Analytical Application of Complex

Ltd, (Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) was installed to provide a fully automated process for the estimation of serum thyroxine (T4) and T3 -uptake by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The T3-uptake test is a technique used for assessing unsaturated thyroxine-binding globulin capacity in serum by measuring the uptake of radioactive tri-iodothyronine (T3). in the solid-phase reagent between the radio-labelled antigen and the antigen in the sample. The amount of radio-labelled antigen bound to the solid-phase reagent is inversely proportional to the amount of antigen in the sample. As the solid-phase reagent contains ferric oxide particles, the solidphase bound antigen is retained by activated magnets and the unbound antigen removed to waste. When the magnetic field is removed, the bound radio-labelled antigen is released for measurement in a gamma counter. As the analyser is online to a laboratory computer, the results of both T4 and Ta-uptake tests on each serum sample are fed directly to the computer which then calculates the free thyroxine index (FTI) and prints the final report. The reagents for these analyses were originally purchased from Technia, however the company has ceased to operate and all kits are now supplied by Technicon. All results referred to in this paper were obtained using the latter kits. 20

Interventionism as Practice: On ‘ordinary transgressions’ and their routinization

In this article, the aim is to bridge the gap in the international relations (IR) literature on contemporary interventionism between a strand of research mainly focusing on the concepts of intervention, sovereignty and their meanings, and a strand more interested in the particular practices bound up with the phenomenon described as ‘intervention’. This is done by exploring how the literature on the so-called ‘practice-turn’ might allow light to be shed on both dimensions. Such an approach might prove fruitful provided attention is paid both to the material and discursive practices of interventionism; both to the transgressive practices constitutive of interventionism and their routinization. Finally, this piece also introduces each of this special section’s contributions by showing how they illustrate and expand on the different problématiques here outlined.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Responses to the ‘Arabellions’: The EU in Comparative Perspective — Introduction

This article introduces the themes of this special issue which is devoted to the reactions by external actors including the EU to the events unfolding in the Arab world beginning in December 2010. In particular, we look at the balancing act by external actors between their desire for stability, on the one hand, and their normative principles toward human rights and democracy, on the other. We compare the action (and inaction) of the European Union (EU) with other international and regional players, including the United States, Russia, Turkey and Israel. The contributions assess the response of these actors to the Arabellions events and analyse changes in their approaches to the Arab region. We ask three questions: (1) How have external actors assessed the 'Arabellions' and what role did they see for themselves in this context? (2) Which goals and instruments did external actors pursue toward the MENA region? In particular, how did they deal with conflicting goals, such as support for human rights and democracy, on the one hand, and concerns about security and stability, on the other? (3) How can we explain the varying responses of external actors to the Arabellions

EU Delivery and Practice: Democracy Assistance, Aid and Trade Before and After the Uprisings

This chapter provides a bridge between the critical policy analysis offered in the first half of the book and the analysis of public opinion survey data in the second half. Comparing before and after the Uprisings, it does three things. First, it examines the changing political context within which the EU is delivering the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in the Southern Mediterranean (SM). Secondly, it considers how the mechanisms and tools of delivery changed in practice after the Uprisings, specifically considering the EU\u2019s claims to innovative changes. Thirdly, it examines the EU\u2019s practices in delivering democracy and \u2018money, markets and mobility\u2019. It concludes by arguing that there is little evidence of innovative changes of the EU practices in delivering the ENP in the SM after the Uprisings, that it has continued to support authoritarian regimes and that there is little evidence that the people of Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs) are benefitting from the ENP