Paris et le dialogue UE/ Russie: nouvel élan avec Nicolas Sarkozy?

"Seit der Wahl Nicolas Sarkozys zum französischen Präsidenten im Mai 2007 haben die französisch-russischen Beziehungen mehrere Veränderungen erfahren, die durch bilaterale Ereignisse (z.B. das Total-Gasprom-Abkommen vom Juli 2007), vor allem aber durch die ersten vom neuen Präsidenten formulierten außenpolitischen Grundsätze ausgelöst wurden. Russland gehört für die neue Regierung nicht zu den strategischen Prioritäten. Zugleich bleiben die russischen Reaktionen zurückhaltend. Russland scheint auf die neuen Akzente der französischen Außenpolitik geduldiger zu reagieren als auf die EU- oder die NATO-Politik des Westens. Frankreich sollte künftig mehr Wert darauf legen, die eigene Russland-Politik mit derjenigen der europäischen Partner zu koordinieren, um einer Abwertung der EU-Russland-Beziehungen im Vergleich zu den russisch-amerikanischen Beziehungen entgegenzuwirken. Paris wird dafür das ohnehin etwas floskelhafte Ziel einer 'relation privilégiée' mit Russland aufgeben müssen, wenn es seinen eigenen Einfluss in der EU in Zukunft wieder stärker zur Geltung bringen möchte. Dabei gilt für Frankreich wie für die EU insgesamt, dass der Dialog mit Moskau als ein Dialog von Gleichberechtigten konzipiert werden muss und künftig damit nicht mehr von der Logik gewährter Hilfsprogramme dominiert sein darf." (Autorenreferat)Since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French president in May 2007, Franco- Russian relations took some turns because of bilateral events (e.g. the Total-Gazprom agreement of July 2007) and the new principles formulated by Sarkozy for his future foreign policy. For the new government, Russia will not be a strategic priority. At the same time, Russian reactions are reserved. Moscow seems to be more patient concerning the new priorities of French foreign policy compared to its reactions to recent EU or NATO behavior. France should put more emphasis on coordination of its own Russian policy with EU positions towards Russia in order to avoid a devaluation of EU-Russia relations compared with US-Russian relations. Paris will have to give up the somewhat unrealistic objective of a 'special relationship' with Moscow, if it wants to improve French influence on EU policy towards Russia. In doing so, France as well as the EU as a whole should be aware that any dialogue with Russia should follow the principle of equality and thus must not be marked by the logic of grant aid programs." (author's abstract

Paris und der EU-Russland-Dialog: eine neue Dynamik mit Nicolas Sarkozy?

"Seit der Wahl Nicolas Sarkozys zum französischen Präsidenten im Mai 2007 haben die französisch-russischen Beziehungen mehrere Veränderungen erfahren, die durch bilaterale Ereignisse (z.B. das Total-Gasprom-Abkommen vom Juli 2007), vor allem aber durch die ersten vom neuen Präsidenten formulierten außenpolitischen Grundsätze ausgelöst wurden. Russland gehört für die neue Regierung nicht zu den strategischen Prioritäten. Zugleich bleiben die russischen Reaktionen zurückhaltend. Russland scheint auf die neuen Akzente der französischen Außenpolitik geduldiger zu reagieren als auf die EU- oder die NATO-Politik des Westens. Frankreich sollte künftig mehr Wert darauf legen, die eigene Russland-Politik mit derjenigen der europäischen Partner zu koordinieren, um einer Abwertung der EU-Russland-Beziehungen im Vergleich zu den russisch-amerikanischen Beziehungen entgegenzuwirken. Paris wird dafür das ohnehin etwas floskelhafte Ziel einer 'relation privilégiée' mit Russland aufgeben müssen, wenn es seinen eigenen Einfluss in der EU in Zukunft wieder stärker zur Geltung bringen möchte. Dabei gilt für Frankreich wie für die EU insgesamt, dass der Dialog mit Moskau als ein Dialog von Gleichberechtigten konzipiert werden muss und künftig damit nicht mehr von der Logik gewährter Hilfsprogramme dominiert sein darf." (Autorenreferat)Since the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French president in May 2007, Franco- Russian relations took some turns because of bilateral events (e.g. the Total-Gazprom agreement of July 2007) and the new principles formulated by Sarkozy for his future foreign policy. For the new government, Russia will not be a strategic priority. At the same time, Russian reactions are reserved. Moscow seems to be more patient concerning the new priorities of French foreign policy compared to its reactions to recent EU or NATO behavior. France should put more emphasis on coordination of its own Russian policy with EU positions towards Russia in order to avoid a devaluation of EU-Russia relations compared with US-Russian relations. Paris will have to give up the somewhat unrealistic objective of a 'special relationship' with Moscow, if it wants to improve French influence on EU policy towards Russia. In doing so, France as well as the EU as a whole should be aware that any dialogue with Russia should follow the principle of equality and thus must not be marked by the logic of grant aid programs." (author's abstract

Prediction of thermal radiative properties (300–1000 K) of La2NiO4+δ ceramics.

