397 research outputs found
Three-Neutrino Mixing after the First Results from K2K and KamLAND
We analyze the impact of the data on long baseline \nu_\mu disappearance from
the K2K experiment and reactor \bar\nu_e disappearance from the KamLAND
experiment on the determination of the leptonic three-generation mixing
parameters. Performing an up-to-date global analysis of solar, atmospheric,
reactor and long baseline neutrino data in the context of three-neutrino
oscillations, we determine the presently allowed ranges of masses and mixing
and we consistently derive the allowed magnitude of the elements of the
leptonic mixing matrix. We also quantify the maximum allowed contribution of
\Delta m^2_{21} oscillations to CP-odd and CP-even observables at future long
baseline experiments.Comment: Some typos correcte
Larval Development in Tropical Gar (Atractosteus tropicus) Is Dependent on the Embryonic Thermal Regime: Ecological Implications under a Climate Change Context
In ectotherm species, environmental temperature plays a key role in development, growth,
and survival. Thus, determining how temperature affects fish populations is of utmost importance to
accurately predict the risk of climate change over fisheries and aquaculture, critical to warrant nutrition
and food security in the coming years. Here, the potential effects of abnormal thermal regimes
(24, 28 and 32 C; TR24, TR28, and TR32, respectively) exclusively applied during embryogenesis
in tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus) has been explored to decipher the potential consequences on
hatching and growth from fertilization to 16 days post-fertilization (dpf), while effects on skeletal
development and body morphology were explored at fertilization and 16 dpf. Egg incubation at
higher temperatures induced an early hatching and mouth opening. A higher hatching rate was
obtained in eggs incubated at 28 C when compared to those at 24 C. No differences were found in
fish survival at 16 dpf, with values ranging from 84.89 to 88.86%, but increased wet body weight and
standard length were found in larvae from TR24 and TR32 groups. Thermal regime during embryogenesis
also altered the rate at which the skeletal development occurs. Larvae from the TR32 group
showed an advanced skeletal development, with a higher development of cartilaginous structures at
hatching but reduced at 16 dpf when compared with the TR24 and TR28 groups. Furthermore, this
advanced skeletal development seemed to determine the fish body morphology. Based on biometric
measures, a principal component analysis showed how along development, larvae from each thermal
regime were clustered together, but with each population remaining clearly separated from each other.
The current study shows how changes in temperature may induce craniofacial and morphological
alterations in fish during early stages and contribute to understanding the possible effects of global
warming in early development of fish and its ecological implications.VersiĂłn del edito
Solar models and solar neutrino oscillations
We provide a summary of the current knowledge, theoretical and experimental,
of solar neutrino fluxes and of the masses and mixing angles that characterize
solar neutrino oscillations. We also summarize the principal reasons for doing
new solar neutrino experiments and what we think may be learned from the future
measurements.Comment: Submitted to the Neutrino Focus Issue of New Journal of Physics at
http://www.njp.or
Sublittoral soft bottom communities and diversity of Mejillones Bay in northern Chile (Humboldt Current upwelling system)
