Rising Powers and Foreign Policy Revisionism: Understanding BRICS Identity and Behavior through Time

In Rising Powers and Foreign Policy Revisionism, Cameron Thies and Mark Nieman examine the identity and behavior of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) over time in light of academic and policymaker concerns that rising powers may become more aggressive and conflict-prone. The authors develop a theoretical framework that encapsulates pressures for revisionism through the mechanism of competition and pressures for accommodation and assimilation through the mechanism of socialization. The identity and behavior of the BRICS should be a product of the push and pull of these two forces as mediated by their domestic foreign policy processes.State identity is investigated qualitatively through the use of role theory and the identification of national role conceptions. Both economic and militarized conflict behavior are examined using Bayesian change-point modeling, which identifies structural breaks in time series data, revealing potential wholesale revision of foreign policy. Using this innovative approach to show that the behavior of rising powers is governed not simply by the structural dynamics of power but also by the roles that these rising powers define for themselves, they assert that this process will likely lead to a much more evolutionary approach to foreign policy and will not necessarily generate international conflict.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/pols_books/1000/thumbnail.jp

The Biology and Ecology of the Bromegrass Seed Midge in Nebraska

These studies indicate that smooth bromegrass, Bromus inermis Leyss, is the only host of the bromegrass seed midge, Stenodiplosis bromicola Marikovskiy and Agafonova, in Nebraska. The midge did not infest two common annual brome species under field conditions. The midge has been collected from all counties surveyed in Nebraska and seems to be widely distributed throughout the midwestern states. An apparently undescribed species of Tetrastichus (Hymenoptera: Eulophiclae) was observed to parasitize all stages of the bromegrass seed midge. Parasitism rates greater than 90% were observed. The parasite larvae do not kill the midge until damage to the bromegrass floret has occurred. However, a high parasite population may help to reduce the population of the bromegrass seed midge in succeeding generations

Annual ryegrass toxicity research summary of experiment results.

Experiments were set up to screen a range of herbicides which might give improved control of Anguina agrostis over the currently recommended paraquat. Two experiments examined Roundup, Fusilade and Sertin at two rates and two experiments screened eight herbicides at five rates from two x label recommendation to 0. 99 x Standard treatment was paraquat at 550 ml. Plots were 3 m x 30 m in the first two experiments and 3 x 5 m (per dilution) in the second. The herbicides were applied on 4/9, 17/9, 24/9, 1/10 and 9/10 (Zadoks stages 32 - 58). There were three replications with 54 nil control plots. Efficacy was measured as galls/m 2 recovered at maturity. Table 1 and Table 2 show the results from two sites, Dumbleyung and Corrigin respectively. No analysis has yet been undertaken and variability is extreme. Unless some form of covariance analysis using nil plots can be undertaken, no useful information can be obtained. Table 3 shows results from a single replication of a trial comparing nine herbicides applied by log dilution sprayer. Only two rates have been processed so far: the highest and lowest

Wanted dead or alive? The tradeoff between in-vivo versus ex-vivo MR brain imaging in the mouse

High-resolution MRI of the mouse brain is gaining prominence in estimating changes in neuroanatomy over time to understand both normal developmental as well as disease processes and mechanisms. These types of experiments, where a change in time is to be captured as accurately as possible using imaging, face multiple experimental design choices. Chief amongst these choices is whether to image ex-vivo, where superior resolution and contrast are available, or in-vivo, where resolution and contrast are lower but the animal can be followed longitudinally. Here we explore this tradeoff by first estimating the sources of variability in anatomical mouse MRI and then, using statistical simulations, provide power analyses of these experiment design choices

Vanadium (β-(Dimethylamino)ethyl)cyclopentadienyl Complexes with Diphenylacetylene Ligands

Reduction of the V(III) (β-(dimethylamino)ethyl)cyclopentadienyl dichloride complex [η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]VCl2(PMe3) with 1 equiv of Na/Hg yielded the V(II) dimer {[η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]V(µ-Cl)}2 (2). This compound reacted with diphenylacetylene in THF to give the V(II) alkyne adduct [η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]VCl(η2-PhC≡CPh). Further reduction of 2 with Mg in the presence of diphenylacetylene resulted in oxidative coupling of two diphenylacetylene groups to yield the diamagnetic, formally V(V), bent metallacyclopentatriene complex [η5:η1-C5H4(CH2)2NMe2]V(C4Ph4).

Study protocol to investigate the effect of a lifestyle intervention on body weight, psychological health status and risk factors associated with disease recurrence in women recovering from breast cancer treatment

Background Breast cancer survivors often encounter physiological and psychological problems related to their diagnosis and treatment that can influence long-term prognosis. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of a lifestyle intervention on body weight and psychological well-being in women recovering from breast cancer treatment, and to determine the relationship between changes in these variables and biomarkers associated with disease recurrence and survival. Methods/design Following ethical approval, a total of 100 patients will be randomly assigned to a lifestyle intervention (incorporating dietary energy restriction in conjunction with aerobic exercise training) or normal care control group. Patients randomised to the dietary and exercise intervention will be given individualised healthy eating dietary advice and written information and attend moderate intensity aerobic exercise sessions on three to five days per week for a period of 24 weeks. The aim of this strategy is to induce a steady weight loss of up to 0.5 Kg each week. In addition, the overall quality of the diet will be examined with a view to (i) reducing the dietary intake of fat to ~25% of the total calories, (ii) eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, (iii) increasing the intake of fibre and reducing refined carbohydrates, and (iv) taking moderate amounts of alcohol. Outcome measures will include body weight and body composition, psychological health status (stress and depression), cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life. In addition, biomarkers associated with disease recurrence, including stress hormones, estrogen status, inflammatory markers and indices of innate and adaptive immune function will be monitored. Discussion This research will provide valuable information on the effectiveness of a practical, easily implemented lifestyle intervention for evoking positive effects on body weight and psychological well-being, two important factors that can influence long-term prognosis in breast cancer survivors. However, the added value of the study is that it will also evaluate the effects of the lifestyle intervention on a range of biomarkers associated with disease recurrence and survival. Considered together, the results should improve our understanding of the potential role that lifestyle-modifiable factors could play in saving or prolonging lives