Constraining the GENIE model of neutrino-induced single pion production using reanalyzed bubble chamber data

The longstanding discrepancy between bubble chamber measurements of $\nu_\mu$-induced single pion production channels has led to large uncertainties in pion production cross section parameters for many years. We extend the reanalysis of pion production data in deuterium bubble chambers where this discrepancy is solved (Wilkinson et al., PRD 90 (2014) 112017) to include the $\nu_{\mu}n\rightarrow \mu^{-}p\pi^{0}$ and $\nu_{\mu}n\rightarrow \mu^{-}n\pi^{+}$ channels, and use the resulting data to fit the parameters of the GENIE (Rein-Sehgal) pion production model. We find a set of parameters that can describe the bubble chamber data better than the GENIE default parameters, and provide updated central values and reduced uncertainties for use in neutrino oscillation and cross section analyses which use the GENIE model. We find that GENIE's non-resonant background prediction has to be significantly reduced to fit the data, which may help to explain the recent discrepancies between simulation and data observed by the MINERvA coherent pion and NOvA oscillation analyses.Comment: v3: Updated to match published versio

A sequential approach to testing seasonal unit roots in high frequency data

In this paper we introduce a sequential seasonal unit root testing approach which explicitly addresses its application to high frequency data. The main idea is to see which unit roots at higher frequency data can also be found in temporally aggregated data. We illustrate our procedure to the analysis of monthly data, and we find, upon analysing the aggregated quarterly data, that a

Primary sand-dune plant community and soil properties during the west-coast India monsoon

A seven-station interrupted belt transect was established that followed a previously observed plant zonation pattern across an aggrading primary coastal dune system in the dry tropical region of west-coast India. The dominant weather pattern is monsoon from June to November, followed by hot and dry winter months when rainfall is scarce. Physical and chemical soil characteristics in each of the stations were analysed on five separate occasions, the first before the onset of monsoon, three during and the last post-monsoon. The plant community pattern was confirmed by quadrat survey. A pH gradient decreased with distance from the shoreline. Nutrient concentrations were deficient, increasing only in small amounts until the furthest station inland. At that location, there was a distinct and abrupt pedological transition zone from psammite to humic soils. There was a significant increase over previous stations in mean organic matter, ammonium nitrate and soil-water retention, although the increase in real terms was small. ANOVA showed significant variation in electrical conductivity, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and sodium concentrations over time. There was no relationship between soil chemistry characteristics and plant community structure over the transect. Ipomoea pes-caprae and Spinifex littoreus were restricted to the foredunes, the leguminous forb Alysicarpus vaginalis and Perotis indica to the two stations furthest from the strand. Ischaemum indicum, a C4 perennial grass species adopting an ephemeral strategy was, in contrast, ubiquitous to all stations

Inflation targeting in Brazil

The purpose of this paper is to examine inflation targeting (IT) in emerging countries by concentrating essentially on the case of Brazil. The IT monetary policy regime has been adopted by a significant number of countries. While the focus of this paper is on Brazil, which began inflation targeting in 1999, we also examine the experience of other countries, both for comparative purposes and for evidence of the extent of this new economic policy's success. In addition, we compare the experience of Brazil with that of non-IT countries, and ask the question of whether adopting IT makes a difference in the fight against inflation

Cultural Alignment in Large Language Models: An Explanatory Analysis Based on Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

The deployment of large language models (LLMs) raises concerns regarding their cultural misalignment and potential ramifications on individuals from various cultural norms. Existing work investigated political and social biases and public opinions rather than their cultural values. To address this limitation, the proposed Cultural Alignment Test (CAT) quantifies cultural alignment using Hofstede's cultural dimension framework, which offers an explanatory cross-cultural comparison through the latent variable analysis. We apply our approach to assess the cultural values embedded in state-of-the-art LLMs, such as: ChatGPT and Bard, across diverse cultures of countries: United States (US), Saudi Arabia, China, and Slovakia, using different prompting styles and hyperparameter settings. Our results not only quantify cultural alignment of LLMs with certain countries, but also reveal the difference between LLMs in explanatory cultural dimensions. While all LLMs did not provide satisfactory results in understanding cultural values, GPT-4 exhibited the highest CAT score for the cultural values of the US.Comment: 31 page

Climate trends and behavior of a model Amazonian terrestrial insectivore, black-faced antthrush, indicate adjustment to hot and dry conditions

