Tersilochinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Papua New Guinea: genera Allophrys Förster and Probles Förster.

Seven species of the genus Allophrys Förster, A. cracentis sp. nov., A. daklaka Khalaim, A. madanga sp. nov., A. miklouhomaclayi sp. nov., A. occipitata Khalaim, A. parvidentata sp. nov. and A. valorosa sp. nov., and one species of Probles Förster, P. (Euporizon) papuaensis sp. nov., have been discovered from Papua New Guinea. This is the first record of these genera, as well as the subfamily Tersilochinae, from this country. An identification key to seven species of Allophrys occurring in Papua New Guinea is provided.

Effect of early, short-term supplementation on weight and linear growth of 4-7-mo-old infants in developing countries: a four-country randomized trial.

The effect of supplementation on growth was tested by means of four similar controlled randomized trials in the Congo (n = 120), Senegal (n = 110), Bolivia (n = 127), and New Caledonia (n = 90). Four-month-old infants were randomly allocated to supplement or control groups. A cereal-based precooked porridge was offered twice daily for 3 mo and consumption was monitored. Both groups were free to eat local food. At 7 mo of age, all infants were still breast-fed in the Congo, Senegal, and Bolivia compared with 47% in New Caledonia. Mean daily consumption of the supplement varied among countries (558-790 kJ/d). Mean length at 4 mo was lowest in Bolivia, higher in Senegal and the Congo, and near the National Center for Health Statistics reference in New Caledonia. The mean 4-7 mo length increment was 0.48 cm higher for supplemented than for control infants in Senegal (P < 0.05), whereas weight increments did not differ. No significant effect was found in the other countries.

PIP: Findings from this study of the link between nutritional supplementation during breast feeding and infant growth disagree with earlier studies. The effect of nutritional supplementation on growth in length was only modest, but significant only in Senegal and not significant in the Congo, Bolivia, and New Caledonia. It is hypothesized that food supplementation during the 4-7 month period would have a positive effect on linear growth. This study included four controlled randomized trials among 120 infants in the Congo, 110 infants in Senegal, 127 infants in Bolivia, and 90 infants in New Caledonia. The infants were 4 months old when placed in the supplement or control groups. Supplementation included the addition of a cereal-based precooked porridge twice daily for 3 months. Both groups continued to eat local foods. Breast feeding patterns were different in New Caledonia, where only 47% of infants were still breast fed at 7 months of age. Mean daily supplementation varied among countries, from 558 to 790 kJ/day. Mean length was lowest in Bolivia, higher in Senegal and the Congo, and close to the US National Center for Health Statistics reference measures in New Caledonia. The study was conducted in rural parts of Senegal and New Caledonia and periurban parts of Bolivia and the Congo. Supplementation was supervised by field workers. The samples included infants with a length-for-age score of -2.5 or higher and a weight-for-length Z score of -2 or higher at 4 months. Anthropometric measurements were taken at 4 months and 4, 8, and 13 weeks later (at 4.9, 5.8, and 7.0 months of age). 24-hour food recalls were collected monthly for consumption of breast milk, special local infant food, commercial "western" baby food, milk substitutes, family food, water, and other than milk liquids.

Comparison of effects of breast-feeding practices on birth-spacing in three societies: nomadic Turkana, Gainj, and Quechua.

Variation in the duration and pattern of breast-feeding contributes significantly to inter-population differences in fertility. In this paper, measures of suckling frequency and intensity are used to compare the effects of breast-feeding practices on the duration of lactational amenorrhoea, and on the length of the birth interval in three prospective studies undertaken during the 1980s, among Quechua Indians of Peru, Turkana nomads of Kenya, and Gainj of Papua New Guinea. In all three societies, lactation is prolonged well into the second year postpartum, and frequent, on-demand breast-feeding is the norm. However, the duration of lactational amenorrhoea and the length of birth intervals vary considerably. Breast-feeding patterns among Gainj and Turkana are similar, but Turkana women resume menses some 3 months earlier than do the Gainj. The average birth interval among the Gainj exceeds that of nomadic Turkana by over 15 months. Suckling activity decreases significantly with increasing age of nurslings among both Gainj and Quechua, but not among Turkana. Earlier resumption of menses among Turkana women may be linked to the unpredictable demands of the pastoral system, which increase day-to-day variation in the number of periods of on-demand breast-feeding, although not in suckling patterns. This effect is independent of the age of infants. The short birth intervals of Turkana women, relative to those of the Gainj, may be related to early supplementation of Turkana nurslings with butterfat and animals' milk, which reduces energetic demands on lactating women at risk of negative energy balance.

