The weight for random quark masses

In theories in which the parameters of the low energy theory are not unique, perhaps having different values in different domains of the universe as is possible in some inflationary models, the fermion masses would be distributed with respect to some weight. In such a situation the specifics of the fermion masses do not have a unique explanation, yet the weight provides the visible remnant of the structure of the underlying theory. This paper introduces this concept of a weight for the distribution of masses and provides a quantitative estimate of it from the observed quarks and leptons. The weight favors light quark masses and appears roughly scale invariant (rho ~ 1/m). Some relevant issues, such as the running of the weight with scale and the possible effects of anthropic constraints, are also discussed.Comment: 35pages, 19 figure

Experimental implementation of a quantum optical state comparison amplifier

We present an experimental demonstration of a practical nondeterministic quantum optical amplification scheme that employs two mature technologies, state comparison and photon subtraction, to achieve amplification of known sets of coherent states with high fidelity. The amplifier uses coherent states as a resource rather than single photons, which allows for a relatively simple light source, such as a diode laser, providing an increased rate of amplification. The amplifier is not restricted to low amplitude states. With respect to the two key parameters, fidelity and the amplified state production rate, we demonstrate significant improvements over previous experimental implementations, without the requirement of complex photonic components. Such a system may form the basis of trusted quantum repeaters in nonentanglement-based quantum communications systems with known phase alphabets, such as quantum key distribution or quantum digital signatures

'A light in a very dark place' : The role of a voluntary organisation providing support for those affected by encephalitis

Voluntary organisations are seen as contributing to the ‘democratisation’ of health and social care. Little, however, is written about their role and this paper, by focusing on the work of The Encephalitis Society, provides insights into the challenges facing voluntary organisations as they manage twin roles as service providers and advocates, of people with neurological disorders. Two studies are presented: a review conducted by the Society, focusing on patient’s experiences of neurological services; and an external evaluation of the Society’s current provision. The first, based on a postal survey of its members affected by encephalitis (n = 339), illustrates the Society’s advocacy role. The survey provided support for the Association of British Neurologists’ recommendation for nationally agreed standards of care. The second study, a postal survey of recent contacts (n = 76) and in-depth telephone interviews (n = 22), illustrates the Society’s value role as a service provider and supports its role in helping rehabilitate affected individuals and their families. These studies provided the Society with information for policy and service development. Importantly, providing the basis of informed action and partnership with stakeholders and informing the organisation’s sense of purpose, in the changing context of welfare provision in the UK

Enhancing the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource Web Data Delivery System with Geographic Information System (GIS) Capabilities

Renewable energy technologies are changing the face of the world's energy market. Currently, these technologies are being incorporated within existing structures to increase energy efficiency. Crucial to the success of the emerging renewable market is the availability of accurate, global solar radiation, and meteorology data. This poster traces the history of the development of an effort to distribute data parameters from NASA's research for use in the energy sector applications spanning from renewable energy to energy efficiency. These data may be useful to several renewable energy sectors: solar and wind power generation, agricultural crop modeling, and sustainable buildings

Opposing actions of c-ets/PU.1 and c-myb protooncogene products in regulating the macrophage-specific promoters of the human and mouse colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (c-fms) genes

The receptor for macrophage colony stimulating factor (CSF-1), the c- fms gene product, is a key determinant in the differentiation of monocytic phagocytes. Dissection of the human and mouse c-fms proximal promoters revealed opposing roles for nuclear protooncogenes in the transcriptional regulation of this gene. On the one hand, c-ets-1, c- ets-2, and the macrophage-specific factor PU.1, but not the ets-factor PEA3, trans-activated the c-fms proximal promoter. On the other hand c- myb repressed proximal promoter activity in macrophages and blocked the action of c-ets-1 and c-ets-2. Basal c-fms promoter activity was almost undetectable in the M1 leukaemia line, which expressed high levels of c- myb, but was activated as cells differentiated in response to leukemia inhibitory factor and expressed c-fms mRNA. The repressor function of c- myb depended on the COOH-terminal domain of the protein. We propose that ets-factors are necessary for the tissue-restricted expression of c-fms and that c-myb acts to ensure correct temporal expression of c- fms during myeloid differentiation

Supernova neutrinos in the light of FCNC

We study the effect of including flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC) in the analysis of the neutrino signal of a supernova burst. When we include the effect of the FCNC which are beyond the standard model (SM) in the study of the MSW resonant conversion, we obtain dramatic changes in the \Delta m^2-sin^2(2\theta) probability contours for neutrino detection.Comment: 8 pages in ReVTeX,3 figures. Revised manuscript submitted to Phys. Rev.

