Measuring Oscillations with A Million Atmospheric Neutrinos

We analyze the sensitivity achievable by the current and near-future water(ice)-Cherenkov atmospheric neutrino experiments in the context of standard three-flavor neutrinos oscillations. In this study, we perform an in-depth analysis of the current shared systematic uncertainties arising from the common flux and neutrino-water interactions. We then implement the systematic uncertainties of each experiment and develop the atmospheric neutrino simulations for Super-Kamiokande (SK), with and without neutron-tagging capabilities (SuperK-Gd), IceCube-Upgrade, and ORCA experiments. A careful review of the synergies and features of these experiments is carried out to examine the potential of a joint analysis of these atmospheric neutrino data in resolving the $\theta_{23}$ octant and the neutrino mass ordering. Finally, we assess the capability to constraint $\theta_{13}$ and the CP-violating phase ($\delta_{CP}$ ) in the leptonic sector independently from reactor and accelerator neutrino data.Comment: 39 pages, 33 figure

El poblament prehistòric de la vall del Montsant a partir dels tallers de superfície

L'estudi del poblament d'aquesta zona el basem en l'anàlisi de tota una sèrie de jacimients que es troben situats en el sector central de la vall del Montsant que comprèn tot el terme municipal de Margalef de Montsant (Priorat), per ser aquest el sector que presenta unes característiques idònies per l'assentament humà.A aquesta zona hem localitzat aproximadament uns 17 jaciments arqueològics, tant en cova com en abric o en superfície. Tots aquests assentaments es situen a les terrasses del llit principal del riu Montsant, a unes alçades sobre el nivell del riu que oscil·len entre els 41,8 i els 10 metres

In Candida parapsilosis the ATC1 gene encodes for an acid trehalase involved in trehalose hydrolysis, stress resistance and virulence

An ORF named CPAR2-208980 on contig 005809 was identified by screening a Candida parapsilosis genome data base. Its 67% identity with the acid trehalase sequence from C. albicans (ATC1) led us to designate it CpATC1. Homozygous mutants that lack acid trehalase activity were constructed by gene disruption at the two CpATC1 chromosomal alleles. Phenotypic characterization showed that atc1Δ null cells were unable to grow on exogenous trehalose as carbon source, and also displayed higher resistance to environmental challenges, such as saline exposure (1.2 M NaCl), heat shock (42°C) and both mild and severe oxidative stress (5 and 50 mM H2O2). Significant amounts of intracellular trehalose were specifically stored in response to the thermal upshift in both wild type and mutant strains. Analysis of their antioxidant activities revealed that catalase was only triggered in response to heat shock in atc1Δ cells, whereas glutathione reductase was activated upon mild oxidative stress in wild type and reintegrant strains, and in response to the whole set of stress treatments in the homozygous mutant. Furthermore, yeast cells with double CpATC1 deletion were significantly attenuated in non-mammalian infection models, suggesting that CpATC1 is required for the pathobiology of the fungus. Our results demonstrate the involvement of CpAtc1 protein in the physiological hydrolysis of external trehalose in C. parapsilosis, where it also plays a major role in stress resistance and virulence

Human activities disrupt the temporal dynamics of salinity in Spanish rivers

Human activities are not only increasing salinization of rivers, they might also be altering the temporal dynamics of salinity. Here, we assess the effect of human activities on the temporal dynamics of electrical conductivity (EC) in 91 Spanish rivers using daily measures of EC from 2007 to 2011. We expected rivers weakly affected by human activities to have low and constant ECs, whereas rivers strongly affected by human activities should have high and variable ECs throughout the year. We collected information on land use, climate, and geology that could explain the spatiotemporal variation in EC. We identified four groups of rivers with differences in EC trends that covered a gradient of anthropogenic pressure. According to Random Forest analysis, temporal EC patterns were mainly driven by agriculture, but de-icing roads, mining, and wastewater discharges were also important to some extent. Linear regressions showed a moderate relationship between EC variability and precipitation, and a weak relationship to geology. Overall, our results show strong evidence that human activities disrupt the temporal dynamics of EC. This could have strong effects on aquatic biodiversity (e.g., aquatic organisms might not adapt to frequent and unpredictable salinity peaks) and should be incorporated into monitoring and management plans