The Angular Momenta of Neutron Stars and Black Holes as a Window on Supernovae

It is now clear that a subset of supernovae display evidence for jets and are observed as gamma-ray bursts. The angular momentum distribution of massive stellar endpoints provides a rare means of constraining the nature of the central engine in core-collapse explosions. Unlike supermassive black holes, the spin of stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binary systems is little affected by accretion, and accurately reflects the spin set at birth. A modest number of stellar-mass black hole angular momenta have now been measured using two independent X-ray spectroscopic techniques. In contrast, rotation-powered pulsars spin-down over time, via magnetic braking, but a modest number of natal spin periods have now been estimated. For both canonical and extreme neutron star parameters, statistical tests strongly suggest that the angular momentum distributions of black holes and neutron stars are markedly different. Within the context of prevalent models for core-collapse supernovae, the angular momentum distributions are consistent with black holes typically being produced in GRB-like supernovae with jets, and with neutron stars typically being produced in supernovae with too little angular momentum to produce jets via magnetohydrodynamic processes. It is possible that neutron stars are imbued with high spin initially, and rapidly spun-down shortly after the supernova event, but the available mechanisms may be inconsistent with some observed pulsar properties.Comment: ApJ Letters, accepte

Role of IL-33 in inflammation and disease

Interleukin (IL)-33 is a new member of the IL-1 superfamily of cytokines that is expressed by mainly stromal cells, such as epithelial and endothelial cells, and its expression is upregulated following pro-inflammatory stimulation. IL-33 can function both as a traditional cytokine and as a nuclear factor regulating gene transcription. It is thought to function as an 'alarmin' released following cell necrosis to alerting the immune system to tissue damage or stress. It mediates its biological effects via interaction with the receptors ST2 (IL-1RL1) and IL-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP), both of which are widely expressed, particularly by innate immune cells and T helper 2 (Th2) cells. IL-33 strongly induces Th2 cytokine production from these cells and can promote the pathogenesis of Th2-related disease such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and anaphylaxis. However, IL-33 has shown various protective effects in cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiac remodeling. Thus, the effects of IL-33 are either pro-or anti-inflammatory depending on the disease and the model. In this review the role of IL-33 in the inflammation of several disease pathologies will be discussed, with particular emphasis on recent advances

Transgressive bodies in the work of Julie Doucet, Fabrice Neaud and Jean-Christophe Menu: towards a theory of the 'autobioBD'

As the comic book, and more precisely its exceptionally francophone doppelganger, la bande dessinée, begins to fulfil its potential as 'the Ninth Art', the range of styles, reading contexts, and genres which constitute the form as a signifying practice has consequently expanded. Consideration of 'what a comic is', such as is found in the works of Thierry Groensteen and Benoît Peeters1 needs therefore to be complemented by a range of subsidiary questions addressing not only 'what kinds of comics there are', but, as an integral part of those inquiries, how different comic genres signify, and how the enunciative and representational functions deployed by each might be conceptualised. This paper considers the work of three Francophone comic artists, Fabrice Neaud and Jean-Christophe Menu, both French, and the Québecoise Julie Doucet, all of whom could be considered as proponents of the genre of BD we will call 'autobiocomics'. It will be argued that Neaud and Doucet, through their exploration of ontologies of presence and self-representation, work against the visual order of the phallocentric and heteronormative, an order which Menu appears to replicate but ultimately calls into question

Computer program ETC improves computation of elastic transfer matrices of Legendre polynomials P/0/ and P/1/

Computer program ETC improves computation of elastic transfer matrices of Legendre polynomials P/0/ and P/1/. Rather than carrying out a double integration numerically, one of the integrations is accomplished analytically and the numerical integration need only be carried out over one variable

Can Markets Learn to Avoid Bubbles?

One of the most striking results in experimental economics is the ease with which market bubbles form in a laboratory setting and the difficulty of preventing them. This article re-examines bubble experiments in light of the results of an earlier series of market experiments that examine how learning occurs in markets characterized by an asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers, such as found in Akerlof’s lemons model and Spence’s signaling model and extends the arguments put forth in the author’s book, Paving Wall Street: Experimental Economics and the Quest for the Perfect Market. Markets with asymmetric information are incomplete because they lack markets for specific levels of product quality. Such markets either lump all qualities together (lemons) or using external indications of quality to separate them (signaling). Similarly, the markets used in bubble experiments are incomplete in that they are lacking a complete set of forward or futures markets, depriving traders of the information supplied by the prices in those markets. Preliminary experimental results suggest that the addition of a single forward market can sometimes mitigate bubble formation and this article suggests more extensive research in this direction is warranted. Market bubbles outside of the laboratory usually are found in markets in with forward and futures markets that are either legally restricted or otherwise limited. Experimentation in markets with asymmetric information also indicates that the ability of subjects to learn how to send and receive signals can be enhanced by changing the way that market information is presented to them. We explore how this result might be used to help asset markets learn to avoid bubbles.Market bubbles, learning and adaptation, behavioral finance, signaling, asymmetric information