νμ\nu_\mu disappearance at the SPL, T2K-I and the Neutrino Factory

We study the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at T2K-phase I and the SPL and analyse the achievable reduction of present uncertainties in $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$. We analyse the impact of discrete ambiguities in sign($\Delta m^2{23}$) and sign($2 \tan \theta_{23}$). We show how the disappearance channel at the Neutrino Factory is complementary to the ``golden'' and ``silver'' appearance channels and can be used to reduce the eightfold-ambiguity problem in ($\theta_{13}-\delta$).Comment: 2 pages, 3 epsfig; NUFACT'05, 21-26 June 2005, Frascat

Physics reach of β\beta-beams and ν\nu-factories: the problem of degeneracies

We discuss the physics reach of $\beta$-Beams and $\nu$-Factories from a theoretical perspective, having as a guideline the problem of degeneracies. The presence of degenerate solutions in the measure of the neutrino oscillation parameters $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$ is, in fact, the main problem that have to be addressed in planning future neutrino oscillation experiments. If degeneracies are not (at least partially) solved, it will be almost impossible to perform, at any future facility, precise measurements of $\theta_{13}$ and/or $\delta$. After a pedagogical introduction on why degenerate solutions arise and how we can get rid of them, we analyze the physics reach of current $\beta$-beam and $\nu$-factory configurations. The physics reach of the "standard" \BB is severely affected by degeneracies while a better result can be obtained by higher-$\gamma$ setups. At the \NF the combination of Golden and Silver channels can solve the eightfold degeneracy down to $\sin^2\theta_{13} \le 10^{-3}$Comment: 5 pages, 6 epsfig; NUFACT'05, 21-26 June 2005, Frascat

Micro-orbits in a many-branes model and deviations from 1/r21/r^2 Newton's law

We consider a 5-dimensional model with geometry ${\cal M} = {\cal M}_4 \times {\cal S}_1$, with compactification radius $R$. The Standard Model particles are localized onto a brane located at y=0, with identical branes localized at different points in the extra dimension. Objects located on our brane can orbit around objects located on a brane at a distance $d=y/R$, with an orbit and a period significantly different from the standard Newtonian ones. We study the kinematical properties of the orbits, finding that it is possible to distinguish one motion from the other in a large region of the initial conditions parameter space. This is a warm-up to study if a SM-like mass distribution on one (or more) distant brane(s) may represent a possible dark matter candidate. After using the same technique to the study of orbits of objects lying on the same brane ($d=0$), we apply this method to detect generic deviations from the inverse-square Newton's law. We propose a possible experimental setup to look for departures from Newtonian motion in the micro-world, finding that an order of magnitude improvement on present bounds can be attained at the 95% CL under reasonable assumptions.Comment: Two-column format (20 pages), 10 figures; minor corrections and some added reference

Degeneracies at a beta-Beam and a Super-Beam Facility

The presence of degeneracies can considerably worsen the measure of the neutrino oscillation parameters $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$. We study the physics reach of a specific ``CERN'' setup, using a standard $\beta$-Beam and Super-Beam facility. These facilities have a similar sensitivity in both parameters. Their combination does not provide any dramatic improvement as expected due to their almost identical L/E ratio. We analyse if adding the correspondent disappearance channels can help in reducing the effect of degeneracies in the $(\theta_{13},\delta)$ measure.Comment: 5 pages, 7 eps figure

Full QCD on APE100 Machines

We present the first tests and results from a study of QCD with two flavours of dynamical Wilson fermions using the Hybrid Monte Carlo Algorithm (HMCA) on APE100 machines.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 13 PS figures not include

Invisible Z decay width bounds on active-sterile neutrino mixing in the (3+1) and (3+2) models

In this work we consider the standard model extended with singlet sterile neutrinos with mass in the eV range and mixed with the active neutrinos. The active-sterile neutrino mixing renders new contributions to the invisible Z decay width which, in the case of light sterile neutrinos, depends on the active-sterile mixing matrix elements only. We then use the current experimental value of the invisible Z decay width to obtain bounds on these mixing matrix elements for both (3+1) and (3+2) models.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

