Topology and Geometry of the CfA2 Redshift Survey

We analyse the redshift space topology and geometry of the nearby Universe by computing the Minkowski functionals of the Updated Zwicky Catalogue (UZC). The UZC contains the redshifts of almost 20,000 galaxies, is 96% complete to the limiting magnitude m_Zw=15.5 and includes the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) Redshift Survey (CfA2). From the UZC we can extract volume limited samples reaching a depth of 70 hMpc before sparse sampling dominates. We quantify the shape of the large-scale galaxy distribution by deriving measures of planarity and filamentarity from the Minkowski functionals. The nearby Universe shows a large degree of planarity and a small degree of filamentarity. This quantifies the sheet-like structure of the Great Wall which dominates the northern region (CfA2N) of the UZC. We compare these results with redshift space mock catalogues constructed from high resolution N-body simulations of two Cold Dark Matter models with either a decaying massive neutrino (tauCDM) or a non-zero cosmological constant (LambdaCDM). We use semi-analytic modelling to form and evolve galaxies in these dark matter-only simulations. We are thus able, for the first time, to compile redshift space mock catalogues which contain galaxies, along with their observable properties, rather than dark matter particles alone. In both models the large scale galaxy distribution is less coherent than the observed distribution, especially with regard to the large degree of planarity of the real survey. However, given the small volume of the region studied, this disagreement can still be a result of cosmic variance.Comment: 14 pages including 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notice

CSR reporting influenced by a Scandal - Does it matter if the company is directly- or indirectly involved?

The purpose of this study is to investigate how and why companies are changing the nature of their CSR reporting in order to regain legitimacy, due to a scandal. The purpose is also to see if an indication of how media affects the reputation of the organisations’ can be found. Legitimacy theory. The authors’ have chosen a qualitative approach by using content analysis for investigating two companies’ news articles, press releases and CSR reports during the time from one year before a scandal until one year after the scandal. To be able to examine this relationship, a case study is chosen comprising of two companies. The chosen companies were both indirectly affected, as well as directly affected, by the scandal, through one of their subsidiaries. The empirical data have shows an increase in sustainability reporting after the scandal. However, the company indirectly affected by the scandal seem to be praised by the media, and the directly affected company seem to receive more negative attention after the scandal, by the media. The data also show different strategies the companies’ mostly use for regaining their legitimacy, such as explaining the occurrence, creating monitors and watchdogs and disassociation. The media influence the directly affected company more than the indirectly affected. However, since both companies increased their CSR report, it can be an indication for media influencing the companies to some extent, which can be seen as an institutional factor

"Grundrentelœren." Svar til professor Wicksell

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Unit versus ad valorem taxes: monopoly in general equilibrium

We show that if a monopoly sector is imbedded in a general equilibrium framework and profits are taxed at one hundred percent, then unit (specific) taxation and ad valorem taxation are welfare-wise equivalent. This is contrary to all known claims

Baseline Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Levels Moderate Psychological Inflexibility in Behavioral Treatment for Chronic Pain

Background: The medical and scientific communities struggle to understand chronic pain and find effective treatments. Multimodal approaches are encouraging but show significant individual differences. Methods: Seventy-eight persons (56 women) with chronic pain received Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and provided blood samples before and after treatment. The participants completed surveys with the blood sampling. Blood plasma was analyzed for IL-6 and TNF-α levels with the Olink Inflammation Panel (Olink Bioscience Uppsala, Sweden). The treatment effects and moderating effects of low-grade inflammation on changes in outcomes were analyzed using linear mixed models. Results: Pain interference (p < 0.001) and psychological inflexibility (p < 0.001) improved significantly during treatment, but pain intensity did not (p = 0.078). Cytokine levels did not change over the course of the treatment (IL-6/TNF-α p = 0.086/0.672). Mean baseline levels of IL-6 and TNF-α moderated improvement in psychological inflexibility during the course of treatment (p = 0.044), but cytokine levels did not moderate changes in pain interference (p = 0.205) or pain intensity (p = 0.536). Conclusions: Higher baseline inflammation levels were related to less improvement in psychological inflexibility. Low-grade inflammation may be one factor underlying the variability in behavioral treatment in chronic pain.publishedVersio

Estimating Dark Matter Distributions

Thanks to instrumental advances, new, very large kinematic datasets for nearby dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are on the horizon. A key aim of these datasets is to help determine the distribution of dark matter in these galaxies. Past analyses have generally relied on specific dynamical models or highly restrictive dynamical assumptions. We describe a new, non-parametric analysis of the kinematics of nearby dSph galaxies designed to take full advantage of the future large datasets. The method takes as input the projected positions and radial velocities of stars known to be members of the galaxies, but does not use any parametric dynamical model, nor the assumption that the mass distribution follows that of the visible matter. The problem of estimating the radial mass distribution, M(r) (the mass interior to true radius r), is converted into a problem of estimating a regression function non-parametrically. From the Jeans Equation we show that the unknown regression function is subject to fundamental shape restrictions which we exploit in our analysis using statistical techniques borrowed from isotonic estimation and spline smoothing. Simulations indicate that M(r) can be estimated to within a factor of two or better with samples as small as 1000 stars over almost the entire radial range sampled by the kinematic data. The technique is applied to a sample of 181 stars in the Fornax dSph galaxy. We show that the galaxy contains a significant, extended dark halo some ten times more massive than its baryonic component. Though applied here to dSph kinematics, this approach can be used in the analysis of any kinematically hot stellar system in which the radial velocity field is discretely sampled.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa