A New Balance of Power for the Twenty-First Century: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, 2001-2007

In September 1997, President Jiang Zemin stated that the multi-polarity trend contributed towards worldwide peace, stability and prosperity, while both hegemonism and the policy of Power were still a major threat to peace and international stability. A few years later, the new Russia of Vladimir Putin promoted a multi-polar system of international relations, claiming that the global order of the XXI century had to be based on mechanisms for the collective resolution of key problems. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, founded in 2001, pursued the so-called struggle against the "three evils", that is terrorism, separatism and extremism. Besides, the organisation managed to combine China, a massive world energy consumer, with high profile energy producers like Kazakhstan and an unmatched hydropower producer such as Tajikistan. On the other hand, Russia at the end of the second Putin mandate needed to make common cause with other Powers in order to exercise a serious influence in international affairs. Within such a scenario, the United States National Security Strategy of 2006 claimed that it was necessary to work closely with Russia on strategic issues of common interest. The Bush Administration also encouraged Beijing to continue down the road of reform and openness towards liberty, stability, and prosperity. Despite this, Chinese leaders were being accused of acting as if they could somehow "lock up" energy supplies around the world or seek to direct markets rather than opening them up

Realpolitik and African Nationalism: Labour Britain and Angola in the 1960s

Salazar’s dictatorship was the opposite of western democracy principles, but neither London nor Washington could forget the importance of Portugal as a NATO allied country. Moreover, white re-gimes in Southern Africa granted the stability necessary to pursue Anglo-Saxon interests. According to both Atlantic capitals, white settlers did not have any intention to give up and African nationalists did not have the military and economic strength to defeat them. When Salazar was succeeded by Caetano, Down-ing Street thought he would bring modernisation, by accepting foreign companies to develop the econ-omy, especially in Angola where oil and diamonds were being exported, and also by at least accepting the principle of self-determination. However, emancipation and equality of races was something on which African nationalists and black independent States could not tolerate any compromise. Once the process of political independence had been started, the following step was the achievement of economic sovereignty on a basis that old times diplomacy and cold war estimates were no longer able to understand

La politica anglo-americana nel Mediterraneo orientale: il Canale di Suez e i rapporti con l’Egitto, 1948-1954

Nel 1945, la Gran Bretagna era alla testa di un vasto impero coloniale, con fulcro nel Canale di Suez, crocevia fra tre continenti. L’occupazione di Suez era legittimata dal trattato di alleanza anglo-egiziana del 1936, che gli arabi intendevano ridiscutere. Gli inglesi intendevano mantenere l’egemonia nel Medio Oriente, cercando di inserire la base militare di Suez in un circuito di alleanze tra occidentali e arabi, che permettesse di conservare un nucleo di truppe nell’area in questione anche in tempo di pace. Contemporaneamente, Washington riteneva la presenza britannica sufficiente a tutelare i suoi interessi petroliferi nella regione, e non voleva assumere impegni militari a sostegno degli storici alleati. Nel corso degli anni, gli inglesi, in particolare Churchill, si dimostrarono incapaci di risolvere da soli i problemi con gli egiziani, che reclamavano l’evacuazione delle truppe britanniche da Suez. La rigidità delle politiche di stampo colonialista collideva con l’ondata nazionalista che attraversava la regione, mentre gli americani si dimostrarono più pragmatici, acquisendo un certo prestigio tra gli arabi. Nel giro di un quinquennio, Londra aveva perso il suo ruolo di potenza egemone nel Medio Oriente, mentre gli arabi si rivolgevano ormai agli Stati Uniti, in qualità di mediatori e garanti degli equilibri politici, nonostante le vicende arabo-israeliane. Numerose furono le incomprensioni tra gli alleati atlantici su vari punti, come il colonialismo, l’approccio agli egiziani, le tattiche da seguire, gli obiettivi da perseguire. La disputa anglo-egiziana fu risolta nel 1954, ma per questo l’interesse americano, sia pure in forma non ufficiale, si rivelò decisivo. Prima del disastro del 1956, emerge dallo studio dei documenti, la Gran Bretagna non era più l’ago della bilancia delle questioni mediorientali, poiché questo ruolo era passato agli Stati Uniti, senza ancora alcun impegno militare nell’area

O mexilhão Perna perna no Brasil: nativo ou exótico?