Rainforest loss threatens terrestrial insectivorous birds throughout the world\u27s tropics. Recent evidence suggests these birds are declining in undisturbed Amazonian rainforest, possibly due to climate change. Here, we first asked whether Amazonian terrestrial insectivorous birds were exposed to increasingly extreme ambient conditions using 38 years of climate data. We found long-term trends in temperature and precipitation at our study site, especially in the dry season, which was ~1.3°C hotter and 21% drier in 2019 than in 1981. Second, to test whether birds actively avoided hot and dry conditions, we used field sensors to identify periodic intervals of ambient extremes and prospective microclimate refugia within undisturbed rainforest from 2017 to 2019. Simultaneously, we examined how tagged black-faced antthrushes Formicarius analis used this space. We collected \u3e 1.3 million field measurements quantifying ambient conditions in the forest understory, including along elevation gradients. For 11 birds, we obtained GPS data to test whether birds adjusted their cover usage using variation in GPS fix success (n = 2724) as a proxy and elevation using successful locations (n = 640) across seasonal and daily cycles. For four additional birds, we collected \u3e 180 000 light and temperature readings to assess exposure. Field measurements in the modern landscape revealed that temperature was higher in the dry season and highest on plateaus. Thus, low-lying areas were relatively buffered, providing microclimate refugia during hot afternoons in the dry season. At those times, birds apparently entered cover and shifted downslope. Because climate change intensifies the hot, dry conditions that antthrushes seemingly avoid, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that climate change decreases habitat quality for this species. If other terrestrial insectivores are similarly sensitive, climate-induced changes to otherwise intact rainforest may be related to their recent declines

The impact of the building envelope on the energy efficiency of residential tall buildings in Saudi Arabia

In this paper, the authors explored the hypothesis that the most common approach to improve a building’s energy efficiency in the hot climate of Saudi Arabia, which focuses on engineering parameters, is not sufficient and architectural design parameters should be adopted to reduce cooling loads. In order to investigate this hypothesis, 27 sets of dynamic thermal simulations were compared. The best and worst combinations of glazing ratio, wall and glazing type were identified in order to understand the most influential parameter impacting the cooling energy loads in the building. The findings demonstrated that the reliance on a prescriptive approach for building envelope ‘engineering parameters’ specifications does not achieve the required levels of energy efficiency, and the thoughtful consideration of the ‘design parameters’, such as shading elements, could have a significant impact on cooling energy loads

El dibujo como dispositivo pedagógico. Fundamentos del dibujo en la enseñanza contemporánea de las artes plásticas

La presente disertación incide sobre las prácticas pedagógicas del dibujo en el contexto de la educación artística y pretende comprender las condiciones que hoy las caracterizan. El trabajo intenta fijar estas condiciones en el ámbito de una problemática que no es solamente la de la enseñanza del dibujo, sino también, y sobre todo, la de su aprendizaje. Comprender el dibujo como dispositivo pedagógico y, en particular, la importancia de los ejercicios en el aprendizaje del dibujo, exige pensar el dibujo en la convergencia de diferentes circunstancias que concurren - simultáneamente - para tornarlo una experiencia contemporánea. Concebidos para fundar una pedagogía, los ejercicios de dibujo se revelan entonces determinantes para configurar un proceso cuya naturaleza es, sobre todo, práctica. Son estos ejercicios los que definen el espectro de lo que deberá ser trabajado en el contexto pedagógico, y lo que, hasta cierto punto, permitirá obtener una visión global y controlada sobre la estrategia de enseñanza que se derive de ahí - así como la fidelidad de las prácticas pedagógicas en función de los contenidos planeados. La enseñanza del dibujo apenas consta de contenidos identificados como relevantes para la formación del alumno. Esos contenidos, que cumplen designios al servicio de objetivos bien delimitados y que dependen de estrategias pedagógicas, apelan al mismo tiempo a mecanismos de instrucción y de experimentación, que tienen lugar en un medio pedagógico concreto. A pesar de ser aparentemente marginales y menores, tanto la naturaleza de estos dispositivos (los ejercicios de dibujo) como las especificidades que configuran el medio pedagógico (el aula) son indispensables para una práctica exitosa de aprendizaje del dibujo artístico contemporáneo.Rodrigues Esteves, PJ. (2011). El dibujo como dispositivo pedagógico. Fundamentos del dibujo en la enseñanza contemporánea de las artes plásticas [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/15176Palanci

Advances and drawbacks of the adaptation to serum-free culture of CHO-K1 cells for monoclonal antibody production

Currently, mammalian cell technology has become the focus of biopharmaceutical production, with strict regulatory scrutiny of the techniques employed. Major concerns about the presence of animal-derived components in the culture media led to the development of serum-free (SF) culture processes. However, cell adaptation to SF conditions is still a major challenge and limiting step of process development. Thus, this study aims to assess the impact of SF adaptation on monoclonal antibody production (mAb), identify the most critical steps of cell adaptation to the SF EX-CELL medium, and create basic process guidelines.. The success of SF adaptation was dependent on critical steps that included: accentuated cell sensitivity to common culture procedures (centrifugation, trypsinization); initial cell concentration; time given at each step of serum-reduction; and, most importantly, medium supplements used to support adaptation. Indeed, only one of the five supplement combinations assessed (rhinsulin, ammonium metavanadate, nickel chloride and stannous chloride) succeeded for the CHO-K1 cell line used. This work also revealed that the chemically-defined EX-CELL medium benefits mAb production in comparison with the general purpose Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium, but the complete removal of serum attenuates these positive effects.The authors acknowledge funding and support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), namely grant ref SFRH/BD/46661/2008 for Maria Elisa Rodrigues and SFRH/BD/46660/2008 for Ana Rita Costa