1,117 research outputs found
Geostrategy from the far right: how Eurosceptic and far-right parties are positioning themselves in foreign and security policy
Far-right parties are gaining support across Europe. Their level of participation in national governments is increasing, and they are expected to make further gains in the European Parliament elections in June 2024. As their influence over European Union (EU) policy rises, it is imperative to assess how they are positioning themselves on crucial dimensions of EU foreign and security policy. A closer look shows that geostrategic issues remain a cleavage point that is contributing to the fragmentation of the far-right spectrum. Their positions fluctuate between a transatlantic orientation and clear support for Ukraine among the national-conservative European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to fundamental opposition with an anti-Western stance among parts of the right-wing populist to extremist parties in the Identity and Democracy (ID) Group. Due to the intergovernmental nature of EU foreign and security policy, the biggest challenges will come with national elections and coalition-making. (author's abstract
Farming: From The Ground Up
With half of all current farmers expected to retire within 10 years and entry-level farmers decreasing 30% since 1987, it appears we need to encourage new, entry-level farmers. This case study tracks how a young farmer started his business and the decisions and issues he dealt with along the way. Decisions discussed include whether to rent or lease land, and possible crop-share arrangements, offering custom operations as a way generate revenue and obtain equipment, crop selection and using labor contractors versus in-house labor
Interferons and their potential in the treatment of ocular inflammation
Since their discovery in the 1950s interferons have been the scope of investigation in many diseases as therapeutic as well as pathogenetic factors. We know they have immune stimulatory and immune regulatory effects. This apparently counter-intuitive mechanism can be summarized as immunomodulatory action and seems to be very effective in a number of ocular inflammatory diseases. We review the current knowledge of interferons in immunity and autoimmunity and show their use in clinical ophthalmologic practice
Discerning the spatio-temporal disease patterns of surgically induced OA mouse models
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of disability in ageing societies, with no effective therapies available to date. Two preclinical models are widely used to validate novel OA interventions (MCL-MM and DMM). Our aim is to discern disease dynamics in these models to provide a clear timeline in which various pathological changes occur. OA was surgically induced in mice by destabilisation of the medial meniscus. Analysis of OA progression revealed that the intensity and duration of chondrocyte loss and cartilage lesion formation were significantly different in MCL-MM vs DMM. Firstly, apoptosis was seen prior to week two and was narrowly restricted to the weight bearing area. Four weeks post injury the magnitude of apoptosis led to a 40–60% reduction of chondrocytes in the non-calcified zone.
Secondly, the progression of cell loss preceded the structural changes of the cartilage spatio-temporally. Lastly, while proteoglycan loss was similar in both models, collagen type II
degradation only occurred more prominently in MCL-MM. Dynamics of chondrocyte loss
and lesion formation in preclinical models has important implications for validating new therapeutic strategies. Our work could be helpful in assessing the feasibility and expected
response of the DMM- and the MCL-MM models to chondrocyte mediated therapies
Business Process Governance: Theorizing and Empirical Application
Studies by Gartner (2010) or McKinsey (2008) suggest univocally that improving business processes is the undisputednumber one priority for organizations world-wide. Hence, organizations need adequate capabilities for Business ProcessManagement (BPM). However, these capabilities do not necessarily need to be developed in the organization itself – aninclusion using other sourcing structures (e.g. cooperation/network or market instead of hierarchy) is possible as well. Thispaper builds upon an understanding of BPM as a dynamic capability and a well-known distinction of governance strategies(market, cooperation, hierarchy) to develop a business process governance framework. Using an extensive case study weinitially test this framework in a European PRODUCTION company. Therefore, we make the following contributions: 1)development of a BPM theory that integrates dynamic capability and governance theory, 2) a model for understandingsourcing strategies in BPM, and 3) empirically sound factors explaining sourcing strategies in BPM. Our results suggest thatorganizations facing a low dynamic market environment do not employ dedicated resources for business process change butrely on ad-hoc measures. Moreover, they gather these resources mostly internally (hierarchical governance). The paper endswith implications for both research and practice, limitations, and potential avenues for future research
Taming national interests within the CFSP: Europe's cyber foreign and security policy as a test run