A Cluster-Randomised Intervention Trial against Schistosoma japonicum in the Peoples' Republic of China: Bovine and Human Transmission

Background Zoonotic schistosomiasis japonica is a major public health problem in China. Bovines, particularly water buffaloes, are thought to play a major role in the transmission of schistosomiasis to humans in China. Preliminary results (1998–2003) of a praziquantel (PZQ)-based pilot intervention study we undertook provided proof of principle that water buffaloes are major reservoir hosts for S. japonicum in the Poyang Lake region, Jiangxi Province. Methods and Findings Here we present the results of a cluster-randomised intervention trial (2004–2007) undertaken in Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces, with increased power and more general applicability to the lake and marshlands regions of southern China. The trial involved four matched pairs of villages with one village within each pair randomly selected as a control (human PZQ treatment only), leaving the other as the intervention (human and bovine PZQ treatment). A sentinel cohort of people to be monitored for new infections for the duration of the study was selected from each village. Results showed that combined human and bovine chemotherapy with PZQ had a greater effect on human incidence than human PZQ treatment alone. Conclusions The results from this study, supported by previous experimental evidence, confirms that bovines are the major reservoir host of human schistosomiasis in the lake and marshland regions of southern China, and reinforce the rationale for the development and deployment of a transmission blocking anti-S. japonicum vaccine targeting bovines

The Passive Journalist: How sources dominate the local news

This study explores which sources are “making” local news and whether these sources are simply indicating the type of news that appears, or are shaping newspaper coverage. It provides an empirical record of the extent to which sources are able to dominate news coverage from which future trends in local journalism can be measured. The type and number of sources used in 2979 sampled news stories in four West Yorkshire papers, representing the three main proprietors of local newspapers in the United Kingdom, were recorded for one month and revealed the relatively narrow range of routine sources; 76 per cent of articles cited only a single source. The analysis indicates that journalists are relying less on their readers for news, and that stories of little consequence are being elevated to significant positions, or are filling news pages at the expense of more important stories. Additionally, the reliance on a single source means that alternative views and perspectives relevant to the readership are being overlooked. Journalists are becoming more passive, mere processors of one-sided information or bland copy dictated by sources. These trends indicate poor journalistic standards and may be exacerbating declining local newspaper sales

b-tau Unification and neutrino masses in SU(5) extensions of the MSSM with radiative electroweak symmetry breaking

We make a complete analysis of the Yukawa coupling unification in SU(5) extensions of the MSSM in the framework of the radiative symmetry breaking scenario. Both logarithmic and finite threshold corrections of sparticles have been included in the determination of the gauge and Yukawa couplings at M_Z. The effect of the heavy masses of each model in the renormalization group equations is also included. We find that in the minimal SU(5) model b-tau Yukawa unification can be achieved for too large a value of alpha_s. On the other hand the Peccei-Quinn version of the Missing Doublet model, with the effect of the right handed neutrino also included, exhibits b-tau unification in excellent agreement with all low energy experimental data. Unification of all Yukawa couplings is also discussed.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX2e,uses psfig,5 figures,full postscript file available at http://artemis.cc.uoi.gr/~adedes/new97.ps.g

Some Implications of a Supersymmetric Model with R-Parity Breaking Bilinear Interactions

We investigate a supersymmetric scenario where R-parity is explicitly broken through a term bilinear in the lepton and Higgs superfields in the superpotential. We show that keeping such a term alone can lead to trilinear interactions, similar to those that are parametrized by $\lambda$-and ${\lambda}'$ in the literature, involving the physical fields. The upper limits of such interactions are predictable from the constraints on the parameter space imposed by the lepton masses and the neutrino mass limits. It is observed that thus the resulting trilinear interactions are restricted to values that are smaller than the existing bounds on most of the $\lambda$-and ${\lambda}'$-parameters. Some phenomenological consequences of such a scenario are discussed.Comment: 26 Pages, 6 Postscript figures, Latex. An additional set of references has been included. Typographic corrections have been made. Figures remain all unchanged. An additional typographic correction has been mad