Time-Integrated Neutrino Source Searches with 10 Years of IceCube Data

This Letter presents the results from pointlike neutrino source searches using ten years of IceCube data collected between April 6, 2008 and July 10, 2018. We evaluate the significance of an astrophysical signal from a pointlike source looking for an excess of clustered neutrino events with energies typically above ∼1  TeV among the background of atmospheric muons and neutrinos. We perform a full-sky scan, a search within a selected source catalog, a catalog population study, and three stacked Galactic catalog searches. The most significant point in the northern hemisphere from scanning the sky is coincident with the Seyfert II galaxy NGC 1068, which was included in the source catalog search. The excess at the coordinates of NGC 1068 is inconsistent with background expectations at the level of 2.9σ after accounting for statistical trials from the entire catalog. The combination of this result along with excesses observed at the coordinates of three other sources, including TXS 0506+056, suggests that, collectively, correlations with sources in the northern catalog are inconsistent with background at 3.3σ significance. The southern catalog is consistent with background. These results, all based on searches for a cumulative neutrino signal integrated over the 10 years of available data, motivate further study of these and similar sources, including time-dependent analyses, multimessenger correlations, and the possibility of stronger evidence with coming upgrades to the detector.

Psychotropic medication use in adults with intellectual disability in Queensland, Australia, from 1999 to 2015: a cohort study

BACKGROUND

Longitudinal data on medication use in adults with intellectual disability (ID) are scarce. We describe the longitudinal use of and factors associated with psychotropic medication prescribing in adults with ID living in the Australian community.

METHODS

Longitudinal data were obtained from adults with ID in the community in Queensland, Australia, between 1999 and 2015. Participant characteristics and medication use information were extracted from baseline questionnaires and health check booklets. Logistic regression was used to investigate the associations between participant characteristics and psychotropic medication use, commencement or cessation.

RESULTS

Longitudinal data were available for 138 participants on 697 reviews. The proportion of participants prescribed psychotropic medications increased from 43% to 54% between 1999 and 2015. The rates of commencement and cessation of psychotropic medications between consecutive time periods ranged from 9% to 18% and 7% to 15%, respectively. Challenging behaviour was associated with psychotropic medication use (adjusted odds ratio = 4.1; 95% confidence interval: 2.1-7.9). Presence of challenging behaviour, either consistent or newly identified, was positively associated with ongoing use or commencement of psychotropic medications.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychotropic medications are commonly prescribed to adults with ID. Challenging behaviour is positively associated with ongoing use and commencement.

Synthesis of a hierarchically structured Fe3O4–PEI nanocomposite for the highly sensitive electrochemical determination of bisphenol A in real samples

In this work, a novel, highly sensitive and cost-effective sensing electrode was fabricated for the sensitive detection of bisphenol A in milk and water samples.

Genetic variation and phylogenetic analysis of Porcine circovirus type 2 in China from 2016 to 2018

Infection with Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), the essential cause of porcine circovirus (PCV) associated diseases, is a growing problem in swine industry around the world. High nucleotide alteration leads to the constant evolution of PCV2 and outbreak of disease caused by PCV2. In this study, 48 PCV2 strains were isolated in China between 2016 and 2018 and the genetic diversity of these PCV2 isolates was determined. Results showed that these PCV2 isolates were classified into genotypes PCV2a (4 of 48), PCV2b (13 of 48) and PCV2d (31 of 48). Among them, 54.5% isolated in 2016, 65.2% isolated in 2017 and 71.4% isolated in 2018 belonged to PCV2d. It indicated that the prevalence of PCV2d genotype increased. All strains shared 93.4%-100% nucleotide sequence identity for the whole genome. Results of the analysis using RDP 4.0 molecular recombination software showed there were no recombinant events among the 48 PCV2 isolates in this study. Further analysis indicated the presence of higher amino acid residues diversity in important epitopes (43D/G, 115D/G, 134N/T, 165P/T, 169G/R/S, and 210E/G/D) in the predominant genotype PCV2d. Animal tests showed the viral titer of the PCV2d strain LN-3 in sera was higher than that of PCV2b strain HeB-1 at 14 and 21 days post-challenge, however, the differences were not statistically significant. There were also no obvious differences between PCV2d strain LN-3 and PCV2b strain HeB-1 in the amount of PCV2 antigen in lymphoid tissues. On the account of the increasing prevalence of PCV2d genotype, it is necessary to find the cause of PCV2 genotype change, to evaluate the effect of existing commercial vaccines and to develop new vaccines based on PCV2d genotype, if necessary. Keywords: epitope; PCV2d; phylogeny; Porcine circovirus type 2; recombination; genetic diversity.

