The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of ν_{e} appearance data from 12.84×10^{20} protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of 2 over ...previously reported results. A ν_{e} charged-current quasielastic event excess of 381.2±85.2 events (4.5σ) is observed in the energy range 200<E_{ν}^{QE}<1250 MeV. Combining these data with the νover ¯_{e} appearance data from 11.27×10^{20} protons on target in antineutrino mode, a total ν_{e} plus νover ¯_{e} charged-current quasielastic event excess of 460.5±99.0 events (4.7σ) is observed. If interpreted in a two-neutrino oscillation model, ν_{μ}→ν_{e}, the best oscillation fit to the excess has a probability of 21.1%, while the background-only fit has a χ^{2} probability of 6×10^{-7} relative to the best fit. The MiniBooNE data are consistent in energy and magnitude with the excess of events reported by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND), and the significance of the combined LSND and MiniBooNE excesses is 6.0σ. A two-neutrino oscillation interpretation of the data would require at least four neutrino types and indicate physics beyond the three neutrino paradigm. Although the data are fit with a two-neutrino oscillation model, other models may provide better fits to the data.
Data on adult asthma is scarce in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma and its symptoms in adult Sri Lankans. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a ...translated version of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey screening questionnaire on subjects ≥ 18 years from 7 provinces in Sri Lanka was conducted. The asthma was defined as "wheezing in the past 12 months (current wheeze)", self-reported asthma attack in the past 12 months or on current asthma medication use.
Among 1872 subjects (45.1% males, 48.8% between 18-44 years of age), the prevalence of current wheeze was 23.9% (95%CI: 22.0%-25.9%), self-reported asthma was 11.8% (95%CI: 10.3%-13.2%) and current asthma medication use was 11.1% (95% CI: 9.6%-12.5%). The prevalences were higher in adults > 44 years, 31.4% positively responded to any of the above questions (95%CI: 29.3%-33.4%) and 60.9% of current wheezers did not report having asthma whilst 38.2% used asthma medication. Among current wheezers, 80.1% had at least one other symptom, cough being the commonest. Those with no current wheeze, self-reported asthma and on current asthma medication use, 30%, 35.9% and 36.6%, respectively, reported at least one other symptom. Smokers comprises 22% current wheezers, 20.6% of self-reported asthmatics and 18.7% of current asthma medication users.
The prevalence of asthma in Sri Lankan adults is higher than the other South Asian countries and higher in the older age group. A significant percentage of symptomatic individuals did not report having asthma or being on medication.
We report the first measurement of monoenergetic muon neutrino charged current interactions. MiniBooNE has isolated 236 MeV muon neutrino events originating from charged kaon decay at rest ...(K^{+}→μ^{+}ν_{μ}) at the NuMI beamline absorber. These signal ν_{μ}-carbon events are distinguished from primarily pion decay in flight ν_{μ} and νover ¯_{μ} backgrounds produced at the target station and decay pipe using their arrival time and reconstructed muon energy. The significance of the signal observation is at the 3.9σ level. The muon kinetic energy, neutrino-nucleus energy transfer (ω=E_{ν}-E_{μ}), and total cross section for these events are extracted. This result is the first known-energy, weak-interaction-only probe of the nucleus to yield a measurement of ω using neutrinos, a quantity thus far only accessible through electron scattering.
The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of ν¯e appearance data from 11.27×10²⁰ protons on target in the antineutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of 2 ...over the previously reported results. An event excess of 78.4±28.5 events (2.8σ) is observed in the energy range 200<EQEν<1250 MeV. If interpreted in a two-neutrino oscillation model, ν¯μ→ν¯e, the best oscillation fit to the excess has a probability of 66% while the background-only fit has a χ² probability of 0.5% relative to the best fit. The data are consistent with antineutrino oscillations in the 0.01<Δm²<1.0 eV² range and have some overlap with the evidence for antineutrino oscillations from the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector. All of the major backgrounds are constrained by in situ event measurements so nonoscillation explanations would need to invoke new anomalous background processes. The neutrino mode running also shows an excess at low energy of 162.0±47.8 events (3.4σ) but the energy distribution of the excess is marginally compatible with a simple two neutrino oscillation formalism. Expanded models with several sterile neutrinos can reduce the incompatibility by allowing for CP violating effects between neutrino and antineutrino oscillations.
With higher depletion rates of fossil fuels and the ever growing environmental concerns on Green House Gas (GHG) emissions it has become important to investigate the impact of Internal Combustion ...Generator (ICG) capacity in Hybrid Energy System (HES)s for standalone applications. In order to accomplish this objective HES modeling, simulation, and optimization was done for three different system configurations based on the renewable energy source. Both mono and multi objective optimization was carried out using Evolutionary Algorithm considering Levelized Energy Cost (LEC) and unmet load fraction as objective functions. Results clearly depicts that seasonable variation of renewable energy sources having a strong impact on system component selection under higher power supply reliability which gradually reduce with the increase of ICG capacity.
