The Resurrection of the Radical Political Movements

In the last decade the radical political movements became a important threat to European democracies in the conditions of decline on popularity of main political ideological parties all across the Europe. Especially nationalist radical movements seems to became more popular between the citizens after they took from the populist parties the Euroskeptical message and the radical message against minorities or immigrants. The extremist message of those parties or radical movements it's pretty much the same even they are located in different counties or cultures. The radical message of Golden Dawn in Greece - an Christian Orthodox culture - is similar with the Magyar Hajnal (Hungarian Dawns) in Hungary - a Catholic and Protestant culture - or Progress Party from Norway - a more secular culture than religious based.Our paper is focused on the origins of those parties in Europe and their radical message against immigrants or social/ethnic minorities. We argue that such parties succeed over the long term only when they both 1) build on pre-existing nationalist organizations and networks and 2) face a permissive rather than repressive political environment. Those parties develop themsleves on the fertile ground of far right wing populism and assume a very narrow to the fascist discourse of the beginings of the XXth century in order to contest the economical and democratic order. By adding factors such as historical legacies, party organization, and interactions between mainstream parties and far right challengers to the study of radical right parties, we can better understand their divergent trajectories

Populism, nationalism, extremism: expressions of antipolitics in Europe?

The vast majority of the papers on populism describe this political phenomenon as one which is very dificult to explain and to analyze due to its discursive versatility and behavioural chameleonism. Furthermore, we would argue that the term populism covers more political and social realities than one single term would normatly concentrate from a semantic point of view. This is why many analysts of this phenomenon, such as Guy Hermet (2007) or Gianfranco Pasquino(2008) propose the use of the plural populisms instead of the singular populism, which would permit the formulation of a clearer definition of this ubiquitous phenomenon. On the other hand. in view of the new dynamics of populism in the period preceding the debut of the 2008 economic crisis, some authors (Mudde, 2004:541 Tourainie. 2007:38) have defined the phenomenon as a system of "post industrial" parties and thus, "post classical". Others (Taguieff. 2002; Knight, 1998; Viguera, 1993), trying to the give an interpretative unity to a process which is hard to classify, have defined populism as a certain style of making politics varying in discourse from one society to another, but similar through its intimate structures of behaviours and ideas

Populist-Nationalist Discourse in the European Periphery. The Case of Romania

Our article focuses on the reproductive dynamics of the populist nationalist discourse present in Romanian social media. We are particularly interested in exploring the possible emergence of a specific Eastern-European type of right wing populism, reflected by the authoritarian politics professed by Viktor Orban, Andrej Duda, Robert Fico or, in Romania, Traian Bãsescu and the PMP (Popular Movement Party). Thus, in the first part of our article we are exploring the main theoretical discussions regarding populism in general and its Eastern European manifestation in particular

Symbolika populizmu

The vast majority of the papers on populism describe this political phenomenon as one which is very difficult to explain and to analyze due to its discursive versatility and behavioural chameleonism. Furthermore, I would argue that the term populism covers more political and social realities than one single term would normally concentrate from a semantic point of view. I focus more over the psychological roots of populism which can be observed in the political symbolic field. In that manner, I consider that political symbolic, as part of the behavioural theory, can be a better tool for unveiling the populist discourse than the usual techniques of political analysis.Ogromna większość artykułów dotyczących populizmu opisuje to polityczne zjawisko jako trudne do wyjaśnienia i analizy ze względu na jego dyskursywną różnorodność i behawioralny „kameleonizm”. Co więcej, twierdzę, że termin „populizm” opisuje większą liczbę politycznych i społecznych faktów, niż pojedynczy termin jest w stanie pomieścić w swej objętości semantycznej. Skupiam się głównie na psychologicznych źródłach populizmu, które mogą być obserwowane w symbolicznej sferze polityki. W tej perspektywie postrzegam polityczny symbolizm, będący częścią teorii behawiorystycznej, jako lepsze narzędzie służące ujawnianiu dyskursu populistycznego niż zwykłe techniki analizy politycznej

Critical raw materials and cities: A literature review

This paper asks what is the relationship between critical raw materials and cities within the European Union (EU)? To answer this question, this study seeks to categorise research findings on critical raw materials through a literature review. For this purpose, publications about critical raw materials have been systematically searched using a multidisciplinary scientific bibliographic database. Several screening criteria were applied to ensure the utmost accuracy and specificity in the development of research. During the review, the papers and the other publications found were systematised by dividing them into three thematic sections according to the focus adopted: critical raw materials as pollutants; their recycling; and the new technologies that can be applied to them. The results of the review show that the development of cities and their regeneration will increasingly depend on critical raw materials. Moreover, these findings suggest that soon the professionals who deal with urban regeneration and renewal will have to manage more and more issues related to critical raw materials. Furthermore, a correct understanding of the relationship between critical raw materials and cities is essential to avoid manipulation by populist parties which could use these strategic materials to support their autarchic rhetoric

Yeast-Fermented Rapeseed Meal Extract Is Able to Reduce Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Caused by Escherichia coli Lipopolysaccharides and to Replace ZnO in Caco-2/HTX29 Co-Culture Cells

