Geoneutrinos and reactor antineutrinos at SNO+

In the heart of the Creighton Mine near Sudbury (Canada), the SNO+ detector is foreseen to observe almost in equal proportion electron antineutrinos produced by U and Th in the Earth and by nuclear reactors. SNO+ will be the first long baseline experiment to measure a reactor signal dominated by CANDU cores ($\sim$55\% of the total reactor signal), which generally burn natural uranium. Approximately 18\% of the total geoneutrino signal is generated by the U and Th present in the rocks of the Huronian Supergroup-Sudbury Basin: the 60\% uncertainty on the signal produced by this lithologic unit plays a crucial role on the discrimination power on the mantle signal as well as on the geoneutrino spectral shape reconstruction, which can in principle provide a direct measurement of the Th/U ratio in the Earth.Comment: 7 pages including 2 figures and 1 table, in XIV International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP 2015) IOP Publishing , published on Journal of Physics: Conference Series 718 (2016) 06200

Nod2 Deficiency in mice is Associated with Microbiota Variation Favouring the Expansion of mucosal CD4+ LAP+ Regulatory Cells

Nucleotide-binding Oligomerization Domain-2 (NOD2) mutations are associated with an increased risk to develop Crohn's Disease. In previous studies, we have shown that Nod2-/- mice manifest increased proportion of Lamina Propria (LP) CD4+ LAP+ Foxp3- regulatory cells, when compared with Nod2+/+ mice, while CD4+ Foxp3 + regulatory cells were not affected. Here, we investigated the Nod2 gut microbiota, by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing, at steady state and after TNBS-colitis induction in mice reared separately or in cohousing, correlating the microbial profiles with LP regulatory T cells proportion and tissue cytokines content. We found that enrichment of Rikenella and Alistipes (Rikenellaceae) in Nod2-/- mice at 8 weeks of age reared separately was associated with increased proportion of CD4+ LAP+ Foxp3- cells and less severe TNBS-colitis. In co-housed mice the acquisition of Rickenellaceae by Nod2+/+ mice was associated with increased CD4+ LAP+ Foxp3- proportion and less severe colitis. Severe colitis was associated with enrichment of gram-negative pathobionts (Escherichia and Enterococcus), while less severe colitis with protective bacteria (Barnesiella, Odoribacter and Clostridium IV). Environmental factors acting on genetic background with different outcomes according to their impact on microbiota, predispose in different ways to inflammation. These results open a new scenario for therapeutic attempt to re-establish eubiosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients with NOD2 polymorphisms

Autenticación de aceite de oliva mediante análisis de ADN

Olive oil, which has been produced mainly in the Mediterranean area since the ancient times, has a high nutritional value linked to many health benefits. Extra virgin, which is the purest form of olive oil, has excellent quality and premium prices. Many cases of adulteration and fraud necessitate the development of reliable and accurate methods for olive oil authentication. DNA-based methods analyze the residual DNA extracted from olive oil and use molecular markers for genetic identification of different species, subspecies or cultivars because these markers act as signs which reflect distinct genetic profiles. This study reviews the process by which DNA from olive oil is extracted and analyzed by the most recently used markers in the authentication of olive oil, such as Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) or microsatellites and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Methods of analysis such as qPCR and digital PCR are also discussed with a special emphasis placed on the method of High-Resolution Melting (HRM), a post-polymerase chain reaction method, which enables rapid, high performing identification of genetic variants in the DNA regions of interest without sequencing, and may differentiate very similar cultivars which differ in only one nucleotide in a specific locus.El aceite de oliva, producido principal­mente en el área mediterránea desde la antigüedad, tiene un alto valor nutricional vinculado a muchos benefi­cios para la salud. El aceite de oliva virgen extra, que es la forma más pura de aceite de oliva, tiene una excelente calidad y precios premium. Muchos casos de adulteraciones y fraudes requieren el desarrollo de métodos fiables y precisos para la autenticación del aceite de oliva. Los métodos basados en el ADN analizan el ADN residual extraído del aceite de oliva y usan marcadores moleculares para la identificación genética de diferentes espe­cies, subespecies o cultivares, porque estos marcadores actúan como signos que producen perfiles genéticos distintos. Este estudio revisa el proceso mediante el cual el ADN del aceite de oliva es extraído y analizado por los marcadores utilizados más recientemente en la autenticación del aceite de oliva, como las repeticiones de secuencia simple (SSR) o los micro satélites y los polimorfismos de un solo nucleótido (SNP). Los métodos de análisis como qPCR y PCR digital también se analizan haciendo especial énfasis en el método de fusión de alta resolución (HRM), un método de reacción en cadena posterior a la polimerasa, que permite la identificación rápida y con alto rendimiento de variantes genéticas en regiones del ADN de interés sin secuenciación, y pueden diferenciar cultivares muy similares, que difieren en un solo nucleótido, en un lugar específico

