Labour-market in a border-area; searching for jobs and the influence of borders

At the moment borders, border-related problems, and the process of tearing down borders are very much in the centre of interest. Especially in Europe a lot of scientific work is done with regard to borders of countries, to determine their role in the ongoing integration process. In this respect border-regions are considered to be able to play a catalytic role. The borderland economies on both sides of a national border in this view have to be changed into one transborder economy. Initiatives to encourage cross-border integration however are not always successful. To our opinion, one of the main reasons lies in the fact that the border has many faces. The effect of a border differs, depending on the type of interaction (e.g. economic, social-cultural or institutional) and the nature of the region it defines. This paper tries to formulate a conceptual framework, within which the different properties of borders and border-regions are taken into account. Next this model is applied to the regional labour-market in the Nijmegen-Arnhem border-area in the eastern part of the Netherlands. The most important questions to be answered are: - Are there effects stemming from the fact the regional labour-market in the Arnhem-Nijmegen is part of a (peripheral) borderland economy? - What are the effects of the border with regard to the interaction of the region Arnhem-Nijmegen with the neighbouring region in Germany? - Is a part of the "natural" labour-market cut off by the national border, or put in other words, what would happen if the Dutch-German border would disappear completely? Keywords: Borders, Regional labour-markets, Transition

The properties of kaonic nuclei in relativistic mean-field theory

The static properties of some possible light and moderate kaonic nuclei, from C to Ti, are studied in the relativistic mean-field theory. The 1s and 1p state binding energies of $K^-$ are in the range of $73\sim 96$ MeV and $22\sim 63$ MeV, respectively. The binding energies of 1p states increase monotonically with the nucleon number A. The upper limit of the widths are about $42\pm 14$ MeV for the 1s states, and about $71\pm 10$ MeV for the 1p states. The lower limit of the widths are about $12\pm 4$ MeV for the 1s states, and $21\pm 3$ MeV for the 1p states. If $V_{0}\leq 30$ MeV, the discrete $K^-$ bound states should be identified in experiment. The shrinkage effect is found in the possible kaonic nuclei. The interior nuclear density increases obviously, the densest center density is about $2.1\rho_{0}$.Comment: 9 pages, 2 tables and 1 figure, widths are considered, changes a lo

Acute and life-threatening remifentanil overdose resulting from the misuse of a syringe pump.

In the perioperative setting, syringe pumps are frequently used. They guarantee constant plasma levels of hypnotics, opioids, cardiovascular medication, insulin or other drugs. We present a case in which an inadvertent rapid intravenous injection of 2 mg remifentanil occurred due to the misuse of a syringe pum

THE FATE OF SMECTITE IN KOH SOLUTIONS

International audienceThe aim of the present study was to investigate the detailed evolution of the SAz-1 smectite in 1 M KOH at 80°C at a solid/liquid ratio of 1/80. AFM observations indicated no change in crystal size or shape. XRD measurements at 40% relative humidity revealed changes in expandability of the smectite. The 001 reflection profile of smectite was modelled using the trial-and-error approach of Sakharov et al., 1999b. The results indicate that with increasing run time the number of non expandable layers with zero or one water layer increases and that the coherent scattering domain size of the smectite decreases. Infrared spectroscopy of the reacted smectite suggests that there is no change from the initial clay products. The dehydroxylation temperature showed a slight decrease from 619° to 605°C. STA measurements demonstrated that the cis-vacant character of the octahedral sheet remained nearly unchanged throughout the experiment. Determination of the average layer charge showed a continuous increase from 0.32 to 0.42 eq/Si (Si/Al)4O10 whereas the layer charge distribution indicated the appearance of high charged smectite layers with a charge of ~ 0.6 eq/Si (Si/Al)4O10 and the disappearance of the low charged layers. XPS and SEM measurements indicate an increase of the aluminium in the smectite samples. Isotope data support the theory of a internal diffusion mechanism by gradual changes in δ 18O values. From these data it appears that KOH solutions provoke a mineralogical change in the 2:1 layer of the smectite minerals which increases the layer charge by increasing the Al content. This mineralogical change does not involve dissolution/crystallization processes and then must show solid state transformation of the clays at 80°C

Understanding European cross-border cooperation: a framework for analysis

European integration has had a dual impact on border regions. On the one hand, borders were physically dismantled across most of the EU’s internal territory. On the other hand, they have become a fertile ground for territorial co-operation and institutional innovation. The degree of cross-border co-operation and organization achieved varies considerably from one region to another depending on a combination of various facilitating factors for effective cross-border co-operation, more specifically, economic, political leadership, cultural/identity and state formation, and geographical factors. This article offers a conceptual framework to understand the growth and diversity of cross-border regionalism within the EU context by focusing on the levels of and drives for co-operation

