IS CONSCIENCE A CIVIL RIGHT? - FIGHTERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN DIGNITY

Abstract: Fighters for human rights and human dignity are extremely courageous people. In fact they are real people who understand compassion and suffering, who value ethics and environment, who promote non violence as they believe in the value of life. For them human rights are real and should be respected. They decide, at the cost of their life, to become the protectors of those without protection

CHINA AND SOFT POWER TODAY

Abstract: Leadership can be natural or educated or both, natural and educated for success, and it is extremely relevant nowadays at all possible levels, especially at international level as it is affecting present world development based on power politics-including the power of knowledge (knowledge is power-as we all know)spread all over the world. Playing the game of soft power, China is using the Confucius institutes in order to spread Chinese culture, civilization and language and stimulate as many people as possible to get acquainted with its values and, at the same time, open their minds towards China and even sympathize with its message from the economic as well as cultural points of view. Diplomacy can be extremely useful in international relations today. China’s increasing soft power can be explained and understood by looking at its economic growth and by regarding its economic engagement with many countries worldwide. China’s increasing role as a global superpower seems rather appealing today

FUTURE POLITICS, HUMAN SSECURITY AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN BEING

Abstract: Conscience lives in time and its most obvious trait is the capacity for constant self modification and adaptation to new circumstances, a limitless responsiveness to new and urgent conditions of relevance. Could computers ever be conscious? This has been a thorny question with a long and tangled history. Some argue that only biological entities can be conscious while others claim that it is the functions the computer carries out that are relevant, not what it is made of

Perindopril Induces TSP-1 Expression in Hypertensive Patients with Endothelial Dysfunction in Chronic Treatment

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a potent endogenous inhibitor of both physiological and pathological angiogenesis, widely studied as a target in drug development for treating cancer. Several studies performed in the cardiovascular field on TSP-1 are contradictory, the role of TSP-1 in the physiopathology of cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) being, for the moment, incompletely understood and may be due to the presence of several domains in its structure which can stimulate many cellular receptors. It has been reported to inhibit NO-mediated signaling and to act on the angiogenesis, tissue perfusion, endothelial cell proliferation, and homeostasis, so we aimed to quantify the effect Perindopril has on TSP-1 plasma levels in hypertensive patients with endothelial dysfunction in comparison with other antihypertensive drugs, such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics, in a chronic treatment. As a conclusion, patients under treatment with Perindopril had increased plasma levels of TSP-1 compared with other hypertensive patients and with the control group. The results of this study confirms the pleiotropic properties of Perindopril: anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, with effects showed by quantifying a single biomarker: TSP-1

BETWEEN THE IMPERFECTIONS OF SOCIAL POLICIES AND THE WEAKNESSES OF CIVIC CONSCIOUSNESS AND OF SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY – ASPECTS REGARDING SOCIAL MARGINALIZATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract: Nowadays, as we are living in the 21st century, far from the ‘primitive’ epochs, most of us consider we are much better than our predecessors and, of course, much more civilized than they had ever been. Are we really better and more civilized in comparison with those who lived before us? Is the difference in technology to equal the superiority we claim to have as our prominent difference between our more ‘modest’ ancestors? What about our consciousness, our respect for ourselves and for the others. What about the impressive number of ‘marginals’, of poor and ignorant , illiterate, non-fortunate human beings who officially, according to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are all our equal fellows, In spite of the many state institutions or private ones, there are many, still too many, human beings living at the ‘margin’ of our society, without a home, without food, without medical care or education or even a word of comfort. As long as we tolerate social injustice and inequality we cannot call ourselves ‘civilized’, ‘modern’ or even real human beings

Thrombospondin-1 Serum Levels In Hypertensive Patients With Endothelial Dysfunction After One Year Of Treatment With Perindopril

BACKGROUND: Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a matricellular functional protein of the extracellular matrix. As it is not constitutively present extracellularly, its secretion is enhanced in several situations, namely injury, chronic pathology, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis, and aging. Over the last decade, TSP-1 has been reported to be involved in complex and opposing biological effects on vasculature in the context of NO signaling. Several studies have reported high patient TSP-1 plasma levels, indicating that the protein can potentially serve as a prognostic marker for pulmonary arterial hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Here, we aimed to quantify TSP-1 serum levels in hypertensive patients with endothelial dysfunction before and after one year of treatment with Perindopril (an antihypertensive drug with vasoprotective properties). RESULTS: After one year of treatment, TSP-1 levels increased in hypertensive patients compared to baseline (T0: 8061.9 ± 3684.80 vs T1: 15380±5887 ng/mL, p<0.001) and compared to non-hypertensive controls (9221.03 ± 6510.21 ng/mL). In contrast, pentraxin-3 plasma levels were decreased after one year of Perindopril treatment in both hypertensive (T0: 0.91 ± 0.51 vs T1: 0.50 ± 0.24 ng/mL, p<0.001) and control group (1.36 ±1.5 ng/mL) patients, although flow-mediated vasodilation and intima-media thickness assessment parameters were not significantly changed. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure values as well as levels of fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, triglycerides, and alanine aminotransferase were found to be significantly lower after one year of treatment with Perindopril. High levels of TSP-1 strongly correlated with platelet count (positive), lymphocytes (positive), red cell distribution width-CV (positive), systolic blood pressure (negative), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (negative) after one year of treatment. Blood urea nitrogen was found to be a protective factor for TSP-1, while glucose and heart rate were found to be risk factors prior to and after treatment

Research and Science Today No. 2(6)/2013

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE TODAY is a biannual science journal established in 2011. The journal is an informational platform that publishes assessment articles and the results of various scientific research carried out by academics. We provide the authors with the opportunity to create and/or perfect their science writing skills. Thus, each issue of the journal (two per year and at least two supplements) will contain professional articles from any academic field, authored by domestic and international academics. The goal of this journal is to pass on relevant information to undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students as well as to fellow academics and researchers; the topics covered are unlimited, considering its multi-disciplinary profile. Regarding the national and international visibility of Research and Science Today, it is indexed in over 30 international databases (IDB) and is present in over 200 online libraries and catalogues; therefore, anybody can easily consult the articles featured in each issue by accessing the databases or simply the website

Intraoperative transfusion practices in Europe

Transfusion of allogeneic blood influences outcome after surgery. Despite widespread availability of transfusion guidelines, transfusion practices might vary among physicians, departments, hospitals and countries. Our aim was to determine the amount of packed red blood cells (pRBC) and blood products transfused intraoperatively, and to describe factors determining transfusion throughout Europe. We did a prospective observational cohort study enrolling 5803 patients in 126 European centres that received at least one pRBC unit intraoperatively, during a continuous three month period in 2013. The overall intraoperative transfusion rate was 1.8%; 59% of transfusions were at least partially initiated as a result of a physiological transfusion trigger- mostly because of hypotension (55.4%) and/or tachycardia (30.7%). Haemoglobin (Hb)- based transfusion trigger alone initiated only 8.5% of transfusions. The Hb concentration [mean (sd)] just before transfusion was 8.1 (1.7) g dl and increased to 9.8 (1.8) g dl after transfusion. The mean number of intraoperatively transfused pRBC units was 2.5 (2.7) units (median 2). Although European Society of Anaesthesiology transfusion guidelines are moderately implemented in Europe with respect to Hb threshold for transfusion (7-9 g dl), there is still an urgent need for further educational efforts that focus on the number of pRBC units to be transfused at this threshold