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Copyright of Quality of Life (1018-0389) / Calitatea Vieţii is the property of Romanian Academy Publishing House / Editura Academiei Romane and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

RationaleLittle research has evaluated the life course drivers of cognitive aging in South Africa.ObjectivesWe investigated the relationships of self-rated childhood health and father's occupation during childhood with later-life cognitive function score and whether educational attainment mediated these relationships among older South Africans living in a former region of Apartheid-era racial segregation.MethodsData were from baseline assessments of "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community" (HAALSI), a population-based study of 5059 men and women aged ≥40 years in 2015 in rural Agincourt sub-district, South Africa. Childhood health, father's occupation during childhood, and years of education were self-reported in study interviews. Cognitive measures assessed time orientation, numeracy, and word recall, which were included in a z-standardized latent cognitive function score variable. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and country of birth were used to estimate the total and direct effects of each childhood risk factor, and the indirect effects mediated by years of education.ResultsPoor childhood health predicted lower cognitive scores (total effect = -0.28; 95% CI = -0.35, -0.21, versus good); this effect was not mediated by educational attainment. Having a father in a professional job during childhood, while rare (3% of sample), predicted better cognitive scores (total effect = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.10, 0.40, versus unskilled manual labor, 29% of sample). Half of this effect was mediated by educational attainment. Education was linearly associated with later-life cognitive function score (0.09; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.10 per year achieved).ConclusionIn this post-Apartheid, rural South African context, older adults with poor self-reported childhood health or whose father worked in unskilled manual labor had relatively poor cognitive outcomes. Educational attainment strongly predicted cognitive outcomes, and appeared to be, in part, a mechanism of social stratification in later-life cognitive health in this context.

Equitable access to water and sanitation is still a challenge worldwide and in Brazil. In this sense, the concept of environmental justice was used in this paper as a basis for establishing an Integrated Territorial Assessment Model for Environmental Justice Applied to Sanitation. This research aims to give scientific support for the State Government to improve public policies and promote the universalization of water and sanitation services as established by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study was based on a quali-quantitative methodology. Secondary data were selected as key information to analyze environmental justice in sanitation, including the following: hydric vulnerability (IV), water supply (WS); untreated sewage collection (SC); sewage collection with treatment (ST); water supply investments (WSI); sewage system investments (SSI); municipal per capita income (MPI); and municipal human development index (MHDI). The data were presented in maps by overlapping the State official regional division and the discussion was carried out based on regional differences and similarities. The repetition of a pattern was noted, in which unfavorable rates were concentrated in the North and Jequitinhonha-Mucuri regions: water vulnerability, sewage system with collection and without treatment, total investment, average investment, per capita income and municipal human development index. Both also have low rates of the sewage system and water supply when compared to others. On the other hand, Zona da Mata and Triângulo regions have favorable rates for hydric vulnerability, sewage system with collection and without treatment and water supply. The Triângulo Mineiro region also presented favorable rates of total investment, average investment, per capita income, and municipal human development index. It is concluded that the inequality between the regions is, initially, of natural origin, and reinforced by the social context and inequality in sanitation investments in the different regions.

