The social construction of international human rights

Este fragmento es una revisión actualizada en 2011 por el propio autor del capítulo: “The Social Construction of International Human Rights”, publicado en DUNNE, Tim and WHEELER, Nicholas J., Human Rights in Global Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999. Traducido y publicado con permiso de Cambridge University Press. Versión en inglés disponible en la web de Relaciones Internacionales: www. relacionesinternacionales.infoEste capítulo, revisado y actualizado a comienzos de 2011, analiza el modo en que los derechos humanos se han construido e integrado en la agenda política internacional desde mediados del siglo XX. Este análisis busca contextualizar algunos de los debates suscitados en el ámbito de los derechos humanos recientemente. Lo hace partiendo de la comprensión de la función de los derechos humanos como instrumentos para la defensa de la dignidad humana frente a las prácticas de los agentes que la amenazan. En este sentido es posible, a día de hoy y de cara al futuro, argumentar su plena validez basándose en su propia condición de construcción social, cuya naturaleza es contingente, y está vinculada a las formas en que se entiende la propia dignidad humana, y el papel del estado como principal garante y fuente de amenazas para los derechos humanos individualesThis chapter, revised and updated in early 2011, examines how human rights have been built and integrated into the international policy agenda since the mid-twentieth century. This analysis seeks to contextualize some of the recent discussions in the area of human rights. It proposes that one may understand the role of human rights as an instrument for defending human dignity against the practices and agents that threaten it. In this sense it is possible, now and in the future, to claim the complete validity of human rights based purely on their status as a social construct, whose nature is contingent, and is linked to the ways in which human dignity is understood, and the state’s role as the main guarantor and source of threat to individual human right

Functional Mastery of Health Ownership in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis) is an incurable autoimmune disease causing overwhelming physical distress and psychological adaptation. The negative disease symptoms effect all aspects of everyday life. The physical and biological burdens of the disease progression can be complicated and long-term. Not all patients have a positive outcome throughout their health journey. This dissertation is an exploration of the associations between an individual’s personal characteristics and life situation and the ability to function fully and achieve mastery of their health within the parameters of their disease burden. The first manuscript, Functional Mastery of Health Ownership: A Model for Optimum Health, provides an operational definition of functional mastery as it applies to patients with chronic illness or altered life situation, and sets the foundation for the dissertation study. The second manuscript, Health Stewardship: A Concept for Best Health Outcome, introduces the concept of individual responsibility for health as a path to optimum wellness that is intrinsic to achieving functional mastery. The primary research in the fourth chapter utilizes the Functional Mastery of Health Ownership (FMHO) model (Donnelley, 2017) to assess individual predictive influences that lead to the achievement of health mastery and optimum health in a patient population with IBD. The discovery of what causes some to succeed and others to not move forward is necessary to provide patients with tools to achieve wellness

The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education By M. L. Kern and M. L. Wehmeyer (Eds). Palgrave Macmillan. 2021. $59.99. ISBN: 978- 3-030-64536-6

 This is a Book Review and does not have an abstract. Please download the PDF or view the article in HTML

Non-invasive airway health assessment: Synchrotron imaging reveals effects of rehydrating treatments on mucociliary transit in-vivo

To determine the efficacy of potential cystic fibrosis (CF) therapies we have developed a novel mucociliary transit (MCT) measurement that uses synchrotron phase contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI) to non-invasively measure the transit rate of individual micron-sized particles deposited into the airways of live mice. The aim of this study was to image changes in MCT produced by a rehydrating treatment based on hypertonic saline (HS), a current CF clinical treatment. Live mice received HS containing a long acting epithelial sodium channel blocker (P308); isotonic saline; or no treatment, using a nebuliser integrated within a small-animal ventilator circuit. Marker particle motion was tracked for 20 minutes using PCXI. There were statistically significant increases in MCT in the isotonic and HS-P308 groups. The ability to quantify in vivo changes in MCT may have utility in pre-clinical research studies designed to bring new genetic and pharmaceutical treatments for respiratory diseases into clinical trials.Martin Donnelley, Kaye S. Morgan, Karen K. W. Siu, Nigel R. Farrow, Charlene S. Stahr, Richard C. Boucher, Andreas Fouras & David W. Parson

Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis lung disease: overcoming the barriers to translation to the clinic

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, chronic and debilitating genetic disease caused by mutations in the CF Transmembrane-Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene. Unrelenting airway disease begins in infancy and produces a steady deterioration in quality of life, ultimately leading to premature death. While life expectancy has improved, current treatments for CF are neither preventive nor curative. Since the discovery of CFTR the vision of correcting the underlying genetic defect - not just treating the symptoms - has been developed to where it is poised to become a transformative technology. Addition of a properly functioning CFTR gene into defective airway cells is the only biologically rational way to prevent or treat CF airway disease for all CFTR mutation classes. While new gene editing approaches hold exciting promise, airway gene-addition therapy remains the most encouraging therapeutic approach for CF. However, early work has not yet progressed to large-scale clinical trials. For clinical trials to begin in earnest the field must demonstrate that gene therapies are safe in CF lungs; can provide clear health benefits and alter the course of lung disease; can be repeatedly dosed to boost effect; and can be scaled effectively from small animal models into human-sized lungs. Demonstrating the durability of these effects demands relevant CF animal models and accurate and reliable techniques to measure benefit. In this review, illustrated with data from our own studies, we outline recent technological developments and discuss these key questions that we believe must be answered to progress CF airway gene-addition therapies to clinical trials.Martin Donnelley and David W. Parson