Fermion masses, leptogenesis and gravitational waves in SO(10)

Grand Unification Theories (GUTs) predict the unification of three of the fundamental forces and are a possible extension of the Standard Model, some of them predict neutrino mass and baryon asymmetry. We consider a minimal non-supersymmetric $SO(10)$ GUT model that can reproduce the observed fermionic masses and mixing parameters of the Standard Model. We calculate the scales of spontaneous symmetry breaking from the GUT to the Standard Model gauge group using two-loop renormalisation group equations. This procedure determines the proton decay rate and the scale of $U(1)_{B-L}$ breaking, which generates cosmic strings, and the right-handed neutrino mass scales. Consequently, the regions of parameter space where thermal leptogenesis is viable are identified and correlated with the fermion masses and mixing, the neutrinoless double beta decay rate, the proton decay rate, and the gravitational wave signal resulting from the network of cosmic strings. We demonstrate that this framework, which can explain the Standard Model fermion masses and mixing and the observed baryon asymmetry, will be highly constrained by the next generation of gravitational wave detectors and neutrino oscillation experiments which will also constrain the proton lifetim

Editorial: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in Parkinsonian Conditions

With the diffusion of cost-effective genetic analyses, an increase in the spectrum of reported genetic variants associated with sporadic Parkinson’s disease (sPD) (e.g., glucocerebrosidase— GBA) and monogenic parkinsonisms (dominant, recessive, and atypical forms) has been achieved. Each single variant may be associated to distinct prominent phenotypic characteristics helpful for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, thus ushering the era of precision medicine for movement disorders.Fil: Marsili, Luca. University of Cincinnati; Estados UnidosFil: Mata, Ignacio F.. Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Estados UnidosFil: Kauffman, Marcelo Andres. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro Universitario de Neurología "Dr. José María Ramos Mejía".; Argentin

Fishing out collective memory of migratory schools

Animals form groups for many reasons but there are costs and benefit associated with group formation. One of the benefits is collective memory. In groups on the move, social interactions play a crucial role in the cohesion and the ability to make consensus decisions. When migrating from spawning to feeding areas fish schools need to retain a collective memory of the destination site over thousand of kilometers and changes in group formation or individual preference can produce sudden changes in migration pathways. We propose a modelling framework, based on stochastic adaptive networks, that can reproduce this collective behaviour. We assume that three factors control group formation and school migration behaviour: the intensity of social interaction, the relative number of informed individuals and the preference that each individual has for the particular migration area. We treat these factors independently and relate the individuals' preferences to the experience and memory for certain migration sites. We demonstrate that removal of knowledgable individuals or alteration of individual preference can produce rapid changes in group formation and collective behavior. For example, intensive fishing targeting the migratory species and also their preferred prey can reduce both terms to a point at which migration to the destination sites is suddenly stopped. The conceptual approaches represented by our modelling framework may therefore be able to explain large-scale changes in fish migration and spatial distribution

Corticobasal syndrome: neuroimaging and neurophysiological advances

Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by 4R-tau protein deposition in several brain regions that clinically manifests itself as a heterogeneous atypical parkinsonism typically expressing in the adulthood. The prototypical clinical phenotype of CBD is corticobasal syndrome (CBS). Important insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying motor and higher cortical symptoms in CBS have been gained by using advanced neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques. Structural and functional neuroimaging studies often showed asymmetric cortical and subcortical abnormalities, mainly involving perirolandic and parietal regions and basal ganglia structures. Neurophysiological investigations including electroencephalography and somatosensory evoked potentials provided useful information on the origin of myoclonus and on cortical sensory loss. Transcranial magnetic stimulation demonstrated heterogeneous and asymmetric changes in the excitability and plasticity of primary motor cortex and abnormal hemispheric connectivity. Neuroimaging and neurophysiological abnormalities in multiple brain areas reflect the asymmetric neurodegeneration, leading to the asymmetric motor and higher cortical symptoms in CBS. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Pain-motor integration in the primary motor cortex in Parkinson's disease

In Parkinson's disease (PD), the influence of chronic pain on motor features has never been investigated. We have recently designed a technique that combines nociceptive system activation by laser stimuli and primary motor cortex (M1) activation through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), in a laser-paired associative stimulation design (Laser-PAS). In controls, Laser-PAS induces long-term changes in motor evoked potentials reflecting M1 long-term potentiation-like plasticity, arising from pain-motor integration

