East Central Europe: The Fading Mirage of the ‘Liberal Consensus’

In 2007 Ivan Krastev argued that EU-enforced ‘liberal consensus’ in East Central Europe (ECE) was giving way to illiberal, but ultimately benign, populism. Post-accession ‘backsliding’ in Hungary suggests a stronger illiberal challenge. However, we argue, democratic malaise in ECE is better understood as a long-term pattern of ‘illiberal consolidation’ built on an accommodation between technocratic, economistic liberalism and forces of rent-seeking and cultural conservatism. This configuration generates a mirage of liberal-democratic progress and mainstream moderate politics, which obscures engrained elite collusion and limits to cultural change. Bulgarian-style hollowness, rather than Hungarian-style semi-authoritarianism, better exemplifies the potential fate of ECE democracies today

Effect of QW growth temperature on the optical properties of blue and green InGaN/GaN QW structures

In this paper we report on the impact that the quantum well growth temperature has on the internal quantum efficiency and carrier recombination dynamics of two sets of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well samples, designed to emit at 460 and 530 nm, in which the indium content of the quantum wells within each sample set was maintained. Measurements of the internal quantum efficiency of each sample set showed a systematic variation, with quantum wells grown at a higher temperature exhibiting higher internal quantum efficiency and this variation was preserved at all excitation power densities. By investigating the carrier dynamics at both 10 K and 300 K we were able to attribute this change in internal quantum efficiency to a decrease in the non-radiative recombination rate as the QW growth temperature was increased which we attribute to a decrease in incorporation of the point defects.This work was carried out with the financial support of the United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under Grant Nos. EP/I012591/1 and EP/H011676/1.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via https://doi.org/10.1002/pssc.20151018

Modal Analysis of Fluid Flows: An Overview

Simple aerodynamic configurations under even modest conditions can exhibit complex flows with a wide range of temporal and spatial features. It has become common practice in the analysis of these flows to look for and extract physically important features, or modes, as a first step in the analysis. This step typically starts with a modal decomposition of an experimental or numerical dataset of the flow field, or of an operator relevant to the system. We describe herein some of the dominant techniques for accomplishing these modal decompositions and analyses that have seen a surge of activity in recent decades. For a non-expert, keeping track of recent developments can be daunting, and the intent of this document is to provide an introduction to modal analysis in a presentation that is accessible to the larger fluid dynamics community. In particular, we present a brief overview of several of the well-established techniques and clearly lay the framework of these methods using familiar linear algebra. The modal analysis techniques covered in this paper include the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), balanced proper orthogonal decomposition (Balanced POD), dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), Koopman analysis, global linear stability analysis, and resolvent analysis

Control of breathing and respiratory gas exchange in high-altitude ducks native to the Andes

We examined the control of breathing and respiratory gas exchange in six species of high-altitude duck that independently colonized the high Andes. We compared ducks from high-altitude populations in Peru (Lake Titicaca at ∼3800 m above sea level; Chancay River at ∼3000–4100 m) with closely related populations or species from low altitude. Hypoxic ventilatory responses were measured shortly after capture at the native altitude. In general, ducks responded to acute hypoxia with robust increases in total ventilation and pulmonary O2 extraction. O2 consumption rates were maintained or increased slightly in acute hypoxia, despite ∼1–2°C reductions in body temperature in most species. Two high-altitude taxa – yellow-billed pintail and torrent duck – exhibited higher total ventilation than their low-altitude counterparts, and yellow-billed pintail exhibited greater increases in pulmonary O2 extraction in severe hypoxia. In contrast, three other high-altitude taxa – Andean ruddy duck, Andean cinnamon teal and speckled teal – had similar or slightly reduced total ventilation and pulmonary O2 extraction compared with low-altitude relatives. Arterial O2 saturation (SaO2) was elevated in yellow-billed pintails at moderate levels of hypoxia, but there were no differences in SaO2 in other high-altitude taxa compared with their close relatives. This finding suggests that improvements in SaO2 in hypoxia can require increases in both breathing and haemoglobin–O2 affinity, because the yellow-billed pintail was the only high-altitude duck with concurrent increases in both traits compared with its low-altitude relative. Overall, our results suggest that distinct physiological strategies for coping with hypoxia can exist across different high-altitude lineages, even among those inhabiting very similar high-altitude habitats

Manufacturing with light - micro-assembly of opto-electronic microstructures

Optical micromanipulation allows the movement and patterning of discrete micro-particles within a liquid environment. However, for manufacturing applications it is desirable to remove the liquid, leaving the patterned particles in place. In this work, we have demonstrated the use of optoelectronic tweezers (OET) to manipulate and accurately assemble Sn62Pb36Ag2 solder microspheres into tailored patterns. A technique based on freeze-drying technology was then developed that allows the assembled patterns to be well preserved and fixed in place after the liquid medium in the OET device is removed. After removing the liquid from the OET device and subsequently heating the assembled pattern and melting the solder microspheres, electrical connections between the microspheres were formed, creating a permanent conductive bridge between two isolated metal electrodes. Although this method is demonstrated with 40 µm diameter solder beads arranged with OET, it could be applied to a great range of discrete components from nanowires to optoelectronic devices, thus overcoming one of the basic hurdles in using optical micromanipulation techniques in a manufacturing micro-assembly setting

On theories of enhanced CP violation in B_s,d meson mixing

The DO collaboration has measured a deviation from the standard model (SM) prediction in the like sign dimuon asymmetry in semileptonic b decay with a significance of 3.2 sigma. We discuss how minimal flavour violating (MFV) models with multiple scalar representations can lead to this deviation through tree level exchanges of new MFV scalars. We review how the two scalar doublet model can accommodate this result and discuss some of its phenomenology. Limits on electric dipole moments suggest that in this model the coupling of the charged scalar to the right handed u-type quarks is suppressed while its coupling to the d-type right handed quarks must be enhanced. We construct an extension of the MFV two scalar doublet model where this occurs naturally.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, v3 final JHEP versio