82 research outputs found
Dark Matter Disc Enhanced Neutrino Fluxes from the Sun and Earth
As disc galaxies form in a hierarchical cosmology, massive merging satellites
are preferentially dragged towards the disc plane. The material accreted from
these satellites forms a dark matter disc that contributes 0.25 - 1.5 times the
non-rotating halo density at the solar position. Here, we show the importance
of the dark disc for indirect dark matter detection in neutrino telescopes.
Previous predictions of the neutrino flux from WIMP annihilation in the Earth
and the Sun have assumed that Galactic dark matter is spherically distributed
with a Gaussian velocity distribution, the standard halo model. Although the
dark disc has a local density comparable to the dark halo, its higher phase
space density at low velocities greatly enhances capture rates in the Sun and
Earth. For typical dark disc properties, the resulting muon flux from the Earth
is increased by three orders of magnitude over the SHM, while for the Sun the
increase is an order of magnitude. This significantly increases the sensitivity
of neutrino telescopes to fix or constrain parameters in WIMP models. The flux
from the Earth is extremely sensitive to the detailed properties of the dark
disc, while the flux from the Sun is more robust. The enhancement of the muon
flux from the dark disc puts the search for WIMP annihilation in the Earth on
the same level as the Sun for WIMP masses < 100 GeV.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, added a short paragraph to the discussion
section, conclusions unchanged, published versio
Search for Neutral Q-balls in Super-Kamiokande II
A search for Q-balls induced groups of successive contained events has been
carried out in Super-Kamiokande II with 541.7 days of live time.
Neutral Q-balls would emit pions when colliding with nuclei, generating a
signal of successive contained pion events along a track. No candidate for
successive contained event groups has been found in Super-Kamiokande II, so
upper limits on the possible flux of such Q-balls have been obtained.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Lett.
The global, regional, and national burden of pancreatic cancer and its attributable risk factors in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
Background: Worldwide, both the incidence and death rates of pancreatic cancer are increasing. Evaluation of pancreatic cancer burden and its global, regional, and national patterns is crucial to policy making and better resource allocation for controlling pancreatic cancer risk factors, developing early detection methods, and providing faster and more effective treatments. Methods: Vital registration, vital registration sample, and cancer registry data were used to generate mortality, incidence, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) estimates. We used the comparative risk assessment framework to estimate the proportion of deaths attributable to risk factors for pancreatic cancer: smoking, high fasting plasma glucose, and high body-mass index. All of the estimates were reported as counts and age-standardised rates per 100 000 person-years. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) were reported for all estimates. Findings: In 2017, there were 448 000 (95% UI 439 000\u2013456 000) incident cases of pancreatic cancer globally, of which 232 000 (210 000\u2013221 000; 51\ub79%) were in males. The age-standardised incidence rate was 5\ub70 (4\ub79\u20135\ub71) per 100 000 person-years in 1990 and increased to 5\ub77 (5\ub76\u20135\ub78) per 100 000 person-years in 2017. There was a 2\ub73 times increase in number of deaths for both sexes from 196 000 (193 000\u2013200 000) in 1990 to 441 000 (433 000\u2013449 000) in 2017. There was a 2\ub71 times increase in DALYs due to pancreatic cancer, increasing from 4\ub74 million (4\ub73\u20134\ub75) in 1990 to 9\ub71 million (8\ub79\u20139\ub73) in 2017. The age-standardised death rate of pancreatic cancer was highest in the high-income super-region across all years from 1990 to 2017. In 2017, the highest age-standardised death rates were observed in Greenland (17\ub74 [15\ub78\u201319\ub70] per 100 000 person-years) and Uruguay (12\ub71 [10\ub79\u201313\ub75] per 100 000 person-years). These countries also had the highest age-standardised death rates in 1990. Bangladesh (1\ub79 [1\ub75\u20132\ub73] per 100 000 person-years) had the lowest rate in 2017, and S\ue3o Tom\ue9 and Pr\uedncipe (1\ub73 [1\ub71\u20131\ub75] per 100 000 person-years) had the lowest rate in 1990. The numbers of incident cases and deaths peaked at the ages of 65\u201369 years for males and at 75\u201379 years for females. Age-standardised pancreatic cancer deaths worldwide were primarily attributable to smoking (21\ub71% [18\ub78\u201323\ub77]), high fasting plasma glucose (8\ub79% [2\ub71\u201319\ub74]), and high body-mass index (6\ub72% [2\ub75\u201311\ub74]) in 2017. Interpretation: Globally, the number of deaths, incident cases, and DALYs caused by pancreatic cancer has more than doubled from 1990 to 2017. The increase in incidence of pancreatic cancer is likely to continue as the population ages. Prevention strategies should focus on modifiable risk factors. Development of screening programmes for early detection and more effective treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer are needed. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017
A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4 (62.3 (55.1�70.8) million) to 6.4 (58.3 (47.6�70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization�s Global Nutrition Target of <5 in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2 (30 (22.8�38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0 (55.5 (44.8�67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic. © 2020, The Author(s)
Author Correction: Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 (Nature Medicine, (2020), 26, 5, (750-759), 10.1038/s41591-020-0807-6)
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. © 2020, The Author(s)
Author Correction: Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 (Nature Medicine, (2020), 26, 5, (750-759), 10.1038/s41591-020-0807-6)
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. © 2020, The Author(s)
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