Aims: Mental health problems are common among Swedish adolescents and are sometimes referred to as 'stress-related'. The overall aim of this study is to do an analysis of subjective health complaints (SHCs) and perceived general stress among adolescents in Sweden, both their prevalence and association, by gender, migration background, family structure and socioeconomic conditions. Methods: Data from the baseline (comprising 2283 adolescents aged 13) of the STudy of Adolescence Resilience and Stress (STARS) study in Västra Götaland in Sweden were used. SHCs were measured by the Psychosomatic Problems Scale (PSP-scale) and self-reported stress was measured by Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Socioeconomic conditions were measured with the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) and the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status (SSS). Statistical analyses included Student's t -tests and ANOVAs of means, linear and logistic regression analyses and Pearson's correlations. Results: Social inequalities in both SHCs and self-reported stress were found; levels were higher among girls, adolescents living with one parent or in families with less favourable socioeconomic conditions. Self-reported stress and SHCs were found to be strongly correlated (r =0.70). Correlations with self-reported stress were stronger for psychological complaints (r =0.71) than for somatic complaints (r =0.52). Correlations did not vary with socioeconomic conditions of the family. Conclusions: SHCs do reflect general stress among adolescents, and it is appropriate to address the complaints as 'stress-related'. Measures to improve adolescents' mental health by reducing levels of SHCs should pay special attention to stressors in adolescents' daily lives and strengthening adolescent's coping resources and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial, economic, and political risks pose a significant threat to the development and progress of countries as such risks can impact all spheres of life including education, healthcare, logistics, transportation, and safety among others. Although these risks seem quite distinct, they are mutually influenced by multidimensional interdependent factors such as internal and external conflict, socioeconomic conditions, corruption, law and order, and bureaucratic quality among others. In this paper, we utilize a data-driven approach to explore dependencies among factors influencing financial, economic, and political risks and establish their relative importance in a network setting while capturing the entire distribution of individual factors. A probabilistic network-based model was developed using the data by the International Country Risk Guide, which revealed significant differences between the conventional and the proposed schemes for prioritizing drivers of political, economic, and financial risks. Internal conflict and socioeconomic conditions were considered as the most critical factors in terms of reducing and enhancing the network-wide risk exposure, respectively. The two prioritization schemes relative to the vulnerability and resilience impact of individual factors are not correlated and therefore, policy-makers need to focus on both schemes while developing risk mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Immigrants in Norway have higher COVID-19 notification and hospitalisation rates than Norwegian-born individuals. The knowledge about the role of socioeconomic factors to explain these differences is limited. We investigate the relationship between socioeconomic indicators at group level and epidemiological data for all notified cases of COVID-19 and related hospitalisations among the 23 largest immigrant groups in Norway. Methods: We used data on all notified COVID-19 cases in Norway up to 15 November 2020, and associated hospitalisations, from the Norwegian Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases and the emergency preparedness register at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. We report notified COVID-19 cases and associated hospitalisation rates per 100,000 and their correlation to income, education, unemployment, crowded housing and years of residency at the group level. Results: Crowded housing and low income at a group level were correlated with rates of both notified cases of COVID-19 (Pearson's correlation coefficient 0.77 and 0.52) and related hospitalisations (0.72, 0.50). In addition, low educational level and unemployment were correlated with a high number of notified cases. Conclusions: Immigrant groups living in disadvantaged socioeconomic positions are important to target with preventive measures for COVID-19. This must include targeted interventions for low-income families living in overcrowded households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand how observed COVID-19 diagnostic testing disparities across New York City (NYC) have impacted infection rates and COVID-19 spread, we examined neighborhood-level factors associated with, and the spatial distribution of, antibody test and infection rates, and compared changes over time by NYC ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA). Data were obtained from 2019 American Community Survey 5-year estimates to create an SES index by ZCTA. Other predictors obtained from 2018 census data were the proportions of white residents, Hispanic residents and residents ≥ 65 years old. Multivariable Poisson regressions were performed to assess the rate of change for antibody testing and positivity, and to assess the independent associations with SES, race and age. Results: There was a significant association between the rate of antibody tests and SES quartiles (Q1: βadj = 0.04, Q2: βadj = 0.03 and Q3: βadj = − 0.03, compared to Q4), and the proportion of residents who are white (βadj = 0.004, p <.0001), Hispanic (βadj = 0.001, p <.0001), and ≥ 65 years (βadj = 0.01, p <.0001). Total number of positive antibody tests was significantly inversely associated with SES quartile (Q1: βadj = 0.50, Q2: βadj = 0.48 and Q3: βadj = 0.29, compared to Q4), and proportion of white residents (β = − 0.001, p <.0001) and ≥ 65 years (β = − 0.02, p <.0001), and significantly positively associated with proportion of Hispanic residents (β = 0.003, p <.0001). There are disparities in antibody testing and positivity, reflecting disproportionate impacts and