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Vaccine diplomacy has developed new dynamics of geopolitics between the world’s superpowers as a result of global COVID-19 pandemic vaccination. This study contributes to the existing body of literature on geopolitics in the global South while focusing on changing aspects of geopolitics resulting in India's vaccine diplomacy. It primarily determines the geopolitical agendas behind vaccine diplomatic practices of India, which is used as tool of soft power to influence the internal affairs of the countries in the global South. As a result, this study reveals the emerging dynamics of geopolitics which resulted in India’s vaccine diplomacy in the means of COVID-19 cooperation, including South Asia, driven by the power competition between the world’s superpowers such as the USA, the USSR and China. The study’s data and information are based on a mixed method which is secondary qualitative and quantitative facts that were gleaned via archival research. These findings discovered that India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ vaccine policy has extended to South Asian countries while ranging its vaccine cooperation towards the developed and developing nations in the global South and beyond, under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ program. Behind these vaccine campaigns, India is engaged in a geopolitical struggle over the global South against the USA, the USSR and China in place of its geopolitical agenda with the hopes of authenticating the solitary authority as the regional power beyond Asia. India's ultimate goal of regional supremacy has now given rise to a geopolitical conflict as world superpowers have launched their vaccine diplomatic campaigns against India in the global South. These tensions that underlie India's vaccine diplomacy are currently driving significant changes in regional geopolitics in the global South.

Inter-state and intra-state conflicts emerged with political, social, and economic factors which increasingly contributed to security dilemmas at global and regional levels. This study investigates the regional security issues which have emerged through the Indo-Pakistani conflict in South Asia. In order to obtain the data for this study, secondary qualitative data and information based on an archival research methodology were used. Books, journal articles, research papers, official websites, and e-Newspapers were incorporated into this archival research. According to this study, the first and second Kashmir wars, the 1971 conflict, the Kargil conflict, the attack on the Indian Parliament, the 2002 Military Standoff, the Mumbai Terror attack, and the Surgical Strikes carried out by India have all contributed to the gradual development of the Indo-Pakistan war, which has led to current concerns about regional security. Interstate strife and tension, hostility between nations, mutual mistrust and animosity posed by terrorism, religious extremism, nuclearization, and economic and political instability have all intensified due to security concerns posed by the Indo-Pakistan rivalry. Finally, as an effort to address these security issues related to the Indo-Pakistani wars, this study has proposed the establishment of a ‘South Asian Regional Security Cooperation’. This proposed Cooperation will be treated under four basic regional security corporation models: alliances, collective security, security regimes, and security communities to reinforce regional security in South Asia.

SAARC is a regional agreement that was established to co-operate regional economic, political, and socio-cultural affairs in South Asia. As a highly vulnerable region towards natural and social disasters, South Asia needs a committed body that can manage sudden catastrophes in the region. Therefore, SAARC has founded SDMC and SEDMC to corporate in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in South Asia. However, these SAARC agencies have been unsuccessful in DRM to deal with emerging disasters in the region. Hence, this study investigates the failures and weaknesses of the SAARC operational and structural framework of proceeding DRM operations while contributing to the existing body of literature regarding SAARC. The data and information of this research are based on secondary quantitative and qualitative data which were extracted from relevant printed and online materials, including organizational websites. These data and information were analyzed under five categories that are Policy Adoption Failures; Structural failures of SAARC; coordination and cooperation failures; financial inabilities in Disaster Management; Absence of Logistic Preparedness Plan; and Lack of Military Co-operation in DRM. These findings reveal that SAARC has been failed to adopt an effective and efficient DRM policy to manage emerging disasters in South Asia. Therefore, this study recommends policy reforms, restructuring the organization, establishing reliable ICT system to coordinate and co-operate DRM, introducing SAARC Disaster Management and Emergency Relief Fund in resolving financial issues, Disaster Emergency Logistic System, and SAARC Militaries Ready Group adhering ASEAN to implement an efficient DRM while reforming SAARC institutional and operational mechanism.

Livelihood diversification is an essential strategy for managing economic and environmental shocks and reducing rural poverty in developing countries. This article presents a comprehensive two-part literature review on livelihood capital and livelihood diversification strategies. Firstly, it identifies the role of livelihood capital in determining livelihood diversification strategies, and secondly, it assesses the role of livelihood diversification strategies in reducing rural poverty in developing countries. Evidence suggests that human, natural and financial capitals are the primary determining assets of livelihood diversification strategies. However, the role of social and physical capital with livelihood diversification have not widely been studied. Education, farming experience, family size, land holding size, access to formal credit, access to market and membership in village organizations were the major influencing factors in the adoption process of livelihood diversification strategies. The contribution of livelihood diversification in poverty reduction (SDG-1) was realized through improved food security and nutrition, increased income level, sustainability of crop production and mitigating climatic vulnerabilities. This study suggests enhanced livelihood diversification through improved access to and availability of livelihood assets is vital in reducing rural poverty in developing countries.

