EU - Russia relations: "try again, fail again, fail better"

This study argues that the security dimension - broadly defined to include both more traditional military security and “soft security” – of the EU-Russia relationship is becoming increasingly important. The relationship is of strategic significance for both sides, and some important progress has been made in establishing a closer bureaucratic relationship. There is, however, a tension between this progress and a series of differences on key political issues, including energy security and crisis management. Moreover, despite some improvements, there are problems in the decision-making structures on both sides that hinder the development of a positive practical relationship

EU - Russia relations: "try again, fail again, fail better"

This study argues that the security dimension - broadly defined to include both more traditional military security and “soft security” – of the EU-Russia relationship is becoming increasingly important. The relationship is of strategic significance for both sides, and some important progress has been made in establishing a closer bureaucratic relationship. There is, however, a tension between this progress and a series of differences on key political issues, including energy security and crisis management. Moreover, despite some improvements, there are problems in the decision-making structures on both sides that hinder the development of a positive practical relationship

Understanding Russia's Measures of War

In the context of NATO and its member states seeking to enhance deterrence and defence postures and looking ahead to 2030, the article argues for a shift from seeing Moscow's activities as "measures short of war," blurring the lines between war and peace, toward greater clarity on Russian military strategy and the blurring of lines between the offensive and the defensive

Effects of footwear cushioning on walking performance in females with multiple sclerosis, The

2018 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease which incurs a multitude of walking impairments. Protective strategies targeted at maintaining postural stability during walking include increasing stance and double support time with reciprocal decreases in swing and single support time, however these adaptions inadvertently increase fall risk. The midsole construct of footwear has demonstrated the ability to mediate these deficits in running but has not been explored in a neurologic population with known fall risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different midsole conditions on the spatiotemporal parameters of gait in females with multiple sclerosis (MS). Gait testing was conducted while 18 females with MS performed two-minute walk tests in 1) a high-cushion and 2) a standard-cushion midsole shoe. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were assessed using wireless inertial sensors. Participants spent less time in double support and stance phase with concomitantly more time in single support and swing phase in the high-cushion midsole shoe as compared to the standard-cushion. The high-cushion shoe may decrease fall risk by improving gait parameters associated with increased risk of falls

Comparison of C═C bond hydrogenation in C-4 unsaturated nitriles over Pt/alumina

The hydrogenation of allyl cyanide (but-1-ene-4-nitrile, AC), trans- and cis-crotononitrile (E- and Z-but-2-ene nitrile, TCN and CCN), and methacrylonitrile (2-cyano-1-propene, MCN) were studied, both singly and competitively, over a Pt/alumina catalyst in the liquid phase. Each unsaturated nitrile only underwent C═C bond hydrogenation: no evidence was found for the formation of the saturated or unsaturated amine. The nonconjugated allyl cyanide was found to be the most reactive unsaturated nitrile. Activation energies for the hydrogenation of the C═C bond in AC and MCN were determined giving values of 64 ± 7 kJ mol–1 for AC and 37 ± 4 kJ mol–1 for MCN. The reaction was zero order for both nitriles. Competitive hydrogenations revealed that not only does allyl cyanide react preferentially over the other isomers but also it inhibits the hydrogenation of the other isomers. When all four nitriles were simultaneously hydrogenated, inhibition effects were easily seen suggesting that in terms of strength of bonding to the surface an order of AC > CCN > TCN ∼ MN can be generated

Climate change, the green economy and reimagining the city: the case of structurally disadvantaged European maritime port cities

The concept of the New Environmental Politics of Urban Development (NEPUD) examines the impact of international and national environmental regulation on the politics of urban development. The NEPUD concept emerged from case studies of environmental governance in entrepreneurial cities. However, little is known about the concept’s relevance for less competitive cities, especially urban centres facing profound problems associated with economic decline, social deprivation and negative external images or ‘structurally disadvantaged cities.’ This paper examines how the NEPUD has played out within two structurally disadvantaged maritime port cities in Northern Europe, Hull (UK) and Bremerhaven (Germany). Both cities face serious social and economic challenges associated with long-term industrial decline, such as high unemployment rates, low skill levels, economic peripherality, and poor external images. Nevertheless, new opportunities opened up by climate change and the green economy have prompted political actors in Hull and Bremerhaven to build new alliances between local government, business and civil society and enhance governance capacities on climate change and green urban development. Highlighting similarities and differences between these two places, the paper reveals how climate change regulations provide opportunities for certain structurally disadvantaged cities to attract ‘green jobs’ and transform their external image

An updated Antarctic melt record through 2009 and its linkages to high-latitude and tropical climate variability

A 30-year minimum Antarctic snowmelt record occurred during austral summer 2008–2009 according to spaceborne microwave observations for 1980–2009. Strong positive phases of both the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM) were recorded during the months leading up to and including the 2008–2009 melt season. The 30-year record confirms that significant negative correlations exist at regional and continental scales between austral summer melting and both the ENSO and SAM indices for October–January. In particular, the strongest negative melting anomalies (such as those in 2008 and 2009) are related to amplified large-scale atmospheric forcing when both the SAM and ENSO are in positive phases. Our results suggest that enhanced snowmelt is likely to occur if recent positive summer SAM trends subside in conjunction with the projected recovery of stratospheric ozone levels, with subsequent impacts on ice sheet mass balance and sea level trends