undercounts of COVID-19 infection across NYC ZCTAs. Future public health response should increase testing in these vulnerable areas to diminish infection spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gestão e Regionalidade is the property of Universidade Municipal de Sao Caetano do Sul and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Saber, Ciencia y Libertas is the property of Saber, Ciencia y Libertad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This report presents survey data about the socioeconomic conditions and governance of informal workers in Cali, Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted with 750 street vendors via telephone, the survey explores eight interrelated topics: demographics, households and children, economic activities, income and expenses, access to financial services and debt, institutional trust, health, and subjective wellbeing. These data are valuable for two reasons. First, they allow for an analysis of the social and economic consequences of the pandemic for a population group that remains understudied and neglected by social policy. Second, they allow for an understanding of the governance of informal work during crises and possible paths to promote greater inclusion. Taken together, the data presented here provide tools for conducting academic and policy-relevant analysis about informal workers, the long-term consequences of COVID-19 in the global South, and how recovery from the pandemic can be made more inclusive and sustainable.

Eldercare is a major public health concern in many East Asian countries, including Japan, because of the ever-growing elderly population, and significant changes in family caregiving norms. The changes are due to global diffusion and the influence of socioeconomic and demographic shifts. Consequently, perceptions of the norm of family caregiving need investigation. We examined how demographic and socioeconomic factors influence the perception of family caregiving norms in Japan, using data from Osaka University’s preference parameter study. According to the results of the probit regression, age, education, full-time employment, marital status, the number of sons and daughters, interactions between females and age and females and full-time employment, and parents’ education are negatively related to the participants’ perceptions of family caregiving norms. Our results suggest that people traditionally perceived as caregivers are less likely to have a positive attitude towards family caregiving, despite the government’s efforts through Universal Long-Term Care Insurance, implemented in 2000. Therefore, authorities must reassess the role of families, explore alternative forms of community-based care, and provide more assistance to caregivers.

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research is an attempt to examine the developmental relationship between democracy and the socioeconomic conditions in Bulgaria. The assumption is that one of the factors contributing to the negative attitude towards democracy in Bulgaria is the high level of social inequality. After discussing the relevance of studying democracy and socioeconomic conditions from a developmental perspective, the paper traces the socioeconomic development of Bulgaria from 1989 to date and examines public perceptions of social inequality in the country. The research has not revealed any overall negative public attitude towards democracy in Bulgaria. However, the findings have demonstrated a clear tendency for the public support for democracy to decline reflecting the growth of social inequality.

This review addresses the importance of the book "URBANIZATION AND NATURAL DISASTERS: Reach South America" by Lucí Hidalgo Nunes for the understanding of these phenomena in South America.

Abstract Background Disadvantageous socioeconomic conditions (SEC) in both childhood and adulthood increase the risk of stroke. We investigated whether intergenerational and lifetime social advancement decreases and/or social descent increases stroke risk. Methods In a case-control study with 466 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke and 807 controls randomly selected from the general population, we compared paternal profession to subjects’ professional education in adolescence and their last profession in adulthood. Furthermore, we constructed a socioeconomic risk score for childhood (based on paternal and maternal profession and occupation, familial, living and material conditions), adolescence (based on highest school degree and professional education), and adulthood (based on last profession, periods of unemployment, and marital status), and compared subjects´ positions at different life stages. Odds ratios were derived based on conditional logistic regression conditioning on age and sex only, after adjustment for medical and lifestyle risk factors, and after additional adjustment for socioeconomic risk score values. Results Intergenerational upward mobility between paternal profession and subject’s professional education was associated with lower ischemic stroke risk independent of medical and lifestyle risk factors (odds ratio (OR) 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41–0.81) and after additional adjustment for socioeconomic conditions in all three life stages (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.45–0.99). Advancement between fathers´ profession and subject’s last profession was associated with reduced odds of stroke after adjustment for risk factors (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.47–0.89), but not significantly after additional adjustment for SEC (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.52–1.13). Social descent between adolescence and adulthood indicated by the transition into a more disadvantageous tertile of socioeconomic risk score was associated with increased odds of stroke after adjustment for all risk factor (OR 2.93; 95% CI 1.21–7.13). Analyses by sex revealed mostly similar results in men and women with only few potential differences. Conclusions Our study results indicate that aspects of social downward mobility during adulthood may be associated with increased risk of stroke, whereas intergenerational upward mobility may be linked to a lower stroke risk. If confirmed by future studies, such results may help to focus stroke prevention measures at high risk populations.

