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This study examines the development of international debates about the perception of nutrients, particularly protein, with a focus on the "Protein Debate" of the late 20th century. The nutritional obsession with protein has been ongoing since the early 19th century, when scientific nutrition was established, and has been at the center of debates surrounding food, agriculture, healthcare, and the environment, changing in shape and form over time. In addition to being a nutrient necessary for optimal physical and mental performance, protein has been a marker of poverty and discrimination at the international level and explains differences in individual living standards. Kwashiorkor, also known as protein calorie disorder, medicalized the problem of poverty in the Third World or underdeveloped countries. By the 1970s, the nutritional discussion of protein had undergone a radical transformation, with implications for the entire development discourse, including poverty and human rights. This study of the historical discourse on protein deficiency goes beyond the scientific focus on nutritional status, food, and dietary health to identify the social, economic, and cultural implications of nutrition.

Between 2017 and 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur (SR) Dainius Puras published three reports that called for significant changes to organisation, funding and service provision in mental health care in ways that emphasise inclusive, rights-oriented, democratic and sustainable community health services. This article aims to examine formal organisational responses to the UN mental health reports and consider the underlying arguments that either support or delegitimise the SR stance on the need for a paradigmatic shift towards a human rights-based approach to mental health. By combining several different search strategies to identify organisational responses across the web, a total of 13 organisational responses were included in the analysis. Given the political nature of the responses, concepts from discourse theory were used to analyse the responses. The analysis showed how the responses articulated two binary positions and contesting articulations of good mental health care, which formed a backdrop for rejecting the SR reports in defence of psychiatry. The discussion elucidates how the responses tend to resemble previous ways in which critique has been dealt with mainly by 'biological psychiatry', but that the counter-critical nature of the medical and psychiatric organisational responses remains in contrast to the broader reception within the UN community., (© 2023 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.)

The number of people with disabilities and frailties who need support and assistance is increasing. Assistive technologies (ATs) are increasingly playing a central role in supporting people with disabilities and frailties. The study investigated the impact of the ATs on the websites of the UN, UNICEF, and WHO in terms of proposed activities and actions. The methodology proposed was based on two points of view: (1) A formal process to directly select elements in the institutional webs of the UN, UNICEF, and WHO. (2) A formal process for a complementary literature narrative review based on an umbrella review of Pubmed and Scopus. A standard checklist and a qualification process were applied. The outcome reported 35 documents from the direct search on the web and 19 systematic reviews for the complimentary literature overview. The direct search returned documents related to initiatives focused on the following: The tailoring of the ATs to a person based on international guidelines and specific monitoring initiatives of the AT introduction/access based on surveys both at the population and system/government level with the publication of the data/metadata in an observatory. Dissemination initiatives of both the culture of ATs (e.g., catalog, guidelines, reports, congresses) and of recommendations. The literature overview contributed more specifically to the use and effectiveness of categories of ATs. Both direct research and the literature overview have shown a consistent growth in interest in ATs. The initiatives of the UN, UNICEF, and WHO have been consistent with the institutional role and aimed at improving the diffusion of ATs through capillary monitoring, which is not free from obstacles, and a diffusion of the culture and rational use of ATs. The narrative review shows also the important role of research in monitoring the development, use, and effectiveness of devices, strategies, and support of international institutional initiatives. Important initiatives have been launched internationally on AT in terms of monitoring, dissemination, and improvement in access. However, it is necessary to consider and face the obstacles that limit these initiatives.

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) using an incident energy tuned to the uraniumN4,5absorption edges is reported from epitaxial films of α -U 3 O 8 and UN. Theory shows that for U 3 O 8 the multiplets associated with a 5 f 1 -itinerant system UN, where no sharp transitions have been observed, although the broad scattering response centred at ∼1 eV is considered a signature of a predominantly 5 f -itinerant system UN, where no sharp transitions have been observed, although the broad scattering response centred at ∼1 eV is considered a signature of a predominantly 5 f 3 configuration in this band-like semi-metallic system. These experiments and theory add important information on these materials, both of which have been investigated since the 1960s, as well as whether RIXS at the uranium N edge can become a valuable tool for actinide research., (© 2023 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

The article considers draft of new edition of the International Health Regulations. The possible risks associated with changing of the document are evaluated from perspective of member countries, in whose territories occur or supposedly occur emergency situations in field of public health having international importance.

