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Robert Jackson's recent book The Global Covenant is a work in the tradition of the international society school that extends the perspective of that school to today's world events and theoretical debates. Jackson's argument has several important components: that we live in a society of states that operates according to particular norms having significant ethical implications for the conduct of world politics; that this society of states can be distinguished from both the amoral perspective of the (neo)realists and the universalism of cosmopolitans; that this world must be examined primarily through the words and actions of statespeople, its primary articulators; that this world is distinguished by values of antipaternalism, normative pluralism, and the observance of sovereign rights of nonintervention and self-determination; and that recent crises (e.g., the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, etc.) demonstrate more the continued durability of this world (which has existed roughly since Westphalia) than its decline or demise.

Theological and religious thinking can contribute considerably to debates about culture in international politics. While students of international relations such as Elshtain, Rengger, Loriaux, Falk, and Connolly have begun to break down Enlightenment barriers to understanding theological ethics, the analysis of religious thinking and praxis by students of world politics more generally is lacking. Even much contemporary 'critical' international relations remains dominated by Enlightenment worldviews that cast religious belief, thought, and action in overly essentialist terms. Religious and theological thinking need to be seen as evolving rather than reified. This article traces the development of debates about culture in general, and multiculturalism in particular, in contemporary religious thinking. It analyses several specific theological views on religious pluralism, from exclusivism to syncretism and apologetics. Each of these perspectives, like others before them, mirrors historical developments as well as trends in political philosophy in interesting ways. Thus, while much of our political debates over the role of religion remain mirrored in exclusivist analyses, contemporary religious thought provides new ways of thinking about the socio-political implications of the multiple systems of belief present in the world. It is thus critical to reincorporate the study of religious thinking into debates about the purpose of political community and the interaction between ethical thinking and historical praxis. © Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 2000.

This article explores how malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa is shaped in important ways by political and economic considerations within the contexts of aid-recipient nations and the global health community. Malaria control is often assumed to be a technically driven exercise: the remit of public health experts and epidemiologists who utilise available data to select the most effective package of activities given available resources. Yet research conducted with national and international stakeholders shows how the realities of malaria control decision-making is often more nuanced. Hegemonic ideas and interests of global actors, as well as the national and global institutional arrangements through which malaria control is funded and implemented, can all influence how national actors respond to malaria. Results from qualitative interviews in seven malaria endemic countries indicate that malaria decision-making is constrained or directed by multiple competing objectives, including a need to balance overarching global goals with local realities, as well as a need for National Malaria Control Programmes to manage and coordinate a range of non-state stakeholders who may divide up regions and tasks within countries. Finally, beyond the influence that political and economic concerns have over programmatic decisions and action, our analysis further finds that malaria control efforts have institutionalised systems, structures, and processes that may have implications for local capacity development in malaria control.

INTRODUCTION: A European Union amalgam phase-down has recently been implemented. Publicly funded health care predominates in the United Kingdom with the system favoring amalgam use. The current use of amalgam and its alternatives has not been fully investigated in the United Kingdom. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to identify direct posterior restorative techniques, material use, and reported postoperative complication incidence experienced by primary care clinicians and differences between clinician groups. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to primary care clinicians through British dentist and therapist associations (11,092 invitations). The questionnaire sought information on current provision of direct posterior restorations and perceived issues with the different materials. Descriptive statistical and hypothesis testing was performed. RESULTS: Dentists' response rate was 14% and therapists' estimated minimum response rate was 6% (total N = 1,513). The most commonly used restorative material was amalgam in molar teeth and composite in premolars. When placing a direct posterior mesio-occluso-distal restoration, clinicians booked on average 45% more time and charged 45% more when placing composite compared to amalgam (P < 0.0001). The reported incidences of food packing and sensitivity following the placement of direct restorations were much higher with composite than amalgam (P < 0.0001). Widely recommended techniques, such as sectional metal matrix use for posterior composites, were associated with reduced food packing (P < 0.0001) but increased time booked (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Amalgam use is currently high in the publicly funded sector of UK primary care. Composite is the most used alternative, but it takes longer to place and is more costly. Composite also has a higher reported incidence of postoperative complications than amalgam, but time-consuming techniques, such as sectional matrix use, can mitigate against food packing, but their use is low. Therefore, major changes in ...

