776 research outputs found
Quasi-Degenerate Neutrinos in Type II Seesaw Models
We present an analysis of normal and inverted hierarchical neutrino mass
models within the framework of tri-bi-maximal (TBM) mixing. Considering the
neutrinos to be quasi-degenerate (QDN), we study two different neutrino mass
models with mass eigenvalues and for both
normal hierarchical (NH) and inverted hierarchical (IH) cases. Parameterizing
the neutrino mass matrix using best fit oscillation and cosmology data for a
QDN scenario, we find the right-handed Majorana mass matrix using type I seesaw
formula for two types of Dirac neutrino mass matrices: charged lepton (CL) type
and up quark (UQ) type. Incorporating the presence of type II seesaw term which
arises naturally in generic left-right symmetric models (LRSM) along with type
I term, we compare the predictions for neutrino mass parameters with the
experimental values. Within such a framework and incorporating both oscillation
as well as cosmology data, we show that QDN scenario of neutrino masses can
still survive in nature with some minor exceptions. A viable extension of the
standard model with an abelian gauged flavor symmetry is briefly discussed
which can give rise to the desired structure of the Dirac and Majorana mass
matrices.Comment: Version 2: Typos corrected, texts+tables rearranged, conclusion
unchanged. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Reactor mixing angle from hybrid neutrino masses
In terms of its eigenvector decomposition, the neutrino mass matrix (in the
basis where the charged lepton mass matrix is diagonal) can be understood as
originating from a tribimaximal dominant structure with small deviations, as
demanded by data. If neutrino masses originate from at least two different
mechanisms, referred to as "hybrid neutrino masses", the experimentally
observed structure naturally emerges provided one mechanism accounts for the
dominant tribimaximal structure while the other is responsible for the
deviations. We demonstrate the feasibility of this picture in a fairly
model-independent way by using lepton-number-violating effective operators,
whose structure we assume becomes dictated by an underlying flavor
symmetry. We show that if a second mechanism is at work, the requirement of
generating a reactor angle within its experimental range always fixes the solar
and atmospheric angles in agreement with data, in contrast to the case where
the deviations are induced by next-to-leading order effective operators. We
prove this idea is viable by constructing an -based ultraviolet
completion, where the dominant tribimaximal structure arises from the type-I
seesaw while the subleading contribution is determined by either type-II or
type-III seesaw driven by a non-trivial singlet (minimal hybrid model).
After finding general criteria, we identify all the symmetries
capable of producing such -based minimal hybrid models.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. v3: section including sum rules added, accepted
by JHE
Lowering solar mixing angle in inverted hierarchy without charged lepton corrections
In the present work, the inverted hierarchical neutrino mass model which is
characterised by opposite CP parity in the first two mass eigenvalues
, is studied in order to lower the predicted value of solar
mixing angle , from the tri-bimaximal mixing (TBM), without
sacrificing the conditions of maximal atmospheric mixing angle and zero reactor
angle. The present attempt is different from the earlier approach where the
correction from the charged lepton mass matrix is included in the leptonic
mixing matrix to lower the prediction on solar mixing angle. The lowering of
the solar mixing angle without charged lepton correction, can be obtained
through the variation of the input value of a flavour twister term present in
the texture of neutrino mass matrix having a 2-3 symmetry. The present analysis
agrees with the latest experimental bounds on neutrino mass parameters and also
represents an important result on the survival of the inverted hierarchical
neutrino mass models having opposite CP parity in the first two eigenvalues.Comment: 10 pages, two figures. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics
G:Nuclear and Particle Physic
Ion specificity of the zeta potential of alpha-alumina, and of the adsorption of p-hydroxybenzoate at the alpha-alumina-water interface
Deviation from tri-bimaximal mixings in two types of inverted hierarchical neutrino mass models
An attempt is made to explore the possibility for deviations of solar mixing
angle () from tri-bimaximal mixings, without sacrificing the
predictions of maximal atmospheric mixing angle () and zero
reactor angle (). We find that the above conjecture can be
automatically realised in the inverted hierarchical neutrino mass model having
2-3 symmetry, in the basis where charged lepton mass matrix is diagonal. For
the observed ranges of and \bigtriangleup m^2_{23],
we calculate the predictions on for
different input values of the parameters in the neutrino mass matrix. We also
observe a possible crossing over from one type of inverted hierarchical model
having same CP parity (Type-IHA) to other type having opposite CP parity
(Type-IHB). Such neutrino mass matrices can be obtained from the canonical
seesaw formula using diagonal form of Dirac neutrino mass matrix and
non-diagonal texture of right-handed Majorana mass matrix, and may have
important implications in model building using discrete as well as non-abelian
symmetry groups.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
Empowerment or Engagement? Digital Health Technologies for Mental Healthcare
We argue that while digital health technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, smartphones, and virtual reality) present significant opportunities for improving the delivery of healthcare, key concepts that are used to evaluate and understand their impact can obscure significant ethical issues related to patient engagement and experience. Specifically, we focus on the concept of empowerment and ask whether it is adequate for addressing some significant ethical concerns that relate to digital health technologies for mental healthcare. We frame these concerns using five key ethical principles for AI ethics (i.e. autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and explicability), which have their roots in the bioethical literature, in order to critically evaluate the role that digital health technologies will have in the future of digital healthcare
Comparison of the clinical and economic outcomes between open and minimally invasive appendectomy and colectomy: evidence from a large commercial payer database
