15 research outputs found
Solar models and solar neutrino oscillations
We provide a summary of the current knowledge, theoretical and experimental,
of solar neutrino fluxes and of the masses and mixing angles that characterize
solar neutrino oscillations. We also summarize the principal reasons for doing
new solar neutrino experiments and what we think may be learned from the future
measurements.Comment: Submitted to the Neutrino Focus Issue of New Journal of Physics at
http://www.njp.or
Four--Neutrino Oscillation Solutions of the Solar Neutrino Problem
We present an analysis of the neutrino oscillation solutions of the solar
neutrino problem in the framework of four-neutrino mixing where a sterile
neutrino is added to the three standard ones. We perform a fit to the full data
set corresponding to the 825-day Super-Kamiokande data sample as well as to
Chlorine, GALLEX and SAGE and Kamiokande experiments. In our analysis we use
all measured total event rates as well as all Super-Kamiokande data on the
zenith angle dependence and the recoil electron energy spectrum. We consider
both transitions via the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) mechanism as well
as oscillations in vacuum (just-so) and find the allowed solutions for
different values of the additional mixing angles. This framework permits
transitions into active or sterile neutrinos controlled by the additional
parameter . We discuss the
maximum allowed values of this additional mixing parameter for the different
solutions.Comment: 28 pages Latex file using RevTeX. 8 postscript figures included
(bitmapped for compression). Detailed explanation of criterion 3 and lower
two graphs of Fig. 8. Misprints corrected in table II.A full version of the
paper can be found at http://ific.uv.es/~penya/papers/four
Phenomenology of Maximal and Near-Maximal Lepton Mixing
We study the phenomenological consequences of maximal and near-maximal mixing
of the electron neutrino with other (=tau and/or muon) neutrinos. We
describe the deviations from maximal mixing in terms of a parameter
and quantify the present experimental
status for . We find that the global analysis of solar neutrino
data allows maximal mixing with confidence level better than 99% for
eV^2\lsim\Delta m^2\lsim2\times10^{-7} eV. In the mass ranges \Delta
m^2\gsim 1.5\times10^{-5} eV and eV^2\lsim\Delta
m^2\lsim2\times10^{-7} eV the full interval is allowed
within 4(99.995 % CL). We suggest ways to measure in future
experiments. The observable that is most sensitive to is the rate
[NC]/[CC] in combination with the Day-Night asymmetry in the SNO detector. With
theoretical and statistical uncertainties, the expected accuracy after 5 years
is . We also discuss the effects of maximal and
near-maximal -mixing in atmospheric neutrinos, supernova neutrinos, and
neutrinoless double beta decay.Comment: 49 pages Latex file using RevTeX. 16 postscript figures included. (
Fig.2 and Fig.4 bitmapped for compression,better resolution at
http://ific.uv.es/~pppac/). Improved presentation: some statements included
and labels added in figures. Some misprint corrected. Final version to appear
in Phys. Rev D. Report no: IFIC/00-40, IASSNS-HEP-00-5
Three-Neutrino Mixing after the First Results from K2K and KamLAND
We analyze the impact of the data on long baseline \nu_\mu disappearance from
the K2K experiment and reactor \bar\nu_e disappearance from the KamLAND
experiment on the determination of the leptonic three-generation mixing
parameters. Performing an up-to-date global analysis of solar, atmospheric,
reactor and long baseline neutrino data in the context of three-neutrino
oscillations, we determine the presently allowed ranges of masses and mixing
and we consistently derive the allowed magnitude of the elements of the
leptonic mixing matrix. We also quantify the maximum allowed contribution of
\Delta m^2_{21} oscillations to CP-odd and CP-even observables at future long
baseline experiments.Comment: Some typos correcte
Double Beta Decay
We review recent developments in double-beta decay, focusing on what can be
learned about the three light neutrinos in future experiments. We examine the
effects of uncertainties in already measured neutrino parameters and in
calculated nuclear matrix elements on the interpretation of upcoming
double-beta decay measurements. We then review a number of proposed
experiments.Comment: Some typos corrected, references corrected and added. A less blurry
version of figure 3 is available from authors. 41 pages, 5 figures, submitted
to J. Phys.
