Nordic Security and Defence Cooperation: Differentiated Integration in Uncertain Times

A decade ago, Nordic cooperation on security and defence matters gained momentum, having been largely absent from the map of Nordic cooperation during the Cold War and its aftermath. This article analyses developments along three dimensions of Nordic cooperation: military defence (focusing on the Nordic Defence Cooperation), civil security (in the form of the ‘Haga’ process), and political cooperation (through the implementation of the Stoltenberg report). Three observations stand out as a result: First, that the three dimensions are intimately related against the background of a common Nordic conceptualization of security; second, that there is simultaneously variation in significant respects (such as driving forces, scope, and degree of institutionalization); and third, that Nordic security and defence cooperation has developed in the context of European and transatlantic security dynamics and cooperation. The second part of the analysis seeks to interpret this picture from the analytical perspective of differentiated integration. The article ends with a set of reflections on the future of Nordic security and defence cooperation in light of the Coronavirus pandemic

Truck Differential and Rear Axle Modeling

Physical modeling of the driveline is crucial in many areas within the commercial vehicle industries. To have an accurate model helps the understanding of physical phenomena and is important when performing computational tests and when designing, for example, traction controllers. The differential gear is often modeled as simple as possible, neglecting more complex behaviour. The main goal with this thesis is to create a model of the differential that takes into account some of these neglected properties. To be able to test and observe the behaviour of the differential, a complete driveline is modeled, extending from the engine to the wheels. The driveline model is then validated using existing measurement data. The results from the tests performed on the model show that there are minor differences on the wheel velocities if the differential is modeled using a more physical approach. Especially the differential behaviour have been shown to accurately describe some of the important features, improving model usability. Implementation of a more complex differential model depends on the area of usage of the model. In addition to driveline modeling, a novel traction controller has been developed and implemented, using the model developed. The controller has shown interesting features such as constraints and prediction, however, further investigations are required to achieve desired performance

Cenozoic paleoceanographic changes of the South Pacific from seismic reflection data

The Thermohaline Circulation (THC) in the world oceans is closely coupled with earth climate. With reconstructions of past oceanic conditions and comparisons with past climate conditions this coupling can be better understood. This in turn allows to provide better boundary conditions on ocean-climate coupling for forecasting models. However, the paleoceanographic setup is far from being completely revealed. One of the largest areas of the world oceans poorly surveyed is the South Pacific Ocean. The present ocean currents that transport deep cold water into the South Pacific are the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and two northward setting flows directly influenced by the ACC, the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) or western limb close to New Zealand and an eastern limb above the western flank of the East Pacific Rise (EPR). Understanding changes of this current system is important for reconstructions of past climates and the Antarctic Glaciation history. At present the reconstructed paleoceanographic history of the South Pacific is limited to ACC and DWBC at the western margin of the Southwest Pacific Basin and only reveals changes back to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. This thesis presents new multichannel seismic reflection data surveying two regions at the eastern and western margin in the Southwest Pacific Basin. The objective is the identification and characterization of deep current derived sediment deposits in the South Pacific. The investigation covers the whole Cenozoic and thus provides indications for paleoceanographic changes due to East Antarctic Ice Sheet build-up prior to 34 Ma. Furthermore the study helps to fill a data gap in the open Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and South America and presents the first evidence for paleoceanographic changes in this poorly explored area. East of New Zealand at the Bounty Trough mouth a sediment drift indicates the onset of a deep cold current originating from the South Pacific Ocean around the Cretaceous/Palaeocene boundary. This current prevailed until the establishment of the ACC around the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. A second sediment drift indicates a current modification due to climate cooling around 44 - 42 Ma occurs contemporaneously with first indications of an East Antarctic Ice Sheet. These results are the first hints on a deep cold current in the South Pacific Ocean before the Opening of the Tasmanian Gateway and thus support the hypotheses that an Antarctic Ice Sheet was present at that time. Since ~19 Ma the history of the ACC has been recorded by the sedimentary deposits at the western flank of the EPR and east of the Bounty Trough mouth. Close to the EPR (45 deg. S) the sedimentary cover suggests a weak bottom current flow allowing deposition that is followed by a bottom current intensification around 9 Ma. The stronger bottom current flow has continued until today. East of New Zealand seismic data and drilling results reveal a current that created a sediment drift between 19.5 Ma and 10 Ma followed by a 5.4 Ma long hiatus in deposition caused by bottom current intensification due to West Antarctic Ice Sheet build-up. Thus, both limbs of bottom current flow into the South Pacific show intensification at the same time that was probably caused by an intensified ACC. Although deposition close to New Zealand starts again around 5 Ma, the flow of the DWBC remained strong, which is also evident at the eastern limb. A higher sediment load due to upstream erosion of the DWBC caused further deposition. The sediment deposits seen in seismic profiles also suggest that a limb of the DWBC enters the Bounty Trough, which until present was only inferred from erosional structures at the Bounty Trough mouth. A new approach based on spectral analysis of Parasound sub-bottom profiler data was used to further quantify the extent of the DWBC in the Bounty Trough. Under the assumption that the 41 kyr obliquity cycle is related to DWBC changes, mapping of this cyclicity in Parasound data is used to show that the extent of the DWBC into the Bounty Trough is limited to 178.2 deg. E

