Why China's Capital Exports Can Weaken Imperialism

The rise of China has prompted US geostrategic thinkers over the past decade to talk about the degree to which another “world war” is inevitable, and has also contributed to growing accusations that China is “imperialist.” It will be argued that it is possible to accuse China of “imperialism” under the definitional outline Vladimir Lenin popularised, but only because, in his model of the world, he considered the export of capital to be a defining feature of imperialism; however, this is flawed because his model had no theoretical space for the mechanisms of national exploitation that prevailed at that time, most importantly the “drain” of wealth from India. This is because Lenin's model was borrowed from that of John A. Hobson, who outright denied the “drain.” At the time, the claim of the “drain” was pioneered by Indian economist Dadabhai Naoroji, who in turn greatly influenced contemporary pioneers about the topic, namely Utsa Patnaik and Prabhat Patnaik, whose framework offers useful insights. After reconstructing the term “imperialism,” it will be argued that Chinese capital exports are actually weakening national exploitation, which is weakening imperialism and raising tensions, not towards “inter-imperialist” conflict, but “hegemon–rival” conflict

Imperialism: How Declining Currency Hegemony Leads to War

This thesis reconceptualises the term ‘imperialism’ based on the capacity for the Indian Political Economy (IPE) tradition to synthesise the divergent meanings assigned to the term. The original theorists who popularised the term, namely John Hobson, Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, and Karl Kautsky, sought to explain the underlying causes of WW1, but had limited theoretical capacity for explaining national exploitation. World-Systems analysis (WSA), which developed after WW2, sought to explain national exploitation, but had limited theoretical capacity for explaining the long-term structural tendencies towards warfare. Therefore, ‘imperialism’ must become a theory that explains how economic relations historically founded on national exploitation create long-term conditions for warfare. The pioneering work of Dadabhai Naoroji that founded the IPE tradition exposed how Britain exploited India, which prepared the ground for the Indian Marxist perspective within IPE, of which Utsa Patnaik and Prabhat Patnaik are contemporary representatives. The resulting theory of ‘imperialism’ proposes that while multiple relations of national exploitation may exist, there is typically one such relationship capable of extracting the most wealth, thereby enabling that state to establish currency hegemony. Such a state establishes an economically liberal economic order in the world outside its sphere of military control, thereby aiding the rise of its mercantile rivals, which industrialise by producing in exchange for the hegemonic currency. This creates the conditions for warfare of the kind witnessed by the original theorists, and that are re-emerging in the world today

Imperialism: How Declining Currency Hegemony Leads to War

This thesis reconceptualises the term ‘imperialism’ based on the capacity for the Indian Political Economy (IPE) tradition to synthesise the divergent meanings assigned to the term. The original theorists who popularised the term, namely John Hobson, Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, and Karl Kautsky, sought to explain the underlying causes of WW1, but had limited theoretical capacity for explaining national exploitation. World-Systems analysis (WSA), which developed after WW2, sought to explain national exploitation, but had limited theoretical capacity for explaining the long-term structural tendencies towards warfare. Therefore, ‘imperialism’ must become a theory that explains how economic relations historically founded on national exploitation create long-term conditions for warfare. The pioneering work of Dadabhai Naoroji that founded the IPE tradition exposed how Britain exploited India, which prepared the ground for the Indian Marxist perspective within IPE, of which Utsa Patnaik and Prabhat Patnaik are contemporary representatives. The resulting theory of ‘imperialism’ proposes that while multiple relations of national exploitation may exist, there is typically one such relationship capable of extracting the most wealth, thereby enabling that state to establish currency hegemony. Such a state establishes an economically liberal economic order in the world outside its sphere of military control, thereby aiding the rise of its mercantile rivals, which industrialise by producing in exchange for the hegemonic currency. This creates the conditions for warfare of the kind witnessed by the original theorists, and that are re-emerging in the world today

Epidemiology of sepsis and its various characteristics in a tertiary care adult-multidisciplinary ICU in South India: a retrospective study

Background: The incidence of sepsis is increasing, especially in elderly populations with more comorbidities. It is now estimated that sepsis is a leading cause of mortality and critical illness worldwide. The Epidemiological data regarding sepsis, septic shock and organ involvement is mainly from western literature. Data from India, especially south India, are less when compared to western data. In this background authors conducted a retrospective study in tertiary care hospital in south India. Objectives of the study was epidemiology of sepsis and its various characteristics in a tertiary care adult-Multi disciplinary ICU in South India.Methods: This study was a retrospective observational study, conducted during the time period of June 2016 and May 2017. The study population was patients above 18 yrs admitted in MDICU with sepsis. The study was conducted in a tertiary care adult -Multidisciplinary ICU in South India. Various characteristics like age group, comorbidities, organ involvement, septic shock, sofa score, need for ventilatory support, RRT support and outcome data was collected.Results: In this study, 497 patients who satisfied the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines were included. The majority of the patients (59.8%) were male; the majority was above 60 yr (range 18 to 92 yr). 76.3% Patients had comorbid disease. Hypertension was the most common co-morbid (62%) followed by diabetes mellitus (51.3%). Chronic Kidney Disease was found in 132 patients (26.6%) and Coronary artery disease in 121 patients (24.3%). 186 patients (46.5%) had single organ involvement 140(35%) patients had 2 organ involvement. 74(18.5%) patients had more than 2 organ involvement. Septic shock was found in 155 patients (31.2%). Renal involvement was the most common organ involvement found in 279 patients(59.9%). Most common source for sepsis was the respiratory system found in 230 patients (46.3%), followed by urinary tract infection in 117 patients (23.5%). The study shows a significant association between SOFA score and mortality (p-value 0.001) 52% of mortality happened in group of patients with SOFA score more than 15 and mortality was 28 % in group with a SOFA score of 10-15.Conclusions: In this retrospective study of sepsis, authors found that the most common source of sepsis was pneumonia (46.3%) followed by urinary tract infection (23.5%). Majority of the patients had one organ involvement (46.5%). Among the organ involvement, Acute Kidney injury was the most common organ involvement (56.1%) followed by septic shock (31.2%) and respiratory support (29.6%). Mortality in this study was higher with higher SOFA score

