A Helico-Spherical Cocktail Party

What follows is an excerpt from that well-known whimsy, Alice in the Land of Gotham, published under the author\u27s pen name of A. Vorpal Penn. It took us several readings of the excerpt to figure out how the Mad Hatter divined the newcomer\u27s identity. Can you do it the first time around

Measuring transversity densities in singly polarized hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron collisions

We show how the transverse polarization of a quark initiating a jet can be probed by the azimuthal distribution of two hadrons (of large $z$) in the jet. This permits a twist 2 asymmetry in hard processes when only one of the initial particles is polarized transversely. Applications to hadron-hadron and lepton-hadron scattering are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX + EPSF, 2 postscript figures. PSU/TH/10

The Stability of an Isotropic Cosmological Singularity in Higher-Order Gravity

We study the stability of the isotropic vacuum Friedmann universe in gravity theories with higher-order curvature terms of the form $(R_{ab}R^{ab})^{n}$ added to the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian of general relativity on approach to an initial cosmological singularity. Earlier, we had shown that, when $$, a special isotropic vacuum solution exists which behaves like the radiation-dominated Friedmann universe and is stable to anisotropic and small inhomogeneous perturbations of scalar, vector and tensor type. This is completely different to the situation that holds in general relativity, where an isotropic initial cosmological singularity is unstable in vacuum and under a wide range of non-vacuum conditions. We show that when $n\neq 1$, although a special isotropic vacuum solution found by Clifton and Barrow always exists, it is no longer stable when the initial singularity is approached. We find the particular stability conditions under the influence of tensor, vector, and scalar perturbations for general $n$ for both solution branches. On approach to the initial singularity, the isotropic vacuum solution with scale factor $a(t)=t^{P_{-}/3}$ is found to be stable to tensor perturbations for $0.5<n< 1.1309$ and stable to vector perturbations for $0.861425 < n \leq 1$, but is unstable as $t \to 0$ otherwise. The solution with scale factor $a(t)=t^{P_{+}/3}$ is not relevant to the case of an initial singularity for $n>1$ and is unstable as $t \to 0$ for all $n$ for each type of perturbation.Comment: 25 page

A weak instability in an expanding universe?

We use higher derivative classical gravity to study the nonlinear coupling between the cosmological expansion of the universe and metric oscillations of Planck frequency and very small amplitude. We derive field equations at high orders in the derivative expansion and find that the nature of the new dynamics is extremely restricted. For the equation of state parameter $w>0$ the relative importance of the oscillations grows logarithmically. Their effect on the cosmological expansion resembles that of dark energy.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, minor changes to conform to published versio

A razão barroca do patrimônio baiano: contos de tesouro e histórias de ossadas no Centro Histórico de Salvador

This article rethinks the relations between space, historicity, and religious-racial identity in the Historical Center of Salvador, Bahia. Brazil has long been known (and seen itself) as a nation"of the future" and a supposed "racial democracy". In Bahia these ideologies draw strength from government attempts to appropriate Candomblé, popular culture in general, and historical and cultural patrimony. But since the 1990s a striking emphasis on "roots" has appeared in racial ideologies, urbanism, and religion. This socio-historical conjuncture permits us to understand better, and in a novel anthropological manner, changes in religiosity and racial politics: The growth of Pentecostalism and black consciousness in Salvador has been explained in a number of political economic and symbolic ways but in this article I work to link the two via a growing popular interest in heritage and the crystallization of ostensibly popular memories as national possessions. This article thus analyzes a"hermeneutics of depth" in the spheres of religion, race, and heritage. In other words, it focuses on related "semiotic ideologies" that influence the ways the state as well as its citizens link evidence and truths and exteriorities and interiorities.Este trabalho repensa as relações entre o espaço urbano, a historicidade e a identidade religiosa-racial no Centro Histórico de Salvador, Bahia. Há muito tempo o Brasil é reconhecido (e se reconhece) como um país"do futuro" e da suposta"democracia racial". Na Bahia estas ideologias baseiam-se em parte em tentativas estaduais de apropriação do Candomblé, da cultura popular em geral e do patrimônio histórico. Mas desde os anos 1990, nota-se uma ênfase em"raízes" tanto quanto nas ideologias raciais, no urbanismo, e na religião. Este esboço sociológico-histórico nos permite entender melhor, e de uma forma nova na antropologia, as mudanças na religiosidade e as políticas raciais: o crescimento do pentecostalismo e da consciência negra em Salvador explica-se de várias maneiras político-econômicas e simbólicas, mas procura-se aqui interligar os dois através de um interesse popular crescente em tombamento/cristalização de memórias e práticas supostamente populares como monumentos à nação. Desta forma, este artigo analisa a"hermenêutica da profundidade" tanto quanto na religião, nas ideologias raciais, e nas lógicas sociais do patrimônio cultural e histórico. Quer dizer, existem"ideologias semióticas" parecidas que influenciam a forma com que o Estado tanto quanto os cidadãos compreendam as relações entre evidências e verdades e exterioridades e interioridades

CULTURA, CONTEÚDO E CERCAMENTO DO SER HUMANO: herança intangível da UNESCO no novo milênio

Patrimônio, como “herança cultural da humanidade” é uma tecnologia social que transforma a cultura e, por conseguinte, as práticas íntimas e cotidianas das pessoas em uma espécie de propriedade. Como consequência da onda neoliberal, o patrimônio vem sendo configurado como um recurso particular ou comunitário de valor essencial, capaz de alimentar economias de conhecimento através das quais é possível mercantilizar a vida moral, rotineira e familiar do cidadão brasileiro. Neste texto, como extensão de abordagens antropológicas do patrimônio, argumento que uma oscilação entre propriedades culturais alienáveis e inalienáveis construídas sobre rotinas cotidianas, ou o que tem sido considerado, na Bahia, como uma espécie de essência humana alienável e supervisada pela UNESCO, se baseia numa forma de cercamento. Isso significa que qualidades humanas são encurraladas e garimpadas por meio de regimes técnicos de tombamento histórico. Por conseguinte, esse argumento segue a lógica da mercantilização desenfreada sob os auspícios do neoliberalismo. Também considera que o conceito de cercamento pode ser estendido desde análises de desapropriação de terras comuns até o marketing da imagem de um povo. Ao escolher essa abordagem, pretendo sugerir caminhos para pesquisas futuras sobre a produção global do valor e suas relações com as lutas contemporâneas por justiça social.CULTURE, CONTENT, AND THE ENCLOSURE OF HUMAN BEING: UNESCO'S “intangible” heritage in the new millenniumCultural heritage, or patrimony, is a technology that transforms people's everyday habits, or culture, into forms of property. Thus in neoliberalism's wake, patrimony has been configured as a source of value essential to development schemes that stress knowledge economies. In this review and extension of anthropological approaches to patrimony, I argue that a vacillation between alienable and inalienable cultural properties constructed around quotidian habits, or what has been construed as some sort of human essence supervised by UNESCO, has come to rest today on a hybrid form of mining and enclosure of human qualities. I follow the logic of a rampant commodification under neoliberalism and consider how enclosure may be extended conceptually from analyses of land to the marketing of a peoplehood. My goal in doing so is to suggest avenues for future research on the global production of value and its relationship to struggles for social justice today.Key-words: Heritage; UNESCO; Historical Centres; Neoliberalism; Commodification. CULTURE, CONTENU ET LA CLÔTURE DE L'ÊTRE HUMAIN: le patrimoine “immatériel” de l'UNESCO dans le nouveau millénaireLe patrimoine culturel est une technologie qui transforme les habitudes quotidiennes des gens, ou leur culture, en formes de propriété. Ainsi, à la suite du néolibéralisme, le patrimoine a été configuré comme une source de valeur essentielle aux schémas de développement qui mettent l'accent sur les économies du savoir. Dans cette revue et extension des approches anthropologiques au patrimoine, je soutiens qu'un vacillement entre les biens culturels aliénables et inaliénables construits autour des habitudes quotidiennes, ou ce qui a été interprété comme une sorte d'essence humaine supervisée par l'UNESCO, est aujourd'hui fondé sur une forme hybride de l'exploitation minière et de la clôture des qualités humaines. Je suis la logique d'une marchandisation rampante sous le néolibéralisme et considère comment la clôture peut s'étendre conceptuellement de l'analyse de la clôture des champs communautaires à la commercialisation d'un peuple. Mon objectif est de suggérer des pistes pour futures recherches sur la production mondiale de valeur et sa relation avec les luttes pour la justice sociale aujourd'hui.Mots-clés: Patrimoine; UNESCO; Centres historiques; Néolibéralisme; Marchandisation

