NATO and CSDP: party and public positioning in Germany and France

This is the final version. Available on open access from the NATO Defense College via the link in this recordVolkswagen Foundatio

Properties of Mg-based metal matrix nanocomposites processed by high shear dispersion technique (HSDT)-A review

Metal Matrix Nanocomposites (MMNCs) often show excellent properties as compared to their non-reinforced alloys due to either the achieved grain refinement or Orowan strengthening. Especially in light metals such as aluminium and magnesium as the matrix has the potential to be significantly improved in relation to mechanical properties. Functionalisation can also be achieved in some cases. However, the challenge lies in the homogeneous distribution of the ceramic nanoparticles in the melt if MMNCs have been processed via melt metallurgical processes. The large surface area of the nanoparticles generates large van der Waals forces, which need to be overcome. Furthermore, the wettability of the particles with molten metal is difficult. Additional forces can be applied by ultrasound, electromagnetic stirring, or even high-shearing. In this paper, properties of MMNCs with a light metal matrix, which have been produced with the High-Shearing Dispersion Technique are discussed. First, the process with its different characteristics and the underlying theory is presented, and then property improvements are discussed by comparing MMNCs to their matrix materials.None

Ionization of hydrogen and hydrogenic ions by antiprotons

Presented here is a description of the ionization of hydrogen and hydrogenic ions by antiproton-impact, based on very large scale numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation in three spatial dimensions and on analysis of the topology of the electronic eigenenergy surfaces in the plane of complex internuclear distance. Comparison is made with other theories and very recent measurements.Comment: RevTex document, 11 pages, 4 Postscript figures are available from the authors, in press Phys. Rev. Let

Intestine-Specific, Oral Delivery of Captopril/Montmorillonite: Formulation and Release Kinetics

The intercalation of captopril (CP) into the interlayers of montmorillonite (MMT) affords an intestine-selective drug delivery system that has a captopril-loading capacity of up to ca. 14 %w/w and which exhibits near-zero-order release kinetics

<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the HIPPARCOS and Tycho-2 catalogues – a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) – and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR-Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr−1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 HIPPARCOS stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr−1. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data

Effects of losartan vs candesartan in reducing cardiovascular events in the primary treatment of hypertension

Although angiotensin receptor blockers have different receptor binding properties no comparative studies with cardiovascular disease (CVD) end points have been performed within this class of drugs. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that there are blood pressure independent CVD-risk differences between losartan and candesartan treatment in patients with hypertension without known CVD. Seventy-two primary care centres in Sweden were screened for patients who had been prescribed losartan or candesartan between the years 1999 and 2007. Among the 24 943 eligible patients, 14 100 patients were diagnosed with hypertension and prescribed losartan (n=6771) or candesartan (n=7329). Patients were linked to Swedish national hospitalizations and death cause register. There was no difference in blood pressure reduction when comparing the losartan and candesartan groups during follow-up. Compared with the losartan group, the candesartan group had a lower adjusted hazard ratio for total CVD (0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–0.96, P=0.0062), heart failure (0.64, 95% CI 0.50–0.82, P=0.0004), cardiac arrhythmias (0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.92, P=0.0330), and peripheral artery disease (0.61, 95% CI 0.41–0.91, P=0.0140). No difference in blood pressure reduction was observed suggesting that other mechanisms related to different pharmacological properties of the drugs may explain the divergent clinical outcomes

a cognitive future internet architecture

This Chapter proposes a novel Cognitive Framework as reference architecture for the Future Internet (FI), which is based on so-called Cognitive Managers. The objective of the proposed architecture is twofold. On one hand, it aims at achieving a full interoperation among the different entities constituting the ICT environment, by means of the introduction of Semantic Virtualization Enablers, in charge of virtualizing the heterogeneous entities interfacing the FI framework. On the other hand, it aims at achieving an inter-network and inter-layer cross-optimization by means of a set of so-called Cognitive Enablers, which are in charge of taking consistent and coordinated decisions according to a fully cognitive approach, availing of information coming from both the transport and the service/content layers of all networks. Preliminary test studies, realized in a home environment, confirm the potentialities of the proposed solution

Gaia Data Release 1: Testing parallaxes with local Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars

Context. Parallaxes for 331 classical Cepheids, 31 Type II Cepheids, and 364 RR Lyrae stars in common between Gaia and the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues are published in Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1) as part of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). Aims. In order to test these first parallax measurements of the primary standard candles of the cosmological distance ladder, which involve astrometry collected by Gaia during the initial 14 months of science operation, we compared them with literature estimates and derived new period-luminosity (PL), period-Wesenheit (PW) relations for classical and Type II Cepheids and infrared PL, PL-metallicity (PLZ), and optical luminosity-metallicity (M V -[Fe/H]) relations for the RR Lyrae stars, with zero points based on TGAS. Methods. Classical Cepheids were carefully selected in order to discard known or suspected binary systems. The final sample comprises 102 fundamental mode pulsators with periods ranging from 1.68 to 51.66 days (of which 33 with σ Ω /Ω < 0.5). The Type II Cepheids include a total of 26 W Virginis and BL Herculis stars spanning the period range from 1.16 to 30.00 days (of which only 7 with σ Ω /Ω < 0.5). The RR Lyrae stars include 200 sources with pulsation period ranging from 0.27 to 0.80 days (of which 112 with σ Ω /Ω < 0.5). The new relations were computed using multi-band (V,I,J,K s ) photometry and spectroscopic metal abundances available in the literature, and by applying three alternative approaches: (i) linear least-squares fitting of the absolute magnitudes inferred from direct transformation of the TGAS parallaxes; (ii) adopting astrometry-based luminosities; and (iii) using a Bayesian fitting approach. The last two methods work in parallax space where parallaxes are used directly, thus maintaining symmetrical errors and allowing negative parallaxes to be used. The TGAS-based PL,PW,PLZ, and M V - [Fe/H] relations are discussed by comparing the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud provided by different types of pulsating stars and alternative fitting methods. Results. Good agreement is found from direct comparison of the parallaxes of RR Lyrae stars for which both TGAS and HST measurements are available. Similarly, very good agreement is found between the TGAS values and the parallaxes inferred from the absolute magnitudes of Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars analysed with the Baade-Wesselink method. TGAS values also compare favourably with the parallaxes inferred by theoretical model fitting of the multi-band light curves for two of the three classical Cepheids and one RR Lyrae star, which were analysed with this technique in our samples. The K-band PL relations show the significant improvement of the TGAS parallaxes for Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars with respect to the Hipparcos measurements. This is particularly true for the RR Lyrae stars for which improvement in quality and statistics is impressive. Conclusions. TGAS parallaxes bring a significant added value to the previous Hipparcos estimates. The relations presented in this paper represent the first Gaia-calibrated relations and form a work-in-progress milestone report in the wait for Gaia-only parallaxes of which a first solution will become available with Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) in 2018. © ESO, 2017

Gaia Data Release 1: Open cluster astrometry: performance, limitations, and future prospects

Context. The first Gaia Data Release contains the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). This is a subset of about 2 million stars for which, besides the position and photometry, the proper motion and parallax are calculated using Hipparcos and Tycho-2 positions in 1991.25 as prior information.Aims. We investigate the scientific potential and limitations of the TGAS component by means of the astrometric data for open clusters.Methods. Mean cluster parallax and proper motion values are derived taking into account the error correlations within the astrometric solutions for individual stars, an estimate of the internal velocity dispersion in the cluster, and, where relevant, the effects of the depth of the cluster along the line of sight. Internal consistency of the TGAS data is assessed.Results. Values given for standard uncertainties are still inaccurate and may lead to unrealistic unit-weight standard deviations of least squares solutions for cluster parameters. Reconstructed mean cluster parallax and proper motion values are generally in very good agreement with earlier HIPPARCOS-based determination, although the Gaia mean parallax for the Pleiades is a significant exception. We have no current explanation for that discrepancy. Most clusters are observed to extend to nearly 15 pc from the cluster centre, and it will be up to future Gaia releases to establish whether those potential cluster-member stars are still dynamically bound to the clusters.Conclusions. The Gaia DR1 provides the means to examine open clusters far beyond their more easily visible cores, and can provide membership assessments based on proper motions and parallaxes. A combined HR diagram shows the same features as observed before using the HIPPARCOS data, with clearly increased luminosities for older A and F dwarfs