First measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters using neutrinos and antineutrinos by NOvA.

The NOvA experiment has seen a 4.4σ signal of ν[over ¯]_{e} appearance in a 2 GeV ν[over ¯]_{μ} beam at a distance of 810 km. Using 12.33×10^{20} protons on target delivered to the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beamline, the experiment recorded 27 ν[over ¯]_{μ}→ν[over ¯]_{e} candidates with a background of 10.3 and 102 ν[over ¯]_{μ}→ν[over ¯]_{μ} candidates. This new antineutrino data are combined with neutrino data to measure the parameters |Δm_{32}^{2}|=2.48_{-0.06}^{+0.11}×10^{-3}  eV^{2}/c^{4} and sin^{2}θ_{23} in the ranges from (0.53-0.60) and (0.45-0.48) in the normal neutrino mass hierarchy. The data exclude most values near δ_{CP}=π/2 for the inverted mass hierarchy by more than 3σ and favor the normal neutrino mass hierarchy by 1.9σ and θ_{23} values in the upper octant by 1.6σ

Observation of seasonal variation of atmospheric multiple-muon events in the NOvA Near Detector

Using two years of data from the NOvA Near Detector at Fermilab, we report a seasonal variation of cosmic ray induced multiple-muon (Nμ≥2) event rates which has an opposite phase to the seasonal variation in the atmospheric temperature. The strength of the seasonal multiple-muon variation is shown to increase as a function of the muon multiplicity. However, no significant dependence of the strength of the seasonal variation of the multiple-muon variation is seen as a function of the muon zenith angle, or the spatial or angular separation between the correlated muons

Compassion as a practical and evolved ethic for conservation

© The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The ethical position underpinning decisionmaking is an important concern for conservation biologists when setting priorities for interventions. The recent debate on how best to protect nature has centered on contrasting intrinsic and aesthetic values against utilitarian and economic values, driven by an inevitable global rise in conservation conflicts. These discussions have primarily been targeted at species and ecosystems for success, without explicitly expressing concern for the intrinsic value and welfare of individual animals. In part, this is because animal welfare has historically been thought of as an impediment to conservation. However, practical implementations of conservation that provide good welfare outcomes for individuals are no longer conceptually challenging; they have become reality. This reality, included under the auspices of "compassionate conservation," reflects an evolved ethic for sharing space with nature and is a major step forward for conservation

Systematic review of worldwide variations of the prevalence of wheezing symptoms in children

Background: Considerable variation in the prevalence of childhood asthma and its symptoms (wheezing) has been observed in previous studies and there is evidence that the prevalence has been increasing over time. Methods: We have systematically reviewed the reported prevalence and time trends of wheezing symptoms among children, worldwide and within the same country over time. All studies comprising more than 1000 persons and meeting certain other quality criteria published over a 16-year period, between January 1990 and December 2005, are reported and a comparison of ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) and non-ISAAC studies is made, in part as a way of expanding the power to examine time trends (the older studies tend to be non-ISAAC), but also to examine possible methodological differences between ISAAC and non-ISAAC questions. Results: A wide range of current prevalence of wheeze was observed between and within countries over time. The UK had the highest recorded prevalence of 32.2% in children aged 13–14 in 1994–5 and Ethiopia had the lowest prevalence, 1.7% in children aged 10–19 in 1996. All studies in Australia and the UK were compared using multiple logistic regression. ISAAC phase I and III studies reported significantly higher prevalence of current wheeze (OR = 1.638) compared with non-ISAAC studies, after adjusting for various other factors (country, survey year, age of child, parental vs child response to the survey). Australia showed a significantly higher prevalence of current wheezing (OR = 1.343) compared with the UK, there was a significant increase in the prevalence odds ratio per survey year (2.5% per year), a significant decrease per age of child (0.7% per year), and a significantly higher response in current wheezing if the response was self-completed by the child (OR = 1.290). These factors, when explored separately for ISAAC and non-ISAAC studies, showed very different results. In ISAAC studies, or non-ISAAC studies using ISAAC questions, there was a significant decrease in current wheezing prevalence over time (2.5% per year). In non-ISAAC studies, which tend to cover an earlier period, there was a significant increase (2.6% per year) in current wheezing prevalence over time. This is very likely to be a result of prevalence of wheezing increasing from the 1970s up to the early 1990s, but decreasing since then. Conclusion: The UK has the highest recorded prevalence of wheezing and Ethiopia the lowest. Prevalence of wheezing in Australia and the UK has increased from the 1970s up to the early 1990s, but decreased since then and ISAAC studies report significantly higher prevalences than non-ISAAC studies

Vigilance of mustached tamarins in single-species and mixed-species groups—the influence of group composition

