Survival: February-March 2024


Book Description

Survival, the IISS’s bimonthly journal, challenges conventional wisdom and brings fresh, often controversial, perspectives on strategic issues of the moment. In this issue: Franz-Stefan Gady and Michael Kofman highlight the pitfalls of grafting a Western manoeuvre-oriented approach to war onto the Russia–Ukraine conflict Irene Mia examines the chasm between Javier Milei’s dramatic rhetoric and the domestic and international obstacles he faces to changing Argentina’s foreign and economic policies Edoardo Campanella and John Haigh outline the necessity of meaningful dialogue between the West and China to prevent the internet’s fragmentation John Raine assesses the geopolitical trends that the Gaza war has set in motion and the issues they create for Ukraine’s defence against Russia And seven more thought-provoking pieces, as well as our regular Book Reviews and Noteworthy column. Editor: Dr Dana Allin Managing Editor: Jonathan Stevenson Associate Editor: Carolyn West Editorial Assistant: Conor Hodges




Community series in Progress of Allo- and Xeno-transplantation Facilitating the Initial Xeno-Kidney and Islet Clinical Trials, volume II


Book Description

Owing to the availability of more advanced genetically engineered pigs, more immunological and physiological barriers have been overcome. With the results of pig organ xenotransplantation steadily improving, consideration is now given to the first clinical trials of xenotransplantation. The first step is kidneys, but possibilities also exist in pig islet transplantation for patients with diabetes.




Systemic Inflammation in Severe Infectious Diseases


Book Description

Hospital-acquired infections are common and often result in life-threatening complications, mostly facing critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. Patients with hospital-acquired infections may die from bacteremia/fungal/viral infection or hyperinflammatory complications because of an uncontrolled over-activation of the innate immune system with pathological levels of circulating proinflammatory cytokines, or from multiorgan failure. In addition to eliciting a robust inflammatory response, it paradoxically renders the host in an immunocompromised state at the late stage of the disease progression. Severe infectious diseases, including sepsis and septic shock are among the most common reasons for death in hospitals. Sepsis is an infection-induced syndrome characterized by a generalized inflammatory state and represents a frequent complication in surgical patients and in immunocompromised patients. Sepsis is a common, expensive, and frequently associated with a fatal outcome. Every 3 to 4 seconds somebody dies with sepsis, and it is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.




The Military Balance 2022


Book Description

Published each year since 1959, The Military Balance is an indispensable reference to the capabilities of armed forces across the globe. It is used by academia, the media, armed forces, the private sector and government. It is an open-source assessment of the military forces and equipment inventories of 171 countries, with accompanying defence economics and procurement data. Alongside detailed country data, The Military Balance assesses important defence issues, by region, as well as key global trends, such as in defence technology and equipment modernisation. This analysis is accompanied by full-colour graphics, including maps and illustrations. With extensive explanatory notes and reference information, The Military Balance is as straightforward to use as it is extensive. The 2022 edition is accompanied by a fullcolour wall chart illustrating security dynamics in the Arctic.




Advances toward improved understanding and treatment of uncommon ovarian cancer types and subtypes


Book Description

Ovarian cancer is an umbrella term for a collection of distinct disease entities (histotypes). Until now, the majority of research has focussed on the most common histotype, high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), which accounts for 70% of cases. The less common histotypes – including endometrioid, clear cell, mucinous, low-grade serous, carcinosarcoma, and non-epithelial histotypes – have received far less research attention. Accordingly, while major advances in our understanding of HGSOC have led to molecularly-directed therapies that improve patient outcomes, progress in less common histotypes has lagged behind. Notably, many of the uncommon histotypes demonstrate resistance to conventional chemotherapy regimens, and their inherent biological differences suggest most are unlikely to respond to emerging molecular therapeutics designed to target the biology of common ovarian cancer types.





Book Description




Gliomas microenvironment: New drug entities, mechanisms of action, molecular biomarkers and drug delivery strategies


Book Description

Gliomas are neoplasms originating in glial cells, the most malignant and frequent primary tumors of the Central Nervous System (CNS), representing approximately 40-50% of all intracranial tumors. Following the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, gliomas are classified into grades I-IV, regarding their malignancy degree. The latest report from WHO on CNS tumors considers that glioblastoma (GB), a grade IV adult-type diffuse glioma comprising isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype tumors. Despite all efforts to improve patient survival and quality of life, the median survival remains lower due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools, poor prognosis, and limited therapeutic options. Regarding this, the design of novel treatment strategies is of the utmost importance. This can be by either the discovery of new medicines (for example synthetic compounds), repurposing known drugs or exploring novel strategies of drug delivery by nanotechnological platforms to improve treatment response and long-term survival of patients. Inter and intra-tumor heterogeneity mainly contribute to the poor prognosis and treatment efficacy. Therefore, exploiting tumor microenvironment (TME) and understanding GB’s cellular and molecular aspects are fundamental to developing more effective and better-tolerated personalized therapies. Thus, addressing physiological mechanisms involved in cancer development, progression and recurrence is crucial. Concerning this, our goal with this research topic is to share the latest advances in tumor-specific therapies for gliomas, especially GB, as well as to provide experimental validation of new bioactive molecules and their antitumor mechanism of action. Authors are invited to submit original research, review articles and systematic reviews covering, but not restricted to, the following topics: 1) Novel targeted therapies; 2) Mechanism of action and affected signaling pathways; 3) Repurposing drugs; 5) New chemical entities; 6) Pharmaceutical nanotechnology; 7) Drug delivery systems; 8) Preclinical and clinical studies of therapeutic molecules; 9) Potential molecular biomarkers to targeted therapies using proteomics or transcriptomics.




Contraband Cultures


Book Description

Contraband Cultures presents narratives, representations, practices and imaginaries of smuggling and extra-legal or informal circulation practices, across and between the Latin American region (including the Caribbean) and its diasporas. Countering a fetishizing and hegemonic imaginary (typically stemming from the Global North) of smuggling activity in Latin America as chaotic, lawless, violent and somehow ‘exotic’, this book reframes such activities through the lenses of kinship, political movements, economic exchange and resistance to capitalist state hegemony. The volume comprises a broad range of chapters from scholars across the social sciences and humanities, using various methodological techniques, theoretical traditions and analytic approaches to explore the efficacy and valence of ‘smuggling’ or ‘contraband’ as a lens onto modes of personhood, materiality, statehood and political (dis)connection across Latin America. This material is presented through a combination of historic documentation and contemporary ethnographic research across the region to highlight the genesis and development of these cultural practices whilst grounding them in the capitalist and colonial refashioning of the entire region from the sixteenth century to the present day.




Blue Foods Security and Sustainability


Book Description

Blue foods — aquatic foods captured or farmed in marine and freshwater systems — play a key role in feeding and nourishing the world by providing highly accessible and affordable sources of protein and micronutrients for over 3.2 billion people and supporting the jobs of 58.5 million people, and the livelihoods of 600 million people. In the past 71-year period, blue foods have significantly expanded from 19.9 million tons in 1950 to 214 million tons in 2020. Yet, with 811 million people suffering from hunger and 3 billion people unable to afford a healthy diet, blue food production is poised to continue to expand in the future. However, the expansion of aquaculture and fisheries has also raised a series of ecological and environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, environmental pollution (plastic pollution, antibiotic pollution, nitrogen and phosphorus emissions, etc.), land and freshwater use, overfishing, habitat degradation etc. In parallel, the continuously growing demand for blue food has been challenged by unprecedented environmental changes, such as climate change, ocean acidification, water pollution (microplastics, antibiotics, persistent pollutants), etc. But compared to other animal-sourced foods, blue food can remain an imperative component of sustainable food system solutions by reducing the environmental footprint and relieving pressure on overburdened terrestrial systems. Therefore, it is important to understand the challenges and priorities of the blue food transformation in order to jointly promote food safety and environmental sustainability.




Media Compass


Book Description

An extensive and inclusive account of the media environments of 45 countries worldwide In Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes, an international team of prominent scholars examines both long-term media systems and fluctuating trends in media usage around the world. Integrating country-specific summaries and cross-cutting studies of geopolitical regions, this interdisciplinary reference work describes key elements in the political, social, demographic, cultural, and economic conditions of media infrastructures and public communication. Enabling the mapping of media landscapes internationally, Media Compass contains up-to-date empirical surveys of individual countries and regions, as well as cross-country comparisons of particular areas of public communication. 45 entries, each guiding readers from a general summary to a more in-depth discussion of a country’s specific media landscape, address formative conditions and circumstances, historical background and development, current issues and challenges, and more. Designed to facilitate quick lookup of individual entries, as well as comparative readings of a country’s position in the wider media environment, Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes is an invaluable addition to libraries and institutions of higher education, and a must-read volume for students, educators, scholars, and practitioners working in communication and media studies, journalism, and media production.




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