The political debate over implementing qualified majority voting (QMV) into the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is of high political relevance, especially given the shifting geopolitical landscape in Europe, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine and uncertainties regarding the US's engagement post-2024 elections. Germany, along with a group of other EU member states, is leading efforts to integrate a "sovereignty safety net" within the CFSP framework. This initiative is designed to ease the concerns of reluctant member states, by providing enhanced veto options for matters affecting national interests. Moreover, mechanisms like constructive abstention and the "passerelle clause" could be further exploited to facilitate common CFSP actions without requiring treaty reforms. Nonetheless, it is crucial that all measures designed to build political consensus for expanding the use of QMV within the CFSP, strike the right balance between national interests and European solidarity. This balance is essential for strengthening the EU's resilience and operational capability. Cyber foreign and security policy, with its transnational nature and need for swift and unified responses, presents a favorable testing ground for this approach. (author's abstract
The CGM and IGM at z5: metal budget and physical connection
We present further results of a survey for absorption line systems in the
spectra of four high redshift quasars (5.79 z 6.13)
obtained with the ESO Very Large Telescope X-Shooter. We identify 36
and 7 systems with a 5
significance. The highest redshift and absorbers
identified in this work are at z = 5.80738 0.00017 and z = 5.77495
0.00038, respectively. We compute the comoving mass density of
() and find that it evolves from
= 4.3 10 at = 5.05
to = 1.4 10 at =
5.66. We also measure = 1.6
10 at = 4.77 and =
3.4 10 at = 5.66. We classify our
absorber population by the presence of associated
and/or systems and compute their velocity width
(v). We find that all systems with
v > 200 kms have associated
systems. We investigate two such systems, separated by 550 physical kpc along a
line of sight, and find it likely that they are both tracing a multi-phase
medium where hot and cold gas is mixing at the interface between the CGM and
IGM. We further discuss the \textrm{MgII} systems presented in a previous work
and we identify 5 , 10 , 12 , 1
, 7 and 1 associated transitions.
We compute the respective comoving mass densities in the redshift range 2 to 6,
as allowed by the wavelength coverage.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS 22 pages, 19 figures, 6 table
Testing metallicity indicators at z~1.4 with the gravitationally lensed galaxy CASSOWARY 20
We present X-shooter observations of CASSOWARY 20 (CSWA 20), a star-forming
(SFR ~6 Msol/yr) galaxy at z=1.433, magnified by a factor of 11.5 by the
gravitational lensing produced by a massive foreground galaxy at z=0.741. We
analysed the integrated physical properties of the HII regions of CSWA 20 using
temperature- and density-sensitive emission lines. We find the abundance of
oxygen to be ~1/7 of solar, while carbon is ~50 times less abundant than in the
Sun. The unusually low C/O ratio may be an indication of a particularly rapid
timescale of chemical enrichment. The wide wavelength coverage of X-shooter
gives us access to five different methods for determining the metallicity of
CSWA 20, three based on emission lines from HII regions and two on absorption
features formed in the atmospheres of massive stars. All five estimates are in
agreement, within the factor of ~2 uncertainty of each method. The interstellar
medium of CSWA 20 only partially covers the star-forming region as viewed from
our direction; in particular, absorption lines from neutrals and first ions are
exceptionally weak. We find evidence for large-scale outflows of the
interstellar medium (ISM) with speeds of up 750 km/s, similar to the values
measured in other high-z galaxies sustaining much higher rates of star
formation.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Model for Polymer Electrolytes
Polymer electrolytes (PEs) are promising candidates for use in
next-generation high-voltage batteries, as they possess advantageous elastic
and electrochemical properties. However, PEs still suffer from low ionic
conductivity and need to be operated at higher temperatures. Furthermore, the
wide variety of different types of PEs and the complexity of the internal
interactions constitute challenging tasks for progressing towards a systematic
understanding of PEs. Here, we present a continuum transport theory which
enables a straight-forward and thermodynamically consistent method to couple
different aspects of PEs relevant for battery performance. Our approach
combines mechanics and electrochemistry in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, and
is based on modeling the free energy, which comprises all relevant bulk
properties. In our model, the dynamics of the polymer-based electrolyte are
formulated relative to the highly elastic structure of the polymer. For
validation, we discuss a benchmark polymer electrolyte. Based on our
theoretical description, we perform numerical simulations and compare the
results with data from the literature. In addition, we apply our theoretical
framework to a novel type of single-ion conducting PE and derive a detailed
understanding of the internal dynamics.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
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