PIP: Between July 1989 and late February 1990. an anthropologist observed breast feeding patterns of 24 mother-infant pairs of the nomadic Ngisonyoka Turkana in Kenya to determine suckling frequency and intensity and their effect on the duration of lactational amenorrhea and the length of the birth interval. She compared her results with those of studies of the Gainj of Papua New Guinea and of the Quechua Indians of Peru, studies which used the same unite of analysis as the Turkana study. Prolonged lactation and frequent, on-demand ruled in each group. Turkana infants suckled all day and night, with each nursing period being 1-2 minutes long and with 10-15 minutes between each period. The Gainj also had prolonged lactation and similar nursing sessions. On the other hand, the Quechua clumped their breast feeding sessions, which were longer than those of both the Turkana and the Gainj. Turkana birth intervals were shorter than those of Gainj (29 vs. 44.3 months). Turkana women also had a higher fertility rate than did the Gainj (6.5 vs. 4 live births). Suckling activity fell considerably as age increased for Gainj and Quechua infants, but not for Turkana infants. Early introduction of butterfat from goats' and camels' milk during the first few weeks after birth and the daily difference in amount of suckling during the lactational period due to variable maternal work schedules (based on the labor demand of the pastoral system of the Turkana) reduced the effect of age. In conclusion, differences in the length and pattern of breast feeding practices account for much of the interpopulation variation in fertility.

A disaster waiting to happen.

PIP: 250 million indigenous or first peoples inhabit 70 countries throughout the world. They are almost universally marginalized, impoverished, and denied access to adequate health care. They are therefore subjected to poor health, malnutrition, endemic sexually transmitted diseases, and a myriad of social problems including prostitution, displacement, resettlement, and substance abuse. Lack of condom availability and use and the plethora of languages in which interventions must be communicated also pose obstacles. 860 languages are spoken by the 3 million first peoples in Papua New Guinea. As HIV sweeps across continents and through populations worldwide, these aforementioned conditions certainly predispose indigenous peoples to the risk of contracting and spreading HIV. The lack of reliable reporting systems to monitor health conditions and the incidence and prevalence of HIV among indigenous populations, and the corresponding lack of hard data make it impossible to reliably estimate the extent of HIV therein. Factors which increase the likelihood that HIV and AIDS will reach epidemic proportions among the indigenous are specially described for Amazonia, Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, India, Africa, Australia, Canada, and the US.^ieng

Interactive radio instruction: developing instructional methods.

The USAID has, since 1972, funded the development of a new methodology for educational radio for young children through 3 projects: the Radio Mathematics PRoject of Nicaragua, the Radio Language Arts Project of Kenya, and the Radio Science PRoject of Papua New Guinea. These projects developed math programs for grades 1-4 and English as a second language for grades 1-3; programs to teach science in grades 4-6 are now being developed. Appropriate techniques were developed to engage young children actively in the learning process. Lessons are planned as a "conversation" between the children and the radio; scripts are written as 1/2 of a dialogue, with pauses carefully timed so that written as 12 of a dialogue, with pauses carefully timed so that students can contribute their 1/2. Teaching techniques used in all 3 projects include choral responses, simultaneous individual seatwork, and activities using simple materials such as pebbles and rulers. Certain techniques were specific to the subject being taught, or to the circumstances in which the lessons were to be used. Patterned oral drill was used frequently in the English lessons, including sound-cued drills. "Deferred" oral responses were used often in the math lessons. In this method, the children are instructed to solve a problem silently, not giving the answer aloud until requested, thus allowing time for even the slower children to participate. "One-child" questions were used in both English and science: the radio asks a question to be answered by a single child, who is selected on the spot by the classroom teacher. This allows for open-ended questions, but also requires constant supervision of the classroom teacher. Songs and games were used in all programs, and extensively for didactic purposes in the teaching of English. Instructions for science activities are often more complex than in other courses, particularly when the children are using science apparatus, especially when they work in pairs to share scarce equipment, a cost-saving device developed specifically for use in the science course.

