Malnutrition and conflict in East Africa: the impacts of resource variability on human security

Changes in climate, along with anthropogenic pressures, impact vegetation productivity and related ecosystem services on which human security relies. The impacts of these climate changes on society will be experienced both through changes in mean conditions over long time periods and through increases in extreme events. Uncertainties remain on how short-term changes in ecosystems influence human security. Most studies analyzing the relationship between human security and climate are at the country level, ignoring fine-grained spatial heterogeneity in local climatic and socio-economic conditions. Here, we used detailed spatio-temporal information extracted from wide-swath satellite data (MODIS) to examine the impact of interannual variability in ecosystems on malnutrition and armed conflict in East Africa while controlling for other natural and socio-economic factors. The analysis was performed at a subnational and village scales. At the regional level, ecosystem variability was associated with malnutrition. This relationship was not statistically significant at the village level. At both levels of analysis, our results indicated that armed conflicts were more likely in regions with more vegetation. Results suggested that, in East Africa, increased levels of malnutrition were related to armed conflicts. They also showed the importance, in low-income countries, of local economic activity and accessibility to reduce the likelihood of malnutrition and insecurity

Augmented Th17-type immune responses in preterm neonates exposed to histologic chorioamnionitis.

BACKGROUND: Histologic chorioamnionitis (HCA) is a placental inflammatory disorder that frequently precedes preterm delivery. HCA increases risk for long-standing inflammatory injury and may influence immune programming, particularly in preterm (PT) neonates. We hypothesized that HCA exposure is associated with an increased circulating frequency of proinflammatory, Th17-type responses. METHODS: Placental cord blood was collected from HCA-exposed or control neonates (23-41 wk gestation). Frequencies of Th17 and T regulatory (Treg) cells and assessments of Th17-type features in CD4 and Treg cells were determined by flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: Cord blood samples from 31 PT and 17 term neonates were analyzed by flow cytometry. A diagnosis of HCA in extremely PT (EPT, GA ≤ 30 wk) gestations was associated with the highest cord blood frequencies of progenitor (pTh17, CD4+CD161+) and mature (mTh17, CD4+CD161+CCR6+) Th17 cells. Preterm neonates exposed to HCA also exhibited elevated cord blood frequencies of IL-17+ Treg cells, as well as T cells with effector memory phenotype (TEM) that coexpressed Th17-type surface antigens. CONCLUSION: Th17-type responses are amplified in preterm neonates exposed to HCA. We speculate that a Th17 bias may potentiate the inflammatory responses and related morbidity observed in preterm neonates whose immune systems have been primed by HCA exposure

Measuring Delegation

International organizations, Delegation, Cooperation theory, C32, D20, D23, D73, F53, F55, H11, N40,