Refine
Document Type
- Article (3) (remove)
Language
- English (3)
Has Fulltext
- yes (3) (remove)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (3)
Keywords
- polarization (3) (remove)
Institute
Relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei (AGN) often display a non-uniform structure and are, under certain conditions, susceptible to a number of instabilities. An interesting example is the development of non-axisymmetric, Rayleigh-Taylor type instabilities in the case of differentially rotating two-component jets, with the toroidal component of the magnetic field playing a key role in the development or suppression of these instabilities. We have shown that higher magnetization leads to stability against these non-axisymmetric instabilities. Using ray-casting on data from relativistic MHD simulations of two-component jets, we now investigate the effect of these instabilities on the synchrotron emission pattern from the jets. We recover many well known trends from actual observations, e.g., regarding the polarization fraction and the distribution of the position angle of the electric field, in addition to a different emitting region, depending on the stability of the jet.
In the latest contribution to the Democracy Papers, Thomas Zittel explores when and how polarization becomes a cause for democratic anxiety. He argues that polarization over traditional policy issues is not in itself harmful, and can even be beneficial for democracies. However, he warns that polarization in which parties become divided over the acceptable rules of the game is a problem for democracies. Unfortunately, this latter type of division is increasingly common on both sides of the Atlantic today.
Macrophages are highly versatile cells, which acquire, depending on their microenvironment, pro- (M1-like), or antiinflammatory (M2-like) phenotypes. Here, we studied the role of the G-protein coupled receptor G2A (GPR132), in chemotactic migration and polarization of macrophages, using the zymosan-model of acute inflammation. G2A-deficient mice showed a reduced zymosan-induced thermal hyperalgesia, which was reversed after macrophage depletion. Fittingly, the number of M1-like macrophages was reduced in the inflamed tissue in G2A-deficient mice. However, G2A activation was not sufficient to promote M1-polarization in bone marrow-derived macrophages. While the number of monocyte-derived macrophages in the inflamed paw was not altered, G2A-deficient mice had less macrophages in the direct vicinity of the origin of inflammation, an area marked by the presence of zymosan, neutrophil accumulation and proinflammatory cytokines. Fittingly neutrophil efferocytosis was decreased in G2A-deficient mice and several lipids, which are released by neutrophils and promote G2A-mediated chemotaxis, were increased in the inflamed tissue. Taken together, G2A is necessary to position macrophages in the proinflammatory microenvironment surrounding the center of inflammation. In absence of G2A the macrophages are localized in an antiinflammatory microenvironment and macrophage polarization is shifted toward M2-like macrophages.