Low forager fertility: demographic characteristic or methodological artifact?

PIP: Anthropological literature has long held that traditional foraging populations have low fertility levels. This research examines the number of live births per woman for 9 non-western forager groups who have been investigated in the last 20 years. Data are derived from 1) birth registration systems, 2) surveys conducted during short stays with the group, and 3) surveys conducted as part of longer ethnographic studies. Fertility rates for the groups are 1) 3.5 for the Kiunga area of Papula, New Guinea, 2) 4.2 for Northern Territory Australian aborigines, 3) 5.0 for Cayapo groups in Brazil, 4) 5.3 for Hiowe people of New Guinea, 5) 5.7 for 3 Xavante groups in Brazil, 6) 6.0 for West Alaskan Eskimos, 7) 6.9 for Nunamiut Eskimos of Alaska, 8) 7.6 for the Bisman-Asmat group of Indonesian New Guinea, and 9) 8.4 for the Winikina Warao of Venezuela. Since fertility rates are highest when ethnographic studies, which allow for question clarification, memory recall, and cross-checking, are used, the author believes that high fertility rates most accurately represent forager societies. Research on the Dobe ]Kung (fertility rate - 4.7), may contradict these findings, but the author believes that the ]Kung fertility rates are higher than reported because of infanticide practices, sexual abstinence during lactation, and disease related fertility problems. In summary, the study finds high fertility (7-9 births) in traditional foraging societies. Although the study examines small populations, correlation strength and overall consistency help verify the results.^ieng

Population pressure, mobility, and socio-economic change in mountainous environments: regions of refuge in comparative perspective.

This paper examines demographic and socioeconomic forces in high isolated parts of the world. These regions were not always isolated; they were once the centers of their own particular worlds which, in some cases, were complex civilizations. It is their relegation to the very periphery of the modern world that is the principal theme of this paper. Population migration, both into and out of these areas, has played a vital role in linking mountainous regions to the wider world. Particular attention is paid to the part played by the traditional mobility patterns and by the resource base of the mountains in the transformation of integral, self-sufficient cultures into dependent, subservient part-cultures, the regions of refuge. The effect of population pressure and the development of outmigration from the Andes of Peru is examined first and the analysis extended to the highlands of Papua-New Guinea and to several regions in the Himalayan arc to provide the background for a comparative study of regions of refuge.

Childhood mortality estimated from reports on previous births given by mothers at the time of a maternity: preceding-births technique.

PIP: This paper demostrates that, by using the Preceding-Births technique (Brass 1969), data can be collected to determine indices of the most recent childhood mortality using a totally different approach independent of the age of the mother reporting on the survivorship of previous children. This method is particularly simple since it requires only 1 question on the registration or notification form: is your last child still alive? No complex analysis and no dependence on other data sources or model life tables are necessary. An advantage of this method is the low % of selection bias. These techniques are concerned with the limited use of only that part of the maternity history data concerning mortality of recent births. Their use is recommended particularly for monitoring trends and evaluating intervention. In the interim before full registration exists in less developed countries, this is a valuable and viable means of estimating childhood mortality. Model tables describe distributions of intervals between live births reported from Colombia, Italy, USA, England and Wales; mortality schedules taken from African standards; and an estimation of proportion dead by the Preceding-Births technique in the Solomon Islands.^ieng