spotlight europe #2013/02-February 2012. Syria: from rebellion to all-out war

The situation in Syria at the beginning of 2013 could hardly be worse. Dead, wounded, refugees, a humanitarian disaster. President Assad is destroying his country and waging war against his own people. Russia and Iran back the regime. The West wants regime change without intervening militarily. The political opposition is now more united but overwhelmed with the situation at hand. The armed resistance, partially dominated by Jihadists, is difficult to size up

spotlight europe #2013/04, May 2013: The Changing Face of North Africa. An Opportunity for and with Europe.

North Africa is changing fast, and its youthful societies look back with pride at their recent uprisings. However, they are also getting frustrated by the fact that the economic outlook is not improving. Europe’s role in the strategically important southern Mediterranean area needs to be realigned in order to promote the development of democracy, employment opportunities, and security. There is a great deal of potential for cooperation with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt

Flashlight Europe N°2–February 2015. “Europe must now get involved in a very big way”

More than three years after al-Gaddafi was overthrown, Libya has still not returned to some semblance of normality. In many places, the Libyan state exists only on paper. No less than two governments and dozens of rival tribes, all with their own militias and armed to the teeth, are trying to come to power. In the midst of this chaos “IS,” the terrorist organization, has now entered the fray. Evidence of this is provided by the brutal murder of 21 Egyptian Copts, which could trigger off a civil war that will pose a threat to the entire region and to Europe. Mirco Keilberth, an expert on Libya, explains what is going on

spotlight europe #2015/02—July 2015: A Gulf CSC Could Bring Peace and Greater Security to the Middle East

Wars continue to ravage in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Refugees are wandering around aimlessly in the Middle East with many fleeing to Europe. Saudi Arabia and Iran are adding fuel to the flames. They are vying for supremacy while remaining highly suspicious of each other. A Conference for Security and Cooperation could help to ease existing tensions. Many years ago the CSCE was a resounding success. It could thus serve as a blueprint with the nuclear agreement with Iran as a starting point of such a venture

spotlight europe #2013/02-Februar 2013. Syrien-vom aufstand zum krieg = Syria: from rebellion to all-out war

No abstract

Two New Species and Temporal Changes in the Prevalence of Eimerians in a Free-Living Population of Townsend\u27s Ground Squirrels (\u3ci\u3eSpermophilus townsendii\u3c/i\u3e) in Idaho

More than 1,180 fecal samples were collected from 253 juvenile and 384 adult Townsend\u27s ground squirrels (Spermophilus townsendii) at the Snae Snake River Birds of Prey Area near Boise, Idaho, from February to June 1992. Oocysts of 7 eimerians were observed. Five are new host records (Eimeria beecheyi, Eimeria bilamellata, Eimeria callospermophili, Eimeria lateralis, and Eimeria morainensis), 2 species are described here as new, and new structural information on E. morainensis is added. Sporulated oocysts of Eimeria adaensis n. sp. are ovoidal, 19.6 x 22.7 (16-22 x 18-26) μm with sporocysts ellipsoidal 7.2 x 11.9 (6-10 x 9-15) μm. No micropyle or oocyst residuum, but polar bodies, Stieda bodies, and sporocyst residua are present. Sporulated oocysts of Eimeria pseudospermophili n. sp. are ovoidal, 24.7 x 28.5 (21-27 x 25-32) μm with sporocysts ellipsoidal 8.8 x 14.2 (8-10 x 12-17) μm. Micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent, but polar bodies and Stieda bodies are present. Sporulated oocysts of E. morainensis are more variable in size and shape than originally described and contain 2 distinctly different residua not previously described. Temporal changes in the prevalence of eimerians of all 7 species combined in adult squirrels showed significant decline (r2 = 0.79, P \u3c 0.001). We hypothesize that this decline was due to drought during the period of squirrel activity. No significant temporal change in the prevalence of eimerians in juvenile squirrels was observed. The prevalence of E. callospermophili, E. adaensis, and all eimerians combined in adults was significantly greater than in juveniles. There was no significant difference in eimerian prevalence between male and female squirrels (P \u3c 0.05)

Measurement of nuclide cross-sections of spallation residues in 1 A GeV 238U + proton collisions

The production of heavy nuclides from the spallation-evaporation reaction of 238U induced by 1 GeV protons was studied in inverse kinematics. The evaporation residues from tungsten to uranium were identified in-flight in mass and atomic number. Their production cross-sections and their momentum distributions were determined. The data are compared with empirical systematics. A comparison with previous results from the spallation of 208Pb and 197Au reveals the strong influence of fission in the spallation of 238U.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, background information at http://www-wnt.gsi.de/kschmidt

Evaporation residues produced in spallation of 208Pb by protons at 500A MeV

The production cross sections of fragmentation-evaporation residues in the reaction Pb+p at 500A MeV have been measured using the inverse-kinematics method and the FRS spectrometer (GSI). Fragments were identified in nuclear charge using ionisation chambers. The mass identification was performed event-by-event using the B-rho - TOF - Delta-E technique. Although partially-unresolved ionic charge states induced an ambiguity on the mass of some heavy fragments, production rates could be obtained with a high accuracy by systematically accounting for the polluting ionic charge states. The contribution of multiple reactions in the target was subtracted using a new, partly self-consistent code. The isobaric distributions are found to have a shape very close to the one observed in experiments at higher energy. Kinematic properties of the fragments were also measured. The total and the isotopic cross sections, including charge-pickup cross sections, are in good agreement with previous measurements. The data are discussed in the light of previous spallation measurements, especially on lead at 1 GeV

Changes in microphytobenthos fluorescence over a tidal cycle: implications for sampling designs

Intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB) are important primary producers and provide food for herbivores in soft sediments and on rocky shores. Methods of measuring MPB biomass that do not depend on the time of collection relative to the time of day or tidal conditions are important in any studies that need to compare temporal or spatial variation, effects of abiotic factors or activity of grazers. Pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry is often used to estimate biomass of MPB because it is a rapid, non-destructive method, but it is not known how measures of fluorescence are altered by changing conditions during a period of low tide. We investigated this experimentally using in situ changes in minimal fluorescence (F) on a rocky shore and on an estuarine mudflat around Sydney (Australia), during low tides. On rocky shores, the time when samples are taken during low tide had little direct influence on measures of fluorescence as long as the substratum is dry. Wetness from wave-splash, seepage from rock pools, run-off, rainfall, etc., had large consequences for any comparisons. On soft sediments, fluorescence was decreased if the sediment dried out, as happens during low-spring tides on particularly hot and dry days. Surface water affected the response of PAM and therefore measurements used to estimate MPB, emphasising the need for care to ensure that representative sampling is done during low tide