A multiscale numerical model is developed to predict the thermal radiative properties (TRP) of rough La2NiO4+δ coatings. The model integrates intrinsic and extrinsic contributions related to the chemical composition and the texture, respectively. High-temperature infrared reflectivity and thermogravimetric measurements on a La2NiO4+δ single crystal make it possible to understand the role of the excess oxygen in the intrinsic TRP. We show that dense ceramics with thicknesses higher than 4 μm are optically thick, and that one can adjust the surface roughness parameters to predict their TRP

Synchrotron x-ray μ-tomography to model the thermal radiative properties of an opaque ceramic coating at T: 1000 K

Synchrotron x-ray μ-tomography has been used to reconstruct the three-dimensional view of a rough surface extracted from a heterogeneous ceramic coating composed of Pr2NiO4+δ. Radiographs with a resolution of 0.7 μm have been recorded at T = 300, 600, and 900 K. The analysis of surface geometry makes use of the geometrical optic approximation up to T = 900 K possible. Subsequently, a large number of rays (105) are impinged onto the numerical surface, as revealed by x-ray tomography, to reproduce the normal emissivity of the coating. This normal emissivity was obtained beforehand by infrared emittance spectroscopy at T = 1000 K. Comparison of the two approaches suggests that the optical contribution of the coating micropores can be integrated into the ray tracing code. The effective medium approximation is used for this purpose. Finally, the applicability of this hybrid approach is discusse

Effect of preoperative administration of atenolol to dogs with pulmonic stenosis undergoing interventional procedures

BACKGROUND: Beta‐blockade is sometimes used in dogs with pulmonic stenosis with the intent of reducing frequency of ventricular arrhythmias during right heart catheterization. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if pretreatment with atenolol reduces frequency of ventricular arrhythmias, anesthetist interventions, or shortens procedure time. ANIMALS: Thirty dogs with pulmonic stenosis scheduled for interventional procedures. METHODS: Single center, prospective, randomized, open‐label study. Dogs were randomized to treatment with atenolol or no treatment preoperatively for a minimum of 10 days. Variables recorded included heart rate, arrhythmias and complexity, total procedure time and administration of antiarrhythmic treatment, vasopressors, positive chronotropes, or fluid boluses. RESULTS: Fifteen dogs were enrolled in each group. Dogs receiving atenolol had lower mean heart rates during the procedure (atenolol 100 ± 11 bpm vs untreated 115 ± 19 bpm, P = .01). There were no significant differences between the atenolol and untreated groups in the frequency of ventricular ectopic complexes (535 [6‐5296] vs 553 [79‐2863], P = .9), ventricular couplets (46 [0‐481] vs 29 [3‐121], P = .59), ventricular triplets (20 [0‐265] vs 16 [1‐82], P = .67), ventricular tachycardia (8 [0‐224] vs 8 [1‐118], P = .99), proportion exhibiting R‐on‐T phenomenon (11/15 vs 14/15, P = .33), proportion receiving intraoperative lidocaine (1/15 vs 3/15, P = .6), vasopressors/positive chronotropes (11/15 vs 5/15, P = .06), or fluid boluses (12/15 vs 7/15, P = .13). The procedure time was similar (atenolol 41 [23‐68] min vs untreated 35 [18‐98] min, P = .91). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: No benefit of preoperative atenolol treatment was identified in this small group of dogs

Modelling of the radiative properties of an opaque porous ceramic layer

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) operate at temperatures above 1,100 K where radiation effects can be significant. Therefore, an accurate thermal model of an SOFC requires the inclusion of the contribution of thermal radiation. This implies that the thermal radiative properties of the oxide ceramics used in the design of SOFCs must be known. However, little information can be found in the literature concerning their operating temperatures. On the other hand, several types of ceramics with different chemical compositions and microstructures for designing efficient cells are now being tested. This is a situation where the use of a numerical tool making possible the prediction of the thermal radiative properties of SOFC materials, whatever their chemical composition and microstructure are, may be a decisive help. Using this method, first attempts to predict the radiative properties of a lanthanum nickelate porous layer deposited onto an yttria stabilized zirconium substrate can be reported

Transforming Traditions of Material Culture : Spatial and temporal patterns in pottery style, production and use during the second half of the 6th millennium cal BC in south-eastern Transdanubia and beyond

International audienceOne of the most salient traits of a major milestone in European history, the shift to a Neolithic life-style in Central Europe and the associated social changes, was the emergence of pottery production. The main goal of the research project described here is the study of Neolithic pottery production from a complex perspec- tive and the addressing of the associated distinctive social activity types and potential range of meanings during the period from the late Starčevo to the appearance of the Lengyel culture (5500–4900 cal BC). The springboard for our project was the series of intensely investigated sites in southern Transdanubia, a region that acted as a contact zone between the Neolithic communities of Central Europe and the northern Balkans, and thus played a key role in the neolithisation of Central Europe. The research findings from this region are complemented and compared with the data from various sites along the Danube. Aside from our academic colleagues, our research results can be of interest to the broader public too, and our reconstruc- tions of various artefacts and the documentation of our archaeological experiments can be later used as illustrations to museum exhibits. The expected results can be fitted into the broad picture outlined by other research conducted on these sites and offer an exceptionally detailed picture of how the region’s settlements developed during the second half of the 6th millennium BC