Background: Appendectomy and colectomy are commonly performed surgical procedures. Despite evidence demonstrating advantages with the minimally invasive surgical (MIS) approach, open procedures occur with greater prevalence. Therefore, there is still controversy as to whether the MIS approach is safer or more cost effective. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using a large commercial payer database. The data included information on 7,532 appendectomies and 2,745 colectomies. Data on the distribution of patient demographic and comorbidity characteristics associated with the MIS and open approaches were reviewed. The corresponding complication rates and expenditures were analyzed. Summary statistics were compared using chi-square tests, and generalized linear models were constructed to estimate expenditures while controlling for patient characteristics. Results: The patients undergoing MIS and open colectomy showed no significant variations in age distribution or marginal age differences for appendectomy. Significantly more patients experienced an infection postoperatively, and procedure-specific complications were more common in the open group for both procedures (PÂ <Â 0.05). The postsurgical hospital stay was longer for the patients treated using the open techniques, differing an average of half a day for appendectomies and significantly more (4Â days) for colectomy (PÂ <Â 0.05). Readmission rates differed little between the two approaches. Procedures performed through an MIS approach were associated with lower expenditures than for the open technique, with differences ranging from 15,200 for colectomy patients (PÂ < 0.05). Conclusions: Minimally invasive appendectomy and colectomy were associated with lower infection rates, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, and lower expenditures than open surgery
A Dip Into a Deep Well: Online Political Advertisements, Valence, and European Electoral Campaigning
Online political advertisements have become an important element in electoral
campaigning throughout the world. At the same time, concepts such as
disinformation and manipulation have emerged as a global concern. Although
these concepts are distinct from online political ads and data-driven electoral
campaigning, they tend to share a similar trait related to valence, the
intrinsic attractiveness or averseness of a message. Given this background, the
paper examines online political ads by using a dataset collected from Google's
transparency reports. The examination is framed to the mid-2019 situation in
Europe, including the European Parliament elections in particular. According to
the results based on sentiment analysis of the textual ads displayed via
Google's advertisement machinery, (i) most of the political ads have expressed
positive sentiments, although these vary greatly between (ii) European
countries as well as across (iii) European political parties. In addition to
these results, the paper contributes to the timely discussion about data-driven
electoral campaigning and its relation to politics and democracy
Maximising the availability and use of high quality evidence for policymaking:Collaborative, targeted and efficient evidence reviews
Abstract A number of barriers have been identified to getting evidence into policy. In particular, a lack of policy relevance and lack of timeliness have been identified as causing tension between researchers and policy makers. Rapid reviews are used increasingly as an approach to address timeliness, however, there is a lack of consensus on the most effective review methods and they do not necessarily address the need of policy makers. In the course of our work with the Scottish Governmentâs Review of maternity and neonatal services we developed a new approach to evidence synthesis, which this paper will describe. We developed a standardised approach to produce collaborative, targeted and efficient evidence reviews for policy making. This approach aimed to ensure the reviews were policy relevant, high quality and up-to-date, and which were presented in a consistent, transparent, and easy to access format. The approach involved the following stages: 1) establishing a review team with expertise both in the topic and in systematic reviewing, 2) clarifying the review questions with policy makers and subject experts (i.e., health professionals, service user representatives, researchers) who acted as review sponsors, 3) developing review protocols to systematically identify quantitative and qualitative review-level evidence on effectiveness, sustainability and acceptability; if review level evidence was not available, primary studies were sought, 4) agreeing a framework to structure the analysis of the reviews around a consistent set of key concepts and outcomes; in this case a published framework for maternal and newborn care was used, 5) developing an iterative process between policy makers, reviewers and review sponsors, 6) rapid searches and retrieval of literature, 7) analysis of identified literature which was mapped to the framework and included review sponsor input, 8) production of recommendations mapped to the agreed framework and presented as âsummary topsheetsâ in a consistent and easy to read format. Our approach has drawn on different components of pre-existing rapid review methodology to provide a rigorous and pragmatic approach to rapid evidence synthesis. Additionally, the use of a framework to map the evidence helped structure the review questions, expedited the analysis and provided a consistent template for recommendations, which took into account the policy context. We therefore propose that our approach (described in this paper) can be described as producing collaborative, targeted and efficient evidence reviews for policy makers
The Higgs vacuum uplifted: revisiting the electroweak phase transition with a second Higgs doublet
The existence of a second Higgs doublet in Nature could lead to a cosmological first order electroweak phase transition and explain the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe. We explore the parameter space of such a two-Higgs-doublet-model and show that a first order electroweak phase transition strongly correlates with a significant uplifting of the Higgs vacuum w.r.t. its Standard Model value. We then obtain the spectrum and properties of the new scalars H0, A0 and H± that signal such a phase transition, showing that the decay A0 â H0Z at the LHC and a sizable deviation in the Higgs self-coupling λhhh from its SM value are sensitive indicators of a strongly first order electroweak phase transition in the 2HDM
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