2,354 research outputs found
Solar neutrino interactions: Using charged currents at SNO to tell neutral currents at Super-Kamiokande
In the presence of flavor oscillations, muon and tau neutrinos can contribute
to the Super-Kamiokande (SK) solar neutrino signal through the neutral current
process \nu_{\mu,\tau} e^{-}\to \nu_{\mu,\tau} e^{-}. We show how to separate
the \nu_e and \nu_{\mu,\tau} event rates in SK in a model independent way, by
using the rate of the charged current process \nu_e d \to p p e^{-} from the
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment, with an appropriate choice of
the SK and SNO energy thresholds. Under the additional hypothesis of no
oscillations into sterile states, we also show how to determine the absolute
^{8}B neutrino flux from the same data set, independently of the \nu_e survival
probability.Comment: 14 pages (RevTeX), incl. 3 figures (epsf), submitted to Phys. ReV.
AAV-mediated and pharmacological induction of Hsp70 expression stimulates survival of retinal ganglion cells following axonal injury.
We evaluated the effect of AAV2- and 17-AAG (17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin)-mediated upregulation of Hsp70 expression on the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) injured by optic nerve crush (ONC). AAV2-Hsp70 expression in the retina was primarily observed in the ganglion cell layer. Approximately 75% of all transfected cells were RGCs. RGC survival in AAV2-Hsp70-injected animals was increased by an average of 110% 2 weeks after the axonal injury compared with the control. The increase in cell numbers was not even across the retinas with a maximum effect of approximately 306% observed in the inferior quadrant. 17-AAG-mediated induction of Hsp70 expression has been associated with cell protection in various models of neurodegenerative diseases. We show here that a single intravitreal injection of 17-AAG (0.2 ug ul(-1)) results in an increased survival of ONC-injured RGCs by approximately 49% compared with the vehicle-treated animals. Expression of Hsp70 in retinas of 17-AAG-treated animals was upregulated approximately by twofold compared with control animals. Our data support the idea that the upregulation of Hsp70 has a beneficial effect on the survival of injured RGCs, and the induction of this protein could be viewed as a potential neuroprotective strategy for optic neuropathies
Bc spectroscopy in a quantum-chromodynamic potential model
We have investigated spectroscopy with the use of a
quantum-chromodynamic potential model which was recently used by us for the
light-heavy quarkonia. We give our predictions for the energy levels and the
1 transition widths. We also find, rather surprisingly, that although
is not a light-heavy system, the heavy quark effective theory with the
inclusion of the and corrections is as successful
for as it is for and .Comment: 10 page ReVTeX pape
Quantum-Chromodynamic Potential Model for Light-Heavy Quarkonia and the Heavy Quark Effective Theory
We have investigated the spectra of light-heavy quarkonia with the use of a
quantum-chromodynamic potential model which is similar to that used earlier for
the heavy quarkonia. An essential feature of our treatment is the inclusion of
the one-loop radiative corrections to the quark-antiquark potential, which
contribute significantly to the spin-splittings among the quarkonium energy
levels. Unlike and , the potential for a light-heavy
system has a complicated dependence on the light and heavy quark masses and
, and it contains a spin-orbit mixing term. We have obtained excellent
results for the observed energy levels of , , , and , and
we are able to provide predicted results for many unobserved energy levels. Our
potential parameters for different quarkonia satisfy the constraints of quantum
chromodynamics.
