A study of atmospheric neutrinos with the IMB detector

A sample of 401 contained neutrino interactions collected in the 3300 metric ton fiducial mass IMB detector was used to study neutrino oscillations, geomagnetic modulation of the flux and to search for point sources. The majority of these events are attributed to neutrino interactions. For the most part, these neutrinos are believed to originate as tertiary products of cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere. The neutrinos are a mixture of v sub e and v sub micron

Factors influencing the quality of life of young patients with diabetes

Background: Diabetes is a significant challenge for pediatric health care professionals because it affects youths' psychoemotional functioning and, consequently, the quality of life (QOL). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the QOL in young patients with diabetes, as well as the factors affecting it. Methods: The study was conducted from April to September 2008 in 98 young patients, 11-18years of age, who were under the supervision of Diabetological Center, General Pediatric Hospital (Athens, Greece). The Diabetes Quality of Life for Youths Questionnaire was used to evaluate the QOL of youths with diabetes. Results: The mean QOL score was 97.5. There was a negative correlation between the QOL and age (P=0.02), the duration of diabetes (P=0.05), body mass index (BMI; P=0.04), and comorbidities (P=0.03). In contrast, there was a positive correlation between QOL and increased metabolic control (P=0.03), participating in sports activities (P=0.007), and a greater number of insulin infusions (P=0.04). Conclusions: The QOL of young diabetics was influenced by demographic, somatometric, and other characteristics of diabetes. Increased metabolic control, participating in sports activities, and a greater number of insulin infusions resulted in better QOL. Increased patient age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c values, BMI, and the coexistence of various health problems, as well as the use of an insulin pump, decreased QOL. © 2011 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

Preliminary limits on the flux of muon neutrinos from extraterrestrial point sources

We present the arrival directions of 117 upward-going muon events collected with the IMB proton lifetime detector during 317 days of live detector operation. The rate of upward-going muons observed in our detector was found to be consistent with the rate expected from atmospheric neutrino production. The upper limit on the total flux of extraterrestrial neutrinos >1 GeV is 1 GeV. 6 refs., 5 figs