Ageing and the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis

Ageing-associated changes that affect articular tissues promote the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Although ageing and OA are closely linked, they are independent processes. Several potential mechanisms by which ageing contributes to OA have been elucidated. This Review focuses on the contributions of the following factors: age-related inflammation (also referred to as 'inflammaging'); cellular senescence (including the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP)); mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress; dysfunction in energy metabolism due to reduced activity of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is associated with reduced autophagy; and alterations in cell signalling due to age-related changes in the extracellular matrix. These various processes contribute to the development of OA by promoting a proinflammatory, catabolic state accompanied by increased susceptibility to cell death that together lead to increased joint tissue destruction and defective repair of damaged matrix. The majority of studies to date have focused on articular cartilage, and it will be important to determine whether similar mechanisms occur in other joint tissues. Improved understanding of ageing-related mechanisms that promote OA could lead to the discovery of new targets for therapies that aim to slow or stop the progression of this chronic and disabling condition

Interferometry of infragravity waves off New Zealand

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 119 (2014): 1103-1122, doi:10.1002/2013JC009395.Wave interferometry is a remote sensing technique, which is increasingly employed in helioseismology, seismology, and acoustics to retrieve parameters of the propagation medium from two-point cross-correlation functions of random wavefields. Here we apply interferometry to yearlong records of seafloor pressure at 28 locations off New Zealand's South Island to investigate propagation and directivity properties of infragravity waves away from shore. A compressed cross-correlation function technique is proposed to make the interferometry of dispersive waves more robust, decrease the necessary noise averaging time, and simplify retrieval of quantitative information from noise cross correlations. The emergence of deterministic wave arrivals from cross correlations of random wavefields is observed up to the maximum range of 692 km between the pressure sensors in the array. Free, linear waves with a strongly anisotropic distribution of power flux density are found to be dominant in the infragravity wavefield. Lowest-frequency components of the infragravity wavefield are largely isotropic. The anisotropy has its maximum in the middle of the spectral band and decreases at the high-frequency end of the spectrum. Highest anisotropy peaks correspond to waves coming from portions of the New Zealand's shoreline. Significant contributions are also observed from waves propagating along the coastline and probably coming from powerful sources in the northeast Pacific. Infragravity wave directivity is markedly different to the east and to the west of the South Island. The northwest coast of the South Island is found to be a net source of the infragravity wave energy.The collection of DPG data was supported by the National Science Foundation Continental Dynamics program under grants EAR-0409564, EAR-0409609, and EAR-0409835. This work was supported, in part, by the University of Colorado Seed Grant ‘‘Study of Ocean Infragravity Waves with a Large Array of Seafloor Seismometers,’’ the National Science Foundation award OCE 1129524, and the Office of Naval Research award N00014-13-1–0348.2014-08-1

Schmallenberg virus: a systematic international literature review (2011-2019) from an Irish perspective

peer-reviewedIn Autumn 2011, nonspecific clinical signs of pyrexia, diarrhoea, and drop in milk yield were observed in dairy cattle near the German town of Schmallenberg at the Dutch/German border. Targeted veterinary diagnostic investigations for classical endemic and emerging viruses could not identify a causal agent. Blood samples were collected from animals with clinical signs and subjected to metagenomic analysis; a novel orthobunyavirus was identified and named Schmallenberg virus (SBV). In late 2011/early 2012, an epidemic of abortions and congenital malformations in calves, lambs and goat kids, characterised by arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly were reported in continental Europe. Subsequently, SBV RNA was confirmed in both aborted and congenitally malformed foetuses and also in Culicoides species biting midges. It soon became evident that SBV was an arthropod-borne teratogenic virus affecting domestic ruminants. SBV rapidly achieved a pan-European distribution with most countries confirming SBV infection within a year or two of the initial emergence. The first Irish case of SBV was confirmed in the south of the country in late 2012 in a bovine foetus. Since SBV was first identified in 2011, a considerable body of scientific research has been conducted internationally describing this novel emerging virus. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive synopsis of the most up-to-date scientific literature regarding the origin of SBV and the spread of the Schmallenberg epidemic, in addition to describing the species affected, clinical signs, pathogenesis, transmission, risk factors, impact, diagnostics, surveillance methods and control measures. This review also highlights current knowledge gaps in the scientific literature regarding SBV, most notably the requirement for further research to determine if, and to what extent, SBV circulation occurred in Europe and internationally during 2017 and 2018. Moreover, recommendations are also made regarding future arbovirus surveillance in Europe, specifically the establishment of a European-wide sentinel herd surveillance program, which incorporates bovine serology and Culicoides entomology and virology studies, at national and international level to monitor for the emergence and re-emergence of arboviruses such as SBV, bluetongue virus and other novel Culicoides-borne arboviruses