The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice ten years on: Successes and future challenges under the Stockholm Programme. CEPS Paperbacks. June 2010

This book celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) by bringing together the views of key practitioners and policy-makers who have played an outstanding role in thinking about and shaping EU policies on freedom, security and justice. Ten years ago, the member states transferred competences to the EU for law and policy-making in the fields of immigration, asylum and border controls, and began the transfer process for criminal justice and policing. This decade of European cooperation on AFSJ policies has experienced very dynamic convergence, the enactment of a large body of European law and the setting-up of numerous EU agencies working in these domains. Such dynamism in policy-making has not been without challenges and vulnerabilities, however. As this collective volume shows, the main dilemmas that lie ahead relate to an effective (while more plural) institutional framework under the Treaty of Lisbon, stronger judicial scrutiny through a greater role for national courts and the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, better mechanisms for evaluating and monitoring the implementation of EU AFSJ law and a more solid fundamental rights strategy. The contributions in this volume address the progress achieved so far in these policy areas, identify the challenges for future European cooperation in the AFSJ and put forward possible paths for making more progress in the next generation of the EU’s AFSJ

Rückenleiden - Volkskrankheit Nr. 1 : das Anforderungsprofil häufig vorkommender IV-Umschulungsberufe und ihre Eignung hinsichtlich der körperlichen Anforderungen

In der Schweiz gehören Rückenschmerzen am Arbeitsplatz zu den häufigsten Gesundheitsproblemen. Rückenschmerzen führen zu weltweit mehr Erwerbsunfähigkeit als jede andere Krankheit und kosten die Wirtschaft mehrere Milliarden Franken pro Jahr. Menschen welche aufgrund eines Rückenleidens in ihrem Beruf arbeitsunfähig werden, können sich bei der Invalidenversicherung anmelden. Diese ist bestrebt, mithilfe von Eingliederungsmassnahmen, die Erwerbsfähigkeit von beeinträchtigten Personen zu verbessern und sie wieder in den ersten Arbeitsmarkt zu integrieren. Im Rahmen einer Umschulungsmassnahme erarbeiten die Berufsberater der Invalidenversicherung hierfür mit der betroffenen Person eine neue berufliche Laufbahn. Dabei muss beachtet werden, dass die neue berufliche Ausrichtung gesundheitlich dem Rückenleiden angepasst ist. Im Rahmen dieser Masterarbeit werden deshalb die Anforderungsprofile häufig gewählter Umschulungsberufe (Kaufmann, Strassentransportfachmann, Fachmann Betriebsunterhalt, Fachmann Betreuung, Logistiker und Polymechaniker) aufgezeigt und die Anforderungen im Arbeitsalltag analysiert. Zudem wird die Eignung der Berufsbilder hinsichtlich eines Rückenleidens geprüft und Anpassungsmöglichkeiten herausgearbeitet. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, zu einem Erkenntnisgewinn beizutragen und dadurch den Prozess zur Findung einer dem Rückenleiden angepassten beruflichen Tätigkeit im Rahmen einer IV-Umschulungsmassnahme zu unterstützen. Für die vorliegende Masterarbeit wurde eine qualitative, empirische Untersuchung mit problemzentrierten Experteninterviews angewendet. Der von den Experten in den Interviews geschilderte Praxisalltag zeigt, dass grundsätzlich in jedem Berufsfeld mit einem Rückenleiden gearbeitet werden kann. Dabei ist jedoch der Kaufmann der einzige Beruf, bei dem ausschliesslich leichte Tätigkeiten vorkommen und nur leichte Gewichte gehoben werden müssen. Bei allen anderen Berufen kann dieses Kriterium lediglich in bestimmten Tätigkeitsfeldern erfüllt werden. Jeder Beruf stellt andere körperliche und psychische Anforderungen an die Auszubildenden und jeder Beruf weist dabei im Hinblick auf ein Rückenleiden Vor- und Nachteile auf. Diese sind im Rahmen der Berufsberatung und allenfalls auch in Arbeitsversuchen oder Abklärungsmassnahmen genauer herauszuarbeiten