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Absence of day-night asymmetry of 862 keV Be-7 solar neutrino rate in Borexino and MSW oscillation parameters
We report on a search for the day-night asymmetry of the Be-7 solar neutrino
rate measured by Borexino at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS),
Italy. The measured value, Adn=0.001 +- 0.012 (stat) +- 0.007 (syst), shows the
absence of a significant asymmetry. This result alone rejects the so-called LOW
solution at more than 8.5 sigma. Combined with the other solar neutrino data,
it isolates the Large Mixing Angle (LMA) -- MSW solution at DeltaChi2 > 190
without relying on the assumption of CPT symmetry in the neutrino sector. We
also show that including the day-night asymmetry, data from Borexino alone
restricts the MSW neutrino oscillations to the LMA solution at 90% confidence
level.Comment: 5 figures, published on Phys. Lett
Severe manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents: from COVID-19 pneumonia to multisystem inflammatory syndrome: a multicentre study in pediatric intensive care units in Spain
Background
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (MIS-C) has been described as a novel and often severe presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. We aimed to describe the characteristics of children admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) presenting with MIS-C in comparison with those admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection with other features such as COVID-19 pneumonia.
Methods
A multicentric prospective national registry including 47 PICUs was carried out. Data from children admitted with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection or fulfilling MIS-C criteria (with or without SARS-CoV-2 PCR confirmation) were collected. Clinical, laboratory and therapeutic features between MIS-C and non-MIS-C patients were compared.
Results
Seventy-four children were recruited. Sixty-one percent met MIS-C definition. MIS-C patients were older than non-MIS-C patients (p = 0.002): 9.4 years (IQR 5.5–11.8) vs 3.4 years (IQR 0.4–9.4). A higher proportion of them had no previous medical history of interest (88.2% vs 51.7%, p = 0.005). Non-MIS-C patients presented more frequently with respiratory distress (60.7% vs 13.3%, p < 0.001). MIS-C patients showed higher prevalence of fever (95.6% vs 64.3%, p < 0.001), diarrhea (66.7% vs 11.5%, p < 0.001), vomits (71.1% vs 23.1%, p = 0.001), fatigue (65.9% vs 36%, p = 0.016), shock (84.4% vs 13.8%, p < 0.001) and cardiac dysfunction (53.3% vs 10.3%, p = 0.001). MIS-C group had a lower lymphocyte count (p < 0.001) and LDH (p = 0.001) but higher neutrophil count (p = 0.045), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (p < 0.001) and procalcitonin (p < 0.001). Patients in the MIS-C group were less likely to receive invasive ventilation (13.3% vs 41.4%, p = 0.005) but were more often treated with vasoactive drugs (66.7% vs 24.1%, p < 0.001), corticosteroids (80% vs 44.8%, p = 0.003) and immunoglobulins (51.1% vs 6.9%, p < 0.001). Most patients were discharged from PICU by the end of data collection with a median length of stay of 5 days (IQR 2.5–8 days) in the MIS-C group. Three patients died, none of them belonged to the MIS-C group.
Conclusions
MIS-C seems to be the most frequent presentation among critically ill children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. MIS-C patients are older and usually healthy. They show a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and shock and are more likely to receive vasoactive drugs and immunomodulators and less likely to need mechanical ventilation than non-MIS-C patients
Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19
Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men
Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study
Summary
Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally.
Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies
have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of
the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income
countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality.
Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to
hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis,
exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a
minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical
status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary
intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause,
in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status.
We did a complete case analysis.
Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital
diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal
malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome
countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male.
Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3).
Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income
countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups).
Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome
countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries;
p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients
combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11],
p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20
[1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention
(ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety
checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed
(ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of
parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65
[0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality.
Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome,
middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will
be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger
than 5 years by 2030