► Capability of Internal Combustion Generator (ICG) to reduce the impact of seasonal variation in renewable energy sources. ► ICG capacity is having a significant impact of system configuration, which also depends upon the power supply reliability. ► Necessity of improving energy storage technology and dispatch strategy to reduce waste of renewable energy.
We report the first measurement of the double-differential and total muon neutrino charged current inclusive cross sections on argon at a mean neutrino energy of 0.8 GeV. Data were collected using ...the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located in the Fermilab Booster neutrino beam and correspond to 1.6×1020 protons on target of exposure. The measured differential cross sections are presented as a function of muon momentum, using multiple Coulomb scattering as a momentum measurement technique, and the muon angle with respect to the beam direction. We compare the measured cross sections to multiple neutrino event generators and find better agreement with those containing more complete treatment of quasielastic scattering processes at low Q2. The total flux integrated cross section is measured to be 0.693±0.010(stat)±0.165(syst)×10−38 cm2.
Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is a potential therapeutic approach to improve cognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to its properties as a ketogenic agent and antioxidative characteristics.
This study ...aimed to investigate the effect of VCO on cognition in people with AD and to determine the impact of apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 genotype on cognitive outcomes.
Participants of this double-blind placebo-controlled trial (SLCTR/2015/018, 15.09.2015) were 120 Sri Lankan individuals with mild-to-moderate AD (MMSE = 15-25), aged > 65 years, and they were randomly allocated to treatment or control groups. The treatment group was given 30 mL/day of VCO orally and the control group, received similar amount of canola oil, for 24 weeks. The Mini-Mental Sate Examination (MMSE) and Clock drawing test were performed to assess cognition at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for lipid profile and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1 C) levels.∥Results:There were no significant difference in cognitive scores, lipid profile, and HbA1 C levels between VCO and control groups post-intervention. The MMSE scores, however, improved among APOE ɛ4 carriers who had VCO, compared to non-carriers (2.37, p = 0.021). APOE ɛ4 status did not influence the cognitive scores in the control group. The attrition rate was 30%.∥Conclusion:Overall, VCO did not improve cognition in individuals with mild-to-moderate AD following a 24-week intervention, compared to canola oil. However, it improved the MMSE scores in APOE ɛ4 carriers. Besides, VCO did not compromise lipid profile and HbA1 C levels and is thus safe to consume.
We have developed a convolutional neural network that can make a pixel-level prediction of objects in image data recorded by a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) for the first time. We ...describe the network design, training techniques, and software tools developed to train this network. The goal of this work is to develop a complete deep neural network based data reconstruction chain for the MicroBooNE detector. We show the first demonstration of a network's validity on real LArTPC data using MicroBooNE collection plane images. The demonstration is performed for stopping muon and a νμ charged-current neutral pion data samples.
We present upper limits on the production of heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) decaying to μ π pairs using data collected with the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber (TPC) operating at ...Fermilab. This search is the first of its kind performed in a liquid-argon TPC. We use data collected in 2017 and 2018 corresponding to an exposure of 2.0 × 1020 protons on target from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, which produces mainly muon neutrinos with an average energy of ≈ 800 MeV . HNLs with higher mass are expected to have a longer time of flight to the liquid-argon TPC than Standard Model neutrinos. The data are therefore recorded with a dedicated trigger configured to detect HNL decays that occur after the neutrino spill reaches the detector. We set upper limits at the 90% confidence level on the element |Uμ4|2 of the extended PMNS mixing matrix in the range |Uμ4|2 < (6.6–0.9) × 10−7 for Dirac HNLs and |Uμ4|2 < (4.7–0.7) × 10−7 for Majorana HNLs, assuming HNL masses between 260 and 385 MeV and |Ue4|2 = |Uτ4|2 = 0.
ObjectivesTo describe the rehabilitation services available for communication disorders in Sri Lanka and to estimate the adequacy of the services in provinces and districts of the country.SettingThe ...study considered government and private institutions, which provide rehabilitation services for communication disorders in Sri Lanka.ParticipantsInstitutions providing services of speech–language pathologists, audiologists and audiology technicians in Sri Lanka.Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe investigated the number of government hospitals and private institutions, which provide speech–language pathology and audiology services in Sri Lanka as the primary outcome measure. A number of speech–language pathologists, audiologists and audiology technicians working in the institutions were obtained from records and institution-based inquiries to identify the adequacy of the services in the country as the secondary outcome measure.ResultsOf the 647 government hospitals that provide free healthcare services in the country, 45 and 33 hospitals had speech and language therapy and audiology units, respectively. Government hospitals do not have audiologists but only have audiology technicians. The number of speech and language therapists and audiology technicians in the government sector per 100 000 population in the country was 0.44 and 0.18, respectively. There were wide variations in specialist to population ratio between districts. 77 private centres provide speech therapy services in 15 out of the 25 districts; 36 private centres provide audiological evaluations in 9 districts.ConclusionsThe number of specialist speech and language therapists and audiologists is not sufficient to provide adequate rehabilitation services for communications disorder for the Sri Lankan population. Not recruiting audiologists to the government sector affects the management of hearing impairment in the affected.
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