Test of non-standard neutrino properties with the BOREXINO source experiments

We calculate the event rates induced by high-intensity radioactive sources of nu_e (51Cr) and of anti-nu_e (90Sr), to be located near the BOREXINO detector. Calculations are performed both in the standard case and assuming non-standard properties of neutrinos, including flavor oscillations, neutrino electromagnetic interactions, and deviations from the standard vector and axial couplings in the nu_e-e interaction. It is shown that, in some cases, the current limits on non-standard neutrino properties can be significantly improved.Comment: 15 pages (RevTeX) + 4 figures (postscript) included with epsfig.sty. Minor changes and corrections, 3 references added. Final version to be published in Europ. Phys. Jour.

Dye diffusion during laparoscopic tubal patency tests may suggest a lymphatic contribution to dissemination in endometriosis: A prospective, observational study

Aim Women with adenomyosis are at higher risk of endometriosis recurrence after surgery. This study was to assess if the lymphatic vessel network drained from the uterus to near organs where endometriosis foci lied. Methods A prospective, observational study, Canadian Task Force Classification II-2, was conducted at Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Italy. 104 white women aged 18–43 years were enrolled consecutively for this study. All patients underwent laparoscopy for endometriosis and a tubal dye test was carried out. Results Evidence of dye dissemination through the uterine wall and outside the uterus was noted in 27 patients (26%) with adenomyosis as it permeated the uterine wall and a clear passage of the dye was shown in the pelvic lymphatic vessels regardless whether the tubes were unobstructed. Histological assessment of the uterine biopsies confirmed adenomyosis. Conclusion Adenomyosis is characterized by ectatic lymphatics that allow the drainage of intrauterine fluids (the dye and, perhaps, menstrual blood) at minimal intrauterine pressure from the uterine cavity though the lymphatic network to extrauterine organs. Certainly, this may not be the only explanation for endometriosis dissemination but the correlation between the routes of the dye drainage and location of endometriosis foci is highly suggestive

A global analysis of the atmospheric neutrino data

Abstract The recent observations of atmospheric ν events from the Super-Kamiokande experiment are compatible with two-flavor oscillations in the ν μ ↔ ν τ channel ("standard" interpretation). Among the possible deviations from this standard picture, we investigate two cases: (1) three-flavor oscillations and (2) a specific solution without oscillations (namely, neutrino decay). While the first solution appears perfectly viable, provided that the 3 ν oscillations occur dominantly in the ν μ ↔ ν τ channel and subdominantly in the ν μ ↔ ν e channel, the second is shown to be incompatible with the data. The derivation of such results is based on an updated analysis, including the latest 45 kTy data sample from Super-Kamiokande. A comparison with our previous results, based on 33 kTy data, shows that the oscillation evidence is strengthened, and that the neutrino mass-mixing parameters are constrained in smaller ranges

Wavelet Analysis of Blood Pressure Waves in Vasovagal Syncope

We describe the multiresolution wavelet analysis of blood pressure waves in vasovagal syncope affected patients compared with healthy people one. We argue that there exist subtle discriminating criteria which allow us to isolate particular features, common to the syncope-affected patients sample, indicating an alternative diagnosis method for this syndrome. The approach is similar to that followed by Thurner et al. but on a different temporal data series

Super-Kamiokande data and atmospheric neutrino decay

Neutrino decay has been proposed as a possible solution to the atmospheric neutrino anomaly, in the light of the recent data from the Super-Kamiokande experiment. We investigate this hypothesis by means of a quantitative analysis of the zenith angle distributions of neutrino events in Super-Kamiokande, including the latest (45 kTy) data. We find that the neutrino decay hypothesis fails to reproduce the observed distributions of muons.Comment: 6 pages (RevTeX) + 2 figures (Postscript

Muon-anti-neutrino <---> electron-anti-neutrino mixing: analysis of recent indications and implications for neutrino oscillation phenomenology

We reanalyze the recent data from the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) experiment, that might indicate anti-nu_muanti-nu_e mixing. This indication is not completely excluded by the negative results of established accelerator and reactor neutrino oscillation searches. We quantify the region of compatibility by means of a thorough statistical analysis of all the available data, assuming both two-flavor and three-flavor neutrino oscillations. The implications for various theoretical scenarios and for future oscillation searches are studied. The relaxation of the LSND constraints under different assumptions in the statistical analysis is also investigated.Comment: 17 pages (RevTeX) + 9 figures (Postscript) included with epsfig.st

Colorectal endometriosis: benefits of long-term follow-up in patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery.