Copyright of Revista Espacios is the property of Talleres de Impresos Oma and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Food security is defined by law, and refers to access to quality food in enough quantity. Objective: To evaluate food insecurity and its relation to the economic class, income transfer program and nutritional status of rural school students. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted with rural school students using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Measurement Scale and the socioeconomic classification of the Brazilian Association of Research Companies. Nutritional status was evaluated through the Body Mass and Height Index according to age. Results: A total of 121 families with 157 children and adolescents were evaluated. Of these, 57.9% were under food insecurity and 46.3% were beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família Program. The lowest socioeconomic classes were associated with food insecurity (p<0.0001). Families participating in the Bolsa Família Program presented higher prevalence of food insecurity (p<0.0001). Regarding nutritional status, high obesity rates were found in children (19.7%) and adolescents (22.9%). Conclusion: The rural families evaluated presented high prevalence of food insecurity associated with lower socioeconomic class and participation in the Bolsa Família Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agglomeration economies are the external benefits earned from clustering of industries and people in cities. The study assumes unbridled clustering of population in emerging urban agglomerations turning economies into diseconomies. This study empirically investigates the heterogeneous socioeconomic impacts of agglomeration economies in selected cities of Punjab, Pakistan, from 1998 to 2018, using the Pooled Mean Group and the Mean Group techniques of Panel ARDL. Agglomeration economies are determined by population density, number of registered factories, employment size, and housing, in the cities of Punjab. The study designed four indices for socioeconomic conditions using principal component analysis. These include: education-index, healthcare-index, water & sanitation-index, and economic conditions-index. Research findings reveal pressures of high population density, unemployment, and costly housing on educational & healthcare facilities, poor sanitation & waste management, in cities of Punjab, Pakistan. The study suggests that policy makers and urban planners to develop short term and long term policies and development plans for villages and secondary cities to uplift wellbeing of the local population. Nonetheless, cities need to decentralize for sustainable development and management.

