paired_replacements() converts a single ' * ' to '<em>/em>'

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In http://www.oik-plugins.com/oik_api/_bw_show_contact_form_oik/ the Description contains
Note: The * indicates Required field

Expected output

As shown. The single * should not be converted.

Actual output

Note: The <em>/em> indicates Required field

This leads to the rest of the content being italicised.

Explanation

The asterisk is incorrectly treated as markdown emphasis by the paired_replacements() function.

Proposed solution

Check for overlaps in the paired replacements.

Workaround

Change the Description

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Questions:

• Should ** be treated as emphasis markdown? A. No.
• do we need at least one, non-blank character between the asterisks ? ? A. Yes.
• What about ***? A. Not tested in the published solution. Git doesn't convert it but we might.