2,161 research outputs found

    On the improvement of the low energy neutrino factory

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    The low energy neutrino factory has been proposed as a very sensitive setup for future searches for CP violation and matter effects. Here we study how its performance is affected when the experimental specifications of the setup are varied. Most notably, we have considered the addition of the 'platinum' nu_{mu} -> nu_{e} channel. We find that, whilst theoretically the extra channel provides very useful complementary information and helps to lift degeneracies, its practical usefulness is lost when considering realistic background levels. Conversely, an increase in statistics in the 'golden' nu_{e} -> nu_{mu} channel and, to some extent, an improvement in the energy resolution, lead to an important increase in the performance of the facility, given the rich energy dependence of the 'golden' channel at these energies. We show that a low energy neutrino factory with a baseline of 1300 km, muon energy of 4.5 GeV, and either a 20 kton totally active scintillating detector or 100 kton liquid argon detector, can have outstanding sensitivity to the neutrino oscillation parameters theta13, delta and the mass hierarchy. For our estimated exposure of 2.8 x 10^{23} kton x decays per muon polarity, the low energy neutrino factory has sensitivity to theta13 and delta for sin^{2}(2theta13) > 10^{-4} and to the mass hierarchy for sin^{2}(2theta13) > 10^{-3}.Comment: 13 pages, 8 eps figures. Version published in PRD - experimental section with preliminary results removed, abstract and conclusions re-written accordingly, title changed, author list amended

    Global patterns of phosphatase activity in natural soils

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    imbalance-P paper contact with Olga Margalef: [email protected] phosphatase levels strongly control the biotic pathways of phosphorus (P), an essential element for life, which is often limiting in terrestrial ecosystems. We investigated the influence of climatic and soil traits on phosphatase activity in terrestrial systems using metadata analysis from published studies. This is the first analysis of global measurements of phosphatase in natural soils. Our results suggest that organic P (Porg), rather than available P, is the most important P fraction in predicting phosphatase activity. Structural equation modeling using soil total nitrogen (TN), mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, thermal amplitude and total soil carbon as most available predictor variables explained up to 50% of the spatial variance in phosphatase activity. In this analysis, Porg could not be tested and among the rest of available variables, TN was the most important factor explaining the observed spatial gradients in phosphatase activity. On the other hand, phosphatase activity was also found to be associated with climatic conditions and soil type across different biomes worldwide. The close association among different predictors like Porg, TN and precipitation suggest that P recycling is driven by a broad scale pattern of ecosystem productivity capacity

    Multidimensional Data Analysis for Enhancing In-Depth Knowledge on the Characteristics of Science and Technology Parks

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    The role played by science and technology parks (STPs) in technology transfer, industrial innovation, and economic growth is examined in this paper. The accurate monitoring of their evolution and impact is hindered by the lack of uniformity in STP models or goals, and the scarcity of high-quality datasets. This work uses existing terminologies, definitions, and core features of STPs to conduct a multidimensional data analysis that explores and evaluates the 21 core features which describe the key internal factors of an STP. The core features are gathered from a reliable and updatable dataset of Spanish STPs. The methodological framework can be replicated for other STP contexts and is based on descriptive techniques and machine-learning tools. The results of the study provide an overview of the general situation of STPs in Spain, validate the existence and characteristics of three types of STPs, and identify the typical features of STPs. Moreover, the prototype STP can be used as a benchmark so that other STPs can identify the features that need to be improved. Finally, this work makes it possible to carry out classifications of STPs, in addition to prediction and decision making for innovation ecosystems.This research work has been partially funded by the Generalitat Valenciana through the project NL4DISMIS: Natural Language Technologies for dealing with dis- and misinformation with grant reference (CIPROM/2021/21); the Ministry of Science and Innovation, PID2021-123956OB-I00, CORTEX; PID2021-122263OB-C22 COOLANG; and the R&D project CLEARTEXT TED2021-130707B-I00

    Young Women’s Attitudes and Concerns Regarding Pornography and Their Sexual Experiences: A Qualitative Approach

