The BRICS in the Global Order: A New Political Agenda?

Regarding the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) it’s important to analyze comparatively the new power cycle in order to understand not only the impact of the world crisis as well as the relationship between the official political discourses and the economic instability. Actually, the trade liberalization and economic interdependence accompanied with an uncertain international system are putting pressure to the BRICS with their own agendas for global order in seeking for a balance and also to regain a new political and economical dynamic for the promotion of new strategies

Prophylactic Melatonin for Delirium in Intensive Care (Pro-MEDIC): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: Delirium is an acute state of brain dysfunction characterised by fluctuating inattention and cognitive disturbances, usually due to illness. It occurs commonly in the intensive care unit (ICU), and it is associated with greater morbidity and mortality. It is likely that disturbances of sleep and of the day-night cycle play a significant role. Melatonin is a naturally occurring, safe and cheap hormone that can be administered to improve sleep. The main aim of this trial will be to determine whether prophylactic melatonin administered to critically ill adults, when compared with placebo, decreases the rate of delirium. Methods: This trial will be a multi-centre, randomised, placebo-controlled study conducted in closed ICUs in Australia. Our aim is to enrol 850 adult patients with an expected ICU length of stay (LOS) of 72h or more. Eligible patients for whom there is consent will be randomised to receive melatonin 4mg enterally or placebo in a 1:1 ratio according to a computer-generated randomisation list, stratified by site. The study drug will be indistinguishable from placebo. Patients, doctors, nurses, investigators and statisticians will be blinded. Melatonin or placebo will be administered once per day at 21:00 until ICU discharge or 14days after enrolment, whichever occurs first. Trained staff will assess patients twice daily to determine the presence or absence of delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU score. Data will also be collected on demographics, the overall prevalence of delirium, duration and severity of delirium, sleep quality, participation in physiotherapy sessions, ICU and hospital LOS, morbidity and mortality, and healthcare costs. A subgroup of 100 patients will undergo polysomnographic testing to further evaluate the quality of sleep. Discussion: Delirium is a significant issue in ICU because of its frequency and associated poorer outcomes. This trial will be the largest evaluation of melatonin as a prophylactic agent to prevent delirium in the critically ill population. This study will also provide one of the largest series of polysomnographic testing done in ICU. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR) number: ACTRN12616000436471. Registered on 20 December 2015

The Genome of the Diatom Thalassiosira Pseudonana: Ecology, Evolution and Metabolism

Diatoms are unicellular algae with plastids acquired by secondary endosymbiosis. They are responsible for {approx}20% of global carbon fixation. We report the 34 Mbp draft nuclear genome of the marine diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana and its 129 Kbp plastid and 44 Kbp mitochondrial genomes. Sequence and optical restriction mapping revealed 24 diploid nuclear chromosomes. We identified novel genes for silicic acid transport and formation of silica-based cell walls, high-affinity iron uptake, biosynthetic enzymes for several types of polyunsaturated fatty acids, utilization of a range of nitrogenous compounds and a complete urea cycle, all attributes that allow diatoms to prosper in the marine environment. Diatoms are unicellular, photosynthetic, eukaryotic algae found throughout the world's oceans and freshwater systems. They form the base of short, energetically-efficient food webs that support large-scale coastal fisheries. Photosynthesis by marine diatoms generates as much as 40% of the 45-50 billion tonnes of organic carbon produced each year in the sea (1), and their role in global carbon cycling is predicted to be comparable to that of all terrestrial rainforests combined (2, 3). Over geological time, diatoms may have influenced global climate by changing the flux of atmospheric carbon dioxide into the oceans (4). A defining feature of diatoms is their ornately patterned silicified cell wall or frustule, which displays species-specific nano-structures of such fine detail that diatoms have long been used to test the resolution of optical microscopes. Recent attention has focused on biosynthesis of these nano-structures as a paradigm for future silica nanotechnology (5). The long history (over 180 million years) and dominance of diatoms in the oceans is reflected by their contributions to vast deposits of diatomite, most cherts and a significant fraction of current petroleum reserves (6). As photosynthetic heterokonts, diatoms reflect a fundamentally different evolutionary history from the higher plants that dominate photosynthesis on land. Higher plants and green, red and glaucophyte algae are derived from a primary endosymbiotic event in which a non-photosynthetic eukaryote acquired a chloroplast by engulfing (or being invaded by) a prokaryotic cyanobacterium. In contrast, dominant bloom-forming eukaryotic phytoplankton in the ocean, such as diatoms and haptophytes, were derived by secondary endosymbiosis whereby a non-photosynthetic eukaryote acquired a chloroplast by engulfing a photosynthetic eukaryote, probably a red algal endosymbiont (Fig. 1). Each endosymbiotic event led to new combinations of genes derived from the hosts and endosymbionts (7). Prior to this project, relatively few diatom genes had been sequenced, few chromosome numbers were known, and genetic maps did not exist (8). The ecological and evolutionary importance of diatoms motivated our sequencing and analysis of the nuclear, plastid, and mitochondrial genomes of the marine centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

