First MINOS Results with the NuMI Beam

The results from the initial exposure of the MINOS detectors to neutrinos produced by the Fermilab NuMI beam are reported here. The exposure consisted of 1.27 x 10^{20} 120 GeV protons incident on the NuMI target. The data show the observation of 215 neutrinos with energies below 30 GeV while 336 +/- 14.4 events were expected. The data are consistent with nu_mu disappearance via neutrino oscillations.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. Prepared for Neutrino Oscillation Workshop 200

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

Study on Methods of Simultaneous Multi-Component Analysis.

Many new instrumentation and different instrumental techniques have been developed to deal with increasing complexity of samples encountered. Many researchers also have coupled these instrumental techniques with chemometric algorithms to assist in the quantitative analysis of multi-component samples in the hope of alleviating the need of tedious separation and cleanup procedures. These newer chemometric procedures tend to be complex and difficult to understand and implement and are successful under different circumstances and conditions. In this study, we start from the very simple beginning and examine the factors that can present difficulties with obtaining the correct results and observe how the system behaves so as to find a better and simpler chemometric procedure to perform mixture quantitative analysis. We have used simulated and actual experimental data obtained from a UV-VIS spectrophotometric measurement of metal complexes to conduct the study. Well understood and defined systems tend to give good results. The main obstacle has been, and still is, interferences in spectral information one gets from the measurement

A Bayesian technique for improving the sensitivity of the atmospheric neutrino L/E analysis

This paper outlines a method for improving the precision of atmospheric neutrino oscillation measurements. One experimental signature for these oscillations is an observed deficit in the rate of $\nu_{\mu}$ charged-current interactions with an oscillatory dependence on $L_{\nu}/E_{\nu}$, where $L_{\nu}$ is the neutrino propagation distance, and $E_{\nu}$ is the neutrino energy. For contained-vertex atmospheric neutrino interactions, the $L_{\nu}/E_{\nu}$ resolution varies significantly from event to event. The precision of the oscillation measurement can be improved by incorporating information on $L_{\nu}/E_{\nu}$ resolution into the oscillation analysis. In the analysis presented here, a Bayesian technique is used to estimate the $L_{\nu}/E_{\nu}$ resolution of observed atmospheric neutrinos on an event-by-event basis. By separating the events into bins of $L_{\nu}/E_{\nu}$ resolution in the oscillation analysis, a significant improvement in oscillation sensitivity can be achieved.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Methods A, accompanies arXiv:1208.2915 [hep-ex

Genetically modified (GM) maize cultivation by smallholders in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa: Effects on target and non-target organisms and adoption challenges

The use of genetically modified (GM) maize technology is subject to compliance with stewardship requirements and the adoption of specific management practices that promote the long-term effectiveness and environmental sustainability of the technology. For smallholders to comply with these requirements and adopt the desired management practices to ultimately benefit from the technology, they require information that creates awareness of the value of these requirements. To determine what information farmers receive about GM maize and how this information is disseminated to farmers, face to face interviews were conducted with 81 extension personnel and 210 smallhoder GM maize farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The effect of Bt maize introduction and management practices in smallholder maize agroecosystems in the Eastern Cape on Bt maize target [Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] and non-target insect pests [Agrotis segetum (Denis & Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] and a snail species, [Cornu aspersum (Müller) (Gastropoda: Helicidae)] was determined through laboratory, field and cage experiments. The effect of smallhoder farmers‟ GM maize cultivation practices on the profitability of GM maize technology was also determined through on-farm trials in different localities of the Eastern Cape identified as hot-spots for stem borer and weed infestation. Results of surveys indicated that extension personnel had a low level of awareness of GM maize technology stewardship requirements. GM maize technology was also largely disseminated to smallholder farmers through non-participatory approaches and print media sourced from GM seed companies. Although farmers had a high level of contact with extension services, they lacked access to information about GM maize technology. Smallholder farmers‟ level of awareness about GM maize and compliance with the requirement for the planting of non-Bt maize refuge areas adjacent to Bt maize was also very low. While Bt maize event (MON810) commonly cultivated by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province had a variable effect on A. segetum under laboratory conditions, it had no effect on the incidence of plants damaged by A. segetum and C. aspersum under field conditions. The incidence of H. armigera damage on Bt maize plants was however significantly affected by Bt maize. Populations of B. fusca collected from smallholder maize fields in the province were observed to be still highly susceptible to Bt maize. Results of on-farm evaluation of the profitability of GM maize revealed that stem borer pressure, growing conditions, input supplies and market access affect the productivity and profitability of GM maize cultivation. Challenges within the extension and advisory services of the Eastern Cape which can militate against smallholder farmers‟ ability to benefit from GM maize technology and sustain the long-term efficacy of the technology were identified during this study. Given these challenges and the fact that the cultivation of GM maize may not be profitable under typical smallholder maize cultivation conditions and management practices, dissemination approaches that provide farmers the opportunity to evaluate GM maize technology alongside alternate technologies under their conditions, may prove beneficial

