Solving the degeneracy of the lepton-flavor mixing angle theta_atm by the T2KK two detector neutrino oscillation experiment

If the atmospheric neutrino oscillation amplitude, sin^2 2theta_atm is not maximal, there is a two fold ambiguity in the neutrino parameter space: sin^2 theta_atm>0.5 or sin^2 theta_atm<0.5. In this article, we study the impact of this degeneracy, the so-called octant degeneracy, on the T2KK experiment, which is a proposed extension of the T2K (Tokai-to-Kaimoka) neutrino oscillation experiment with an additional water cherenkov detector placed in Korea. We find that the degeneracy between sin^2 theta_atm= 0.40 and 0.60 can be resolved at the 3sigma level for sin^2 2theta_rct>0.12 (0.08) for the optimal combination of a 3.0^circ off-axis beam (OAB) at SK (L=295km) and a 0.5^circ OAB at L=1000km with a far detector of 100kton volume, after 5 years of exposure with 1.0(5.0) time 10^21 POT/year, if the hierarchy is normal. We also study the influence of the octant degeneracy on the capability of T2KK experiment to determine the mass hierarchy and the leptonic CP phase. The capability of rejecting the wrong mass hierarchy grows with increasing sin^2 theta_atm when the hierarchy is normal, whereas it is rather insensitive to sin^2 theta_atm for the inverted hierarchy. We also find that the 1sigma allowed region of the CP phase is not affected significantly even when the octant degeneracy is not resolved. All our results are obtained for the 22.5 kton Super-Kamiokande as a near detector and without an anti-neutrino beam.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure

The police, sex work, and Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009

This article considers the origins and aims of Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 and the offence of paying for the sexual services of a prostitute who has been subject to exploitative conduct; this offence is one of ‘strict liability’. Section 14 was implemented on 1 April 2010 and using the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the authors have attempted to show the number of times Section 14 has been used by the police in England and Wales since the Act became law; how the Act has been used and the outcome of the use of this section

Stochastic Modelling of the Kai-based Circadian Clock

We present two process algebra models of a Kai-protein based circadian clock. Our models are represented in the Bio-PEPA and the continuous pi-calculus process algebras. The circadian clock is not based on transcription and has been shown to persist with a rhythmic signal when removed from a living cell. Our models allow us to speculate as to the mechanisms which allow for the rhythmic signals. We reproduce previous results based on ODE models and then use our models as the basis for stochastic simulation. Keywords: Circadian, ODE, stochastic, temporal logic, Bio-PEPA, Continuous P

Complementary approaches to understanding the plant circadian clock

Circadian clocks are oscillatory genetic networks that help organisms adapt to the 24-hour day/night cycle. The clock of the green alga Ostreococcus tauri is the simplest plant clock discovered so far. Its many advantages as an experimental system facilitate the testing of computational predictions. We present a model of the Ostreococcus clock in the stochastic process algebra Bio-PEPA and exploit its mapping to different analysis techniques, such as ordinary differential equations, stochastic simulation algorithms and model-checking. The small number of molecules reported for this system tests the limits of the continuous approximation underlying differential equations. We investigate the difference between continuous-deterministic and discrete-stochastic approaches. Stochastic simulation and model-checking allow us to formulate new hypotheses on the system behaviour, such as the presence of self-sustained oscillations in single cells under constant light conditions. We investigate how to model the timing of dawn and dusk in the context of model-checking, which we use to compute how the probability distributions of key biochemical species change over time. These show that the relative variation in expression level is smallest at the time of peak expression, making peak time an optimal experimental phase marker. Building on these analyses, we use approaches from evolutionary systems biology to investigate how changes in the rate of mRNA degradation impacts the phase of a key protein likely to affect fitness. We explore how robust this circadian clock is towards such potential mutational changes in its underlying biochemistry. Our work shows that multiple approaches lead to a more complete understanding of the clock

Young people, crime and school exclusion: a case of some surprises

During the 1990s the number of young people being permanently excluded from schools in England and Wales increased dramatically from 2,910 (1990/91) to a peak of 12,700 (1996/97). Coinciding with this rise was a resurgence of the debate centring on lawless and delinquent youth. With the publication of Young People and Crime (Graham and Bowling 1995) and Misspent Youth (Audit Commission 1996) the 'common sense assumption' that exclusion from school inexorably promoted crime received wide support, with the school excludee portrayed as another latter day 'folk devil'. This article explores the link between school exclusion and juvenile crime, and offers some key findings from a research study undertaken with 56 young people who had experience of being excluded from school. Self-report interview questions reveal that whilst 40 of the young people had offended, 90% (36) reported that the onset of their offending commenced prior to their first exclusion. Moreover, 50 (89.2% of the total number of young people in the sample), stated that they were no more likely to offend subsequent to being excluded and 31 (55.4%) stated that they were less likely to offend during their exclusion period. Often, this was because on being excluded, they were 'grounded' by their parents

Autonomic neuropathy predisposes to rosiglitazone-induced vascular leakage in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised, controlled trial on thiazolidinedione-induced vascular leakage

