Multilateral cooperation between the EU and Africa : resetting the agenda

The EU presents itself as a ‘privileged partner’ of Africa and characterises the latter as a ‘natural partner’ in the search for a new world order, an order based on norms, rules and greater equity for developing states. Africa’s geo-strategic importance due to its proximity to Europe, its growing value as a trading and investment partner, and the continent’s effectiveness and importance as a role player in the southern hemisphere and multilateral fora, are also matters of high and continued saliency in European strategic perceptions. These goals could only be realised if Africa can finally overcome underdevelopment, political instability, and becoming a modern, stable and predictable community of states; hence the importance of the EU role as a donor, strategic and developmental partner for Africa.http://www.ai.org.za/africa_insight.aspam2013gv201

A word from a founder, to those who follow

It is indeed gratifying to witness the fruits of an initiative of a small group of political scientists assembling at the University of Pretoria 40 years ago to establish the South African Political Science Association (SAPSA), with Politikon as its flagship journal. From this inauspicious beginning, both SAPSA and Politikon have become success stories, recognised nationally and internationally as the main and representative fora of South African political scientists.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cpsa20hj201

Russia is back in Africa

The end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union brought an end to the ideology driven special relationship between Russia and various African states. However, after ten years these relations were resuscitated due to major changes on both sides. Under Vladimir Putin's presidency and the economic recovery that followed, Russia made efforts to reclaim a leading role in global politics, while various African states grew politically more stable and economically more successful. This time around, relations were focussed dominantly on economics and trade, rather than on ideology as during the Cold War period. Attracted by Africa's abundant resources, particularly energy and minerals, a small number of mega Russian companies started to do business with the continent at the turn of the century. This reengagement with Africa came somewhat belatedly, after major players, particularly China, the United States and the European Union, had intensified their engagement. At the same time, Russia and Africa found common cause in international political relations, as witnessed by similar policies in multilateral organisations, particularly aimed against Western hegemony in world finance and economy. And as pointed out in this article, Russia needs to embark on a more integrated, userfriendly, transparent and competitive engagement strategy to become a major role player in doing business with Africa. Russia and Africa need also familiarise themselves better with each other, particularly how to do business with one another. As yet, one cannot really speak of a visible Russian pivot towards Africa in its overall international relations. However, if conditions remain favourable, this may develop over time.http://www.up.ac.za/en/political-sciences/article/19718/strategic-review-for-southern-africaam2016Political Science

Bone Metabolism after Total Hip Revision Surgery with Impacted Grafting: Evaluation using H215O and [18F]fluoride PET; A Pilot Study

Purpose: To evaluate bone blood flow and bone formation in patients after total hip revision surgery with impacted bone grafting using H2 15O and [18F]fluoride positron emission tomography (PET). Procedures: To asses bone blood flow and bone metabolism in bone allograft after impaction grafting, four patients treated with total hip revision surgery were enrolled prospectively in this study. Six patients scheduled for primary hip arthroplasties were included as a control group. The study protocol consisted of three H2 15O and [18F]fluoride PET scans in each patient. Results: Bone blood flow increased significantly compared to the preoperative state in patients treated for primary hip arthroplasty. In patients undergoing revision surgery, bone blood flow was twofold to threefold higher compared to the preoperative state, but did not reach significance. Bone metabolism in patients undergoing revision was threefold higher 2 weeks postoperatively compared to the primary hip group. We found a significant correlation between Ki and bone blood flow. Conclusions: Allogeneic bone grafts induce a higher rate of local periprosthetic bone formation compared to periprosthetic bone formation after a primary total hip placement. In vivo coupling between bone blood flow and bone metabolism suggests that bone metabolism in allogeneic bone grafts may partly rely on bone blood flow adaptations

Mining Induced Ground Motions in a Tailings Dam

Mining induced seismicity can expose tailings dams to ground motions with potential to trigger a failure, if the structure reaches a certain level of vibrations that could exceed the seismic coefficient design criteria from pseudostatic analysis. Despite the cited risk, mainly for dams that are closer to open pits, few dams in Brazil are monitored by microseismic systems, and there are no references in the literature about continuous seismic monitoring both in open pit (source) and tailings dam, which represents the motivation of this paper. A microseismic system was commissioned in Cajati Mine, São Paulo, to record seismic events continuously in an array of 16 geophones (14 Hz and 4.5 Hz), installed in boreholes near the open pit (12 sensors) and in the dam (4 sensors), has measured values of PGA (Peak Ground Acceleration) and PGV (Peak Ground Velocity) related to 2,972 induced events from rock removal in the open pit. During the period monitored, the total of 109 events have triggered sensors in both structures, producing 920 seismograms, with the highest values of PGA and PGV of 0.0135 m/s2 (0.1358% of g) and 0.0892 mm/s. The highest PGA value is 36 times lower than the vertical coefficient of 3% of g defined by Brazilian technical standard to dam design criteria, normally used in common pseudostatic analysis from geotechnical engineers. A routine microseismic monitoring brings a new set of valuable actionable data and information to support the management of geotechnical tailings dams’ risks, under the conditions of vibrations induced by mining production

