Feeding your Inflaton: Non-Gaussian Signatures of Interaction Structure

Primordial non-Gaussianity is generated by interactions of the inflaton field, either self-interactions or couplings to other sectors. These two physically different mechanisms can lead to nearly indistinguishable bispectra of the equilateral type, but generate distinct patterns in the relative scaling of higher order moments. We illustrate these classes in a simple effective field theory framework where the flatness of the inflaton potential is protected by a softly broken shift symmetry. Since the distinctive difference between the two classes of interactions is the scaling of the moments, we investigate the implications for observables that depend on the series of moments. We obtain analytic expressions for the Minkowski functionals and the halo mass function for an arbitrary structure of moments, and use these to demonstrate how different classes of interactions might be distinguished observationally. Our analysis casts light on a number of theoretical issues, in particular we clarify the difference between the physics that keeps the distribution of fluctuations nearly Gaussian, and the physics that keeps the calculation under control.Comment: 33 pages (plus appendices), 3 figures. V2: references added, some minor clarifications. Accepted for publication in JCA

Financial Distress and Bank Restructuring of Small to Medium Size UK Companies

We use a unique data set to study how U.K. banks deal with financially distressed small and medium-sized companies under a ‘contractualist’ bankruptcy system. Unlike in the U.S., these procedures limit the discretion of courts to strict enforcement of debt contracts, without any dilution of creditors’ claims. We show that lenders and borrowers select a debt structure that avoids some of the market failures often attributed to a contractualist system. Collateral and liquidation rights are highly concentrated in the hands of the main bank, giving it a dominant position in restructuring or liquidating a defaulting firm. There is little litigation, and no evidence of co-ordination failures or creditors’ runs. However, there is some evidence that the bank’s dominance makes it ‘lazy’ in monitoring, relying heavily on the value of its collateral in timing the bankruptcy decision

Ocular, Neurologic and Systemic Findings of the Cases with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia

AIM: To describe the associated ocular, neurologic, and systemic findings in a population of children with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) and to evaluate the relationship between ocular signs and neurologic findings. METHOD: A retrospective chart review of 53 patients with the diagnosis of ONH seen between December 1998 and September 2012 was performed. All neurodevelopmental anomalies, neuroradiologic findings, endocrinologic and systemic findings were recorded. Poor vision was defined as the visual acuity poorer than logMAR 1.0 or inadequate central steady maintained fixation. RESULTS: Thirty (56.6%) of the 53 children with ONH were boys. Mean age at presentation was 56.2±46.8 months (range; 3 months to 18 years). Poor vision defined for the purpose of this study was found in 47.2% of 53 patients. Thirty-three (62.3%) children had nystagmus. Thirty-four (64.2%) children had strabismus. Thirteen (38.2%) of those with strabismus had esotropia, 20 (58.8%) had exotropia. The total number of the children with neurodevelopmental deficit was 22 (41.5%) in our study. CONCLUSION: The vision of young children with ONH should be monitored at least annually, and any refractive errors should be treated. Neuroimaging of the brain and endocrinologic evaluation is necessary in all cases with ONH

Enteropatia proliferativa em eqüinos Proliferative enteropathy in horses

Enteropatia proliferativa (EP), causada pela Lawsonia intracellularis, tem sido descrita em eqüinos jovens. A maioria dos relatos de EP em eqüinos é proveniente da América do Norte. Não existe ainda relato desta enfermidade em eqüinos na América Latina, apesar de a distribuição mundial da enfermidade em suínos. Portanto, é bastante provável que a EP esteja sendo negligenciada no diagnóstico de diarréias em potros desmamados. Esta revisão enfoca aspectos gerais sobre a infecção, abrangendo desde a etiologia, a epidemiologia, a patogenia, os sinais clínicos, as lesões anátomo e histopatológicas, o diagnóstico e o tratamento, alertando sobre a potencial importância de L. intracellularis como possível agente causal de diarréia em potros desmamados.<br>Proliferative enteropathy (PE), which is caused by Lawsonia intracellularis, has been recently described in young horses. The majority of horse PE cases have been reported in North America. Despite the fact that PE in swine has a worldwide distribution, there has not been any report of this disease in horse in Latin America yet. Therefore, it is very likely that L. intracellularis has been neglected on diagnosis of diarrhea in weanling foals. This review highlights general aspects about the infection, including etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, gross and histological lesions, diagnosis and treatment, and warns about the potential importance of L. intracellularis as possible causative agent of diarrhea in weanling foals