Turkey’s foreign policy moves away from the US and Israel have not met with success

As one of the few secular democracies in the Middle East, Turkey faces strategic pulls from its Islamic neighbours, and from the US over its policies towards Israel. Kostas Ifantis argues that the present government’s recent moves towards closer relations with countries like Iran, and its involvement in the Syrian civil war have thrown up a new problems, and exacerbated old ones. With its reputation tarnished by the recent protests, Turkey’s is now finding that its grand designs for the Middle East are being frustrated by regional realities

National role and foreign policy: an exploratory study of Greek elites' perceptions towards Turkey

This study is based on the findings of a National Bank of Greece research funding awarded to Kostas Ifantis and Dimitris Triantaphyllou by the Hellenic Observatory of the London School of Economics and Political Science (Research Tender 3-NBG3-2013)

Factorisation of analytic representations in the unit disk and number-phase statistics of a quantum harmonic oscillator

The inner-outer part factorisation of analytic representations in the unit disk is used for an effective characterisation of the number-phase statistical properties of a quantum harmonic oscillator. It is shown that the factorisation is intimately connected to the number-phase Weyl semigroup and its properties. In the Barut-Girardello analytic representation the factorisation is implemented as a convolution. Several examples are given which demonstrate the physical significance of the factorisation and its role for quantum statistics. In particular, we study the effect of phase-space interference on the factorisation properties of a superposition state.Comment: to appear in J. Phys. A, LaTeX, 13 pages, no figures. More information on http://www.technion.ac.il/~brif/science.htm

European security and Balkan challenges : national policies and institutional failures

The article discusses the issues and dilemmas that Western states andinstitutions faced in South-eastern Europe as a result of the “reactivationof history” in the region and the policies pursued as a response to therisks generated by the Yugoslav imbroglio. The overall argument is thatthe Balkan conflict is strictly linked to the post-Cold War power dislocation in the international system, which is manifestly demonstrated bythe involvement of the leading powers and institutions in the dynamicsof crisis and by the real danger that the disorder will spill over to regionspreviously regarded as stable areas of the European sub-system. Theanalysis considers in turn: a) the response of the European Union and theUSA; and b) the prospects of constructing a new, badly needed securityregime in the area. It is argued that the Balkan states cannot beseparated from Europe’s wider security concerns. The region needs to be integrated into continent-wide structures, in order to both defuse localconflicts and prevent the recurrence of future such

A consistent quantum model for continuous photodetection processes

We are modifying some aspects of the continuous photodetection theory, proposed by Srinivas and Davies [Optica Acta 28, 981 (1981)], which describes the non-unitary evolution of a quantum field state subjected to a continuous photocount measurement. In order to remedy inconsistencies that appear in their approach, we redefine the `annihilation' and `creation' operators that enter in the photocount superoperators. We show that this new approach not only still satisfies all the requirements for a consistent photocount theory according to Srinivas and Davies precepts, but also avoids some weird result appearing when previous definitions are used.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Creating quanta with "annihilation" operator

An asymmetric nature of the boson `destruction' operator $\hat{a}$ and its `creation' partner $\hat{a}^{\dagger}$ is made apparent by applying them to a quantum state $|\psi>$ different from the Fock state $|n>$. We show that it is possible to {\em increase} (by many times or by any quantity) the mean number of quanta in the new `photon-subtracted' state $\hat{a}|\psi >$. Moreover, for certain `hyper-Poissonian' states $|\psi>$ the mean number of quanta in the (normalized) state $\hat{a}|\psi>$ can be much greater than in the `photon-added' state $\hat{a}^{\dagger}|\psi >$. The explanation of this `paradox' is given and some examples elucidating the meaning of Mandel's $q$-parameter and the exponential phase operators are considered.Comment: 10 pages, LaTex, an extended version with several references added and the text divided into sections; to appear in J. Phys.

