Matter effects in neutrino visible decay at future long-baseline experiments

Neutrino visible decay in the presence of matter is re-evaluated. We study these effects in two future long-baseline experiments where matter effects are relevant: DUNE (1300 km) and a hypothetical beam aimed towards ANDES (7650 km). We find that matter effects are negligible for the visible component of neutrino decay at DUNE, being much more relevant at ANDES. We perform a detailed simulation of DUNE, considering $\nu_\mu$ disappearance and $\nu_e$ appearance channels, for both FHC and RHC modes. The sensitivity to the decay constant $\alpha_3$ can be as low as $2\times10^{-6}$ eV$^2$ at 90% C.L., depending on the neutrino masses and type of coupling. We also show the impact of neutrino decay in the determination of $\theta_{23}$ and $\delta_{\rm CP}$, and find that the best-fit value of $\theta_{23}$ can move from a true value at the lower octant towards the higher octant.Comment: 18 pages; v2: Minor changes, version accepted for publication in EPJ

Visible neutrino decay in the light of appearance and disappearance long-baseline experiments

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESWe investigate the present constraints from MINOS and T2K experiments for the neutrino decay scenario induced by non-diagonal couplings of Majorons to neutrinos. As novelty, on top of the typical invisible decay prescription, we add the contribution of visible decay, where final products can be observed. This new effect depends on the nature of the neutrino-Majoron coupling, which can be of scalar or pseudoscalar type. Using the combination of disappearance data from MINOS and disappearance and appearance data from T2K, for normal ordering, we constrain the decay para alpha E Gamma for the heaviest neutrino, where E and are the neutrino energy and width, respectively. We find that when considering visible decay within appearance data, alpha < O (10(-5))eV(2), at 90% C.L., for both kinds of couplings, which is better by one order of magnitude compared to previous bounds.11129FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPES014/19164-62015/20129-3311980/2013-9461147/2014-9Sem informaçãoA.M.G. and J.J.P. acknowledge funding by the Direccion de Gestion de la Investigacion at PUCP, through grant DGI-2015-3-0026. They would also like to thank S. Sanchez for discussions on the use of GENIE, as well as O.A. Diaz in the Direccion de Tecnologias de Informacion at PUCP, for implementing our code within the LEGION system. A.M.G is thankful for the Unicamp hospitality and for the support of the FAPESP funding grant 2015/20129-3. A.M.G and O.L.G.P are also thankful to the Oficina de Internacionalizacion de la Investigacion at PUCP. A.L.G. G. is supported by CAPES, and R.A.G. would like to thanks CNPq grants 461147/2014-9 and 311980/2013-9. O.L.G.P. is thankful for the PUCP hospitality and partial support under the Programa Latino Americano de Fisica (PLAF) from Brazilian Physics Society. He is also thankful for the support of FAPESP funding grant 2014/19164-6 and CNPq research fellowship 307269/2013-2 and 304715/2016-6 and partial funding from ICTP

Identification of aspartic acid-203 in human thymidine phosphorylase as an important residue for both catalysis and non-competitive inhibition by the small molecule "crystallization chaperone" 5'-O-tritylinosine (KIN59)

Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) is a catabolic enzyme in thymidine metabolism that is frequently upregulated in many solid tumors. Elevated TP levels are associated with tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and poor prognosis. Therefore, the use of TP inhibitors might offer a promising strategy for cancer treatment. The tritylated inosine derivative 5'-O-tritylinosine (previously designated KIN59) is a noncompetitive inhibitor of TP which was previously found to be instrumental for the crystallization of human TP. A combination of computational studies including normal mode analysis, automated ligand docking and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to define a plausible binding site for 5'-O-tritylinosine on human TP. A cavity in which 5'-O-tritylinosine could fit was identified in the vicinity of the Gly405-WI419 loop at a distance of about 11 angstrom from the substrate-binding site. In the X-ray crystal structure, this pocket is characterized by an intricate hydrogen-bonding network in which Asp203 was found to play an important role to afford the loop stabilization that is required for efficient enzyme catalysis. Site-directed mutagenesis of this amino acid residue afforded a mutant enzyme with a severely compromised catalytic efficiency (V-max /K-m of mutant enzyme similar to 50-fold lower than for wild-type TP) and pronounced resistance to the inhibitory effect of 5'-O-tritylinosine. In contrast, the D203A mutant enzyme kept full sensitivity to the competitive inhibitors 6-aminothymine and 6-amino-5-bromouracil, which is in line with the kinetic properties of these inhibitors. Our findings reveal the existence of a previously unrecognized site in TP that can be targeted by small molecules to inhibit the catalytic activity of TP. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Efecto de la temperatura de almacenamiento y la aplicación de recubrimientos comestibles en la calidad postcosecha de ciruelas cv. ‘Sungold’ y ‘Angeleno’

