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On certain extremal Banach-Mazur distances and Ader's characterization of distance ellipsoids
No full textA classical consequence of the John Ellipsoid Theorem is the upper bound on the Banach–Mazur distance between the Euclidean ball and any symmetric convex body in . Equality is attained for the parallelotope and the cross-polytope. While it is known that they are unique with this property for but not for , no proof of the characterization of the three-dimensional equality case seems to have ever been published. We fill this gap by showing that the parallelotope and the cross-polytope are the unique maximizers for . Our proof is based on an extension of a characterization of distance ellipsoids due to Ader from 1938, which predates the John Ellipsoid Theorem. Ader's characterization turns out to provide a decomposition similar to the John decomposition, which leads to a proof of the aforementioned estimate that bypasses the concept of volumes and reveals precise information about the equality case. We highlight further consequences of Ader's characterization, including a proof of an unpublished result attributed to Maurey related to the uniqueness of distance ellipsoids. In addition, we investigate more closely the role of the parallelogram as a maximizer in various problems related to the distance between planar symmetric convex bodies. We establish the stability of the parallelogram as the unique planar symmetric convex body with the maximal distance to the Euclidean disk with the best possible (linear) order. This uniqueness extends to the setting of pairs of planar 1-symmetric convex bodies, where we show that the maximal possible distance between them is again , together with a characterization of the equality case involving the parallelogram
Cytoprotective and immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cell secretome and its effect on organotypic hippocampal cultures in mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy
No full textImpact of modified lactoperoxidase systems on glycolytic metabolism and virulence factors in Streptococcus mutans
No full textDemocracy : the contemporary understandings
No full textThis chapter sets out to briefly outline definitions of democracy, including the minimum requirements that need to be met for a political system to be considered democratic, and the standards applicable to regimes frequently described as liberal democracies. It explores the phenomenon of democratic transitions on the spectrum between democratic and autocratic regimes, as well as the varieties of participation and representation centred around discourse and deliberation. It also indicates the most recent trends in democracy studies that continue to explore the phenomenon of agonistic and digital democracy. In the second section, the chapter offers a comprehensive insight into the sources of democratic fragility, focusing on three essential features of contemporary democracy: the dynamics of its consolidation; the impact of social and political conflicts; and the logic of democratic governance
Tubal patency testing in women with polycystic ovary syndrome - is it worth before ovarian induction : cost-effectiveness analysis
No full textDemocracy and its fragility : mapping the unstable equilibrium
No full textThis book explores democratic fragility, an underdeveloped concept in the analyses of contemporary political regimes. Diagnoses of fragility commonly occur when states are brought to the brink of the abyss. Democracy and Its Fragility: Mapping the Unstable Equilibrium builds on the premise that fragility is an inherent trait of democracy that expresses its exposure to disintegration yet does not foretell its death.
Employing a novel conceptual lens that seeks to scrutinize the stability of contemporary democratic regimes across the world, the book offers a twofold contribution that provides new leverage for analysis. Theoretically, it refines the notion of fragility, making it a complementary variable to the latest research on robustness and resilience. Empirically, the volume engages with an overview of fragility indicators featured in indices mapping the quality of democracy and an assessment of their limitations. What follows are in-depth qualitative case studies zooming into the struggles for democratic regime maintenance and response to a variety of unfavourable conditions in 13 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe and the Americas.
Addressing issues that are both conceptually advanced and highly accessible, Democracy and Its Fragility: Mapping the Unstable Equilibrium will attract academics and students of democracy studies, politics and government, and comparative politics
The stage of laryngeal cancer before and after the COVID-19 pandemic : a retrospective study
No full textKallikrein 14 activates the chemoattractant protein chemerin in human skin
No full textChemerin is a multifunctional protein that requires limited carboxyl-terminal proteolysis to manifest it’s chemotactic, antimicrobial, and metabolic activities. The role of chemerin in the maintenance of skin homeostasis has recently been demonstrated. The main enzymes responsible for processing chemerin in the skin, however, remain elusive. Due to their abundance in the skin and epidermis in particular, kallikreins (KLKs) are promising candidates. Here, using recombinant inactive chemerin, several isolated KLKs, and human primary keratinocytes gene-edited to silence KLK14, we demonstrate that KLK14 is a chemerin processing enzyme in the skin, rapidly and stably activating this chemoattractant by generating the chemerin 156F and 158S isoforms