In this paper, the factors that determine the particulate matter concentrations with diameter less than 10μm (PM10) are investigated for the provincial city of Ioannina, NW Greece. The analysis reveals that even in a generally medium-sized city as Ioannina (120,000 habitants), PM10 levels exceed the European Union's standards (mean daily PM10<50 μg/m3) quite often during the cold period of the year. The diurnal and intra-annual patterns of PM10 indicate that road traffic and residential heating are the main contributors of PM10 in the city, while residential heating is the main contributor during the cold period of the year, leading to very high concentrations (80 μg/m3) around 10 p.m. The inter-annual variation over the study period 2010–2012 and 2014–2017, constrained by the availability of quality surface PM10 measurements, shows that apart from meteorological parameters (e.g., wind speed, rain, and daily minimum temperature), which are significantly correlated with PM10, social-economic factors also determine the levels of atmospheric particulate matter. Indeed, during the years of deep austerity, in the middle of the study period, the number of days with poor and very poor conditions, defined according to the European Air Quality Index, has increased. This resulted from a decrease of consumption of conventional fuels for residential heating (e.g., oil) and the strengthened use of alternative and cheaper solutions such as wood or pellet burning, which emit more particulate matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agglomeration economies are the external benefits earned from clustering of industries and people in cities. The study assumes unbridled clustering of population in emerging urban agglomerations turning economies into diseconomies. This study empirically investigates the heterogeneous socioeconomic impacts of agglomeration economies in selected cities of Punjab, Pakistan, from 1998 to 2018, using the Pooled Mean Group and the Mean Group techniques of Panel ARDL. Agglomeration economies are determined by population density, number of registered factories, employment size, and housing, in the cities of Punjab. The study designed four indices for socioeconomic conditions using principal component analysis. These include: education-index, healthcare-index, water & sanitation-index, and economic conditions-index. Research findings reveal pressures of high population density, unemployment, and costly housing on educational & healthcare facilities, poor sanitation & waste management, in cities of Punjab, Pakistan. The study suggests that policy makers and urban planners to develop short term and long term policies and development plans for villages and secondary cities to uplift wellbeing of the local population. Nonetheless, cities need to decentralize for sustainable development and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though policy and legal documents on basic education are in place in Rwanda, the implementation faces hindrances to achieving high quality education. It is within this perspective that the paper aims at exploring these in both urban and rural nine- and twelve-year basic education schools to awaken policy makers for appropriate measures. From a population of 1016, random and purposive sampling techniques led to the sample size of 224 individuals. Respondents include students, teachers, Headteachers/Directors of Studies, local education authorities and other stakeholders of Northern, Eastern provinces and Kigali city. Document analysis, structured questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data from all categories of research participants. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyse data. Findings indicate that key local education stakeholders are aware that basic education in Rwanda is a key leading to sustainable development; that there is no quality education in these schools due to difficult school and home conditions. Expansion of various and well managed school funding programs can help to raise the quality of basic education in Rwanda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health have been well established, their geographical scope is mostly limited to Western societies, while multilevel studies in the non-Western context (e.g., Japan) are limited to specific cities/regions within countries. This consequently limits the external validity of the findings. To fill the gap, this study examined the associations between neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and health-related indicators by using nationwide cross-sectional data in Japan. Individual data was collected from a nationwide online survey conducted in 2015 (n = 4593). Self-rated health, mental distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale: K6), smoking, and physical activity were analyzed in relation to neighborhood conditions. Analyses of multilevel logistic regression models were done using the Areal Deprivation Index (ADI) with population density as the neighborhood-level independent variable. After adjusting for individual covariates, ADI showed significant positive associations with poor self-rated health (odds ratio for one standard deviation increase and 95% confidence interval: 1.09, 1.00–1.19), mental distress (1.09, 1.02–1.16), current smoking (1.11, 1.03–1.19), and physical inactivity (1.11, 1.04–1.18). Population density was not associated with the four dependent variables. Analyses of the nationwide survey data in Japan showed that neighborhood socioeconomic conditions were independently associated with multiple health statuses and behaviors. These analyses may contribute to generalizing existing findings. Lastly, the results indicate the importance of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions in reducing health disparities in Japan.

This paper examines the poverty perceptions of retired women by assessing the extent to which demographic characteristics, economic considerations, household adequacy levels and satisfaction measures influence perceptions of poverty. Based on data from a South African national survey, binomial logistic regression models were employed, whereby demographic characteristics (first level variables) were assessed relative to the respondents’ poverty perceptions. Thereafter, economic considerations (second level variables) were included in the model to draw more inferences on the conditions leading to poverty perceptions. Finally, respondents’ household adequacy levels and satisfaction measures (third level variables) were nested into the model for a complete investigation of the antecedents of poverty perceptions. Many of the retired women in this study perceive themselves to be impoverished or at risk of poverty. The results indicate that marital status and education levels have a significant influence on perceptions of poverty. Furthermore, the study found that monetary measures do not sufficiently explain the pathway leading to retirement poverty perceptions. Instead, perceptions of financial security and the satisfaction with one’s standard of living influence gendered poverty perceptions. This study advances our understanding of the conditions influencing the poverty perceptions of retired women. As most of the respondents in this sample rely on the government for financial support, this study provides pertinent suggestions to government agencies on the conditions associated with gendered poverty perceptions at retirement.

