Convergence towards a European strategic culture? A constructivist framework for explaining changing norms.

The article contributes to the debate about the emergence of a European strategic culture to underpin a European Security and Defence Policy. Noting both conceptual and empirical weaknesses in the literature, the article disaggregates the concept of strategic culture and focuses on four types of norms concerning the means and ends for the use of force. The study argues that national strategic cultures are less resistant to change than commonly thought and that they have been subject to three types of learning pressures since 1989: changing threat perceptions, institutional socialization, and mediatized crisis learning. The combined effect of these mechanisms would be a process of convergence with regard to strategic norms prevalent in current EU countries. If the outlined hypotheses can be substantiated by further research the implications for ESDP are positive, especially if the EU acts cautiously in those cases which involve norms that are not yet sufficiently shared across countries

Training to self-care: fitness tracking, biopedagogy and the healthy consumer

In this article, we provide an account of Fitbit, a wearable sensor device, using two complementary analytical approaches: auto-ethnography and media analysis. Drawing on the concept of biopedagogy, which describes the processes of learning and training bodies how to live, we focus on how users learn to self-care with wearable technologies through a series of micropractices that involve processes of mediation and the sharing of their own data via social networking. Our discussion is oriented towards four areas of analysis: data subjectivity and sociality; making meaning; time and productivity and brand identity. We articulate how these micropractices of knowing one’s body regulate the contemporary ‘fit’ and healthy subject, and mediate expertise about health, behaviour and data subjectivity

Evidence for Neutrino Oscillations from Muon Decay at Rest

A search for nu_bar_mu to nu_bar_e oscillations has been conducted at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility using nu_bar_mu from mu+ decay at rest. The nu_bar_e are detected via the reaction (nu_bar_e,p) -> (e+,n), correlated with the 2.2 MeV gamma from (n,p) -> (d,gamma). The use of tight cuts to identify e+ events with correlated gamma rays yields 22 events with e+ energy between 36 and 60 MeV and only 4.6 (+/- 0.6) background events. The probability that this excess is due entirely to a statistical fluctuation is 4.1E-08. A chi^2 fit to the entire e+ sample results in a total excess of 51.8 (+18.7) (-16.9) (+/- 8.0) events with e+ energy between 20 and 60 MeV. If attributed to nu_bar_mu -> nu_bar_e oscillations, this corresponds to an oscillation probability (averaged over the experimental energy and spatial acceptance) of 0.0031 (+0.0011) (-0.0010) (+/- 0.0005).Comment: 57 pages, 34 figures, revtex, additional information available at http://nu1.lampf.lanl.gov/~lsnd

Quasi-Two-Dimensional Dynamics of Plasmas and Fluids

In the lowest order of approximation quasi-twa-dimensional dynamics of planetary atmospheres and of plasmas in a magnetic field can be described by a common convective vortex equation, the Charney and Hasegawa-Mirna (CHM) equation. In contrast to the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation, the CHM equation admits "shielded vortex solutions" in a homogeneous limit and linear waves ("Rossby waves" in the planetary atmosphere and "drift waves" in plasmas) in the presence of inhomogeneity. Because of these properties, the nonlinear dynamics described by the CHM equation provide rich solutions which involve turbulent, coherent and wave behaviors. Bringing in non ideal effects such as resistivity makes the plasma equation significantly different from the atmospheric equation with such new effects as instability of the drift wave driven by the resistivity and density gradient. The model equation deviates from the CHM equation and becomes coupled with Maxwell equations. This article reviews the linear and nonlinear dynamics of the quasi-two-dimensional aspect of plasmas and planetary atmosphere starting from the introduction of the ideal model equation (CHM equation) and extending into the most recent progress in plasma turbulence.U. S. Department of Energy DE-FG05-80ET-53088Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of JapanFusion Research Cente

