The Effects of Majorana Phases in Estimating the Masses of Neutrinos

Majorana CP violating phases coming from heavy right-handed Majorana mass matrices ($M_{RR}$) are considered to estimate the masses of neutrinos.The effects of phases on quasi-degenerate neutrinos mass matrix obeying $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetry predicts the results consistent with observations for (i) solar mixing angle($\theta_{12}$) below TBM, (ii) absolute neutrino mass parameters[$m_{ee}$] in neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay, and (iii) cosmological upper bound $\sum_{i}m_{i}$. Analysis is carried out through parameterization of light left-handed Majorana neutrino matrices $(m_{LL})$ using only two unknown parameters $(\epsilon,\eta)$ within $\mu$-$\tau$ symmetry. We consider the charge lepton and up quark matrices as diagonal form of Dirac neutrino mass matrix $(m_{LR})$, and $m_{RR}$ are genrated using $m_{LL}$ through inversion of Type-I seesaw formula. The analysis shows that the masses of neutrinos are in agreement with the upper bound from cosmology and neutrinoless double beta decay. The results presented in this article will have important implications in discriminating the neutrinos mass models.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1206.343

“Why Didn’t You Just Ask?” Underestimating the Discomfort of Help-Seeking

Across four studies we demonstrate that people in a position to provide help tend to underestimate the role that embarrassment plays in decisions about whether or not to ask for help. As a result, potential helpers may overestimate the likelihood that people will ask for help (Studies 1 and 2). Further, helpers may be less inclined to allocate resources to underutilized support programs than help-seekers because they are less likely to attribute low levels of use to help-seekers’ concerns with embarrassment (Study 3). Finally, helpers may misjudge the most effective means of encouraging help-seeking behavior - emphasizing the practical benefits of asking for help, rather than attempting to assuage help-seekers’ feelings of discomfort (Study 4)

Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter?

The Decade of Evangelism occupied the attention of the Church of England throughout the 1990s. The present study employs the statistics routinely published by the Church of England in order to assess two matters: the extent to which these statistics suggest that the 43 individual dioceses finished the decade in a stronger or weaker position than they had entered it and the extent to which, according to these statistics, the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Evangelical tradition differed from the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Catholic tradition. The data demonstrated that the majority of dioceses were performing less effectively at the end of the decade than at the beginning, in terms of a range of membership statistics, and that the rate of decline varied considerably from one diocese to another. The only exception to the trend was provided by the diocese of London, which experienced some growth. The data also demonstrated that little depended on the churchmanship of the diocesan bishop in shaping diocesan outcomes on the performance indicators employed in the study

Simulating the Martian Chemical Enivronment

We report on new analogue materials to simulate Martian rocks and soils, especially under realistic redox conditions

SHADOW PRICE IMPLICATIONS OF SEVERAL STOCHASTIC DOMINANCE CRITERIA

Stochastic dominance criteria can be, but seldom are explicitly, applied to problems having continuous variables. A previously developed model is modified to facilitate exploration of sets of shadow price vectors for decreasing (non-increasing) absolute risk aversion stochastic dominance (DSD), a combination, TGSD, of third degree stochastic dominance (TSD) and generalized stochastic dominance (GSD) and a combination, DGSD, of DSD and GSD. The model is illustrated by applying it to two risk efficient (primal) solutions of a problem by Anderson, Dillon and Hardaker. For each of the two primal solutions and, where relevant, three risk aversion coefficient intervals, selected aspects of the sets of shadow price vectors consistent with TSD, DSD, TGSD and DGSD are compared with each other and with sets of shadow price vectors consistent with GSD and second degree stochastic dominance (SSD).Demand and Price Analysis,

Universal two-step crystallization of DNA-functionalized nanoparticles

We examine the crystallization dynamics of nanoparticles reversibly tethered by DNA hybridization. We show that the crystallization happens readily only in a narrow temperature "slot," and always proceeds via a two-step process, mediated by a highly-connected amorphous intermediate. For lower temperature quenches, the dynamics of unzipping strands in the amorphous state is sufficiently slow that crystallization is kinetically hindered. This accounts for the well-documented difficulty of forming crystals in these systems. The strong parallel to the crystallization behavior of proteins and colloids suggests that these disparate systems crystallize in an apparently universal manner.Comment: Accepted for publication in Soft Matte

Hong Kong's Currency Board and Changing Monetary Regimes

The paper discusses the historical background and institutional details of Hong Kong's currency board. We argue that its experience provides a good opportunity to test the macroeconomic implications of the currency board regime. Using the method of Blanchard and Quah (1989), we show that the parameters of the structural equations and the characteristics of supply and demand shocks have significantly changed since adopting the regime. Variance decomposition and impulse response analyses indicate Hong Kong's currency board is less susceptible to supply shocks, but demand shocks can cause greater short-term volatility under the system. The decent performance of Hong Kong's currency board is due mainly to the stable fiscal policy of its government. Counter-factual exercises also show that three-fourths of the reduction in observed output volatility and two-thirds of that in observed inflation volatility are explained by the adoption of the currency board, while the remainder is explained by changes in the external environment. The improvement in stability does not rule out the possibility of monetary collapse, however.