The introduction and spread of West Nile virus and the recent introduction of chikungunya and Zika viruses into the Americas have raised concern about the potential for various tropical pathogens to become established in North America. A historical analysis of yellow fever and malaria incidences in the United States suggests that it is not merely a temperate climate that keeps these pathogens from becoming established. Instead, socioeconomic changes are the most likely explanation for why these pathogens essentially disappeared from the United States yet remain a problem in tropical areas. In contrast to these anthroponotic pathogens that require humans in their transmission cycle, zoonotic pathogens are only slightly affected by socioeconomic factors, which is why West Nile virus became established in North America. In light of increasing globalization, we need to be concerned about the introduction of pathogens such as Rift Valley fever, Japanese encephalitis, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses.

Purpose – This study aims to evaluate the link between climate/weather change and farmer migration in Bihar, India. The influence of cognitive conditions and climate-related stress on farmer migration decisions and the socioeconomic characteristics of migrating and non-migrating farm households are analysed. The focus is the role of migration in access to climate and agricultural extension services and the contribution of migration to enhanced farmer coping capacity. Design/methodology/approach – A primary survey was conducted of farm households in seven districts of Bihar, India. Farmer perceptions of climate change were analysed using the mental map technique. The role of socioeconomic characteristics in farm household migration was evaluated using binary logistic regression, and the influence of migration on access to climate and agricultural extension services and the adaptive capacity of migrating households was investigated using descriptive statistics. Findings – Climate-induced livelihood risk factors are one of the major drivers of farmer’s migration. The farmers’ perception on climate change influences migration along with the socioeconomic characteristics. There is a significant difference between migrating and non-migrating farm households in the utilization of instructions, knowledge and technology based climate and agriculture extension services. Benefits from receipt of remittance, knowledge and social networks from the host region enhances migrating households’ adaptive capacity. Originality/value – This study provides micro-evidence of the contribution of migration to farmer adaptive capacity and access to climate and agricultural extension services, which will benefit analyses of climate-induced migration in other developing countries with higher agricultural dependence. In addition, valuable insights are delivered on policy requirements to reduce farmer vulnerability to climate change.

Intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in an infant has been extensively debated with Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS) (unilateral cataract; operated ≤7 months of age) and IOLunder2 trial (unilateral and bilateral cataracts; operated ≤2 years) strongly discouraging IOL implantation in infants and toddlers due to higher adverse events over 5 years. Newer studies from developing countries demonstrated a lower incidence of complications, doubting the extrapolation of the results of a randomized controlled trial in developed countries to that of developing countries that face various multidimensional challenges including social, economic and attitudinal characteristics of caregivers. We studied the evidence supporting and against IOL implantation in infants and toddlers and conclude that implantation of IOL in these patients is a viable option, especially in developing countries due to lower rates of complications in carefully selected cases. This review suggests that an arbitrary age of six months is inadequate to decide whether to implant an IOL and requires a more comprehensive approach. New guidelines for patient selection for primary IOL implantation in infants and toddlers have been proposed, which include ocular factors such as biometry, coexisting ocular comorbidities, intraoperative risk factors, surgeon's experience, and socio-economic considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study is to assess the impact of microfinance on the socioeconomic status such as, family income, family health status, children educational status, living standard, food/diet pattern, crop production and transportation and finally the constraints faced by the borrowers to get the loans from microfinance institutions. The primary data were collected from the 300 borrowers of microfinance institutions especially from Khushhali Bank limited through a well-designed structured questionnaire. The descriptive, inferential statistics, chi square statistics and simple linear regression models were used. The results of the study highlighted that 72.2% of the farmer's incomes increases due to microcredit's facility and due to increase in income, the farmers are able to get more access to the health facilities than before. 82.2% farmer's response indicated that the microfinance have a positive and significant impact on the children's educational status and due to microfinance their children were moved from government to private schools. Moreover, the parents whose children were not getting their education from the educational institutions due to their financial crisis and issues, now the parents sent their children to the educational institutions. 