1,473 research outputs found
Seesaw mechanism in three flavors
We advance a method used to analyse the neutrino properties (masses and
mixing) in the seesaw mechanism. Assuming the hierarchical Dirac and light
neutrino masses we establish rather simple relations between the light and the
heavy neutrino parameters in the favored region of the solar and the
atmospheric neutrino experiments. A empirical condition satisfied by the RH
mixing angles is obtained.Comment: 19 pages. Acceptted by Phys. Rev. D The part about the neutrino
experiments is selected as a single section. The mistakes in spelling and
grammer are corrected. Also, some equations are neewly numbere
Exploring Characteristics of Fine-Grained Behaviors of Learning Mathematics in Tablet-Based E-Learning Activities
Attributes of teaching and learning contexts provide rich information about how students participate in learning activities. By tracking and analyzing snapshots of these attributes captured continuously throughout the duration of the learning activities, teachers can identify individual students who need special attention and apply different pedagogical actions to them. This paper describes the results of the work-in-progress study in exploring characteristics of fine-grained behaviors of learning mathematics in tablet-based e-learning activities. An experimental platform called SkyApp is built. Through SkyApp, teachers can create e-learning activities and track learning records of students after the delivery of the activities. SkyApp supports capturing, storing and analyzing of fine-grained behaviors of students. Pilot tests have been done in two primary schools for eight months. The review of the tests demonstrates the potential in performing learning analytics. By applying clustering algorithms on multiple learning metrics of marks, time and number of attempts for students in solving mathematics questions, classification of students by learning characteristics of performance and engagement can be formulated. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579335.]published_or_final_versio
Mass Hierarchies and the Seesaw Neutrino Mixing
We give a general analysis of neutrino mixing in the seesaw mechanism with
three flavors. Assuming that the Dirac and u-quark mass matrices are similar,
we establish simple relations between the neutrino parameters and individual
Majorana masses. They are shown to depend rather strongly on the physical
neutrino mixing angles. We calculate explicitly the implied Majorana mass
hierarchies for parameter sets corresponding to different solutions to the
solar neutrino problem.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, replaced with final version. Minor corrections
and one typo corrected. Added one referenc
Continuity of Local Time: An applied perspective
Continuity of local time for Brownian motion ranks among the most notable
mathematical results in the theory of stochastic processes. This article
addresses its implications from the point of view of applications. In
particular an extension of previous results on an explicit role of continuity
of (natural) local time is obtained for applications to recent classes of
problems in physics, biology and finance involving discontinuities in a
dispersion coefficient. The main theorem and its corollary provide physical
principles that relate macro scale continuity of deterministic quantities to
micro scale continuity of the (stochastic) local time.Comment: To appear in: "The fascination of Probability, Statistics and Their
Applications. In honour of Ole E. Barndorff-Nielsen on his 80th birthday
Towards a career in bioinformatics
The 2009 annual conference of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet), Asia's oldest bioinformatics organisation from 1998, was organized as the 8th International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB), Sept. 9-11, 2009 at Biopolis, Singapore. InCoB has actively engaged researchers from the area of life sciences, systems biology and clinicians, to facilitate greater synergy between these groups. To encourage bioinformatics students and new researchers, tutorials and student symposium, the Singapore Symposium on Computational Biology (SYMBIO) were organized, along with the Workshop on Education in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (WEBCB) and the Clinical Bioinformatics (CBAS) Symposium. However, to many students and young researchers, pursuing a career in a multi-disciplinary area such as bioinformatics poses a Himalayan challenge. A collection to tips is presented here to provide signposts on the road to a career in bioinformatics. An overview of the application of bioinformatics to traditional and emerging areas, published in this supplement, is also presented to provide possible future avenues of bioinformatics investigation. A case study on the application of e-learning tools in undergraduate bioinformatics curriculum provides information on how to go impart targeted education, to sustain bioinformatics in the Asia-Pacific region. The next InCoB is scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 26-28, 2010
Identifying the neutrino mass spectrum from a supernova neutrino burst
We study the role that the future detection of the neutrino burst from a
galactic supernova can play in the reconstruction of the neutrino mass
spectrum. We consider all possible 3 mass and flavor spectra which
describe the solar and atmospheric neutrino data. For each of these spectra we
find the observable effects of the supernova neutrino conversions both in the
matter of the star and the earth. We show that studies of the electron neutrino
and anineutrino spectra as well as observations of the neutral current effects
from supernova will allow us (i) to identify the solar neutrino solution, (ii)
to determine the type of mass hierarchy (normal or inverted) and (iii) to probe
the mixing to values as low as .Comment: 53 pages, 13eps figures. Substantial changes made, new results,
figures and tables adde
Three-generation study of neutrino spin-flavor conversion in supernova and implication for neutrino magnetic moment