Abstract In this retrospective cohort study, three groups of patients were included: 60 women who underwent endometriosis surgery with colorectal segmental resection, 40 women with surgical evidence of bowel endometriosis who underwent endometriosis removal without bowel resection, and 55 women affected by moderate or severe endometriosis with at least one endometrioma and deep infiltrating endometriosis but without bowel involvement. The results of a long-term ambulatory follow-up showed that if colorectal endometriosis was present, postoperative pain regression was more frequent, and among patients with bowel endometriosis the rate of recurrence was lower if segmental resection was performed

Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino data, zenith distributions, and three-flavor oscillations

We present a detailed analysis of the zenith angle distributions of atmospheric neutrino events observed in the Super-Kamiokande (SK) underground experiment, assuming two-flavor and three-flavor oscillations (with one dominant mass scale) among active neutrinos. In particular, we calculate the five angular distributions associated to sub-GeV and multi-GeV \mu-like and e-like events and to upward through-going muons, for a total of 30 accurately computed observables (zenith bins). First we study how such observables vary with the oscillation parameters, and then we perform a fit to the experimental data as measured in SK for an exposure of 33 kTy (535 days). In the two-flavor mixing case, we confirm the results of the SK Collaboration analysis, namely, that \nu_\mu\nu_\tau oscillations are preferred over \nu_\mu\nu_e, and that the no oscillation case is excluded with high confidence. In the three-flavor mixing case, we perform our analysis with and without the additional constraints imposed by the CHOOZ reactor experiment. In both cases, the analysis favors a dominance of the \nu_\mu\nu_\tau channel. Without the CHOOZ constraints, the amplitudes of the subdominant \nu_\munu_e and \nu_e\nu_\tau transitions can also be relatively large, indicating that, at present, current SK data do not exclude sizable \nu_e mixing by themselves. After combining the CHOOZ and SK data, the amplitudes of the subdominant transitions are constrained to be smaller, but they can still play a nonnegligible role both in atmospheric and other neutrino oscillation searches. In particular, we find that the \nu_e appearance probability expected in long baseline experiments can reach the testable level of ~15%.Comment: 35 pages (RevTeX), including 20 ps figures (with epsfig.sty

Three-flavor atmospheric neutrino anomaly

We investigate the indications of flavor oscillations that come from the anomalous flavor composition of the atmospheric neutrino flux observed in some underground experiments. We study the information coming from the neutrino-induced $\mu$-like and $e$-like events both in the sub-GeV energy range (Kamiokande, IMB, Fr{\'e}jus, and NUSEX experiments) and in the multi-GeV energy range (Kamiokande experiment). First we analyze all the data in the limits of pure $\nu_\mu\leftrightarrow\nu_\tau$ and $\nu_\mu\leftrightarrow\nu_e$ oscillations. We obtain that $\nu_\mu\leftrightarrow\nu_e$ oscillations provide a better fit, in particular to the multi-GeV data. Then we perform a three-flavor analysis in the hypothesis of dominance of one neutrino square mass difference, $m^2$, implying that the neutrino mixing is parametrized by two angles, $(\psi,\,\phi)\in[0,\,\pi/2]$. We explore the space $(m^2,\,\psi,\,\phi)$ exhaustively, and find the regions favored by the oscillation hypothesis. The results are displayed in a form suited to the comparison with other flavor oscillation searches at accelerator, reactor, and solar $\nu$ experiments. In the analysis, we pay particular attention to the earth matter effects, to the correlation of the uncertainties, and to the symmetry properties of the oscillation probability.Comment: 25 pages (RevTeX) + 12 figures, requires epsfig.sty. All the figures are bitmapped. Postscript figures with full resolution are available at ftp://ftp.sns.ias.edu/pub/lisi/atmpaper