Combined analysis of KamLAND and Borexino neutrino signals from Th and U decays in the Earth's interior

The KamLAND and Borexino experiments have detected electron antineutrinos produced in the decay chains of natural thorium and uranium (Th and U geoneutrinos). We analyze the energy spectra of current geoneutrino data in combination with solar and long-baseline reactor neutrino data, with marginalized three-neutrino oscillation parameters. We consider the case with unconstrained Th and U event rates in KamLAND and Borexino, as well as cases with fewer degrees of freedom, as obtained by successively assuming for both experiments a common Th/U ratio, a common scaling of Th+U event rates, and a chondritic Th/U value. In combination, KamLAND and Borexino can reject the null hypothesis (no geoneutrino signal) at 5 sigma. Interesting bounds or indications emerge on the Th+U geoneutrino rates and on the Th/U ratio, in broad agreement with typical Earth model expectations. Conversely, the results disfavor the hypothesis of a georeactor in the Earth's core, if its power exceeds a few TW. The interplay of KamLAND and Borexino geoneutrino data is highlighted.Comment: 12 pages, including 6 figure

The Evolving Civil Justice Reform Movement: Procedural Reforms Have Gained Steam, but Critics Still Focus on Arguments of the Past

Symposium issue: Tort Refor

Spectral peak resolution and speech recognition in quiet: Normal hearing, hearing impaired and cochlear implant listeners

Spectral peak resolution was investigated in normal hearing (NH), hearing impaired (HI), and cochlear implant (CI) listeners. The task involved discriminating between two rippled noise stimuli in which the frequency positions of the log-spaced peaks and valleys were interchanged. The ripple spacing was varied adaptively from 0.13 to 11.31 ripples/octave, and the minimum ripple spacing at which a reversal in peak and trough positions could be detected was determined as the spectral peak resolution threshold for each listener. Spectral peak resolution was best, on average, in NH listeners, poorest in CI listeners, and intermediate for HI listeners. There was a significant relationship between spectral peak resolution and both vowel and consonant recognition in quiet across the three listener groups. The results indicate that the degree of spectral peak resolution required for accurate vowel and consonant recognition in quiet backgrounds is around 4 ripples/octave, and that spectral peak resolution poorer than around 1–2 ripples/octave may result in highly degraded speech recognition. These results suggest that efforts to improve spectral peak resolution for HI and CI users may lead to improved speech recognitio

A semi-analytical perspective on massive galaxies at z∼0.55z\sim0.55

The most massive and luminous galaxies in the Universe serve as powerful probes to study the formation of structure, the assembly of mass, and cosmology. However, their detailed formation and evolution is still barely understood. Here we extract a sample of massive mock galaxies from the semi-analytical model of galaxy formation (SAM) GALACTICUS from the MultiDark-Galaxies, by replicating the CMASS photometric selection from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). The comparison of the GALACTICUS CMASS-mock with BOSS-CMASS data allows us to explore different aspects of the massive galaxy population at $0.5<z<0.6$, including the galaxy-halo connection and the galaxy clustering. We find good agreement between our modelled galaxies and observations regarding the galaxy-halo connection, but our CMASS-mock over-estimates the clustering amplitude of the 2-point correlation function, due to a smaller number density compared to BOSS, a lack of blue objects, and a small intrinsic scatter in stellar mass at fixed halo mass of $<0.1$ dex. To alleviate this problem, we construct an alternative mock catalogue mimicking the CMASS colour-magnitude distribution by randomly down-sampling the SAM catalogue. This CMASS-mock reproduces the clustering of CMASS galaxies within 1$\sigma$ and shows some environmental dependency of star formation properties that could be connected to the quenching of star formation and the assembly bias.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, submitted to MNRA

Wave conditions in the Baltic Proper and in the Gulf of Finland during windstorm Gudrun

International audienceWave conditions in the northern Baltic Proper during windstorm Erwin/Gudrun (January 2005) are analysed based on in situ measurements in three locations and output of operational wave models from the German Weather Forecast Service, the Danish Meteorological Institute and the Finnish Institute of Marine Research. The measured significant wave height reached 7.2 m in the northern Baltic Proper and 4.5 m in the Gulf of Finland. The roughest wave conditions, estimated from the comparison of the forecast and measured data, occurred remote from the sensors, off the coasts of Saaremaa and Latvia where the significant wave height was about 9.5 m. Peak periods exceeded 12 s in a large part of the northern Baltic Proper and in the central part of the Gulf of Finland

Microstructure and wear behaviour of high alloyed hot-work tool steels 1.2343 and 1.2367 under thermo-mechanical loading

