Parallel hybrid textures of lepton mass matrices

We analyse the parallel hybrid texture structures in the charged lepton and the neutrino sector. These parallel hybrid texture structures have physical implications as they cannot be obtained from arbitrary lepton mass matrices through weak basis transformations. The total sixty parallel hybrid texture structures can be grouped into twelve classes, and all the hybrid textures in the same class have identical physical implications. We examine all the twelve classes under the assumption of non-factorizable phases in the neutrino mass matrix. Five out of the total twelve classes are found to be phenomenologically disallowed. We study the phenomenological implications of the allowed classes for 1-3 mixing angle, Majorana and Dirac-type $CP$ violating phases. Interesting constraints on effective Majorana mass are obtained for all the allowed classes.Comment: Physical Review D (To appear

Biological utilities of Parthenium hysterophorus

Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae) is a serious weed of pastures, wasteland and agricultural fields in world. Various problems are posed by the weed to human health, agriculture, live stock production and biodiversity. It is used as folk remedy against various afflictions. The review discusses several prominent biological utilities of P. hysterophorus as it contains several important chemical constituents mainly histamine, saponin, glucosides and triterpene (sesquiterpene) and can be of use for the purpose of biocontrol of various pathogens , for its medicinal utility and even for the purpose of food

Genetic Counselors’ Perspectives and Practices Regarding Expanded Carrier Screening after Initial Clinical Availability

Expanded carrier screening (ECS), introduced in 2009, identifies carriers for dozens or hundreds of recessive diseases. At the time of its introduction into clinical use, perspectives of the genetic counseling community regarding ECS were unknown. We conducted a survey in early 2012 of GCs and report the results here. They represent a snapshot of opinions and usage at that time, providing a baseline for comparison as the technology continues to evolve and as usage increases. The survey assessed personal perspectives, opinions on clinical implementation and clinical utilization of ECS. The sample included 337 GCs of varying clinical fields, of whom 150 reported practicing in reproductive settings. Our findings demonstrate that, at the time, GCs indicated general agreement with ECS as a concept – for example, most GCs agreed that carrier screening should address diseases outside of current guidelines and also indicated personal interest in electing ECS. There were also disagreements or concerns expressed regarding appropriate pre- and post-test counseling (e.g., the content and delivery mode of adequate informed consent) and practical implementation (e.g., the amount of time available for follow-up care). This was the first quantitative study of a large number of GCs and it revealed initial overall support for ECS among the GC profession. The authors plan to re-administer a similar survey, which may reveal changes in opinions and/or utilization over time. A follow up survey would also allow further exploration of questions uncovered by these data

Concepts of mental disorders in the United Kingdom : Similarities and differences between the lay public and psychiatrists

BACKGROUND: The lay public often conceptualise mental disorders in a different way to mental health professionals, and this can negatively impact on outcomes when in treatment. AIMS: This study explored which disorders the lay public are familiar with, which theoretical models they understand, which they endorse and how they compared to a sample of psychiatrists. METHODS: The Maudsley Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ), typically used to assess mental health professional's concepts of mental disorders, was adapted for use by a lay community sample (N = 160). The results were compared with a sample of psychiatrists (N = 76). RESULTS: The MAQ appeared to be accessible to the lay public, providing some interesting preliminary findings: in order, the lay sample reported having the best understanding of depression followed by generalised anxiety, schizophrenia and finally antisocial personality disorder. They best understood spiritualist, nihilist and social realist theoretical models of these disorders, but were most likely to endorse biological, behavioural and cognitive models. The lay public were significantly more likely to endorse some models for certain disorders suggesting a nuanced understanding of the cause and likely cure, of various disorders. Ratings often differed significantly from the sample of psychiatrists who were relatively steadfast in their endorsement of the biological model. CONCLUSION: The adapted MAQ appeared accessible to the lay sample. Results suggest that the lay public are generally aligned with evidence-driven concepts of common disorders, but may not always understand or agree with how mental health professionals conceptualise them. The possible causes of these differences, future avenues for research and the implications for more collaborative, patient-clinician conceptualisations are discussed.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Analysis procedure of the positronium lifetime spectra for the J-PET detector

Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) has shown to be a powerful tool to study the nanostructures of porous materials. Positron Emissions Tomography (PET) are devices allowing imaging of metabolic processes e.g. in human bodies. A newly developed device, the J-PET (Jagiellonian PET), will allow PALS in addition to imaging, thus combining both analyses providing new methods for physics and medicine. In this contribution we present a computer program that is compatible with the J-PET software. We compare its performance with the standard program LT 9.0 by using PALS data from hexane measurements at different temperatures. Our program is based on an iterative procedure, and our fits prove that it performs as good as LT 9.0.Comment: 4 figures, 8 page

Four Zero Texture Fermion Mass Matrices in SO(10) GUT

We attempt the integration of the phenomenologically successful four zero texture of fermion mass matrices with the renormalizable SO(10) GUT. The resulting scenario is found to be highly predictive. Firstly, we examine the phenomenological implications of a class of the lepton mass matrices with parallel texture structures and obtain interesting constraints on the parameters of the charged lepton and the neutrino mass matrices. We combine these phenomenological constraints with the constraints obtained from SO(10) GUT to reduce the number of the free parameters and to further constrain the allowed ranges of the free parameters. The solar/atmospheric mixing angles obtained in this analysis are in fairly good agreement with the data.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Physicians\u27 Knowledge and Perceptions of Occupational Therapy Practice

Background: Occupational therapy (OT) is a client-centered profession vital to an interdisciplinary team. Despite its importance, medical providers have limited knowledge and understanding of OT\u27s scope of practice. This can lead to limited referrals, ineffective teamwork, inefficient therapeutic outcomes, limited OT practice scope, and consumer access to OT services. This study explored physicians\u27 knowledge and understanding of OT to find opportunities and strategies for education and knowledge sharing to improve awareness of OT practice and interdisciplinary collaboration. Method: A descriptive online survey was conducted for physicians in a Virginia suburban hospital to obtain knowledge and perception about OT via 10 multiple-choice questions. Results: The study summarized the results of a survey with 63 respondents. Of the 63 respondents, 49.2% were confident in their referral process for OT, 72.6% reported that OT is essential for improving rehabilitation outcomes, 34.3% of the respondents favored a presentation about OT, and 19.2% preferred reading literature to learn about OT. Conclusion: Most participating physicians in the study perceived OT as an essential health care profession; however, they were unaware of its scope of practice. There is a critical need for awareness about OT to improve referrals, foster collaboration, improve therapeutic outcomes, and enhance the value of occupational therapists in an interdisciplinary team