China 2018: Bringing the Party Back into State Institutions

This article attempts to explain how and why the year 2018 represented a major turning point for Chinese domestic politics, characterized by the transition from a collective authoritarianism to a centralized, repressive and personalistic authoritarian leadership. It analyses the institutionalization and systematic legalization of the centralized Communist party’s authority in the political, economic and social sphere. For this purpose, the article contains a description of the major 2018 institutional reforms, through which the Chinese leadership rebuilt its centralized authoritarianism into state and social institutions. Much attention has been devoted to the establishment of party and state supervisory commissions, the establishment of «super ministers», the reinforcement of political Marxist education, and the subordination of judicial power to the party’s will. Furthermore, the paper argues that one of the main reasons behind the creation of this repressive and authoritarian stance was the emergence of multiple sources of social and political instability. The final part of the article focuses on the beginnings of an embryonic alliance between workers and students and on the increase of nationwide strikes

Notebooks. The Journal for Studies on Power

This is the abstract of the contribution in English on the new online and printed Cagliari-based review “Notebooks: Journal for Studies on Power

China, United States, covid-19 and the long-standing question of human rights : problems of a dichotomist approach

The paper aims to argue that a dichotomist approach on human rights is a major problem in relations between the United States and China. The argument has been built through a case-study on US-China public discourses on COVID-19 and human rights, which posits that a dichotomist approach has prevented an objective reading of the pandemic processes underway and thus influenced the health crisis’ management on both sides. Furthermore, the paper affirms the need for an historical perspective on the origins of the international human rights regime, in order to weaken the hegemony of the dichotomist approach in the literature, in public discourses and in national policies

Studio della formazione di ammine biogene e di altri composti azotati negli alimenti

The aim of this thesis was the qualitative and quantitative determination of biogenic amines (BA) and amino acids (AA), in particular the essential AA, in different food matrices typical of Sardinia (Italy). The study was focused on wines and table olives, which are potential source of biogenic amines due to their fermentation processes involved in their production. The decision to follow this research field is based on the importance of having updated information to assess the actual risk from ingesting BA, produced by decarboxylation of AA by microorganisms. These molecules, in fact, have direct or indirect effects on the human vascular and nervous system, especially in people who are sensitive to these substances or in people with specific diseases and/or subjected to particular therapies that affect the normal metabolism. From the legal standpoint, the legislation is developing and it is necessary to collect data in order to improve the control measures for food safety. First step of the doctorate project was to set up an analytical method of high sensitivity simultaneous detection and quantification of BA and AA in food. The method was developed using selective derivatisation with dansyl chloride and HPLC with fluorescence detection and chromatographic separation of 36 compounds, 13 BA and 22 AA, ammonium ion was successfully achieved. BA and AA were dosed using calibration curves built with the internal standard method (norvaline). This method was validated according to ICH Topic Q 2 (R1) 1995 guidelines with the determination of a linearity range, r2, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), intra and inter-day repeatability, and recovery. In cooperation with several local vineries, a survey on BA and AA amount in Cannonau, Vermentino, Carignano e Vernaccia wines, the four most typical “Controlled Designation of Origin” wines from Sardinia was performed. Sixty-one samples were analyzed, and 33 compounds (between BA and amino acids AA) were identified and quantified in the wines analyzed. Carignano wine is particularly rich in BA compounds, while Vermentino wine has a concentration of BA lower than other wine analyzed. Putrescine, histamine and tyramine are the BA found in higher concentration, but usually their amount is lower than 10 mg/L. -Aminobutyric acid is very concentrate in Vermentino wine, with an average value of 130.3±44.8 mg/L. About AA compounds, the highest total concentration is in Vermentino wine, and proline is always the most representative AA. Subsequently, a trial has been set in order to investigate the production of biogenic amines during the winemaking fermentation processes. The experiment was carried out in collaboration with the Agris (Sardinian Regional Agency for Agricultural Research) on three types of characteristic wines of Sardinia: Cannonau, Vermentino and Moscato. The musts of Cannonau, Vermentino and Moscato were treated with different strains of yeast and bacteria starter, and the evolution of the concentration of BA and AA (especially the essential AA) was monitored. Comparing the data obtained, it was observed that the three types of wine at the end of fermentation have interesting differences. It can be noted that the wine Cannonau is particularly rich in nitrogen compounds compared to the two white wines, probably because of the malo-lactic fermentation that does not take place in the other two wines. The Vermentino and Moscato are more similar to each other. In general, it was observed that the choice of starter turns out to be of significant impact in the formation of BA, though not all of the starter can make a difference. Furthermore, neither worrying values of histamine nor of tyramine were observed. Finally, an experimentation regarding the table olives, a fermented product very popular in all Mediterranean area, was developed. Sampling was carried out on a typical Sardinian olive cultivar, the ‘Nera di Gonnos’, and transformation followed the traditional natural fermentation. The HPLC-FLD method used for the wines was modified and validated for the olives. The analyses were conducted during the different steps of fermentation and after one year. Fifteen compounds, between AA and AB, were identified. The obtained data revealed that during the production process there is an increase of formation of nitrogen compounds in general, but the presence in table olives of histamine and tyramine is significantly below the values considered dangerous. In conclusion, a useful, reliable and easily applied HPLC-FLD method to monitor and safeguard the quality and safety of food products was developed. The traditional products from Sardinia showed a general good quality. It would be interesting also to extend the research by selecting and testing other microbial strains in order to obtain products with a lower content of BA and higher essential AA or other useful AA, such as Arg, that have important beneficial effects, yielding products with high qualit

