A Slight Excess of Large Scale Power from Moments of the Peculiar Velocity Field

The peculiar motions of galaxies can be used to infer the distribution of matter in the Universe. It has recently been shown that measurements of the peculiar velocity field indicates an anomalously high bulk flow of galaxies in our local volume. In this paper we find the implications of the high bulk flow for the power spectrum of density fluctuations. We find that analyzing only the dipole moment of the velocity field yields an average power spectrum amplitude which is indeed much higher than the LCDM value. However, by also including shear and octupole moments of the velocity field, and marginalizing over possible values for the growth rate, an average power spectrum amplitude which is consistent with LCDM is recovered. We attempt to infer the shape of the matter power spectrum from moments of the velocity field, and find a slight excess of power on scales ~ h-1 Gpc.Comment: 6 pages,6 figures, updated to match accepted versio

NIMBUS: The Near-Infrared Multi-Band Ultraprecise Spectroimager for SOFIA

We present a new and innovative near-infrared multi-band ultraprecise spectroimager (NIMBUS) for SOFIA. This design is capable of characterizing a large sample of extrasolar planet atmospheres by measuring elemental and molecular abundances during primary transit and occultation. This wide-field spectroimager would also provide new insights into Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNO), Solar System occultations, brown dwarf atmospheres, carbon chemistry in globular clusters, chemical gradients in nearby galaxies, and galaxy photometric redshifts. NIMBUS would be the premier ultraprecise spectroimager by taking advantage of the SOFIA observatory and state of the art infrared technologies. This optical design splits the beam into eight separate spectral bandpasses, centered around key molecular bands from 1 to 4 microns. Each spectral channel has a wide field of view for simultaneous observations of a reference star that can decorrelate time-variable atmospheric and optical assembly effects, allowing the instrument to achieve ultraprecise calibration for imaging and photometry for a wide variety of astrophysical sources. NIMBUS produces the same data products as a low-resolution integral field spectrograph over a large spectral bandpass, but this design obviates many of the problems that preclude high-precision measurements with traditional slit and integral field spectrographs. This instrument concept is currently not funded for development.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 201

Effects of anti-inflammatory drugs on the expression of tryptophan-metabolism genes by human macrophages.

Several lines of evidence link macrophage activation and inflammation with (monoaminergic) nervous systems in the etiology of depression. IFN treatment is associated with depressive symptoms, whereas anti-TNFα therapies elicit positive mood. This study describes the actions of 2 monoaminergic antidepressants (escitalopram, nortriptyline) and 3 anti-inflammatory drugs (indomethacin, prednisolone, and anti-TNFα antibody) on the response of human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) from 6 individuals to LPS or IFN-α. Expression profiling revealed robust changes in the MDM transcriptome (3294 genes at P < 0.001) following LPS challenge, whereas a more limited subset of genes (499) responded to IFNα. Contrary to published reports, administered at nontoxic doses, neither monoaminergic antidepressant significantly modulated the transcriptional response to either inflammatory challenge. Each anti-inflammatory drug had a distinct impact on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and on the profile of inducible gene expression-notably on the regulation of enzymes involved in metabolism of tryptophan. Inter alia, the effect of anti-TNFα antibody confirmed a predicted autocrine stimulatory loop in human macrophages. The transcriptional changes were predictive of tryptophan availability and kynurenine synthesis, as analyzed by targeted metabolomic studies on cellular supernatants. We suggest that inflammatory processes in the brain or periphery could impact on depression by altering the availability of tryptophan for serotonin synthesis and/or by increasing production of neurotoxic kynurenine

The fables of pity: Rousseau, Mandeville and the animal-fable

Copyright @ 2012 Edinburgh University PressPrompted by Derrida’s work on the animal-fable in eighteenth-century debates about political power, this article examines the role played by the fiction of the animal in thinking of pity as either a natural virtue (in Rousseau’s Second Discourse) or as a natural passion (in Mandeville’s The Fable of the Bees). The war of fables between Rousseau and Mandeville – and their hostile reception by Samuel Johnson and Adam Smith – reinforce that the animal-fable illustrates not so much the proper of man as the possibilities and limitations of a moral philosophy that is unable to address the political realities of the state

Book Reviews: Spring 2020

Book Reviews, of:Dalsgaard (ed) – Thomas Pynchon in ContextChetwynd, Freer, Maragos (eds) – Thomas Pynchon, Sex, and GenderMogultay – The Ruins of Urban Modernity: Thomas Pynchon's Against the DayAlworth – Site Reading: Fiction, Art, Social FormMullins – Postmodernism in Pieces: Materializing the SocialHenry – New Media and the Transformation of Postmodern American Literature: From Cage to Connectionden Dulk – Existentialist Engagement in Wallace, Eggers, and Foer: A Philosophical Analysis of Contemporary American LiteratureAnderson – Postmodern Artistry in Medievalist Fiction: An International StudyHouser – Ecosickness in Contemporary U.S. Fiction: Environment and AffectPalleau-Papin (ed) – Under Fire; William T. Vollmann, The Rifles: A Critical Study [a note from the Book Reviews Editor: if you're interested in reviewing a book on any aspect of unconventional post-1945 US literature, please send an email proposing a review to [email protected]