Association of plasma C-reactive protein with ischaemic stroke: a Mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with an increased risk of ischaemic stroke (IS). However, the causality of this association is uncertain. The aim is to investigate whether genetically raised plasma CRP concentration levels are associated with IS on the basis of the Mendelian randomization method.

METHODS

Based on the National Center for Biotechnology Information single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) database, the Chinese online genetic database as well as previously published studies, four CRP-associated SNP alleles (rs1130864, rs1205, rs876537 and rs3093059) with minor allele frequency ≥0.15 were selected and the concentration levels of CRP were measured in 378 first-ever IS patients and 613 healthy controls.

RESULTS

Three SNPs were chosen and used as instrumental variables. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) [95% confidence interval (95% CI)] of IS per addition of the modelled allele were 1.07 (0.79-1.45) for rs876537, 0.99 (0.73-1.35) for rs1205 and 1.08 (0.71-1.65) for rs3093059. The OR (95% CI) of IS for plasma CRP ≥2.0 mg/l was 2.19 (1.06-4.53) compared with <2.0 mg/l. The adjusted OR (95% CI) of IS per genetically predicted 10% higher CRP concentration, based on the three SNPs as the instruments, was 1.02 (0.94-1.11). Furthermore, similar results were obtained with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 1.00 (0.88-1.13) and 1.04 (0.93-1.16), respectively, for large-artery atherosclerosis and small-artery occlusion per genetically predicted 10% higher CRP concentration.

CONCLUSIONS

This Mendelian randomization study provides no clear support that elevated CRP concentration is causally associated with the risk of IS.

Maintenance of Response With up to 4 Years of Continuous Guselkumab Treatment: Results From the VOYAGE 1 Phase 3 Trial

Abstract not available.

Spin fluctuation induced Weyl semimetal state in the paramagnetic phase of EuCd2As2

Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles can arise in Weyl semimetals (WSMs) in which the energy bands are nondegenerate, resulting from inversion or time-reversal symmetry breaking. Nevertheless, experimental evidence for magnetically induced WSMs is scarce. Here, using photoemission spectroscopy, we observe that the degeneracy of Bloch bands is already lifted in the paramagnetic phase of EuCd2As2. We attribute this effect to the itinerant electrons experiencing quasi-static and quasi-long-range ferromagnetic fluctuations. Moreover, the spin-nondegenerate band structure harbors a pair of ideal Weyl nodes near the Fermi level. Hence, we show that long-range magnetic order and the spontaneous breaking of time-reversal symmetry are not essential requirements for WSM states in centrosymmetric systems and that WSM states can emerge in a wider range of condensed matter systems than previously thought.

Use of dose-exposure-response relationships in Phase 2 and Phase 3 guselkumab studies to optimize dose selection in psoriasis

BACKGROUND

Guselkumab is an anti-interleukin-23 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between dose-response and exposure-response of guselkumab in Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies to optimize dose selection.

METHODS

Serum guselkumab concentrations in Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies (VOYAGE 1 and VOYAGE 2) were measured using a validated immunoassay. Efficacy assessments included Physician's Global Assessment (PGA), Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI).

