Comments on axions, domain walls, and cosmic strings

Axions have for some time been considered a plausible candidate for dark matter. They can be produced through misalignment, but it has been argued that when inflation occurs before a Peccei-Quinn transition, appreciable production can result from cosmic strings. This has been the subject of extensive simulations. But there are reasons to be skeptical about the possible role of axion strings. We review and elaborate on these questions, and argue that parametrically strings are already accounted for by the assumption of random misalignment angles. We review and elaborate on these questions, and provide several qualitative arguments that parametrically strings are already accounted for by the assumption of random misalignment angles. The arguments are base on considerations of the collective modes of the string solutions, on computations of axion radiation in particular models, and reviews of simulations.

New Findings on the Origin and Making of Napoli, Biblioteca Nazionale, Ms VI E 40

Recent research into the manuscript Napoli, Biblioteca Nazionale, VI.E.40 (I-Nn 40) has led to the identification of the coat of arms present at the end of the manuscript, and to a new updated codicological description. The same coat of arms is present also in a 1476 printed book of Pliny the Elder’s Historia Naturalis belonging to the rather obscure de Janly family of Burgundy, made up of courtiers and civil servants, ennobled in the first half of the fifteenth century. Discussed in this article are three members of the de Janly family who might have been the original owner of I-Nn 40, with Philibert de Janly identified as the most plausible candidate. The historical context of ownership and gift-giving typical of Burgundian courtiers of the new nobility is discussed, as well as manuscript’s donation to Beatrice of Aragon, and its history after it left Burgundy. The article also presents a new codicological description of the manuscript, offering new insights into its preparation and the copying process.

Possible detection of hydrazine on Saturn’s moon Rhea

We present the first analysis of far-ultraviolet reflectance spectra of regions on Rhea’s leading and trailing hemispheres collected by the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph during targeted flybys. In particular, we aim to explain the unidentified broad absorption feature centred near 184 nm. We have used laboratory measurements of the UV spectroscopy of a set of candidate molecules and found a good fit to Rhea’s spectra with both hydrazine monohydrate and several chlorine-containing molecules. Given the radiation-dominated chemistry on the surface of icy satellites embedded within their planets’ magnetospheres, hydrazine monohydrate is argued to be the most plausible candidate for explaining the absorption feature at 184 nm. Hydrazine was also used as a propellant in Cassini’s thrusters, but the thrusters were not used during icy satellite flybys and thus the signal is believed to not arise from spacecraft fuel. We discuss how hydrazine monohydrate may be chemically produced on icy surfaces.

Dilation as a precursor in a continuous granular fault

We analyze the dilation of the system in a cylindrical granular fault consisting of one single layer of disks submitted to both normal pressure and continuous and slow shear, which results in intermittent and sudden energy release events that reproduce the main laws of seismicity. The dilation of the system can be separated into two parts: a smooth increase of dilation, plus sudden changes both contracting and dilating the medium, which are correlated to abrupt jumps -both positive and negative- in the measured resisting torque. We explain the four possible (and existing) general scenarios combining those two variables: dilation jumps and torque jumps, thanks to the assumption of an optimal local angle in the direction of force chains, and each reorganization of the structure as a replacement of the force chain holding most of the applied stress. The average rate of increase of global dilation varies monotonically with the size of the energy release event, making dilation a plausible candidate to predict catastrophic events in such earthquake-like systems.

GeneNetwork: a continuously updated tool for systems genetics analyses

GeneNetwork and its earlier iteration, WebQTL, have now been an important database and toolkit for quantitative trait genetics research for two decades. Recent improvements to GeneNetwork have reinvigorated it, including the addition of data from 10 species, multi-omics analysis, updated code, and new tools. The new GeneNetwork is now an exciting resource for predictive medicine and systems genetics, which is constantly being maintained and improved. Here, we give a brief overview of the process for carrying out some of the most common functions on GeneNetwork, as a gateway to deeper analyses, demonstrating how a small number of plausible candidate genes can be found for a typical immune phenotype.

A Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta egyik korai kínai fordítása

In this paper I offer the Hungarian translation and commentary of a rather early Chinese translation of the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (‘Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion’), one of the most important Buddhist suttas recounting the first sermon of the historical Buddha. This Chinese translation (T02n109: Fo shuo zhuan falun jing 佛說轉法輪經), slightly neglected in previous research, is traditionally attributed to An Shigao 安世高 (2nd c. AD), but I argue that, based on the terminological similarities between this scripture and the Zhong benqi jing 中本起經 (T196), Kang Mengxiang 康孟詳 (ca. 200 AD) would be a more plausible candidate for the authorship.