Secondary metabolites from the aerial parts of Centaurea pannonica (Heuffel) Simonkai (Asteraceae) and Origanum scabrum Boiss. & Heldr. (Lamiaceae) and their antimicrobial activities

Predmet doktorske disertacije je izolovanje i identifikacija sekundarnih metabolita iz ekstrakata nadzemnih delova biljaka Centaurea pannonica (Heuffel) Simonkai (Asteraceae) i Origanum scabrum Boiss. & Heldr. (Lamiacea), kao i ispitivanje obima njihove antimikrobne aktivnosti i hemotaksonomski značaj. Takođe, predmet ispitivanja je hemijski sastav etarskog ulja Centaurea pannonica i antimikrobna aktivnost. Primenom hromatografskih metoda izolovanja jedinjenja i spektroskopskih metoda identifikacije struktura, iz nepolarnog ekstrakta biljke Centaurea pannonica sa područja Srbije, izolovano je i identifikovano 25 jedinjenja: 14 seskviterpenskih laktona, 7 flavonoida, 3 lignana i 1 fenilpropanoid glukozid. Navedena jedinjenja po prvi put su izolovana iz navedene biljke dok su germakranolid 2α-hidroksi 8- dehidroksi-15-Ο-metakrilat salonitenolid i gvajanolidi: 2α,8α-dihidroksi dehidrokostunolid lakton i panonin novi prirodni proizvodi, prvi put izolovani iz prirodnog resursa. Ispitivanjem esencijalnog ulja navedene biljke, identifikovano je ukupno 45 jedinjenja, što je 82,2% ukupnog sastava esencijanog ulja. Kvantitativno najzastupljenije grupe jedinjenja čine višemasne kiseline sa 43,7% i kiseonični derivati seskviterpena 18,7%.In the present thesis, the secondary metabolites of two different plant species, namely Centaurea pannonica (Heuffel) Simonkai (Asteraceae) growing wild in Serbia and Origanum scabrum Boiss. & Heldr. (Lamiaceae) growing wild in Greece, were isolated and identified. Moreover, the antimicrobial activities of the total plant extracts and the isolates were evaluated. In addition, the chemical composition and the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of C. pannonica were investigated. The chemical composition of the plant extracts was investigated by means of standard chromatographic (VLC, MPLC, HPLC, CC, TLC) and spectroscopic methods (UV, IR, HREIMS and 1D & 2D NMR). The lipophilic extract of C. pannonica afforded twenty-five compounds including fourteen sesquiterpene lactones, seven flavonoids, three lignans and one phenylpropanoid glycoside. All compounds were isolated for the first time from C. pannonica. Among them, one germacranolide, 2α-hydroxy, 8-dehydroxy 15-Ο-methacrylate salonitenolide and two guaianolides, i.e. 2α, 8α-dihydroxy-dehydrocostus lactone and pannonin are new natural products. Forty-five compounds were identified, representing 82.2% of the total C. pannonica essential oil. Unsaturated and aliphatic acids (43.7%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (18.7%) are the major groups of components

Theory and reform in the European Union

This substantially updated and revised edition offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges confronting the political system as well as the international politics of the European Union. It draws from a rich spectrum of regional integration theories to determine what the Union actually is and how it is developing. The book examines constitutional politics of the European Union, from the Single European Act to the Treaty of Nice and beyond. The ongoing debate on the future of Europe links together questions of democracy and legitimacy, competences and rights, and the prospects for European polity-building. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the emerging European polity and the questions that further treaty reform generate for the future of the regional system. The authors also assess the evolving European security architecture, the limits and possibilities of a genuine European foreign, security and defence policy, and the role of the European Union in the post-Cold War international system. Common themes involve debates about stability and instability, continuity and change, multipolarity and leadership, co-operation and discord, power capabilities and patterns of behaviour. The book traces the defining features of the 'new order' in Europe and incorporates an analysis of the post-September 11 context. This major new edition will be of particular interest to academics, policy-makers and students with an interest in the politics and governance of contemporary Europe, as well as to those pursuing a career in international affairs

Severe accordion effect: Myocardial ischemia due to wire complication during percutaneous coronary intervention: A case report

A mechanical alteration during manoeuvring of stiff guidewires in tortuous coronary arteries frequently induces vessel wall shortening and coronary psedostenosis, referred as accordion phenomenon. Subtraction of the guidewires normally leads to the entire resolution of the lesions. A case of this transient angiographic finding, during percutaneous coronary intervention in a tortuous right coronary artery, which resulted in a flow limiting effect and myocardial ischemia, is described in the present report. Differential diagnosis from potential procedure complications and interventional methodology issues are discussed, while similar reports are reviewed