Fostering institutionalisation? The impact of the EU accession process on state–civil society relations in Serbia

In the framework of its enlargement policy, the EU has placed considerable emphasis on supporting civil society organisations (CSOs) both as domestic drivers of change and as a means to foster new, more participatory modes of governance. Our research examines the impact of the EU accession process on state–civil society relations in the Western Balkans and assesses the extent to which new forms of interaction are becoming institutionalised. Comparing minority rights and environmental regulation in Serbia, we find that enlargement negotiations lead to increased dialogue and more formalised interactions between government and CSOs. However, the institutionalisation of state–CSO cooperation remains partial and is hampered by a lack of political will. Whereas civil servants are generally open to civil society input, political officials frequently resort to façade cooperation in response to external pressures. We conclude that the emerging governance model is nothing like the ‘double weakness’ or agency capture found in earlier studies, but instead consists of strong hierarchy and a narrow group of highly professional CSOs engaged at the margins

Foreign direct investment and U.S. national security: CFIUS under the Obama Administration

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review process slowed during the inaugural year of the Obama Administration. The authors examine the origins of this shift and suggest actions that parties can take to facilitate the process

Foreign direct investment and U.S. national security: CFIUS under the Obama Administration

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review process slowed during the inaugural year of the Obama Administration. The authors examine the origins of this shift and suggest actions that parties can take to facilitate the process

外国投资与美国国家安全：奥巴马政府下的CFIUS

美国对外投资部门的审批速度，在奥巴马政府就职年中放缓。作者研究了这种转变的原因并建议各方能够采取行动来加速这一进程

经修订的有关外国在美国直接投资的国家安全审查程序

2008年12月22日，规定美国政府对外国并购美国企业进行国家安全审查程序的新规则生效。这是修改和加强美国外国投资委员会（CFIUS） 审查的漫长努力的最后一步

The Revised National Security Review Process for FDI in the US

This perspective explains the new regulations governing the US government's national security review process for foreign mergers and acquisitions of US businesses which became effective December 22, 2008

Silicon and III-V compound nanotubes: structural and electronic properties

Unusual physical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes have started a search for similar tubular structures of other elements. In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis of single-wall nanotubes of silicon and group III-V compounds. Starting from precursor graphene-like structures we investigated the stability, energetics and electronic structure of zigzag and armchair tubes using first-principles pseudopotential plane wave method and finite temperature ab-initio molecular dynamics calculations. We showed that (n,0) zigzag and (n,n) armchair nanotubes of silicon having n > 6 are stable but those with n < 6 can be stabilized by internal or external adsorption of transition metal elements. Some of these tubes have magnetic ground state leading to spintronic properties. We also examined the stability of nanotubes under radial and axial deformation. Owing to the weakness of radial restoring force, stable Si nanotubes are radially soft. Undeformed zigzag nanotubes are found to be metallic for 6 < n < 11 due to curvature effect; but a gap starts to open for n > 12. Furthermore, we identified stable tubular structures formed by stacking of Si polygons. We found AlP, GaAs, and GaN (8,0) single-wall nanotubes stable and semiconducting. Our results are compared with those of single-wall carbon nanotubes.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

3D Printed Moulds Encompassing Carbon Composite Electrodes to Conduct Multi-Site Monitoring in the Entire Colon

The activity of the colon is regulated by chemical signalling, of which serotonin (5- HT) is a key transmitter. Monitoring of mucosal 5-HT overflow has been achieved to date using microelectrodes on small segment of colonic tissue, however little is known if such measurements are reflective with regards to 5-HT signalling from the entire colon. This study focused on developing an electrochemical array device that could be utilised to conduct multi-site measurements of 5-HT overflow from the entire colon. A 3D printed mould was fabricated that could house 6 multi-wall carbon nanotube composite electrodes and provide a fixed distance between the electrodes and the tissue along the entire length of the colon. The electrodes were assessed for sensitivity, stability and crosstalk before conducting in vitro measurements using colons obtained from 6 and 24 month old mice. As composite electrodes can have a high degree of variability, normalisation factors were required between electrodes for a given array. The device had the sensitivity and stability required for 5-HT measurements from intestinal tissue. Regio-specific changes in 5-HT overflow were observed with age, where increases in 5-HT overflow were observed in the distal colon due to an impairment/loss in the serotonin transporter (SERT). Our strategy can be utilised to develop arrays of varying sizes and geometries which can offerpractical solutions for large scale tissue measurements