Morocco at the Crossroads: Seizing the window of opportunity for sustainable development. MEDPRO Technical Report No. 2/April 2011

The question of state sustainability is highly relevant in the case of Morocco. Despite the image of a modernising and liberalising country, Morocco is undergoing a delicate phase in its development. The recent upheavals in the Maghreb and the Middle East alongside the growing problems of poor education and high unemployment are likely to bring to the surface the unsustainable elements of Morocco’s status quo. The central issues concern the quality of institutions, reforms aimed at promoting the rule of law, curbing corruption and overhauling the judiciary. This paper will argue that while institutional quality is a pre-requisite for successful and sustainable socioeconomic performance, this cannot be achieved unless major reforms in the political system are carried out. There exists a window of opportunity to accelerate reforms and to address the acute centralisation of Moroccan politics and decision-making, the lack of accountability of the monarchic institutions, as well as the fragility of representative bodies, such as parties and trade unions. Seizing this window of opportunity could spare Morocco a period of instability, while also assuring continuity in the framework of the transition that started in 1999 when the new king came to power

Syria and Lebanon: Diverging paths of state unsustainability. MEDPRO Technical Report No. 6/June 2011

Any analysis of the prospects for stability and sustainability in the states of Syria and Lebanon reveals the strong ties that exist between these two countries and the impact of external influences on their overall development. Their trajectories, while starkly divergent in terms of the challenges confronting them at present, converge on a path of long-term unsustainability. Lebanon is in the midst of yet another transition phase, triggered by the collapse of Hariri’s government in January 2011. The current situation might be described as one of deteriorating status quo; the state is performing poorly in terms of its delivery of fundamental public services and its institutional legitimacy is tenuous in the face of emerging para-state structures and latent (occasionally active) violence. In Syria, challenges to the sustainability of the state have evolved dramatically since the beginning of 2011, and are now nearing a tipping point. In view of the mounting unrest and violence in the country, the future prospects for its economic and political development are dim. More ominously, the risk of widespread conflict, with sectarian overtones, cannot be discounted

The EU's engagement with 'moderate' political Islam: the case of Ennahda

This paper focuses on the European Union’s engagement – or lack thereof – with Islamist political parties in North Africa following the Arab uprisings. By delving into the case of Tunisia’s Ennahda, it shows that the party’s growing moderation trajectory has been matched by a greater pragmatic engagement by the EU during the period 2011–16. It is argued that this new trend is explained by a partial shift in the frames that the EU employs to interpret ongoing changes in the Middle East and North Africa region as well as its interests and potential role in the region

The EU and Islamist parties in Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab uprisings:A story of selective engagement

This article argues that the new EU’s selective engagement with Islamist parties in its Southern neighbourhood following the Arab uprisings is the result of a partial shift in the EU’s frame used to understand political Islam, combined with a form of pragmatism that puts a premium on finding interlocutors in the region. Using the case studies of Tunisia and Egypt, it shows that the EU has replaced its previous monolithic conception of political Islam with an understanding that is more sensitive to differences among Islamists. This opens the door to some forms of engagement with those actors that renounce violence and demonstrate their commitment to work within the confines of democratic rules, while violent strands of political Islam and conservative groups remain at arm’s length

Modulation of the effect of PNPLA3 I148M mutation on steatosis and liver damage by alcohol intake in patients with chronic hepatitis C

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Geopolitical shifts and strategic choices

The Middle East has witnessed major geopolitical shifts since 2011 that range from the growing influence of the Gulf states, the pivot to Africa of many of the region's countries and the new dynami..

