Vibrational spectroscopy: a promising approach to discriminate neurodegenerative disorders

Neurodegenerative diseases are a growing burden in modern society, thus crucially calling for the development of accurate diagnostic strategies. These diseases are currently incurable, a fact which has been attributed to their late diagnosis, after brain damage has already become widespread. An earlier and improved diagnosis is necessary for the enrolment of patients into clinical trials and can pave the way for the development of therapeutic tactics. Novel analytical techniques, such as mass spectrometry and vibrational spectroscopy, have been able to successfully detect and characterise neurodegenerative disorders. It is critical to globally support and make use of innovative basic research and techniques, which could ultimately lead to the creation of a cost-effective diagnostic test. Minimally invasive samples, such as biological fluids, have also been shown to reveal information for these diseases; utilising them could simplify sample collection/analysis and be more preferable to patients

Differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using spectrochemical analysis of blood

The progressive aging of the world’s population makes a higher prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases inevitable. The necessity for an accurate, but at the same time, inexpensive and minimally invasive, diagnostic test is urgently required, not only to confirm the presence of the disease but also to discriminate between different types of dementia to provide the appropriate management and treatment. In this study, attenuated total reflection FTIR (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometric techniques were used to analyze blood plasma samples from our cohort. Blood samples are easily collected by conventional venepuncture, permitting repeated measurements from the same individuals to monitor their progression throughout the years or evaluate any tested drugs. We included 549 individuals: 347 with various neurodegenerative diseases and 202 age-matched healthy individuals. Alzheimer’s disease (AD; n = 164) was identified with 70% sensitivity and specificity, which after the incorporation of apolipoprotein ε4 genotype (APOE ε4) information, increased to 86% when individuals carried one or two alleles of ε4, and to 72% sensitivity and 77% specificity when individuals did not carry ε4 alleles. Early AD cases (n = 14) were identified with 80% sensitivity and 74% specificity. Segregation of AD from dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB; n = 34) was achieved with 90% sensitivity and specificity. Other neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 30), Parkinson’s disease (PD; n = 32), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP; n = 31), were included in our cohort for diagnostic purposes. Our method allows for both rapid and robust diagnosis of neurodegeneration and segregation between different dementias

Politicising government engagement with corporate social responsibility: “CSR” as an empty signifier

Governments are widely viewed by academics and practitioners (and society more generally) as the key societal actors who are capable of compelling businesses to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR). Arguably, such government involvement could be seen as a technocratic device for encouraging ethical business behaviour. In this paper, we offer a more politicised interpretation of government engagement with CSR where “CSR” is not a desired form of business conduct but an element of discourse that governments can deploy in structuring their relationships with other social actors. We build our argument through a historical analysis of government CSR discourse in the Russian Federation. Laclau and Mouffe's (Hegemony and socialist strategy: Towards a radical democratic politics,Verso Books, London, 1985) social theory of hegemony underpins our research. We find that “CSR” in the Russian government’s discourse served to legitimise its power over large businesses. Using this case, we contribute to wider academic debates by providing fresh empirical evidence that allows the development of critical evaluation tools in relation to governments’ engagement with “CSR”. We find that governments are capable of hijacking CSR for their own self-interested gain. We close the paper by reflecting on the merit of exploring the case of the Russian Federation. As a “non-core”, non-western exemplar, it provides a useful “mirror” with which to reflect on the more widely used test-bed of Western industrial democracies when scrutinising CSR. Based on our findings, we invite other scholars to adopt a more critical, politicised stance when researching the role of governments in relation to CSR in other parts of the world

Institutions for Asian Connectivity

To make Asia more economically sustainable and resilient against external shocks, regional economies need to be rebalanced toward regional demand- and trade-driven growth through increased regional connectivity. The effectiveness of connectivity depends on the quality of hard and soft infrastructure. Of particular importance in terms of soft infrastructure which makes hard infrastructure work are the facilitating institutions that support connectivity through appropriate policies, reforms, systems, and procedures and through promoting effective coordination and cooperation. Asia has many overlapping subregional institutions involved in national and regional energy, transport, and telecommunications infrastructure connectivity. However, these institutions are characterized as being less effective, informal, and lacking a clear and binding system of rules and policies. This paper draws linkages between connectivity, growth and development, governance, and institutions. It details the benefits the region could achieve by addressing needed connectivity enhancements and the connectivity and financing challenges it faces. In addition, it presents various institutional options for regional infrastructure financing. To build seamless Asian connectivity, Asia needs an effective, formal, and rules-based institutional framework. The paper presents a new institutional framework together with the organizational structures of two new regional institutional mechanisms, namely the Pan-Asian Infrastructure Forum and the Asian Infrastructure Fund

Means For Protecting River Banks

Patent for a means for protecting river banks. The invention is designed to prevent erosion of banks and maintain the water flows course. Illustration included

Map of Wilbarger County, Texas /

Mounted on paper and printed on stationary paper.Includes text.Map of the Pan- Handle of Texas and advertisement on verso.LC Land ownership maps, 116

Crisis and Change in Post-Zeitenwende German Security Policy

This article examines the nexus between crisis and change in the context of German security policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s announcement of a  Zeitenwende (historic turning point) on 27 February 2022, a few days after the Russian attack, suggests a substantial change in German foreign and security policy. Germany’s reorientation has renewed the debate about change and continuity in German foreign and security policy (notably regarding antimilitarism). Particularly prominent in the discourse is the notion of crisis, which this paper specifically focuses on. We ask first, at a theoretical level, how we can best understand the conceptual nexus between crisis and foreign policy change and second, empirically, how crisis and change are connected in the specific case of the German Zeitenwende . In the attempt to analyze the link between crisis and foreign policy change, we propose that understanding how once-unthinkable policies are made possible requires that we turn our attention to dynamics of discursive change. We illustrate the argument with a mixed-methods analysis of German parliamentary debates between 1987 and 2023. -Dieser Artikel untersucht den Zusammenhang zwischen Krise und Wandel im Kontext der deutschen Sicherheitspolitik nach der Zeitenwende. Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz‘ Ankündigung einer Zeitenwende am 27. Februar 2022, wenige Tage nach der russischen Invasion der Ukraine, deutet auf einen weitreichenden Wandel in der deutschen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik hin. Diese Neuorientierung hat die Debatte über Wandel und Kontinuität in der deutschen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik neu entfacht. Besonders hervorstechend im Diskurs ist der Begriff der Krise, auf den sich dieser Beitrag speziell konzentriert. Wir fragen zunächst auf theoretischer Ebene, wie wir den konzeptuellen Zusammenhang zwischen Krise und außenpolitischem Wandel am besten verstehen können, und zweitens empirisch, wie Krise und Wandel im spezifischen Fall der deutschen Zeitenwende miteinander verbunden sind. Zu einem Verständnis des Zusammenhangs zwischen Krise und Wandel ist eine Analyse von Diskursen unverzichtbar. Wir veranschaulichen das Argument mit einer Mixed-Methods-Analyse der deutschen Parlamentsdebatten zwischen 1987 und 2023