"Real-Time" Monitoring of Under-Five Mortality: A Vision Tempered by Reality.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Bryce J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4726699 | biostudies-other | 2016 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundMalawi ratified a compulsory birth and death registration system in 2009. Until it captures complete coverage of vital events, Malawi relies on other data sources to calculate mortality estimates. We tested a community-based method to estimate annual under-five mortality rates (U5MR) through the Real-Time Monitoring of Under-Five Mortality (RMM) project in Malawi. We implemented RMM in two phases, and conducted an independent evaluation of phase one after 21 months of implementation. We present results of the phase two validation that covers the full project time span, and compare the results to those of the phase one validation.Methods and findingsWe assessed the completeness of the counts of births and deaths and the accuracy of disaggregated U5MR from the community-based method against a retrospective full pregnancy history for rolling twelve-month periods after the independent evaluation. We used full pregnancy histories collected through household interviews carried out between November 2013 and January 2014 as the validation data source. Health Surveillance Agents (HSAs) across the 160 catchment areas submitted routine reports on pregnancies, births, and deaths consistently. However, for the 15-month implementation period post-evaluation, average completeness of birth event reporting was 76%, whereas average completeness of death event reporting was 67% relative to that expected from a comparable pregnancy history. HSAs underestimated the U5MR by an average of 21% relative to that estimated from a comparable pregnancy history.ConclusionsOn a medium scale, the community-based RMM method in Malawi produced substantial underestimates of annualized U5MR relative to those obtained from a full pregnancy history, despite the additional incentives and quality-control activities. We were not able to achieve an optimum level of incentive and support to make the system work while ensuring sustainability. Lessons learned from the implementation of RMM can inform programs supporting community-based interventions through HSAs in Malawi.
| S-EPMC4713469 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundManagement regime can hugely influence the efficiency of crop production but measuring real-time below-ground responses is difficult. The combination of fertiliser application and mowing or grazing may have a major impact on roots and on the soil nutrient profile and leaching.ResultsA novel approach was developed using low-cost ion-selective sensors to track nitrate (NO3-) movement through soil column profiles sown with the forage crops, Lolium perenne and Medicago sativa. Applications of fertiliser, defoliation of crops and intercropping of the grass and the legume were tested. Sensor measurements were compared with conventional testing of lysimeter and leachate samples. There was little leaching of NO3- through soil profiles with current management practices, as monitored by both methods. After defoliation, the measurements detected a striking increase in soil NO3- in the middle of the column where the greatest density of roots was found. This phenomenon was not detected when no NO3- was applied, and when there was no defoliation, or during intercropping with Medicago.ConclusionMowing or grazing may increase rhizodeposition of carbon that stimulates soil mineralization to release NO3- that is acquired by roots without leaching from the profile. The soil columns and sensors provided a dynamic insight into rhizosphere responses to changes in above-ground management practices.
| S-EPMC7847023 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In situ monitoring of electrode materials reveals detailed physicochemical transition in electrochemical device. The key challenge is to explore the localized features of electrode surfaces, since the performance of an electrochemical device is determined by the summation of local architecture of the electrode material. Adaptive in situ techniques have been developed for numerous investigations; however, they require restricted measurement environments and provide limited information, which has impeded their widespread application. In this study, we realised an optics-based electrochemical in situ monitoring system by combining a dark-field micro/spectroscopy with an electrochemical workstation to investigate the physicochemical behaviours of Pt catalyst. We found that the localized plasmonic trait of a Pt-decorated Au nanoparticle as a model system varied in terms of its intensity and wavelength during the iterations of a cyclic voltammetry test. Furthermore, we show that morphological and compositional changes of the Pt catalyst can be traced in real time using changes in quantified plasmonic characteristics, which is a distinct advantage over the conventional electrochemistry-based in situ monitoring systems. These results indicate the substantial promise of online operando observation in a wide range of electrical energy conversion systems and electrochemical sensing areas.
| S-EPMC5146959 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMillennium Development Goal 4 calls for a reduction in the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, which corresponds to an annual rate of decline of 4.4%. The United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation estimates under-five mortality in every country to measure progress. For the majority of countries, the estimates within a country are based on the assumption of a piece-wise constant rate of decline.Methods and findingsThis paper proposes an alternative method to estimate under-five mortality, such that the underlying rate of change is allowed to vary smoothly over time using a time series model. Information about the average rate of decline and changes therein is exchanged between countries using a bayesian hierarchical model. Cross-validation exercises suggest that the proposed model provides credible bounds for the under-five mortality rate that are reasonably well calibrated during the observation period. The alternative estimates suggest smoother trends in under-five mortality and give new insights into changes in the rate of decline within countries.ConclusionsThe proposed model offers an alternative modeling approach for obtaining estimates of under-five mortality which removes the restriction of a piece-wise linear rate of decline and introduces hierarchy to exchange information between countries. The newly proposed estimates of the rate of decline in under-5 mortality and the uncertainty assessments would help to monitor progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4.
| S-EPMC3182159 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Accurate estimates of the under-five mortality rate in a developing world context are a key barometer of the health of a nation. This paper describes a new model to analyze survey data on mortality in this context. We are interested in both spatial and temporal description, that is wishing to estimate under-five mortality rate across regions and years and to investigate the association between the under-five mortality rate and spatially varying covariate surfaces. We illustrate the methodology by producing yearly estimates for subnational areas in Kenya over the period 1980-2014 using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, which use stratified cluster sampling. We use a binomial likelihood with fixed effects for the urban/rural strata and random effects for the clustering to account for the complex survey design. Smoothing is carried out using Bayesian hierarchical models with continuous spatial and temporally discrete components. A key component of the model is an offset to adjust for bias due to the effects of HIV epidemics. Substantively, there has been a sharp decline in Kenya in the under-five mortality rate in the period 1980-2014, but large variability in estimated subnational rates remains. A priority for future research is understanding this variability. In exploratory work, we examine whether a variety of spatial covariate surfaces can explain the variability in under-five mortality rate. Temperature, precipitation, a measure of malaria infection prevalence, and a measure of nearness to cities were candidates for inclusion in the covariate model, but the interplay between space, time, and covariates is complex.