Species that participate in mixed-species groups (MSG) may have complementary roles in antipredator strategies. We studied vigilance in mustached tamarins (Saguinus mystax), small arboreal primates that form stable mixed-species groups with saddleback tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis), in order to examine how the direction of vigilance changes with different species group compositions and whether the division of labor between the two species can be confirmed. We did so by comparing quantitative and qualitative differences in vigilance behavior between same individuals in and out of association (case A); MSG and single-species groups of the same total group size from two different populations (case B); and MSG of the same group size but with a different ratio of conspecifics to heterospecifics (case C). We predicted that individuals would increase downward scanning when heterospecifics are absent or their percentage is low, but total vigilance would increase only in case A due to the group size effect. However, mustached tamarins increased total vigilance due to horizontal scanning in cases A and C, and the predictions were confirmed only in small-sized groups in case B. Thus, we found indications that associating tamarin species in MSG might complement each other in the direction of vigilance, but the division of labor alone does not satisfactorily explain all the findings. There appear to be other mechanisms at work that define how direction of vigilance changes with group size and species composition. Complementarity of species probably occurs due to species vertical stratification rather than differences in the direction of vigilance

The Molecular Signature Underlying the Thymic Migration and Maturation of TCRαβ+CD4+CD8- Thymocytes

BACKGROUND: After positive selection, the newly generated single positive (SP) thymocytes migrate to the thymic medulla, where they undergo negative selection to eliminate autoreactive T cells and functional maturation to acquire immune competence and egress capability. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To elucidate the genetic program underlying this process, we analyzed changes in gene expression in four subsets of mouse TCRαβ(+)CD4(+)CD8(-) thymocytes (SP1 to SP4) representative of sequential stages in a previously defined differentiation program. A genetic signature of the migration of thymocytes was thus revealed. CCR7 and PlexinD1 are believed to be important for the medullary positioning of SP thymocytes. Intriguingly, their expression remains at low levels in the newly generated thymocytes, suggesting that the cortex-medulla migration may not occur until the SP2 stage. SP2 and SP3 cells gradually up-regulate transcripts involved in T cell functions and the Foxo1-KLF2-S1P(1) axis, but a number of immune function-associated genes are not highly expressed until cells reach the SP4 stage. Consistent with their critical role in thymic emigration, the expression of S1P(1) and CD62L are much enhanced in SP4 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results support at the molecular level that single positive thymocytes undergo a differentiation program and further demonstrate that SP4 is the stage at which thymocytes acquire the immunocompetence and the capability of emigration from the thymus

Search for slow magnetic monopoles with the NOvA detector on the surface

We report a search for a magnetic monopole component of the cosmic-ray flux in a 95-day exposure of the NOvA experiment’s Far Detector, a 14 kt segmented liquid scintillator detector designed primarily to observe GeV-scale electron neutrinos. No events consistent with monopoles were observed, setting an upper limit on the flux of 2 × 10−14 cm−2 s−1 sr−1 at 90% C.L. for monopole speed 6 × 10−4 < β < 5 × 10−3 and mass greater than 5 × 108 GeV. Because of NOvA’s small overburden of 3 meters-water equivalent, this constraint covers a previously unexplored low-mass region

Measurement of the νe -Nucleus Charged-Current Double-Differential Cross Section at «eν »=2.4 GeV Using NOvA

The inclusive electron neutrino charged-current cross section is measured in the NOvA near detector using 8.02×1020 protons-on-target in the NuMI beam. The sample of GeV electron neutrino interactions is the largest analyzed to date and is limited by ≃17% systematic rather than the ≃7.4% statistical uncertainties. The double-differential cross section in final-state electron energy and angle is presented for the first time, together with the single-differential dependence on Q2 (squared four-momentum transfer) and energy, in the range 1 GeV≤Eν<6 GeV. Detailed comparisons are made to the predictions of the GENIE, GiBUU, NEUT, and NuWro neutrino event generators. The data do not strongly favor a model over the others consistently across all three cross sections measured, though some models have especially good or poor agreement in the single differential cross section vs Q2

Measurement of the double-differential muon-neutrino charged-current inclusive cross section in the NOvA near detector

We report cross-section measurements of the final-state muon kinematics for νμ charged-current interactions in the NOvA near detector using an accumulated 8.09×1020 protons on target in the NuMI beam. We present the results as a double-differential cross section in the observed outgoing muon energy and angle, as well as single-differential cross sections in the derived neutrino energy, Eν, and square of the four-momentum transfer, Q2. We compare the results to inclusive cross-section predictions from various neutrino event generators via χ2 calculations using a covariance matrix that accounts for bin-to-bin correlations of systematic uncertainties. These comparisons show a clear discrepancy between the data and each of the tested predictions at forward muon angle and low Q2, indicating a missing suppression of the cross section in current neutrino-nucleus scattering models