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    Funding: This research received no external funding. The translation of this manuscript was sup- ported by the Research Group CTS-990, University of Jaén (Spain)This study explores female university students’ attitudes toward and concerns about pornography, based on their experience watching it and on sexual encounters with men. It used a qualitative descriptive design. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 participants between March and April 2020. Thematic data analysis was performed using COREQ reporting guidelines. Three themes emerged from the data: (1) the sexual learning process, (2) the role of pornography in women’s sexuality, and (3) sexual experiences. Participants reported how they learned about sexuality and how pornography influenced sexual experiences. Self-esteem issues and societal norms regarding hair removal and difficulty saying “no” to unwanted or humiliating sexual practices were found. The young women were not comfortable with women’s representations in mainstream pornography. They blamed pornography for negative sexual experiences and claimed it influenced them and young men. Participants usually assumed submissive roles during sex and permitted aggressive sexual behaviors. The study reveals valuable information on how young women learn about sex and their difficulty in refusing unwanted sexual activities and even aggressive practices. Sexual education programs should include assertiveness training to improve sexual health, consent, and well-being

    Creating a parliament : teaching competences in primary education

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    Esta experiencia ha recibido el 2º premio en el IV Concurso de Experiencias Educativas de la revista Pulso.Bajo la premisa del «aprender haciendo» se ha planteado el proyecto Creamos un Parlamento a alumnos y alumnas de quinto curso de Educación Primaria. La idea era conseguir que el alumnado se implicara de forma activa en un proceso electoral, desde sus inicios, para acabar constituyendo un Parlamento que llevara a cabo alguna de las funciones que competen a esta institución, al mismo tiempo que se conseguía la interiorización, desde un enfoque competencial, de unos contenidos del currículo de Educación Primaria, ya de por si complicados de entender para niños de estas edades. La experiencia ha resultado un éxito, llevando a los niños/as a una mejor comprensión de las instituciones de nuestra sociedad y a desarrollar actitudes de colaboración en el trabajo, así como al conocimiento y desempeño con determinadas herramientas informáticas.Under the premise of «learning through doing» the project «Creating a Parliament» has been proposed for children in the 5th year of primary education. The idea was to get pupils actively involved in the electoral process, from its beginnings, to the final establishment of a parliament which would carry out some of the functions for which such an institution is responsible. At the same time it would allow pupils to internalise, from a competence approach, some of the contents of the primary curriculum, which are by nature, difficult for children of this age to understand. The experience has been a complete success, allowing our children to a better understanding of our social institutions, developing teamworking skills and use and knowledge of specific computer skills as well

    First order alignment transition in an interfaced active nematic

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    We investigate experimentally the dynamic phase transition of a two-dimensional active nematic layer interfaced with a passive liquid crystal. Under a temperature ramp that leads to the transition of the passive liquid into a highly anisotropic lamellar smectic-A phase, and in the presence of a magnetic field, the coupled active nematic reorganizes its flow and orientational patterns from the turbulent into a quasi-laminar regime aligned perpendicularly to the field. Remarkably, while the phase transition of the passive fluid is known to be continuous, our observations reveal intermittent dynamics of the order parameter and the coexistence of aligned and turbulent regions in the active nematic, a signature of discontinuous, or first order, phase transitions.Comment: 5 manuscript pages with 5 figures, and 7 SI pages with 4 SI figures and 4 SI video captions. Video files are available at: http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/CYXU

    A convenient synthesis of new 6-substituted purinylcarbanucleosides on cyclopenta[b]thiophene

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    The 12th International Electronic Conference on Synthetic Organic Chemistry session Bioorganic Chemistry and Natural ProductsThe first members of a new family of heterocarbobicyclic nucleoside analogues have been synthesized from the cis/trans mixture of (4-amino-5,6-dihydro-4H-cyclopenta[b]thiophen-6-yl)methanols cis/trans-7. The separation of cis and trans intermediates during preparation of the 6-chloropurine derivatives allowed separate preparation of the purine heterocarbanucleosides cis-10 and trans-11, from which cis-(12-14) and trans-(16-18) were obtained by replacement of the 6-chloro substituent with amino, hydroxy and cyclopropylamino groups. Additionally, the 6-phenyl-purinyl analogues cis-15 and trans-19 were prepared from cis-10 and trans-11 using Suzuki-Miyaura methodologyThe authors thank the Xunta de Galicia for financial support under project PGIDIT02BTF20305P

