The study deals with China's soft power and diplomacy in the Middle East, and it focuses specifically on the tools and foundations of China's soft diplomacy and how it achieves its goals in the region in addition to its challenges in the region. In this regard, the study also focuses on the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and its soft foundations and how they serve China’s diplomacy and soft power in the region. The study ends with a set of conclusions, perhaps the most prominent of which is that diplomacy and soft power have become a fundamental pillar of China's foreign policy to achieve its foreign goals and to establish an international system compatible with China's principles. As for the Middle East, China has established a policy in the region in order to achieve its goals, especially securing its share of oil, based on non-interference and neutrality. This policy has represented a basic pillar of diplomacy and soft power for China and the enhancement of its positive image in the region. The Belt and Road Initiative promoted by China in the region gives a strong impetus to China's soft power and enhances its positive image. Especially since the initiative itself is based on soft and civilized principles, and the slogan of "Win-Win Cooperation". is the main slogan of the initiative. However, China's diplomacy and soft power in the region still faces many great challenges, the most important of which is the difficulty of competing with Western soft power, especially the American one, or the lack of attractiveness of China's soft power in front of its Western counterpart.
The earth's surface comprises different kinds of land cover, water resources, and soil, which create environmental factors for varied animals, plants, and humans. Knowing the significant effects of land cover is crucial for long-term development, climate change modeling, and preserving ecosystems. In this research, the Google Earth Engine platform and freely available Landsat imagery were used to investigate the impact of the expansion and degradation in urbanized areas, watersheds, and vegetative cover on the land surface temperature in Baghdad from 2004 to 2021. Land cover indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Water Index, and Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDVI, NDWI, an
... Show MoreSemiotics has been through wide experiences in various human sciences, especially in the fields of poetry, novel and myths. But its interest in the theatre and drama was much less and unique despite the richness of the theatrical connection as it is a probable field for the semiotic investigation which may require the semiotic approach in dealing with the theatrical and dramatic show during the two processes of: structural construction and deconstruction starting from a set of overlapping and interconnected texts inside the show, which can be limited in the text, then it would be difficult to semiotically cover all these complex and tricky texts. The theatre in its structural and aesthetic construction is c
... Show MoreTo investigate the antiplaque and antigingivitis efficacy in addition to evaluating side effects and subjects’ perceptions of three commercially available mouthwashes.
This study was a double‐blind, parallel, and short‐term trial. A total of 75 dental students with biofilm‐induced gingivitis were included in the final analysis of the current study. Clinical parameters (plaque index and bleeding on probing) and the staining effect were measured at baseline and after 7 days. In addition, a VAS‐based assessment questionnaire was completed by the participants.
Phase change material (PCM) is considered as one of the most effective thermal energy storage (TES) systems to balance energy supply and demand. A key challenge in designing efficient PCM-based TES systems lies in the enhancement of heat transmission during phase transition. This study numerically examines the privilege of employing twisted-fin arrays inside a shell-and-tube latent heat storage unit to improve the solidification performance. The presence of twisted fins contributes to the dominating role of heat conduction by their curved shapes, which restricts the role of natural convection but largely aids the overall heat-transfer process during solidification. The heat-discharge
The systemic and resistant nature of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers (mCRPC) renders it largely incurable even after intensive multimodal therapy. Proliferation, survival, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are three fundamental events that are deeply linked to carcinogenesis. Hence, it is necessary to find a new combination of several therapies, targeting those vital mechanisms without causing side effects. Significant research works have shown differential low expression of the metabolic Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in primary and metastatic prostate cancer suggesting their importance in prostate pathogenesis. Obticholic acid (INT 747), a potent FXR agonist is widely used in primary biliary chola
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