High Energy Neutrino Flashes from Far-Ultraviolet and X-ray Flares in Gamma-Ray Bursts

The recent observations of bright optical and x-ray flares by the Swift satellite suggest these are produced by the late activities of the central engine. We study the neutrino emission from far-ultraviolet and x-ray flares under the late internal shock model. We show that the efficiency of pion production in the highest energy is comparable to or higher than the unity, and the contribution from such neutrino flashes to a diffuse very high energy neutrino background can be larger than that of prompt bursts if the total baryonic energy input into flares is comparable to the radiated energy of prompt bursts. These signals may be detected by IceCube and are very important because they have possibilities to probe the nature of flares (the baryon loading, the photon field, the magnetic field and so on).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, version published in PR

From dense-dilute duality to self duality in high energy evolution

I describe recent work on inclusion of Pomeron loops in the high energy evolution. In particular I show that the complete eikonal high energy evolution kernel must be selfdual.Comment: Talk given at DIS05, April 2005, Madiso

Early vertical distribution of roots and its association with drought tolerance in tropical maize

Background and aims: Selection for deep roots to improve drought tolerance of maize (Zea mays L.) requires presence of genetic variation and suitable screening methods. Methods: We examined a diverse set of 33 tropical maize inbred lines that were grown in growth columns in the greenhouse up to the 2-, 4-, and 6-leaf stage and in the field in Mexico. To determine length of roots from different depths at high throughput, we tested an approach based on staining roots with methylene blue and measuring the amount of absorbed dye as proxy measure for root length. Results: Staining provided no advantage over root weights that are much easier to measure and therefore preferable. We found significant genotypic variation for all traits at the 6-leaf stage. For development rates between the 2-leaf and the 6-leaf stage, genotypes only differed for rooting depth and the number of crown roots. Positive correlations of leaf area with root length and rooting depth indicated a common effect of plant vigor. However, leaf area in growth columns was negatively related to grain yield under drought (r = −0.50). Conclusion: The selection for deeper roots by an increase in plant vigor likely results in a poorer performance under drought conditions. The proportion of deep roots was independent of other traits but showed a low heritability and was not correlated to field performance. An improved screening protocol is proposed to increase throughput and heritability for this trait

Low energy conversion electron detection in superfluid He3 at ultra-low temperature

We report on the first results of the MACHe3 (MAtrix of Cells of Helium 3) prototype experiment concerning the measurement of low energy conversion electrons at ultra-low temperature. For the first time, the feasibility of the detection of low energy electrons is demonstrated in superfluid He3-B cooled down to 100 microK. Low energy electrons at 7.3 keV coming from the K shell conversion of the 14.4 keV nuclear transition of a low activity Co57 source are detected, opening the possibility to use a He3-based detector for the detection of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) which are expected to release an amount of energy higher-bounded by 5.6 keV.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to appear in NIM

"Medikamente sind Bomben" - zum Metapherngebrauch von Lungentransplantations-Patienten mit guter oder ungenügender Compliance

Fragestellung: Nach einer Organtransplantation finden komplexe psychologische Verarbeitungsprozesse statt. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde untersucht, welche Metaphern im Zusammenhang mit Transplantationserfahrungen verwendet werden, und ob Unterschiede zwischen Patienten mit guter bzw. ungenügender Compliance im Gebrauch dieser Metaphern bestehen. Methode: 14 lungentransplantierte Patienten wurden in einem halbstrukturierten Interview zu ihren Transplantationserfahrungen befragt. Ihre Compliance wurde von den behandelnden Ärzten eingeschätzt. Die Auswertung der Interviews erfolgte anhand einer Metaphernanalyse, welche Hinweise auf vor- und unbewusste Vorstellungen der Patienten liefert. Die Interraterreliabilität über die Metapherngruppen war Cohen’s Kappa K = 0.8. Ergebnisse: Die Patienten konzeptualisierten ihren Körper, aber auch ihr Selbst als ein “Gefäß”, dass sowohl materielle (z.B. die Lunge) wie immaterielle Objekte (z.B. Gedanken an den Spender, Affekte) enthält. Der wichtigste Unterschied zwischen den Compliance-Gruppen bestand darin, dass Patienten mit ungenügender Compliance eine grössere Distanz zur transplantierten Lunge erlebten. Auch konzeptualisierten sie ihren Körper bzw. ihr Selbst nicht als ein Gefäß, das die Lunge enthält. Diskussion: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass gute Compliance mit einer erfolgreichen Organintegration assoziiert ist, welche die Zugehörigkeit der Lunge in einem als Gefäß konzeptualisierten Körper bzw. Selbst umfasst. Patienten mit ungenügender Compliance nehmen die Lunge eher als Fremdkörper wahr. Diese Verarbeitungsprozesse sind teils bewusster, teils vor- und unbewusster Natur

