Leptogenesis within a generalized quark-lepton symmetry

Quark-lepton symmetry has been shown to be inconsistent with baryogenesis via leptogenesis in natural schemes of the see-saw mechanism. Within the phenomenological approach of textures, we relax this strict symmetry and propose weaker conditions, namely models of the neutrino Dirac mass matrix $M_D$ which have the same hierarchy as the matrix elements of $M_u$. We call this guide-line generalized $hierarchical$ quark-lepton symmetry. We consider in detail particular cases in which the moduli of the matrix elements of $M_D$ are equal to those of $M_u$. Within the phenomenological approach of textures, we try for the heavy Majorana mass matrix diagonal and off-diagonal forms. We find that an ansatz for $M_D$ preserving the hierarchy, together with an off-diagonal model for the heavy Majorana neutrino mass, is consistent with neutrino masses, neutrino mixing and baryogenesis via leptogenesis for an intermediate mass scale $m_R \sim 10^{12}$ GeV. The preservation of the hierarchical structure could come from a possible symmetry scheme.Comment: 12 pages, RevTex4. Title and abstract changed. Revised and enlarged versio

Opportunity for development or necessary nuisance? The case for viewing working with interpreters as a bonus in therapeutic work

This paper explores the central role a language interpreter can play in the process of the therapeutic relationship. Although others have described the changes to the therapeutic dyad that the presence of a third party (an interpreter) brings, little attention has been paid to the advantages and additional opportunities of this altered therapeutic situation. This paper details these gains and further argues that clinicians who are willing to gain experience of working with interpreters will find that benefits accrue at the micro and macro levels: at the micro level, through enhancement of their work with individual non English speaking clients, and at the macro level through learning about different cultural perspectives, idioms of distress and the role of language in the therapeutic endeavour. This is in addition to developing skills to fulfil legal and professional requirements relating to equity of service provision. Some ideas are offered to explain the negative slant than runs throughout the literature in this area and tends to colour the overall discussion of therapeutic work with interpreters and, before the final section, makes some specific suggestions which may help maximise the gains possible in such work while reducing difficulties

New screening methodology for selection of polymeric materials for transdermal drug delivery devices

As medical advances extend the human lifespan, the level of chronic illnesses will increase and thus straining the needs of the health care system that, as a result, governments will need to balance expenses without upsetting national budgets. Therefore, the selection of a precise and affordable drug delivery technology is seen as the most practical solution for governments, health care professionals, and consumers. Transdermal drug delivery patches (TDDP) are one of the best economical technologies that are favored by pharmaceutical companies and physicians alike because it offers fewer complications when compared to other delivery technologies. TDDP provides increased efficiency, safety and convenience for the patient. The TDDP segment within the US and Global drug delivery markets were valued at $5.6 and$12.7 billion respectively in 2009. TDDP is forecasted to reach $31.5 billion in 2015. The present TDDP technology involves the fabrication of a patch that consists of a drug embedded in a polymeric matrix. The diffusion coefficient is determined from the slope of the cumulative drug release versus time. It is a trial and error method that is time and labor consuming. With all the advantages that TDDPs can offer, the methodology used to achieve the so-called optimum design has resulted in several incidents where the safety and design have been put to question in recent times (e.g. Fentanyl). A more logical screening methodology is needed. This work shows the use of a modified Duda Zielinsky equation (DZE). Experimental release curves from commercial are evaluated. The experimental and theoretical Diffusion Coefficient values are found to be within the limits specified in the patent literature. One interesting finding is that the accuracy of the DZE is closer to experimental values when the type of Molecular Shape and Radius are used. This work shows that the modified DZE could be used as an excellent screening tool to determine the optimal polymeric matrices that will yield the desired Diffusion Coefficient and thus effectively decreasing the amount of time and labor when developing TDDPs

Verifying Policy Enforcers

Policy enforcers are sophisticated runtime components that can prevent failures by enforcing the correct behavior of the software. While a single enforcer can be easily designed focusing only on the behavior of the application that must be monitored, the effect of multiple enforcers that enforce different policies might be hard to predict. So far, mechanisms to resolve interferences between enforcers have been based on priority mechanisms and heuristics. Although these methods provide a mechanism to take decisions when multiple enforcers try to affect the execution at a same time, they do not guarantee the lack of interference on the global behavior of the system. In this paper we present a verification strategy that can be exploited to discover interferences between sets of enforcers and thus safely identify a-priori the enforcers that can co-exist at run-time. In our evaluation, we experimented our verification method with several policy enforcers for Android and discovered some incompatibilities.Comment: Oliviero Riganelli, Daniela Micucci, Leonardo Mariani, and Yli\`es Falcone. Verifying Policy Enforcers. Proceedings of 17th International Conference on Runtime Verification (RV), 2017. (to appear

Fermion masses and mixings in gauge theories

The recent evidence for neutrino oscillations stimulate us to discuss again the problem of fermion masses and mixings in gauge theories. In the standard model, several forms for quark mass matrices are equivalent. They become ansatze within most extensions of the standard model, where also relations between quark and lepton sectors may hold. In a seesaw framework, these relations can constrain the scale of heavy neutrino mass, which is often related to the scale of intermediate or unification gauge symmetry. As a consequence, two main scenarios arise. Hierarchies of masses and mixings may be explained by broken horizontal symmetries.Comment: 25 pages, RevTex, no figures. Few misprints corrected and two references adde

