Fine structure of beta decay endpoint spectrum

We note that the fine structure at the endpoint region of the beta decay spectrum is now essentially known using neutrino oscillation data, if the mass of one neutrino is specified. This may help to identify the effects of nonzero neutrino masses in future experiments. An exact treatment of phase space kinematics is used. This work is independent of theoretical models. Additional restrictions due to the assumption of a so-called "complementary ansatz" for the neutrino mass matrix are also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

An approach to permutation symmetry for the electroweak theory

The form of the leptonic mixing matrix emerging from experiment has, in the last few years, generated a lot of interest in the so-called tribimaximal type. This form may be naturally associated with the possibility of a discrete permutation symmetry ($S_3$) among the three generations. However, trying to implement this attractive symmetry has resulted in some problems and it seems to have fallen out of favor. We suggest an approach in which the $S_3$ holds to first approximation, somewhat in the manner of the old SU(3) flavor symmetry of the three flavor quark model. It is shown that in the case of the neutrino sector, a presently large experimentally allowed region can be fairly well described in this first approximation. We briefly discuss the nature of the perturbations which are the analogs of the Gell-Mann Okubo perturbations but confine our attention for the most part to the $S_3$ invariant model. We postulate that the $S_3$ invariant mass spectrum consists of non zero masses for the $(\tau,b,t)$ and zero masses for the other charged fermions but approximately degenerate masses for the three neutrinos. The mixing matrices are assumed to be trivial for the charged fermions but of tribimaximal type for the neutrinos in the first approximation. It is shown that this can be implemented by allowing complex entries for the mass matrix and spontaneous breakdown of the $S_3$ invariance of the Lagrangian.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, minor corrections and acknowledgment added. To appear in IJM

Lessons from LIMK1 enzymology and their impact on inhibitor design

LIM domain kinase 1 (LIMK1) is a key regulator of actin dynamics. It is thereby a potential therapeutic target for the prevention of fragile X syndrome and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Herein, we use X-ray crystallography and activity assays to describe how LIMK1 accomplishes substrate specificity, to suggest a unique ‘rock-and-poke’ mechanism of catalysis and to explore the regulation of the kinase by activation loop phosphorylation. Based on these findings, a differential scanning fluorimetry assay and a RapidFire mass spectrometry activity assay were established, leading to the discovery and confirmation of a set of small-molecule LIMK1 inhibitors. Interestingly, several of the inhibitors were inactive towards the closely related isoform LIMK2. Finally, crystal structures of the LIMK1 kinase domain in complex with inhibitors (PF-477736 and staurosporine, respectively) are presented, providing insights into LIMK1 plasticity upon inhibitor binding

Double stratification effects on unsteady electrical MHD mixed convection flow of nanofluid with viscous dissipation and Joule heating

The problem of unsteady mixed convection electrical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow and heat transfer induced due to nanofluid over a permeable stretching sheet using Buongiorno model is investigated. The transverse electric and magnetic fields are considered in the flow field, while in the heat convection is associated with the thermal radiation, heat generation/absorption, viscous and Ohmic dissipations, and chemical reaction is incorporated in the mass diffusion. A similarity transformation is used to reduce the boundary layer governing equations which are partial differential equations to nonlinear differential equations and then solved numerically using implicit finite difference scheme. The nanofluid velocity and temperature are sensitive to an increase in the electric field, which resolved the problem of sticky effects due to the magnetic field. Destructive chemical reaction increases the level nanoparticles concentration while reversed behave happened in the case of the generative chemical reaction. Heat source boosts the fluid temperature while as opposite occurred with the heat sink. Thermal and concentration stratifications decreased the fluid temperature and the nanoparticles concentration profiles. Buoyancy ratio parameter reduced the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers whereas mixed convection parameter increases for higher values. A comparison with the previous study available in literature has been done and found an excellent agreement with the published dat

Thiopurine S-methyltransferase genetic polymorphism in the Tunisian population

Background: Determine the incidence of four thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) mutant alleles, TPMT*2, *3A, *3B and *3C in the Tunisian population involved in adverse drug reactions. Genomic DNAs were isolated from peripheral blood leucocytes of 119 healthy Tunisian volunteers. The frequencies of four allelic variants of the TPMT gene, TPMT*2, *3A, *3B, *3C were determined using allele specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique.Results: Of the 119 Tunisian subjects participating in this study, 117 subjects (98.3%) were homozygous for TPMT*1 and only two subjects (1.68%) were heterozygous for TPMT*1/*3A. The frequency of TPMT*3A mutant allele was 0.009.Conclusions: Our study provides the first data on the frequency of common TPMT variants in the Tunisian population. TPMT*3A, which causes the largest decrease in enzyme activity, seemed to be a unique variant allele found in this our population.Keywords: Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT); Pharmacogenetics; Tunisians; PC

