Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

Repenser les relations entre transferts et apprentissages en Europe centrale. Les théories de l’européanisation à l’épreuve du changement des politiques de développement local en Bulgarie

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Transferts et apprentissages des politiques de développement local en Bulgarie

Le présent chapitre vise à rendre compte de la diversité des relations entre formes de transferts de politiques publiques et mécanismes d’apprentissages de ces mêmes politiques par les récepteurs du transfert. Plus précisément, notre objectif est d’identifier l’impact des différentes catégories de transferts en termes d’apprentissage de nouvelles modalités d’action publique dans les contextes où s’opère l’importation. L’apprentissage est ici entendu comme le processus par lequel un acteur pub..

Des transferts aux apprentissages : réflexions à partir des nouveaux modes de gestion du développement économique local en Bulgarie

International audienceWhat relations exist between processes for transferring public action solutions – between countries, between territories within the same national space and between different sectors and levels of government – and the learning to which these transfers give rise in the context of reception ? At the theoretical level, the discussion here draws upon a comparison between the literature devoted to policy transfer studies and work on policy learning and organizational learning. It is also supported by a field study concerning the manner in which, over the course of the 1990's and the first decade of this century, local actors in Bulgaria did or did not appropriate exogenous solutions imported by means of various types of transfer in the domain of local economic development policies (DEL). As it happens, the classic forms of international cooperation (top-down, bureaucratic, programmatic) have had less impact in terms of learning than have horizontal modes for diffusing administrative innovations : lessons drawn from the experiences of common neighbors, the creation of regional and national forums dedicated to DEL policies, electoral alliances between traditional political elites and activist movements with links to international expert and professional networks and professionalization dynamics among municipal personnel working in this domain.L'article a pour objectif de montrer les relations qui existent entre les processus de transfert de solutions d'action publique – entre pays, entre territoires dans un même espace national, entre secteurs et niveaux de gouvernement – et les apprentissages suscités par ces transferts dans le contexte de réception. Notre réflexion s'appuie, au niveau théorique, sur un croisement entre la littérature consacrée aux policy transfer studies et les travaux dans les domaines des policy learning et des organizational learning. Elle est également étayée par une enquête de terrain portant sur la façon dont les acteurs locaux de Bulgarie se sont ou non appropriés des solutions exogènes, importées par le biais de différents types de transferts, dans le domaine des politiques de développement économique local (DEL), au cours des années 1990 et 2000. Nous montrons que les formes classiques (descendantes, bureaucratiques, programmatiques) de coopération internationale ont eu une moindre portée, en termes d'apprentissages, que les modalités horizontales de diffusion des innovations administratives : leçons tirées des expériences des communes voisines, constitution de forums régionaux et nationaux dédiés aux politiques de DEL (tels les associations d'élus locaux), alliances électorales entre les élites politiques traditionnelles et des mouvements militants reliés à des réseaux internationaux d'experts et de professionnels dans le domaine du DEL, dynamiques de professionnalisation des personnels municipaux travaillant dans ce domaine

Transfers and Learning in the Framework of Bulgarian Legal Reforms (1990-2013)

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Judicial Reforms as a Political Enterprise: American Transfer Entrepreneurs in Post-communist Bulgaria

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Transferts et apprentissages des politiques de développement local en Bulgarie

International audienc