Perceiving the crust in 3D: a model integrating geological, geochemical, and geophysical data

Regional characterization of the continental crust has classically been performed through either geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, or geophysical surveys. Rarely are these techniques fully integrated, due to limits of data coverage, quality, and/or incompatible datasets. We combine geologic observations, geochemical sampling, and geophysical surveys to create a coherent 3-D geologic model of a 50 x 50 km upper crustal region surrounding the SNOLAB underground physics laboratory in Canada, which includes the Southern Province, the Superior Province, the Sudbury Structure and the Grenville Front Tectonic Zone. Nine representative aggregate units of exposed lithologies are geologically characterized, geophysically constrained, and probed with 109 rock samples supported by compiled geochemical databases. A detailed study of the lognormal distributions of U and Th abundances and of their correlation permits a bivariate analysis for a robust treatment of the uncertainties. A downloadable 3D numerical model of U and Th distribution defines an average heat production of 1.5$^{+1.4}_{-0.7}$$\mu$W/m$^{3}$, and predicts a contribution of 7.7$^{+7.7}_{-3.0}$TNU (a Terrestrial Neutrino Unit is one geoneutrino event per 10$^{32}$ target protons per year) out of a crustal geoneutrino signal of 31.1$^{+8.0}_{-4.5}$TNU. The relatively high local crust geoneutrino signal together with its large variability strongly restrict the SNO+ capability of experimentally discriminating among BSE compositional models of the mantle. Future work to constrain the crustal heat production and the geoneutrino signal at SNO+ will be inefficient without more detailed geophysical characterization of the 3D structure of the heterogeneous Huronian Supergroup, which contributes the largest uncertainty to the calculation.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 6 table

Geoneutrinos from the rock overburden at SNO+

SNOLAB is one of the deepest underground laboratory in the world with an overburden of 2092 m. The SNO+ detector is designed to achieve several fundamental physics goals as a low-background experiment, particularly measuring the Earth's geoneutrino flux. Here we evaluate the effect of the 2 km overburden on the predicted crustal geoneutrino signal at SNO+. A refined 3D model of the 50 χ 50 km upper crust surrounding the detector and a full calculation of survival probability are used to model the U and Th geoneutrino signal. Comparing this signal with that obtained by placing SNO+ at sea level, we highlight a 1.4+1.8-0.9 TNU signal difference, corresponding to the ∼5% of the total crustal contribution. Finally, the impact of the additional crust extending from sea level up to ∼300 m was estimated

Beyond words: Aesthetic knowledge and knowing in design

Aesthetic knowledge comes from practitioners understanding the look, feel, smell, taste and sound of things. It is vital to work in many organizational contexts. In this paper, we explore aesthetic knowledge and knowing in organizations through detailed observation of design work in the architectural practice Edward Cullinan Architects. Through our research, we explore aesthetic knowledge in the context of architectural work, we unpack what it is, how it is generated, and how it is applied in design projects, shared between practitioners and developed at the level of the organization. Our analysis suggests that aesthetic knowledge plays an important part in organizational practice, not only as the symbolic context for work, but as an integral part of the work that people do. It suggests that aesthetic reflexivity, which involves an opening up and questioning of what is known, is experienced as part of practice as well as a `time out' from practice

A review of X-ray laser development at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Recent experiments undertaken at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to produce X-ray lasing over the 5-30 nm wavelength range are reviewed. The efficiency of lasing is optimized when the main pumping pulse interacts with a preformed plasma. Experiments using double 75-ps pulses and picosecond pulses superimposed on 300-ps background pulses are described. The use of travelling wave pumping with the approximately picosecond pulse experiments is necessary as the gain duration becomes comparable to the time for the X-ray laser pulse to propagate along the target length. Results from a model taking account of laser saturation and deviations from the speed of light c of the travelling wave and X-ray laser group velocity are presented. We show that X-ray laser pulses as short as 2-3 ps can be produced with optical pumping pulses of approximate to1-ps

High-intensity ultrashort laser-induced ablation of stainless steel foil targets in the presence of ambient gas

Ablation depths of stainless steel targets irradiated by 80-fs laser pulses at a flux F ≤ 40 J/cm2 (intensity ≤ 5 × 1014 W/cm2) in the presence of air at atmospheric pressure are experimentally measured. These values are lower than the theoretical predictions for metal targets in vacuum. Results are analyzed on the basis of the role of the ambient gas and of crater formation on the behavior of the ablated material