Consensus, Global Definitions of Whole Grain as a Food Ingredient and of Whole-Grain Foods Presented on Behalf of the Whole Grain Initiative

Proposed global definitions of whole grain as an ingredient and whole grain food are presented by the authors on behalf of the Whole Grain Initiative. Whole grains are an important pillar of healthy and sustainable diets. Internationally accepted credible definitions of whole grains as food ingredients and whole-grain foods are necessary to ensure that all global stakeholders have shared standards, and that consumers find them clear, credible, and useful. Based on widely accepted, existing definitions and new developments, the Definitions Working Group of the global Whole Grain Initiative, with experts from academia, government agencies and industry, developed definitions for global application. The key statements of the definition documents are as follows: “Whole grains shall consist of the intact, ground, cracked, flaked or otherwise processed kernel after the removal of inedible parts such as the hull and husk; all anatomical components, including the endosperm, germ, and bran must be present in the same relative proportions as in the intact kernel” and “A whole-grain food shall contain at least 50% whole-grain ingredients based on dry weight. Foods containing 25–50% whole-grain ingredients based on dry weight, may make a front-of-pack claim on the presence of whole grain but cannot be designated ‘whole grain’ in the product name”. The definition documents have been ratified by the leading international scientific associations in this area. We urge that these consensus Whole Grain Initiative definitions be adopted as the basis for definitions used by national regulatory authorities and for health promotion organisations worldwide to use in nutrition education and food labelling.

Mobile Alert and Warning in the United States and Japan: Confronting the Challenges of International Harmonization

A U.S.-Japan expert workshop on mobile alert and warning was held online 8–10 September 2021. Funded by the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership (CGP) and responding to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the workshop compared U.S. and Japanese mobile alert and warning contexts, systems, policies, and messages to investigate possibilities for international harmonization of mobile device-based early warning. The workshop’s sessions revealed two interrelated issues that repeatedly surfaced among workshop participants: culture and policy. The workshop illuminated several possibilities and problems confronting U.S., Japanese, and global stakeholders as they develop, deploy, and seek to improve the effectiveness of mobile alert and warning systems and messages.

Is the Origin and Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Ingenuous?

The inability to identify the source of origin of SARS-CoV-2 even after more than twenty months of its emergence is intriguing and challenges the scientists and the public health personnel alike. Apprehension has been raised in certain quarters that some sort of human interference has taken place in the already dynamic gene pool of coronaviruses, which is a matter of concern. The need to have a scientific audit is paramount to unearth the real narrative about its origin as the precipitous assumption based on reports of human case incidences of infectious respiratory viral diseases having pandemic potential from a specific region is scientifically premature and it does not conclusively confirm the region to be the place of origin of the viral pathogen. Delineation of the source of origin of SARS-CoV-2 is vital for formulating strategies for the prevention of future outbreaks of viral zoonotic diseases if any, development of effective candidate vaccines, and designing target specific drugs. Further, this will put to rest the controversy about the origin and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and create an ambience for cooperative functioning among the global stakeholders. It is pertinent to have comprehensive scrutiny of the laboratories conducting experimental research on coronaviruses particularly bat and other suspected mammalian beta-coronaviruses to avert such calamitous situations in future. Mitigation of the disastrous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is a global responsibility and necessitates joint efforts from all stakeholders across the globe.

The pitfalls of modelling the effects of COVID-19 on gender-based violence: lessons learnt and ways forward

Since early 2020, global stakeholders have highlighted the significant gendered consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, including increases in the risk of gender-based violence (GBV). Researchers have sought to inform the pandemic response through a diverse set of methodologies, including early efforts modelling anticipated increases in GBV. For example, in April 2020, a highly cited modelling effort by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners projected headline global figures of 31 million additional cases of intimate partner violence due to 6 months of lockdown, and an additional 13 million child marriages by 2030. In this paper, we discuss the rationale for using modelling to make projections about GBV, and use the projections released by UNFPA to draw attention to the assumptions and biases underlying model-based projections. We raise five key critiques: (1) reducing complex issues to simplified, linear cause-effect relationships, (2) reliance on a small number of studies to generate global estimates, (3) assuming that the pandemic results in the complete service disruption for existing interventions, (4) lack of clarity in indicators used and sources of estimates, and (5) failure to account for margins of uncertainty. We argue that there is a need to consider the motivations and consequences of using modelling data as a planning tool for complex issues like GBV, and conclude by suggesting key considerations for policymakers and practitioners in using and commissioning such projections.

Are auditors' reliance on conclusions from data analytics impacted by different data analytic inputs?

Global stakeholders have expressed interest in increasing the use of data analytics throughout the audit process. While data analytics offer great promise in identifying audit-relevant information, auditors may not uniformly incorporate this information into their decision making. This study examines whether conclusions from two data analytic inputs, the type of data analytical model (anomaly vs. predictive) and type of data analyzed (financial vs. nonfinancial), result in different auditors' decisions. Findings suggest that conclusions from data analytical models and data analyzed jointly impact budgeted audit hours. Specifically, when financial data is analyzed auditors increase budgeted audit hours more when predictive models are used than when anomaly models are used. The opposite occurs when nonfinancial data is analyzed, auditors increase budgeted audit hours more when anomaly models are used compared to predictive models. These findings provide initial evidence that data analytics with different inputs do not uniformly impact auditors' judgments.

