Post-Western World Orders and East Asian Future

The paper investigates the main macro-political trends at the international level. After reviewing the conceptual maps of international politics and the various future scenarios for globalisation, the paper examines the three main world order arrangements that could emerge in the coming decades. These are derived from the current distribution of power at the international level and from current trends, and are extrapolated as possible future developments. These eventualities involve the four major powers in the world to come: China, the European Union, Russia, and the US. The international system will most likely pivot on the interaction between the declining hegemon, the US, and the emerging power, China. It is with reference to such interaction that we need to envisage possible future world orders. It is clear that the other remaining powers, not to mention other countries, will have to strategically adapt to the behaviour of these two superpowers. Many see the relative decline of the US and the growth of China as setting the two on a collision course. It is difficult to predict whether a real armed conflict will occur between the two superpowers. There are significant 188 balancing dynamics between the two countries; first and foremost is their economic interdependence. What can be affirmed more easily is that there will be a continuous, if not growing, tension between the two. As outcomes of this tension, three main scenarios of world order can be drawn. World Order One: The West vs. the Rest. In this scenario, tension remains a central feature, which polarises the world in a new bipolar system. The EU is pulled towards, and even more greatly integrated within, the transatlantic community, while Russia follows a similar trajectory within a Sino-centric Asian community. World Order Two: Eurasian Integration and US Solitude. In this scenario, a process of inter-regional integration is promoted by China and accepted by both Russia and the EU. The Eurasian mass is progressively integrated within the largest economic area in the world. All other regional aggregations suffer a strong pull effect. The US and the American continent at large goes adrift in geopolitical solitude, generating inward-looking isolationist stances. World Order Three: Enlarged West vs. China. In this scenario, the West remains predominant, China is more and more isolated, and Russia is pulled back towards Europe and the larger transatlantic community. In the last part of the paper, the implications of the three scenarios drawn concern for East Asia

The effect of robenacoxib on the concentration of C-reactive protein in synovial fluid from dogs with osteoarthritis

Background: Robenacoxib is a novel and highly selective inhibitor of COX-2 in dogs and cats and because of its acidic nature is regarded as being tissue-selective. Thirty four dogs with stifle osteoarthritis secondary to failure of the cranial cruciate ligament were recruited into this study. Lameness, radiographic features, synovial cytology and C-reactive protein concentrations in serum and synovial fluid were assessed before and 28 days after commencing a course of Robenacoxib at a dose of 1 mg/kg SID.<p></p> Results: There was a significant reduction in the lameness score (P <0.01) and an increase in the radiographic score (P < 0.05) between pre- and post-treatment assessments. There was no difference between pre- (median 1.49 mg/l; Q1-Q3 0.56-4.24 mg/L) and post – (1.10 mg/L; 0.31-1.78 mg/L) treatment serum C-reactive protein levels although synovial fluid levels were significantly reduced (pre- : 0.44 mg/L; 0.23-1.62 mg/L; post- : 0.17 mg/L; 0.05-0.49 mg/L) (P < 0.05). There was no correlation between C-reactive protein concentrations in serum and matched synovial fluid samples.<p></p> Conclusions: Robenacoxib proved effective in reducing lameness in dogs with failure of the cranial cruciate ligament and osteoarthritis of the stifle joint. The drug also reduced levels of C-reactive protein in the synovial fluid taken from the affected stifle joint. Robenacoxib appears to reduce articular inflammation as assessed by C-reactive protein which supports the concept that Robenacoxib is a tissue-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.<p></p&gt

Sharing Cultural Heritage: the Clavius on the Web Project

In the last few years the amount of manuscripts digitized and made available on the Web has been constantly increasing. However, there is still a considarable lack of results concerning both the explicitation of their content and the tools developed to make it available. The objective of the Clavius on the Web project is to develop a Web platform exposing a selection of Christophorus Clavius letters along with three different levels of analysis: linguistic, lexical and semantic. The multilayered annotation of the corpus involves a XML-TEI encoding followed by a tokenization step where each token is univocally identified through a CTS urn notation and then associated to a part-of-speech and a lemma. The text is lexically and semantically annotated on the basis of a lexicon and a domain ontology, the former structuring the most relevant terms occurring in the text and the latter representing the domain entities of interest (e.g. people, places, etc.). Moreover, each entity is connected to linked and non linked resources, including DBpedia and VIAF. Finally, the results of the three layers of analysis are gathered and shown through interactive visualization and storytelling techniques. A demo version of the integrated architecture was developed

