Geo-neutrinos and Earth Models

We present the current status of geo-neutrino measurements and their implications for radiogenic heating in the mantle. Earth models predict different levels of radiogenic heating and, therefore, different geo-neutrino fluxes from the mantle. Seismic tomography reveals features in the deep mantle possibly correlated with radiogenic heating and causing spatial variations in the mantle geo-neutrino flux at the Earth surface. An ocean-based observatory offers the greatest sensitivity to the mantle flux and potential for resolving Earth models and mantle features. Refinements to estimates of the geo-neutrino flux from continental crust reduce uncertainty in measurements of the mantle flux, especially measurements from land-based observatories. These refinements enable the resolution of Earth models using the combined measurements from multiple continental observatories.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; Contributed paper TAUP 201

Poisson transition rates from time-domain measurements with finite bandwidth

In time-domain measurements of a Poisson two-level system, the observed transition rates are always smaller than those of the actual system, a general consequence of finite measurement bandwidth in an experiment. This underestimation of the rates is significant even when the measurement and detection apparatus is ten times faster than the process under study. We derive here a quantitative form for this correction using a straightforward state-transition model that includes the detection apparatus, and provide a method for determining a system's actual transition rates from bandwidth-limited measurements. We support our results with computer simulations and experimental data from time-domain measurements of quasiparticle tunneling in a single-Cooper-pair transistor.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Teleology and Realism in Leibniz's Philosophy of Science

This paper argues for an interpretation of Leibniz’s claim that physics requires both mechanical and teleological principles as a view regarding the interpretation of physical theories. Granting that Leibniz’s fundamental ontology remains non-physical, or mentalistic, it argues that teleological principles nevertheless ground a realist commitment about mechanical descriptions of phenomena. The empirical results of the new sciences, according to Leibniz, have genuine truth conditions: there is a fact of the matter about the regularities observed in experience. Taking this stance, however, requires bringing non-empirical reasons to bear upon mechanical causal claims. This paper first evaluates extant interpretations of Leibniz’s thesis that there are two realms in physics as describing parallel, self-sufficient sets of laws. It then examines Leibniz’s use of teleological principles to interpret scientific results in the context of his interventions in debates in seventeenth-century kinematic theory, and in the teaching of Copernicanism. Leibniz’s use of the principle of continuity and the principle of simplicity, for instance, reveal an underlying commitment to the truth-aptness, or approximate truth-aptness, of the new natural sciences. The paper concludes with a brief remark on the relation between metaphysics, theology, and physics in Leibniz

Leibniz, Acosmism, and Incompossibility

Leibniz claims that God acts in the best possible way, and that this includes creating exactly one world. But worlds are aggregates, and aggregates have a low degree of reality or metaphysical perfection, perhaps none at all. This is Leibniz’s tendency toward acosmism, or the view that there this no such thing as creation-as-a-whole. Many interpreters reconcile Leibniz’s acosmist tendency with the high value of worlds by proposing that God sums the value of each substance created, so that the best world is just the world with the most substances. I call this way of determining the value of a world the Additive Theory of Value (ATV), and argue that it leads to the current and insoluble form of the problem of incompossibility. To avoid the problem, I read “possible worlds” in “God chooses the best of all possible worlds” as referring to God’s ideas of worlds. These ideas, though built up from essences, are themselves unities and so well suited to be the value bearers that Leibniz’s theodicy requires. They have their own value, thanks to their unity, and that unity is not preserved when more essences are added

Random template placement and prior information

In signal detection problems, one is usually faced with the task of searching a parameter space for peaks in the likelihood function which indicate the presence of a signal. Random searches have proven to be very efficient as well as easy to implement, compared e.g. to searches along regular grids in parameter space. Knowledge of the parameterised shape of the signal searched for adds structure to the parameter space, i.e., there are usually regions requiring to be densely searched while in other regions a coarser search is sufficient. On the other hand, prior information identifies the regions in which a search will actually be promising or may likely be in vain. Defining specific figures of merit allows one to combine both template metric and prior distribution and devise optimal sampling schemes over the parameter space. We show an example related to the gravitational wave signal from a binary inspiral event. Here the template metric and prior information are particularly contradictory, since signals from low-mass systems tolerate the least mismatch in parameter space while high-mass systems are far more likely, as they imply a greater signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and hence are detectable to greater distances. The derived sampling strategy is implemented in a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm where it improves convergence.Comment: Proceedings of the 8th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves. 7 pages, 4 figure

The African-American men community, Moore County : and action-oriented community diagnosis ; findings and next steps of action

Moore County is located in the southern part of North Carolina, and is well-known for its status as a golf, resort, and retirement community. African-Americans constitute 14.9 percent of the population of Moore County. There is a growing concern within the county regarding the health and lifestyle needs of African-American men. An Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis of the African-American men’s community of Moore County was conducted by five graduate students from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education within the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The purpose of an Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis (AOCD) is to involve community members and service providers in identifying the community’s strengths and resources as well as its needs and challenges and to create action to address the identified needs. The Moore County AOCD involved three steps: 1) collection of secondary data about the health and needs of African-American men; 2) collection of primary data through interviews with service providers and community members; and 3) presenting the findings to the community in a community forum. The student team conducted interviews and focus groups with 56 service providers and community members; the data analysis showed nine recurrent themes: community activism and politics, education, employment, healthcare, living situation, race relations and segregation, recreation, religion and churches, and youth and family. A Forum Planning Committee was formed from service providers and community members to help plan the forum. The Committee selected five themes for discussion at the forum: education, employment, healthcare, race relations and segregation, and youth and family. The Committee advised the team on issues including the forum schedule, publicity, speakers, and materials. They also committed to continuing with action steps proposed in the forum, and elected two co-chairs to lead the continuing committee and to serve as adhoc members to the Moore Health Board. The community forum “Coming Together for Moore” was held on April 12, 2007. Nearly 150 service providers and residents of Moore County attended the event. The students presented the overall findings and the five selected themes to the forum participants, and invited participants to take part in discussion sessions on the theme of their choice. Student team members facilitated each discussion session with the aim of moving participants from identifying challenges to developing concrete action steps. Education: The education session focused primarily on the lack of emphasis placed on education for African-Americans by parents, teachers, and the youth themselves, with discussion on the issue starting in the home and through cultural values. The two action steps proposed were: Discuss the importance of education with all community members. Form a committee of concerned individuals to attend all school board meetings. Employment: The employment session focused primarily on the lack of availability of jobs other than service jobs. Scarcity of job opportunities was discussed, as was the lack of job training and skills. There was also mention of employers not giving a chance to applicants with less education and skills or a criminal record. The two action steps proposed were: Increase job training availability and publicity. Support the creation of African-American-owned businesses. Healthcare: The healthcare session focused primarily on the fact that many men are not insured and do not have access to healthcare. Discussion included mistrust of doctors and men’s attitude towards seeking medical care, especially given fear of diagnosis and cost for those uninsured. The four action steps proposed were: Collaborate with pastors to increase awareness about the need for healthcare. Increase health education. Increase dissemination of healthcare services available. Form partnerships with health organizations. Race Relations and Segregation: The race relations session focused primarily on the segregation that is perceived to exist between the White and African-American communities, and included discussion of incidents of racism and the existing racial divide. The four action steps proposed were: Create dialogue with government officials about criminal justice for African-American men. Bridge the gap between Caucasian and African-American church leaders. Teach children appreciation of African-American culture and history. Create a committee to work on racial problems and segregation. Youth and Family: The youth and family session focused primarily on the lack of mentoring for youth. Various cases were discussed including single parent families, changing moral values, and lack of support for parents. The six action steps proposed were: Begin a movement of collective responsibility for youth. Teach children and parents about self-esteem. Talk to children about appropriate values. Develop workshops for parents and youth. Support mentoring programs. Network within youth organizations. The action steps generated were presented to all of the forum participants at the conclusion of the discussion sessions. For each theme, one or more participants in that session agreed to be responsible for working on the identified action steps in collaboration with the continuing committee. At this time, the continuing committee members and volunteers from the forum are still meeting to work on generating community action.Master of Public Healt

Dissolved Organophosphate Esters and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Remote Marine Environments: Arctic Surface Water Distributions and Net Transport Through Fram Strait

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) have been found in remote environments at unexpectedly high concentrations, but very few measurements of OPE concentrations in seawater are available, and none are available in subsurface seawater. In this study, passive polyethylene samplers (PEs) deployed on deep-water moorings in the Fram Strait and in surface waters of Canadian Arctic lakes and coastal sites were analyzed for a suite of common OPEs. Total OPEs ( ∑11OPE) at deep-water sites were dominated by chlorinated OPEs, and ranged from 6.3 to 440 pg/L. Concentrations were similar in eastern and western Fram Strait. Chlorinated OPEs were also dominant in Canadian Arctic surface waters (mean concentration ranged from \u3c DL to 4400 pg/L), while nonhalogenated alkyl/aryl-substituted OPEs remained low (1.3–55 pg/L), possibly due to the greater long-range transport potential of chlorinated OPEs. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were found at much lower concentrations than OPEs

Bacillus anthracis edema factor substrate specificity: evidence for new modes of action

Since the isolation of Bacillus anthracis exotoxins in the 1960s, the detrimental activity of edema factor (EF) was considered as adenylyl cyclase activity only. Yet the catalytic site of EF was recently shown to accomplish cyclization of cytidine 5'-triphosphate, uridine 5'-triphosphate and inosine 5'-triphosphate, in addition to adenosine 5'-triphosphate. This review discusses the broad EF substrate specificity and possible implications of intracellular accumulation of cyclic cytidine 3':5'-monophosphate, cyclic uridine 3':5'-monophosphate and cyclic inosine 3':5'-monophosphate on cellular functions vital for host defense. In particular, cAMP-independent mechanisms of action of EF on host cell signaling via protein kinase A, protein kinase G, phosphodiesterases and CNG channels are discussed