Atlantic Cod Predation on Northern shrimp in Flemish Cap (NAFO Div. 3M)

The aim of this study is to estimate the predation on shrimp by Atlantic cod in Flemish Cap in the period 2000-2010 and the impact of the cod stock recovery in recent years on the prey stock. Stomach content samples of Atlantic cod were taken in the Flemish Cap survey (NAFO Div. 3M). The analysis was done jointly from all individuals, undifferentiated sexes. They were established four size groups of Atlantic cod with a different predation rate on shrimp: 10-79 cm, 80-89 cm, 90-109 cm and ≥110 cm. Results show a clear increasing trend in the daily consumption of shrimp by cod related with increasing of shrimp biomass. Males and females show the same pattern of consumption of this prey. However consumption changes with the predator size, being highest in individuals over 16 cm to 79 cm. Cod less than 16 cm does not consume shrimp. The maximum consumption of this prey was observed in the period 1999-2008; this period was followed by the fall of this prey biomass in recent years as the cod biomass increased

Eficacia biodescontaminante obtenida mediante la aplicación de Virkon®, Perasafe® e hidróxido sódico sobre superficies de alto riesgo microbiológico

La eficacia de la actividad biodescontaminante de los productos Virkon®, Perasafe® e hidróxido sódico, ha sido evaluada. Los compuestos fueron ensayados en boxes de laboratorios de contención con bioseguridad nivel 3 (NCB3), destinados a alojar animales de experimentación para el estudio de peste porcina africana (PPA), fiebre aftosa (FA) y virus del Nilo Occidental (VNO). Las muestras procedentes de diferentes puntos fueron obtenidas mediante placas RODAC, antes y después de la aplicación del tratamiento desinfectante sobre la superficie ensayada, y los resultados obtenidos fueron expresados como unidades formadoras de colonias por mililitro (ufc/ml). Los resultados obtenidos indican que todos los compuestos ensayados demostraron un alto nivel de eficacia biodescontaminante, pero sin embargo el efecto inducido el compuesto Perasafe® aportó un nivel de eficacia superior al obtenido con los otros compuestos. Así, estos resultados permiten afirmar la idoneidad de Perasafe® para la desinfección de espacios con nivel 3 de bioseguridad.Biodecontaminant effectiveness obtained in surfaces treated with Virkon®, Perasafe®, and sodium hydroxide has been evaluated. The selected compounds were used in boxes from Biosafety Level 3 containment laboratories (NCB3) for animals exposed to classical swine fever (CSF), foot and mooth disease (FMD), and west nile virus (WNV). The samples from selected points were obtained by mean RODAC plates, before and after to the use of selected compounds on surfaces, and the results obtained were expressed as colony-forming units per milliliter (cfu/ml). Results shown that all compounds assayed demonstrated high biodecontaminant efficacy levels; but however Perasafe® was more effective than others compounds assayed. Thus, these results allow affirming that Perasafe® is suitable for the disinfection of surfaces from NCB3 spaces

Renormalization Group Evolution of Dirac Neutrino Masses

There are good reasons why neutrinos could be Majorana particles, but there exist also a number of very good reasons why neutrinos could have Dirac masses. The latter option deserves more attention and we derive therefore analytic expressions describing the renormalization group evolution of mixing angles and of the CP phase for Dirac neutrinos. Radiative corrections to leptonic mixings are in this case enhanced compared to the quark mixings because the hierarchy of neutrino masses is milder and because the mixing angles are larger. The renormalization group effects are compared to the precision of current and future neutrino experiments. We find that, in the MSSM framework, radiative corrections of the mixing angles are for large \tan\beta comparable to the precision of future experiments.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures; error in eq. 8 corrected, references adde

Hydrogeophysical Assessment of the Critical Zone below a Golf Course Irrigated with Reclaimed Water Close to Volcanic Caldera

The geometry and the hydraulic properties of the unsaturated zone is often difficult to evaluate from traditional soil sampling techniques. Soil samples typically provide only data of the upper layers and boreholes are expensive and only provide spotted information. Non-destructive geophysical methods and among them, electrical resistivity tomography can be applied in complex geological environments such as volcanic areas, where lavas and unconsolidated pyroclastic deposits dominate. They have a wide variability of hydraulic properties due to textural characteristics and modification processes suh as compaction, fracturation and weathering. To characterize the subsurface geology below the golf course of Bandama (Gran Canaria) a detailed electrical resistivity tomography survey has been conducted. This technique allowed us to define the geometry of the geological formations because of their high electrical resistivity contrasts. Subsequently, undisturbed soil and pyroclastic deposits samples were taken in representative outcrops for quantifying the hydraulic conductivity in the laboratory where the parametric electrical resistivity was measured in the field. A statistical correlation between the two variables has been obtained and a 3D model transit time of water infiltration through the vadose zone has been built to assess the vulnerability of the aquifers located below the golf course irrigated with reclaimed water