(1) The present study tested in vitro the capacity of a fermented rapeseed meal extract to reduce medicinal ZnO, which will be banned at the EU level from 2023 onwards because of its potential to cause environmental pollution and the development of Zn resistance in gut bacteria. Rapeseed meal could be an important ZnO substitute as it has antioxidant/radical scavenging properties due to its content of bioactive compounds (e.g., polyphenols). (2) Protein array and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis, oxidative stress production, and inflammatory and signaling-related molecules in Caco-2 and goblet HT29-MTX co-culture cells challenged with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharides and treated with ZnO and FRSM. (3) LPS induced cell death (21.1% vs. 12.7% in control, p < 0.005); apoptosis (16.6%); ROS production; and overexpression of biomarkers related to inflammation (63.15% cytokines and 66.67% chemokines), oxidative stress, and signaling proteins when compared to untreated cells. ZnO was effective in counteracting the effect of LPS, and 73.68% cytokines and 91.67% of chemokines were recovered. FRSM was better at restoring normal protein expression for 78.94% of cytokines, 91.67% of chemokines, and 61.11% of signaling molecules. FRSM was able to mitigate negative effects of LPS and might be an alternative to ZnO in pig diets

The Use of Agro-Industrial Waste Rich in Omega-3 PUFA during the Weaning Stress Improves the Gut Health of Weaned Piglets

(1) Background: The weaning period is a very important stage in the pig life, as during weaning, the animals are very susceptible to pathogens and develop postweaning diarrhoea. The aim of our study was to counteract weaning stress and to improve piglets’ gut health by using a nutritional intervention consisting of a mix of agro-industrial wastes (grapeseed, flaxseed and sea blackthorn meals) rich in omega-3 PUFA. (2) Methods: Twelve cross-bred TOPIG hybrid piglets with an average body weight of 11.25 kg were randomly distributed to one of the two experimental groups: a control group fed basic corn soybean diet (control diet) and an experimental group fed a diet with a 10% mixture of grapeseed, flaxseed and sea buckthorn meals in a ratio of 3:4:1 (GFS diet). (3) Results: the GFS diet had no effect on the performance, biochemical parameters or the total antibody synthesis. GFS diet was able to significantly reduce the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha and to significantly increases the expression of junction proteins (occludin, claudin 4, claudin 7 and extracellular protein matrix) at the gene or protein level as compared with control. The presence of GFS in the diet increased the abundance of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species in the colonic content as well as the concentration of propionic and butyric acids. (4) Conclusions: Taken together, our results showed that agro-industrial wastes rich in omega-3 PUFA can be used as an ecological, environmentally friendly nutritional intervention for improving the negative effects associated with the weaning stress

Grape Seed Waste Counteracts Aflatoxin B1 Toxicity in Piglet Mesenteric Lymph Nodes

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin that frequently contaminates cereals and cereal byproducts. This study investigates the effect of AFB1 on the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of piglets and evaluates if a diet containing grape seed meal (GSM) can counteract the negative effect of AFB1 on inflammation and oxidative stress. Twenty-four weaned piglets were fed the following diets: Control, AFB1 group (320 μg AFB1/kg feed), GSM group (8% GSM), and AFB1 + GSM group (8% GSM + 320 μg AFB1/kg feed) for 30 days. AFB1 has an important antioxidative effect by decreasing the activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and total antioxidant status. As a result of the exposure to AFB1, an increase of MAP kinases, metalloproteinases, and cytokines, as effectors of an inflammatory response, were observed in the MLNs of intoxicated piglets. GSM induced a reduction of AFB1-induced oxidative stress by increasing the activity of GPx and SOD and by decreasing lipid peroxidation. GSM decreased the inflammatory markers increased by AFB1. These results represent an important and promising way to valorize this waste, which is rich in bioactive compounds, for decreasing AFB1 toxic effects in mesenteric lymph nodes

Grape seed meal by-product is able to counteract oxidative stress induced by lipopolysaccharide and dextran sulphate in IPEC cells and piglets after weaning

Oxidative stress is a pivotal factor in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation, leading to cellular damage and tissue injury. Natural antioxidants compounds found in agro-industrial by-products have proven their effectiveness in treatment of intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress, exhibiting many favourable effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of a grape seed meal byproduct (GSM) to counteract the effects induced by E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 5μg/ml) in vitro on IPEC-1 cells and by dextran sulphate sodium (DSS, 1g/b.w./day) in vivo on piglets after weaning. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-oxidant markers (malondialdehyde MDA, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances TBARS, protein carbonyl, DNA oxidative damage) antioxidant enzymes (catalase -CAT, superoxide dismutase -SOD, glutathione peroxidase -GPx, endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases -eNOS and iNOS) and several important components of Keap1/Nrf2 signalling pathway were analysed in IPEC-1 cells as well as in piglet’s colon and lymph nodes. Our results demonstrated that GSM extract or 8% dietary GSM showed anti-oxidant properties counteracting the pro-oxidant response (ROS, MDA-TBARS, protein carbonyl, DNA/RNA damage) induced by LPS or DSS and restoring the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, including CAT, SOD, GPx, eNOS and iNOS in colon and mesenteric lymph nodes. These beneficial effects were modulated via Nrf2 signalling pathway in both in vitro and in vivo studies