Sport for Development in International Relations

This article introduces the concept of sport for development and peace both as a theoretical notion and a part of the political-economical practice. Together with a brief definition and a historical overview, the main goal is to present the sport and development in the context of international relations, a network of stakeholders, practical implementation within major projects and its progressive inclusion into the development documents and strategies. Specifically, the article highlights the adoption of the concept by two major institutions, the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee as formal umbrella organisations. Furthermore, the role of the sport for development within the UN’s agenda of Sustainable Development Goals is elaborated. Since the topic is a frequent object of academic research and critical analysis, the article concludes with an outline of the commonly mentioned contested topics and critical debates which permeate both academic production and activities of international state and non-governmental organisations.

Consumption of spices and ethnic contamination in the daily diet of Italians - consumers’ preferences and modification of eating habits

Currently, consumers appear to have diversified characteristics with regard to food tastes and consumption habits. The globalization of markets and the migration phenomenon contributed to the modification of food preferences of consumers who gradually introduce into their eating habits foods and recipes typical of the tradition of foreign countries. In this scenario, also in Italy, it is going to increase the use of “foreign products” with the consequent fusion of traditional cuisine techniques and recipes with ingredients that are typical of foreign countries and cultures. Foods and ingredients originally consumed in Asian or South American countries are increasingly consumed by Italian people, who have notoriously a strong “food identity,” who generally follow the Mediterranean Diet, and who consume typical products of the country. More particularly, the use of “new” or “novel” spices compared to those traditionally used in the preparation of Italian food has grown in the last 10 years. This study is an exploratory survey on the consumption of spices in Sicily (Southern Italy), which is an Italian Region with a high level of immigrated people and a good level of social integration and progressive inclusion. The objective of this study is to know whether and how Sicilian consumers’ consumption preferences, use, and purchasing behaviors with regard to spices changed in the last few years. The results highlight an increasing use of novel spices for the preparation of the traditional recipes and a good appreciation by consumers. These results are interesting because they provide information about spices’ market development and food product marketing and internationalization. The survey gives interesting inputs for reflections about the relationship between food contaminations and social integration and insight into consumers’ preferences in Italy.

Impact of Grape Pomace Powder on the Phenolic Bioaccessibility and on In Vitro Starch Digestibility of Wheat Based Bread

Breads were prepared by substituting common wheat flour with 0 (GP0), 5 (GP5) and 10 (GP10) g/100 g (w/w) of grape pomace powder (GPP) and were analyzed for the phenolic profile bioaccessibility as well as the in vitro starch digestion during simulated digestion. The free and bound phenolic composition of native GPP and resulting breads were profiled using ultra-high-performance chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight (UHPLC-QTOF). The raw GPP was characterized by 190 polyphenols with the anthocyanins representing the most abundant class, accounting for 11.60 mg/g of cyanidin equivalents. Regarding the fortified bread, the greatest (p < 0.05) content in phenolic compounds was recorded for the GP10 sample (considering both bound and free fractions) being 127.76 mg/100 g dry matter (DM), followed by the GP5 (106.96 mg/100 g DM), and GP0 (63.76 mg/100 g DM). The use of GPP determined an increase of anthocyanins (considered the markers of the GPP inclusion), recording 20.98 mg/100 g DM in GP5 and 35.82 mg/100 g DM in GP10. The bioaccessibility of anthocyanins increased in both GP5 and GP10 breads when moving from the gastric to the small intestine in vitro digestion phase with an average value of 24%. Both the starch hydrolysis and the predicted glycemic index decreased with the progressive inclusion of GPP in bread. Present findings showed that GPP in bread could promote an antioxidant environment in the digestive tract and influence the in vitro starch digestion.

Changes in hematological, biochemical, and blood gases parameters in response to progressive inclusion of nitrate in the diet of Holstein calves

Background and Aim: Nitrate (NO3–) reduces enteric methane emissions and could be a source of non-protein nitrogen in ruminant feeds. Nonetheless, it has a potential toxic effect that could compromise animal health and production. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of progressive inclusion of NO3– in the diet on the hematological, biochemical, and blood gases parameters, in turn, the effects on feed intake and live weight gain (LWG) in Holstein calves. Materials and Methods: Eighteen Holstein heifers and steers (nine animals/treatment) were maintained in individual pens for 45 days. Animals were randomly allocated to either a control or nitrate diet (ND) (containing 15 g of NO3–/kg of dry matter [DM]). The biochemical parameters and blood gases were analyzed only in the NO3– group on days: -1, 1, 7, 13, 19, and 25 corresponding to 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of the total inclusion of NO3– in the diet, respectively. In addition, DM intake (DMI) and LWG were evaluated among dietary treatments. Results: Feeding the ND did not influence DMI or LWG (p>0.05). Methemoglobin (MetHb) and deoxyhemoglobin increased according to the NO3– concentrations in the diet (p<0.05), while an opposite effect was observed for oxyhemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin (p<0.05). Hematocrit levels decreased (p<0.05), while albumin, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase concentrations were not modified (p>0.05). However, glucose, urea, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and retinol concentrations increased (p<0.05) according to the NO3– concentrations in the diet. Conclusion: This study confirmed that the progressive inclusion of 123 g of NO3–/animal/day in the diet could be safe without affecting DMI and LWG of Holstein calves. In turn, a dose-response effect of the MetHb, glucose, urea, AST, and retinol was observed, but these values did not exceed reference values. These results highlighted the importance of using a scheme of progressive inclusion of NO3– in the diet of calves to reduce the risks of NO3– toxicity.

