Search for neutrinos from decaying dark matter with IceCube: IceCube Collaboration

With the observation of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, interest has risen in models of PeV-mass decaying dark matter particles to explain the observed flux. We present two dedicated experimental analyses to test this hypothesis. One analysis uses 6 years of IceCube data focusing on muon neutrino 'track' events from the Northern Hemisphere, while the second analysis uses 2 years of 'cascade' events from the full sky. Known background components and the hypothetical flux from unstable dark matter are fitted to the experimental data. Since no significant excess is observed in either analysis, lower limits on the lifetime of dark matter particles are derived: we obtain the strongest constraint to date, excluding lifetimes shorter than10 28 s at 90% CL for dark matter masses above 10 TeV .

Effects of deficiency and surplus dietary threonine on reproductive performance of primiparous pregnant gilts

Dietary threonine imbalance is known to impair reproductive performances of gestating sows, but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, effects of deficiency and surplus dietary threonine during gestation on reproductive performance, serum metabolites and hormones concentration, and colostral nutrient and immunoglobulin contents of primiparous sows were investigated. Ninety primiparous pregnant gilts were assigned to one of the three dietary treatments with different standardized ileal digestible threonine/lysine ratios at 0.59, 0.72 and 0.85, which represented deficient (DT), adequate (AT) and surplus (ST) dietary threonine concentration respectively. Maternal body weight gain from day 80-110 of gestation was highest (p < .05) for gilts fed AT than for gilts fed DT or ST. On days 30 and 110, serum threonine concentration increases in a dose-dependent manner with the increasing of dietary threonine concentration in (p < .01), serum urea nitrogen concentration was lower (p < .01) in gilts fed AT than DT or ST, and serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) was lowest (p < .05) for gilts fed DT. On day 110, gilts fed AT had lower serum progesterone concentration but higher concentrations of serum prolactin (p < .05) compared to DT and ST. Concentration of colostral immunoglobulin A and G from gilts fed DT was lower (p < .05) compared with gilts fed AT or ST. In conclusion, gilts with the adequate threonine intake were more able to conserve dietary amino acids to support foetal and maternal tissue gain. Deficient or ST threonine intake may induce a delay in changes in progesterone and prolactin concentrations during the prepartum period impeding the transition from pregnancy to lactation.

Combined Analysis of Neutrino and Antineutrino Oscillations at T2K

T2K reports its first results in the search for CP violation in neutrino oscillations using appearance and disappearance channels for neutrino- and antineutrino-mode beams. The data include all runs from January 2010 to May 2016 and comprise 7.482×10^{20} protons on target in neutrino mode, which yielded in the far detector 32 e-like and 135  μ-like events, and 7.471×10^{20} protons on target in antineutrino mode, which yielded 4 e-like and 66  μ-like events. Reactor measurements of sin^{2}2θ_{13} have been used as an additional constraint. The one-dimensional confidence interval at 90% for the phase δ_{CP} spans the range (-3.13, -0.39) for normal mass ordering. The CP conservation hypothesis (δ_{CP}=0, π) is excluded at 90% C.L.

The combined use of kartogenin and platelet-rich plasma promotes fibrocartilage formation in the wounded rat Achilles tendon entheses

Objectives

After an injury, the biological reattachment of tendon to bone is a challenge because healing takes place between a soft (tendon) and a hard (bone) tissue. Even after healing, the transition zone in the enthesis is not completely regenerated, making it susceptible to re-injury. In this study, we aimed to regenerate Achilles tendon entheses (ATEs) in wounded rats using a combination of kartogenin (KGN) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Methods

Wounds created in rat ATEs were given three different treatments: kartogenin platelet-rich plasma (KGN-PRP); PRP; or saline (control), followed by histological and immunochemical analyses, and mechanical testing of the rat ATEs after three months of healing.

Results

Histological analysis showed well organised arrangement of collagen fibres and proteoglycan formation in the wounded ATEs in the KGN-PRP group. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis revealed fibrocartilage formation in the KGN-PRP-treated ATEs, evidenced by the presence of both collagen I and II in the healed ATE. Larger positively stained collagen III areas were found in both PRP and saline groups than those in the KGN-PRP group. Chondrocyte-related genes, SOX9 and collagen II, and tenocyte-related genes, collagen I and scleraxis (SCX), were also upregulated by KGN-PRP. Moreover, mechanical testing results showed higher ultimate tensile strength in the KGN-PRP group than in the saline control group. In contrast, PRP treatment appeared to have healed the injured ATE but induced no apparent formation of fibrocartilage. The saline-treated group showed poor healing without fibrocartilage tissue formation in the ATEs.