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Project description:Treatment of MCF7 breast cancer cells by cisplatin leads to a very specific metabolic response and an onset of cell death about 10-11 h after beginning of treatment. For more detailed understanding of the molecular processes underlying the specific metabolic response, mRNA was isolated from MCF7 cells when the specific changes, (i) induction of glycolysis and (ii) onset of cell death, were detected during online measurement in the cell biosensor system.
2011-04-04 | GSE28274 | GEO
Project description:Treatment of MCF7 breast cancer cells by cisplatin leads to a very specific metabolic response and an onset of cell death about 10-11 h after beginning of treatment. For more detailed understanding of the molecular processes underlying the specific metabolic response, mRNA was isolated from MCF7 cells when the specific changes, (i) induction of glycolysis and (ii) onset of cell death, were detected during online measurement in the cell biosensor system. MCF7 breast cancer cells were treated with cisplatin in the BIONAS 2500 cell biosensor chip system, and samples were collected from the biosensor chip module at time points when glycolysis was induced (change of ph; 8-9h) and at the beginning of cell death (change of impedance; 10-11h).
2011-04-04 | E-GEOD-28274 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Realistic rendering techniques of outdoor Augmented Reality (AR) has been an attractive topic since the last two decades considering the sizeable amount of publications in computer graphics. Realistic virtual objects in outdoor rendering AR systems require sophisticated effects such as: shadows, daylight and interactions between sky colours and virtual as well as real objects. A few realistic rendering techniques have been designed to overcome this obstacle, most of which are related to non real-time rendering. However, the problem still remains, especially in outdoor rendering. This paper proposed a much newer, unique technique to achieve realistic real-time outdoor rendering, while taking into account the interaction between sky colours and objects in AR systems with respect to shadows in any specific location, date and time. This approach involves three main phases, which cover different outdoor AR rendering requirements. Firstly, sky colour was generated with respect to the position of the sun. Second step involves the shadow generation algorithm, Z-Partitioning: Gaussian and Fog Shadow Maps (Z-GaF Shadow Maps). Lastly, a technique to integrate sky colours and shadows through its effects on virtual objects in the AR system, is introduced. The experimental results reveal that the proposed technique has significantly improved the realism of real-time outdoor AR rendering, thus solving the problem of realistic AR systems.
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Project description:Neuroimaging studies have found 'reality monitoring', our ability to distinguish internally generated experiences from those derived from the external world, to be associated with activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the brain. Here we probe the functional underpinning of this ability using real-time fMRI neurofeedback to investigate the involvement of mPFC in recollection of the source of self-generated information. Thirty-nine healthy individuals underwent neurofeedback training in a between groups study receiving either Active feedback derived from the paracingulate region of the mPFC (21 subjects) or Sham feedback based on a similar level of randomised signal (18 subjects). Compared to those in the Sham group, participants receiving Active signal showed increased mPFC activity over the course of three real-time neurofeedback training runs undertaken in a single scanning session. Analysis of resting state functional connectivity associated with changes in reality monitoring accuracy following Active neurofeedback revealed increased connectivity between dorsolateral frontal regions of the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and the mPFC region of the default mode network (DMN), together with reduced connectivity within ventral regions of the FPN itself. However, only a trend effect was observed in the interaction of the recollection of the source of Imagined information compared with recognition memory between participants receiving Active and Sham neurofeedback, pre- and post- scanning. As such, these findings demonstrate that neurofeedback can be used to modulate mPFC activity and increase cooperation between the FPN and DMN, but the effects on reality monitoring performance are less clear.
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Project description:RotaTeq (RV5) is a widely used live attenuated pentavalent rotavirus (RV) vaccine. Although fecal shedding of RV vaccine strains persists for long time periods, it is unclear how each vaccine strain replicates in intestinal tissue and is excreted in stool. To examine this issue, we established RV5 genotype-specific real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays. Five real-time RT-PCR assays were designed for the VP7 gene in genotypes G1, G2, G3, G4, and G6. All assays exhibited excellent linearity, and the detection limit was 1 infectious unit (IU)/reaction for G2, G4, and G6 and 10 IUs/reaction for G1 and G3. No cross-reactivity was observed among G genotypes. The inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation were less than 3%. The assays were used to examine 129 stool samples collected from eight infants who received RV5. In cases 1 and 2, who received three rounds of vaccination, RV shedding decreased gradually with the number of vaccinations. G1 and G6 shedding appeared to be predominant in comparison to shedding of the other genotypes. Patterns of fecal shedding of the five genotypes of vaccine viruses differed between the eight vaccine recipients. RV5 genotype-specific real-time RT-PCR assays will be useful to study the molecular biology of RV5 replication in infants and experimental animals.
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