Data driven flavour model

A bottom-up approach has been adopted to identify a flavour model that agrees with present experimental measurements. The charged fermion mass hierarchies suggest that only the top Yukawa term should be present at the renormalisable level. Similarly, describing the lightness of the active neutrinos through the type-I Seesaw mechanism, right-handed neutrino mass terms should also be present at the renormalisable level. The flavour symmetry of the Lagrangian including the fermionic kinetic terms and only the top Yukawa is then a combination of U(2) and U(3) factors. Once considering the Majorana neutrino terms, the associated symmetry is O(3). Lighter charged fermion and active neutrino masses and quark and lepton mixings arise considering specific spurion fields à la Minimal Flavour Violation. The associated phenomenology is investigated and the model turns out to have almost the same flavour protection as the Minimal Flavour Violation in both quark and lepton sectors. Promoting the spurions to dynamical fields, the associated scalar potential is also studied and a minimum is identified such that fermion masses and mixings are correctly reproduced. Very precise predictions for the Majorana phases follow from the minimisation of the scalar potential and thus the neutrinoless-double-beta decay may represent a smoking gun for the model

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions—a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue “Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome”, we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research

The minimal flavour violating axion

Abstract The solution to the Strong CP problem is analysed within the Minimal Flavour Violation (MFV) context. An Abelian factor of the complete flavour symmetry of the fermionic kinetic terms may play the role of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry in traditional axion models. Its spontaneous breaking, due to the addition of a complex scalar field to the Standard Model scalar spectrum, generates the MFV axion, which may redefine away the QCD theta parameter. It differs from the traditional QCD axion for its couplings that are governed by the fermion charges under the axial Abelian symmetry. It is also distinct from the so-called Axiflavon, as the MFV axion does not describe flavour violation, while it does induce flavour non-universality effects. The MFV axion phenomenology is discussed considering astrophysical, collider and flavour data

Nutrition and anaemias in critical illness

INTRODUCTION: We made a clinical study, about nutrition in seriously ill patients, which includes a typical heterogeneous group of critical ill patients, with/without anaemia's, that have been admitted to Intensive Care Unit, ICU. It is difficult to individualize and to generalize the relative importance of all the factors that can contribute to these anaemia's in the admission to the Unit, including nutritional deficiencies, inflammatory alterations, the immune response to aggressions, inmunitary modifications and the complex relations existing between these clinic processes. OBJECTIVE: Indirect valuation of the nutritional situation and anaemia's, in a typical heterogeneous group of critical ill patients. METHOD/RESULTS: We studied 202 patients admitted to ICU, of varied and heterogeneous origin, classifying them in 3 groups: control, post surgery and septic group's, becoming the indirect valuation of the nutritional situation on the basis of: Global Subjective Valuation, (VGS) and the nutritional analytical determinations of total lymphocytes, albumin, and transferrin. Also we made hemogram and determinations of sideremia and ferritinemia to all of them. In 57% of the patients, we observed levels haemoglobin 12.5 g/dl. Regarding the nutritional prognoses indicators, (VGS + nutritional profile), in the control group's, they did not present anaemia nor analytical clinical under nourishment, in the post surgery group's, anaemia and slight under nourishment and in the septic group's, anaemia and moderate under nourishment. There were significant differences between the surgery and septic group and control group's, in values of haemoglobin, iron, total lymphocytes, transferrin and albumin. A statistical correlation between sideremia and albumin was significative. (Spearman's Rho 0,277). CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of the anaemia and nutritional valuation. and the ferroterapic treatment, as immune-nutrient, can be beneficial for the integrity of the immune system and its defense's abilities against the aggressions in critically ills.YesIntroducción: Realizamos un estudio clínico original sobre nutrición en pacientes graves, que incluye a un grupo heterogéneo típico de pacientes críticos, con/sin anemias, que nos han ingresado en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, UCI. Es difícil individualizar y generalizar la relativa importancia de todos los factores que pueden contribuir a estas anemias en la admisión en la Unidad, incluyendo las deficiencias nutricionales, las alteraciones inflamatorias, la respuesta a las agresiones, las modificaciones inmunitarias y las complejas relaciones existente entre estos procesos clínicos. Objetivo: Valoración indirecta de la situación nutricional y anemias, en un grupo heterogéneo típico de pacientes críticos. Método/Resultados: Se estudian 202 pacientes ingresados en la UCI, de variada y heterogénea procedencia, y clasificándolos en 3 grupos: control, postoperados y sépticos, realizándose la valoración indirecta de la situación nutricional en base a: la Valoración Global Subjetiva, (VGS), y las determinaciones analíticas nutricionales pronosticas de linfocitos totales, albúmina, y transferrina. También se realizo hemograma y determinaciones de sideremia y ferritinemia a todos ellos. En un 57% de los pacientes, se observo cifras de hemoglobina inferior a 12.5 gr/dl, básicamente en el grupo de postoperados, (68 pacientes) y sépticos, (10 pacientes). Y con cifras inferiores a 10 g/dl de hemoglobina, en 25 pacientes mas, (12,3%). Hubo 87 pacientes, 23 de ellos en el grupo control, 58 en los postoperados y 5 sépticos, cuya cifra de hemoglobina era superior a 12,5 g/dl. En cuanto a los indicadores pronósticos nutricionales, (VGS + perfil nutricional), en el grupo control no presentaban anemia ni desnutrición clínico analítica, en los postoperados, anemia y desnutrición leve y en los sépticos, anemia y desnutrición ligera-moderada. Había diferencias significativas entre los pacientes del grupo control y los grupos postoperados y sépticos, en cuanto a la cifra de hemoglobina, hierro, linfocitos totales, transferrina y albúmina. Se hizo una correlación estadística entre la sideremia y la albúmina, existiendo significación estadística. (Coef Rho de Spearman 0,277). Conclusión: La valoración de la anemia y de la situación nutricional y el tratamiento ferroterapico, como inmunonutriente, pudiera ser beneficioso para la integridad del sistema inmune y su capacidad de defensa ante las agresiones, en pacientes graves ingresados en la UCI