400 research outputs found
Complete structure of Z_n Yukawa couplings
We give the complete twisted Yukawa couplings for all the Z_n orbifold
constructions in the most general case, i.e. when orbifold deformations are
considered. This includes a certain number of tasks. Namely, determination of
the allowed couplings, calculation of the explicit dependence of the Yukawa
couplings values on the moduli expectation values (i.e. the parameters
determining the size and shape of the compactified space), etc. The final
expressions are completely explicit, which allows a counting of the DIFFERENT
Yukawa couplings for each orbifold (with and without deformations). This
knowledge is crucial to determine the phenomenological viability of the
different schemes, since it is directly related to the fermion mass hierarchy.
Other facts concerning the phenomenological profile of Z_n orbifolds are also
discussed, e.g. the existence of non--diagonal entries in the fermion mass
matrices, which is related to a non--trivial structure of the
Kobayashi--Maskawa matrix. Finally some theoretical results are given, e.g. the
no--participation of (1,2) moduli in twisted Yukawa couplings. Likewise, (1,1)
moduli associated with fixed tori which are involved in the Yukawa coupling, do
not affect the value of the coupling.Comment: 60 page
Synthesis and structural characterization of the luminescent tetranuclear complex [NBu4]2[(C6F5)6(Ό-OH)3Pt3HgCl] with Pt-Hg bonds unsupported by covalent bridging ligands
The tetranuclear cluster [NBu4]2[(C6F5)6(-OH)3Pt3HgCl] is obtained by reacting the mononuclear platinum complex [NBu4]2[Pt(C6F5)3Cl] with Hg(NO3)2 followed by appropriate work-up. The X-ray study reveals that the compound possesses three donor-acceptor PtHg bonds unsupported by any covalent bridges. The crystallographic parameters are: monoclinic, P21/n with a=11.9770(10), b=26.092(3), c=24.991(2) Ă
, =92.900(10)°, Dcalc=2.009 Mg m-3 for Z=4 and R=0.076 utilizing 13 657 data with Fo22(Fo2). The UV-vis spectrum of the solid sample has been studied revealing that the compound is strongly luminescent. © 2000 Elsevier Science S.A
Chemical modeling for pH prediction of acidified musts with gypsum and tartaric acid in warm regions
Winemaking of musts acidified with up to 3 g/L of gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O) and tartaric acid, both individually and in combination, as well as a chemical modeling have been carried out to study the behaviour of these compounds as acidifiers. Prior to fermentation gypsum and tartaric acid reduce the pH by 0.12 and 0.17 pH units/g/L, respectively, but while gypsum does not increase the total acidity and reduces buffering power, tartaric acid shows the opposite behaviour. When these compounds were used in combination, the doses of tartaric acid necessary to reach a suitable pH were reduced. Calcium concentrations increase considerably in gypsum-acidified must, although they fell markedly after fermentation over time. Sulfate concentrations also increased, although with doses of 2 g/L they were lower than the maximum permitted level (2.5 g/L). Chemical modeling gave good results and the errors in pH predictions were less than 5% in almost all case
The separation between the 5âČ-3âČ ends in long RNA molecules is short and nearly constant
"RNA molecules play different roles in coding, decoding and gene expression regulation. Such roles are often associated to the RNA secondary or tertiary structures. The folding dynamics lead to multiple secondary structures of long RNA molecules, since an RNA molecule might fold into multiple distinct native states. Despite an ensemble of different structures, it has been theoretically proposed that the separation between the 5 ' and 3 ' ends of long single-stranded RNA molecules (ssRNA) remains constant, independent of their base content and length. Here, we present the first experimental measurements of the end-to-end separation in long ssRNA molecules. To determine this separation, we use single molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer of fluorescently end-labeled ssRNA molecules ranging from 500 to 5500 nucleotides in length, obtained from two viruses and a fungus. We found that the end-to-end separation is indeed short, within 5-9 nm. It is remarkable that the separation of the ends of all RNA molecules studied remains small and similar, despite the origin, length and differences in their secondary structure. This implies that the ssRNA molecules are 'effectively circularized' something that might be a general feature of RNAs, and could result in finetuning for translation and gene expression regulation.
