Improved Limits on Scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles from Reanalysis of 2013 LUX Data

We present constraints on weakly interacting massive particles (WIMP)-nucleus scattering from the 2013 data of the Large Underground Xenon dark matter experiment, including 1.4×104 kg day of search exposure. This new analysis incorporates several advances: single-photon calibration at the scintillation wavelength, improved event-reconstruction algorithms, a revised background model including events originating on the detector walls in an enlarged fiducial volume, and new calibrations from decays of an injected tritium β source and from kinematically constrained nuclear recoils down to 1.1 keV. Sensitivity, especially to low-mass WIMPs, is enhanced compared to our previous results which modeled the signal only above a 3 keV minimum energy. Under standard dark matter halo assumptions and in the mass range above 4 GeV c-2, these new results give the most stringent direct limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. The 90% C.L. upper limit has a minimum of 0.6 zb at 33 GeV c-2 WIMP mass

Results on the Spin-Dependent Scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles on Nucleons from the Run 3 Data of the LUX Experiment

We present experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle)-nucleon elastic cross sections from LUX data acquired in 2013. LUX is a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota), which is designed to observe the recoil signature of galactic WIMPs scattering from xenon nuclei. A profile likelihood ratio analysis of 1.4×104 kg day of fiducial exposure allows 90% C.L. upper limits to be set on the WIMP-neutron (WIMP-proton) cross section of σn=9.4×10-41 cm2 (σp=2.9×10-39 cm2) at 33 GeV/c2. The spin-dependent WIMP-neutron limit is the most sensitive constraint to date

An experimental protocol for mimicking pathomechanisms of traumatic brain injury in mice

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a result of an outside force causing immediate mechanical disruption of brain tissue and delayed pathogenic events. In order to examine injury processes associated with TBI, a number of rodent models to induce brain trauma have been described. However, none of these models covers the entire spectrum of events that might occur in TBI. Here we provide a thorough methodological description of a straightforward closed head weight drop mouse model to assess brain injuries close to the clinical conditions of human TBI

Gender Differences in Clinical Presentation and Outcomes of Epidemic Kaposi Sarcoma in Uganda

The incidence of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) has increased dramatically among women in sub-Saharan Africa since the onset of the HIV pandemic, but data on KS disease in women are limited. To identify gender-related differences in KS presentation and outcomes, we evaluated the clinical manifestations and response in men and women with AIDS-associated KS in Uganda.HIV-infected adults with KS attending the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) in Kampala, Uganda between 2004 and 2006 were included in a retrospective cohort. Evaluation of KS presentation was based on the clinical features described at the initial KS visit. Response was evaluated as the time to "improvement", as defined by any decrease in lesion size, lesion number, or edema. The cohort consisted of 197 adults with HIV and KS: 55% (108/197) were women. At presentation, the median CD4 T-cell count was significantly lower in women (58 cells/mm(3); IQR 11-156 cells/mm(3)) than men (124 cells/mm(3); IQR 22-254 cells/mm(3)) (p = 0.02). Women were more likely than men to present with lesions of the face (OR 2.8, 95% CI, 1.4, 5.7; p = 0.005) and hard palate (OR 2.0, 95% CI, 1.1, 3.7; p = 0.02), and were less likely than men to have lower extremity lesions (OR 0.54, 95% CI, 0.3, 0.99; p = 0.05). Women were less likely than men to demonstrate clinical improvement (HR = 0.52, CI 0.31, 0.88; p = 0.01) in multivariate analysis.The clinical presentation and response of KS differs between men and women in Uganda. These data suggest that gender affects the pathophysiology of KS, which may have implications for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of KS in both men and women. Prospective studies are needed to identify predictors of response and evaluate efficacy of treatment in women with KS, particularly in Africa where the disease burden is greatest

Evidence-Based African First Aid Guidelines and Training Materials

Stijn Van de Velde and colleagues describe the African First Aid Materials project, which developed evidence-based guidelines on administering first aid in the African context as well as training materials to support the implementation of the guidelines

