Russia, Ukraine and state survival through neutrality

During the Cold War neutrality and a ‘non-bloc’ status were used by certain European states to escape great power rivalries. But these foreign and security policy strategies declined in significance and have received little scholarly attention since the early 1990s. This article argues that in a period of renewed confrontation between Russia and western powers, significant insights may be derived from a critical review of the past experiences of neutral and non-bloc states. These help scholars and practitioners assess the contemporary options of states in vulnerable locations which choose or are compelled to survive outside alliances. This article probes the critical case of Ukraine as a sovereign but potentially neutral state. Relevant criteria for neutrality are drawn from short interpretive case-studies of Austria and Finland during the Cold War, as well as Moldova and Finland in post-Cold War years. Soviet and Russian policy prioritized the strategic denial of these states to NATO, while forms of armed neutrality helped sustain conventional deterrence against Russian coercion. If Moscow reigns in its ambitions for the political subjugation of Ukraine and accepts its statehood, such thinking may form part of an eventual security policy settlement beyond the current war

Russia's case for war against Ukraine: legal claims, political rhetoric and instrumentality in a fracturing international order

In seeking to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has presented a wide variety of legal, quasi-legal, and normative claims, alongside political rhetoric and transparent revanchism. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of Russian speeches and texts concerning the war, this article deconstructs Russia’s legal and political arguments and analyzes their rhetorical character as well as their intended audiences. It also assesses the instrumentality of Putin’s irredentist claims on “historic Russian regions” in Ukraine. The article concludes that this abuse of legal and normative discourse to justify not only a full-scale invasion but also territorial annexation is a central threat to core global rules and norms

Annual Winter Water-Level Drawdowns Influence Physical Habitat Structure and Macrophytes in Massachusetts, USA, Lakes

Annual wintertime water-level drawdowns are a common management strategy in recreational lakes; however, few studies have estimated their relative impact on lake littoral habitat among a set of typically co-occurring anthropogenic stressors including lakeshore development and herbicide application. Within 21 Massachusetts, USA lakes that represented a drawdown magnitude gradient (0.07-2.26 m), we assessed depth-specific littoral habitat (coarse wood, sediment, macrophytes) at two sites adjacent to forested or developed shorelines. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found coarse wood abundance and branching complexity was not correlated with drawdown magnitude but was primarily explained by the presence of lakeshore development. Drawdown magnitude was negatively correlated with silt cover and positively correlated with coarse substrate cover, with effects further varying by depth (0.5 m vs. 1 m). Macrophyte biomass and biovolume were negatively correlated with drawdown magnitude with effects also varying by depth for biomass. Macrophyte taxa with annual longevity strategies (e.g., Najas flexilis) and amphibious growth forms increased in biomass proportions with drawdown magnitude. Distance-based redundancy analyses suggested macrophyte taxa composition was driven by drawdown magnitude, coarse substrate, alkalinity, water transparency, and herbicide use. These results suggest the importance of water quality and depth on macrophyte assemblage responses to winter drawdowns and the potential to develop drawdown-tolerant macrophyte assemblages. Altogether, understanding the unique impacts of anthropogenic stressors on littoral zone habitat across heterogeneous environmental lake conditions can help minimize impacts to lake ecological integrity while maintaining recreational value

Addressing Food Production Planning and Control Issues through Information Visualisation: An Agile Development

Food manufacturers have a compelling requirement to address their information management needs in relation to the management of variation in their supply chain and subsequent production processes. However, many organisational information systems are not explicitly designed to address variation and uncertainty. The action research project outlined in this paper addresses a gap in the information management literature by showing how visualisation of information aided the efficacy of perishable goods production in a small food manufacturer. A user-centred, agile approach enabled the design and implementation of an integrated, dynamic visual production management system. Underpinned by a new manufacturing strategy, this system provided an information bridge between members of the organisation and in so doing facilitated improved communication and decision making across the company. The outcome of this action research project significantly enhanced the business performance. It is argued that the increased awareness of the actions and needs of others in the factory supported the enhanced efficacy in the production

Case Report: An Undiagnosed Bladder Diverticulum Resulting in Foley Catheter Perforation During Cesarean Section

A bladder diverticulum is diagnosed when herniated bladder mucosa forms an outpouching from the bladder. Bladder diverticula are uncommon and are significantly more common in males. The following case presents a patient with an undiagnosed bladder diverticulum which was incidentally perforated during foley catheter placement for a repeat cesarean section. The diagnosis can be difficult in those who are asymptomatic and lack risk factors, such as the following patient

Sequence of post-moult exoskeleton hardening preserved in a trilobite mass moult assemblage from the Lower Ordovician Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte, Morocco