Eating disorder symptom dimensions and protective factors: A structural network analysis study

Eating Disorders (EDs) and related symptoms pose a substantial public health concern due to their widespread prevalence among both genders and associated negative outcomes, underscoring the need for effective preventive interventions. In this context, deepening our understanding of the interplay between ED symptoms and related protective factors appears crucial. Therefore, this study employed a structural network analysis approach considering both ED symptom dimensions (i.e., drive for thinness, bulimic symptoms, and body dissatisfaction) and related protective factors (i.e., body and functionality appreciation, intuitive eating, and self-esteem) to shed light on how these factors are interrelated. A community sample of 1391 individuals (34.4% men; Mage = 26.4 years) completed a socio-demographic schedule and self-report questionnaires. The network showed that the nodes with the highest positive expected influence were body and functionality appreciation, while those with the highest negative expected influence were eating for physical rather than emotional reasons and unconditional permission to eat (i.e., two components of intuitive eating). Crucially, the most relevant bridges between the conceptual communities “ED symptom dimensions” and “Protective factors” were the negative relations between (a) eating for physical rather than emotional reasons and bulimic symptoms, (b) unconditional permission to eat and drive for thinness, and (c) body appreciation and body dissatisfaction. Finally, age, gender, and body mass index did not moderate any edge in the network. The practical implications of these findings are discussed, especially in terms of preventive interventions for ED symptoms

Unusual activation pathways of amines in the reactions with molybdenum pentachloride

The 1-:-1 molar reactions at room temperature of MoCl5 with aliphatic amines were investigated in dichloromethane. Pyrrolidine, diethylamine and dibenzylamine underwent dehydrogenative oxidation when allowed to react with MoCl5; the compounds [MoCl5NCH(CH2)3], 1, and [CH3CHNHEt][MoOCl4], 2, were isolated in moderate to low yields from MoCl5/pyrrolidine and MoCl5/NHEt2, respectively. The chloride-amide complex [MoCl4(NEt2)], 3, was afforded in 65% yield from MoCl5 and Et2NSiMe3. The interaction of MoCl5 with Me2NSiMe3 was accompanied by activation of the solvent, and the complexes [MoCl3(NMe2)(κ2-Me2NCH2NMe2)], 4a, and [MoCl3(NMe)(κ2-Me2NCH2NMe2)], 4b, co-crystallized from the reaction mixture. The reactions of MoCl5 with a series of primary amines afforded mixtures of products, and the Mo(vi) chloride imido complexes [MoCl4(NR)]2 (R = Cy, 5a; tBu, 5b) were isolated in ca. 40% yield from MoCl5/NH2R (R = Cy, tBu). C-H bond activation may be viable in the reactions of MoCl5 with tertiary amines: the compounds [(CH2Ph)2NCHPh]2[MoCl6]·CH2Cl2, 6, and [NHEt3]2[Mo2Cl10], 7, were obtained from MoCl5/tribenzylamine and MoCl5/triethylamine, respectively. Pyrrolidine and tribenzylamine underwent analogous activation pathways when allowed to react with [MoCl3OCH(CF3)2]2 in the place of MoCl5. The isolated metal products were characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques, in addition the structures of 1, 2, 4, 5a, 6·CH2Cl2 and 7 were ascertained by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The organic products were identified by NMR and GC-MS after hydrolysis of the reaction mixtures. DFT calculations were carried out in order to assist the IR assignments, and clarify structural and mechanistic aspects

Up-Cycling of Olea europaea L. Ancient Cultivars Side Products: Study of a Combined Cosmetic-Food Supplement Treatment Based on Leaves and Olive Mill Wastewater Extracts