Constraints on Gamma-ray Emission from the Galactic Plane at 300 TeV

We describe a new search for diffuse ultrahigh energy gamma-ray emission associated with molecular clouds in the galactic disk. The Chicago Air Shower Array (CASA), operating in coincidence with the Michigan muon array (MIA), has recorded over 2.2 x 10^{9} air showers from April 4, 1990 to October 7, 1995. We search for gamma rays based upon the muon content of air showers arriving from the direction of the galactic plane. We find no significant evidence for diffuse gamma-ray emission, and we set an upper limit on the ratio of gamma rays to normal hadronic cosmic rays at less than 2.4 x 10^{-5} at 310 TeV (90% confidence limit) from the galactic plane region: (50 degrees < l < 200 degrees); -5 degrees < b < 5 degrees). This limit places a strong constraint on models for emission from molecular clouds in the galaxy. We rule out significant spectral hardening in the outer galaxy, and conclude that emission from the plane at these energies is likely to be dominated by the decay of neutral pions resulting from cosmic rays interactions with passive target gas molecules.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, submitted, 11 pages, AASTeX Latex, 3 Postscript figure

Predictors of patients remaining anovulatory during clomiphene citrate induction of ovulation in normogonadotropic oligoamenorrheic infertility

The diagnostic criteria used to identify patients suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome remain controversial. The present prospective longitudinal follow-up study was designed to identify whether certain criteria assessed during standardized initial screening could predict the response to ovulation induction with clomiphene citrate (CC) in 201 patients presenting with oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea and infertility. Serum FSH levels were within the normal range (1-10 IU/L), and all patients underwent spontaneous or progestin-induced withdrawal bleeding. Initial CC doses were 50 mg daily for 5 days starting on cycle day 3. In the case of an absent response, doses were increased to 100 and 150 mg daily in subsequent cycles. First ovulation with CC was used as the end point. After a complete follow-up (in the case of a nonresponse, at least 3 treatment cycles with daily CC doses up to 150 mg), 156 patients (78%) ovulated. The free androgen index (FAI = testosterone/sex hormone-binding globulin ratio), body mass index (BMI), cycle history (oligomenorrhea vs. amenorrhea), serum androgen (testosterone and/or androstenedione) levels, and mean ovarian volume assessed by transvaginal sonography were all significantly different (P < 0.01) in responders from those in nonresponders. FAI was chosen to be the best predictor in univariate analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve in a multivariate prediction model including FAI, BMI, cycle history, and mean ovarian volume was 0.82. Patients whose ovaries are less likely to respond to stimulation by FSH due to CC treatment can be predicted on the basis of initial screening characteristics, such as FAI, BMI, cycle history (oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea), and mean ovarian volume. These observations may add to ongoing discussion regarding etiological factors involved in ovarian dysfunction in these patients and classification of normogonadotropic anovulatory infertile women

Intercalation-enhanced electric polarization and chain formation of nano-layered particles

Microscopy observations show that suspensions of synthetic and natural nano-layered smectite clay particles submitted to a strong external electric field undergo a fast and extended structuring. This structuring results from the interaction between induced electric dipoles, and is only possible for particles with suitable polarization properties. Smectite clay colloids are observed to be particularly suitable, in contrast to similar suspensions of a non-swelling clay. Synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments provide the orientation distributions for the particles. These distributions are understood in terms of competing (i) homogenizing entropy and (ii) interaction between the particles and the local electric field; they show that clay particles polarize along their silica sheet. Furthermore, a change in the platelet separation inside nano-layered particles occurs under application of the electric field, indicating that intercalated ions and water molecules play a role in their electric polarization. The resulting induced dipole is structurally attached to the particle, and this causes particles to reorient and interact, resulting in the observed macroscopic structuring. The macroscopic properties of these electro-rheological smectite suspensions may be tuned by controlling the nature and quantity of the intercalated species, at the nanoscale.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Improved ventricular function during inhalation of PGI(2) aerosol partly relies on enhanced myocardial contractility

Inhaled prostacyclin (PGI(2)) aerosol induces selective pulmonary vasodilation. Further, it improves right ventricular ( RV) function, which may largely rely on pulmonary vasodilation, but also on enhanced myocardial contractility. We investigated the effects of the inhaled PGI(2) analogs epoprostenol (EPO) and iloprost (ILO) on RV function and myocardial contractility in 9 anesthetized pigs receiving aerosolized EPO (25 and 50 ng center dot kg(-1) center dot min(-1)) and, consecutively, ILO (60 ng center dot kg(-1) center dot min(-1)) for 20 min each. We measured pulmonary artery pressure ( PAP), RV ejection fraction (RVEF) and RV end-diastolic-volume (RV-EDV), and left ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume-relation (end-systolic elastance, E-es). EPO and ILO reduced PAP, increased RVEF and reduced RVEDV. E-es was enhanced during all doses tested, which reached statistical significance during EPO25ng and ILO, but not during EPO50ng. PGI(2) aerosol enhances myocardial contractility in healthy pigs, contributing to improve RV function. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel