a thorough understanding of its risk factors is necessary to design better interventions.Aims:Current study aimed to estimate the burden of anemia as well as explore determinants of various grades of anemia among WRA in a rural area.Settings and Design:A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among non-pregnant, non-lactating women of reproductive age in rural field practice area of All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health.Methods and Materials:House to house visit was conducted for interviewing with pre-designed pre-tested questionnaire along with blood hemoglobin and anthropometric measurement.Statistical Analysis Used:Descriptive statistics and test of significance like multinomial logistic regression and Kruskal-Wallis test (with post-hoc) were used.Results:Majority (70.8%) of participants were anemic. Proportion of mild, moderate, and severe anemia were 24.16%, 37.5%, and 9.16%, respectively. Different levels of anemia were significantly associated with higher age, lower education, poor iron-rich food intake, lack of dietary diversity, and adiposity. Significantly low hemoglobin level in both underweight and obesity was noticed suggesting U shaped relationship between BMI and anemia.Conclusion:Periodic screening for anemia among WRA especially in both extremes of malnutrition, i.e., undernutrition and obesity should be considered at the policy level. Year-round behaviour change communication campaigns must be carried out for the promotion of necessary food groups in diet.

Year-round behaviour of soil microarthropod communities under plant protection product application

The use of plant protection products (PPPs) in agro-environments can lead to undesired exposure of non-target organisms in non-target compartments. A year-round field survey was conducted in a vineyard in Northern Italy, for monitoring the changes in the structure of soil microarthropod communities under the application of PPPs, focusing on springtails and mites, both inside and 4 and 10 m outside the vineyard. Exposure to PPPs was estimated as time-weighted average soil concentrations. The fluctuations in the abundances of the different organisms after the application of PPPs, especially insecticides, were recorded. A recovery in abundances was observed at the end of the productive season outside the field and at the beginning of the next spring within the vineyard. Using multivariate statistical tools, the behaviour of each taxon in relation to the stressors was assessed. Some organisms were affected by the stressors, while others were favoured because of low vulnerability to PPPs and the indirect effect of the absence of other taxa. The principal response curves (PRC) method was the most sensitive tool for assessing PPP effects on soil arthropod communities. Strong differences were evident in the structure of the communities inside and outside the vineyard, with the communities sampled 4 and 10 m outside the vineyard being fairly similar, the latter considered as control. The role of physical stressors on community composition is recognised. However, chemical stressors, and in particular PPP exposure seemed to have larger effects on structural and functional characteristics of soil arthropod communities than physical stressors.

YEAR-ROUND BEHAVIOR FOR INORGANIC COMPOSITION OF SIZE-RESOLVED AIRBORNE PARTICLES IN HIMEJI CITY, JAPAN

As a part that, an epidemiological study on the effects of physicochemical characterization of airborne particulate matter (PM) and ozone on asthma attacks, we carried out size-resolved sampling of PM in Himeji City, and elemental and ionic composition analyses of the PM sample. Size-resolved PM was collected using a 3-stage NLAS impactor (Tokyo Dylec Co., Ltd.; particle cut size at sampling stages was 10, 2.5 and 1.0 μm for a flow rate of 3 L/min) with a one-week base sampling interval, and the PM sampling was begun in November, 2009. Concentrations of several elemental and ionic species in the PM sample were determined by PIXE and ion chromatography analysis, respectively. The research results are important for the physicochemical characterization of PM in atmosphere, enabling detailed analysis of the year-round behavior. Of particular note, is that the PM10 was mainly NO3- and SO42- and PM2.5 was only SO42-. This is believed to suggest the different formation processes of NO3- and SO42-.

Year-round Behavior of PM2.5 in a Remote Island and Urban Sites in the Northern Kyushu Area, Japan

Year-round Behavior of PM<SUB>2.5</SUB> in a Remote Island and Urban Sites in the Northern Kyushu Area, Japan

Year-round Behavior of Marine Litter Drifted on the Coast in the Seto Inland Sea

The marine litter drifted on the coast is expected to affect coastal environment and ecosystem. However, its year-round behavior still remains poorly understood. In this paper, we examined the spatial distribution of the drifted litter from 23 rivers to the Seto Inland Sea and influence of the seasonal wind or river discharge on the drifting process of the litter in the Seto Inland Sea by semi 3-D FEM numerical simulation model. Moreover, we also carried out field observations in the Narugashima Island which is located at the southeastern part of Seto Inland Sea. It is clarified the source of most litter (golf ball or cigarette lighter) is the river basin in the Seto Inland Sea, however, some of them were reached from nearby Asian countries.