The macrozoobenthos of Mejillones Bay (23°S; Humboldt Current) was quantitatively investigated over a 7-year period from austral summer 1995/1996 to winter 2002. About 78 van Veen grab samples taken at six stations (5, 10, 20 m depth) provided the basis for the analysis of the distribution of 60 species and 28 families of benthic invertebrates, as well as of their abundance and biomass. Mean abundance (2,119 individuals m-2) was in the same order compared to a previous investigation; mean biomass (966 g formalin wet mass m-2), however, exceeded prior estimations mainly due to the dominance of the bivalve Aulacomya ater. About 43% of the taxa inhabited the complete depth range. Mean taxonomic Shannon diversity (H', Log e) was 1.54 ± 0.58 with a maximum at 20 m (1.95 ± 0.33); evenness increased with depth. The fauna was numerically dominated by carnivorous gastropods, polychaetes and crustaceans (48%). About 15% of the species were suspensivorous, 13% sedimentivorous, 11% detritivorous, 7% omnivorous and 6% herbivorous. Cluster analyses showed a significant difference between the shallow and the deeper stations. Gammarid amphipods and the polychaete family Nephtyidae characterized the 5-mzone, the molluscs Aulacomya ater, Mitrella unifasciata and gammarids the intermediate zone, while the gastropod Nassarius gayi and the polychaete family Nereidae were most prominent at the deeper stations. The communities of the three depth zones did not appear to be limited by hypoxia during non-El Niño conditions. Therefore, no typical change in community structure occurred during El Niño 1997â1998, in contrast to what was observed for deeper faunal assemblages and hypoxic bays elsewhere in the coastal Humboldt Current system
Phenomenology of Maximal and Near-Maximal Lepton Mixing
We study the phenomenological consequences of maximal and near-maximal mixing
of the electron neutrino with other (=tau and/or muon) neutrinos. We
describe the deviations from maximal mixing in terms of a parameter
and quantify the present experimental
status for . We find that the global analysis of solar neutrino
data allows maximal mixing with confidence level better than 99% for
eV^2\lsim\Delta m^2\lsim2\times10^{-7} eV. In the mass ranges \Delta
m^2\gsim 1.5\times10^{-5} eV and eV^2\lsim\Delta
m^2\lsim2\times10^{-7} eV the full interval is allowed
within 4(99.995 % CL). We suggest ways to measure in future
experiments. The observable that is most sensitive to is the rate
[NC]/[CC] in combination with the Day-Night asymmetry in the SNO detector. With
theoretical and statistical uncertainties, the expected accuracy after 5 years
is . We also discuss the effects of maximal and
near-maximal -mixing in atmospheric neutrinos, supernova neutrinos, and
neutrinoless double beta decay.Comment: 49 pages Latex file using RevTeX. 16 postscript figures included. (
Fig.2 and Fig.4 bitmapped for compression,better resolution at
http://ific.uv.es/~pppac/). Improved presentation: some statements included
and labels added in figures. Some misprint corrected. Final version to appear
in Phys. Rev D. Report no: IFIC/00-40, IASSNS-HEP-00-5
Four--Neutrino Oscillation Solutions of the Solar Neutrino Problem
We present an analysis of the neutrino oscillation solutions of the solar
neutrino problem in the framework of four-neutrino mixing where a sterile
neutrino is added to the three standard ones. We perform a fit to the full data
set corresponding to the 825-day Super-Kamiokande data sample as well as to
Chlorine, GALLEX and SAGE and Kamiokande experiments. In our analysis we use
all measured total event rates as well as all Super-Kamiokande data on the
zenith angle dependence and the recoil electron energy spectrum. We consider
both transitions via the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) mechanism as well
as oscillations in vacuum (just-so) and find the allowed solutions for
different values of the additional mixing angles. This framework permits
transitions into active or sterile neutrinos controlled by the additional
parameter . We discuss the
maximum allowed values of this additional mixing parameter for the different
solutions.Comment: 28 pages Latex file using RevTeX. 8 postscript figures included
(bitmapped for compression). Detailed explanation of criterion 3 and lower
two graphs of Fig. 8. Misprints corrected in table II.A full version of the
paper can be found at http://ific.uv.es/~penya/papers/four
What can we learn from neutrinoless double beta decay experiments?
