First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. This Letter reports results from LUX-ZEPLIN's first search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with an exposure of 60 live days using a fiducial mass of 5.5 t. A profile-likelihood ratio analysis shows the data to be consistent with a background-only hypothesis, setting new limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon, spin-dependent WIMP-neutron, and spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross sections for WIMP masses above 9 GeV/c2. The most stringent limit is set for spin-independent scattering at 36 GeV/c2, rejecting cross sections above 9.2×10-48 cm at the 90% confidence level

In vivo modulation of cytokine synthesis by intravenous immunoglobulin

We examined the effects of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) on cytokine regulation in vivo using samples taken before and after replacement-dose (200–400 mg/kg) IVIG in a group of patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA). The intracellular cytokine content of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, and their CD28+/− subsets, were measured following in vitro activation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and ionomycin. The cytokines IL-2, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and the early activation marker CD69, were assessed by four-colour flow cytometry of whole blood cultures taken before and after IVIG infusion. There was a significant increase in IL-2 expression in CD4+ (and CD4+28−) cells and an increase in TNF-α expression in CD8+28− cells following IVIG in CVID, but not in XLA patients. IFN-γ and CD69 expression were not affected by IVIG infusion. This increase in TNF-α and IL-2, combined with unchanged IFN-γ expression, is evidence against the putative ‘anti-inflammatory’ role of IVIG, and may explain the failure of resolution of granulomata in CVID patients treated with IVIG alone

Value Transformation: From Online Community to Business Benefit

The aim of this chapter is to shed light on the generation and transformation of values through the production and consumption of ‘Let’s Play’, as a new area of practice in the creative economy. Let’s Play emerged from the practice of machinima, ‘animated filmmaking within a real-time virtual 3D environment’, and is referred to as non-narrative machinima taking the form of video game walk-throughs, reviews and other gameplay videos that are live-streamed to fan followers and archived in curated playlists. Whilst this form of user-generated content will become increasingly pivotal to the digital economy and to new emergent forms, the value of this important creative form remains largely undocumented. Drawing on empirical data, this chapter examines the value associated with economic, cultural, social and symbolic capital of Let’s Play as an emergent creative form