Precision Drell-Yan measurements at the LHC and implications for the diphoton excess

Goertz, Florian,Katz, Andrey,Son, Minho,Urbano, Alfredo Springer-Verlag 2016 Journal of high energy physics Vol.2016 No.7

Mistrust and hegemony: Regional institutional design, the FSU-CIS, and Russia

John P. Willerton,Gary Goertz,Michael O. Slobodchikoff 한국외국어대학교 국제지역연구센터 2015 International Area Studies Review Vol.18 No.1

Power inequalities and mistrust have characterized many relationships between states over the centuries. One approach that states can take to deal with these two, often interrelated, problems is to create intergovernmental institutions and arrangements designed to accommodate the interests of states with varied power capabilities. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) embodies an interesting institutional design in an effort by former Soviet Union (FSU) countries to address these dilemmas. The CIS was not only the first multilateral FSU organization created following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it also provided a necessary and important framework for the further construction of bilateral and multilateral relations among the former Soviet republics as they reengaged one another. CIS arrangements have been augmented by extensive bilateral negotiations and treaties and, brought together, these interconnected multilateral and bilateral instruments yield a system of cautious regional security governance and framework for international relations within the FSU. This paper analyzes three key features of this foundational CIS institutional design: (1) legalism, (2) an à la carte choice of treaty instruments, and (3) nested bilateralism, wherein many details of the regional, multilateral agreements are implemented via bilateral treaties (hence constituting a combination design feature). Empirically, the paper illuminates this institutional design using a unique dataset of all multilateral security treaties of the CIS (approximately 185) and all bilateral security treaties (more than 500) between the regional hegemon, Russia, and the smaller CIS members. We further investigate the causal mechanisms of the CIS institutional design as it copes with the conditions of hegemony and mistrust in two bilateral case studies, Russia–Armenia, and Russia–Ukraine (Black Sea Fleet status). We find the CIS institutional design, built upon by subsequent FSU regional organizations (including the Eurasian Economic Union and Shanghai Cooperation Organization), has permitted both more and less powerful states to advance their interrelated security interests in the face of considerable power asymmetry and mistrust. More than twenty years after the CIS’s formation, a patchwork of Eurasian regional organizations and numerous related bilateral treaties widen regional security and other arrangements. Meanwhile, the dramatic events surrounding the February 2014 Ukrainian coup and the joining of Crimea to the Russian Federation only reinforce the importance of understanding state treaty activity in channeling state action. Questions surround Russia respecting the 1992 treaty and protocol with Ukraine and the US on the removal of nuclear weapons from the territory of Ukraine and the joint recognition of Ukraine’s sovereign borders. But Russia’s spring 2014 actions involving Crimea and its Crimean bases accorded with the various treaties concluded with Ukraine in 1997; treaties addressing the Black Sea Fleet and the Crimean Peninsula that are a subject of our analysis.

Treaty networks, nesting, and interstate cooperation: Russia, the FSU, and the CIS

John PWillerton,Michael O Slobodchikoff,Gary Goertz 한국외국어대학교 국제지역연구센터 2012 International Area Studies Review Vol.15 No.1

Networks of treaties with treaty nesting, wherein treaties build upon, expand upon, or are grounded in preexisting treaties, are an increasingly important dimension of interstate cooperation. Focusing on relations within the area of the former Soviet Union (FSU), with special attention to both multilateral and bilateral arrangements between Russia and other FSU states, we illuminate treaty activism and regional cooperation among Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) members in the security domain. Beyond an analysis of multilateral and bilateral CIS alliance agreements, we evaluate the more focused security arrangements of two FSU–CIS bilateral relationships: Russia–Turkmenistan and Russia–Georgia. We intentionally analyze these two complex and problematic bilateral relationships, where treaty activism and networks permitted the signatory states to address common security issues. The breakdown of the Russian–Georgian relationship with the August 2008 war should not obscure the significant conflict management efforts of the preceding decade and a half; efforts that were grounded in intensive treaty activity. Joined together, these CIS multilateral and focused bilateral relationships point to a treaty complex and architecture that partially manage the contrasting security interests of FSU states.

What’s So Peaceful about Asian Peace?