Imperialismo giuridico e concessioni minerarie in Cina La concessione mineraria nel Zhejiang (1899-1907)

From the second half of the 19th century, China began to be incorporated into a multi-state informal imperialist system, in the form of a network of territorial concessions: specifically port, railway and mining ones. Meanwhile, Chinese legal institutions underwent a profound transformation toward Western legal principles, thanks to both the internal pressure of reformist officials and the external pressure of foreign powers, whose goal was to make Chinese market malleable and widely accessible. The first half of this essay consists in a general introduction to the system of the mining concessions in China and to the Chinese mining code's reform. The second half - through a case study, the Zhejiang concession - aims to show how the reform of Chinese mining law has been exploited to make Chinese mines less accessible and to put them under the sovereign protection of the state.From the second half of the 19th century, China began to be incorporated into a multi-state informal imperialist system, in the form of a network of territorial concessions: specifically port, railway and mining ones. Meanwhile, Chinese legal institutions underwent a profound transformation toward Western legal principles, thanks to both the internal pressure of reformist officials and the external pressure of foreign powers, whose goal was to make Chinese market malleable and widely accessible. The first half of this essay consists in a general introduction to the system of the mining concessions in China and to the Chinese mining code's reform. The second half - through a case study, the Zhejiang concession - aims to show how the reform of Chinese mining law has been exploited to make Chinese mines less accessible and to put them under the sovereign protection of the state

Il mondo del lavoro a Taiwan. La nascita della classe operaia e la formazione del movimento dei lavoratori

The thesis has been an historical reading of Taiwan industralization and of the formation of its labour movement. The research question was based on the evidence that the labour movement has been weak. The intention of the research was to understand why, by focusing the attention on the fragmentation of labour produced by the Taiwanese export oriented mode of industrialization. Taiwan’s capitalist industrialization can be examined through an historical approach of state–society relations under the Gramsci model of historical analysis expressed on Notebook 25 “On the Margins of History, History of the Subaltern Groups”. Gramsci assumed that labour history is a disaggregated function of civil society’s history and of its relation with the state. To interpret the history of Taiwan labour through this kind of approach, it is necessary, according to the model, to understand the pre-capitalist mentality and social dynamics characterised by the so called guanxi (informal social networks), a typical aspects of Confucian societies. Industrialization installed on the top of this pre-existing social base that became the foundation of Taiwanese labour-state-capital relations. Guanxi in Taiwanese capitalist industrial society create such a strong hegemonic alliance between state and capital that constrained labour in a cage, preventing any autonomous initiative and reaction of workers. Thus, the movement was born as a tool of party politics and was directed by both the ruling party (KMT) and the opposition party (DPP). As a conclusion, labour movement in Taiwan rather than being a workers’ way of affirming their interests, it has been a strategy of capital to affirm its hegemony

Polysubstance use patterns among high dose benzodiazepine users: a latent class analysis and differences between male and female use

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) represent one of the most widely used groups of pharmaceuticals, but if used for long periods of time they are associated with dependence and an increased risk of harmful effects. High-dose (HD) BZD dependence is a specific substance use disorder associated with a poor quality of life. It is especially important to pinpoint differences in HD BZD addict subgroups in order to tailor treatment to the individual's specific needs, also considering possible comorbidities with other substance use disorders. We conducted a study to evaluate HD BZD dependence (converted doses to diazepam equivalents, mg) in an Italian sample of 1,354 participants. We also investigated if and to which extent participants co-used other substances (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis/cannabinoids, cocaine, and heroin). We then performed latent class analysis (LCA) to identify the use patterns of these substances, finding three classes: participants in Class 1 (4.3% of the sample) had the highest probability of also using cocaine and alcohol (Polysubstance BZD users); Class 2 comprised subjects with the highest probability of being former heroin, cocaine, THC, and alcohol users (Former polysubstance BZD users); Class 3 represented mono-dependence BZD users (78.5% of the sample) and was the most prevalent among women, while young men were most prevalent in Class 1. The present study underlines different characteristics in HD BZD users both concerning other addictions and sex, and also highlights the need for a stricter control of BZD use, ranging from prescriptions to sales