El desarrollo de desórdenes fisiológicos y la pérdida de firmeza limitan la vida útil de las ciruelas en postcosecha. Además, algunos cv. como el ‘Sungold’ muestran una pérdida de calidad comercial debida a cambios en la coloración de la piel. El almacenamiento en frío combinado con el uso de atmósferas modificadas o recubrimientos comestibles reducen la pérdida de calidad de las ciruelas en postcosecha. En el presente trabajo se estudió el efecto de la temperatura y de la aplicación de recubrimientos comestibles en la calidad postcosecha de ciruelas cv. ‘Angeleno’ y ‘Sungold’. La funcionalidad de los recubrimientos comestibles depende, entre otros factores, de su composición. En ciruelas ‘Angeleno’ se estudió el efecto del tipo y contenido de ácido graso (AG) del recubrimiento en la calidad poscosecha. Para la formulación de estos recubrimientos se utilizó hidroxipropilmetil celulosa, cera de abeja (CA), glicerol y ácido graso (AG). Los AG estudiados fueron esteárico, palmítico y oleico, y la proporción de CA:AG fue 2:1 y 5:1. Las ciruelas recubiertas y las control se almacenaron 2, 4, 6 y 8 semanas a 1ºC, más 1 semana a 5ºC, más 5 días a 20ºC para su posterior análisis de calidad (CO2 interno, firmeza y desórdenes fisiológicos). En las ciruelas ‘Sungold’ se seleccionó la formulación CA:oleico (2:1) y se estudió el efecto de la temperatura de almacenamiento en la calidad. Las ciruelas recubiertas y las control permanecieron 1, 2, 3 y 4 semanas a 1ºC ó a 5ºC, más un día a 20ºC para su posterior análisis de calidad (color, firmeza y desórdenes fisiológicos). Las ciruelas ‘Angeleno’ recubiertas mostraron un incremento en los niveles de CO2 interno, mayor retención de firmeza y menor incidencia de bleeding. No se observó un efecto del tipo y contenido de AG de la formulación en los parámetros de calidad estudiados. En ciruelas ‘Sungold’ el almacenamiento a 1ºC preservó el color externo del fruto evitando el viraje de color de amarillo a rojo, mantuvo la firmeza del las ciruelas y redujo los desórdenes fisiológicos. El recubrimiento aplicado evitó el viraje de color y redujo la incidencia de daños por frío, pero no retuvo la firmeza de las ciruelas. Los resultados indican que la combinación de recubrimientos comestibles con un almacenamiento a temperaturas adecuadas pueden prolongar la vida útil de la ciruelas, reduciendo daños fisiológicos, pérdidas de textura y cambios de coloración de la piel

Significado de la celularidad peritoneal basal: más allá del diagnóstico de infección peritoneal en diálisis peritoneal

Resume

CleanAtlantic sea litter geographical web

A Sea litter data viewer has been developed in the framework of the CleanAtlantic European project. This web application allows access to the litter data of different compartments of the ocean as beach litter, floating litter, and seabed litter. The users can query the statistical distributions of litter concentrations, time series, and the composition of the most frequent types of litter of each geographical item. In order to facilitate access to this type of information to all types of users independently of their data analysis skills, the viewer has developed following criteria of simplicity and usability