Euarthropods have a tough exoskeleton that provides crucial protection from predation and parasitism. However, this is restrictive to growth and must be periodically moulted. The moulting sequence is well-known from extant arthropods, consisting of: (i) the long inter-moult stage, in which no changes occur to the hardened exoskeleton; (ii) the pre-moult stage where the old exoskeleton is detached and the new one secreted; (iii) exuviation, when the old exoskeleton is moulted; and (iv) the post-moult stage during which the new exoskeleton starts as soft, thin, and partially compressed and gradually hardens to the robust exoskeleton of the inter-moult stage. Trilobite fossils typically consist of inter-moult carcasses or moulted exuviae, but specimens preserving the post-moult stage are rare. Here we describe nine specimens assigned to Symphysurus ebbestadi representing the first group of contemporaneous fossils collected that preserve all key stages of the moulting process in one taxon, including the post-moult stage. They were collected from a single lens in the Tremadocian part of the Fezouata Shale Formation, Morocco. Based on cephalic displacement and comparison to other trilobite moults, one specimen appears to represent a moulted exoskeleton. Four specimens are typical inter-moult carcasses. Four others are wrinkled and flattened, with thin exoskeletons compared to inter-moult specimens, and are considered post-moult individuals. These S. ebbestadi specimens illuminate the preservation and morphology of the post-moulting stage, characterised by strong anterior-posterior exoskeleton wrinkling, as well as overall body flattening and reduced visibility of thoracic articulations. Being found in the same lens, these specimens likely represent the first preserved in-the-act mass moulting event. The displayed sequence of moulting suggests the moulting process in trilobites was comparable to modern arthropods, and conserved within euarthropod evolutionary history

The impact of technological change in electronic repairables on the acquisition process at Navy Ships Control Center Mechanicsburg.

This thesis provides details concerning the current Navy Ships Parts Control Center Mechanicsburg (SPCC) and Naval Electronic Systems Command (NAVELEX) interface related to reprocurement of 4G cognizance (COG) electronic repairable items. The process involved and the problems which arise in this interface are examined beginning with the triggering process based on the continued monitoring of stock levels at SPCC that initiates the acquisition process, through SPCC's contracting procedures, to the technical procurement data inputs provided by NAVELEX, Technical data transfer, technological change, and military specifications appear to be the major causes of problems in the SPCC/NAVELEX interface. Several alternatives, such as a Technical Support Agreement, are offered as possible solutions to the problems discussed.http://archive.org/details/impactoftechnolo00hallLieutenant, Supply Corps, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Homeowners’ Willingness to Adopt Environmentally Beneficial Landscape Practices in an Urbanizing Watershed

Streams in urbanizing watersheds often experience low flows in summer due to increased water use for residential landscaping and decreased base flow as impervious land cover limits aquifer recharge. Environmentally beneficial landscape practices that save water and infiltrate runoff have the potential to provide multiple ecological benefits including reducing stress on urban streams, but can face opposition by local homeowners. Thus, this study explored attitudes toward landscape water conservation including the barriers and motivations that exist to adoption of water conserving landscape practices by residents in the Ipswich River watershed north of Boston, Massachusetts (USA) that experiences seasonal water shortages. The study used a mail-out and on-line survey with images of different water conserving landscape practices (including rain gardens and native plantings) and questions about homeowners’ watering practices, likelihood of adopting these landscape practices, and attitudes towards environmental issues in the region, including existing water policies to restrict use. The results showed that residents (n=265) were aware of existing water shortages and supportive of water conservation policies. Their willingness to adopt water conserving landscape practices was influenced by aesthetic preference with more support for practices that appeared neat rather than those that appeared unkempt. Barriers to residential adoption of these landscape practices included concern about disease-carrying pests and the perceived cost of landscape change. Knowledge about the environment, as operationalized by membership in a local watershed association, as well as educational attainment and income were statistically significant variables in predicting aesthetic preferences and willingness to adopt landscape practices. Promoting widespread adoption of water conserving landscape practices could benefit from local community support and educational initiatives about the multiple-benefits of these practices, including potential long-term cost savings for homeowners. Residential landscape design and management, however, are only part of overarching policy changes that could address water conservation in urbanizing watersheds

ANTIBODY RESPONSES TO ANTIGENIC DETERMINANTS OF INFLUENZA VIRUS HEMAGGLUTININ : I. Thymus Dependence of Antibody Formation and Thymus Independence of Immunological Memory

Using immunodiffusion methods it has been shown that purified hemagglutinin (HA) extracted from two related strains of influenza A viruses (A/PR8/34 and A/FM1/47) have two distinct antigenic determinants, or groups of determinants. One determinant is cross-reactive while the other is strain-specific. Antisera raised in normal mice against HA were shown to contain two populations of antibody molecules, each directed against one of the determinants. Immunization of thymus-deprived (TXBM) mice showed a strong thymus dependence of antibody formation to HA. However, the thymus dependence of antibody formation against the cross-reactive determinant could be overcome by repeated inoculations of HA in TXBM mice, indicating a different handling of two portions of the same molecule by the immunological system. Strong, secondary-type responses to the strain-specific determinant were observed in primed thymus-deprived mice after reconstitution with virgin thymus cells, showing that specific immunological memory was elicited by this determinant despite the absence of detectable antibody secretion. These findings are interpreted as examples of immunological recognition and memory mediated by B lymphocytes and discussed in terms of mechanisms of T and B lymphocyte co-operation. It is suggested that the helper effect of T lymphocytes is exerted at a late stage in the differentiation of specific populations of B cells into antibody-secreting cells