Why the EU can nonetheless be good for Cyprus

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt dar, worin die Vorteile eines EU-Beitritts Zyperns für die Insel bestehen. Bisher hatten die Beitrittsverhandlungen zwischen der EU und Zypern auf den Konflikt in Zypern keine eindeutigen Auswirkungen. Zuletzt gab es zwar einen Anstoß zu direkten Verhandlungen, doch anfangs waren die türkischen und türkisch-zypriotischen Reaktionen auf Gespräche zur Konfliktlösung eher ablehnend. Es ist auch offen, ob es bei den aktuellen Verhandlungen zu einer Lösung kommen wird. Im Moment muss daher festgestellt werden, dass der 'katalytische Effekt', der von den Beitrittsverhandlungen erhofft wurde, nicht eingetreten ist, unter anderem auch deshalb nicht, weil die Rolle, die die EU im Zypernkonflikt spielen sollte, nicht klar definiert wurde. Trotzdem argumentiert der Autor, dass die EU durchaus eine positive Rolle spielen kann, wenn beide Konfliktparteien durch die EU miteinander verbunden sind und es darum geht, den Prozess in Richtung einer dauerhaften und friedlichen Lösung in Zypern zu lenken. Diese positive Rolle kommt durch die postmodernen Eigenschaften der EU zustande, deren institutioneller und diskursiver Rahmen es Akteuren erlaubt, ihre Identitäten und Beziehungen zueinander neu zu überdenken. Obgleich dieser Rahmen nicht automatisch bedeutet, dass eine Lösung möglich ist, veranschaulicht die Geschichte der europäischen Integration doch, dass er geeignet sein kann, um zur Lösung des Zypernkonfliktes beizutragen. (ICD

Navigating MazeMap: indoor human mobility, spatio-logical ties and future potential

Global navigation systems and location-based services have found their way into our daily lives. Recently, indoor positioning techniques have also been proposed, and there are several live or trial systems already operating. In this paper, we present insights from MazeMap, the first live indoor/outdoor positioning and navigation system deployed at a large university campus in Norway. Our main contribution is a measurement case study; we show the spatial and temporal distribution of MazeMap geo-location and wayfinding requests, construct the aggregated human mobility map of the campus and find strong logical ties between different locations. On one hand, our findings are specific to the venue; on the other hand, the nature of available data and insights coupled with our discussion on potential usage scenarios for indoor positioning and location-based services predict a successful future for these systems and applications.Comment: 6 pages, accepted at PerMoby Workshop at IEEE PerCom 201

Introducing the Mosaic of Integration Theory

This introductory chapter of the third edition of European Integration Theory (OUP 2018) addresses the rationale for a book on European integration theory and introduces the contributions to the book. It begins by addressing the question of Why Study Integration Theory; it then defines the terms ‘integration’ and ‘theory’ and introduces the ‘mosaic of European integration theory’ as the book’s central concept. The chapter also offers an overview of European integration as a process which has been studied for several decades now. To that end, the chapter recalls distinct phases of integration and the respective parts of the mosaic which have been developed to understand and explain them based on descriptive, analytical and constructive theorising. Each phase is distinguished by historical context, leading questions and relevant theoretical reference points. The book’s extensive section on Studying European Integration by taking account of ‘contexts of theoretical development’ and addressing the question of ‘competing or complementary theoretical approaches’ which also identifies the functions and areas of theory. In concluding, the chapter details the concept of the ‘Mosaic of Integration Theory’ and introduces the chapter structure of the book’s contributions

Determination of crystal orientation fabric from seismic wideangle data

It is known from ice core analyses that the crystal orientation fabric (COF) of ice sheets is anisotropic and changes over depth. A better understanding of these anisotropies as well as their remote detection is important to optimize flow models for ice. Here we show how seismic wideangle measurements can be used to determine the COF remotely. We demonstrate the principle formalism how observed seismic traveltimes can be related to COF properties by a forward model and then apply the formalism to field data. The eigenvalues that describe the ice fabric of the ice core EDML (Dronning Maud Land, Antarctca) are set into a relationship with the elasticity tensor. From the elasticity tensor the expected seismic velocities and reflection coefficients are calculated. Additionally we calculate the value eta from the Thomsen-parameters epsilon and delta. The value eta gives a measure of the anisotropy of vertical transverse isotropic (VTI)-media and is an important tool for the NMO-correction of anisotropic data. The approximation of reflection horizons as hyperbolas is not valid anymore in anisotropic media. The calculation of the moveout is therefore performed by a 4th order NMO-correction with the rms-velocity and the effective eta value as variables. This approach is applied to data from a wideangle survey shot at Halvfarryggen, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. From this data we derived rms-velocities and effective eta values. These values were than recalculated to interval velocities and interval eta values to give a hint on the measure of anisotropy of the different layers. The results give first insight into the anisotropies at Halvfarryggen

Acute kidney injury in septua- and octogenarians after cardiac surgery

Background An increasing number of septua- and octogenarians undergo cardiac surgery. Acute kidney injury (AKI) still is a frequent complication after surgery. We examined the incidence of AKI and its impact on 30-day mortality. Methods A retrospective study between 01/2006 and 08/2009 with 299 octogenarians, who were matched for gender and surgical procedure to 299 septuagenarians at a university hospital. Primary endpoint was AKI after surgery as proposed by the RIFLE definition (Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss, End-stage kidney disease). Secondary endpoint was 30-day mortality. Perioperative mortality was predicted with the logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE). Results Octogenarians significantly had a mean higher logistic EuroSCORE compared to septuagenarians (13.2% versus 8.5%; p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 ml × min-1 × 1.73 m-2. In contrast, septuagenarians showed a slightly higher median body mass index (28 kg × m-2 versus 26 kg × m-2) and were more frequently active smoker at time of surgery (6.4% versus 1.6%, p < 0.001). Acute kidney injury and failure developed in 21.7% of septuagenarians and in 21.4% of octogenarians, whereas more than 30% of patients were at risk for AKI (30% and 36.3%, respectively). Greater degrees of AKI were associated with a stepwise increase in risk for death, renal replacement therapy and prolonged stays at the intensive care unit and at the hospital in both age groups, but without differences between them. Overall 30-day mortality was 6% in septuagenarians and 7.7% in octogenarians (p = 0.52). The RIFLE classification provided accurate risk assessment for 30-day mortality and fair discriminatory power. Conclusions The RIFLE criteria allow identifying patients with AKI after cardiac surgery. The high incidence of AKI in septua- and octogenarians after cardiac surgery should prompt the use of RIFLE criteria to identify patients at risk and should stimulate institutional measures that target AKI as a quality improvement initiative for patients at advanced age

Role of the \u3ci\u3eEscherichia coli\u3c/i\u3e FadR Regulator in Stasis Survival and Growth Phase-Dependent Expression of the \u3ci\u3euspA, fad\u3c/i\u3e, and \u3ci\u3efab\u3c/i\u3e Genes

The increased expression of the uspA gene of Escherichia coli is an essential part of the cell’s response to growth arrest. We demonstrate that stationary-phase activation of the uspA promoter is in part dependent on growth phase-dependent inactivation or repression of the FadR regulator. Transcription of uspA is derepressed during exponential growth in fadR null mutants or by including the fatty acid oleate in the growth medium of FadR1 cells. The results of DNA footprinting analysis show that FadR binds downstream of the uspA promoter in the noncoding region. Thus, uspA is a member of the fadR regulon. All the fad-lacZ fusions examined (fadBA, fadL, and fadD) are increasingly expressed in stationary phase with kinetics similar to that of the increased expression of uspA. In contrast, b-galactosidase levels decrease during stationary phase in a fabA-lacZ lysogen, consistent with the role of FadR as an activator of fabA. The growth phase-dependent increased and decreased transcription of fad genes and fabA, respectively, is dependent on the status of the fadR gene. Cells carrying a mutation in the FadR gene (fadRS219N) that makes it nonderepressible exhibit a weak stationary-phase induction of uspA and fad genes. In addition, cells carrying fadRS219N survive long-term stasis poorly, indicating that FadR-dependent alterations in fatty acid metabolism are an integral and important part of the adaptation to stationary phase

Role of the \u3ci\u3eEscherichia coli\u3c/i\u3e FadR Regulator in Stasis Survival and Growth Phase-Dependent Expression of the \u3ci\u3euspA, fad\u3c/i\u3e, and \u3ci\u3efab\u3c/i\u3e Genes

The increased expression of the uspA gene of Escherichia coli is an essential part of the cell’s response to growth arrest. We demonstrate that stationary-phase activation of the uspA promoter is in part dependent on growth phase-dependent inactivation or repression of the FadR regulator. Transcription of uspA is derepressed during exponential growth in fadR null mutants or by including the fatty acid oleate in the growth medium of FadR1 cells. The results of DNA footprinting analysis show that FadR binds downstream of the uspA promoter in the noncoding region. Thus, uspA is a member of the fadR regulon. All the fad-lacZ fusions examined (fadBA, fadL, and fadD) are increasingly expressed in stationary phase with kinetics similar to that of the increased expression of uspA. In contrast, b-galactosidase levels decrease during stationary phase in a fabA-lacZ lysogen, consistent with the role of FadR as an activator of fabA. The growth phase-dependent increased and decreased transcription of fad genes and fabA, respectively, is dependent on the status of the fadR gene. Cells carrying a mutation in the FadR gene (fadRS219N) that makes it nonderepressible exhibit a weak stationary-phase induction of uspA and fad genes. In addition, cells carrying fadRS219N survive long-term stasis poorly, indicating that FadR-dependent alterations in fatty acid metabolism are an integral and important part of the adaptation to stationary phase

Positive Connectivity Predicts the Dynamic Intrinsic Topology of the Human Brain Network

Functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) has become instrumental in facilitating research of human brain network organization in terms of coincident interactions between positive and negative synchronizations of large-scale neuronal systems. Although there is a common agreement concerning the interpretation of positive couplings between brain areas, a major debate has been made in disentangling the nature of negative connectivity patterns in terms of its emergence in several methodological approaches and its significance/meaning in specific neuropsychiatric diseases. It is still not clear what information the functional negative correlations or connectivity provides or how they relate to the positive connectivity. Through implementing stepwise functional connectivity (SFC) analysis and studying the causality of functional topological patterns, this study aims to shed light on the relationship between positive and negative connectivity in the human brain functional connectome. We found that the strength of negative correlations between voxel-pairs relates to their positive connectivity path-length. More importantly, our study describes how the spatio-temporal patterns of positive connectivity explain the evolving changes of negative connectivity over time, but not the other way around. This finding suggests that positive and negative connectivity do not display equivalent forces but shows that the positive connectivity has a dominant role in the overall human brain functional connectome. This phenomenon provides novel insights about the nature of positive and negative correlations in fcMRI and will potentially help new developments for neuroimaging biomarkers.This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health K23EB019023 to JS, T32EB013180-06 to LO-T, Postdoctoral Fellowship Program from the Basque Country Government to ID and R01EB022574, R01MH108467 to JG, and Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (UL1TR001108) to JG