Ramifications of intranuclear re-scattering in MINOS

MINOS will measure the composition of a neutrino beam at two locations, 735km apart, in an effort confirm the (atmospheric) neutrino oscillation hypothesis and measure the associated mixing parameters. Oscillations will be manifested as a difference in the rate and energy spectrum of muon neutrino CC interactions measured in the two detectors. Because most interactions observed in MINOS are inelastic, the neutrino energy is reconstructed as the sum of the energy carried by the muon and that seen in the hadronic shower emanating from the struck nucleus. The latter is sensitive to uncertainties in the hadronisation process, chief among them those due to intranuclear re-scattering (i.e., final state interactions). We discuss the simulation of intranuclear re-scattering currently used by MINOS and its effect on quantities observable in the experiment.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, To be published in Nucl.Phys.Proc.Suppl.-- Proceedings of the IV International Workshop on Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions in the Few-GeV Region, 26-29, September, 200

Results from K2K and status of T2K

Results from the K2K experiment and status of the T2K experiment are reported.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Talk at International Conference on New Trends in High-Energy Physics (Crimea2005), Yalta, Ukraine, September 10-17, 200

Estimate of CP Violation for the LBNE Project and $\delta_{CP}

Measurements of CP violation (CPV) and the basic $\delta_{CP}$ parameter are the goals of the LBNE Project, which is being planned. Using the expected energy and baseline parameters for the LBNE Project, CPV and the dependence of CPV on $\delta_{CP}$ are estimated, to help in the planning of this project.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Technological and theoretical aspects for testing electroporation on liposomes

Recently, the use of nanometer liposomes as nanocarriers in drug delivery systems mediated by nanoelectroporation has been proposed. This technique takes advantage of the possibility of simultaneously electroporating liposomes and cell membrane with 10-nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) facilitating the release of the drug from the liposomes and at the same time its uptake by the cells. In this paper the design and characterization of a 10 nsPEF exposure system is presented, for liposomes electroporation purposes. The design and the characterization of the applicator have been carried out choosing an electroporation cuvette with 1 mm gap between the electrodes. The structure efficiency has been evaluated at different experimental conditions by changing the solution conductivity from 0.25 to 1.6 S/m. With the aim to analyze the influence of device performances on the liposomes electroporation, microdosimetric simulations have been performed considering liposomes of 200 and 400 nm of dimension with different inner and outer conductivity (from 0.05 to 1.6 S/m) in order to identify the voltage needed for their poration

Implications of recent solar neutrino observations: an analysis of charged current data

We have analysed the recent results from the observation of charged current \nu_e d \to e^- p p events from solar neutrinos by the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory SNO assuming neutrino oscillations with three active flavours. The data seem to prefer a low mass-squared difference and large mixing angle solution (the so-called LOW solution) in (12) parameter space. However, when combined with the Gallium charged current interaction data from Gallex and GNO, distinct (1\sigma) allowed regions corresponding to the large mixing angle (LMA) and small mixing angle (SMA) appear while the LOW solution is disfavoured upto 3\sigma standard deviation. The physical electron neutrino survival probability corresponding to these best fit solutions are then determined and analysed for their energy dependence.Comment: 16 pages Latex file, with 5 epsf figures; one reference adde

Three-Flavour Neutrino-Mixing Implications of the LSND Result

The LSND result is shown to fit into a minimal three-flavour neutrino-mixing scenario capable of describing all known experimental facts provided the large Delta M^2 = m_3^2 - m_2^2 \sim m_3^2 - m_1^2 lies in the range 2.5 x 10^{-1} < Delta M^2 < 3.0 eV^2. In this range the value of P_{\mu\tau} is expected to be about 5% or larger.Comment: 10 pages, 2 eps figures, LaTeX 2.09, revised for Physics Letters

Neutrino Oscillations at Reactors: What Next?

We shortly review past and future experiments at reactors aimed at searches for neutrino masses and mixing. We also consider new idea to search at Krasnoyarsk for small mixing angle oscillations in the atmosheric neutrino mass parameter region.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX 2.09, 6 Postscript figures. Talk given at Non-Accelerator New Physics Conference, Dubna, 28.06-03.07.199

Prey selection by an apex predator : the importance of sampling uncertainty.

The impact of predation on prey populations has long been a focus of ecologists, but a firm understanding of the factors influencing prey selection, a key predictor of that impact, remains elusive. High levels of variability observed in prey selection may reflect true differences in the ecology of different communities but might also reflect a failure to deal adequately with uncertainties in the underlying data. Indeed, our review showed that less than 10% of studies of European wolf predation accounted for sampling uncertainty. Here, we relate annual variability in wolf diet to prey availability and examine temporal patterns in prey selection; in particular, we identify how considering uncertainty alters conclusions regarding prey selection. Over nine years, we collected 1,974 wolf scats and conducted drive censuses of ungulates in Alpe di Catenaia, Italy. We bootstrapped scat and census data within years to construct confidence intervals around estimates of prey use, availability and selection. Wolf diet was dominated by boar (61.5±3.90 [SE] % of biomass eaten) and roe deer (33.7±3.61%). Temporal patterns of prey densities revealed that the proportion of roe deer in wolf diet peaked when boar densities were low, not when roe deer densities were highest. Considering only the two dominant prey types, Manly's standardized selection index using all data across years indicated selection for boar (mean = 0.73±0.023). However, sampling error resulted in wide confidence intervals around estimates of prey selection. Thus, despite considerable variation in yearly estimates, confidence intervals for all years overlapped. Failing to consider such uncertainty could lead erroneously to the assumption of differences in prey selection among years. This study highlights the importance of considering temporal variation in relative prey availability and accounting for sampling uncertainty when interpreting the results of dietary studies

Viewing Lepton Mixing through the Cabibbo Haze

We explore the hypothesis that the Cabibbo angle is an expansion parameter for lepton as well as quark mixing. Cabibbo effects are deviations from zero mixing for the quarks but are deviations from unknown mixings for the leptons, such that lepton mixing is veiled by a Cabibbo haze. We present a systematic classification of parametrizations and catalog the leading order Cabibbo effects. We find that the size of the CHOOZ angle is not always correlated with the observability of CP violation. This phenomenological approach has practical merit both as a method for organizing top-down flavor models and as a guideline for planning future experiments.Comment: References added, minor typos fixe