A "New Type of Great Power Relationship" and Governance in the International System of the 21st Century

In the early decades of the 21st century, the real world of powers is neither the so-called unipolarity of the United States of America as the sole superpower, nor the trans-Atlantic domination of the joint Western hegemony. Things are no longer that simple. A fundamental fact of the contemporary international system is that several great powers co-exist – a great powers system has emerged. Clearly, the emergence of the great powers system is a major global challenge. Unfortunately, there are still no effective solutions to the challenge posed by the great powers system. However, China’s proposal a “new type of great power  relationship” touches on the issue of the management of the 21st century’s great powers system. The concept of a “new type of great power relationship” still needs time to be further developed theoretically. The management of the great powers system could be the main aim of the concept. In order for 2 America to maintain its dominant position, America turns towards Asia. However, this may help consolidate American hegemony for a short time but it cannot manage the great powers system on a long-term basis. This article argues that China’s “new type of great power relationship” can be seen as a foreign policy innovation in managing the great powers system. It notices that, like China’s new proposal, similar arguments on how to deal with the global challenge posed by a great powers system are emerging in Europe and the Asia Pacific

The Multilateralism and China’s OBOR Initiative

This article addresses several extremely political questions which are perhaps somewhat neglected in the current discussions and research on the China-sponsored international initiative “One Belt One Road” (OBOR). They are: 1. Why does the political logic of the OBOR matter? 2. Why does the OBOR not just mean that China takes the lead in global development, but that China seeks its own road for further development in the world? 3. Why does the OBOR need to be multilateralized towards a global institution? Can the new international financial institution AIIB help the multilateralization of the OBOR? 4. Can the OBOR contribute to the next generation of global governance? Finally, the article suggests that China should call for the OBOR nations, or the Silk Road System of Nations, to have their 1st summit – the Silk Road Summit – to gather political support for the reform of global governance

Experimental study on mechanical property degradation of thermal aging laminated rubber bearing

Laminated Rubber Bearing (LRB) plays a significant role in recent bridge-supporting systems and its characteristics are mainly contributed by their nonlinear properties. However, LRB performance deteriorates during aging. To better understand the aging phenomenon and its influence on mechanical properties, several circular LRBs of different sizes were introduced. Firstly, thermal aging tests were carried out, and then pseudo-static tests were carried out to study the influence of aging on modulus, friction coefficient, and frictional sliding. The results show that the compression modulus and shear modulus are nonlinear with the aging time. The shape factor also affects mechanical properties. When the shape factor is larger, the effect of aging degradation on mechanical properties is alleviated. The frictional coefficients at the surfaces of testing LRBs get increased with the thermal aging period, which gets stable after 10-year aging. The initial friction-sliding displacements are increasing with the increase of thermal aging period

A feasible method for non-invasive measurement of pulmonary vascular resistance in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Combined use of transthoracic Doppler-echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance. Non-invasive estimation of pulmonary vascular resistance

Transthoracic Doppler-echocardiography (TTE) can estimate mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) reliably, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the best modality for non-invasive measurement of cardiac output (CO). We speculated that the combined use of TTE and CMR could provide a feasible method for non-invasive measurement of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Right heart catheterization (RHC) was undertaken in 77 patients (17M/60F) with PAH, and simultaneous TTE was carried out to evaluate MPAP, PCWP and CO. Within 2 days, CO was measured again with CMR in similar physiological status. Then, PVR was calculated with the integrated non-invasive method: TTE-derived (MPAP–PCWP)/CMR-derived CO and the isolated TTE method: TTE-derived (MPAP–PCWP)/TTE-derived CO, respectively. The PVR calculated with integrated non-invasive method correlated well with RHC-calculated PVR (r = 0.931, 95% confidence interval 0.893 to 0.956). Between the integrated non-invasive PVR and RHC-calculated PVR, the Bland–Altman analysis showed the satisfactory limits of agreement (mean value: − 0.89 ± 2.59). In comparison, the limits of agreement were less satisfactory between TTE-calculated PVR and RHC-calculated PVR (mean value: − 1.80 ± 3.33). Furthermore, there were excellent intra- and inter-observer correlations for the measurements of TTE and CMR (P < 0.001 for all). The combined use of TTE and CMR provides a clinically reliable method to determine PVR non-invasively. In comparison with RHC, the integrated method shows good accuracy and repeatability, which suggests the potential for the evaluation and serial follow-up in patients with PAH. In PAH, the non-invasive measurement of PVR is very important in clinical practice. Up to now, however, the widely accepted non-invasive method is still unavailable. Since TTE can estimate (MPAP–PCWP) reliably and CMR is the best image modality for the measurement of CO, the combined use of two modalities has the potential to determine PVR non-invasively. In this research, the integrated non-invasive method showed good diagnostic accuracy and repeatability compared with RHC. Therefore, it might be a feasible method for non-invasive measurement of PVR in patients with PAH

A feasible method for non-invasive measurement of pulmonary vascular resistance in pulmonary arterial hypertension: Combined use of transthoracic Doppler-echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance. Non-invasive estimation of pulmonary vascular resistance

Background: Transthoracic Doppler-echocardiography (TTE) can estimate mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) reliably, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is the best modality for non-invasive measurement of cardiac output (CO). We speculated that the combined use of TTE and CMR could provide a feasible method for non-invasive measurement of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Methods and results: Right heart catheterization (RHC) was undertaken in 77 patients (17M/60F) with PAH, and simultaneous TTE was carried out to evaluate MPAP, PCWP and CO. Within 2 days, CO was measured again with CMR in similar physiological status. Then, PVR was calculated with the integrated non-invasive method: TTE-derived (MPAP–PCWP)/CMR-derived CO and the isolated TTE method: TTE-derived (MPAP–PCWP)/TTE-derived CO, respectively. The PVR calculated with integrated non-invasive method correlated well with RHC-calculated PVR (r = 0.931, 95% confidence interval 0.893 to 0.956). Between the integrated non-invasive PVR and RHC-calculated PVR, the Bland–Altman analysis showed the satisfactory limits of agreement (mean value: −0.89 ± 2.59). In comparison, the limits of agreement were less satisfactory between TTE-calculated PVR and RHC-calculated PVR (mean value: −1.80 ± 3.33). Furthermore, there were excellent intra- and inter-observer correlations for the measurements of TTE and CMR (P < 0.001 for all). Conclusions: The combined use of TTE and CMR provides a clinically reliable method to determine PVR non-invasively. In comparison with RHC, the integrated method shows good accuracy and repeatability, which suggests the potential for the evaluation and serial follow-up in patients with PAH. Translational perspective: In PAH, the non-invasive measurement of PVR is very important in clinical practice. Up to now, however, the widely accepted non-invasive method is still unavailable. Since TTE can estimate (MPAP–PCWP) reliably and CMR is the best image modality for the measurement of CO, the combined use of two modalities has the potential to determine PVR non-invasively. In this research, the integrated non-invasive method showed good diagnostic accuracy and repeatability compared with RHC. Therefore, it might be a feasible method for non-invasive measurement of PVR in patients with PAH