Background. Evidence-informed priority setting is vital to improved investment in public health interventions. This is particularly important as South Africa (SA) makes the shift to universal health coverage and institution of National Health Insurance.Objectives. To measure the financial impact of increasing the demand for modern contraceptive methods in the SA public health sector. We estimated the total cost of providing contraceptives, and specifically the budgetary impact of premature removals of long-acting reversible contraceptives.Methods. We created a deterministic model in Microsoft Excel to estimate the costs of contraception provision over a 5-year time horizon (2018 - 2023) from a healthcare provider perspective. Only direct costs of service provision were considered, including drugs, supplies and personnel time. Costs were not discounted owing to the short time horizon. Scenario analyses were conducted to test uncertainty.Results. The base-case cost of current contraceptive use in 2018 was estimated to be ZAR1.64 billion (ZAR29 per capita). Injectable contraceptives accounted for ~47% of total costs. To meet the total demand for family planning, SA would have to spend ~30% more than the estimate for current contraceptive use. In the year 2023, the 'current use' of modern contraceptives would increase to ZAR2.2 billion, and fulfilling the total demand for family planning would require ZAR2.9 billion. The base-case cost of implantable contraceptives was estimated at ZAR54 million. Assuming a normal removal rate, the use of implants is projected to increase by 20% during the 5-year period between 2019 and 2023, with an estimated 46% increase in costs. The cost of early removal of Implanon NXT is estimated at ZAR75 million, with total contraception costs estimated at ZAR102 million in 2019, compared with ZAR56 million when a normal removal rate is applied.Conclusions. The costs of scaling up modern contraceptives in SA are substantial. Early and premature removals of implantable contraceptives are costly to the nation and must be minimised. The government should consider conducting appropriate health technology assessments to inform the introduction of new public health interventions as SA makes the shift to universal health coverage by means of National Health Insurance.

Spanish Association Against Cancer [PROYE18061FERN]; Asturias Government (PCTI) [IDI/2018/146]; Fundacion General CSIC [0348_CIE_6_E]; Health Institute Carlos III (Plan Nacional de I+D+I); FEDER, European Commission [PI18/01527] (.) Work in the laboratory of M.S. was funded by the IRB and by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (SAF2017-82613-R), ERC (ERC-2014-AdG/669622) (.)

The data used in this study belong to the individual registries. Requests for case data can be made to the JRC-EUROCAT Central Registry (JRC-EUROCAT@ec.europa.eu), which will ask the individual registries permission to use the data. Aggregate data, updated biannually, are available from the EUROCAT website www.eurocat-network.eu/accessprevalencedata/prevalencetables. Data included in the paper were extracted from the EUROCAT database in April 2014. ; OBJECTIVES: To provide contemporary estimates of the prevalence of microcephaly in Europe, determine if the diagnosis of microcephaly is consistent across Europe, and evaluate whether changes in prevalence would be detected using the current European surveillance performed by EUROCAT (the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies). DESIGN: Questionnaire and population based observational study. SETTING: 24 EUROCAT registries covering 570 000 births annually in 15 countries. PARTICIPANTS: Cases of microcephaly not associated with a genetic condition among live births, fetal deaths from 20 weeks' gestation, and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly at any gestation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of microcephaly (1 Jan 2003-31 Dec 2012) analysed with random effects Poisson regression models to account for heterogeneity across registries. RESULTS: 16 registries responded to the questionnaire, of which 44% (7/16) used the EUROCAT definition of microcephaly (a reduction in the size of the brain with a skull circumference more than 3 SD below the mean for sex, age, and ethnic origin), 19% (3/16) used a 2 SD cut off, 31% (5/16) were reliant on the criteria used by individual clinicians, and one changed criteria between 2003 and 2012. Prevalence of microcephaly in Europe was 1.53 (95% confidence interval 1.16 to 1.96) per 10 000 births, with registries varying from 0.4 (0.2 to 0.7) to 4.3 (3.6 to 5.0) per 10 000 (χ(2)=338, df=23, I(2)=93%). Registries with a 3 SD cut off reported a prevalence of 1.74 per 10 000 (0.86 to 2.93) compared with those with the less stringent 2 SD cut off of 1.21 per 10 000 (0.21 to 2.93). The prevalence of microcephaly would need to increase in one year by over 35% in Europe or by over 300% in a single registry to reach statistical significance (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: EUROCAT could detect increases in the prevalence of microcephaly from the Zika virus of a similar magnitude to those observed in Brazil. Because of the rarity of microcephaly and discrepant diagnostic criteria, however, the smaller increases expected in Europe would probably not be detected. Clear diagnostic criteria for microcephaly must be adopted across Europe. ; This study was funded by the European Union in the framework of the Health Programme (2008-13). The funders had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. Researchers were independent of the funders. ; Peer-reviewed ; Publisher Version