Space-based research in fundamental physics and quantum technologies

Space-based experiments today can uniquely address important questions related to the fundamental laws of Nature. In particular, high-accuracy physics experiments in space can test relativistic gravity and probe the physics beyond the Standard Model; they can perform direct detection of gravitational waves and are naturally suited for precision investigations in cosmology and astroparticle physics. In addition, atomic physics has recently shown substantial progress in the development of optical clocks and atom interferometers. If placed in space, these instruments could turn into powerful high-resolution quantum sensors greatly benefiting fundamental physics. We discuss the current status of space-based research in fundamental physics, its discovery potential, and its importance for modern science. We offer a set of recommendations to be considered by the upcoming National Academy of Sciences' Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics. In our opinion, the Decadal Survey should include space-based research in fundamental physics as one of its focus areas. We recommend establishing an Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee's interagency ``Fundamental Physics Task Force'' to assess the status of both ground- and space-based efforts in the field, to identify the most important objectives, and to suggest the best ways to organize the work of several federal agencies involved. We also recommend establishing a new NASA-led interagency program in fundamental physics that will consolidate new technologies, prepare key instruments for future space missions, and build a strong scientific and engineering community. Our goal is to expand NASA's science objectives in space by including ``laboratory research in fundamental physics'' as an element in agency's ongoing space research efforts.Comment: a white paper, revtex, 27 pages, updated bibliograph

Helping Business Schools Engage with Real Problems: The Contribution of Critical Realism and Systems Thinking

The world faces major problems, not least climate change and the financial crisis, and business schools have been criticised for their failure to help address these issues and, in the case of the financial meltdown, for being causally implicated in it. In this paper we begin by describing the extent of what has been called the rigour/relevance debate. We then diagnose the nature of the problem in terms of historical, structural and contextual mechanisms that initiated and now sustain an inability of business schools to engage with real-world issues. We then propose a combination of measures, which mutually reinforce each other, that are necessary to break into this vicious circle – critical realism as an underpinning philosophy that supports and embodies the next points; holism and transdisciplinarity; multimethodology (mixed-methods research); and a critical and ethical-committed stance. OR and management science have much to contribute in terms of both powerful analytical methods and problem structuring methods

Repeated exposure to systemic inflammation and risk of new depressive symptoms among older adults.

Evidence on systemic inflammation as a risk factor for future depression is inconsistent, possibly due to a lack of regard for persistency of exposure. We examined whether being inflamed on multiple occasions increases risk of new depressive symptoms using prospective data from a population-based sample of adults aged 50 years or older (the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing). Participants with less than four of eight depressive symptoms in 2004/05 and 2008/09 based on the Eight-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale were analysed. The number of occasions with C-reactive protein ⩾3 mg l-1 over the same initial assessments (1 vs 0 occasion, and 2 vs 0 occasions) was examined in relation to change in depressive symptoms between 2008/09 and 2012/13 and odds of developing depressive symptomology (having more than or equal to four of eight symptoms) in 2012/13. In multivariable-adjusted regression models (n=2068), participants who were inflamed on 1 vs 0 occasion showed no increase in depressive symptoms nor raised odds of developing depressive symptomology; those inflamed on 2 vs 0 occasions showed a 0.10 (95% confidence intervals (CIs)=-0.07, 0.28) symptom increase and 1.60 (95% CI=1.00, 2.55) times higher odds. In further analyses, 2 vs 0 occasions of inflammation were associated with increased odds of developing depressive symptoms among women (odds ratio (OR)=2.75, 95% CI=1.53, 4.95), but not among men (OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.29, 1.68); P-for-sex interaction=0.035. In this cohort study of older adults, repeated but not transient exposure to systemic inflammation was associated with increased risk of future depressive symptoms among women; this subgroup finding requires confirmation of validity

Interferon-alpha reduces human hippocampal neurogenesis and increases apoptosis via activation of distinct STAT1-dependent mechanisms

BACKGROUND: In humans, interferon-α treatment for chronic viral hepatitis is a well-recognized clinical model for inflammation-induced depression, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are not clear. Following peripheral administration in rodents, interferon-α induces signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) within the hippocampus and disrupts hippocampal neurogenesis. METHODS: We used the human hippocampal progenitor cell line HPC0A07/03C to evaluate the effects of 2 concentrations of interferon-α, similar to those observed in human serum during its therapeutic use (500 pg/mL and 5000 pg/mL), on neurogenesis and apoptosis. RESULTS: Both concentrations of interferon-α decreased hippocampal neurogenesis, with the high concentration also increasing apoptosis. Moreover, interferon-α increased the expression of interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), ubiquitin-specific peptidase 18 (USP18), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) via activation of STAT1. Like interferon-α, co-treatment with a combination of ISG15, USP18, and IL-6 was able to reduce neurogenesis and enhance apoptosis via further downstream activation of STAT1. Further experiments showed that ISG15 and USP18 mediated the interferon-α-induced reduction in neurogenesis (potentially through upregulation of the ISGylation-related proteins UBA7, UBE2L6, and HERC5), while IL-6 mediated the interferon-α-induced increase in apoptosis (potentially through downregulation of aquaporin 4). Using transcriptomic analyses, we showed that interferon-α regulated pathways involved in oxidative stress and immune response (e.g., Nuclear Factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 [Nrf2] and interferon regulatory factor [IRF] signaling pathway), neuronal formation (e.g., CAMP response element-binding protein [CREB] signaling), and cell death regulation (e.g., tumor protein(p)53 signaling). CONCLUSIONS: We identify novel molecular mechanisms mediating the effects of interferon-α on the human hippocampus potentially involved in inflammation-induced neuropsychiatric symptoms