Muon Simulations for Super-Kamiokande, KamLAND and CHOOZ

Muon backgrounds at Super-Kamiokande, KamLAND and CHOOZ are calculated using MUSIC. A modified version of the Gaisser sea level muon distribution and a well-tested Monte Carlo integration method are introduced. Average muon energy, flux and rate are tabulated. Plots of average energy and angular distributions are given. Implications on muon tracker design for future experiments are discussed.Comment: Revtex4 33 pages, 16 figures and 4 table

Measurements of integral muon intensity at large zenith angles

High-statistics data on near-horizontal muons collected with Russian-Italian coordinate detector DECOR are analyzed. Precise measurements of muon angular distributions in zenith angle interval from 60 to 90 degrees have been performed. In total, more than 20 million muons are selected. Dependences of the absolute integral muon intensity on zenith angle for several threshold energies ranging from 1.7 GeV to 7.2 GeV are derived. Results for this region of zenith angles and threshold energies have been obtained for the first time. The dependence of integral intensity on zenith angle and threshold energy is well fitted by a simple analytical formula.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Radiation in Lorentz violating electrodynamics

Synchrotron radiation is analyzed in the classical effective Lorentz invariance violating model of Myers-Pospelov. Within the full far-field approximation we compute the electric and magnetic fields, the angular distribution of the power spectrum and the total emitted power in the m-th harmonic, as well as the polarization. We find the appearance of rather unexpected and large amplifying factors, which go together with the otherwise negligible naive expansion parameter. This opens up the possibility of further exploring Lorentz invariance violations by synchrotron radiation measurements in astrophysical sources where these amplifying factors are important.Comment: Presented at the Second Mexican Meeting on Theoretical and Experimental Physics, El Colegio Nacional, Mexico City, 6-10 September 200

Possible High-energy neutrinos from the cosmic accelerator RXJ1713.7-3946

The observation of TeV-gamma rays of neutral pion origin from the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 might have revealed the first specific site where protons are accelerated to energies typical of the main component of the cosmic rays. In this letter we calculate the high-energy neutrino flux associated with this source to be at least 40 muon-type neutrinos per kilometer-squared per year. We perform the same calculations for other known sources of TeV-gamma rays and show how neutrino observations can establish whether the TeV-gamma rays emitted by blazars and supernova remnants are the decay products of neutral pions and thus unequivocally establish the sources as cosmic accelerators.Comment: Replaced with version published in Astrophys.

The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC): the NIH-supported National Public Repository and Distribution Archive of Mutant Mouse Models in the USA.

The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC) Program is the pre-eminent public national mutant mouse repository and distribution archive in the USA, serving as a national resource of mutant mice available to the global scientific community for biomedical research. Established more than two decades ago with grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the MMRRC Program supports a Consortium of regionally distributed and dedicated vivaria, laboratories, and offices (Centers) and an Informatics Coordination and Service Center (ICSC) at three academic teaching and research universities and one non-profit genetic research institution. The MMRRC Program accepts the submission of unique, scientifically rigorous, and experimentally valuable genetically altered and other mouse models donated by academic and commercial scientists and organizations for deposition, maintenance, preservation, and dissemination to scientists upon request. The four Centers maintain an archive of nearly 60,000 mutant alleles as live mice, frozen germplasm, and/or embryonic stem (ES) cells. Since its inception, the Centers have fulfilled 13,184 orders for mutant mouse models from 9591 scientists at 6626 institutions around the globe. Centers also provide numerous services that facilitate using mutant mouse models obtained from the MMRRC, including genetic assays, microbiome analysis, analytical phenotyping and pathology, cryorecovery, mouse husbandry, infectious disease surveillance and diagnosis, and disease modeling. The ICSC coordinates activities between the Centers, manages the website (mmrrc.org) and online catalog, and conducts communication, outreach, and education to the research community. Centers preserve, secure, and protect mutant mouse lines in perpetuity, promote rigor and reproducibility in scientific experiments using mice, provide experiential training and consultation in the responsible use of mice in research, and pursue cutting edge technologies to advance biomedical studies using mice to improve human health. Researchers benefit from an expansive list of well-defined mouse models of disease that meet the highest standards of rigor and reproducibility, while donating investigators benefit by having their mouse lines preserved, protected, and distributed in compliance with NIH policies