We assess how well next generation neutrinoless double beta decay and normal
neutrino beta decay experiments can answer four fundamental questions. 1) If
neutrinoless double beta decay searches do not detect a signal, and if the
spectrum is known to be inverted hierarchy, can we conclude that neutrinos are
Dirac particles? 2) If neutrinoless double beta decay searches are negative and
a next generation ordinary beta decay experiment detects the neutrino mass
scale, can we conclude that neutrinos are Dirac particles? 3) If neutrinoless
double beta decay is observed with a large neutrino mass element, what is the
total mass in neutrinos? 4) If neutrinoless double beta decay is observed but
next generation beta decay searches for a neutrino mass only set a mass upper
limit, can we establish whether the mass hierarchy is normal or inverted? We
base our answers on the expected performance of next generation neutrinoless
double beta decay experiments and on simulations of the accuracy of
calculations of nuclear matrix elements.Comment: Added reference
Habitable Zones in the Universe
Habitability varies dramatically with location and time in the universe. This
was recognized centuries ago, but it was only in the last few decades that
astronomers began to systematize the study of habitability. The introduction of
the concept of the habitable zone was key to progress in this area. The
habitable zone concept was first applied to the space around a star, now called
the Circumstellar Habitable Zone. Recently, other, vastly broader, habitable
zones have been proposed. We review the historical development of the concept
of habitable zones and the present state of the research. We also suggest ways
to make progress on each of the habitable zones and to unify them into a single
concept encompassing the entire universe.Comment: 71 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; to be published in Origins of Life and
Evolution of Biospheres; table slightly revise
Autophagy and Apoptosis Have a Role in the Survival or Death of Stallion Spermatozoa during Conservation in Refrigeration
Apoptosis has been recognized as a cause of sperm death during cryopreservation and a cause of infertility in humans, however there is no data on its role in sperm death during conservation in refrigeration; autophagy has not been described to date in mature sperm. We investigated the role of apoptosis and autophagy during cooled storage of stallion spermatozoa. Samples from seven stallions were split; half of the ejaculate was processed by single layer centrifugation, while the other half was extended unprocessed, and stored at 5°C for five days. During the time of storage, sperm motility (CASA, daily) and membrane integrity (flow cytometry, daily) were evaluated. Apoptosis was evaluated on days 1, 3 and 5 (active caspase 3, increase in membrane permeability, phosphatidylserine translocation and mitochondrial membrane potential) using flow cytometry. Furthermore, LC3B processing was investigated by western blotting at the beginning and at the end of the period of storage. The decrease in sperm quality over the period of storage was to a large extent due to apoptosis; single layer centrifugation selected non-apoptotic spermatozoa, but there were no differences in sperm motility between selected and unselected sperm. A high percentage of spermatozoa showed active caspase 3 upon ejaculation, and during the period of storage there was an increase of apoptotic spermatozoa but no changes in the percentage of live sperm, revealed by the SYBR-14/PI assay, were observed. LC3B was differentially processed in sperm after single layer centrifugation compared with native sperm. In processed sperm more LC3B-II was present than in non-processed samples; furthermore, in non-processed sperm there was an increase in LC3B-II after five days of cooled storage. These results indicate that apoptosis plays a major role in the sperm death during storage in refrigeration and that autophagy plays a role in the survival of spermatozoa representing a new pro-survival mechanism in spermatozoa not previously described
Surgical treatment for colorectal cancer: Analysis of the influence of an enhanced recovery programme on long-term oncological outcomes-a study protocol for a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study
Introduction
The evidence currently available from enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes concerns their benefits in the immediate postoperative period, but there is still very little evidence as to whether their correct implementation benefits patients in the long term. The working hypothesis here is that, due to the lower response to surgical aggression and lower rates of postoperative complications, ERAS protocols can reduce colorectal cancer-related mortality. The main objective of this study is to analyse the impact of an ERAS programme for colorectal cancer on 5-year survival. As secondary objectives, we propose to analyse the weight of each of the predefined items in the oncological results as well as the quality of life.
Methods and analysis
A multicentre prospective cohort study was conducted in patients older than 18 years of age who are scheduled to undergo surgery for colorectal cancer. The study involved 12 hospitals with an implemented enhanced recovery protocol according to the guidelines published by the Spanish National Health Service. The intervention group includes patients with a minimum implementation level of 70%, and the control group includes those who fail to reach this level. Compliance will be studied using 18 key performance indicators, and the results will be analysed using cancer survival indicators, including overall survival, cancer-specific survival and relapse-free survival. The time to recurrence, perioperative morbidity and mortality, hospital stay and quality of life will also be studied, the latter using the validated EuroQol Five questionnaire. The propensity index method will be used to create comparable treatment and control groups, and a multivariate regression will be used to study each variable. The Kaplan-Meier estimator will be used to estimate survival and the log-rank test to make comparisons. A p value of less than 0.05 (two-tailed) will be considered to be significant.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Aragon Ethical Committee (C.P.-C.I. PI20/086) on 4 March 2020. The findings of this study will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals (BMJ Open, JAMA Surgery, Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Surgery). Abstracts will be submitted to relevant national and international meetings.
Trial registration number NCT04305314
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