The economical 3-3-1 model revisited

We show that the economical 3-3-1 model poses a very high new physics scale of the order of 1000~TeV due to the constraint on the flavor-changing neutral current. The implications of the model for neutrino masses, inflation, leptogenesis, and superheavy dark matter are newly recognized. Alternatively, we modify the model by rearranging the third quark generation differently from the first two quark generations, as well as changing the scalar sector. The resultant model now predicts a consistent new physics at TeV scale unlike the previous case and may be fully probed at the current colliders. Particularly, due to the minimal particle contents, the models under consideration manifestly accommodate dark matter candidates and neutrino masses, with novel and distinct production mechanisms. The large flavor-changing neutral currents that come from the ordinary and exotic quark mixings can be avoided due to the approximate $B-L$ symmetry.Comment: 21 pages; english writing improved, dark matter stability stated, and references added; matches journal versio

Effect of operating parameters and cleaning on the performance of ceramic membranes treating partially clarified sugar cane juice

The performance of ceramic membranes with pore sizes of 0.05 and 0.10 mm in purifying limed and partially clarified sugar cane juice was investigated under different operating conditions. From various operating conditions and strategies, switching off the permeate for 5 seconds for every 5 minutes (S5sT5 m) by an automated control valve provided higher flux. From the three pH experiments conducted on the 0.05 mm membrane, the best performance was observed at a pH of 7.5. Amongst the four fouling models tested, the cake filtration model fitted the performance of both membranes with higher accuracy at a transmembrane pressure of 0.5 bar. Filtering the cane juice through the membrane reduced the turbidity by 99.7%, color by 15%, and the starch concentration by 80% as well as increased the purity by 1.4%. The effective cleaning chemical composition from experimental results showed that 1% NaOH and 3000 ppm NaOCl solution performed the best but only for the experiments that were treating limed and partially clarified juice at pH 7.5.<br /

ORIGINAL PAPER Sexual Risk and Bridging Behaviors Among Young People

Abstract The risk of the HIV epidemic spreading from high-risk groups to the general population in Vietnam depends on sexual risk and bridging behaviors between highand low-risk individuals. A cross-sectional study was used to describe sexual activities of youth aged 18–29 years. Nearly half (41.4%) were sexually active. Premarital sex was reported by 43.3 % of them; 78.3 % of sexually active males and 13.5 % of sexually active females. Multiple sex partners were reported by 31.0%; 56.7 % of males and 9.2% of females. Almost 27 % of males and 5 % of females engaged in sexual bridging behaviors. Being unmarried was significantly associated with having sex with non-regular partners. Being unmarried and early age at first intercourse were associated with having sex with a sex worker. Consistent condom use was high with commercial sex workers but low with regular partners. Education to delay early sexual debut, increased employment, and strategies to inform young sexually active people to adopt safer behaviors are urgently needed

Sound-Dr: Reliable Sound Dataset and Baseline Artificial Intelligence System for Respiratory Illnesses

As the burden of respiratory diseases continues to fall on society worldwide, this paper proposes a high-quality and reliable dataset of human sounds for studying respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia and COVID-19. It consists of coughing, mouth breathing, and nose breathing sounds together with metadata on related clinical characteristics. We also develop a proof-of-concept system for establishing baselines and benchmarking against multiple datasets, such as Coswara and COUGHVID. Our comprehensive experiments show that the Sound-Dr dataset has richer features, better performance, and is more robust to dataset shifts in various machine learning tasks. It is promising for a wide range of real-time applications on mobile devices. The proposed dataset and system will serve as practical tools to support healthcare professionals in diagnosing respiratory disorders. The dataset and code are publicly available here: https://github.com/ReML-AI/Sound-Dr/.Comment: 9 pages, PHMAP2023, PH

Climate-driven changes in the predictability of seasonal precipitation

Climate-driven changes in precipitation amounts and their seasonal variability are expected in many continental-scale regions during the remainder of the 21st century. However, much less is known about future changes in the predictability of seasonal precipitation, an important earth system property relevant for climate adaptation. Here, on the basis of CMIP6 models that capture the present-day teleconnections between seasonal precipitation and previous-season sea surface temperature (SST), we show that climate change is expected to alter the SST-precipitation relationships and thus our ability to predict seasonal precipitation by 2100. Specifically, in the tropics, seasonal precipitation predictability from SSTs is projected to increase throughout the year, except the northern Amazonia during boreal winter. Concurrently, in the extra-tropics predictability is likely to increase in central Asia during boreal spring and winter. The altered predictability, together with enhanced interannual variability of seasonal precipitation, poses new opportunities and challenges for regional water management