Coherent long-range transfer of angular momentum between magnon Kittel modes by phonons

We report ferromagnetic resonance in the normal configuration of an electrically insulating magnetic bilayer consisting of two yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films epitaxially grown on both sides of a 0.5-mm-thick nonmagnetic gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) slab. An interference pattern is observed and it is explained as the strong coupling of the magnetization dynamics of the two YIG layers either in phase or out of phase by the standing transverse sound waves, which are excited through a magnetoelastic interaction. This coherent mediation of angular momentum by circularly polarized phonons through a nonmagnetic material over macroscopic distances can be useful for future information technologies

"Pejzažni" prikaz nanolekova - ekspertska perspektiva

The field of nanotechnology is at the forefront of a scientific revolution, where the term “nano” transcends mere size and opens the door to enormous possibilities. In the context of drug development, the selection of a suitable drug delivery system (corresponding to a certain active pharmaceutical ingredient) is a pivotal decision. Accordingly, nanosystems have emerged as a promising avenue, offering innovative solutions, and gaining recognition for addressing healthcare issues. While these products hold immense promise, they have faced certain complexities in their translation from the preclinical to the clinical setting, reflected in the lack of proper assessment protocols for quality and safety aspects and, consequently, an insufficiently defined regulatory environment. Since the groundbreaking US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of liposomal doxorubicin in 1995, approximately 80 nanomedicine products have received regulatory approval so far. Recent attention has gravitated toward lipid-based nanomedicines, particularly in the development of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, further highlighting their significance. However, the relatively modest number of approved nanomedicines compared to the extensive research efforts raises important questions and underscores areas of uncertainty. This article provides an overview of the challenges in defining nanomedicines, their properties, the complexities of regulatory frameworks, and the imperative for standardized characterization protocols.Polje nanotehnologije se nalazi na čelu naučne revolucije, gde se termin "nano" izdiže iznad pukog označavanja veličine, otvarajući vrata novim mogućnostima. U kontekstu razvoja lekova, izbor odgovarajućeg sistema za isporuku / nosača (koji odgovara određenoj aktivnoj supstanci) predstavlja ključnu odluku. U tom kontekstu, nanosistemi već određeno vreme predstavljaju inovativna rešenja. Iako farmaceutski nanosistemi nose ogroman potencijal, suočavaju se sa određenim izazovima u pogledu translacije sa prekliničkog na klinički nivo, što se ogleda u nedostatku odgovarajućih protokola za ispitivanje kvaliteta i bezbednosti i, shodno tome, nedefinisanom regulatornom okruženju. Od revolucionarnog odobrenja liposomalnog doksorubicina od strane Američke agencije za hranu i lekove 1995. godine, pa sve do danas, oko 80 nano formulacija (nanolekova) odobreno je za kliničku primenu. Odnedavno je intenzivnija pažnja usmerena ka nanoformulacijama baziranim na lipidima, što je delom posledica razvoja mRNK vakcina tokom pandemije COVID-19. Međutim, relativno skroman nastup nanolekova na tržištu (u poređenju sa obimnim istraživačkim naporima i finansijskim ulaganjima u ovu oblast) otvara važna pitanja. Ovaj rad pruža pregled izazova u definisanju nanolekova, njihovih svojstava, kompleksnosti regulatornih okvira i imperativa za stvaranje standardizovanih protokola karakterizacije

Combining multi-omics and drug perturbation profiles to identify novel treatments that improve disease phenotypes in spinal muscular atrophy [preprint]

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disorder caused by loss of survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. While SMN restoration therapies are beneficial, they are not a cure. We aimed to identify novel treatments to alleviate muscle pathology combining transcriptomics, proteomics and perturbational datasets. This revealed potential drug candidates for repurposing in SMA. One of the lead candidates, harmine, was further investigated in cell and animal models, improving multiple disease phenotypes, including SMN expression and lifespan. Our work highlights the potential of multiple, parallel data driven approaches for development of novel treatments for use in combination with SMN restoration therapies