RESULTS

In Phase 2, a positive dose-response relationship was observed for PASI and PGA (5-mg through 100-mg dose regimens). Exposure-response analysis showed that patients with steady-state trough serum guselkumab concentrations ≥0.67 μg/mL achieved the highest levels of efficacy (PGA 0/1: 90.0%; PGA 0: 70.0%). The guselkumab 100-mg every 8-week (q8w) dose regimen, safe and well-tolerated in Phase 2, provided the highest serum guselkumab concentrations among all regimens studied and was selected for Phase 3. In Phase 3, 72.5% of patients achieved guselkumab concentrations ≥0.67 μg/mL at week 28, the level associated with the highest clinical responses in Phase 2, with patients achieving response rates of IGA 0/1: 91.2%, IGA 0: 55.3%, PASI 90: 83.8% and PASI 100: 49.1% at week 28.

CONCLUSION

The 100-mg guselkumab q8w dose regimen, based on the dose-exposure-response relationship from the Phase 2 study, produced the target serum concentration associated with high-level efficacy in the majority of patients in Phase 3. Phase 3 data further confirmed that guselkumab 100mg q8w is the optimum dosing regimen for treating patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Body shape trajectories and the incidence of hypertension in a Mediterranean cohort: The sun study

AIMS

Our aim was to assess the association between trajectories of body-shape across the first 40 years of life and subsequent development of hypertension in a Mediterranean cohort.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We used a group-based modeling approach to assess body shape trajectories from age 5 to 40 years, among 7514 participants included in the SUN study (1999-2016), and assessed the subsequent incidence of hypertension. To create the trajectories, we used a censored normal model as a polynomial function of age. Cox models were used to estimates hazard ratios (HR) for hypertension according to body shape trajectories. Identified trajectories were "childhood lean -mid-life increase", "childhood medium-mid-life stable", " childhood heavy -mid-life decrease", and "childhood heavy -mid-life increase" for women; and "childhood lean-mid-life increase", "childhood medium-mid-life stable", "childhood medium -mid-life increase" and "childhood heavy-mid-life stable" for men. After a follow-up of 63,068 person-years, 865 incident cases of hypertension were found. Among women, compared to those in the "childhood medium-mid-life stable" trajectory, those, in the "childhood heavy -mid-life increase" trajectory showed higher risk to develop hypertension [HR = 1.72 (1.17-2.53)]. In men, compared with those in the "childhood medium-mid-life stable" trajectory, those in the "childhood lean and childhood medium -mid-life increase" and the "childhood heavy- mid-life stable" trajectories showed higher subsequent incidence of hypertension [HR = 1.43 (1.11-1.85), HR = 1.52 (1.17-1.97) and HR = 1.56 (1.14-2.14), respectively] after adjusting for potential confounders (including age, lifestyles, dietary intake, personality traits, physical activity and sedentary behaviors).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that mid-life increases in body shape or maintaining a heavy body shape during early and middle life in men and childhood heavy-mid-life increase in women is associated with a higher subsequent risk of developing hypertension in this Mediterranean population.

Constraints on Minute-Scale Transient Astrophysical Neutrino Sources

High-energy neutrino emission has been predicted for several short-lived astrophysical transients including gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), core-collapse supernovae with choked jets, and neutron star mergers. IceCube's optical and x-ray follow-up program searches for such transient sources by looking for two or more muon neutrino candidates in directional coincidence and arriving within 100 s. The measured rate of neutrino alerts is consistent with the expected rate of chance coincidences of atmospheric background events and no likely electromagnetic counterparts have been identified in Swift follow-up observations. Here, we calculate generic bounds on the neutrino flux of short-lived transient sources. Assuming an E^{-2.5} neutrino spectrum, we find that the neutrino flux of rare sources, like long gamma-ray bursts, is constrained to <5% of the detected astrophysical flux and the energy released in neutrinos (100 GeV to 10 PeV) by a median bright GRB-like source is <10^{52.5}  erg. For a harder E^{-2.13} neutrino spectrum up to 30% of the flux could be produced by GRBs and the allowed median source energy is <10^{52}  erg. A hypothetical population of transient sources has to be more common than 10^{-5}  Mpc^{-3}  yr^{-1} (5×10^{-8}  Mpc^{-3}  yr^{-1} for the E^{-2.13} spectrum) to account for the complete astrophysical neutrino flux.