85.1% farmers replied that there is significant enhancement in the family living standard due to microfinance facility in the research area. It was also discussed that constraints experienced by the borrowers in getting the loans from the Khushhali bank limited and other microfinance institutions. The borrowers enumerated different problems such as high interest rate, no information about microfinance institutions, the complicated loans procedures, not believing on microfinance, small loan amount and not availability of loan at proper time. The farmers contacted the local agricultural credit officers, with governmental and non-governmental organizations and with different friends and relatives. The overall study concluded that the socioeconomic status of the farmers had been improved due to microcredit facility from the Khushhali Bank limited and other governmental and nongovernmental micro financing institutions in D.I. Khan. Finally, the study recommended that the government should manage the interest free loans, provide loans at earliest, shortest possible and at proper time, the government should need to increase the average size of the microfinance loans and create awareness through media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a novel approach that relates age-specific cohort fertility rates with socioeconomic conditions faced by each cohort in each single age to understand the behaviour of fertility. We implement this approach to study the evolution of fertility over the last 40 years in Spain, where both fertility and socioeconomic situations have undergone substantial changes during the period under scrutiny. We find female education and labour market conditions to be highly correlated with the evolution of cohort age-specific fertility rates in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Internalizing problems have increased among Swedish adolescents. We examined whether classroom disorder was associated with internalizing problems and whether it explained the trends in internalizing problems. Furthermore, we examined whether school contextual factors were associated with internalizing problems and whether they moderated the association between classroom disorder and internalizing problems. METHODS: We used repeated cross‐sectional survey data (1988‐2011) among all 15‐ to 16‐year‐old students in Värmland, Sweden (N = 9491 boys, N = 9313 girls). School‐level factors were the proportions of students with a low/average socioeconomic or an immigration background. RESULTS: Results from mixed effects models showed that classroom disorder was associated with internalizing problems across the years of investigation but did not explain the trends in internalizing problems. This association was moderated by the school‐level proportion of students with a low/average socioeconomic background but not the school‐level proportion of students with an immigration background. CONCLUSIONS: Students who perceived their classroom to be disorderly more often also reported more internalizing problems. Future studies are necessary to investigate other potential school factors that may explain the trends in internalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista CIENCIA UNEMI is the property of Universidad Estatal de Milagro (UNEMI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The health of children is reflective of the overall health of the nation. Health in early life may have substantial effects on health and wellbeing throughout the entire life course. Health of the children depends on several factors like mother's health and behaviour, numbers of children in the household, place of birth and socio economic characteristics. Objective: The present study was conducted to observe the health of children and its association with mothers' socio-economic conditions. Methods: Data on health of the children was collected from 251 married Nepali women aged between 18 to 60 years from Lingmoo village of South Sikkim. Data on overall health of the children, health check up, vaccination, polio drop, infant mortality and overall health care was collected from each mother through interview. Results: The higher frequencies of children are provided with polio drops (88.4%) and immunization (91.2%). The frequency of infant mortality was higher among women who belong to middle income group (3.7%). The overall good health of the children was higher among children belongs to higher income group (89.4%), mothers who attained higher secondary education (85.2%) and government employees (100.0%). Conclusions: Socioeconomic conditions of the mothers show positive association with overall health of the children. Better socioeconomic status mothers can relatively afford and provide better nutrition, medical facility as well as more awareness for health and hygiene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to assess how childhood socioeconomic conditions are associated with sleeping problems in older adults and how this association may be mediated by socioeconomic conditions across the lives of individuals using a life course perspective. Since the life course opportunities differ systematically between men and women, attention was given to gender differences in the association. Methods: Data from 