A search for millicharged particles, a simple extension of the standard model, has been performed with the ArgoNeuT detector exposed to the Neutrinos at the Main Injector beam at Fermilab. The ...ArgoNeuT liquid argon time projection chamber detector enables a search for millicharged particles through the detection of visible electron recoils. We search for an event signature with two soft hits (MeV-scale energy depositions) aligned with the upstream target. For an exposure of the detector of 1.0×10^{20} protons on target, one candidate event has been observed, compatible with the expected background. This search is sensitive to millicharged particles with charges between 10^{-3}e and 10^{-1}e and with masses in the range from 0.1 to 3 GeV. This measurement provides leading constraints on millicharged particles in this large unexplored parameter space region.
The paradigm of individualized drug therapy based on genetics is an ideal that is now potentially possible. However, translation of pharmacogenomics into practice has encountered barriers such as ...limited availability and the high cost of genetic testing, the delays involved, disagreements about interpretation of results, and even lack of understanding about pharmacogenomics in general. We describe our institutional pharmacogenomics‐implementation project, “The 1200 Patients Project,” a model designed to overcome these barriers and facilitate the availability of pharmacogenomic information for personalized prescribing.
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2012); 92 4, 446–449. doi:10.1038/clpt.2012.117
Deep-sea ecosystems play a key role in the cycling and vertical transfer of matter and energy in oceans. Although the contamination of deep-sea demersal and benthic organisms by persistent organic ...pollutants has been proven, deep pelagic species have been far less studied. To fill these gaps, we studied the occurrence of a large variety of hydrophobic organic contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), legacy and alternative brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in crustaceans and fish species collected in the Bay of Biscay, northeast Atlantic. The results highlighted the global predominance of PCBs in fish, followed by OCPs, PFASs and PBDEs, with highly variable concentrations among species. Most of the chlorinated or brominated contaminants showed increasing concentrations with increasing δ15N values, while most PFASs showed inverse trends. The contaminant profiles and diagnostic ratios revealed species-specific metabolic capacities and peculiar contribution of highly-brominated BFRs.
•Organohalogen contaminants were ubiquitous in deep pelagic crustaceans and fish.•PCBs were predominant in fish followed by OCPs, PFASs and PBDEs.•BFR profiles were peculiar with high contributions of BDE-209 and DBDPE.•Specific ratios highlight species-specific metabolic capacities.•Long-chain PFCAs showed biodilution with increasing δ15N values.
MeV-scale energy depositions by low-energy photons produced in neutrino-argon interactions have been identified and reconstructed in ArgoNeuT liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) data. ...ArgoNeuT data collected on the NuMI beam at Fermilab were analyzed to select isolated low-energy depositions in the TPC volume. The total number, reconstructed energies, and positions of these depositions have been compared to those from simulations of neutrino-argon interactions using the fluka Monte Carlo generator. Measured features are consistent with energy depositions from photons produced by deexcitation of the neutrino’s target nucleus and by inelastic scattering of primary neutrons produced by neutrino-argon interactions. This study represents a successful reconstruction of physics at the MeV scale in a LArTPC, a capability of crucial importance for detection and reconstruction of supernova and solar neutrino interactions in future large LArTPCs.
Neutrinos are one of the most promising messengers for signals of new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). On the theoretical side, their elusive nature, combined with their unknown mass ...mechanism, seems to indicate that the neutrino sector is indeed opening a window to new physics. On the experimental side, several long-standing anomalies have been reported in the past decades, providing a strong motivation to thoroughly test the standard three-neutrino oscillation paradigm. In this Snowmass21 white paper, we explore the potential of current and future neutrino experiments to explore BSM effects on neutrino flavor during the next decade.
Plastic pollution has become one of the biggest environmental concerns of the Anthropocene as it represents a major threat to both wildlife and human health. Garbage patches in the world’s oceans are ...well documented, but quantitative assessments of floating debris are still lacking in some major areas. The Mediterranean Sea is one such area, despite being one of the most plastic polluted environments. We used data from the first international basin-scale survey of the Mediterranean Sea to provide the first abundance estimate of floating mega-debris (>30 cm) and map their distribution over the entire Mediterranean Sea. We estimated the total number of floating mega-debris at 2.9 million items, taking into account imperfect detection. Items larger than 30 cm represent only one fourth of the complete load of anthropogenic debris (>2 cm) in the Mediterranean, which scales up the estimate to 11.5 million floating debris. The highest densities were observed in the central Mediterranean, and the lowest in the eastern basin. This acute marine pollution might threaten to disrupt entire ecosystems through its impact on marine fauna (entanglement, ingestion, contamination), eventually impacting the tourism industry and the well-being of Mediterranean populations.
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•The Mediterranean Sea is the 6th garbage patch.•The 2018’s ACCOBAMs Survey Initiative is the first comprehensive basin-scale survey.•More than 41 000 floating mega-debris were sighted by eye.•Floating debris over the Mediterranean estimated to a total of 11.5 million items.•Highest densities of debris observed in central basin, lowest in eastern basin.
Building from the first international basin-scale visual survey of the Mediterranean Sea, the present study provides the first estimate of the abundance of floating debris over the entire Mediterranean Sea and the first basin-scale map of mega-debris distribution.
This paper reviews short-baseline oscillation experiments as interpreted within the context of one, two, and three sterile neutrino models associated with additional neutrino mass states in the ~1 eV ...range. Appearance and disappearance signals and limits are considered. We show that fitting short-baseline datasets to a 3 + 3 (3 + 2) model, defined by three active and three (two) sterile neutrinos, results in an overall goodness of fit of 67% (69%) and good compatibility between data sets—to be compared to a 3 + 1 model with a 55% goodness of fit. While the (3 + 3) fit yields the highest quality overall, it still finds inconsistencies with the MiniBooNE appearance datasets; in particular, the global fit fails to account for the observed MiniBooNE low-energy excess. Given the overall improvement, we recommend using the results of (3 + 2) and (3 + 3) fits, rather than (3 + 1) fits, for future neutrino oscillation phenomenology. These results motivate the pursuit of further short-baseline experiments, such as those reviewed in this paper.
A search for heavy neutral leptons has been performed with the ArgoNeuT detector exposed to the NuMI neutrino beam at Fermilab. We search for the decay signature N → νμ+ μ−, considering decays ...occurring both inside ArgoNeuT and in the upstream cavern. In the data, corresponding to an exposure to 1.25 × 1020 POT , zero passing events are observed consistent with the expected background. This measurement leads to a new constraint at 90% confidence level on the mixing angle |UτN|2 of tau-coupled Dirac heavy neutral leptons with masses mN = 280–970 MeV, assuming |UeN|2 = |UμN|2 = 0.
The ArgoNeuT Collaboration presents the first measurements of inclusive muon neutrino charged current differential cross sections on argon. Obtained in the NuMI neutrino beam line at Fermilab, the ...flux-integrated results are reported in terms of outgoing muon angle and momentum. The data are consistent with the Monte Carlo expectation across the full range of kinematics sampled, 0°<θ(μ)<36° and 0<P(μ)<25 GeV/c. Along with confirming the viability of liquid argon time projection chamber technology for neutrino detection, the measurements allow tests of low-energy neutrino scattering models important for interpreting results from long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments designed to investigate CP violation and the orientation of the neutrino mass hierarchy.
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