The SUSY seesaw model and lepton-flavor violation at a future electron-positron linear collider

We study lepton-flavor violating slepton production and decay at a future e^+e^- linear collider in context with the seesaw mechanism in mSUGRA post-LEP benchmark scenarios. The present knowledge in the neutrino sector as well as improved future measurements are taken into account. We calculate the signal cross-sections \sigma(e^{+/-}e^- -> l_{\beta}^{+/-} l_{\alpha}^- \tilde{\chi}_b^0 \tilde{\chi}_a^0); l_{\delta}=e, \mu, \tau; \alpha =|= \beta and estimate the main background processes. Furthermore, we investigate the correlations of these signals with the corresponding lepton-flavor violating rare decays l_{\alpha} -> l_{\beta} \gamma. It is shown that these correlations are relatively weakly affected by uncertainties in the neutrino data, but very sensitive to the model parameters. Hence, they are particularly suited for probing the origin of lepton-flavor violation.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, version published in Phys. Rev.

Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment and mu -> e gamma in B-L Model with Inverse Seesaw

We study the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, a_\mu, and lepton flavor violating decay \mu -> e \gamma in TeV scale B-L extension of the Standard Model (SM) with inverse seesaw mechanism. We show that the B-L contributions to a_\mu are severely constrained, therefore the SM contribution remains intact. We also emphasize that the current experimental limit of BR(\mu -> e \gamma) can be satisfied for a wide range of parameter space and it can be within the reach of MEG experiment.Comment: 10 pages, 4 Figure

Renormalization Group Running of Lepton Mixing Parameters in See-Saw Models with S4S_4 Flavor Symmetry

We study the renormalization group running of the tri-bimaximal mixing predicted by the two typical $S_4$ flavor models at leading order. Although the textures of the mass matrices are completely different, the evolution of neutrino mass and mixing parameters is found to display approximately the same pattern. For both normal hierarchy and inverted hierarchy spectrum, the quantum corrections to both atmospheric and reactor neutrino mixing angles are so small that they can be neglected. The evolution of the solar mixing angle $\theta_{12}$ depends on $\tan\beta$ and neutrino mass spectrum, the deviation from its tri-bimaximal value could be large. Taking into account the renormalization group running effect, the neutrino spectrum is constrained by experimental data on $\theta_{12}$ in addition to the self-consistency conditions of the models, and the inverted hierarchy spectrum is disfavored for large $\tan\beta$. The evolution of light-neutrino masses is approximately described by a common scaling factor.Comment: 23 pages, 6figure

Spontaneous CP Violating Phase as the Phase in PMNS Matrix

We study the possibility of identifying the CP violating phases in the PMNS mixing matrix in the lepton sector and also that in the CKM mixing matrix in the quark sector with the phase responsible for the spontaneous CP violation in the Higgs potential, and some implications. Since the phase in the CKM mixing matrix is determined by experimental data, the phase in the lepton sector is therefore also fixed. The mass matrix for neutrinos is constrained leading to constraints on the Jarlskog CP violating parameter $J$, and the effective mass $$ for neutrinoless double beta decay. The Yukawa couplings are also constrained. Different ways of identifying the phases have different predictions for $\mu \to e e\bar e$ and $\tau \to l_1 l_2 \bar l_3$. Future experimental data can be used to distinguish different models.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure

Reconstructing Seesaws

We explore some aspects of "reconstructing" the heavy singlet sector of supersymmetric type I seesaw models, for two, three or four singlets. We work in the limit where one light neutrino is massless. In an ideal world, where selected coefficients of the TeV-scale effective Lagrangian could be measured with arbitrary accuracy, the two-singlet case can be reconstructed, two three or more singlets can be differentiated, and an inverse seesaw with four singlets can be reconstructed. In a more realistic world, we estimate \ell_\a \to \ell_\b \gamma expectations with a "Minimal-Flavour-Violation-like" ansatz, which gives a relation between ratios of the three branching ratios. The two singlet model predicts a discrete set of ratios.Comment: 14 page