We have also used our investigation to test the accuracy of the heavy quark
effective theory. We find that the heavy quark expansion yields generally good
results for the and energy levels provided that and
corrections are taken into account in the quark-antiquark
interactions. It does not, however, provide equally good results for the energy
levels of and , which indicates that the effective theory can be
applied more accurately to the quark than the quark.Comment: 17 pages of LaTeX. To appear in Physical Review D. Complete
PostScript file is available via WWW at
http://gluon.physics.wayne.edu/wsuhep/jim/heavy.p
Nonet Symmetry and Two-Body Decays of Charmed Mesons
The decay of charmed mesons into pseudoscalar (P) and vector (V) mesons is
studied in the context of nonet symmetry. We have found that it is badly broken
in the PP channels and in the P sector of the PV channels as expected from the
non-ideal mixing of the \eta and the \eta'. In the VV channels, it is also
found that nonet symmetry does not describe the data well. We have found that
this discrepancy cannot be attributed entirely to SU(3) breaking at the usual
level of 20--30%. At least one, or both, of nonet and SU(3) symmetry must be
very badly broken. The possibility of resolving the problem in the future is
also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, UTAPHY-HEP-
Searching for the MSW Enhancement
We point out that the length scale associated with the MSW effect is the
radius of the Earth. Therefore to verify matter enhancement of neutrino
oscillations, it will be necessary to study neutrinos passing through the
Earth. For the parameters of MSW solutions to the solar neutrino problem, the
only detectable effects occur in a narrow band of energies from 5 to 10 MeV. We
propose that serious consideration be given to mounting an experiment at a
location within 9.5 degrees of the equator.Comment: 10 pages, RevTe
How many sigmas is the solar neutrino effect?
The minimal standard electroweak model can be tested by allowing all the
solar neutrino fluxes, with undistorted energy spectra, to be free parameters
in fitting the measured solar neutrino event rates, subject only to the
condition that the total observed luminosity of the sun is produced by nuclear
fusion. The rates of the five experiments prior to SNO (chlorine, Kamiokande,
SAGE, GALLEX, Super-Kamiokande) cannot be fit by an arbitrary choice of
undistorted neutrino fluxes at the level of 2.5 sigma (formally 99% C.L.).
Considering just SNO and Super-Kamiokande, the discrepancy is at the 3.3 sigma
level(10^{-3} C.L.). If all six experiments are fit simultaneously, the formal
discrepancy increases to 4 sigma (7*10^{-5} C.L.). If the relative scaling in
temperature of the nuclear reactions that produce 7Be and 8B neutrinos is taken
into account, the formal discrepancy is at the 7.4 sigma level.Comment: 1 figure; related information at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~jn
Optimal Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Allocation Strategies for the Canadian Population
BACKGROUND: The world is currently confronting the first influenza pandemic of the 21(st) century. Influenza vaccination is an effective preventive measure, but the unique epidemiological features of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) (pH1N1) introduce uncertainty as to the best strategy for prioritization of vaccine allocation. We sought to determine optimal prioritization of vaccine distribution among different age and risk groups within the Canadian population, to minimize influenza-attributable morbidity and mortality. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a deterministic, age-structured compartmental model of influenza transmission, with key parameter values estimated from data collected during the initial phase of the epidemic in Ontario, Canada. We examined the effect of different vaccination strategies on attack rates, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality. In all scenarios, prioritization of high-risk individuals (those with underlying chronic conditions and pregnant women), regardless of age, markedly decreased the frequency of severe outcomes. When individuals with underlying medical conditions were not prioritized and an age group-based approach was used, preferential vaccination of age groups at increased risk of severe outcomes following infection generally resulted in decreased mortality compared to targeting vaccine to age groups with higher transmission, at a cost of higher population-level attack rates. All simulations were sensitive to the timing of the epidemic peak in relation to vaccine availability, with vaccination having the greatest impact when it was implemented well in advance of the epidemic peak. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our model simulations suggest that vaccine should be allocated to high-risk groups, regardless of age, followed by age groups at increased risk of severe outcomes. Vaccination may significantly reduce influenza-attributable morbidity and mortality, but the benefits are dependent on epidemic dynamics, time for program roll-out, and vaccine uptake
Low frequency noise statistics for the breakdown characterization of ultra-thin gate oxides
We have investigated the statistics of low frequency noise in the tunneling
current of ultrathin oxides (2.5nm-4nm) in metal oxide semiconductor capacitors
as a function of the applied voltage stress. The statistical analysis includes
(i) non-Gaussianity (nG), which is a measure of the degree of temporal
correlation in the noise, and (ii) ratio of integrated noise power to the DC
leakage current (R). The occurrence of high peaks in nG indicates the
appearance of new percolation paths, and the subsequent conduction through
these paths is indicated by R. Our results show that the nG and R
characteristics are generic for the oxides of different thickness and growth
quality and have the potential, in conjunction with leakage itself, of being
used as a prognosticator of oxide reliability.Comment: 4 page
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