Epidemiological dynamics of bacteriocin competition and antibiotic resistance

Bacteriocins, toxic peptides involved in bacterial fratricide, are extremely diverse. Understanding the mechanisms that maintain this diversity is an important aim in bacterial ecology. Previous work on bacteriocin diversity has focused on dynamics, particularly ‘rock-paper-scissors’ dynamics, at the within-host scale. Yet, in species such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, with relatively short periods of colonisation and limited within-host diversity, processes at the epidemiological scale also shape eco-evolutionary dynamics. Here, we investigate bacteriocin dynamics in epidemiological models. We find that in these models, bacteriocin diversity arises more readily than in within-host models, and with more possible combinations of coexisting bacteriocin profiles. We also investigate a potential link between bacteriocin diversity and diversity at antibiotic resistance loci. Previous work has proposed that bacterial duration of carriage modulates the fitness of antibiotic resistance. We predict bacteriocins modulate duration of carriage, making them a plausible candidate for involvement in resistance dynamics.

Kant on Evolution: A Re-evaluation

Kant’s remark about the impossibility of there ever being a Newton of a blade of grass has often been interpreted as a misguided pre-emptive strike against Darwin and evolutionary theories in general. This chapter aims to re-evaluate this claim in the context of Kant’s account of organic generation and argue that, contrary to what is usually thought, it does leave room for the possibility of evolution. To do so, I examine Kant’s theory of generation and draw its implications for biological heredity, species diversity, and the role played by environmental factors in organic development. On this basis, I suggest that, first, evolution is a possible albeit far-fetched hypothesis for Kant, and second, Darwin’s theory of natural selection would have turned a far-fetched possibility into a plausible candidate. As I go on to argue, however, despite its explanatory success, the Darwinian account would not have disposed of the need for teleology. This is why Darwin could never have been a Newton of a blade of grass.

Inferring party positions across issue dimensions

In this article, we argue that voters use party positions on an issue dimension as a heuristic device to locate parties on other dimensions on which they have less information about. We confirm our argument by fielding two survey experiments in a context with two distinct issue dimensions: the left-right and national dimensions in Catalonia. We find that the position of a hypothetical (but plausible) candidate on a national dimension exerts a great deal of influence on where respondents locate him on the left-right dimension, as well as on a more narrowly-defined socioeconomic dimension, but that the left-right position does not affect the perceived placement on the national divide. This asymmetry can be partly explained by the different nature of these issue domains, and specifically by the distinct ability of the national dimension to activate social group cues that give rise to projection biases. These findings have important implications for our understanding of issue misperceptions and of the strategic choices available to parties in multidimensional policy spaces. The nature of the issue dimension could facilitate why some issue dimensions tend to function as cue givers and others as cue receivers. We discuss the implications of our findings in constraining the strategies available to parties in multidimensional contexts.

T90. QUANTIFYING THE CORE DEFICIT IN CLASSICAL SCHIZOPHRENIA

Background For more than 100 years, disorganization and impoverishment of mental activity have been recognised as fundamental symptoms of schizophrenia. These symptoms may reflect a core brain process underlying persisting disability. Predisposition to persisting disability is a clinically important aspect of schizophrenia, yet the psychopathological processes predisposing to persisting disability are poorly understood. The delineation of a putative core deficit associated with persisting disability would be of potentially great value in delineating the underlying pathological processes and eventually in enhancing treatment. Aims To derive scores for mental disorganization and impoverishment from commonly used rating scales, and test the hypothesis that disorganization and impoverishment, along with impaired cognition and role-function reflect a latent variable that is a plausible candidate for the putative core deficit. Methods In a group of 40 patients with schizophrenia, we tested the hypothesis that mental disorganization and impoverishment, along with impaired cognition and role-function reflect a latent variable that is a plausible candidate for the core deficit. We derived disorganization and impoverishment factors from three symptom scales: PANSS, SSPI and CASH. For each of the three scales, we demonstrated significant correlation between these factors and impaired role function assessed using the Social and Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFAS) and cognitive impairment measured using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). We then assessed the relationship between this latent “core deficit” variable and Post Movement Beta Rebound (PMBR), measured using magnetoencephalography and associated with persisting brain disorders. Results A single factor model provided excellent fit for the four features of core deficit, requiring no further modifications. Results were consistently similar for measures from all three scales. χ2 value was non-significant (range: 0.30 to 2.13, df = 2, p > 0.35), GFI met the threshold of greater than 0.9 (range = .976 to .996) and RMSEA was lesser than 0.06 (range = 0.000 to 0.040). PMBR was found to be significantly reduced in the schizophrenia group compared to healthy controls (t (28) =44.2 ± 12.1, p = 0.001). PMBR was strongly correlated with disorganization (r (40) = .600, p=0.001). In the hierarchical regression, neither age nor medication dose were significant predictors, but PMBR did predict the severity of the core deficit (F (1, 23) = 12.6, P=0.002, R² = -.592). Discussion Scores for the two latent variables representing impoverishment and disorganization of mental activity in schizophrenia can be derived from each of three symptom rating scales. A composite measure of impoverishment, disorganization, impaired cognition and impaired role function reflects an underlying psychopathological process that might be described as the core deficit of classical schizophrenia.