Scotogenic A4A_4 Neutrino Model for Nonzero θ13\theta_{13} and Large δCP\delta_{CP}

Assuming that neutrinos acquire radiative seesaw Majorana masses through their interactions with dark matter, i.e. scotogenic from the Greek 'scotos' meaning darkness, and using the non-Abelian discrete symmetry $A_4$, we propose a model of neutrino masses and mixing with nonzero $\theta_{13}$ and necessarily large leptonic CP violation, allowing both the normal and inverted hierarchies of neutrino masses, as well as quasi-degenerate solutions.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Radiative Scaling Neutrino Mass with A4A_4 Symmetry

A new idea for neutrino mass was proposed recently, where its smallness is not due to the seesaw mechanism, i.e. not inversely proportional to some large mass scale. It comes from a one-loop mechanism with dark matter in the loop consisting of singlet Majorana fermions $N_i$ with masses of order 10 keV and neutrino masses are scaled down from them by factors of about $10^{-5}$. We discuss how this model may be implemented with the non-Abelian discrete symmetry $A_4$ for neutrino mixing, and consider the phenomenology of $N_i$ as well as the extra scalar doublet $(\eta^+,\eta^0)$.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

In Defense of Madness: The Problem of Disability

At a time when different groups in society are achieving notable gains in respect and rights, activists in mental health and proponents of mad positive approaches, such as Mad Pride, are coming up against considerable challenges. A particular issue is the commonly held view that madness is inherently disabling and cannot form the grounds for identity or culture. This paper responds to the challenge by developing two bulwarks against the tendency to assume too readily the view that madness is inherently disabling: the first arises from the normative nature of disability judgments, and the second arises from the implications of political activism in terms of being a social subject. In the process of arguing for these two bulwarks, the paper explores the basic structure of the social model of disability in the context of debates on naturalism and normativism, the applicability of the social model to madness, and the difference between physical and mental disabilities in terms of the unintelligibility often attributed to the latter

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Students’ Interest in the STEM Field

The deadly consequences of COVID-19 have been well documented, as have the social, emotional, and cognitive effects. These sequelae extend to the educational system. Much less investigated have been the potential positive outcomes of the pandemic. Given that STEM education relies heavily on hands-on laboratory experiences, STEM students may have been especially impacted by pandemic-imposed remote instruction. We surveyed 392 students at one liberal arts college querying why they continue studying in STEM or leave the STEM disciplines. Because the literature indicates that people of color and those from lower socioeconomic groups were more negatively affected by COVID-19, we hypothesized that students from traditionally marginalized groups in STEM would report greater adverse educational consequences of the pandemic as well; however, this was not borne out by the findings. Across demographic groups, students reported negative impacts of COVID-19, although in a few areas we found that more traditionally “privileged” groups complained of more negative outcomes than traditionally marginalized students did. What was most novel and dramatic in our results were the positive outcomes of the “lockdown” reported by students. These beneficial results were in the areas of enhanced resilience, improved social relationships, greater opportunities, academic improvement, and better mental health. Our paper concludes with recommendations for addressing the negative outcomes of COVID-19 and remote instruction, and for taking advantage of the unexpected positive effects

Deviation from Tri-Bimaximal Mixing and Large Reactor Mixing Angle

Recent observations for a non-zero $\theta_{13}$ have come from various experiments. We study a model of lepton mixing with a 2-3 flavor symmetry to accommodate the sizable $\theta_{13}$ measurement. In this work, we derive deviations from the tri-bimaximal (TBM) pattern arising from breaking the flavor symmetry in the neutrino sector, while the charged leptons contribution has been discussed in a previous work. Contributions from both sectors towards accommodating the non-zero $\theta_{13}$ measurement are presented.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1109.232

COVID-19 is Not All Bad News: Negative and Surprisingly Positive Reports from College STEM Students and Implications for STEM Instruction

The negative educational consequences of COVID-19 are well documented. Much less investigated have been any potential positive outcomes of the pandemic. We surveyed 392 students at one college querying why they continue studying STEM or leave the STEM disciplines and about the effects of COVID-19 on their education. STEM students may have been especially impacted by pandemic-imposed remote instruction given STEM’s reliance on hands-on laboratory experiences. Because the literature indicates that people of color and those from lower socioeconomic groups were more negatively affected by COVID-19, we hypothesized that students from these groups would report greater adverse educational consequences of the pandemic; however, this was not borne out by our findings. Across demographic groups, students reported negative impacts of COVID-19, although in a few areas we found that more traditionally “privileged” groups complained of more negative outcomes than traditionally “marginalized” students did. Most novel and dramatic in our results were the positive outcomes of the “lockdown” reported by students in the areas of enhanced resilience, improved social relationships, greater opportunities, academic improvement, and better mental health. We conclude with recommendations for addressing the negative outcomes of COVID-19 and remote instruction, and for taking advantage of the unexpected positive effects

