South American Voting Patterns in the UNGA and Economic Dependence on China

SINCE 1978 – WHEN THE REFORM AND OPENING UP PROCESS first began – Chinese GDP on constant 2015 prices (US dollars) has grown at an average rate of over 10% each year and as a result China has already overtaken the US as the world’s largest goods trader. 1 This has provided the Asian power with an economic projection reaching every nook and cranny of the world and made several distant countries heavily reliant on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for large sections of their national output

Multiple Interactions between Peroxisome Proliferators-Activated Receptors and the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System and Implications for Cancer Pathogenesis

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) α, β/δ, and γ are ligand-activated nuclear receptors involved in a number of physiological processes, including lipid and glucose homeostasis, inflammation, cell growth, differentiation, and death. PPAR agonists are used in the treatment of human diseases, like type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia, and PPARs appear as promising therapeutic targets in other conditions, including cancer. A better understanding of the functions and regulation of PPARs in normal and pathological processes is of primary importance to devise appropriate therapeutic strategies. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays an important role in controlling level and activity of many nuclear receptors and transcription factors. PPARs are subjected to UPS-dependent regulation. Interestingly, the three PPAR isotypes are differentially regulated by the UPS in response to ligand-dependent activation, a phenomenon that may be intrinsically connected to their distinct cellular functions and behaviors. In addition to their effects ongene expression, PPARs appear to affect protein levels and downstream pathways also by modulating the activity of the UPS in target-specific manners. Here we review the current knowledge of the interactions between the UPS and PPARs in light of the potential implications for their effects on cell fate and tumorigenesis

The International Financial System and Its Discontents: China, Argentina, and the Contestation of Western-led Institutions

As China’s economic rise unfolded over the last two decades, its dissatisfaction with the existing architecture of the global financial system has grown accordingly, creating a common ground between the PRC and several actors from the Global South. One manifestation of this convergence has been the proliferation of currency swap agreements between Beijing and many developing countries. This paper investigates whether those initiatives fit into Beijing’s larger strategy of contestation towards the existing Western-led financial system. It does so by looking at the case of Argentina. Two tentative conclusions are drawn: in line with Beijing’s overall contestation strategy, the swap deals do not yield disruptive effects on the current order; however, those arrangements contribute to strengthening China’s position and, by offering an alternative to other dissatisfied actors, they bear the potential to modify the architecture of the international financial system over the long run

The International Financial System and Its Discontents: China, Argentina, and the Contestation of Western-led Institutions

As China’s economic rise unfolded over the last two decades, its dissatisfaction with the existing architecture of the global financial system has grown accordingly, creating a common ground between the PRC and several actors from the Global South. One manifestation of this convergence has been the proliferation of currency swap agreements between Beijing and many developing countries. This paper investigates whether those initiatives fit into Beijing’s larger strategy of contestation towards the existing Western-led financial system. It does so by looking at the case of Argentina. Two tentative conclusions are drawn: in line with Beijing’s overall contestation strategy, the swap deals do not yield disruptive effects on the current order; however, those arrangements contribute to strengthening China’s position and, by offering an alternative to other dissatisfied actors, they bear the potential to modify the architecture of the international financial system over the long run

Impact of substitution among generic drugs on persistence and adherence: A retrospective claims data study from 2 Local Healthcare Units in the Lombardy Region of Italy

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The CRACK programme: a scientific alliance for bridging healthcare research and public health policies in Italy

Healthcare utilisation databases, and other secondary data sources, have been used with growing frequency to assess health outcomes and healthcare interventions worldwide. Their increased popularity as a research tool is due to their timely availability, the large patient populations covered, low cost, and applicability for studying real-world clinical practice. Despite the need to measure Italian National Health Service performance both at regional and national levels, the wealth of good quality electronic data and the high standards of scientific research in this field, healthcare research and public health policies seem to progress along orthogonal dimensions in Italy. The main barriers to the development of evidence-based public health include the lack of understanding of evidence-based methodologies by policy makers, and of involvement of researchers in the policy process. The CRACK programme was launched by some academics from the Lombardy Region. By extensively using electronically stored data, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, pharmacologists and clinicians applied methods and evidence to several issues of healthcare research. The CRACK programme was based on their intention to remove barriers that thwart the process of bridging methods and findings from scientific journals to public health practice. This paper briefly describes aim, articulation and management of the CRACK programme, and discusses why it might find articulated application in Italy

How to perform a cardio-thoracic magnetic resonance imaging in COVID-19: comprehensive assessment of heart, pulmonary arteries, and lung parenchyma

We proposed a combined cardiothoracic-MRI (CaTh-MRI) protocol for the comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular structures, lung parenchyma, and pulmonary arterial tree, in COVID-19 patients with progressive worsening of clinical conditions and/or suspicion of acute-onset myocardial inflammation. A 25-minutes fast protocol was also conceived for unstable or uncooperative patients by restricting the number of sequences to those necessary to rule out myocardial and to assess pulmonary involvement. In patients requiring CMR characterization of myocardial damage, the addition of lung and thoracic vessel evaluation is of clinical benefit at a minimal time expense

Role of advanced imaging in COVID-19 cardiovascular complications

Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 patients are dominated by respiratory symptoms, but cardiac complications are commonly observed and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Underlying pathological mechanisms of cardiac injury are still not entirely elucidated, likely depending on a combination of direct viral damage with an uncontrolled immune activation. Cardiac involvement in these patients ranges from a subtle myocardial injury to cardiogenic shock. Advanced cardiac imaging plays a key role in discriminating the broad spectrum of differential diagnoses. Present article aims to review the value of advanced multimodality imaging in patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2-related cardiovascular involvement and its essential role in risk stratification and tailored treatment strategies. Based on our experience, we also sought to suggest possible diagnostic algorithms for the rationale utilization of advanced imaging tools, such as cardiac CT and CMR, avoiding unnecessary examinations and diagnostic delays

Bipolar Patients and Bullous Pemphigoid after Risperidone Long-Acting Injectable: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature

Neuropsychiatric disorders are found to be associated with bullous pemphigoid (BP), an autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease. Antipsychotics have emerged as possible inducing factors of BP. However, large sample studies concerning BP associated with antipsychotics, as well as with specific mental disorders, are still lacking. Our review retrieved a few clinical studies and case reports on the topic, producing controversial results. We report for the first time a bipolar patient case presenting BP following five-month therapy with risperidone long-acting injectable (LAI). We hypothesize that the dermatological event is associated with the medication administered. The issue emerged during psychiatric consultation and was confirmed by histological examination, direct and indirect immunofluorescence studies, plus positive plasma and cutaneous BP180 and BP230 IgG. Neurodegeneration or neuroinflammation might represent a primary process leading to a cross-reactive immune response between neural and cutaneous antigens and contributing to self-tolerance failure. Furthermore, the time sequence of the shared biological mechanisms leading to clinical manifestations of the neuropsychiatric disorder and BP remains undefined. BP comorbid with bipolar disorder might occasionally represent a serious health risk and affect patients’ physical and psychosocial quality of life. Thus, clinicians treating psychiatric patients should consider BP as a possible adverse effect of psychotropic medications