Conclusions

Our results show that injection of KGN-PRP induces fibrocartilage formation in the wounded rat ATEs. Hence, KGN-PRP may be a clinically relevant, biological approach to regenerate injured enthesis effectively.

Cite this article: J. Zhang, T. Yuan, N. Zheng, Y. Zhou, M. V. Hogan, J. H-C. Wang. The combined use of kartogenin and platelet-rich plasma promotes fibrocartilage formation in the wounded rat Achilles tendon entheses. Bone Joint Res 2017;6:231–244. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.64.BJR-2017-0268.R1.

Measurement of Coherent π^{+} Production in Low Energy Neutrino-Carbon Scattering

We report the first measurement of the flux-averaged cross section for charged current coherent π^{+} production on carbon for neutrino energies less than 1.5 GeV, and with a restriction on the final state phase space volume in the T2K near detector, ND280. Comparisons are made with predictions from the Rein-Sehgal coherent production model and the model by Alvarez-Ruso et al., the latter representing the first implementation of an instance of the new class of microscopic coherent models in a neutrino interaction Monte Carlo event generator. We observe a clear event excess above background, disagreeing with the null results reported by K2K and SciBooNE in a similar neutrino energy region. The measured flux-averaged cross sections are below those predicted by both the Rein-Sehgal and Alvarez-Ruso et al.

Prevalence of genital human papillomavirus among rural and urban populations in southern Yunnan province, China

This study was designed to investigate and compare the HPV prevalence, genotypes distribution and associated risk factors in rural and urban women living in Xishuang Banna district, in the province of Yunnan. A total of 177 and 190 women from rural and urban areas were engaged, respectively. HPV DNA was amplified using the L1 consensus primers system (MY09/11 and GP5/6) and HPV GenoArray test was conducted for genotyping. Proportions were compared by chi-square test, and logistic regression was used to evaluate risk factors. A total of 54 women were positive for HPV DNA. Among rural women, 23 women were positive for HPV infection, of which 21 showed a single infection and 2 had a multiple infection. HPV-16 (10/23) was the most prevalent genotype followed by HPV-52 (5/23), and HPV-58 (5/23). Urban women had a higher infection rate for overall HPV (31/54) and for multiple genotype infection (8/31). HPV-52 (9/31) was the most prevalent genotype followed by HPV-39 (7/31) and HPV-68 (5/31). The age-specific HPV prevalence was also different between rural and urban women. In urban area, women with age <35 years had the highest HPV prevalence, which declined thereafter as age advanced. However, in rural women the highest HPV prevalence was observed in an older age group (>56 years). Ethnicity, smoking and parity were significantly associated with HPV infection among urban women. Our study demonstrates that HPV prevalence and genotype distribution varies among women from rural and urban areas in the south of Yunnan.

Measurement of Muon Antineutrino Oscillations with an Accelerator-Produced Off-Axis Beam

T2K reports its first measurements of the parameters governing the disappearance of ν[over ¯]_{μ} in an off-axis beam due to flavor change induced by neutrino oscillations. The quasimonochromatic ν[over ¯]_{μ} beam, produced with a peak energy of 0.6 GeV at J-PARC, is observed at the far detector Super-Kamiokande, 295 km away, where the ν[over ¯]_{μ} survival probability is expected to be minimal. Using a data set corresponding to 4.01×10^{20} protons on target, 34 fully contained μ-like events were observed. The best-fit oscillation parameters are sin^{2}(θ[over ¯]_{23})=0.45 and |Δm[over ¯]_{32}^{2}|=2.51×10^{-3}  eV^{2} with 68% confidence intervals of 0.38-0.64 and 2.26-2.80×10^{-3}  eV^{2}, respectively. These results are in agreement with existing antineutrino parameter measurements and also with the ν_{μ} disappearance parameters measured by T2K.

Comparison of Postoperative Analgesic Requirements in Living Donors and Patients Undergoing Similar Surgical Procedures

BACKGROUND

More factors affect pain perception of donors than patients. We prospectively evaluated postoperative pain intensity and analgesic requirements in living kidney donors and patients with renal cell carcinoma undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy with similar surgical procedures.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 30 living kidney donors and 30 patients with renal cell carcinoma undergoing laparoscopic nephrectomy from March 2013 to August 2014. All of the participants underwent similar surgical procedures under general anesthesia. Data including participants' demographics, surgical data, postoperative analgesic requirements, visual analog scale scores at rest and during coughing at postoperative 0.5, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours, side effects, and overall satisfaction degree were compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

Time to the first tramadol request was significantly shorter in the donors. The donors received more intravenous doses of tramadol than the patients. Visual analog scale scores at 2 and 4 hours at rest and at 2, 4, and 8 hours during coughing after extubation were significantly higher in the donors. There were no significant differences between the groups according to the number of participants given pethidine, time to pethidine rescue, and adverse effects. The overall satisfaction degree was comparable between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

There were significant differences with respect to postoperative pain intensity and analgesic requirements in living kidney donors and patients undergoing retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy with similar surgical procedures.