B1+-mapping and B1+ inhomogeneity correction at high field

Magnetic resonance images acquired at the highest strength of the main magnetic field B0 are of interest since they highly benefit from an increased signal to noise ratio. At ultra high field strengths (B0 > 7 Tesla) images with more contrast and higher resolution can thus be obtained, opening new insights into the understanding of organ structures and disease evolutions. One of the main challenges of ultra high field MR imaging is that the wavelength of MR radiations starts to be shorter than the typical organs of interest. At such wavelength, the transmit magnetic field B1+ used to manipulate the magnetization in MR imaging is subject to constructive and destructive interferences and becomes position dependent. This inhomogeneity in the B1+ field leads to signal and contrast variations in the anatomical images which are prone to misinterpretation. This thesis is about measuring and correcting the inhomogeneous B1+ field at 7 Tesla. To be able to correct the B1+ inhomogeneity, it is necessary to measure it first. An appropriate B1+-mapping sequence should provide accurate measurements in a wide range of B1+ values in a short amount of time since the acquisition of the B1+ distribution can be considered as an adjustment step. The SA2RAGE sequence was developed according to these criteria, allowing a typical three-dimensional B1+ map to be acquired in less than 2min. The next challenge was to correct the B1+ inhomogeneity observed across the brain at 7 Tesla. To obtain results of high quality, RF pulses were designed to generate the desired magnetization profile. It was already known that kT-point pulses designed in the small tip angle (STA) approximation provided substantial B1+ inhomogeneity correction. In this thesis, a methodology expressing the Bloch equations in a linear form was developed for the design of kT-point pulses beyond the STA regime. Excitation, inversion and refocusing pulses were designed and significant improvements were observed in the associated magnetization profiles when compared to the results found in the STA regime. The last part of the thesis was dedicated to the design of kT-points for a turbo spin echo (TSE) sequence in order to remove the effect of the B1+ inhomogeneity on T2-weighted imaging at 7 Tesla. In the first approach, a kT-point pulse was designed in the STA regime to make the excitation profile as homogeneous as possible. It was demonstrated that a symmetric kT-point pulse designed in the STA regime still generates an homogeneous excitation profile for flip angles as high as 120°. A unique symmetric kT-point pulse was designed in the STA regime and used to replace all the original hard pulses of a TSE sequence (static design). By adding parallel transmission, anatomical images largely devoid of artifacts resulting from the common B1+ inhomogeneity at 7 Tesla were acquired. To be able to acquire T2-weighted images with signal and contrast homogeneity by using a more efficient TSE sequence protocol, a specific kT-point waveform was optimized for each pulse of the TSE sequence (dynamic design). It was demonstrated that, although at a cost of an increase of the specific absorption rate, the dynamic outperforms the static kT-point design in terms of signal and contrast homogeneity obtained in the acquired T2-weighted images. The use of dynamic kT-points to obtain such a quality in T2-weighted imaging is thus promising for clinical applications at ultra high field

Asymptotic Behavior of the Einstein-Yang-Mills-Dilaton System for a Closed Friedmann-Lemaitre Universe

We study the coupled Einstein-Yang-Mills-Dilaton (EYMD) equations for a Fried\-mann-Le\-mai\-tre universe with constant curvature $k=1$. Our detailed analysis is restricted to the case where the dilaton potential and the cosmological constant vanish. Also assuming a static gauge field, we present analytical and numerical results on the behavior of solutions of the EYMD equations. For different values of the dilaton coupling constant we analyze the phase portrait for the time evolution of the dilaton field and give the behavior of the scale factor. It turns out that there are no inflationary stages in this model.Comment: 18 pages, Uuencoded gzip compressed tar file containing a latex file and 12 figures. The epsfig.sty is neede

From order to randomness: Onset and evolution of the random-singlet state in bond-disordered BaCu2_2(Si1−x_{1-x}Gex_x)2_2O7_7 spin-chain compounds

