伦敦国王学院

Global health researchers, UN agencies, and donors have become expert at documenting the deterioration of population health during conflict, yet documentation has not stopped that deterioration. Drawing on 15 years of field research in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Jordan, we argue that part of the failure of the global health architecture stems not principally from violations of international humanitarian law, but from its design as a technical enterprise detached from the political economy of power, financing, and governance. In practice, the system was structured to document harm rather than to hold anyone accountable for it. We distinguish humanitarian neutrality, understood as the operational duty to assist all civilians, from technical neutrality, which excludes political accountability in ways that protects institutional relationships and funding. We define a political economy of health approach, identify specific actors capable of changing the system, and acknowledge both the real, although uneven, effects of documentation and the structural constraints, namely sovereignty, donor dependence, and entrenched interests, that any reform should confront. Finally, we propose six concrete shifts to move global health from monitoring harm and misery towards enabling accountability.

Recent advancements in eXtended Reality (XR) technologies have opened new opportunities for integrating virtual and physical environments, enabling natural immersive user experiences. This paper addresses the challenge of developing socially acceptable XR agents that can engage in complex, meaningful interactions across various social and public settings. Specifically, we propose a modular architecture for enhancing user-XR agent interaction, integrated into the framework of the Horizon Europe project “Socially-acceptable Extended Reality Models And Systems (SERMAS)”. The architecture is designed to ensure adaptability, scalability, and the integration of diverse communication modalities, including verbal and non-verbal cues. Its main components work together to enable seamless user detection and communication. In particular, the Detection module plays a key role in managing the agent’s awareness of the surrounding environment. Its functions include identifying user intentions, monitoring group dynamics, and inferring emotional states, thereby increasing responsiveness and enabling more contextually grounded behavior. In contrast, the Communication module employs Large Language Models for personalized verbal responses, and recognizes gestures and body language for enriched non-verbal communication. Together, these approaches guarantee contextually relevant, personalized, and emotionally intelligent interactions. The architecture supports scalability and the flexible integration or replacement of modules, fostering socially acceptable user-XR agent interactions. Its real-world applicability is demonstrated across three deployment scenarios, including a digital receptionist integrated with a physical robot, an XR-based security training system for journalists practicing safety-critical procedures, and a digital assistant supporting customers in a post-office environment. The functionality of the proposed system is presented through the implementation of the XR Agent interacting with users.

Around 10% of global births are preterm (before 37 weeks of gestation), posing a significant challenge to maternal and neonatal health. Preterm infants face an increased risk of mortality and long-term health complications, impacting their survival and development across all life stages. Despite decades (~ 80 years) of research, effective methods to predict and prevent idiopathic or spontaneous preterm birth remain limited. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of spontaneous preterm birth is warranted. This review explores some aspects of recent progress in unravelling the complex pathophysiology of both normal and preterm human birth. We present parturition as an inflammatory event, triggered by stressors affecting the uterine reproductive tissues (myometrium, decidua, and cervix), and involving multiple endocrine and paracrine pathways. These pathways, along with signals from fetal membrane senescence and the vaginal microbiome, contribute to labor induction. Proposed perspectives in parturition research include using mathematical modeling and machine learning (artificial intelligence) to map pregnancy trajectories and identify patient phenotypes associated with preterm birth risk. Additionally, incorporating preterm birth history into routine life course medical surveillance for affected individuals and their offspring is recommended. Finally, increased investment and prioritization from national funding bodies, along with greater support for international collaborations, are essential to identify the causes of preterm birth across multiple populations and develop new, effective treatments.

The transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) presents significant challenges, underscoring the need for improved transitional care procedures. Few European countries have implemented national transition-related guidance, despite the potential of clinical guidance to support appropriate care decisions and practices. We conducted a literature review to inform the development of the European Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ESCAP) transition guidance for clinicians. Following systematic principles, four databases (Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, Web of Science) were searched to identify relevant international research published from January 1, 2019 to April 10, 2025, to build on existing evidence. Titles and abstracts were reviewed by two independent reviewers. We screened 12,595 records and included 149 reports published since 2019. Illness severity was the primary predictor of AMHS transition, with only 20–25

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is an emerging nanomaterial with unique features such as photocatalyst, biocompatibility, and tunable surface chemistry, placing g-C₃N₄ as a versatile platform for innovative biomedical applications. This review explores the properties, synthesis, biomedical applications, challenges, and future perspectives of g-C₃N₄. An electronic search of PubMed and Elsevier’s Scopus was undertaken, with no limits to the year of publication, and only English-language literature was included. One of the notable applications is as a drug delivery system due to its large surface area, functional tunability, and controlled release mechanisms. Recently, g-C3N4 has also emerged as a promising agent for cancer treatment, particularly in photodynamic and photothermal therapies. Another widely explored application is its role in regenerative medicine, including wound healing, where its biocompatibility and ability to enhance cellular interactions are advantageous. Additionally, g-C3N4 demonstrates strong potential in biosensing and bioimaging, leveraging its fluorescence properties for diagnostic and monitoring applications. While direct studies in dentistry are limited, these biomedical advancements suggest a potential for future dental applications, particularly in antimicrobial coatings, drug-loaded restorative materials, and guided tissue regeneration. Future research should focus on optimizing g-C3N4-based materials for targeted clinical applications, particularly within dentistry.