Contains fulltext : 88447.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The mechanism of fluid-related complications caused by thiazolidinedione derivatives is unclear. One potential mechanism is thiazolidinedione-induced arterial vasodilatation, which results in vascular leakage and a fall in blood pressure, normally counterbalanced by sympathetic activation and subsequent renal fluid retention. We hypothesised that thiazolidinedione-induced vascular leakage will be particularly prominent in patients with autonomic neuropathy. METHODS: We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study in 40 patients with type 2 diabetes on insulin treatment recruited from a university medical centre. The randomisation was performed by a central office using a randomisation schedule. Both treatment groups, placebo (n = 21) and rosiglitazone (n = 19), were stratified for sex and level of autonomic neuropathy as assessed by Ewing score (or=2.5). We investigated the effects of 16 weeks of treatment with rosiglitazone 4 mg twice daily on vascular leakage (transcapillary escape rate of albumin, TERalb), body weight, extracellular volume and plasma volume. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were included in the analysis. In patients with high Ewing scores (n = 16), rosiglitazone increased TERalb significantly (DeltaTERalb: rosiglitazone +2.43 +/- 0.45%/h, placebo -0.11 +/- 0.15%/h, p = 0.002), while rosiglitazone had no effect in the patients with low Ewing scores (n = 23). Rosiglitazone-induced increases in TERalb and Ewing score at baseline were correlated (r = 0.65, p = 0.02). There was no correlation between Ewing score and rosiglitazone-induced changes in fluid variables. One subject was withdrawn from the study because of atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Rosiglitazone may increase vascular leakage in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes with autonomic neuropathy. Autonomic neuropathy did not exaggerate rosiglitazone-induced fluid retention. Therefore, autonomic neuropathy should be considered as a risk factor for thiazolidinedione-induced oedema, not for thiazolidinedione-induced fluid retention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00422955. FUNDING: GlaxoSmithKline.1 september 201

Axion Stabilization in Type IIB Flux Compactifications

A scenario for stabilization of axionic moduli fields in the context of type IIB Calabi-Yau flux compactifications is discussed in detail. We consider the case of a Calabi-Yau orientifold with h^{1,1}_- \neq 0 which allows for the presence of B_2 and C_2-moduli. In an attempt to generalize the KKLT and the Large Volume Scenario, we show that these axions can also be stabilized - some already at tree level, and others when we include perturbative \alpha'-corrections to the Kaehler potential K and nonperturbative D3-instanton contributions to the superpotential W. At last, we comment on the possible influence of worldsheet instantons on the process of moduli stabilization.Comment: 34 pages, 1 figure; improved referencing, published versio

Influence of ohmic heating on the structural and immunoreactive properties of soybean proteins

Ohmic heating (OH) encompasses interesting benefits towards thermal processing. Envisaging an increasing relevance of soybean protein as an alternative non-animal protein, it is important to understand how OH can contribute to the quality and immunoreactivity of soybean-derived products. This study describes, for the first time, the impact of OH when applied at different electrical frequencies (50 Hz20 kHz) and moderate electric field intensities (up to 20 V/cm), on the leakage of metals from the electrodes and immunoreactivity aspects of soybean protein isolate (SPI). This was achieved by monitoring the occurrence of electrochemical reactions and evaluating IgG-binding capacity. OH performed at 50 Hz and 95 °C induced significant alterations on the intrinsic fluorescence of SPI (p  0.05) and the release of detectable amounts of Fe/Ni, with a subsequent reduction of 36% in the immunoreactivity of Gly m TI. The occurrence of non-thermal effects, as well as the interaction between protein and trace metals, may result in a partial blockage of protein epitopes, thus impairing specific antibody binding. These findings present novel information about the importance of OH parameters, such as electrical frequency and occurrence of electrochemical reactions, which can affect the structure and immunoreactivity of SPI fractions.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 and UID/QUI/50006/2020 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds, and AgriFood XXI R&D&I project, operation number NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER 000052, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through NORTE 2020 (Northern Regional Operational Pro gram 2014/2020). This work also received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE POCI-01-0145- FEDER-031720) and National Funds (FCT) through project Alle Risk Assess PTDC/BAA-AGR/31720/2017. Caterina Villa and Luís Machado thank FCT for their grants under project AlleRiskAssess (PTDC/BAA-AGR/31720/2017). Joana Costa thanks FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016 – Norma transitoria (SFRH/BPD/102404/2014). Ricardo N. Pereira acknowledge FCT for its Assistant Research contract obtained under CEEC Individual 2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An observationally complete program logic for imperative higher-order functions

We establish a strong completeness property called observational completeness of the program logic for imperative, higher-order functions introduced in [1]. Observational completeness states that valid assertions characterise program behaviour up to observational congruence, giving a precise correspondence between operational and axiomatic semantics. The proof layout for the observational completeness which uses a restricted syntactic structure called finite canonical forms originally introduced in game-based semantics, and characteristic formulae originally introduced in the process calculi, is generally applicable for a precise axiomatic characterisation of more complex program behaviour, such as aliasing and local state