Lepton Flavor Violating Process in Bi-maximal texture of Neutrino Mixings
We investigate the lepton flavor violation in the framework of the MSSM with
right-handed neutrinos taking the large mixing angle MSW solution in the
quasi-degenerate and the inverse-hierarchical neutrino masses. We predict the
branching ratio of and processes
assuming the degenerate right-handed Majorana neutrino masses. We find that the
branching ratio in the quasi-degenerate neutrino mass spectrum is 100 times
smaller than the ones in the inverse-hierarchical and the hierarchical neutrino
spectra. We emphasize that the magnitude of is one of important
ingredients to predict BR(). The effect of the deviation
from the complete-degenerate right-handed Majorana neutrino masses are also
estimated. Furtheremore, we examine the S_{3\sL}\times S_{3\sR} model, which
gives the quasi-degenerate neutrino masses, and the Shafi-Tavartkiladze model,
which gives the inverse-hierarchical neutrino masses. Both predicted branching
ratios of are smaller than the experimantal bound.Comment: Latex file, 38 pages, 10 figures, revised versio
Lepton Flavor Violation and the Origin of the Seesaw Mechanism
The right--handed neutrino mass matrix that is central to the understanding
of small neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism can arise either (i) from
renormalizable operators or (ii) from nonrenormalizable or super-renormalizable
operators, depending on the symmetries and the Higgs content of the theory
beyond the Standard Model. In this paper, we study lepton flavor violating
(LFV) effects in the first class of seesaw models wherein the \nu_R Majorana
masses arise from renormalizable Yukawa couplings involving a B-L = 2 Higgs
field. We present detailed predictions for \tau -> \mu + \gamma and \mu -> e +
\gamma branching ratios in these models taking the current neutrino oscillation
data into account. Focusing on minimal supergravity models, we find that for a
large range of MSSM parameters suggested by the relic abundance of neutralino
dark matter and that is consistent with Higgs boson mass and other constraints,
these radiative decays are in the range accessible to planned experiments. We
compare these predictions with lepton flavor violation in the second class of
models arising entirely from the Dirac Yukawa couplings. We study the
dependence of the ratio r \equiv B(\mu -> e+\gamma)/B(\tau ->\mu +\gamma) on
the MSSM parameters and show that measurement of r can provide crucial insight
into the origin of the seesaw mechanism.Comment: 20 pages, Revtex, 7 figure
Neutralino-Nucleon Cross Section and Charge and Colour Breaking Constraints
We compute the neutralino-nucleon cross section in several supersymmetric
scenarios, taking into account all kind of constraints. In particular, the
constraints that the absence of dangerous charge and colour breaking minima
imposes on the parameter space are studied in detail. In addition, the most
recent experimental constraints, such as the lower bound on the Higgs mass, the
branching ratio, and the muon are considered. The
astrophysical bounds on the dark matter density are also imposed on the
theoretical computation of the relic neutralino density, assuming thermal
production. This computation is relevant for the theoretical analysis of the
direct detection of dark matter in current experiments. We consider first the
supergravity scenario with universal soft terms and GUT scale. In this scenario
the charge and colour breaking constraints turn out to be quite important, and
\tan\beta\lsim 20 is forbidden. Larger values of can also be
forbidden, depending on the value of the trilinear parameter . Finally, we
study supergravity scenarios with an intermediate scale, and also with
non-universal scalar and gaugino masses where the cross section can be very
large.Comment: Final version to appear in JHE
Effects of a Mediterranean Diet Intervention on Maternal Stress, Well-Being, and Sleep Quality throughout Gestation-The IMPACT-BCN Trial
Stress and anxiety are frequent occurrences among pregnant women. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a Mediterranean diet intervention during pregnancy on maternal stress, well-being, and sleep quality throughout gestation. In a randomized clinical trial, 1221 high-risk pregnant women were randomly allocated into three groups at 19-23 weeks' gestation: a Mediterranean diet intervention, a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, or usual care. All women who provided self-reported life-style questionnaires to measure their anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)), well-being (WHO Five Well Being Index (WHO-5)), and sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)) at enrollment and at the end of the intervention (34-36 weeks) were included. In a random subgroup of 106 women, the levels of cortisol and related metabolites were also measured. At the end of the intervention (34-36 weeks), participants in the Mediterranean diet group had significantly lower perceived stress and anxiety scores (PSS mean (SE) 15.9 (0.4) vs. 17.0 (0.4), p = 0.035; STAI-anxiety mean (SE) 13.6 (0.4) vs. 15.8 (0.5), p = 0.004) and better sleep quality (PSQI mean 7.0 ± 0.2 SE vs. 7.9 ± 0.2 SE, p = 0.001) compared to usual care. As compared to usual care, women in the Mediterranean diet group also had a more significant increase in their 24 h urinary cortisone/cortisol ratio during gestation (mean 1.7 ± SE 0.1 vs. 1.3 ± SE 0.1, p < 0.001). A Mediterranean diet intervention during pregnancy is associated with a significant reduction in maternal anxiety and stress, and improvements in sleep quality throughout gestation. Keywords: Mediterranean diet; pregnancy; anxiety; well-being; sleep qualit
- âŠ