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Aquicultura, Florianópolis, 2013.A mitilicultura no Brasil se baseia no cultivo do mexilhão Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758), que é encontrado em todo o litoral brasileiro, sendo especialmente abundante do Espírito Santo a Santa Catarina. Nos últimos anos foi lançada a hipótese de que P. perna seja uma espécie exótica no litoral brasileiro. A hipótese baseia-se na análise da malacofauna de sítios arqueológicos. Todas as contestações levantadas não remetem a uma conclusão, pois precisam de estudos específicos, com metodologias claras, aliando arqueologia, ecologia e biologia molecular. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a condição de nativo ou exótico do mexilhão Perna perna no Brasil, a partir de levantamento dos resultados em sítios arqueológicos, de técnicas moleculares e de datação de conchas com C14. A datação de conchas de P. perna do sítio arqueológico do Rio do Meio/Jurerê, Florianópolis/SC, indicou que as amostras têm a idade de 720±30 e 780±30 anos. O cálculo do tempo de divergência indicou que a separação das populações brasileiras e africanas ocorreu por volta de 200 mil anos. Os resultados apontam a presença da espécie no território brasileiro muito antes do descobrimento do Brasil pelos portugueses no ano de 1500, indicando que Perna perna é de fato uma espécie nativa.Abstract : The mussel farming in Brazil is based on brown mussel Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758), which is found throughout the Brazilian coast, with especial abundance from Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina state. In recent years, it was suggested that Perna perna is an exotic species for the Brazilian coast. The hypothesis is based on the analysis of the zooarchaeology studies in archaeological sites of Brazil. All objections raised do not offer to a conclusion, because they need specific studies with clear methodology, combining archeology, ecology and molecular biology. The objective of this work was to study the condition of the brown mussel Perna perna in Brazil if native or exotic, from survey results in archaeological sites, molecular techniques and dating of shells with C14. The dating indicated that the shells were 720±30 and 780±30 years old, respectively. The calculation of divergence time indicated that the separation of the African and Brazilian mussel populations occurred around 200 thousand years ago. The results indicate the presence of the P. perna species in Brazilian territory long before the discovery of Brazil by the Portuguese in 1500, indicating that P. perna is actually a native species of Brazil

Identification of 2,4-Dinitro-Biphenyl-Based Compounds as MAPEG Inhibitors

We identified 2,4-dinitro-biphenyl-based compounds as new inhibitors of leukotriene C-4 synthase (LTC4S) and 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP), both members of the "Membrane Associated Proteins in Eicosanoid and Glutathione metabolism" (MAPEG) family involved in the biosynthesis of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. By molecular docking we evaluated the putative binding against the targets of interest, and by applying cell-free and cell-based assays we assessed the inhibition of LTC4S and FLAP by the small molecules at low micromolar concentrations. The present results integrate the previously observed inhibitory profile of the tested compounds against another MAPEG member, i. e., microsomal prostaglandin E-2 synthase (mPGES)-1, suggesting that the 2,4-dinitro-biphenyl scaffold is a suitable molecular platform for a multitargeting approach to modulate pro-inflammatory mediators in inflammation and cancer treatment

Cyclic Peptoids as Mycotoxin Mimics: An Exploration of Their Structural and Biological Properties

Cyclic peptoids have recently emerged as important examples of peptidomimetics for their interesting complexing properties and innate ability to permeate biological barriers. In the present contribution, experimental and theoretical data evidence the intricate conformational and stereochemical properties of five novel hexameric peptoids decorated with N-isopropyl, N-isobutyl, and N-benzyl substituents. Complexation studies by NMR, in the presence of sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate (NaTFPB), theoretical calculations, and single-crystal X-ray analyses indicate that the conformationally stable host/guest metal adducts display architectural ordering comparable to that of the enniatins and beauvericin mycotoxins. Similarly to the natural depsipeptides, the synthetic oligolactam analogues show a correlation between ion transport abilities in artificial liposomes and cytotoxic activity on human cancer cell lines. The reported results demonstrate that the versatile cyclic peptoid scaffold, for its remarkable conformational and complexing properties, can morphologically mimic related natural products and elicit powerful biological activities