Randomized ancillary qubit overcomes detector-control and intercept-resend hacking of quantum key distribution

Practical implementations of quantum key distribution (QKD) have been shown to be subject to various detector side-channel attacks that compromise the promised unconditional security. Most notable is a general class of attacks adopting the use of faked-state photons as in the detector-control and, more broadly, the intercept-resend attacks. In this paper, we present a simple scheme to overcome such class of attacks: A legitimate user, Bob, uses a polarization randomizer at his gateway to distort an ancillary polarization of a phase-encoded photon in a bidirectional QKD configuration. Passing through the randomizer once on the way to his partner, Alice, and again in the opposite direction, the polarization qubit of the genuine photon is immune to randomization. However, the polarization state of a photon from an intruder, Eve, to Bob is randomized and hence directed to a detector in a different path, whereupon it triggers an alert. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that, using commercial off-the-shelf detectors, it can be made impossible for Eve to avoid triggering the alert, no matter what faked-state of light she uses.Comment: Quantum encryption, bidirectional quantum key distribution, detector control, intercept and resend attacks, faked state photon

Lower limb orthopaedic surgery results in changes to coagulation and non-specific inflammatory biomarkers, including selective clinical outcome measures

Gold OABackground: With an aging society and raised expectations, joint replacement surgery is likely to increase significantly in the future. The development of postoperative complications following joint replacement surgery (for example, infection, systemic inflammatory response syndrome and deep vein thrombosis) is also likely to increase. Despite considerable progress in orthopaedic surgery, comparing a range of biological markers with the ultimate aim of monitoring or predicting postoperative complications has not yet been extensively researched. The aim of this clinical pilot study was to test the hypothesis that lower limb orthopaedic surgery results in changes to coagulation, non-specific markers of inflammation (primary objective) and selective clinical outcome measures (secondary objective). Methods Test subjects were scheduled for elective total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) orthopaedic surgery due to osteoarthritis (n = 10). Platelet counts and D-dimer concentrations were measured to assess any changes to coagulation function. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured as markers of non-specific inflammation. Patients were monitored regularly to assess for any signs of postoperative complications, including blood transfusions, oedema (knee swelling), wound infection, pain and fever. Results THR and TKR orthopaedic surgery resulted in similar changes of coagulation and non-specific inflammatory biomarkers, suggestive of increased coagulation and inflammatory reactions postoperatively. Specifically, THR and TKR surgery resulted in an increase in platelet (P = 0.013, THR) and D-dimer (P = 0.009, TKR) concentrations. Evidence of increased inflammation was demonstrated by an increase in CRP and ESR (P ≤ 0.05, THR and TKR). Four patients received blood transfusions (two THR and two TKR patients), with maximal oedema, pain and aural temperatures peaking between days 1 and 3 postoperatively, for both THR and TKR surgery. None of the patients developed postoperative infections. Conclusions The most noticeable changes in biological markers occur during days 1 to 3 postoperatively for both THR and TKR surgery, and these may have an effect on such postoperative clinical outcomes as oedema, pyrexia and pain. This study may assist in understanding the postoperative course following lower limb orthopaedic surgery, and may help clinicians in planning postoperative management and patient care

Highly Saline Water Desalination Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD): Experimental and Simulation Study

The path for water molecules transported across a membrane in real porous membranes has been considered to be a constant factor in the membrane distillation (MD) process (i.e., constant tortuosity); as such, its effect on membrane performance at various operating conditions has been ignored by researchers. Therefore, a simultaneous heat and mass transfer model throughout the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) module was developed in this study by taking into account the hypothetical path across the membrane as a variable factor within the operating conditions because it exhibits the changes to the mass transfer resistance across the membrane under the DCMD run. The DCMD process was described by the developed model using a system of nonlinear equations and solved numerically by MATLAB software. The performance of the poly-tetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane was examined to treat 200 g/L NaCl saline at various operating conditions. The simulation results in the present work showed that the hypothetical proposed path across the membrane has a variable value and was affected by changing the feed temperature and feed concentration. The results estimated by the developed model showed an excellent conformity with the experimental results. The salt rejection remained high (greater than 99.9%) in all cases. The temperature polarization coefficient for the DCMD ranged between 0.88 and 0.967, and the gain output ratio (GOR) was 0.893. The maximum thermal efficiency of the system was 84.5%