νμ\nu_\mu disappearance at the SPL, T2K-I, NOν\nuA and the Neutrino Factory

We study the measurement of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters, $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$, at the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at three conventional beam facilities, the SPL, T2K-phase I and NO$\nu$A. These two parameters have been shown to be of crucial importance in the measurement of two of the unknowns of the PMNS mixing matrix, $\theta_{13}$ and the leptonic CP-violating phase $\delta$. In our analyis, the effect of the two discrete ambiguities, ${\rm sign}(\Delta m^2_{23})$ and ${\rm sign}(\tan 2 \theta_{23})$, is explicitly taken into account. We analyse also the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at the Neutrino Factory, and combine it with the ``golden'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\mu$ and ``silver'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\tau$ appearance channels to study its impact on the measurement of $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$. Eventually, we present the sensitivity of the four facilities to different observables: $\theta_{13}$, $\delta$, maximal $\theta_{23}$, the sign of the atmospheric mass difference, $s_{atm}$, and the $\theta_{23}$-octant, $s_{oct}$.Comment: 40 pages using epsfig; bibliography modifie

Are the therapeutic strategies in anorexia of ageing effective on nutritional status? A systematic review with meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Anorexia of ageing (AA) may be considered as a risk factor for frailty and has an important impact on quality of life, morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A systematic review and a meta-analysis were performed to summarise the results from several trials on the effectiveness of treatments in AA, as associated with depression, sensory impairment of taste and smell, decreased appetite or early satiety, and disability. Eligible studies were required to report baseline and follow-up values, the mean change (∆-change) from baseline, and/or the mean difference among intervention groups versus control group, concerning food intake (kcal/daily) and/or nutritional outcomes, such as body weight, body mass index, albumin and Mini Nutritional Assessment. RESULTS: The systematic review included 20 papers based on different therapeutic approaches concerning food intake and/or nutritional outcomes. The results of the meta-analysis indicate that the interventions for AA have an important impact on body weight [+1.59 kg; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.48-+1.71 kg; P < 0.001) and on energy intake (+56.09 kcal; 95% CI = -54.05 to +166.25 kcal; P = 0.32). Regarding secondary outcomes, it was not possible to meta-analyse the limited amount of data availab le. CONCLUSIONS: The different variants of AA need to be defined because diverse therapeutic approaches are available. A more precise definition of the functional impairments associated with AA may allow a more correct decision about the most appropriate therapy to be prescribed. Moreover, this may allow for a more effective performance of the different therapeutic approaches once they are better targeted to the different scenarios of AA

Untangling CP Violation and the Mass Hierarchy in Long Baseline Experiments

In the overlap region, for the normal and inverted hierarchies, of the neutrino-antineutrino bi-probability space for $\nu_\mu \to \nu_e$ appearance, we derive a simple identity between the solutions in the ($\sin^2 2\theta_{13}$, $\sin \delta$) plane for the different hierarchies. The parameter $\sin^2 2\theta_{13}$ sets the scale of the $\nu_\mu \to \nu_e$ appearance probabilities at the atmospheric $\delta m^2_{atm} \approx 2.4 \times 10^{-3}$ eV$^2$ whereas $\sin \delta$ controls the amount of CP violation in the lepton sector. The identity between the solutions is that the difference in the values of $\sin \delta$ for the two hierarchies equals twice the value of $\sqrt{\sin^2 2\theta_{13}}$ divided by the {\it critical} value of $\sqrt{\sin^2 2\theta_{13}}$. We apply this identity to the two proposed long baseline experiments, T2K and NO$\nu$A, and we show how it can be used to provide a simple understanding of when and why fake solutions are excluded when two or more experiments are combined. The identity demonstrates the true complimentarity of T2K and NO$\nu$A.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, 4 postscript figures. Submitted to New Journal of Physics, ``Focus on Neutrino Physics'' issu

New interactions: past and future experiments

In this talk I will review the present status and future perspectives of some popular extensions of the conventional three-neutrino oscillation scenario, from a purely phenomenological point of view. For concreteness I will focus only on three specific scenarios: non-standard neutrino interactions with matters, models with extra sterile neutrinos, and neutrino decay and decoherence.Comment: LaTeX file using jpconf class, 8 pages, 2 tables. Proceedings of the "XXIII International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics" (Neutrino 08), Christchurch, New Zealand, May 25-31, 200