Substitution of fish meal in diets for marine shrimp grown in a biofloc system

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a substituição de dois níveis de inclusão de farinha de peixe por outros ingredientes, nas dietas de Litopenaeus vannamei cultivados em sistema bioflocos. Foram avaliadas dietas sem uso de farinha de peixe (dieta A, 100% de substituição), com inclusão de 12,5% de farinha de peixe (dieta B, 40% de substituição) e direta controle com inclusão de 21% (dieta C, 0% de substituição). Nas dietas A e B, o farelo de soja e as farinhas de carne e vísceras foram os principais substitutos proteicos. Foram analisados os índices de desempenho dos camarões e os parâmetros físicos e químicos da água de cultivo. Os camarões alimentados com a dieta B apresentaram maior peso final (11,63±1,38 g), em comparação aos camarões alimentados com a dieta A (peso final, 9,39±0,31 g) e com a dieta C (peso final, 10,20±1,10 g). Os demais parâmetros de desempenho como produtividade, conversão alimentar e sobrevivência não apresentaram diferenças entre os tratamentos. A redução de até 40,0% da farinha de peixe pode ser feita em cultivos superintensivos de L. vannamei com bioflocos, sem interferir em seu desempenho zootécnico e na qualidade de água do cultivo. The objective of this work was to evaluate the substitution of two fish meal inclusion levels by other ingredients, in the diets of Litopenaeus vannamei reared in a biofloc system. The following diets were evaluated: without fish meal (diet A, 100% replacent), with addition of 12.5% of fish meal (diet B, 40% replacent), and a control diet with addition of 21% (diet C, 0% replacent). In diets A and B, soybean meal and meat and viscera meals were the main protein replacement. The performance indexes of shrimps and the physical and chemical parameters of water were analyzed. Shrimp fed diet B had higher final weight (11.63±1.38 g), compared to shrimp fed a diet A (9.39±0.31 g final weight) or C (10.20±1.10 g final weight). The other parameters of performance such as yield, feed conversion and survival did not differ between treatments. The reduction of fish meal by 40.0% can be done in a L. vannamei superintensive biofloc system without interfering on their growth performance or on the water quality of the culture

Natural history of KBG syndrome in a large European cohort

KBG syndrome (KBGS) is characterized by distinctive facial gestalt, short stature and variable clinical findings. With ageing, some features become more recognizable, allowing a differential diagnosis. We aimed to better characterize natural history of KBGS. In the context of a European collaborative study, we collected the largest cohort of KBGS patients (49). A combined array- based Comparative Genomic Hybridization and next generation sequencing (NGS) approach investigated both genomic Copy Number Variants and SNVs. Intellectual disability (ID) (82%) ranged from mild to moderate with severe ID identified in two patients. Epilepsy was present in 26.5%. Short stature was consistent over time, while occipitofrontal circumference (median value: -0.88 SD at birth) normalized over years. Cerebral anomalies, were identified in 56% of patients and thus represented the second most relevant clinical feature reinforcing clinical suspicion in the paediatric age when short stature and vertebral/dental anomalies are vague. Macrodontia, oligodontia and dental agenesis (53%) were almost as frequent as skeletal anomalies, such as brachydactyly, short fifth finger, fifth finger clinodactyly, pectus excavatum/carinatum, delayed bone age. In 28.5% of individuals, prenatal ultrasound anomalies were reported. Except for three splicing variants, leading to a premature termination, variants were almost all frameshift. Our results, broadening the spectrum of KBGS phenotype progression, provide useful tools to facilitate differential diagnosis and improve clinical management. We suggest to consider a wider range of dental anomalies before excluding diagnosis and to perform a careful odontoiatric/ear-nose-throat (ENT) evaluation in order to look for even submucosal palate cleft given the high percentage of palate abnormalities. NGS approaches, following evidence of antenatal ultrasound anomalies, should include ANKRD11.</p