Clinically Applicable Machine Learning Approaches to Identify Attributes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) for Use in Low-Cost Diagnostic Screening.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health concern worldwide. High costs of late-stage diagnosis and insufficient testing facilities can contribute to high morbidity and mortality rates in CKD patients, particularly in less developed countries. Thus, early diagnosis aided by vital parameter analytics using affordable computer-aided diagnosis could not only reduce diagnosis costs but improve patient management and outcomes. METHODS: In this study, we developed machine learning models using selective key pathological categories to identify clinical test attributes that will aid in accurate early diagnosis of CKD. Such an approach will save time and costs for diagnostic screening. We have also evaluated the performance of several classifiers with k-fold cross-validation on optimized datasets derived using these selected clinical test attributes. RESULTS: Our results suggest that the optimized datasets with important attributes perform well in diagnosis of CKD using our proposed machine learning models. Furthermore, we evaluated clinical test attributes based on urine and blood tests along with clinical parameters that have low costs of acquisition. The predictive models with the optimized and pathologically categorized attributes set yielded high levels of CKD diagnosis accuracy with random forest (RF) classifier being the best performing. CONCLUSIONS: Our machine learning approach has yielded effective predictive analytics for CKD screening which can be developed as a resource to facilitate improved CKD screening for enhanced and timely treatment plans

SU(3) Gauge Family Symmetry and Prediction for the Lepton-Flavor Mixing and Neutrino Masses with Maximal Spontaneous CP Violation

A model for the lepton-flavor mixing and CP violation is proposed based on the SU$_F$(3) gauge family symmetry and the Majorana feature of neutrinos. A consistent prediction for the lepton-flavor mixing and masses is shown to be resulted from the appropriate vacuum structure of SU$_F$(3) gauge symmetry breaking. By choosing the SU$_F$(3) gauge fixing condition to possess a residual $Z_2$ symmetry and requiring the vacuum structure of spontaneous symmetry breaking to have approximate global U(1) family symmetries, we obtain naturally the tri-bimaximal mixing matrix and largely degenerate neutrino masses in the neutrino sector and the small mixing matrix in the charged-lepton sector. With a simple ansatz that all the smallness due to the approximate global U(1) family symmetries is characterized by a single Wolfenstein parameter $\lambda \simeq 0.22$, and the charged-lepton mixing matrix has a similar hierarchy structure as the CKM quark mixing matrix, we arrive at a consistent prediction for the MNSP lepton-flavor mixing with a maximal spontaneous CP violation: $\delta =\pi/2$, $\sin^2\theta_{13} \simeq 1/2\lambda^2 \simeq 0.024$ ($\sin^22\theta_{13} \simeq 0.094$), $\sin^2\theta_{12} \simeq 1/3{3}(1 - 2\lambda^3) \simeq 0.326$ and $\sin^2\theta_{23} \simeq 1/2(1 - \lambda^2) \simeq 0.48$, which agree well with the current experimental data. The CP-violating Jarlskog-invariant is obtained to be $J_{CP} \simeq 1/6\lambda(1-\lambda^2/2-\lambda^3)\sin\delta \simeq 0.035$, which is detectable in next generation neutrino experiment. The largely degenerate neutrino masses with the normal hierarchy and inverse hierarchy are discussed and found be at the order $m_{\nu_i} \simeq O(\lambda^2) \simeq 0.04\sim 0.06$ eV with a total mass $\sum m_{\nu} \sim 0.15$ eV, which is testable in future precision astrophysics and cosmology.Comment: 14 pages, it is explicitly shown that the smallness for both the charged-lepton mixing and neutrino masses with the standard seesaw mechanism can naturally be explained by the approximate global U(1) family symmetries of vacuum structure in the SU(3) gauge family model, references added, published version in PL

TFH Mixing Patterns, Large θ13\theta_{13} and Δ(96)\Delta(96) Flavor Symmetry

We perform a comprehensive analysis of the Toorop-Feruglio-Hagedorn (TFH) mixing patterns within the family symmetry $\Delta(96)$. The general neutrino mass matrix for the TFH mixing and its symmetry properties are investigated. The possible realizations of the TFH mixing in $\Delta(96)$ are analyzed in the minimalist approach. We propose two dynamical models which produce the TFH mixing patterns at leading order. The full flavor symmetries are $\Delta(96)\times Z_3\times Z_3$ and $\Delta(96)\times Z_5 \times Z_2$ respectively. The next to leading order terms introduce corrections of order $\lambda^2_c$ to the three mixing angles in both models. The allowed mixing patterns are studied under the condition that the Klein four subgroups and the cyclic $Z_N$ subgroups with $N\geq3$ are preserved in the neutrino and the charged lepton sector respectively. We suggest that the deformed tri-bimaximal mixing is a good leading order approximation to understanding a largish reactor angle.Comment: 43 pages, 2 figure