Measurement of toroidal vessel eddy current during plasma disruption on J-TEXT

In this paper, we have employed a thin, printed circuit board eddy current array in order to determine the radial distribution of the azimuthal component of the eddy current density at the surface of a steel plate. The eddy current in the steel plate can be calculated by analytical methods under the simplifying assumptions that the steel plate is infinitely large and the exciting current is of uniform distribution. The measurement on the steel plate shows that this method has high spatial resolution. Then, we extended this methodology to a toroidal geometry with the objective of determining the poloidal distribution of the toroidal component of the eddy current density associated with plasma disruption in a fusion reactor called J-TEXT. The preliminary measured result is consistent with the analysis and calculation results on the J-TEXT vacuum vessel.

Human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells promote interleukin-17 production from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors and systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Inflammation instigated by interleukin (IL)-17-producing cells is central to the development and pathogenesis of several human autoimmune diseases and animal models of autoimmunity. The expansion of IL-17-producing cells from healthy donors is reportedly promoted by mesenchymal stem cells derived from fetal bone marrow. In the present study, human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) were examined for their effects on lymphocytes from healthy donors and from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Significantly higher levels of IL-17 were produced when CD4(+) T cells from healthy donors were co-cultured with hUC-MSCs than those that were cultured alone. Blocking experiments identified that this effect might be mediated partially through prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) and IL-1β, without IL-23 involvement. We then co-cultured hUC-MSCs with human CD4(+) T cells from systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Ex-vivo inductions of IL-17 by hUC-MSCs in stimulated lymphocytes were significantly higher in SLE patients than in healthy donors. This effect was not observed for IL-23. Taken together, our results represent that hUC-MSCs can promote the IL-17 production from CD4(+) T cells in both healthy donor and SLE patients. PGE2 and IL-1β might also be partially involved in the promotive effect of hUC-MSCs.

Measurement of the inclusive electron neutrino charged current cross section on carbon with the T2K near detector

The T2K off-axis near detector ND280 is used to make the first differential cross-section measurements of electron neutrino charged current interactions at energies ∼1  GeV as a function of electron momentum, electron scattering angle, and four-momentum transfer of the interaction. The total flux-averaged ν(e) charged current cross section on carbon is measured to be ⟨σ⟩(ϕ)=1.11±0.10(stat)±0.18(syst)×10⁻³⁸ cm²/nucleon. The differential and total cross-section measurements agree with the predictions of two leading neutrino interaction generators, NEUT and GENIE. The NEUT prediction is 1.23×10⁻³⁸ cm²/nucleon and the GENIE prediction is 1.08×10⁻³⁸ cm²/nucleon. The total ν(e) charged current cross-section result is also in agreement with data from the Gargamelle experiment.

Advanced mesospheric temperature mapper for high-latitude airglow studies

Over the past 60 years, ground-based remote sensing measurements of the Earth's mesospheric temperature have been performed using the nighttime hydroxyl (OH) emission, which originates at an altitude of ∼87  km. Several types of instruments have been employed to date: spectrometers, Fabry-Perot or Michelson interferometers, scanning-radiometers, and more recently temperature mappers. Most of them measure the mesospheric temperature in a few sample directions and/or with a limited temporal resolution, restricting their research capabilities to the investigation of larger-scale perturbations such as inertial waves, tides, or planetary waves. The Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) is a novel infrared digital imaging system that measures selected emission lines in the mesospheric OH (3,1) band (at ∼1.5  μm) to create intensity and temperature maps of the mesosphere around 87 km. The data are obtained with an unprecedented spatial (∼0.5  km) and temporal (typically 30″) resolution over a large 120° field of view, allowing detailed measurements of wave propagation and dissipation at the ∼87  km level, even in the presence of strong aurora or under full moon conditions. This paper describes the AMTM characteristics, compares measured temperatures with values obtained by a collocated Na lidar instrument, and presents several examples of temperature maps and nightly keogram representations to illustrate the excellent capabilities of this new instrument.

