Bilateral relations between China and the United States: Policy prioritization with the ANP

Improving relations between the People’s Republic of China(PRC)and the United States of America(US)and ensuring that they work together as allies rather than as competitors can serve as a stabilizing force against armed conflict,particularly with surrounding nations.The economic,social,and political relationships between the PRC and US have progressed along a hilly journey.As the second largest economy in the world,the PRC has continued to develop its military and is determined to climb the technological ladder.This growth has led the US and the PRC to be referred to as a G-2 of superpowers.As the US hegemony continues to weaken this G-2 relationship is becoming more important.With significant economic,political,and security issues at stake it is crucial that efforts to strengthen these relations are prioritized and implemented.A rigorous prioritization process,the Analytic Network Process(ANP)is used herein to prioritize the efforts and initiatives in the G-2relationship.The model is presented with results and the extensive sensitivity analysis present additional insight into the suggested solutions.     

Hypothetical mode of action of earthworm extract with hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties

The hepatoprotective potential of earthworm extract （EE） （Lampito mauritii, Kinberg） was evaluated against paracetamol-induced liver injury in Wistar albino rat, in comparison with silymarin, the standard hepatoprotective drug. We observed a reduction in liver antioxidants, such as glutathione （GSH）, superoxide dismutase （SOD）, glutathione peroxidase （GPx）, and catalase （CAT） and in serum total protein, and an increase in serum alkaline phosphatase （ALP）, serum aspertate ami- notranferase （AST）, serum alanine aminotranferase （ALT）, bilirubin and liver thiobarbituric acid reactive substances （TBARS） due to liver injury in the paracetamol-administered rats （2 g/kg）. On the contrary, increased activities of liver GSH, SOD, GPx, CAT and serum total protein level, and decrease in the contents of serum ALP, AST, ALT, bilirubin and liver TBARS were observed in rats administered with different doses of EE （100, 200 and 300 mg/kg）, which are similar to the activities of hepato- protective drug silymarin （150 mg/kg）. The mode of action of EE as evidenced by the above parameters may suggest that EE, on the one hand, prevents the formation of the reactive oxygen groups, or scavenges these groups, thereby preventing the damage on the hepatic cells, and, on the other hand, modulates the genes responsible for synthesis of antioxidant enzymes such as GPx, CAT and SOD in liver tissue and decreases the serum enzymatic activities such as ALP, AST and ALT.