Background: Actinic cheilitis, herpes labialis and lip cancer are relatively common conditions presenting on the lips associated with exposure to periods of sun exposure and thereby ultraviolet radiation. Objective: This systematic review aimed to determine the efficacy of the application of sunscreen-containing lip-protecting agents (LPA) in the prevention of actinic cheilitis (AC), recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) and lip cancer (LC). Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines and registered with the PROSPERO database. A literature search was conducted using SCOPUS, Google Scholar, Medline (Ovid), Pubmed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library databases and manual search using search terms actinic cheilitis (AC), recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) and lip cancer (LC) along with lip protecting agents and their variations as keywords. A total of 1,567 papers were yielded. Of them, nine studies were eligible for qualitative data synthesis. Results: Nine articles (3 AC, 5 RHL, 1 LC) were deemed eligible and thus selected for qualitative synthesis. Three studies on AC identified approximately 21.7% lower prevalence of lesions when some form of lip protection was used. Eighty percent of studies on RHL identified that the application of LPA is effective in preventing RHL. Subjects who applied LPA more than once daily only had half the risk of having LC compared to those who applied once daily. Conclusion: This review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies supports the use of LPA as an effective method in preventing lip-associated lesions. Further, RCTs and observational studies should aim at determining a definitive LPA application regime and optimal SPF strength to prevent lip-associated lesions. This systematic review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): Registration Number - CRD42020177484. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020177484

Objectives To determine the effectiveness of systemic pharmacotherapeutic interventions compared to placebo in burning mouth syndrome (BMS) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on the core outcome domains recommended by the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT). Methods A systematic literature review of RCTs, concerning systemic pharmacotherapeutic interventions for BMS, published from January 1994 through October 2019, and meta-analysis was performed. Results Fourteen RCTs (n = 734 participants) were included. Of those, nine were eligible for the quantitative assessment due to the availability/homogeneity of data for at least one of the IMMPACT domains. Pain intensity was the only domain reported in all RCTs. Weighted mean changes in pain intensity, based on visual analogue scale (ΔVAS), were reported in three RCTs at 6 ± 2 weeks and only one RCT at 10+ weeks follow-ups. Quantitative assessment, based on ΔVAS, yielded very low evidence for the effectiveness of alpha-lipoic acid and clonazepam, low evidence for effectiveness of trazodone and melatonin, and moderate evidence for herbal compounds. Conclusions Based on the RCTs studied, variable levels of evidence exist that suggest that select pharmacological interventions are associated with improved symptoms. However, the underreporting of IMMPACT domains in BMS RCTs restricts the multidimensional assessment of systemic interventions outcomes. Standardized outcome measures need to be applied to future RCTs to improve understanding of intervention outcomes.

The melamine scandal of 2008 has caused significant consumer distrust on milk safety in China. Thus, the rebuilding of consumers’ trust towards Chinese milk safety has emerged as a key issue for go...

To assess the effectiveness of topical interventions in the management of burning mouth syndrome (BMS), based on the core outcome domains recommended by the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT).A systematic literature review of RCTs on topical interventions for the management of BMS, published in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Cochrane Database/Central, and Google Scholar through May 2021 was performed.Eight RCTs (n = 358 study participants) were included in this study. Due to underreporting of IMMPACT domains, publication bias, high degree of heterogeneity between studies, meta-analysis was not undertaken. Based on changes in visual analogue pain scores (ΔVAS), the most reported outcome, the effectiveness of the topical interventions was demonstrated; however, it is low level of evidence.High levels of variability (interventions, outcomes, outcome measurement tools, and intervention effects evaluated), heterogeneity, publication bias, and underreporting of IMMPACT domains were observed across the RCTs. This systematic review highlights the need for application of standardized outcome measures to future RCTs. At the present time, there is lack of moderate-strong evidence on short- and long-term outcomes to support or refute the use of any particular topical intervention in managing BMS. Future RCTs with standardized outcome measures are needed.

The objective was to analyse the trends in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) across Australia from 1982 to 2017 with implications for prevention.Data were obtained from the Australian Cancer Database (ACD) compiled at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Joinpoint analyses are presented.There was a striking increase of age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) of OPC by over 1.5 times; the most significant rise was between 2007 and 2017 with an annual percentage change (APC) of +5.24% (p 0.001). Slow but gradual growth of ASIR was observed amongst women with a statistically significant APC of +1.02% (p 0.001). Statistically significant bimodal increasing trends of APC were also observed in total ASIR of OPC. These rising trends are widely attributed to increased oral sex practices. The highest number of incident cases was found in patients aged 55-69 years attributable to continued alcohol and tobacco exposure. The most common subsites affected were base of the tongue (BOT) and 'oropharynx' from 1982 to 2017.Oropharyngeal cancer is rising rapidly across Australia, particularly in men. Whilst the national proportion of cases driven by HPV is not known, it is evident that vaccination is yet to have an impact.

Objective To analyse trends in incidence of oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) across Australia from 1982 to 2017 with implications for prevention. Methods Data were obtained from the Australian Cancer Database (ACD) compiled at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Incidence rates of OPC were expressed per 100,000 population, age-standardized in accordance with WHO standard population. Joinpoint analyses are presented. Results A striking increase of age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) of OPC by over 1.5 times from 1.86/100,000 in 1982 to 3.23/100,000 in 2017 was observed in men: the most significant rise was between 2007 and 2017 with an annual percentage change (APC) of + 5.24% (p