Tools and their maintenance costs in hot forging processes account for a considerable proportion of the total components' costs. Forging tools undergo extreme heating and subsequent cooling during the forging process and between the forging cycles, respectively. This cyclic heating and cooling of the tool surfaces leads to local changes in the tool microstructure which result in hardening or softening of the material in different regions of the tool and consequently influence the tool strength. Temperature in the tool areas experiencing high thermo-mechanical loadings can exceed the austenitic temperature. Hence, a strong cooling, for example by spraying or lubrication, can lead to formation of a martensitic layer in the boundary zone of the tool. Due to its higher hardness, martensitic layer has greater resistance to wear as compared to the basic or tempered materials. In the scope of this paper, the austenitisation behaviours of two high alloyed hot-work tool steels, 1.2343 and 1.2367, have been characterized by means of dilatometer tests to obtain time-temperature-austenitisation (TTA) diagrams for specimen under thermo-mechanical loads. Moreover, continuous-cooling-transformation (CCT) diagrams were recorded. Metallographic investigations were carried out to gather a detailed understanding of the microstructure behaviour and its resulting hardness. With the results of this works, it is aimed to gather a detailed and accurate insight into the arising hardening and softening effects. This would eventually lead to an optimisation of the numerical modelling for tool wear prediction

A population-based case-control study on social factors and risk of testicular germ cell tumours

Objectives Incidence rates for testicular cancer have risen over the last few decades. Findings of an association between the risk of testicular cancer and social factors are controversial. The association of testicular cancer and different indicators of social factors were examined in this study.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Design Case–control study.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Setting Population-based multicentre study in four German regions (city states Bremen and Hamburg, the Saarland region and the city of Essen).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Participants The study included 797 control participants and 266 participants newly diagnosed with testicular cancer of which 167 cases were classified as seminoma and 99 as non-seminoma. The age of study participants ranged from 15 to 69 years.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods Social position was classified by educational attainment level, posteducational training, occupational sectors according to Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarrero (EGP) and the socioeconomic status (SES) on the basis of the International SocioEconomic Index of occupational status (ISEI). ORs and corresponding 95% CIs (95% CIs) were calculated for the whole study sample and for seminoma and non-seminoma separately.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results Testicular cancer risk was modestly increased among participants with an apprenticeship (OR=1.7 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.8)) or a university degree (OR=1.6 (95% CI 0.9 to 2.8)) relative to those whose education was limited to school. Analysis of occupational sectors revealed an excess risk for farmers and farm-related occupations. No clear trend was observed for the analyses according to the ISEI-scale.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions Social factors based on occupational measures were not a risk factor for testicular cancer in this study. The elevated risk in farmers and farm-related occupations warrants further research including analysis of occupational exposures.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

The Effectiveness of Poly-(4-vinyl-N-hexylpyridiniumbromide) as an Antibacterial Implant Coating: An In Vitro Study

The clinical success of osseointegrated dental implants depends on the strong attachment of the surrounding hard and soft tissues. Bacterial adhesion on implant surfaces can cause inflammatory reactions and may influence healing and long-term success of dental implants. Promising implant coatings should minimize bacterial adhesion, but allow epithelial and connective tissue attachment. Therefore, the present study has examined the bioactive effect of poly-(4-vinyl-N-hexylpyridiniumbromide) regarding typical oral bacteria as well as cytotoxicitiy to human cells considering different methods of connecting polymers to silicate-containing surfaces. The results revealed that the application of putative antibacterial and biocompatible polymer in coating strategies is affected by a variety of parameters. Published findings regarding reduced bacterial adhesion could not be verified using oral pathogens whereas hexylated polymers seem problematic for strong adhesion of soft tissue. Concerning innovative coatings for dental implants basic aspects (surface roughness, thickness, alkylation, combination with other polymers) have to be considered in further investigations

β\beta-Decay Spectrum, Response Function and Statistical Model for Neutrino Mass Measurements with the KATRIN Experiment

The objective of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is to determine the effective electron neutrino mass $m(\nu_\text{e})$ with an unprecedented sensitivity of $0.2\,\text{eV}$ (90\% C.L.) by precision electron spectroscopy close to the endpoint of the $\beta$ decay of tritium. We present a consistent theoretical description of the $\beta$ electron energy spectrum in the endpoint region, an accurate model of the apparatus response function, and the statistical approaches suited to interpret and analyze tritium $\beta$ decay data observed with KATRIN with the envisaged precision. In addition to providing detailed analytical expressions for all formulae used in the presented model framework with the necessary detail of derivation, we discuss and quantify the impact of theoretical and experimental corrections on the measured $m(\nu_\text{e})$. Finally, we outline the statistical methods for parameter inference and the construction of confidence intervals that are appropriate for a neutrino mass measurement with KATRIN. In this context, we briefly discuss the choice of the $\beta$ energy analysis interval and the distribution of measuring time within that range.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures, 2 table