United States Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC) and UN agencies utilized techniques of power and negotiation to implement radiation exposure regulations. USAEC affiliated scientists' expertise was cultivated while establishing a radiation protection regime based on classified experiments. World Health Organization (WHO) leadership sought to manifest a human right to health, including a right to protection from radiation contamination. The careers of a few technical experts and interagency UN correspondence shows how American risk models of radiation regulation traveled and ultimately inhibited WHO attempts to frame radiation as a public health threat. The USAEC and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) navigated WHO's way of perceiving radiation with technical experts and bureaucratic and legislative means. This paper shows the underpinning at the UN of competing models of radiation regulation, one state centric and the other, an individual right to health. This narrative provides insights into the nature of the UN's current conceptualization of radiation regulation and argues for further research into UN, radiation, and human rights history., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The leading emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) are increasingly shaping the landscape of the global health sector demand and supply for medical goods and services. BRICS' share of global health spending and future projections will play a prominent role during the 2020s. The purpose of the current research was to examine the decades-long underlying historical trends in BRICS countries' health spending and explore these data as the grounds for reliable forecasting of their health expenditures up to 2030., Methods: BRICS' health spending data spanning 1995-2017 were extracted from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Financing Global Health 2019 database. Total health expenditure, government, prepaid private and out-of-pocket spending per capita and gross domestic product (GDP) share of total health spending were forecasted for 2018-2030. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were used to obtain future projections based on time series analysis., Results: Per capita health spending in 2030 is projected to be as follows: Brazil, $1767 (95% prediction interval [PI] 1615, 1977); Russia, $1933 (95% PI 1549, 2317); India, $468 (95% PI 400.4, 535); China, $1707 (95% PI 1079, 2334); South Africa, $1379 (95% PI 755, 2004). Health spending as a percentage of GDP in 2030 is projected as follows: Brazil, 8.4% (95% PI 7.5, 9.4); Russia, 5.2% (95% PI 4.5, 5.9); India, 3.5% (95% PI 2.9%, 4.1%); China, 5.9% (95% PI 4.9, 7.0); South Africa, 10.4% (95% PI 5.5, 15.3)., Conclusions: All BRICS countries show a long-term trend towards increasing their per capita spending in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). India and Russia are highly likely to maintain stable total health spending as a percentage of GDP until 2030. China, as a major driver of global economic growth, will be able to significantly expand its investment in the health sector across an array of indicators. Brazil is the only large nation whose health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is about to contract substantially during the third decade of the twenty-first century. The steepest curve of increased per capita spending until 2030 seems to be attributable to India, while Russia should achieve the highest values in absolute terms. Health policy implications of long-term trends in health spending indicate the need for health technology assessment dissemination among the BRICS ministries of health and national health insurance funds. Matters of cost-effective allocation of limited resources will remain a core challenge in 2030 as well., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In late 2019, the novel and highly infectious coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 caused a worldwide outbreak of a severe respiratory infectious disease, known as COVID-19. The disease has started in China and turned into one of the worst pandemics in human history. Due to the very fast global spread of the pathogen, COVID-19 is a great challenge for the Public Health Systems. It had led to a variety of severe limitations in private and public life worldwide. There is a lively public debate about possible sources of SARS-CoV-2. This article aims at providing a better understanding of controversial biological and political issues regarding COVID-19. Recommendations are made for possible actions under the umbrella of the World Health Organization and in respect to the Biological Weapons Convention., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Himmel and Frey.)