Precise measurement of the neutrino mixing parameter θ23 from muon neutrino disappearance in an off-axis beam

New data from the T2K neutrino oscillation experiment produce the most precise measurement of the neutrino mixing parameter θ23. Using an off-axis neutrino beam with a peak energy of 0.6 GeV and a data set corresponding to 6.57×10(20) protons on target, T2K has fit the energy-dependent νμ oscillation probability to determine oscillation parameters. The 68% confidence limit on sin(2)(θ23) is 0.514(-0.056)(+0.055) (0.511±0.055), assuming normal (inverted) mass hierarchy. The best-fit mass-squared splitting for normal hierarchy is Δm32(2)=(2.51±0.10)×10(-3)  eV(2)/c(4) (inverted hierarchy: Δm13(2)=(2.48±0.10)×10(-3)  eV(2)/c(4)). Adding a model of multinucleon interactions that affect neutrino energy reconstruction is found to produce only small biases in neutrino oscillation parameter extraction at current levels of statistical uncertainty.

Observation of electron neutrino appearance in a muon neutrino beam

The T2K experiment has observed electron neutrino appearance in a muon neutrino beam produced 295 km from the Super-Kamiokande detector with a peak energy of 0.6 GeV. A total of 28 electron neutrino events were detected with an energy distribution consistent with an appearance signal, corresponding to a significance of 7.3σ when compared to 4.92±0.55 expected background events. In the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata mixing model, the electron neutrino appearance signal depends on several parameters including three mixing angles θ12, θ23, θ13, a mass difference Δm(32)(2) and a CP violating phase δ(CP). In this neutrino oscillation scenario, assuming |Δm(32)(2)|=2.4×10(-3)  eV(2), sin(2)θ(23)=0.5, and Δm322>0 (Δm(32)(2)<0), a best-fit value of sin(2)2θ(13)=0.140(-0.032)(+0.038) (0.170(-0.037)(+0.045)) is obtained at δ(CP)=0. When combining the result with the current best knowledge of oscillation parameters including the world average value of θ(13) from reactor experiments, some values of δ(CP) are disfavored at the 90% C.L.

Measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters from muon neutrino disappearance with an off-axis beam

The T2K Collaboration reports a precision measurement of muon neutrino disappearance with an off-axis neutrino beam with a peak energy of 0.6 GeV. Near detector measurements are used to constrain the neutrino flux and cross section parameters. The Super-Kamiokande far detector, which is 295 km downstream of the neutrino production target, collected data corresponding to 3.01×10(20) protons on target. In the absence of neutrino oscillations, 205±17 (syst) events are expected to be detected while only 58 muon neutrino event candidates are observed. A fit to the neutrino rate and energy spectrum, assuming three neutrino flavors and normal mass hierarchy yields a best-fit mixing angle sin2(θ23)=0.514±0.082 and mass splitting |Δm(32)(2)|=2.44(-0.15)(+0.17)×10(-3) eV2/c4. Our result corresponds to the maximal oscillation disappearance probability.

The enhanced effect of surface microstructured porous titanium on adhesion and osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Porous titanium with appropriate surface treatments can be osteoinductive. To investigate the effect of surface treatments of porous titanium on the attachment and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), two kinds of surface microstructured porous titaniums, H₂O₂/TaCl₅ treated one (HTPT), and H₂O₂/TaCl₅ and subsequent simulated body fluid (SBF) treated one (STPT) were fabricated, and non-treated one (NTPT) was used as control. The morphology, specific surface area (SSA), pore distribution and mechanical strength of these materials were characterized respectively, and the results showed that H₂O₂/TaCl₅ treatment led to a significant increase in both SSA and micropores of HTPT, and the further SBF immersion resulted in the formation of a layer of bone-like apatite on the surface of STPT. Although the surface treatments had a little negative impact on the compressive strength and elasticity modulus of porous titanium, the mechanical strength of HTPT or STPT was enough for the bone defect repair of the load-bearing sites. The protein adsorption and cell adhesion experiments confirmed that the microstructured surface notably enhanced porous titanium's protein binding capacity and promoted MSCs adhesion on the surface. More importantly, cell differentiation experiments proved that the microstructured surface evidently elevated the osteoblastic gene expressions of MSCs compared to NTPT. The enhanced biological effect by the surface treatments was more robust on STPT. Therefore, our results suggest that the microstructured surface has great potential for promoting MSCs differentiation towards osteoblasts, giving excellent support for the osteoinduction of porous titanium with appropriate surface treatments.