“Just in Case”: Extended Nuclear Deterrence in the Defense of Australia
This paper examines the foundations and rationale for Australian reliance on US assurances of extended nuclear deterrence. The Australian model of extended nuclear deterrence is marked by its lack of public presence, a lack of certainty about its standing and character in US eyes, its lack of a direct nuclear threat, and its resurgence at a time when nuclear abolition possibilities are being embraced by the leader of the deterrence provider. Australian policy amounts to a claim that the nuclear guarantee is necessary “just in case”– though without any plausible specifics. The fundamental questions remain – for Australia as for other recipients of extended nuclear deterrence assurances – what threats, what probabilities, what alternatives?
Israel and the evolution of U.S. nonproliferation policy: The critical decade (1958–1968)
Dr. Avner Cohen is a Senior Fellow in the Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace at the United States Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C. He was a lecturer in philosophy at Tel Aviv University from 1983 to 1991 and has held visiting posts at several American universities. He has also served as codirector for a project on nuclear arms control in the Middle East at the MIT Center for International Studies. He is the author of many works on proliferation issues, including the forthcoming book Israel and the Bomb: A Political History (1950-1970) (Columbia University Press, 1998). ISRAEL AND THE EVOLUTION OF U.S. NONPROLIFERATION POLICY: THE CRITICAL DECADE (1958-1968)
Rational Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of γ-CD-Containing Cross-Linked Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel as a Prednisone Delivery Platform
This study describes the in-silico rational design, synthesis and evaluation of cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels containing γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CDHSAs) as platforms for the sustained release of prednisone (PDN). Through in-silico studies using semi-empirical quantum mechanical calculations, the effectiveness of 20 dicarboxylic acids to generate a specific cross-linked hydrogel capable of supporting different amounts of γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) was evaluated. According to the interaction energies calculated with the in-silico studies, the hydrogel made from PVA cross-linked with succinic acids (SA) was shown to be the best candidate for containing γ-CD. Later, molecular dynamics simulation studies were performed in order to evaluate the intermolecular interactions between PDN and three cross-linked hydrogel formulations with different proportions of γ-CD (2.44%, 4.76% and 9.1%). These three cross-linked hydrogels were synthesized and characterized. The loading and the subsequent release of PDN from the hydrogels were investigated. The in-silico and experimental results showed that the interaction between PDN and γ-CDHSA was mainly produced with the γ-CDs linked to the hydrogels. Thus, the unique structures and properties of γ-CDHSA demonstrated an interesting multiphasic profile that could be utilized as a promising drug carrier for controlled, sustained and localized release of PDN.