101,998 research outputs found
Existential Alternative for Europe? The Belt and Road Initiative and Its Impact on Europe
No full textTThe Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), originally aimed at domestic economic development, has turned into an umbrella bringing together China’s ambitious projects to shape a new order in Eurasia, which directly influences Europe. The authors represent both Chinese and European perspectives on this issue. The BRI has become a mechanism to represent China abroad as well as a tool to ensure China’s competitive advantage in the world trade. This also has an impact on the entire trade system redirecting trade flows and making countries to compete for investments, which alters the existing order and each country’s place in this order. Buying shares of Italian strategic national companies, gaining control over ports and terminals along the BRI sea route, for example, the port of Piraeus, and other investments recently made by China force European countries to adapt its economic strategies to new conditions
The Belt and Road initiative and its impact
No full textthis paper analyses the possible impacts of Belt and Road Initiative on Europe looking at trade, investments and infrastructures
The angiogenic factor PIGF mediates a neuroimmune interaction in the spleen to allow the onset of hypertension
No full textHypertension is a health problem affecting over 1 billion people worldwide. How the immune system gets activated under hypertensive stimuli to contribute to blood pressure elevation is a fascinating enigma. Here we showed a splenic role for placental growth factor (PlGF), which accounts for the onset of hypertension, through immune system modulation. PlGF repressed the expression of the protein Timp3 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 3), through the transcriptional Sirt1-p53 axis. Timp3 repression allowed costimulation of T cells and their deployment toward classical organs involved in hypertension. We showed that the spleen is an essential organ for the development of hypertension through a noradrenergic drive mediated by the celiac ganglion efferent. Overall, we demonstrate that PlGF mediates the neuroimmune interaction in the spleen, organizing a unique and nonredundant response that allows the onset of hypertension
The Belt and Road Initiative Impact on Europe: An Italian Perspective
No full textThis paper analyzes the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Europe with a specific focus on Italy. We concentrate on the impact of new railways and port infrastructures on bilateral trade. Our analysis suggests that the development of new railway connections will benefit most of the Northern and Central European countries. Some industries like automotive and electronics that have a higher value to weight ratio will benefit more than others. However, due to higher costs, railway services will never reach a high percentage of total import/export flows. Investment in new port facilities, although less new compared with railways, may be a bigger game changer. The development of the Port of Piraeus has already increased the importance of the Mediterranean Sea as an import/export hub for China. If the other planned investments in Egypt and Algeria are completed, this phenomenon will be magnified. This presents a huge challenge for Italy. The Italian port in the high Adriatic Sea could be displaced by Piraeus capacity, especially if this port is linked through railways with the center of Europe. Italy needs to coordinate its ports together with its railway network to take advantage of Belt and Road Initiative opportunities.SSCIARTICLE5,SI125-1382
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