Probing long-range leptonic forces with solar and reactor neutrinos

In this work we study the phenomenological consequences of the existence of long-range forces coupled to lepton flavour numbers in solar neutrino oscillations. We study electronic forces mediated by scalar, vector or tensor neutral bosons and analyze their effect on the propagation of solar neutrinos as a function of the force strength and range. Under the assumption of one mass scale dominance, we perform a global analysis of solar and KamLAND neutrino data which depends on the two standard oscillation parameters, \Delta m^2_{21} and \tan^2\theta_{12}, the force coupling constant, its range and, for the case of scalar-mediated interactions, on the neutrino mass scale as well. We find that, generically, the inclusion of the new interaction does not lead to a very statistically significant improvement on the description of the data in the most favored MSW LMA (or LMA-I) region. It does, however, substantially improve the fit in the high-\Delta m^2 LMA (or LMA-II) region which can be allowed for vector and scalar lepto-forces (in this last case if neutrinos are very hierarchical) at 2.5\sigma. Conversely, the analysis allows us to place stringent constraints on the strength versus range of the leptonic interaction.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Transition from the Couette-Taylor system to the plane Couette system

We discuss the flow between concentric rotating cylinders in the limit of large radii where the system approaches plane Couette flow. We discuss how in this limit the linear instability that leads to the formation of Taylor vortices is lost and how the character of the transition approaches that of planar shear flows. In particular, a parameter regime is identified where fractal distributions of life times and spatiotemporal intermittency occur. Experiments in this regime should allow to study the characteristics of shear flow turbulence in a closed flow geometry.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Inhibition of Vaginal Lactobacilli by a Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitor Produced by Enterococcus faecium 62-6: Potential Significance for Bacterial Vaginosis

Objective: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by a shift in vaginal tract ecology, which includes a decrease in the concentration and/or prevalence of facultative lactobacilli. Currently, mechanisms which could account for the disappearance of lactobacilli are not well understood. The objective of this study was to determine whether vaginal streptococci/enterococci can produce bacteriocin-like inhibitors antagonistic to vaginal lactobacilli. Methods: Seventy strains of vaginal streptococci or enterococci were tested for antagonistic activities against vaginal lactobacilli using the deferred antagonism technique. Results: One strain, Enterococcus faecium 62-6, which strongly inhibited growth of lactobacilli was selected for further characterization. The spectrum of inhibitory activity of strain 62-6 included Gram-positive organisms from the vaginal environment, although native lactobacilli from the same host were resistant to inhibitor action. Following growth inMRSbroth the strain 62-6 inhibitor was shown to be heat- (100℃, 30 minutes), cold- (4℃, less than 114 days) and pH- (4–7) stable. The sensitivity of inhibitor-containing supernatants to pepsin and α-chymotrypsin suggested an essential proteinaceous component. The inhibitor was sensitive to lipase but resistant to lysozyme. Dialysis of inhibitor-containing culture supernatants suggested a molecular mass greater than 12 000 Da. All physicochemical properties were consistent with its classification as a bacteriocin-like inhibitor. Kinetic assays demonstrated a sharp onset of inhibitor production coinciding with a concentration of 62-6 of 10(7) cfu/ml, suggesting that production may be regulated by quorum sensing. Conclusions: These results may have clinical significance as a novel mechanism to account for the decline of vaginal Lactobacillus populations and contribute to both the establishment and recurrence of BV

Temporal Modulation of Traveling Waves in the Flow Between Rotating Cylinders With Broken Azimuthal Symmetry

The effect of temporal modulation on traveling waves in the flows in two distinct systems of rotating cylinders, both with broken azimuthal symmetry, has been investigated. It is shown that by modulating the control parameter at twice the critical frequency one can excite phase-locked standing waves and standing-wave-like states which are not allowed when the system is rotationally symmetric. We also show how previous theoretical results can be extended to handle patterns such as these, that are periodic in two spatial direction.Comment: 17 pages in LaTeX, 22 figures available as postscript files from http://www.esam.nwu.edu/riecke/lit/lit.htm

Fenton's reagent for the rapid and efficient isolation of microplastics from wastewater

Fenton’s reagent was used to isolate microplastics from organic-rich wastewater. The catalytic reaction did not affect microplastic chemistry or size, enabling its use as a pre-treatment method for focal plane array-based micro-FT-IR imaging. Compared with previously described microplastic treatment methods, Fenton’s reagent offers a considerable reduction in sample preparation times

Musical Style Affects the Strength of Harmonic Expectancy.

Research in music perception has typically focused on common-practice music (tonal music from the Western European tradition, ca. 1750–1900) as a model of Western musical structure. However, recent research indicates that different styles within Western tonal music may follow distinct harmonic syntaxes. The current study investigated whether listeners can adapt their harmonic expectations when listening to different musical styles. In two experiments, listeners were presented with short musical excerpts that primed either rock or classical music, followed by a timbre-matched cadence. Results from both experiments indicated that listeners prefer V-I cadences over bVII-I cadences within a classical context, but that this preference is significantly diminished in a rock context. Our findings provide empirical support for the idea that different musical styles do employ different harmonic syntaxes. Furthermore, listeners are not only sensitive to these differences, but are able to adapt their expectations depending on the listening context

Pattern selection as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem

A unique pattern selection in the absolutely unstable regime of driven, nonlinear, open-flow systems is reviewed. It has recently been found in numerical simulations of propagating vortex structures occuring in Taylor-Couette and Rayleigh-Benard systems subject to an externally imposed through-flow. Unlike the stationary patterns in systems without through-flow the spatiotemporal structures of propagating vortices are independent of parameter history, initial conditions, and system length. They do, however, depend on the boundary conditions in addition to the driving rate and the through-flow rate. Our analysis of the Ginzburg-Landau amplitude equation elucidates how the pattern selection can be described by a nonlinear eigenvalue problem with the frequency being the eigenvalue. Approaching the border between absolute and convective instability the eigenvalue problem becomes effectively linear and the selection mechanism approaches that of linear front propagation. PACS: 47.54.+r,47.20.Ky,47.32.-y,47.20.FtComment: 18 pages in Postsript format including 5 figures, to appear in: Lecture Notes in Physics, "Nonlinear Physics of Complex Sytems -- Current Status and Future Trends", Eds. J. Parisi, S. C. Mueller, and W. Zimmermann (Springer, Berlin, 1996

Single neutral pion production by charged-current νˉμ\bar{\nu}_\mu interactions on hydrocarbon at ⟨Eν⟩=\langle E_\nu \rangle = 3.6 GeV

Single neutral pion production via muon antineutrino charged-current interactions in plastic scintillator (CH) is studied using the \minerva detector exposed to the NuMI low-energy, wideband antineutrino beam at Fermilab. Measurement of this process constrains models of neutral pion production in nuclei, which is important because the neutral-current analog is a background for $\bar{\nu}_e$ appearance oscillation experiments. The differential cross sections for $\pi^0$ momentum and production angle, for events with a single observed $\pi^0$ and no charged pions, are presented and compared to model predictions. These results comprise the first measurement of the $\pi^0$ kinematics for this process.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physics Letters