    Cutting edge: Regulation of exosome secretion by the integral MAL protein in T cells

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    Exosomes secreted by T cells play an important role in coordinating the immune response. HIV-1 Nef hijacks the route of exosome secretion of T cells to modulate the functioning of uninfected cells. Despite the importance of the process, the protein machinery involved in exosome biogenesis is yet to be identified. In this study, we show that MAL, a tetraspanning membrane protein expressed in human T cells, is present in endosomes that travel toward the plasma membrane for exosome secretion. In the absence of MAL, the release of exosome particles and markers was greatly impaired. This effect was accompanied by protein sorting defects at multivesicular endosomes that divert the exosomal marker CD63 to autophagic vacuoles. Exosome release induced by HIV-1 Nef was also dependent on MAL expression. Therefore,MAL is a critical element of the machinery for exosome secretion andmay constitute a target for modulating exosome secretion by human T cells. The Journal of Immunology, 2015, 195: 810–814.Peer Reviewe

    Lived experiences and opinions of women of sub-Saharan origin on female genital mutilation: A phenomenological study

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    Aims and objectives: This study aimed to describe and understand the lived experi-ences and opinions of sub-Saharan women living in Spain in relation to female genital mutilation.Background: Female genital mutilation is a bloody procedure with serious conse-quences for the health of women and girls. Understanding mutilated women's lived experiences plays a crucial role in the management of health consequences and could help healthcare professionals to provide assistance to these women.Design: A descriptive phenomenological study was carried out. The COREQ checklist was followed as guidance to write the manuscript.Methods: A total of 12 in-depth interviews were conducted. Interviews were re-corded, transcribed and analysed using ATLAS.ti 9.0.Results: Two themes with four subthemes were identified from the data analysis: 1) ‘The traumatic experience of female circumcision’ with the subthemes ‘Female muti-lation is a physical and psychological torture procedure’ and ‘recognising and coping with negative emotions’; 2) ‘The fight for the eradication of female genital mutilation’ which contains the subthemes ‘the need for a real sociocultural change at the origin’ and ‘“I want to be the last”: Personal development leads to sociocultural change’.Conclusions: Female genital mutilation was experienced by women as a very aggres-sive and traumatic event. It causes considerable negative emotions that last over time. Although there is a tendency to reject the practice, in women's countries of origin, there is social pressure for girls to be mutilated.Relevance to clinical practice: Caring for women who have suffered from female genital mutilation requires awareness of the traumatic experience they underwent when they were girls. Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in eradicating female genital mutilation. Apart from education, preventive measures may include specific recommendations when girls are travelling to the country of origin and participatory action research

    Carbonation-induced mineralogical changes in coal mining waste blended cement pastes and their influence on mechanical and microporosity properties

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    The worldwide pursuit of new eco-efficient pozzolans is ongoing. Kaolinite-based waste is an eco-friendly source of recycled metakaolinite, a highly pozzolanic product. In this study, a blended cement paste containing 20% activated coal waste (ACW) was exposed to a 100% CO2atmosphere at 65% RH for 7 days. The variations in its phase composition and strength were studied and compared to an OPC control. Both pastes were cured for 28 days prior to the carbonation test. Reaction kinetics were assessed using XRD, SEM/EDX, TG/DTG, FT-IR, Micro-Raman spectroscopy, pore solution pH and the cumulative carbonated fraction. The blended cement carbonated 68% faster than the control. While portlandite carbonation was the main reaction in both cements, decalcification was also observed (more intensely in the 20% ACW paste) in other hydraulic calcium phases (C-S-H gel, monocarboaluminate (C4AcH12), ettringite and tetracalcium aluminate (C4AH13). The end product of this reaction was calcium carbonate, mainly in the form of calcite, although traces of aragonite and amorphous carbonate were also detected. Compressive strength values rose with accelerated carbonation time and pore size reduction in both cement pastes.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Project Refs. MAT2012-37005-CO3-01/02/03) and MINECO/FEDER (BIA2015-65558-C3-1/2/3-R). The authors wish to thank the Sociedad Anónima Hullera Vasco-Leonesa (León, Spain), Sika (Madrid, Spain) and the Spanish Cement Institute (IECA) for their support in this researc
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