Responsive caregiving, opportunities for early learning, and children’s safety and security during COVID-19: A rapid review

ABSTRACTIntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been drastic changes in family life and programs and services that promote and protect early childhood development. Global stakeholders have raised concerns that the pandemic is putting enormous strain on parents and other caregivers, compromising capabilities and enabling environments for nurturing care of young children and therefore likely impacting children’s development.MethodologyThis rapid review takes stock of emerging research on nurturing care for young children during the COVID-19 crisis. Two databases were searched in addition to an extensive search for grey literature, drawing on 112 scholarly and scientific studies from more than 30 countries that have examined components of nurturing care during the pandemic, namely: responsive caregiving, early learning and play, and children’s safety and security.ResultsThere are some reports of unexpected positive benefits of the pandemic on families, including increased father involvement in caregiving. But more commonly, the studies’ findings reveal numerous issues of concern, including parental and caregiver mental health difficulties and less responsive parent-child relationships, increased screen time among children, limited opportunities for outdoor play, and fractured systems for responding to potential child neglect and maltreatment. Evidence suggests limited access and challenges in the provision of remote learning for the youngest learners, such as those in early childhood education.ConclusionThe findings can inform global stakeholders, who have advocated for increased support and funding to ensure young children and other caregivers are supported and protected during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent need for action-oriented implementation studies – those that go beyond identifying trends and begin to pinpoint “what works” to effectively promote and protect nurturing care during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Key questionsWhat is already known?The most fundamental promotive experiences in the early years of life to reach optimal development come from nurturing care and protection received from parents, family, and community, which have lifelong benefits including improved health and wellbeing. Health and other emergencies are detrimental to the provision of nurturing care.What are the new findings?Findings from this rapid review reveal numerous areas of concern, including families reporting mental health difficulties and less responsive parent-child relationships, increased screen time among children, limited opportunities for outdoor play, and fractured systems for responding to potential child neglect and maltreatment. As with other features of this pandemic, not all families are affected equally: financially vulnerable families are much more likely to experience negative ramifications. The pandemic is also disproportionately affecting parents and other caregivers with young children, particularly mothers, those with pre-existing mental health difficulties, and those caring for children with disabilities.What do the new findings imply?Findings highlight the need for action by governments, civil society, international and community-based organizations to improve support for families so that the pandemic does not break the provision of nurturing care and wipe out decades of progress, especially for vulnerable families and children.

The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: A Present History of a Living Shrine, 2018–20

The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin, a tomb-shrine located south of Tehran, is well known for supplying global museums with iconic examples of Ilkhanid-period luster tilework. After providing a historiography of the site, including its plunder in the late nineteenth century, we explore its current (2018–20) “life” in order to illuminate the many ways that it can be accessed, used, perceived, and packaged by a wide range of local, national, and global stakeholders. Merging past and present history, art history and amateur anthropology, and the academic, personal, and popular voice, this article explores the Emamzadeh Yahya’s delicate and active existence between historical monument, museum object, sacred space, and cultural heritage.

The Role of African Nurse Diaspora in Addressing Public Health Priorities in Africa

African countries experience many complex public health challenges that, to tackle, require coordinated, multi-stakeholder, collaborative partnerships at local and global levels. The African nurse diaspora is a strategic stakeholder, contributor, and liaison to public health interventions, given their roots in the continent, their professional connections in the west, and their ability to build an extensive network of global partners. Using a descriptive qualitative approach that amplifies the voices of the Africa nurse diaspora, this study provides an insider view of the continent’s public health priorities and what roles the diaspora can play to improve health and population outcomes. Findings show that Africa’s high disease burden is generally preventable but compounded by enduring socioeconomic challenges. Against this situation, African-born nurses in the diaspora are uniquely positioned to mobilize both local and global stakeholders in coordinated global health policy interventions and actively engage communities in preventive care while earning their trust.

Aligning diagnostics to the point-of-care: lessons for innovators, evaluators and decision-makers from tuberculosis and HIV

Diagnostics, including those that work at point-of-care, are an essential part of successful public health responses to infectious diseases and pandemics. Yet, they are not always used or fit intended use settings. This paper reports on key insights from a qualitative study on how those engaged with developing and implementing new point-of-care (POC) diagnostics for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV ensure these technologies work at POC. Ethnographic fieldwork between 2015 and 2017 consisting of 53 semistructured interviews with global stakeholders and visits to workshops, companies, and conferences was combined with 15 semistructured interviews with stakeholders in India including providers, decision-makers, scientists and developers and visits to companies, clinics and laboratories. Our results show how developers and implementer of HIV and TB POC diagnostics aim to know and align their diagnostics to elements in more settings than just intended use, but also the setting of the developer, the global intermediaries, the bug/disease and the competitor. Actors and elements across these five settings define what a good diagnostic is, yet their needs might conflict or change and they are difficult to access. Aligning diagnostics to the POC requires continuous needs assessment throughout development and implementation phases as well as substantive, ongoing investment in relationships with users. The flexibility required for such continuous realigning and iteration clashes with established evaluation procedures and business models in global health and risks favouring certain products over others. The paper concludes with suggestions to strengthen this alignment work and applies this framework to research needs in the wake of COVID-19.