105 research outputs found
Democratic and Authoritarian Political Systems in 21st Century World Society
This book is about the radical novelty of modern polities in a functionally differentiated world society. Premodern states were at the apex of a stratified, hierarchical society. They dominated society and all its groups and strata. Modern polities have to be understood through the ecology of relations among different function systems. They have to find and incessantly redefine their place in society. They produce decisions that are collectively binding, but in preparing these decisions experience constraints and knowledge deficiencies that are related to the complexity of a functionally differentiated society. The book concentrates on six analytical perspectives that reflect how modern polities are embedded into 21st century society. These perspectives are: the concept of inclusion and the inclusion revolution constitutive of modern polities; the internal differentiation of polities that endows them with an unprecedented complexity; the fact that polities do not know anything about society and the ways in which they compensate for this; representation and responsiveness as strategies to reconnect with society; the self-restriction of some polities that brings about ever new autonomous expert organizations; the symmetrical rise of autocracies and democracies as the two modern variants of political regimes
Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort
BACKGROUND:
Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice.
METHODS:
A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively.
RESULTS:
SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655.
CONCLUSIONS:
In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin
Investigation of two Fermi-LAT gamma-ray blazars coincident with high-energy neutrinos detected by IceCube
After the identification of the gamma-ray blazar TXS 0506+056 as the first
compelling IceCube neutrino source candidate, we perform a systematic analysis
of all high-energy neutrino events satisfying the IceCube realtime trigger
criteria. We find one additional known gamma-ray source, the blazar GB6
J1040+0617, in spatial coincidence with a neutrino in this sample. The chance
probability of this coincidence is 30% after trial correction. For the first
time, we present a systematic study of the gamma-ray flux, spectral and optical
variability, and multi-wavelength behavior of GB6 J1040+0617 and compare it to
TXS 0506+056. We find that TXS 0506+056 shows strong flux variability in the
Fermi-LAT gamma-ray band, being in an active state around the arrival of
IceCube-170922A, but in a low state during the archival IceCube neutrino flare
in 2014/15. In both cases the spectral shape is statistically compatible () with the average spectrum showing no indication of a significant
relative increase of a high-energy component. While the association of GB6
J1040+0617 with the neutrino is consistent with background expectations, the
source appears to be a plausible neutrino source candidate based on its
energetics and multi-wavelength features, namely a bright optical flare and
modestly increased gamma-ray activity. Finding one or two neutrinos originating
from gamma-ray blazars in the given sample of high-energy neutrinos is
consistent with previously derived limits of neutrino emission from gamma-ray
blazars, indicating the sources of the majority of cosmic high-energy neutrinos
remain unknown.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, 2 Table
IceCube Search for Neutrinos Coincident with Compact Binary Mergers from LIGO-Virgo's First Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog
Using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, we search for high-energy neutrino
emission coincident with compact binary mergers observed by the LIGO and Virgo
gravitational wave (GW) detectors during their first and second observing runs.
We present results from two searches targeting emission coincident with the sky
localization of each gravitational wave event within a 1000 second time window
centered around the reported merger time. One search uses a model-independent
unbinned maximum likelihood analysis, which uses neutrino data from IceCube to
search for point-like neutrino sources consistent with the sky localization of
GW events. The other uses the Low-Latency Algorithm for Multi-messenger
Astrophysics, which incorporates astrophysical priors through a Bayesian
framework and includes LIGO-Virgo detector characteristics to determine the
association between the GW source and the neutrinos. No significant neutrino
coincidence is seen by either search during the first two observing runs of the
LIGO-Virgo detectors. We set upper limits on the time-integrated neutrino
emission within the 1000 second window for each of the 11 GW events. These
limits range from 0.02-0.7 . We also set limits on the
total isotropic equivalent energy, , emitted in high-energy
neutrinos by each GW event. These limits range from 1.7 10 -
1.8 10 erg. We conclude with an outlook for LIGO-Virgo
observing run O3, during which both analyses are running in real time
Characteristics of the diffuse astrophysical electron and tau neutrino flux with six years of IceCube high energy cascade data
We report on the first measurement of the astrophysical neutrino flux using
particle showers (cascades) in IceCube data from 2010 -- 2015. Assuming
standard oscillations, the astrophysical neutrinos in this dedicated cascade
sample are dominated () by electron and tau flavors. The flux,
observed in the sensitive energy range from to
, is consistent with a single power-law model as expected
from Fermi-type acceleration of high energy particles at astrophysical sources.
We find the flux spectral index to be and a flux
normalization for each neutrino flavor of
at , in agreement with IceCube's complementary muon
neutrino results and with all-neutrino flavor fit results. In the measured
energy range we reject spectral indices at
significance level. Due to high neutrino energy resolution and low atmospheric
neutrino backgrounds, this analysis provides the most detailed characterization
of the neutrino flux at energies below compared to
previous IceCube results. Results from fits assuming more complex neutrino flux
models suggest a flux softening at high energies and a flux hardening at low
energies (p-value ). The sizable and smooth flux measured below remains a puzzle. In order to not violate the isotropic
diffuse gamma-ray background as measured by the Fermi-LAT, it suggests the
existence of astrophysical neutrino sources characterized by dense environments
which are opaque to gamma-rays.Comment: 4 figures, 4 tables, includes supplementary materia
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