We investigate resonant spin-flavor (RSF) conversions of supernova neutrinos
which are induced by the interaction of neutrino magnetic moment and supernova
magnetic fields. From the formulation which includes all three-flavor neutrinos
and anti-neutrinos, we give a new crossing diagram that includes not only
ordinary MSW resonance but also magnetically-induced RSF effect. With the
diagram, it is found that four conversions occur in supernova, two are induced
by the RSF effect and two by the pure MSW. We also numerically calculate
neutrino conversions in supernova matter, using neutrino mixing parameters
inferred from recent experimental results and a realistic supernova progenitor
model. The results indicate that until 0.5 seconds after core bounce, the
RSF-induced transition occurs
efficiently (adiabatic resonance), when \mu_\nu \agt 10^{-12} \mu_B
(B_0 / 5 \times 10^{9} \mathrm G)^{-1}, where is the strength of the
magnetic field at the surface of iron core. We also evaluate the energy
spectrum as a function of at the SuperKamiokande detector and the
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory using the calculated conversion probabilities, and
find that the spectral deformation might have possibility to provide useful
information on neutrino magnetic moment as well as magnetic field strength in
supernovae.Comment: 35 pages, 13 figure
Heat Treated NiP–SiC Composite Coatings: Elaboration and Tribocorrosion Behaviour in NaCl Solution
Tribocorrosion behaviour of heat-treated NiP and NiP–SiC composite coatings was investigated in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The tribocorrosion tests were performed in a linear sliding tribometer with an electrochemical cell interface. It was analyzed the influence of SiC particles dispersion in the NiP matrix on current density developed, on coefficient of friction and on wear volume loss. The results showed that NiP–SiC composite coatings had a lower wear volume loss compared to NiP coatings. However, the incorporation of SiC particles into the metallic matrix affects the current density developed by the system during the tribocorrosion test. It was verified that not only the volume of co-deposited particles (SiC vol.%) but also the number of SiC particles per coating area unit (and consequently the SiC particles size) have made influence on the tribocorrosion behaviour of NiP–SiC composite coatings
Urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of soil contaminant risks
Although urban community gardening can offer health, social, environmental, and economic benefits, these benefits must be weighed against the potential health risks stemming from exposure to contaminants such as heavy metals and organic chemicals that may be present in urban soils. Individuals who garden at or eat food grown in contaminated urban garden sites may be at risk of exposure to such contaminants. Gardeners may be unaware of these risks and how to manage them. We used a mixed quantitative/qualitative research approach to characterize urban community gardeners' knowledge and perceptions of risks related to soil contaminant exposure. We conducted surveys with 70 gardeners from 15 community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland, and semi-structured interviews with 18 key informants knowledgeable about community gardening and soil contamination in Baltimore. We identified a range of factors, challenges, and needs related to Baltimore community gardeners' perceptions of risk related to soil contamination, including low levels of concern and inconsistent levels of knowledge about heavy metal and organic chemical contaminants, barriers to investigating a garden site's history and conducting soil tests, limited knowledge of best practices for reducing exposure, and a need for clear and concise information on how best to prevent and manage soil contamination. Key informants discussed various strategies for developing and disseminating educational materials to gardeners. For some challenges, such as barriers to conducting site history and soil tests, some informants recommended city-wide interventions that bypass the need for gardener knowledge altogether
Prognostic factors and monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis: gram-positive versus gram-negative pathogens
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis is rapidly progressive and life-threatening. This study was undertaken to ascertain whether the clinical presentation and outcome for patients with this disease differ for those infected with a gram-positive as compared to gram-negative pathogen.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-six patients with monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis were examined retrospectively from November 2002 to January 2008. All patients received adequate broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, aggressive resuscitation, prompt radical debridement and adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Eleven patients were infected with a gram-positive pathogen (Group 1) and 35 patients with a gram-negative pathogen (Group 2).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Group 2 was characterized by a higher incidence of hemorrhagic bullae and septic shock, higher APACHE II scores at 24 h post-admission, a higher rate of thrombocytopenia, and a higher prevalence of chronic liver dysfunction. Gouty arthritis was more prevalent in Group 1. For non-survivors, the incidences of chronic liver dysfunction, chronic renal failure and thrombocytopenia were higher in comparison with those for survivors. Lower level of serum albumin was also demonstrated in the non-survivors as compared to those in survivors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Pre-existing chronic liver dysfunction, chronic renal failure, thrombocytopenia and hypoalbuminemia, and post-operative dependence on mechanical ventilation represent poor prognostic factors in monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis. Patients with gram-negative monobacterial necrotizing fasciitis present with more fulminant sepsis.</p
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