207 research outputs found
A full-factorial randomized controlled trial of adjunct couples HIV testing and counseling components addressing drug use and communication skills among sexual minority male couples
Background: The past decade has seen increasing attention directed to the development of HIV prevention interventions for male couples, driven by epidemiological data indicating that main or primary – rather than causal – partnerships account for a substantial number of HIV infections in this population. Couples HIV testing and counseling (CHTC) has emerged as a standard of care in the US. This protocol describes a study that aims to evaluate the efficacy of two adjunct components to CHTC – communication training (CT) videos and a substance use module (SUM) – to reduce drug use and sexual HIV transmission risk behavior.
Methods: Eligible couples must include one participant who is aged 17-29, HIV-negative, and reports recent drug use. Both partners must be aged 17 or older, identify as cismale (assigned male sex at birth and currently identify as male gender), and communicate in English. Couples are randomized post-baseline to one of four conditions (CHTC as usual, CHTC plus CT video; CHTC + SUM and CHTC + CT video + SUM) in a full-factorial design. Follow up assessments are completed at 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-months post baseline.
Discussion: Results of this trial will enhance the application of CHTC. If found effective, adjunct components would comprise a brief and scalable drug use intervention that could be readily integrated into existing HIV testing settings
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Projected WIMP sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment
LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a next-generation dark matter direct detection experiment that will operate 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. Using a two-phase xenon detector with an active mass of 7 tonnes, LZ will search primarily for low-energy interactions with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are hypothesized to make up the dark matter in our galactic halo. In this paper, the projected WIMP sensitivity of LZ is presented based on the latest background estimates and simulations of the detector. For a 1000 live day run using a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, LZ is projected to exclude at 90% confidence level spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross sections above 1.4×10-48 cm2 for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP. Additionally, a 5σ discovery potential is projected, reaching cross sections below the exclusion limits of recent experiments. For spin-dependent WIMP-neutron(-proton) scattering, a sensitivity of 2.3×10-43 cm2 (7.1×10-42 cm2) for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP is expected. With underground installation well underway, LZ is on track for commissioning at SURF in 2020
Identification of Radiopure Titanium for the LZ Dark Matter Experiment and Future Rare Event Searches
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will search for dark matter particle
interactions with a detector containing a total of 10 tonnes of liquid xenon
within a double-vessel cryostat. The large mass and proximity of the cryostat
to the active detector volume demand the use of material with extremely low
intrinsic radioactivity. We report on the radioassay campaign conducted to
identify suitable metals, the determination of factors limiting radiopure
production, and the selection of titanium for construction of the LZ cryostat
and other detector components. This titanium has been measured with activities
of U~1.6~mBq/kg, U~0.09~mBq/kg,
Th~~mBq/kg, Th~~mBq/kg, K~0.54~mBq/kg, and Co~0.02~mBq/kg (68\% CL).
Such low intrinsic activities, which are some of the lowest ever reported for
titanium, enable its use for future dark matter and other rare event searches.
Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to assess the expected background
contribution from the LZ cryostat with this radioactivity. In 1,000 days of
WIMP search exposure of a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, the cryostat will contribute
only a mean background of (stat)(sys) counts.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
First Results from the LUX Dark Matter Experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment is a dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber
operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Lead, South Dakota). The LUX cryostat
was filled for the first time in the underground laboratory in February 2013. We report results of the first
WIMP search data set, taken during the period from April to August 2013, presenting the analysis of
85.3 live days of data with a fiducial volume of 118 kg. A profile-likelihood analysis technique shows our
data to be consistent with the background-only hypothesis, allowing 90% confidence limits to be set on
spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering with a minimum upper limit on the cross section of
7.6 × 10−46 cm2 at a WIMP mass of 33 GeV=c2. We find that the LUX data are in disagreement with lowmass
WIMP signal interpretations of the results from several recent direct detection experiments
First Results from the LUX Dark Matter Experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment, a dual-phase xenon
time-projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
(Lead, South Dakota), was cooled and filled in February 2013. We report results
of the first WIMP search dataset, taken during the period April to August 2013,
presenting the analysis of 85.3 live-days of data with a fiducial volume of 118
kg. A profile-likelihood analysis technique shows our data to be consistent
with the background-only hypothesis, allowing 90% confidence limits to be set
on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering with a minimum upper limit
on the cross section of cm at a WIMP mass of 33
GeV/c. We find that the LUX data are in strong disagreement with low-mass
WIMP signal interpretations of the results from several recent direct detection
experiments.Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett. Appendix A included as supplementary
material with PRL articl
First Results from the LUX Dark Matter Experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment, a dual-phase xenon
time-projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
(Lead, South Dakota), was cooled and filled in February 2013. We report results
of the first WIMP search dataset, taken during the period April to August 2013,
presenting the analysis of 85.3 live-days of data with a fiducial volume of 118
kg. A profile-likelihood analysis technique shows our data to be consistent
with the background-only hypothesis, allowing 90% confidence limits to be set
on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering with a minimum upper limit
on the cross section of cm at a WIMP mass of 33
GeV/c. We find that the LUX data are in strong disagreement with low-mass
WIMP signal interpretations of the results from several recent direct detection
experiments.Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett. Appendix A included as supplementary
material with PRL articl
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