Hardship financing of healthcare among rural poor in Orissa, India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study examines health-related "hardship financing" in order to get better insights on how poor households finance their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. We define hardship financing as having to borrow money with interest or to sell assets to pay out-of-pocket healthcare costs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using survey data of 5,383 low-income households in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India, we investigate factors influencing the risk of hardship financing with the use of a logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, about 25% of the households (that had any healthcare cost) reported hardship financing during the year preceding the survey. Among households that experienced a hospitalization, this percentage was nearly 40%, but even among households with outpatient or maternity-related care around 25% experienced hardship financing.</p> <p>Hardship financing is explained not merely by the wealth of the household (measured by assets) or how much is spent out-of-pocket on healthcare costs, but also by when the payment occurs, its frequency and its duration (e.g. more severe in cases of chronic illnesses). The location where a household resides remains a major predictor of the likelihood to have hardship financing despite all other household features included in the model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Rural poor households are subjected to considerable and protracted financial hardship due to the indirect and longer-term deleterious effects of how they cope with out-of-pocket healthcare costs. The social network that households can access influences exposure to hardship financing. Our findings point to the need to develop a policy solution that would limit that exposure both in quantum and in time. We therefore conclude that policy interventions aiming to ensure health-related financial protection would have to demonstrate that they have reduced the frequency and the volume of hardship financing.</p

Construction of Chimeric Dual-Chain Avidin by Tandem Fusion of the Related Avidins

BACKGROUND: Avidin is a chicken egg-white protein with high affinity to vitamin H, also known as D-biotin. Many applications in life science research are based on this strong interaction. Avidin is a homotetrameric protein, which promotes its modification to symmetrical entities. Dual-chain avidin, a genetically engineered avidin form, has two circularly permuted chicken avidin monomers that are tandem-fused into one polypeptide chain. This form of avidin enables independent modification of the two domains, including the two biotin-binding pockets; however, decreased yields in protein production, compared to wt avidin, and complicated genetic manipulation of two highly similar DNA sequences in the tandem gene have limited the use of dual-chain avidin in biotechnological applications. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To overcome challenges associated with the original dual-chain avidin, we developed chimeric dual-chain avidin, which is a tandem fusion of avidin and avidin-related protein 4 (AVR4), another member of the chicken avidin gene family. We observed an increase in protein production and better thermal stability, compared with the original dual-chain avidin. Additionally, PCR amplification of the hybrid gene was more efficient, thus enabling more convenient and straightforward modification of the dual-chain avidin. When studied closer, the generated chimeric dual-chain avidin showed biphasic biotin dissociation. SIGNIFICANCE: The improved dual-chain avidin introduced here increases its potential for future applications. This molecule offers a valuable base for developing bi-functional avidin tools for bioseparation, carrier proteins, and nanoscale adapters. Additionally, this strategy could be helpful when generating hetero-oligomers from other oligomeric proteins with high structural similarity

The Weaker Sex? The Propensity for Male-Biased Piglet Mortality

For the most part solutions to farm animal welfare issues, such as piglet mortality, are likely to lie within the scientific disciplines of environmental design and genetic selection, however understanding the ecological basis of some of the complex dynamics observed between parent and offspring could make a valuable contribution. One interesting, and often discussed, aspect of mortality is the propensity for it to be sex-biased. This study investigated whether known physiological and behavioural indicators of piglet survival differed between the sexes and whether life history strategies (often reported in wild or feral populations) relating to parental investment were being displayed in a domestic population of pigs. Sex ratio (proportion of males (males/males+females)) at birth was 0.54 and sex allocation (maternal investment measured as piglet birth weight/litter weight) was statistically significantly male-biased at 0.55 (t35 = 2.51 P = 0.017), suggesting that sows invested more in sons than daughters during gestation. Despite this investment in birth weight, a known survival indicator, total pre-weaning male mortality was statistically significantly higher than female mortality (12% vs. 7% respectively z = 2.06 P = 0.040). Males tended to suffer from crushing by the sow more than females and statistically significantly more males died from disease-related causes. Although males were born on average heavier, with higher body mass index and ponderal index, these differences were not sustained. In addition male piglets showed impaired thermoregulation compared to females. These results suggest male-biased mortality exists despite greater initial maternal investment, and therefore reflects the greater susceptibility of this sex to causal mortality factors. Life history strategies are being displayed by a domestic population of pigs with sows in this study displaying a form of parental optimism by allocating greater resources at birth to males and providing an over-supply of this more vulnerable sex in expectation of sex-biased mortality