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The European Union (EU) promotes arms collaboration as a stepping-stone towards the evolution of an integrated European defence technology and industrial base. It will necessarily comprise prime contractors and their attendant supply chains, with the latter particularly important because they represent a refined regional division of labour, promoting efficiencies through skill-based specialisation. Paradoxically, however, Europe's largest military aerospace collaborative venture, the Eurofighter Typhoon, possesses a complex supply chain subject to political and institutional strictures, as well as potential inefficiencies. Partner nations prioritise national sovereignty objectives through duplicated assembly lines and work allocation arrangements based on juste retour (fair share) rather than market-driven competitiveness criteria. The purpose of this paper, then, is to explore Typhoon's supply chain complexity, especially the impact of juste retour policy. The findings from this analysis will highlight important policy issues influencing the future supply chain model of Europe's successor 6th-Generation fighter programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) among Omani hypertensive patients, on treatment and under primary health care (PHC) follow-up in Al Seeb Wilayat, Oman. Socio-demographic and clinical factors were explored for possible influence on blood pressure (BP) control., Methods: Based on an assumption of 50% prevalence of uncontrolled HTN, a retrospective data collection was conducted on the last three follow-up visits of 411 randomly selected Omani adults (≥18 years) from 3,459 hypertensive patients. Adequate BP control was defined using criteria from 7(th) Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention Detection Evaluation & Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7). A P value of <0.05 and odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were used to assess for association., Results: The targets for adequate BP control were achieved in 39% of the studied patients (95% confidence interval [CI]: 34-44%). Lower BP control was found among hypertensives with diabetes (6.4%, P = <0.001) and renal disease (18.5%, P = 0.02); those with cardiovascular disease (CVD) showed relatively better control (58%). Age and gender had no impact on BP control. Most patients were only on one (24%) or two (47%) antihypertensive medications, the most frequently used being β-blockers (58.2%) and diuretics (56.3%)., Conclusion: HTN is not adequately controlled in over 60% of treated patients; the presence of co-morbidity and less than aggressive treatment are significant contributors. Improving the quality of HTN care is a priority; effective efforts should be undertaken to improve BP control.