Neutrino Masses from Fine Tuning

We present a new approach for generating tiny neutrino masses. The Dirac neutrino mass matrix gets contributions from two new Higgs doublets with their vevs at the electroweak (EW) scale. Neutrino masses are tiny not because of tiny Yukawa couplings, or very heavy ($\sim 10^{14}\textrm{GeV}$) right handed neutrinos. They are tiny because of a cancelation in the Dirac neutrino mass matrix (fine tuning). After fine tuning to make the Dirac neutrino mass matrix at the $10^{-4}$ GeV scale, light neutrino masses are obtained in the correct scale via the see-saw mechanism with the right handed neutrino at the EW scale. The proposal links neutrino physics to collider physics. The Higgs search strategy is completely altered. For a wide range of Higgs masses, the Standard Model Higgs decays dominantly to $\nu_L N_R$ mode giving rise to the final state $\bar{\nu} \nu \bar{b} b$, or $\bar{\nu} \nu \tau^+\tau^-$. This can be tested at the LHC, and possibly at the Tevatron.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures and 3 table

Residential Tenancies and the Urban Land Law: The Ghanaian Experience.

This thesis examines the functioning (or rather, in most cases, the non-functioning) of residential tenancy law in urban Ghana. Arising out of a deeply-held conviction that analysis and investigation of law should be rooted in its societal context, the first chapter examines the process of urbanization in Ghana and the housing situation in the urban areas. The interesting juristic issue of the applicablity of customary law to residential tenancies is also examined. The second chapter examines the nature of the residential tenancy in modern urban conditions. This is then compared and contrasted with other seemingly similar institutional arrangements. The substantive and procedural law affecting the creation of the residential tenancy relationship and the informality which characterizes the creation of the relationship is examined in chapter three. Examination of the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants starts from chapter four. The maintenance and repairing obligations of the parties are considered in chapter five. The obligation to pay rent is considered in chapter six - its historical antecedents and the resulting consequences being analysed. Chapters seven and eight deal with the important legal (but also political and socio-economic) issues raised by rent control and security of tenure. The thesis ends where it started from with a consideration of the concrete socio-economic and political realities of Ghanaian society and the resulting divergence between law and practice

Fast automated scanning of OPERA emulsion films

The use of nuclear emulsions to record tracks of charged particles with an accuracy of better than 1 micron is possible in large physics experiments thanks to the recent improvements in the industrial production of emulsions and to the development of fast automated microscopes. The European Scanning System (ESS) is a fast automatic system developed for the mass scanning of the emulsions of the OPERA experiment, which requires microscopes with scanning speeds of about 20 cm$^2$/h. Recent improvements in the technique and measurements with ESS are reported.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, presented at the 10th Topical Seminar on Innovative Particle and Radiation Detectors, 1-5 October 2006, Siena, Ital