Una manera de aprender más matemática para enseñarla: la “reflexión guiada” como herramienta de integración matemático-didáctica

Con este trabajo tratamos de profundizar nuestro estudio y compartir nuevos avances en el ámbito de la formación de profesores mostrando la importancia de la reflexión orientada sobre la propia práctica matemática que realizan los alumnos del Profesorado en Matemática en la UNRC en el marco del Taller intra disciplinar titulado “Dialéctica entre geometría sintética y analítica”. La reflexión sobre su propia práctica y sobre los significados objetivizados de ella, a partir de haber puesto a funcionar herramientas provistas por el Enfoque Onto-Semiótico de la Cognición Matemática (EOS) permite a los alumnos, ampliar la clásica distinción curricular entre conocimientos conceptuales y procedimentales. Esta ampliación basada tanto en la explicitación de las entidades proposicionales y argumentativas así como en el rol regulador del lenguaje hace posible que los futuros profesores sean conscientes de los procesos matemáticos que ponen en juego. En otras palabras los alumnos aprenden más matemática. Específicamente en este trabajo, se intenta mostrar que esta propuesta también abona al fenómeno didáctico por el cual más allá que dos alumnos estén hablando del mismo objeto, las ideas con que se lo hace funcionar en una situación pueden ser muy distintas y por ende hacer intervenir y/o emerger relaciones diferentes. Esto constituye un conocimiento necesario para su futura gestión docente. Dicho de otra manera: ayuda a la apropiación de específicas herramientas para enseñar matemática

OX40 triggering blocks suppression by regulatory T cells and facilitates tumor rejection

Regulatory T (T reg) cells are the major obstacle to cancer immunotherapy, and their depletion promptly induces conversion of peripheral precursors into T reg cells. We show that T reg cells can be functionally inactivated by OX40 triggering. In tumors, the vast majority of CD4+ T cells are Foxp3+ and OX40bright. However, intratumor injection of the agonist anti-OX40 monoclonal antibody (mAb) OX86, but not anti-CD25 mAb, induces tumor rejection in 80% of mice, an effect that is abrogated by CD8 depletion. Upon intratumor OX40 triggering, increased numbers of infiltrating dendritic cells (DCs) migrate to draining lymph nodes and generate a new wave of tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, as detected by tetramer and CD44 staining of node CD8+ T lymphocytes. Tumor-bearing Rag1-knockout (KO) mice reconstituted with OX40-deficient T reg cells and wild-type (WT) effector T cells, or the reciprocal combination, showed that both T reg and effector T cells must be triggered via OX40 for the tumor to be rejected. Accordingly, WT but not OX40-KO mice receiving intratumor coinjection of OX86 and ovalbumin protein were able to revert tumor-induced tolerization of adoptively transferred OX40-competent OTII T lymphocytes. In conclusion, OX40-mediated inactivation of T reg cell function unleashes nearby DCs, allowing them to induce an adaptive immune response. In addition, the known OX40-dependent delivery of fitness signals to activated T cells is boosted by concurrent T reg cell inhibition. OX40 triggering thus has multiple effects that converge to mediate tumor rejection

From Leonardo to Picasso (1939–1953): The Masters Who Marked War and Peace in Milan

This paper intends to highlight the role the arts and the exhibition system had during WWII period in Milan—a strategic centre in the fields of politics, culture and economics. At that time we can notice two main occurrences: the Leonardo exhibition at Palazzo dell’Arte in 1939, and the Picasso solo show at Palazzo Reale in 1953. In the beginning of 1939 the war was more than a threat but, despite that, the fascist regime decided to organize a temporary exhibition dedicated to Leonardo with clear propaganda purposes. After WWII and the defeat of the regime, the public administration of the city was able to arrange a Picasso exhibition and, during a moment of peace-building, the choice of the Spanish master was not accidental. It is clear that exhibition-making here was conceived as a tool for cultural interventions, marking war and peace situations and tracing a political “manifesto”.

Contrordine. La sovversione del Nouveau Réalisme a partire dagli allestimenti delle loro opere

The text, after an introduction on the arrangements conceived by Marcel Duchamp during the Thirties, focuses on the exhibitions organized by the Nouveau Réalisme between the end of the Fifties and the 1970. All these occasions, based on a chaos of the objects, created a positive confusion but allowed also a “visual revolution” in contemporary art