Odorant receptor phylogeny confirms conserved channels for sex pheromone and host plant signals in tortricid moths

The search for mates and food is mediated by volatile chemicals. Insects sense food odorants and sex pheromones through odorant receptors (ORs) and pheromone receptors (PRs), which are expressed in olfactory sensory neurons. Molecular phylogenetics of ORs, informed by behavioral and functional data, generates sound hypotheses for the identification of semiochemicals driving olfactory behavior. Studying orthologous receptors and their ligands across taxa affords insights into the role of chemical communication in reproductive isolation and phylogenetic divergence. The female sex pheromone of green budworm mothHedya nubiferana(Lepidoptera, Totricidae) is a blend of two unsaturated acetates, only a blend of both elicits male attraction. Females produce in addition codlemone, which is the sex pheromone of another tortricid, codling mothCydia pomonella. Codlemone also attracts green budworm moth males. Concomitantly, green budworm and codling moth males are attracted to the host plant volatile pear ester. A congruent behavioral response to the same pheromone and plant volatile in two tortricid species suggests co-occurrence of dedicated olfactory channels. In codling moth, one PR is tuned to both compounds, the sex pheromone codlemone and the plant volatile pear ester. Our phylogenetic analysis finds that green budworm moth expresses an orthologous PR gene. Shared ancestry, and high levels of amino acid identity and sequence similarity, in codling and green budworm moth PRs offer an explanation for parallel attraction of both species to the same compounds. A conserved olfactory channel for a sex pheromone and a host plant volatile substantiates the alliance of social and habitat signals in insect chemical communication. Field attraction assays confirm that in silico investigations of ORs afford powerful predictions for an efficient identification of behavior-modifying semiochemicals, for an improved understanding of the mechanisms of host plant attraction in insect herbivores and for the further development of sustainable insect control

Genetic and environmental determinants for disease risk in subsets of rheumatoid arthritis defined by the anticitrullinated protein/peptide antibody fine specificity profile

OBJECTIVES: To increase understanding of the aetiology and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), genetic and environmental risk factors for RA subsets, defined by the presence or absence of different anticitrullinated protein/peptide antibodies (ACPAs) targeting citrullinated peptides from α-enolase, vimentin, fibrinogen and collagen type II, were investigated. METHODS: 1985 patients with RA and 2252 matched controls from the EIRA case-control cohort were used in the study. Serum samples were assayed by ELISA for the presence of anticyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) antibodies and four different ACPA fine specificities. Cross-reactivity between ACPAs was examined by peptide absorption experiments. Genotyping was performed for HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) alleles and the PTPN22 gene, while information regarding smoking was obtained by questionnaire. The association of genetic and environmental risk factors with different subsets of RA was calculated by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Limited cross-reactivity was observed between different ACPA fine specificities. In total, 17 RA subsets could be identified based on their different ACPA fine specificity profiles. Large differences in association with genetic and environmental determinants were observed between subsets. The strongest association of HLA-DRB1 SE, PTPN22 and smoking was identified for the RA subset which was defined by the presence of antibodies to citrullinated α-enolase and vimentin. CONCLUSION: This study provides the most comprehensive picture to date of how HLA-DRB1 SE, PTPN22 and smoking are associated with the presence of specific ACPA reactivities rather than anti-CCP levels. The new data will form a basis for molecular studies aimed at understanding disease development in serologically distinct subsets of RA.The Swedish Research CouncilVinnovaKing Gustaf V's 80-year foundationGums&Joints (FP7-Health-2010-261460)MasterSwitch (FP6-Health-2007-2.4.5-12)The Swedish Rheumatic FoundationThe Swedish Council for Working Life and Social ResearchThe IMI program BTCure (115142-2)Publishe

Soft Security and the Presidency: Swedish Policy towards the Northern Dimension

The Council Presidency offered Sweden a possibility to contribute not only to a number of important issue areas but also to what we may call the ‘foreign policy’ side of the EU.A general question was, of course, what sort of impact Sweden could make in this field, given its background as a nonaligned and small state — a country generally regarded as hesitant in terms of supranational policy-making, but with a history of active national foreign policy. In the work programme of the Swedish Presidency, the enlargement process stood out as the most important foreign policy objective (see Miles in this symposium). Indeed, enlargement was the most important issue overall and was accorded a high profile throughout the Presidency period, not least in the Göteborg context. As regards other aspects of EU external relations, Russia and the Northern Dimension (ND) areas were singled out as significant areas of interest. The main reason for this was security-related — the work programme stated that cooperation between the EU and Russia was ‘of fundamental significance for the security and development of Europe’ (Cabinet Office, 2000: 23). The ND may be interpreted in similar terms — in seeking to diminish the boundary between the ‘inside’ and the ‘outside’ of the Union by engaging Russia in closer cooperation.This brief commentary outlines the main outcomes of the Swedish Presidency as regards the Russian and ND spheres, and then relates these developments to principal issues such as the room for presidential influence and the institutional division of labour (covered by Elgström)