British press attitudes towards the EU's global presence:from the Russian-Georgian War to the 2009 Copenhagen Summit

This article surveys the way in which British print media have presented the European Union (EU)'s global presence in the international arena by analysing two case studies which reflect two very distinctive areas of EU foreign policy: global climate change policy and the policy towards Russia. It employs frame analysis, allowing for the identification of the way in which the discourse of the press was categorized around a series of central opinions and ideas. Frames underscore the connections made by journalists between different events, policies or phenomena and their possible interpretations. The analysis highlights that acting through the common framework of the EU rather than unilaterally was a strategy preferred by the British press. These findings are in stark contrast with the deep Euroscepticism which characterizes press attitudes towards most policy areas, and is often considered to be rooted in the British political culture, media system, public opinion or the longstanding tradition of viewing the European continent as the other

Imaging XPS and photoemission electron microscopy; surface chemical mapping and blood cell visualization

Combined photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) and imaging x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), i.e., electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis in the nanoregion, has been used for surface characterization of bio-relevant and biological samples. In the first example, the authors prepared a gold patterned silicon substrate, stepwise surface modified by self-assembled monolayers followed by quantum dot (QDot) specific linking and investigated by means of work function mapping and elemental imaging in the submicrometer range. Spatially resolved core level images of C1s, V2p, and Y3d are obtained, which verify the selective thiol adsorption on the gold squares and specific binding of europium doped yttrium vanadate QDots on the self-assembled monolayer. The second example is platelet adhesion to Immunoglobulin G modified silicon surfaces, investigated by means of laterally resolved PEEM. Images of platelets clearly show activated cells with a morphology change including an enlarged surface area and elongated pseudopodia, with a lateral resolution of 140 nm. In the last example, neutrophils were allowed to attach to plain silicon surfaces and investigated by means of PEEM and imaging XPS. Here, the cells show a round shaped morphology, as expected. Threshold imaging with work function contrast is used to localize the area of interest, followed by elemental specific mapping on cells in the submicrometer region. Chemical shifts of C1s in photoemission are used to distinguish vital parts of the cell structure. The strong C1s (C-C) signal is achieved from the region of the cell membrane, i.e., high density of phospholipids, while C1s (C-N) and C1s (C-O) signals are obtained from the core of the cell, in good agreement with the presence of cytoplasm and deoxyribonucleic acid containing cell nucleus. The combination of PEEM and imaging XPS is shown here as a tool to deliver new insight into biological samples, i.e., a rapid sample overview is obtained based on low energy secondary electrons with work function contrast, followed by detailed studies in the narrow mode for elemental compositions based on photoemission. This study illustrates the strength of combined PEEM and XPS in the imaging mode on cell studies. (C) 2017 American Vacuum Society.</p

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles with Entrapped Gadolinium for High <i>T</i>₁ Relaxivity and ROS-Scavenging Purposes

Gadolinium chelates are employed worldwide today as clinical contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Until now, the commonly used linear contrast agents based on the rare-earth element gadolinium have been considered safe and well-tolerated. Recently, concerns regarding this type of contrast agent have been reported, which is why there is an urgent need to develop the next generation of stable contrast agents with enhanced spin–lattice relaxation, as measured by improved T1 relaxivity at lower doses. Here, we show that by the integration of gadolinium ions in cerium oxide nanoparticles, a stable crystalline 5 nm sized nanoparticulate system with a homogeneous gadolinium ion distribution is obtained. These cerium oxide nanoparticles with entrapped gadolinium deliver strong T1 relaxivity per gadolinium ion (T1 relaxivity, r1 = 12.0 mM–1 s–1) with the potential to act as scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The presence of Ce3+ sites and oxygen vacancies at the surface plays a critical role in providing the antioxidant properties. The characterization of radial distribution of Ce3+ and Ce4+ oxidation states indicated a higher concentration of Ce3+ at the nanoparticle surfaces. Additionally, we investigated the ROS-scavenging capabilities of pure gadolinium-containing cerium oxide nanoparticles by bioluminescent imaging in vivo, where inhibitory effects on ROS activity are shown

Model-guided suggestions for targeted surveillance based on cattle shipments in the U.S.

Risk-based sampling is an essential component of livestock health surveillance because it targets resources towards sub-populations with a higher risk of infection. Risk-based surveillance in U.S. livestock is limited because the locations of high-risk herds are often unknown and data to identify high-risk herds based on shipments are often unavailable. In this study, we use a novel, data-driven network model for the shipments of cattle in the U.S. (the U.S. Animal Movement Model, USAMM) to provide surveillance suggestions for cattle imported into the U.S. from Mexico. We describe the volume and locations where cattle are imported and analyze their predicted shipment patterns to identify counties that are most likely to receive shipments of imported cattle. Our results suggest that most imported cattle are sent to relatively few counties. Surveillance at 10 counties is predicted to sample 22–34% of imported cattle while surveillance at 50 counties is predicted to sample 43%–61% of imported cattle. These findings are based on the assumption that USAMM accurately describes the shipments of imported cattle because their shipments are not tracked separately from the remainder of the U.S. herd. However, we analyze two additional datasets – Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and brand inspection data – to ensure that the characteristics of potential post-import shipments do not change on an annual scale and are not dependent on the dataset informing our analyses. Overall, these results highlight the utility of USAMM to inform targeted surveillance strategies when complete shipment information is unavailable

EU Foreign and Security Policy in a Mediatized Age

This chapter provides a critical discussion of the mediatization of policy in general, and of EU foreign and security policy in particular. A common argument in public debate and research is that the media logic is increasingly affecting how policy is formulated. Brommesson and Ekengren are critical of this (as they see it) oversimplified perspective, and they analyse EU foreign and security policy from the opposite point of view in this chapter. Foreign policy is usually described as a conservative policy area, in as much as it is informed by a long-term perspective, and foreign policy is not the subject of public debate to the same extent as other policy areas. Based on this reverse perspective, the authors ask whether policy actors are actually taking advantage of the opportunities provided by mediatization to strengthen long-term policy objectives. The chapter sheds light on the relationship between policy and mediatization through a comparative analysis of two important strategy documents of EU foreign and security policy: the European security strategy of 2003 and the EU global strategy of 2016. The authors discuss the overarching question of whether the formulation of EU foreign and security policy is dominated by media logic, in other words, whether this policy has been mediatized