Background: There is a gap in knowledge on long term pace of population aging acceleration and related net-migration rate changes in WHO European Region and its adjacent MENA countries. We decided to compare European Union (EU-28) region with the EU Near Neighborhood Policy Region East and EU Near Neighborhood Policy Region South in terms of these two essential features of third demographic transition. One century long perspective dating back to both historical data and towards reliable future forecasts was observed., Methods: United Nation's Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates on indicators of population aging and migration were observed. Time horizon adopted was 1950-2050. Targeted 44 countries belong to either one of three regions named by EU diplomacy as: European Union or EU-28, EU Near Neighborhood Policy Region East (ENP East) and EU Near Neighborhood Policy Region South (ENP South)., Results: European Union region currently experiences most advanced stage of demographic aging. The latter one is the ENP East region dominated by Slavic nations whose fertility decline continues since the USSR Era back in late 1980s. ENP South region dominated by Arab League nations remains rather young compared to their northern counterparts. However, as the Third Demographic Transition is inevitably coming to these societies they remain the spring of youth and positive net emigration rate. Probably the most prominent change will be the extreme fall of total fertility rate (children per woman) in ENP South countries (dominantly Arab League) from 6.72 back in 1950 to medium-scenario forecasted 2.10 in 2050. In the same time net number of migrants in the EU28 (both sexes combined) will grow from - 91,000 in 1950 to + 394,000 in 2050., Conclusions: Long term migration from Eastern Europe westwards and from MENA region northwards is historically present for many decades dating back deep into the Cold War Era. Contemporary large-scale migrations outsourcing from Arab League nations towards rich European Protestant North is probably the peak of an iceberg in long migration routes history. However, in the decades to come acceleration of aging is likely to question sustainability of such movements of people.

Post-Cold War United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UN PKOs) have been increasingly involved in dangerous areas with ill-defined boundaries, harsh and remote geographies, simmering internecine armed conflict, and disregard on the part of some local parties for peacekeepers' security and role. In the interest of force protection and optimizing operations, a key component of UN PKOs is healthcare and medical treatment. The expectation is that UN PKO medical support will adjust to the general intent and structure of UN PKOs. To do so requires effective policies and planning informed by a review of all medical aspects of UN PKO operations, including those considered supplementary, that is, less crucial but contributing nonetheless. Medical aspects considered paramount and key to UN PKOs have received relatively thorough treatment elsewhere. The intent of this article is to report on ancillary and supplemental medical aspects practical to post-Cold War UN PKO operations assembled through an iterative inquiry of open-source articles. Recommendations are made about possible courses of action in terms of addressing trends found in such medical aspects of PKOs and relevance of US/NATO/European Union models and research.

The awareness of the impact of human activities in society and environment is known as "Social Responsibility" (SR). It has been a topic of growing interest in many enterprises since the fifties of the past Century, and its implementation/assessment is nowadays supported by international standards. There is a tendency to amplify its scope of application to other areas of the human activities, such as Research, Development and Innovation (R + D + I). In this paper, a model of quantitative assessment of Social Responsibility in Environmental Science and Technology (SR EST) is described in detail. This model is based on well established written standards as the EFQM Excellence model and the ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on SR. The definition of five hierarchies of indicators, the transformation of qualitative information into quantitative data and the dual procedure of self-evaluation and external evaluation are the milestones of the proposed model, which can be applied to Environmental Research Centres and institutions. In addition, a simplified model that facilitates its implementation is presented in the article., (© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Often perceived as a Cinderella material, there is growing appreciation for solid waste as a renewable content thermal process feed. Nonetheless, research on solid waste gasification and sulphur mechanisms in particular is lacking. This paper presents results from two related experiments on a novel two stage gasification process, at demonstration scale, using a sulphur-enriched wood pellet feed. Notable SO2 and relatively low COS levels (before gas cleaning) were interesting features of the trials, and not normally expected under reducing gasification conditions. Analysis suggests that localised oxygen rich regions within the fluid bed played a role in SO2's generation. The response of COS to sulphur in the feed was quite prompt, whereas SO2 was more delayed. It is proposed that the bed material sequestered sulphur from the feed, later aiding SO2 generation. The more reducing gas phase regions above the bed would have facilitated COS--hence its faster response. These results provide a useful insight, with further analysis on a suite of performed experiments underway, along with thermodynamic modelling., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Minamata Convention, a global legally binding instrument (treaty) on mercury, has been the catalyst for the emerging agenda on global dental materials research. If the current and future challenges of oral health maintenance and healing on a global scale are to be met, a logical and effective research agenda for the discovery and introduction of new, environmentally sustainable, dental materials must be developed through a coordinated effort involving materials scientists, dental clinicians, representatives of industry, members of regional and national regulatory bodies, and advocacy from research organizations. For universal impact, this agenda should be created with awareness of several important ongoing initiatives, such as the WHO non-communicable diseases action plan, the UN sustainable development agenda, and the IADR Global Oral Health In Inequalities Research Agenda (GOHIRA). A significant contributor to this cause is the FDI and its membership, who, through their Vision 2020 initiative, acknowledge their role and responsibility in globally preventing and managing dental disease and providing leadership to the profession in terms of information dissemination and affecting change. Dental researchers also have an obligation to advocate for appropriate funding to match the identified research needs, thus enhancing the possibility that key decision-makers will provide the needed support to achieve the research agenda agreed upon by this diverse group of stakeholders.

Human aging is associated with a loss of skeletal muscle and an increase in circulating inflammatory markers. It is unknown whether endurance training (Tr) can prevent these changes. Therefore we studied 15 old trained (O-Tr) healthy males and, for comparison, 12 old untrained (O-Un), 10 Young-Tr (Y-Tr) and 12 Young-Un (Y-Un). Quadriceps size, VO2 peak, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and its receptors, suPAR, lipid profile, leucocytes and glucose homeostasis were measured. Tr was associated with an improved insulin profile (p<0.05), and lower leucocyte (p<0.05) and triglyceride levels (p<0.05), independent of age. Aging was associated with poorer glucose control (p<0.05), independent of training. The age-related changes in waist circumference, VO2 peak, cholesterol, LDL, leg muscle size, CRP and IL-6 were counteracted by physical activity (p<0.05). A significant increase in suPAR with age was observed (p<0.05). Most importantly, life-long endurance exercise was associated with a lower level of the inflammatory markers CRP and IL-6 (p<0.05), and with a greater thigh muscle area (p<0.05), compared to age-matched untrained counterparts. These findings in a limited group of individuals suggest that regular physical endurance activity may play a role in reducing some markers of systemic inflammation, even within the normal range, and in maintaining muscle mass with aging., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

There are three dominant globalization pathways affecting noncommunicable diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): urbanization, trade liberalization, and investment liberalization. Urbanization carries potential health benefits due to improved access to an increased variety of food imports, although for the growing number of urban poor, this has often meant increased reliance on cheap, highly processed food commodities. Reduced barriers to trade have eased the importation of such commodities, while investment liberalization has increased corporate consolidation over global and domestic food chains. Higher profit margins on processed foods have promoted the creation of 'obesogenic' environments, which through progressively integrated global food systems have been increasingly 'exported' to developing nations. This article explores globalization processes, the food environment, and dietary health outcomes in SSA through the use of trend analyses and structural equation modelling. The findings are considered in the context of global barriers and facilitators for healthy public policy., (© 2013.)