Heisenberg-type spin-chain materials have been extensively studied over the years, yet not much is known about their behavior in the presence of disorder. Starting from BaCu$_2$Si$_2$O$_7$, a typical spin-1/2 chain system, we investigate a series of compounds with different degrees of bond disorder, where the systematic replacement of Si with Ge results in a re-modulation of the Cu$^{2+}$ exchange interactions. By combining magnetometry measurements with nuclear magnetic resonance studies we follow the evolution of the disorder-related properties from the well-ordered BaCu$_2$Si$_2$O$_7$ to the maximally disordered BaCu$_2$SiGeO$_7$. Our data indicate that already a weak degree of disorder of only 5% Ge, apart from reducing the 3D magnetic ordering temperature $T_\mathrm{N}$ quite effectively, induces a qualitatively different state in the paramagnetic regime. At maximum disorder our data indicate that this state may be identified with the theoretically predicted random singlet (RS) state. With decreasing disorder the extension of the RS regime at temperatures above $T_\mathrm{N}$ is reduced, yet its influence is clearly manifest, particularly in the features of NMR relaxation data.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Microscopic investigation of soot and ash particulate matter derived from biofuel and diesel: implications for the reactivity of soot

Investigation of soot and ash particulate matter deposited in diesel particulate filters (DPFs) operating with biofuel (B100) and diesel (pure diesel: B0 and diesel80/biofuel20 blend: B20) by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveals the following: the rapeseed methyl ester biofuel used for this study contributes to ash production, mainly of Ca-S- and P-bearing compounds ranging in size between 50 and 300nm. Smaller ash particles are less common and build aggregates. Ash is deposited on the inlet DPF surface, the inlet channel walls, and in B100-DPF at the plugged ends of inlet channels. The presence of Fe-Cr-Ni fragments, down to tens of nanometers in size within the ash is attributed to engine wear. Pt particles (50-400nm large) within the ash indicate that the diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) upstream of the DPF shows aging effects. Radial cracks on the coating layer of the DOC confirm this assumption. The B100-DPF contains significantly less soot than B20 and B0. Based on the generally accepted view that soot reactivity correlates with the nanostructure of its primary particles, the length and curvature of graphene sheets from biofuel- and diesel-derived soot were measured and computed on the basis of HRTEM images. The results show that biofuel-derived soot can be more easily oxidized than diesel soot, not only during early formation but also during and after considerable particle growth. Differences in the graphene sheet separation distance, degree of crystalline order and size of primary soot particles between the two fuel types are in line with this inferenc

Mutations in multidomain protein MEGF8 identify a Carpenter syndrome subtype associated with defective lateralization

Carpenter syndrome is an autosomal-recessive multiple-congenital-malformation disorder characterized by multisuture craniosynostosis and polysyndactyly of the hands and feet; many other clinical features occur, and the most frequent include obesity, umbilical hernia, cryptorchidism, and congenital heart disease. Mutations of RAB23, encoding a small GTPase that regulates vesicular transport, are present in the majority of cases. Here, we describe a disorder caused by mutations in multiple epidermal-growth-factor-like-domains 8 (MEGF8), which exhibits substantial clinical overlap with Carpenter syndrome but is frequently associated with abnormal left-right patterning. We describe five affected individuals with similar dysmorphic facies, and three of them had either complete situs inversus, dextrocardia, or transposition of the great arteries; similar cardiac abnormalities were previously identified in a mouse mutant for the orthologous Megf8. The mutant alleles comprise one nonsense, three missense, and two splice-site mutations; we demonstrate in zebrafish that, in contrast to the wild-type protein, the proteins containing all three missense alterations provide only weak rescue of an early gastrulation phenotype induced by Megf8 knockdown. We conclude that mutations in MEGF8 cause a Carpenter syndrome subtype frequently associated with defective left-right patterning, probably through perturbation of signaling by hedgehog and nodal family members. We did not observe any subject with biallelic loss-of function mutations, suggesting that some residual MEGF8 function might be necessary for survival and might influence the phenotypes observed