Non-profit organizations’ participation in the management of public programmes: The case of the Czech Republic

EU Cohesion Policy requires the interaction of public, private and non-profit sectors in policy making. The case of the Czech Republic enables us to identify the major obstacles to the successful implementation of this approach as the Czech population perceives the ability of NGOs to influence policies at the lowest level among all the EU member states. The goal of the study is to identify and explain the determinants of success and failure regarding NGOs’ participation in designing public programmes. The methodology includes a combination of in-depth interviews with NGOs ́' representatives and public servants, a review of official documents, a focus group, and a stakeholders’ review of the study’s conclusions. The main obstacles to the implementation of the partnership principle are the following: insufficient capacities among NGOs; fluctuations in participating public servants and NGO representatives; dependence of partnership on personal contacts; late start and nonconsultative, informative character of partnership

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Elliptic flow of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at forward rapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV

The elliptic flow, v(2), of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays at forward rapidity (2.5 <y <4) is measured in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)= 2.76TeVwith the ALICE detector at the LHC. The scalar product, two- and four-particle Q cumulants and Lee-Yang zeros methods are used. The dependence of the v(2) of muons from heavy-flavour hadron decays on the collision centrality, in the range 0-40%, and on transverse momentum, p(T), is studied in the interval 3 <p(T)<10 GeV/c. A positive v(2) is observed with the scalar product and two-particle Q cumulants in semi-central collisions (10-20% and 20-40% centrality classes) for the p(T) interval from 3 to about 5GeV/c with a significance larger than 3 sigma, based on the combination of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The v(2) magnitude tends to decrease towards more central collisions and with increasing pT. It becomes compatible with zero in the interval 6 <p(T)<10 GeV/c. The results are compared to models describing the interaction of heavy quarks and open heavy-flavour hadrons with the high-density medium formed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure &lt; 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt; 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Pseudorapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The pseudorapidity (eta) and transverse-momentum (p(T)) distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions are measured at the centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV. The pseudorapidity distribution in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1.8 is reported for inelastic events and for events with at least one charged particle in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1. The pseudorapidity density of charged particles produced in the pseudorapidity region vertical bar eta vertical bar <0.5 is 5.31 +/- 0.18 and 6.46 +/- 0.19 for the two event classes, respectively. The transverse-momentum distribution of charged particles is measured in the range 0.15 <p(T) <20 GeV/c and vertical bar eta vertical bar <0.8 for events with at least one charged particle in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1. The evolution of the transverse momentum spectra of charged particles is also investigated as a function of event multiplicity. The results are compared with calculations from PYTHIA and EPOS Monte Carlo generators. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Control of Unstable Systems Using a 7 DoF Robotic Manipulator

Robotic manipulators are widely used in industrial applications, and their rigidity and flexibility are very important factors during their deployment. However, their usage is not limited to repetitive point-to-point tasks and can be used for more real-time control of various processes. This paper uses a 7-degrees-of-freedom manipulator to control an unstable system (Ball and Plate) as a proof of concept. The Ball and Plate system is widely used for testing algorithms designed for unstable systems, and many recent works have dealt with robotic manipulators as a control motion system. Robots are not usually used to control unstable systems, but bipedal robots are an exception. This paper aims to design a controller capable of stabilizing an unstable system with solid robustness while keeping actuator action values as low as possible because these robots will be indented to work for a prolonged time. An algorithm for an LQ polynomial controller is described and designed, and the whole setup is tested for ball stabilization in the center. The results show that the designed controller stabilizes the ball even with large external and internal disturbances while keeping the controller effort as low as possible

Control of Unstable Systems Using a 7 DoF Robotic Manipulator

Robotic manipulators are widely used in industrial applications, and their rigidity and flexibility are very important factors during their deployment. However, their usage is not limited to repetitive point-to-point tasks and can be used for more real-time control of various processes. This paper uses a 7-degrees-of-freedom manipulator to control an unstable system (Ball and Plate) as a proof of concept. The Ball and Plate system is widely used for testing algorithms designed for unstable systems, and many recent works have dealt with robotic manipulators as a control motion system. Robots are not usually used to control unstable systems, but bipedal robots are an exception. This paper aims to design a controller capable of stabilizing an unstable system with solid robustness while keeping actuator action values as low as possible because these robots will be indented to work for a prolonged time. An algorithm for an LQ polynomial controller is described and designed, and the whole setup is tested for ball stabilization in the center. The results show that the designed controller stabilizes the ball even with large external and internal disturbances while keeping the controller effort as low as possible

Non-governmental Organizations as Partners: Obstacles in the EU Cohesion Policy?

EU Cohesion Policy requires the interaction of the public, private and non-profit sectors in policy making. The Czech Republic presents an ideal case study for identifying the major obstacles to the successful implementation of this approach, since Czech citizens evaluate NGOs in their country as having less capacity to influence policies at the lowest level than NGOs in any other EU member state. The goal of the study is to identify and explain the determinants of success and failure regarding NGOs&rsquo; participation in designing public programmes. The methodology includes a combination of in-depth interviews with NGOs&acute; representatives and public servants, a review of official documents, a focus group, and a stakeholders&rsquo; review of the study&rsquo;s conclusions. The main obstacles to the implementation of the partnership principle are the following: NGOs&rsquo; insufficient capacities and responsibilities; fluctuations in the participation of public servants and NGO representatives; dependence of partnership on personal contacts; NGOs&rsquo; late entry and the non-consultative, informative character of the partnership