In recent years, a reversal of the global economic framework has been taking place: from the linear model, there has been a gradual transition to a circular model where by-products from the agri-food industry are taken and transformed into value products (upcycling) rather than being disposed of. Olive tree pruning represents an important biomass currently used for combustion; however, the leaf part of the olive tree is rich in phenolic substances, including hydroxytyrosol. Mill wastewater is also discarded, but it still contains high amounts of hydroxytyrosol. In this study, cosmetic and food supplement formulations were prepared using biophenols extracted from leaves and wastewater and were tested in a placebo-controlled study on healthy volunteers using a combined cosmetic and food supplement treatment. A significant improvement in skin health indicators (collagen density, elasticity, etc.) and a 17% improvement against Photo-induced Irritative Stimulus was observed

Microglia Polarization, Gene-Environment Interactions and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling: Emerging Roles of Glia-Neuron and Glia-Stem/Neuroprogenitor Crosstalk for Dopaminergic Neurorestoration in Aged Parkinsonian Brain.

Neuroinflammatory processes are recognized key contributory factors in Parkinson's disease (PD) physiopathology. While the causes responsible for the progressive loss of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuronal cell bodies in the subtantia nigra pars compacta are poorly understood, aging, genetics, environmental toxicity, and particularly inflammation, represent prominent etiological factors in PD development. Especially, reactive astrocytes, microglial cells, and infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages play dual beneficial/harmful effects, via a panel of pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, neurotrophic and neurogenic transcription factors. Notably, with age, microglia may adopt a potent neurotoxic, pro-inflammatory "primed" (M1) phenotype when challenged with inflammatory or neurotoxic stimuli that hamper brain's own restorative potential and inhibit endogenous neurorepair mechanisms. In the last decade we have provided evidence for a major role of microglial crosstalk with astrocytes, mDA neurons and neural stem progenitor cells (NSCs) in the MPTP- (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-) mouse model of PD, and identified Wnt/β-catenin signaling, a pivotal morphogen for mDA neurodevelopment, neuroprotection, and neuroinflammatory modulation, as a critical actor in glia-neuron and glia-NSCs crosstalk. With age however, Wnt signaling and glia-NSC-neuron crosstalk become dysfunctional with harmful consequences for mDA neuron plasticity and repair. These findings are of importance given the deregulation of Wnt signaling in PD and the emerging link between most PD related genes, Wnt signaling and inflammation. Especially, in light of the expanding field of microRNAs and inflammatory PD-related genes as modulators of microglial-proinflammatory status, uncovering the complex molecular circuitry linking PD and neuroinflammation will permit the identification of new druggable targets for the cure of the disease. Here we summarize recent findings unveiling major microglial inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways converging in the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and reciprocally, the ability of Wnt signaling pathways to modulate microglial activation in PD. Unraveling the key factors and conditons promoting the switch of the proinflammatory M1 microglia status into a neuroprotective and regenerative M2 phenotype will have important consequences for neuroimmune interactions and neuronal outcome under inflammatory and/or neurodegenerative conditions

Optimization of an analytical method based on SPME-Arrow and chemometrics for the characterization of the aroma profile of commercial bread

A SPME-Arrow GC-MS approach, coupled with chemometrics, was used to thoroughly investigate the impact of different types of yeast (sourdough, bear's yeast and a mixture of both) and their respective leaving time (one, three and five hours) on VOCs of commercial bread samples. This aspect is of paramount importance for the baking industry to adjust recipe modifications and production parameters, as well as to meet consumer needs in formulating new products. A deep learning approach, PARADISe (PARAFAC2-based deconvolution and identification system), was used to analyse the obtained chromatograms in an untargeted manner. In particular, PARADISe, was able to perform a fast deconvolution of the chromatographic peaks directly from raw chromatographic data to allow a putatively identification of 66 volatile organic compounds, including alcohols, esters, carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes. Finally, Principal Component Analysis, applied on the areas of the resolved compounds, showed that bread samples differentiate according to their recipe and highlighted the most relevant volatile compounds responsible for the observed differences