An operational overview of the EXport processes in the ocean from RemoTe sensing (EXPORTS) northeast pacific field deployment

The goal of the EXport Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing (EXPORTS) field campaign is to develop a predictive understanding of the export, fate, and carbon cycle impacts of global ocean net primary production. To accomplish this goal, observations of export flux pathways, plankton community composition, food web processes, and optical, physical, and biogeochemical (BGC) properties are needed over a range of ecosystem states. Here we introduce the first EXPORTS field deployment to Ocean Station Papa in the Northeast Pacific Ocean during summer of 2018, providing context for other papers in this special collection. The experiment was conducted with two ships: a Process Ship, focused on ecological rates, BGC fluxes, temporal changes in food web, and BGC and optical properties, that followed an instrumented Lagrangian float; and a Survey Ship that sampled BGC and optical properties in spatial patterns around the Process Ship. An array of autonomous underwater assets provided measurements over a range of spatial and temporal scales, and partnering programs and remote sensing observations provided additional observational context. The oceanographic setting was typical of late-summer conditions at Ocean Station Papa: a shallow mixed layer, strong vertical and weak horizontal gradients in hydrographic properties, sluggish sub-inertial currents, elevated macronutrient concentrations and low phytoplankton abundances. Although nutrient concentrations were consistent with previous observations, mixed layer chlorophyll was lower than typically observed, resulting in a deeper euphotic zone. Analyses of surface layer temperature and salinity found three distinct surface water types, allowing for diagnosis of whether observed changes were spatial or temporal. The 2018 EXPORTS field deployment is among the most comprehensive biological pump studies ever conducted. A second deployment to the North Atlantic Ocean occurred in spring 2021, which will be followed by focused work on data synthesis and modeling using the entire EXPORTS data set

The ambivalence of ordinary cosmopolitanism: investigating the limits of cosmopolitan openness

Despite diverse understandings of cosmopolitanism, most authors agree that cosmopolitans espouse a broadly defined disposition of 'openness' toward others, people, things and experiences whose origin is non-local. It is argued that such an attitude is expressed by an emotional and ethical commitment towards universalism, selflessness, worldliness and communitarianism, and that such values should be identifiable in the practices, attitudes and identifications of individuals. By using data generated through qualitative focus group research, this paper extends the development of Lamont and Aksartova's (2002) category of 'ordinary cosmopolitanism'. The participants in this study saw themselves as beneficiaries of an increasingly interconnected world, and they generally expressed cosmopolitan sentiments by referring to easily accepted opportunities associated with globalisation (eg. travel, cuisine, music) rather than the more difficult aspects of openness such as showing hospitality to strangers, or accepting human interest ahead of perceived national interests. Their positive views were counterbalanced, however, by sentiments of 'dilution of national culture' and 'culture loss'. We argue that cosmopolitanism is a set of structurally grounded, discursive resources available to social actors which is variably deployed to deal with issues like cultural diversity, the global, and otherness. Ironically these discourses, which are the basis of the everyday accounts we describe, mirror academic debates on globalisation, suggesting the immersion of theorists in these discursive webs of meaning that structure responses to things global