A predictive and testable unified theory of fermion masses, mixing and leptogenesis

We consider a minimal non-supersymmetric SO(10) Grand Unified Theory (GUT) model that can reproduce the observed fermionic masses and mixing parameters of the Standard Model. We calculate the scales of spontaneous symmetry breaking from the GUT to the Standard Model gauge group using two-loop renormalisation group equations. This procedure determines the proton decay rate and the scale of U(1)B−L breaking, which generates cosmic strings and the right-handed neutrino mass scales. Consequently, the regions of parameter space where thermal leptogenesis is viable are identified and correlated with the fermion masses and mixing, the neutrinoless double beta decay rate, the proton decay rate, and the gravitational wave signal resulting from the network of cosmic strings. We demonstrate that this framework, which can explain the Standard Model fermion masses and mixing and the observed baryon asymmetry, will be highly constrained by the next generation of gravitational wave detectors and neutrino oscillation experiments which will also constrain the proton lifetime

Pokušaji lociranja i uzorkovanja velike bijele psine, Carcharodon carcharias (Lamniformes: Lamnidae), uz talijansku obalu u Sredozemnom moru

Described in the present report are documented attempts to tag and sample the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), along Italian coasts in the Mediterranean Sea, which took place near the Lampedusa Island in the lower Tyrrhenian Channel of Sicily, off the coast of Rimini in the Adriatic Sea, and of Civitavecchia in the central Tyrrhenian Sea. The project, activated in 2015, was aimed at tagging and sampling specimens of the white shark in order to collect data useful to implement conservation strategies in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite four tagging attempts made in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022 with 288 total hours of baiting activity and the use of 1030 kg of chum, no white sharks or any other shark species were sighted.U radu su dokumentirani pokušaji označavanja i uzorkovanja velike bijele psine Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) uz talijansku obalu u Sredozemnom moru. Istraživanje je obavljeno na području oko otoka Lampeduze, u sicilijanskom kanalu u južnom Tirenskom moru, ispred Riminija u Jadranskom moru te kod Civitavecchije u centralnom Tirenskom moru. Projekt, koji je započeo 2015. godine, bio je usmjeren na označavanje i uzorkovanje primjeraka velike bijele psine s ciljem prikupljanja podataka važnih za implementaciju mjera za očuvanje populacije ove vrste u Sredozemnom moru. Unatoč četiri pokušaja označavanja obavljena 2017., 2018., 2021. i 2022. godine, u ukupnom trajanju od 288 sati primamljivanja uz pomoć mamca te 1030 kg mamca, ni jedan primjerak velike bijele psine, ni drugih vrsta morskih pasa, nije primijećen

The Social Climbing Game

The structure of a society depends, to some extent, on the incentives of the individuals they are composed of. We study a stylized model of this interplay, that suggests that the more individuals aim at climbing the social hierarchy, the more society's hierarchy gets strong. Such a dependence is sharp, in the sense that a persistent hierarchical order emerges abruptly when the preference for social status gets larger than a threshold. This phase transition has its origin in the fact that the presence of a well defined hierarchy allows agents to climb it, thus reinforcing it, whereas in a "disordered" society it is harder for agents to find out whom they should connect to in order to become more central. Interestingly, a social order emerges when agents strive harder to climb society and it results in a state of reduced social mobility, as a consequence of ergodicity breaking, where climbing is more difficult.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

A minimal model for congestion phenomena on complex networks

We study a minimal model of traffic flows in complex networks, simple enough to get analytical results, but with a very rich phenomenology, presenting continuous, discontinuous as well as hybrid phase transitions between a free-flow phase and a congested phase, critical points and different scaling behaviors in the system size. It consists of random walkers on a queueing network with one-range repulsion, where particles can be destroyed only if they can move. We focus on the dependence on the topology as well as on the level of traffic control. We are able to obtain transition curves and phase diagrams at analytical level for the ensemble of uncorrelated networks and numerically for single instances. We find that traffic control improves global performance, enlarging the free-flow region in parameter space only in heterogeneous networks. Traffic control introduces non-linear effects and, beyond a critical strength, may trigger the appearance of a congested phase in a discontinuous manner. The model also reproduces the cross-over in the scaling of traffic fluctuations empirically observed in the Internet, and moreover, a conserved version can reproduce qualitatively some stylized facts of traffic in transportation networks