Evaluation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Clinical Course of Migraine

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional stress, changes in lifestyle habits and infections can worsen the clinical course of migraine. We hypothesize that changes in habits and medical care during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown might have worsened the clinical course of migraine. Design: Retrospective survey study collecting online responses from migraine patients followed-up by neurologists at three tertiary hospitals between June and July 2020. Methods: We used a web-based survey that included demographic data, clinical variables related with any headache (frequency) and migraine (subjective worsening, frequency, and intensity), lockdown, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Results: The response rate of the survey was 239/324 (73.8%). The final analysis included 222 subjects. Among them, 201/222 (90.5%) were women, aged 42.5 ± 12.0 (mean±SD). Subjective improvement of migraine during lockdown was reported in 31/222 participants (14.0%), while worsening in 105/222 (47.3%) and was associated with changes in migraine triggers such as stress related to going outdoors and intake of specific foods or drinks. Intensity of attacks increased in 67/222 patients (30.2%), and it was associated with the subjective worsening, female sex, recent insomnia, and use of acute medication during a headache. An increase in monthly days with any headache was observed in 105/222 patients (47.3%) and was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, older age and living with five or more people. Conclusions: Approximately half the migraine patients reported worsening of their usual pain during the lockdown. Worse clinical course in migraine patients was related to changes in triggers and the emotional impact of the lockdown. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine

Using radio astronomical receivers for molecular spectroscopic characterization in astrochemical laboratory simulations: A proof of concept

We present a proof of concept on the coupling of radio astronomical receivers and spectrometers with chemical reactorsand the performances of the resulting setup for spectroscopy and chemical simulations in laboratory astrophysics. Several experiments including cold plasma generation and UV photochemistry were performed in a 40\,cm long gas cell placed in the beam path of the Aries 40\,m radio telescope receivers operating in the 41-49 GHz frequency range interfaced with fast Fourier transform spectrometers providing 2 GHz bandwidth and 38 kHz resolution. The impedance matching of the cell windows has been studied using different materials. The choice of the material and its thickness was critical to obtain a sensitivity identical to that of standard radio astronomical observations. Spectroscopic signals arising from very low partial pressures of CH3OH, CH3CH2OH, HCOOH, OCS,CS, SO2 (<1E-03 mbar) were detected in a few seconds. Fast data acquisition was achieved allowing for kinetic measurements in fragmentation experiments using electron impact or UV irradiation. Time evolution of chemical reactions involving OCS, O2 and CS2 was also observed demonstrating that reactive species, such as CS, can be maintained with high abundance in the gas phase during these experiments.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics in September 21, 2017. 16 pages, 18 figure

Atmospheric pressure gas chromatography-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (APGC-ToF-MS) for the determination of regulated and emerging contaminants in aqueous samples after stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE)

This work presents the development, optimization and validation of a multi-residue method for the simultaneous determination of 102 contaminants, including fragrances, UV filters, repellents, endocrine disruptors, biocides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and several types of pesticides in aqueous matrices. Water samples were processed using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) after the optimization of several parameters: agitation time, ionic strength, presence of organic modifiers, pH, and volume of the derivatizing agent. Target compounds were extracted from the bars by liquid desorption (LD). Separation, identification and quantification of analytes were carried out by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to time-of-flight (ToF-MS) mass spectrometry. A new ionization source, atmospheric pressure gas chromatography (APGC), was tested. The optimized protocol showed acceptable recovery percentages (50–100%) and limits of detection below 1 ng L−1 for most of the compounds. Occurrence of 21 out of 102 analytes was confirmed in several environmental aquatic matrices, including seawater, sewage effluent, river water and groundwater. Non-target compounds such as organophosphorus flame retardants were also identified in real samples by accurate mass measurement of their molecular ions using GC-APGC–ToF-MS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this technique has been applied for the analysis of contaminants in aquatic systems. By employing lower energy than the more widely used electron impact ionization (EI), AGPC provides significant advantages over EI for those substances very susceptible to high fragmentation (e.g., fragrances, pyrethroids)