A novel method to identify and characterise peptide mimotopes of heat shock protein 70-associated antigens

The heat shock protein, Hsp70, has been shown to play an important role in tumour immunity. Vaccination with Hsp70-peptide complexes (Hsp70-PCs), isolated from autologous tumour cells, can induce protective immune responses. We have developed a novel method to identify synthetic mimic peptides of Hsp70-PCs and to test their ability to activate T-cells. Peptides (referred to as "recognisers") that bind to Hsp70-PCs from the human breast carcinoma cell line, MDA-MB-231, were identified by bio-panning a random peptide M13 phage display library. Synthetic recogniser peptides were subsequently used as bait in a reverse bio-panning experiment to identify potential Hsp70-PC mimic peptides. The ability of the recogniser and mimic peptides to prime human lymphocyte responses against tumour cell antigens was tested by stimulating lymphocytes with autologous peptide-loaded monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). Priming and subsequent stimulation with either the recogniser or mimic peptide resulted in interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secretion by the lymphocytes. Furthermore, DCs loaded with Hsp70, Hsp70-PC or the recogniser or the mimic peptide primed the lymphocytes to respond to soluble extracts from breast cells. These results highlight the potential application of synthetic peptide-mimics of Hsp70-PCs, as modulators of the immune response against tumours

The Role of NF-κB in PPARα-Mediated Hepatocarcinogenesis

In this review, the role of NF-κB in the induction of hepatocarcinogenesis by peroxisome proliferators is examined. The administration of peroxisome proliferators for more than a three-day period leads to the activation of NF-κB in the livers of rats and mice. On the other hand, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPARα) activation in non-hepatic tissues can lead to the inhibition of NF-κB activation. Several lines of evidence support the hypothesis that the activation of NF-κB by peroxisome proliferators in the liver is mediated by oxidative stress. The role of NF-κB in peroxisome proliferator-induced hepatocarcinogenesis has been examined using NF-κB knockout models. Specifically, the induction of cell proliferation and the promotion of liver carcinogenesis are inhibited in mice lacking the p50 subunit of NF-κB. Overall, the activation of NF-κB appears to be important in the carcinogenic activity of peroxisome proliferators

Pemoline and Tetramisole \u27Positives\u27 in English Racehorses Following Levamisole Administration

Pemoline is a central nervous system stimulant that has been used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy in humans; its identification in horses could be considered evidence of attempts to influence performance. Two recent pemoline \u27positives\u27 in English racehorses led us to review the chemical relationships between tetramisole, levamisole, aminorex and pemoline. Pemoline is a simple oxidation product of aminorex, which has been shown in the United States and elsewhere to be an equine metabolite of levamisole. Based on the clear structural relationships between aminorex and pemoline, we conclude that levamisole can metabolise to pemoline in horses and that pemoline identifications in horses post levamisole administration are likely to be associated with levamisole administration. Levamisole should not be administered to horses about to compete because of its ability to metabolise to two central nervous system stimulants, aminorex and pemoline

Lung glutathione adaptive responses to cigarette smoke exposure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smoking tobacco is a leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but although the majority of COPD cases can be directly related to smoking, only a quarter of smokers actually develop the disease. A potential reason for the disparity between smoking and COPD may involve an individual's ability to mount a protective adaptive response to cigarette smoke (CS). Glutathione (GSH) is highly concentrated in the lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) and protects against many inhaled oxidants. The changes in GSH that occur with CS are not well investigated; therefore the GSH adaptive response that occurs with a commonly utilized CS exposure was examined in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice were exposed to CS for 5 h after which they were rested in filtered air for up to 16 h. GSH levels were measured in the ELF, bronchoalveolar lavage cells, plasma, and tissues. GSH synthesis was assessed by measuring γ-glutamylcysteine ligase (GCL) activity in lung and liver tissue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>GSH levels in the ELF, plasma, and liver were decreased by as much as 50% during the 5 h CS exposure period whereas the lung GSH levels were unchanged. Next, the time course of rebound in GSH levels after the CS exposure was examined. CS exposure initially decreased ELF GSH levels by 50% but within 2 h GSH levels rebound to about 3 times basal levels and peaked at 16 h with a 6-fold increase and over repeat exposures were maintained at a 3-fold elevation for up to 2 months. Similar changes were observed in tissue GCL activity which is the rate limiting step in GSH synthesis. Furthermore, elevation in ELF GSH levels was not arbitrary since the CS induced GSH adaptive response after a 3d exposure period prevented GSH levels from dropping below basal levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CS exposures evoke a powerful GSH adaptive response in the lung and systemically. These data suggests there may be a sensor that sets the ELF GSH adaptive response to prevent GSH levels from dipping below basal levels. Factors that disrupt GSH adaptive responses may contribute to the pathophysiology of COPD.</p