Neutrino Nucleosynthesis of radioactive nuclei in supernovae

We study the neutrino-induced production of nuclides in explosive supernova nucleosynthesis for progenitor stars with solar metallicity and initial main sequence masses between 15 M$_\odot$ and 40 M$_\odot$. We improve previous investigations i) by using a global set of partial differential cross sections for neutrino-induced charged- and neutral-current reactions on nuclei with charge numbers $Z < 76$ and ii) by considering modern supernova neutrino spectra which have substantially lower average energies compared to those previously adopted in neutrino nucleosynthesis studies. We confirm the production of $^7$Li, $^{11}$B, $^{138}$La, and $^{180}$Ta by neutrino nucleosynthesis, albeit at slightly smaller abundances due to the changed neutrino spectra. We find that for stars with a mass smaller than 20 M$_\odot$, $^{19}$F is produced mainly by explosive nucleosynthesis while for higher mass stars it is produced by the $\nu$ process. We also find that neutrino-induced reactions, either directly or indirectly by providing an enhanced abundance of light particles, noticeably contribute to the production of the radioactive nuclides $^{22}$Na and $^{26}$Al. Both nuclei are prime candidates for gamma-ray astronomy. Other prime targets, $^{44}$Ti and $^{60}$Fe, however, are insignificantly produced by neutrino-induced reactions. We also find a large increase in the production of the long-lived nuclei $^{92}$Nb and $^{98}$Tc due to charged-current neutrino capture.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Gender differences in the intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to analyse gender differences in COVID-19 vaccination intentions. Subject and methods: PubMed, Web of Science and PsycInfo were searched (November 2020 to January 2021) for studies reporting absolute frequencies of COVID-19 vaccination intentions by gender. Averaged odds ratios comparing vaccination intentions among men and women were computed. Descriptive analyses of the studies were reported. Results: Sixty studies were included in the review and data from 46 studies (n = 141,550) were available for meta-analysis. A majority (58%) of papers reported men to have higher intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Meta-analytic calculations showed that significantly fewer women stated that they would get vaccinated than men, OR 1.41 (95% CI 1.28 to 1.55). This effect was evident in several countries, and the difference was bigger in samples of health care workers than in unspecified general population samples. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis found lower vaccination intentions among women than men. This difference is discussed in the light of recent data on actual vaccination rates in different countries. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10389-021-01677-w

An Unusual Location of Deep Venous Thrombosis Associated with Ischemic Stroke and Persistent Foramen Ovale

Up to 40% of ischemic strokes have no known cause (cryptogenic). The prevalence of persistent foramen ovale (PFO) amongst patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) is twice as high as that of the normal population, therefore suggesting a causal relationship between the two entities. However, PFO by itself is not sufficient to cause stroke, as an embolic source is needed. This source is often unknown, making the causal relationship between CS and PFO hard to demonstrate. The most frequent, although still seldom, identifiable cause of embolism in an otherwise cryptogenic stroke associated with PFO is a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities. Here, we present a unique case of brachiocephalic venous DVT associated with PFO and ischemic stroke in a young patient. As the search for DVT in patients with PFO and stroke is often limited to the lower extremities, this case may suggest that an unspecified number of DVTs are overlooked. Our report lends support to paradoxical embolism as a mechanism of stroke in patients with PFO and does, at least in selected cases, suggest a more detailed search for DVT beyond the lower extremities

Neutrino-nucleus reactions and their role in supernova nucleosynthesis

Neutrino reactions on nuclei play important roles for the dynamics of supernovae and their associated nucleosynthesis. This manuscript summarizes the current status in deriving the relevant cross sections for supernova neutrinos and discusses the importance of neutrino-nucleus reactions for supernova nucleosynthesis. In particular we report on the first study of neutrino nucleosynthesis which consistently considers time-dependent spectra for all neutrino flavors as predicted by supernova simulations

Mass measurements of neutron-deficient Y, Zr, and Nb isotopes and their impact on rp and νp nucleosynthesis processes

© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This manuscript is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). For further details please see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Using isochronous mass spectrometry at the experimental storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou, the masses of 82Zr and 84Nb were measured for the first time with an uncertainty of ∼10 keV, and the masses of 79Y, 81Zr, and 83Nb were re-determined with a higher precision. The latter are significantly less bound than their literature values. Our new and accurate masses remove the irregularities of the mass surface in this region of the nuclear chart. Our results do not support the predicted island of pronounced low α separation energies for neutron-deficient Mo and Tc isotopes, making the formation of Zr–Nb cycle in the rp-process unlikely. The new proton separation energy of 83Nb was determined to be 490(400) keV smaller than that in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012. This partly removes the overproduction of the p-nucleus 84Sr relative to the neutron-deficient molybdenum isotopes in the previous νp-process simulations.Peer reviewe

The role of community and population ecology in applying mycorrhizal fungi for improved food security.

The global human population is expected to reach ∼9 billion by 2050. Feeding this many people represents a major challenge requiring global crop yield increases of up to 100%. Microbial symbionts of plants such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent a huge, but unrealized resource for improving yields of globally important crops, especially in the tropics. We argue that the application of AMF in agriculture is too simplistic and ignores basic ecological principals. To achieve this challenge, a community and population ecology approach can contribute greatly. First, ecologists could significantly improve our understanding of the determinants of the survival of introduced AMF, the role of adaptability and intraspecific diversity of AMF and whether inoculation has a direct or indirect effect on plant production. Second, we call for extensive metagenomics as well as population genomics studies that are crucial to assess the environmental impact that introduction of non-local AMF may have on native AMF communities and populations. Finally, we plead for an ecologically sound use of AMF in efforts to increase food security at a global scale in a sustainable manner