Активная герпесвирусная инфекция у детей раннего возраста

Under observation were 122 young children (up to 3 years of age), who were identified markers of active forms of herpes virus infections. Markers were studied by PCR in blood, smear from tonsils, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, urine with determination DNA of HSV 1—2 type, EBV, CMV, HHV-6 type, antigens were determined by indirect immunofluorescence in blood lymphocytes, by ELISA in serum — antibodies of the classes IgM and IgG. Herpesvirus infection occurs at an early age and contributes to the formation of various infectious and somatic pathology. In children from birth to 1 year of life, CMV infection in the form of a mono-infection with symptoms of CNS damage, generalized forms, neutropenia is more common (79% of cases). In children aged 1 to 2 years, in 76% of cases, HHV-6 infection is detected, more often in mixed variants. Patients of this group are observed with a long subfebrile condition, neutropenia, infectious mononucleosis. In the third year of life, there is an increase in infection of children with EBV, with approximately the same frequency of EBV and HHV-6, most often in mixed forms, the clinical manifestations of which is a typical symptom complex of infectious mononucleosis. At this age, the active persistence of herpes viruses contributes to the formation of a group of frequently ill children. Thus, when examining young children with various pathologies, it is necessary to diagnose herpes virus infection using modern methods to detect its active forms for the timely administration of etiotropic therapy.Под наблюдением находилось 122 ребенка раннего возраста (до 3 лет жизни), у которых были выявлены маркеры активных форм герпесвирусных инфекций (ГВИ). Исследовались маркеры методом ПЦР в крови, мазке с миндалин, слюне, ликворе, моче с определением ДНК ВПГ 1—2 типа, ЭБВ, ЦМВ, ВГЧ-6 типа, методом непрямой реакции иммунофлюоресценции (НРИФ) и быстрым культуральным методом (БКМ) определяли антигены указанных герпесвирусов в лимфоцитах крови, методом ИФА в сыворотке крови — антитела классов IgM и IgG. Установлено, что инфицирование герпесвирусами происходит в раннем возрасте и способствует формированию различной инфекционной и соматической патологии. У детей от рождения до 1 года жизни чаще (в 79% случаев) выявляется ЦМВ-инфекция в виде моно-инфекции с симптомами поражения ЦНС, генерализованными формами, нейтропенией. У детей в возрасте от 1 года до 2 лет жизни в 76% случаев выявляется ВГЧ-6-инфекция, чаще в микст вариантах. Больные этой группы наблюдаются с длительным субфебрилитетом, нейтропенией, инфекционным мононуклеозом. На третьем году жизни отмечается рост инфицирования детей ЭБВ, приблизительно с одинаковой частотой ЭБВ и ВГЧ-6, чаще в микст формах, клиническим проявлением которых является типичный симптомокомплекс инфекционного мононуклеоза. В этом возрасте активная персистенция герпесвирусов способствует формированию группы часто болеющих детей. Таким образом, при обследовании детей раннего возраста с различной патологией необходима диагностика герпесвирусной инфекции с применением современных методов выявления ее активных форм для своевременного назначения этиотропной терапии

Transport and turbulence studies in the linear ohmic confinement regime in Alcator C-Mod

Transport in ohmically heated plasmas in Alcator C-Mod was studied in both the linear (LOC) and saturated (SOC) ohmic L-mode confinement regimes and the importance of turbulent transport in the region r/a = 0.5–0.8 was established. After an extensive analysis with TGLF and GYRO, it is found that using an effective impurity ion species with Z[subscript i] = 8, and moderately high Z[subscript eff] (2.0–5.6), in the LOC regime electron transport becomes dominant due to TEM turbulence. The key ingredient in the present results is the observation that dilution of the main ion species (deuterium) by impurity species of moderate charge state reduces dominant ITG turbulence, in contrast to the SOC regime with little, if any dilution. The turbulent spectrum measured with the phase contrast imaging (PCI) diagnostic is in qualitative agreement with predictions of a synthetic PCI diagnostic adopted to Global GYRO. The toroidal rotation in the low-density LOC regime is in the co-current direction but as the density is raised in the SOC regime the rotation reverses to the counter current drive direction. The impurity content of the plasma was measured recently and an effective Z[subscript i] of 9 was deduced.United States. Dept. of Energy (Grant DE-FC02-99ER54512-CMOD

Absence of Host Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 Prevents Cancer Invasion and Vascularization

Acquisition of invasive/metastatic potential through protease expression is an essential event in tumor progression. High levels of components of the plasminogen activation system, including urokinase, but paradoxically also its inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI1), have been correlated with a poor prognosis for some cancers. We report here that deficient PAI1 expression in host mice prevented local invasion and tumor vascularization of transplanted malignant keratinocytes. When this PAI1 deficiency was circumvented by intravenous injection of a replication-defective adenoviral vector expressing human PAI1, invasion and associated angiogenesis were restored. This experimental evidence demonstrates that host-produced PAI is essential for cancer cell invasion and angiogenesis

Prognostic impact of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) in cytosols and pellet extracts derived from primary breast tumours

Using a previously developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the levels of the receptor for urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPAR) were determined in cytosols and corresponding membrane pellets derived from 878 primary breast tumours. The levels of uPAR in the pellet extracts were more than 3-fold higher than those measured in the cytosols (P< 0.001). Moreover, the uPAR levels in the two types of extracts were weakly, though significantly, correlated with each other (rS= 0.20, P< 0.001). In Cox univariate analysis, high cytosolic levels of uPAR were significantly associated with reduced overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). The levels of uPAR in pellet extracts appeared not to be related with patient survival. In multivariate analysis, elevated levels of uPAR measured in cytosols and pellet extracts were found to be independent predictors of poor OS, not RFS. The prediction of poor prognosis on the basis of high uPAR levels emphasizes its important role in plasmin-mediated degradation of extracellular matrix proteins during cancer invasion and metastasis. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

BRICS, the southern model, and the evolving landscape of development assistance: Toward a new taxonomy

n/