Classification and Ranking of Fermi LAT Gamma-ray Sources from the 3FGL Catalog using Machine Learning Techniques

We apply a number of statistical and machine learning techniques to classify and rank gamma-ray sources from the Third Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) Source Catalog (3FGL), according to their likelihood of falling into the two major classes of gamma-ray emitters: pulsars (PSR) or Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Using 1904 3FGL sources that have been identified/associated with AGN (1738) and PSR (166), we train (using 70% of our sample) and test (using 30%) our algorithms and find that the best overall accuracy (>96%) is obtained with the Random Forest (RF) technique, while using a logistic regression (LR) algorithm results in only marginally lower accuracy. We apply the same techniques on a sub-sample of 142 known gamma-ray pulsars to classify them into two major subcategories: young (YNG) and millisecond pulsars (MSP). Once more, the RF algorithm has the best overall accuracy (~90%), while a boosted LR analysis comes a close second. We apply our two best models (RF and LR) to the entire 3FGL catalog, providing predictions on the likely nature of {\it unassociated} sources, including the likely type of pulsar (YNG or MSP). We also use our predictions to shed light on the possible nature of some gamma-ray sources with known associations (e.g. binaries, SNR/PWN). Finally, we provide a list of plausible X-ray counterparts for some pulsar candidates, obtained using Swift, Chandra, and XMM. The results of our study will be of interest for both in-depth follow-up searches (e.g. pulsar) at various wavelengths, as well as for broader population studies.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Analysis of Energy Consumption Performance towards Optimal Radioplanning of Wireless Sensor Networks in Heterogeneous Indoor Environments

In this paper the impact of complex indoor environment in the deployment and energy consumption of a wireless sensor network infrastructure is analyzed. The variable nature of the radio channel is analyzed by means of deterministic in-house 3D ray launching simulation of an indoor scenario, in which wireless sensors, based on an in-house CyFi implementation, typically used for environmental monitoring, are located. Received signal power and current consumption measurement results of the in-house designed wireless motes have been obtained, stating that adequate consideration of the network topology and morphology lead to optimal performance and power consumption reduction. The use of radioplanning techniques therefore aid in the deployment of more energy efficient elements, optimizing the overall performance of the variety of deployed wireless systems within the indoor scenario

X-Ray Spectral Variability of Extreme BL Lac AGN H1426+428

Between 7 March 2002 and 15 June 2002, intensive X-ray observations were carried out on the extreme BL Lac object H1426+428 with instruments on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). These instruments provide measurements of H1426+428 in the crucial energy range that characterizes the first peak of its spectral energy distribution. This peak, which is almost certainly due to synchrotron emission, has previously been inferred to be in excess of 100 keV. By taking frequent observations over a four-month campaign, which included $\sim$450 ksec of RXTE time, studies of flux and spectral variability on multiple timescales were performed, along with studies of spectral hysteresis. The 3-24 keV X-ray flux and spectra exhibited significant variability, implying variability in the location of the first peak of the spectral energy distribution. Hysteresis patterns were observed, and their characteristics have been discussed within the context of emission models.Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Near-infrared spectroscopy study of tourniquet-induced forearm ischaemia in patients with coronary artery disease

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) can be employed to monitor local changes in haemodynamics and oxygenation of human tissues. A preliminary study has been performed in order to evaluate the NIRS transmittance response to induced forearm ischaemia in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The population consists in 40 patients with cardiovascular risk factors and angiographically documented CAD, compared to a group of 13 normal subjects. By inflating and subsequently deflating a cuff placed around the patient arm, an ischaemia has been induced and released, and the patients have been observed until recovery of the basal conditions. A custom LAIRS spectrometer (IRIS) has been used to collect the backscattered light intensities from the patient forearm throughout the ischaemic and the recovery phase. The time dependence of the near-infrared transmittance on the control group is consistent with the available literature. On the contrary, the magnitude and dynamics of the NIRS signal on the CAD patients show deviations from the documented normal behavior, which can be tentatively attributed to abnormal vessel stiffness. These preliminary results, while validating the performance of the IRIS spectrometer, are strongly conducive towards the applicability of the NIRS technique to ischaemia analysis and to endothelial dysfunction characterization in CAD patients with cardiovascular risk factors.Publisher PD

Testing quark mass matrices with right-handed mixings

In the standard model, several forms of quark mass matrices which correspond to the choice of weak bases lead to the same left-handed mixings $V_L=V_{CKM}$, while the right-handed mixings $V_R$ are not observable quantities. Instead, in a left-right extension of the standard model, such forms are ansatze and give different right-handed mixings which are now observable quantities. We partially select the reliable forms of quark mass matrices by means of constraints on right-handed mixings in some left-right models, in particular on $V^R_{cb}$. Hermitian matrices are easily excluded.Comment: 12 pages RevTex, no figures. Minor corrections. Comment on SO(10) changed and one reference adde