Problems in estimating maternal effects

Is estimating maternal mortality useful?

In this issue, Hill, AbouZahr &Wardlaw (1) present new estimates of maternal mortality for 1995. They have carefully adjusted the data for underreporting, and used statistical models in countries lacking relevant data. They have obtained a global estimate ranging from some 303 000 to 822 000 maternal deaths. This very large range is mostly the consequence of the limited quality of available dat...

Maternal Depression and Child Problems 1 Improvements in Maternal Depression as a Mediator of Intervention Effects on Early Childhood Problem Behavior Maternal Depression and Child Problems

Maternal depression has been consistently linked to the development of child problem behavior, particularly in early childhood. Despite this link, interventions typically address either adult depression, or child behavior, as separate foci. The current study examines the possibility that an intervention can address both maternal depression and child behavior problems in unison, using a sample o...

Estimating Genetic and Maternal Effects Determining Variation in Immune Function of a Mixed-Mating Snail

Evolution of host defenses such as immune function requires heritable genetic variation in them. However, also non-genetic maternal effects can contribute to phenotypic variation, thus being an alternative target for natural selection. We investigated the role of individuals' genetic background and maternal effects in determining immune defense traits (phenoloxidase and antibacterial activity o...

A model for estimating joint maternal-offspring effects on seed development in autogamous plants.

We present a statistical model for testing and estimating the effects of maternal-offspring genome interaction on the embryo and endosperm traits during seed development in autogamous plants. Our model is constructed within the context of maximum likelihood implemented with the EM algorithm. Extensive simulations were performed to investigate the statistical properties of our approach. We have ...

Problems of Estimating Military Power