Blake Hoffman,Paul F Diehl,Andrew Owsiak,Gary Goertz,Yahve Gallegos Institute for International Trade and Cooperation, 2018 Asian International Studies Review Vol.19 No.1

Previous work on an Asian peace has been imprecise on where, when, and why it occurs. This study examines different levels of state-based peace starting with the absence of war; unlike other treatments, however, we examine the incidence of civil war as well as the traditional interstate war. We then consider a more stringent threshold for peace, focusing on the absence or diminution of violent conflicts short of war, specifically incidents of militarized disputes and lesser conflicts. Finally, we look a broader conception of peace (“positive peace”) and examine all state relationships in Asia along a peace scale, which ranges from serious rivalries to negative peace to integrated security communities. Our findings indicate the strongest evidence for Asian peace with respect to avoiding interstate war. Nevertheless, there are significant conflicts involving violence and the threat of military force that persist in the region. A number of rivalries, many of them long-standing, continue to raise the specter of war. In addition, positive peace in Asia is rare for interstate relations and isolated to a few states for internal peace.

Porphyrin Shell Microbubbles with Intrinsic Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Properties

Huynh, Elizabeth,Lovell, Jonathan F.,Helfield, Brandon L.,Jeon, Mansik,Kim, Chulhong,Goertz, David E.,Wilson, Brian C.,Zheng, Gang American Chemical Society 2012 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY - Vol.134 No.40

<P>Porphyrin–phospholipid conjugates were used to create photonic microbubbles (MBs) having a porphyrin shell (“porshe”), and their acoustic and photoacoustic properties were investigated. The inclusion of porphyrin–lipid in the MB shell increased the yield, improved the serum stability, and generated a narrow volumetric size distribution with a peak size of 2.7 ± 0.2 μm. Using an acoustic model, we calculated the porshe stiffness to be 3–5 times greater than that of commercial lipid MBs. Porshe MBs were found to be intrinsically suitable for both ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging with a resonance frequency of 9–10 MHz. The distinctive properties of porshe MBs make them potentially advantageous for a broad range of biomedical imaging and therapeutic applications.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/jacsat/2012/jacsat.2012.134.issue-40/ja305988f/production/images/medium/ja-2012-05988f_0007.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/ja305988f'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

Methylene blue microbubbles as a model dual-modality contrast agent for ultrasound and activatable photoacoustic imaging

Jeon, Mansik,Song, Wentao,Huynh, Elizabeth,Kim, Jungho,Kim, Jeesu,Helfield, Brandon L.,Leung, Ben Y. C.,Goertz, David E.,Zheng, Gang,Oh, Jungtaek,Lovell, Jonathan F.,Kim, Chulhong SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engine 2014 Journal of biomedical optics Vol.19 No.1

Ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging are highly complementary modalities since both use ultrasonic detection for operation. Increasingly, photoacoustic and ultrasound have been integrated in terms of hardware instrumentation. To generate a broadly accessible dual-modality contrast agent, we generated microbubbles (a standard ultrasound contrast agent) in a solution of methylene blue (a standard photoacoustic dye). This MB2 solution was formed effectively and was optimized as a dual-modality contrast solution. As microbubble concentration increased (with methylene blue concentration constant), photoacoustic signal was attenuated in the MB2 solution. When methylene blue concentration increased (with microbubble concentration held constant), no ultrasonic interference was observed. Using an MB2 solution that strongly attenuated all photoacoustic signal, high powered ultrasound could be used to burst the microbubbles and dramatically enhance photoacoustic contrast (>800-fold increase), providing a new method for spatiotemporal control of photoacoustic signal generation. (C) 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

In situ conversion of porphyrin microbubbles to nanoparticles for multimodality imaging

Huynh, Elizabeth,Leung, Ben Y. C.,Helfield, Brandon L.,Shakiba, Mojdeh,Gandier, Julie-Anne,Jin, Cheng S.,Master, Emma R.,Wilson, Brian C.,Goertz, David E.,Zheng, Gang Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan P 2015 Nature nanotechnology Vol.10 No.4

Converting nanoparticles or monomeric compounds into larger supramolecular structures by endogenous or external stimuli is increasingly popular because these materials are useful for imaging and treating diseases. However, conversion of microstructures to nanostructures is less common. Here, we show the conversion of microbubbles to nanoparticles using low-frequency ultrasound. The microbubble consists of a bacteriochlorophyll–lipid shell around a perfluoropropane gas. The encapsulated gas provides ultrasound imaging contrast and the porphyrins in the shell confer photoacoustic and fluorescent properties. On exposure to ultrasound, the microbubbles burst and form smaller nanoparticles that possess the same optical properties as the original microbubble. We show that this conversion is possible in tumour-bearing mice and could be validated using photoacoustic imaging. With this conversion, our microbubble can potentially be used to bypass the enhanced permeability and retention effect when delivering drugs to tumours.