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The interaction between UN and CdCl2 in the LiCl–KCl molten eutectic was studied at 1023 K. The chlorination was monitored by sampling and recording the redox potential of the medium. At 1023 K the chlorination of UN with cadmium chloride in the molten LiCl–KCl eutectic proceeds completely and results in the formation of uranium chlorides. The melts of the LiCl–KCl–UCl3 or LiCl–KCl–UCl4 compositions can be obtained by the end of experiment depending on the presence of metallic cadmium in the reaction zone. The higher the concentration of the chlorinating agent, the faster the reaction rate. At [CdCl2]/[UN] = 1.65 (10% excess) the reaction proceeds to completion in about 7.5 h. At [CdCl2]/[UN] = 7 the complete chlorination takes 2.5–3 h.

The resistivity and electronic-thermal conductivity of ThN, ThC and UN were compared. It was found that the new electron–phonon physics from first principles code Electron-Phonon coupling using Wannier functions (EPW, v. 5.4) code as implemented in Quantum Espresso (QE, v. 6.8) code based on density-functional theory predicts higher electronic-thermal conductivity for thorium and uranium mononitride than for thorium carbide in agreement with experiment. QE combined with EPW code were used to calculate integrated electron–phonon coupling strength, the Eliashberg transport coupling function, and electron–phonon scattering rates. The electronic resistivity was calculated using Ziman’s formula for metals and compared to the values derived from first principles using Boltzmann transport theory. The number of mobility electrons were obtained by equating the calculated resistivity at 1000 K. Estimation showed that in ThN the number of electronic carriers is two times larger and both electron–phonon coupling strength and electron scattering rates are lower, which led to about four times higher electronic thermal conductivity than calculated for ThC. Although a good agreement with experiment was found for ThN and ThC (at high temperatures), the current version of EPW code for non-magnetic solids overestimates the electronic thermal conductivity of UN and underestimates resistivity.

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.)

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development set broad new goals for family planning and reproductive health. The resources available to fund these much needed programmes, however, are much smaller than was originally calculated. To divide the limited budgets for the maximum health impact, likely resource flows need to be set against the cost of various family planning and reproductive health interventions. Preliminary analysis suggests that selection of cost-effective delivery of family planning services would still meet much of the need for family planning, and that some progress could be made towards improved control of sexually transmitted diseases.

WHO's activities at country level have earned the organisation both criticism and praise. The organisation's technical publications are esteemed as authoritative guidelines for disease control. Successful disease-control programmes and contributions to health research have heightened WHO's reputation. The organisation has also provided the focus for evolution of important ideas, such as primary health care and the relevance of equity and other ethical issues. But WHO has been criticised for not adapting rapidly and logically to changes in the health field. With increasing national capacity in the more advanced developing countries, and with the involvement of new participants in the health sphere, the organisation needs to reassess its role at country level. My recommendation is that WHO improves its analytical capacity so that its programmes take into consideration the health needs of the country, its national capacity, and the contributions from other external agencies.

40 years ago, activities in international health were the domain of WHO, governments (based on bilateral agreements), and non-governmental organisations. This has changed. Today, new players (such as the World Bank and, increasingly, the World Trade Organisation) have an influence on international health. As globalisation of trade and markets takes hold, new coalitions and alliances are forming to examine and deal with the direct and indirect consequences on health. This paper examines the changing context of cooperation in international health, and voices concerns about rising potential inequalities in health, both within and between countries. The question of how such changes will affect the actions of organisations working in international health is also addressed.

Background: Primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever requires antibiotic treatment of acute streptococcal pharyngitis. In developing countries, clinicians must rely on clinical guidelines for presumptive treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis since bacterial culture and rapid diagnostic tests are not feasible. We evaluated the WHO Acute Respiratory Infection guideline in a large urban paediatric clinic in Egypt., Methods: Children between 2 and 13 years of age who had a sore throat and pharyngeal erythema were enrolled in the study. Clinical, historical, and demographic information was recorded and a throat culture for group A beta-haemolytic streptococci was done. Sensitivity (% of true-positive throat cultures) and specificity (% of true-negative throat cultures) were calculated for each clinical feature. The effect of various guidelines on correct presumptive treatment for throat-culture status was calculated., Findings: Of 451 children with pharyngitis, 107 (24%) had group A beta-haemolytic streptococci on throat culture. A purulent exudate was seen in 22% (99/450) of these children and this sign was 31% sensitive and 81% specific for a positive culture. The WHO Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) guidelines, which suggest treatment for pharyngeal exudate plus enlarged and tender cervical node, were 12% sensitive and 94% specific; 13/107 children with a positive throat culture would correctly receive antibiotics and 323/344 with a negative throat culture would, correctly, not receive antibiotics. Based on our data we propose a modified guideline whereby exudate or large cervical nodes would indicate antibiotic treatment, and this guideline would be 84% sensitive and 40% specific; 90/107 children with a positive throat culture would correctly receive antibiotics and 138/344 with a negative throat culture would, correctly, not receive antibiotics., Interpretation: The WHO ARI clinical guideline has a high specificity but low sensitivity that limits the unnecessary use of antibiotics, but does not treat 88% of children with a positive streptococcal throat culture who are at risk of acute rheumatic fever. A modified guideline may be more useful in this population. Prospective studies of treatment guidelines from many regions are needed to assess their use since the frequency of pharyngitis varies.

In 1991, the source of public sector condom supplies in an African country changed from USAID to WHO. Following a complaint, the two types of condoms were sampled and compared. Laboratory tests indicated that the new-style condoms were of adequate quality, but a number of differences were noted between the two types. Complaints that the condoms were short and broke frequently could not be reconciled with measurements. Lubricant quantities on the WHO-supplied condoms were found to be lower than on the USAID condoms, but still within the range found on the commercial market. Also, the WHO condoms were marginally narrower and thicker. WHO asked the authors to conduct field interviews to seek reasons for the reported problems. These revealed that the relative dissatisfaction with the WHO condoms was largely confined to a group of sex workers in a follow-up programme conducted by two educators funded by a European agency. The instructions for use being given by the educators magnified the risk of incorrect application of the condom. Design changes to the WHO condoms (regarding lubricant, size and thickness) were subsequently made to minimise the chance of wrong use.

In 1986 the World Health Organization targeted dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease), which seriously impairs socioeconomic development in 16 African countries, India, Pakistan, and Yemen, to be eradicated globally. The target date for eradication by the end of 1995 was established in 1991. Pakistan eradicated dracunculiasis from the country in October, 1993, after a national campaign which began in 1987 with a nationwide village-by-village search for cases. The infection, which is transmitted by drinking water from ponds containing infected water fleas, was eradicated by using health education, cloth filters, and the cyclopsicide, temephos; and in the later stages, by case containment. Methods pioneered in Pakistan's National Guinea Worm Eradication Program are now being applied in remaining endemic countries.

The virtual elimination of vitamin A deficiency and all its consequences is high on the political agenda as a solvable public health problem by the end of the decade. Five to six times more children in the developing world are likely to be subclinically than clinically deficient. Subclinical deficiency can be detected by newer methodological approaches. Subclinically deficient children are at increased risk of severe and fatal infections. The problem at a population level is avoidable by the appropriate selection and application of a mix of available interventions. Countries are challenged to assess, analyze and take actions to incorporate nutrition concerns into development planning to attain end-of-decade goals.

The addition of a short- or medium-acting estrogen ester to the long-acting progestins depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) and norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN) to produce "combined" injectable formulations has proved a successful strategy in the development of once-a-month injectable contraceptives. Recent clinical pharmacokinetic studies undertaken on once-a-month injectable contraceptives in various WHO Collaborating Centers have guided the selection of the estrogen-progestogen combinations, ratios and dose schedules. At least three combined once-a-month injectable preparations exhibit acceptable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles; however, further improvement in the design of optimal estrogen/progestin injectables are expected during this decade.

Objective: To determine whether the known adverse effects of IUD use were being kept to a minimum in a population of women., Design: A national survey of all doctors purchasing IUDs in a three-month period. Information was sought on the doctors' training, experience and usual insertion practice, and also on characteristics of each woman receiving an IUD in the study period., Main Outcome Measures: Published national and international guidelines on selection of users for IUDs and on training for IUD insertion were compared with our findings on these measures., Results: Not all IUD insertions were in accordance with published guidelines. Very few IUD insertions (0.9%) were carried out in the face of absolute contraindications to this type of contraception. However, 126 insertions (27%) were for women who had a relative contraindication, excluding an incomplete family. Gynaecologists were significantly less likely to fit an IUD in the presence of contraindications than other doctors. Few doctors reported training to the standard recommended., Conclusions: That the known adverse effects of IUD use are not being kept to a minimum for New Zealand women. The study design could be used to estimate the potential for adverse effects in populations for other types of contraceptives.