23,766 individuals aged over 50 years of the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used. Logistic mixed-effect models were estimated to examine the associations between childhood socioeconomic conditions and the presence of sleeping problems. Results: For women, the analyses showed an association between childhood socioeconomic conditions and sleeping problems. For men, only current socioeconomic conditions were found to be relevant for sleep. The importance of childhood socioeconomic conditions for sleeping problems did not affect the evolution of sleeping problems over ageing. Conclusion: In this study no empirical support was found for processes of cumulative advantage/disadvantage or age-as-leveler. However, childhood does seem to be a critical period for the sleep of women, because the association with childhood socioeconomic conditions remains even when the circumstances later in life are considered. These findings, in particular the gender differences in the association, underline the importance of tracking life course patterns in the study of sleeping problems in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a disease with high impact on both the morbidity and mortality worldwide. It affects social groups and individuals with differing social conditions and hierarchies. This work aims to identify the evidence of the relationships between social inequalities regarding the disease process, treatment and health care for type 2 diabetes mellitus. To do so, a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted among indexed journals published during 2016-2018. In general, the results showed that the social inequalities mostly due to the ethnic/race and socioeconomic reasons have effects on the incidence and treatment of type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, regarding the gender there is a variable behavior between men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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• Poorer countries are less likely to report COVID-19 statistics in the initial period of the pandemic. • COVID-19 infections and deaths show a marked decline in periods with mitigation measures. • In periods without mitigation measures, growth of COVID-19 infections and deaths was higher in poorer countries. • In periods with mitigation measures, growth of COVID-19 infections and deaths was lower in poorer countries. • Mitigation measures were more effective in countries with high shares of population living in poverty. It is well documented that COVID-19 contagion and mortality rates differed systematically across countries. Less is known, however, on whether these differences could be explained by socioeconomic conditions that may determine both the extent to which individuals voluntarily take protection measures in the absence of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) or comply with imposed NPIs, when these are in place. Using data from 185 countries, we examine associations of COVID-19 infection and mortality dynamics with socioeconomic conditions, as measured by poverty rates, in periods before and after NPIs have been imposed. We find that, in the initial period of the pandemic, when no NPIs were in place, daily growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths are positively associated with the share of the population living in poverty, whereas, in the following period, when NPIs were implemented, these associations turn negative. We argue that these results could be explained by the fact that NPIs are expected to be more effective in countries with high poverty rates where voluntary physical distancing is low and physical distancing practices are more responsive to imposed measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global economic activities expand, ecological deterioration has become an increasingly pressing issue. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require striking a balance between environmental sustainability and economic development. Consequently, examining the United States' efforts to foster ecological sustainability becomes crucial, given its status as the globe's largest economy. Thus, this study explores the effect of socioeconomic conditions, eco-innovation, financial risk, renewable energy, and political risk on CO 2 from 1985Q1 to 2020Q4. In pursuit of this objective, we introduce two new advanced techniques, including wavelet quantile regression (WQR) and wavelet nonparametric causality (WNQC). WQR allowed us to assess the strength and direction of the interrelationships, while WNQC helped determine causality. Moreover, these approaches enabled us to comprehensively explore the dynamic interactions between CO 2 and their driving factors across various quantiles and periods. The results consistently indicate the negative effects of eco-innovation and renewable energy on CO 2 across all quantiles and periods. Additionally, socioeconomic conditions, political risk, and financial risk were found to contribute to CO 2 in each quantile and time frame. Furthermore, the wavelet nonparametric causality analysis aligns with the results of wavelet quantile regression, reinforcing the significance of socioeconomic conditions, renewable energy, eco-innovation, political risk, and financial risk in influencing CO 2 across various quantiles and periods. These results have led to the implementation of various policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]