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) is widely regarded as the preeminent international authority on health and scientific matters. Its information mandate is a powerful one, for it enables the WHO to construct issues as legitimate ones for concern that should be addressed in particular ways., Methods: Intensive interviewing of WHO staff was used to elicit writing and editing processes. Approximately 25 people were interviewed repeatedly from year 2004 to 2005 using the snowball sampling method., Results: A core staff in headquarters dominates the selection of topics, writing and editing activities. The authority of senior management in headquarters emerges as more significant than that of country leaders and representatives., Discussion: In contrast to sister UN agencies, WHO staff prioritize collaboration and input from science and health researchers over that of UN colleagues and its internal editors. Senior management participation ensures stability in WHO information over time and adherence to the WHO scientific mandate across documents.

Being knowledgeable about national health expenditures and sources of financing is essential for decision-making. This awareness also makes it possible to evaluate the equity of allocation and the efficiency of utilization of these resources. Changes in financing have been a substantial component of health sector reform in the Americas. The goal has shifted from merely one of financial sustainability to simultaneously seeking equitable access to quality services. In this article the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) presents a proposal for analyzing and designing a policy on health financing. The aim of the policy is to identify the mix of financing mechanisms most likely to simultaneously produce financial sustainability, equity, access, and efficiency. The PAHO proposal combines traditional mechanisms for generating resources (public funds from taxes, as well as private health insurance, national health insurance, and user fees) with complementary subsidy mechanisms for vulnerable groups. Health financing strategies ought to explicitly consider the financing both of care for individuals and of health interventions for the general public good, for which public financing is the most equitable and efficient approach.

This paper discusses the movement toward self-sufficiency in vaccine supply in developing countries (and countries in transition to new economic and political systems) and explains special supply concerns about vaccine as a product class. It traces some history of donor support and programmes aimed at self-financing, then continues with a discussion about self-sufficiency in terms of institutional capacity building. A number of deficiencies commonly found in vaccine procurement and supply in low- and middle-income countries are characterized, and institutional strengthening with procurement technical assistance is described. The paper also provides information about a vaccine procurement manual being developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in this environment. Two brief case studies are included to illustrate the spectrum of existing capabilities and different approaches to technical assistance aimed at developing or improving vaccine procurement capability. In conclusion, the paper discusses the special nature of vaccine and issues surrounding potential integration and decentralization of vaccine supply systems as part of health sector reform.

The modern era of tuberculosis(TB) began in the mid 1980s. In 1993, WHO took the unique step of declaring TB to be a world emergency. Despite this intervention it is estimated that deaths from TB will increase from 3 million a year currently to 5 million by the year 2050. There are 4 principal reasons: World population's increase, co-infection with HIV/AIDS, poverty and programme decline. Other causes contributing to the global epidemic are multidrug resistant TB, immigration, and indifference. The practical solution must concentrate on the completed correct treatment of the disease particularly in those who are sputum smear positive. For this reason WHO is vigorously promoting the Directly Observed Therapy Short course (DOTS) campaign. Doctors treating TB should ideally be part of the public health system. They should have access to first class bacteriological services, good quality of drugs and should make sure that the patient receives the drugs under supervision. Though the reasons for increasing TB are multifactorial it is within the capability of the world to re-exert control providing that the political will is present.

Cross-sectional data for breastfed infants in rural Zambia were used to evaluate the effect of applying two different data sets as a reference, i.e. the WHO 12-month breastfed pooled data set and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth reference in terms of prevalence of malnutrition (stunting, underweight, and wasting). A total of 518 infants who were attending mother-and-child health clinics were included. Age, weight and length were recorded. Anthropometric Z-scores were calculated in two ways: by applying the NCHS growth reference and by using the WHO breastfed data set. Anthropometric Z-scores calculated using the breastfed data set were lower during the first 6-7 months of life compared with those calculated by applying the NCHS growth reference. This resulted in a higher proportion of children aged 0-6 months being classified as stunted and underweight using the breastfed data set versus the NCHS growth reference. After the age of 7 months, similar prevalences of stunting or underweight were observed. Relatively few infants were classified as wasted. In order to adequately assess the prevalence of stunting and underweight in breastfed infants, it is recommended that a new growth reference be developed, as has been initiated by WHO.