Many-Body Effects Determine the Local Hydration Structure of Cs+ in Solution

<div> <div> <div> <p>A systematic analysis of the hydration structure of Cs+ ions in solution is derived from simulations carried out using a series of molecular models built upon a hierarchy of approximate representations of many-body effects in ion-water interactions. It is found that a pairwise-additive model, commonly used in biomolecular simulations, provides poor agreement with experimental X-ray spectra, indicating an incorrect description of the underlying hydration structure. Although the agreement with experiment improves in simulations with a polarizable model, the predicted hydration structure is found to lack the correct sequence of water shells. Progressive inclusion of explicit many- body effects in the representation of Cs⁺-water interactions as well as account for nuclear quantum effects is shown to be necessary for quantitatively reproducing the experimental spectra. Besides emphasizing the importance of many-body effects, these results suggests that molecular models rigorously derived from many-body expansions hold promise for realistic simulations of aqueous solutions. </p> </div> </div> </div>

Many-Body Effects Determine the Local Hydration Structure of Cs+ in Solution

<div> <div> <div> <p>A systematic analysis of the hydration structure of Cs+ ions in solution is derived from simulations carried out using a series of molecular models built upon a hierarchy of approximate representations of many-body effects in ion-water interactions. It is found that a pairwise-additive model, commonly used in biomolecular simulations, provides poor agreement with experimental X-ray spectra, indicating an incorrect description of the underlying hydration structure. Although the agreement with experiment improves in simulations with a polarizable model, the predicted hydration structure is found to lack the correct sequence of water shells. Progressive inclusion of explicit many- body effects in the representation of Cs⁺-water interactions as well as account for nuclear quantum effects is shown to be necessary for quantitatively reproducing the experimental spectra. Besides emphasizing the importance of many-body effects, these results suggests that molecular models rigorously derived from many-body expansions hold promise for realistic simulations of aqueous solutions. </p> </div> </div> </div>

SMEDDS TABLET: COMPATABILITY OF SOLID SMEDDS USING VARIOUS PHARMACEUTICAL TABLET EXCIPIENTS

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>There are many successful products on the market which are the culmination of the self-micro-emulsification lipid technology applications. Despite the importance of lipid-based formulations, these systems have some limitations including; stability, complexity during large scale manufacturing process and limited dosage forms to such as soft gelatin capsule. In order to overcome these limitations, the prospect of converting self-micro-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SMEDDS) into tablet dosage form was investigated in this study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A self-micro-emulsifying oil formulation representing type III A lipid class composed of glycerox 767HC/croduret 40 ss at ratios of (80/20) was converted into solid SMEDDS using solid carrier adsorption method. Powder blends containing magnesium trisilicate hydrate (MTSH) or magnesium lluminum silicate (MAS) at various oil loading factors were mixed with MCC with and without various binders and compressed into tablets using a fixed loading force of approximately of 5 KN. Hardness profiles of these oil loaded tablets were then analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Powder compacts which contained MTSH with and without SMEDDS oil had shown relatively better compaction properties than MAS. Adding SMEDDS oil solution to either MTSH or MAS at ratios of 1:9 has relatively reduced tablets hardness by almost 2 or 4 folds, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Progressive inclusion of increasing amounts of SMEDDS oil solution adsorbed unto the solid carrier has incurred a further reduction in the hardness of SMEDDS tablets. It appears that manufacturing of tablet SMEDDS can only be attainable for highly potent drugs as minimal amounts of oil solution added to the powder blends can adversely affect the mechanical strength of compressed tablet.</p>

Implementation of Political Participation Standards for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Kenya

This paper reviews international standards on political participation by persons with intellectual disabilities and how they are implemented in Kenya. On one hand, Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR) allows limitation of rights based on ‘reasonable and objective’ criteria. Whereas it is considered unreasonable to restrict participation rights of persons with physical disabilities, General Comment 25 to the ICCPR permits restrictions based on ‘established mental incapacity’. On the other hand, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) does not foresee any limitation of participation rights; rather it recognises the freedom of persons with disabilities to be involved in decision-making, including the right to vote and hold public office. Kenya is a party to both instruments, having acceded to the ICCPR in 1972 and ratified the CRPD in 2008. Kenya’s law does not deprive persons with intellectual disabilities of legal capacity. In fact, Article 54(2) of the Constitution of Kenya (2010 Constitution)seeks to increase participation of persons with disabilities in decision making and public life by providing, inter alia, for the progressive inclusion of persons with disabilities in at least five percent of all elective and nominated positions. Whereas Kenya’s law allows for limited guardianship, it is the informal guardianship created by the family, on whom persons with intellectual disabilities are dependent for support, which poses the greatest barrier to the exercise of participation rights. This informal guardianship, combined with negative societal attitudes and ignorance at all levels including the Judiciary, the electoral management body (the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)) and even the wider disability movement, makes political participation rights for persons with intellectual disabilities illusory. If the situation of persons with intellectual disabilities is not addressed, only persons with physical and sensory disabilities will be able to take up the affirmative action measure created by Article 54(2) of the 2010 Constitution.

Canadian Schools in Transition: Moving From Dual Education Systems to Inclusive Schools

This paper provides a synthesis of educational reforms in Canadian schools over the past century to present times. The unique emphasis is to document the broad movements of change in both special and regular education. We begin our analy-sis with a detailed discussion on the many meanings of school restructuring and highlight the ongoing nature of school reform. Following a selective chronology of general and special education reform, we attempt to capture what appear to be the key features of school reform and progressive inclusion. The numerous obsta-cles to school reform are outlined and the evolving roles of those most centrally connected with the school culture—teachers, students, and parents—are re-viewed. Several conditions for successful change are presented and the adoption of a balance of interests, policies, principles, and practices is recommended along with a transformation from dual systems to a unified system of education for all students. Regular and special educators are the professionals who must make school transformation reflect excellence and equity in our Canadian schools, and all available resources and support need to be deployed to this end.