Annual Modulation of Cosmic Relic Neutrinos

The cosmic neutrino background (CvB), produced about one second after the Big Bang, permeates the Universe today. New technological advancements make neutrino capture on beta-decaying nuclei (NCB) a clear path forward towards the detection of the CvB. We show that gravitational focusing by the Sun causes the expected neutrino capture rate to modulate annually. The amplitude and phase of the modulation depend on the phase-space distribution of the local neutrino background, which is perturbed by structure formation. These results also apply to searches for sterile neutrinos at NCB experiments. Gravitational focusing is the only source of modulation for neutrino capture experiments, in contrast to dark-matter direct-detection searches where the Earth's time-dependent velocity relative to the Sun also plays a role.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Margaret Spitz, MD, Oral History Interview, November 01, 2016

Major Topics Covered: Conceptualizing “integrative epidemiology” Women at MD Anderson Training and education for a new generation of epidemiologistshttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/1189/thumbnail.jp

Margaret Spitz, MD, Oral History Interview, October 13, 2016

Major Topics Covered: Personal background, education, emigration from South Africa History of the Division of Cancer Prevention History of the Department of Epidemiology History of the field of Epidemiology Epidemiology research: predictive models, lung cancerhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/1188/thumbnail.jp

State-civil society relations in Syria : EU good governance assistance in an authoritarian state

The EU's good governance policy considers civil society an actor promoting development as well as political accountability of governments, thus contributing to the democratisation of political systems. This study argues that the EU's policy is based on questionable assumptions with respect to the nature of civil society, as well as the willingness of state and civil society to cooperate. Syria, as an extreme case of authoritarianism, is taken as an example. The connotation attached by the EU to civil society in Syria is normative and overlooks its complexity and the character of its relations with the state. Within the context of intergovernmental and multilateral cooperation, the Syrian regime could select and control activities in the domain of good governance, including possible involvement in its implementation by Syrian civil society organisations, which were not perceived as a threat to the regime's power. In fact, this support may have even contributed to the resilience of this authoritarian regimeThe Institutions of Politics; Design, Workings, and implications ( do not use, ended 1-1-2020

Experimenting with Cigarettes and Physical Activity Among Mexican Origin Youth: A Cross Sectional Analysis of the Interdependent Associations Among Sensation Seeking, Acculturation, and Gender

Sensation seeking tendencies tend to manifest during adolescence and are associated with both health-compromising behaviors and health-enhancing behaviors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sensation seeking and physical activity, a health-enhancing behavior, and between sensation seeking and experimenting with cigarettes, a health compromising-behavior, among a cohort of Mexican origin adolescents residing in the United States with different levels of acculturation. Methods: In 2009, 1,154 Mexican origin youth (50.5% girls, mean age 14.3 years (SD = 1.04)) provided data on smoking behavior, physical activity, linguistic acculturation, and sensation seeking. We conducted Pearson's chi(2) tests to examine the associations between categorical demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, country of birth and parental educational attainment) and both cigarette experimentation and physical activity and Student's t-tests to examine mean differences on the continuous variables (i.e. sensation seeking subscale) by the behaviors. We examined mean differences in the demographic characteristics, acculturation, and both behaviors for each of the sensation seeking subscales using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To examine relationships between the sensation seeking subscales, gender, and both behaviors, at different levels of acculturation we completed unconditional logistic regression analyses stratified by level of acculturation. Results: Overall, 23.3% had experimented with cigarettes and 29.0% reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes/day on at least 5 days/week. Experimenting with cigarettes and being physically active were more prevalent among boys than girls. Among girls, higher levels of sensation seeking tendencies were associated with higher levels of acculturation and experimentation with cigarettes, but not with physical activity. Among boys, higher levels of sensation seeking tendencies were associated with higher levels of acculturation, experimenting with cigarettes and being physically active. Conclusions: Our results suggest that interventions designed to prevent smoking among Mexican origin youth may need to address social aspects associated with acculturation, paying close attention to gendered manifestations of sensation seeking.National Cancer Institute CA105203, CA126988Caroline W. Law Fund for Cancer PreventionDan Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk AssessmentCenter for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Population

QUALITY OF LIFE AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF PATIENTS UNDERGOING BOTULINUM TOXIN TREATMENT

The botulinum toxin (BTX) is a therapeutic modality used in diverse range of diseases in neurology such as dystonia, tics and tremors and spasticity. The literature about the relation between the use of BTX and its impact in quality of life scales are conflicting, our study proposes to aid answering this question. We selected 110 patients between April 2014 and January 2015, from two tertiary hospitals (movement disorder outpatient clinic), which have been evaluated for age, gender, type of BTX applied, technic of application, adverse events, clinical syndrome and etiology. To evaluate quality of life we used the SF-36® scale. The most prevalent clinical syndromes were dystonia, spasticity and daytime bruxism. We applied the scale in 55 patients pre and post treatment to trace a clinical and epidemiological profile of patients treated with botulinum toxin, evaluating its impact on quality of life. Main etiologies were: idiopathic, stroke and peripheral facial palsy. SF-36® scale applied to 55 patients showed that 35 of them improved, with higher impact upon the mental health, vitality, physical functioning and body pain subsections. Incidence of adverse events (21,8%) was similar to the literature. Botulinum toxin application was associated with higher scores on SF-36®, therefore representing a good therapeutic option dystonia and spasticity.

Intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy causes a capillary-leak syndrome.

BackgroundIn patients undergoing intraperitoneal (IP) photodynamic therapy (PDT), the combination of aggressive surgical debulking and light therapy causes an apparent systemic capillary-leak syndrome that necessitates significant intensive care unit (ICU) management after surgery.MethodsFrom May 1997 to May 2001, 65 patients underwent surgical debulking and PDT as part of an ongoing phase II trial for disseminated IP cancer. Perioperative data were reviewed retrospectively, and statistical analyses were performed to determine whether any identifiable factors were associated with the need for mechanical ventilation for longer than 1 day and with the occurrence of postoperative complications.ResultsForty-three women and 22 men (mean age, 49 years) were treated. Operative time averaged 9.8 hours, and mean estimated blood loss was 1450 mL. The mean crystalloid requirement for the first 48 hours after surgery was 29.3 L, and 49 patients required blood products. Twenty-four patients were intubated for longer than 24 hours, with a mean of 8.3 days for those intubated longer than 1 day. The median ICU stay was 4 days. Overall, 110 complications developed in 45 (69%) of the 65 patients. Significant complications included 6 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, 28 patients with infectious complications, and 4 patients with anastomotic complications. Statistical analyses revealed that surgery-related factors were significantly associated with these complication outcomes.ConclusionsPatients who undergo surgical debulking and IP PDT develop a significant capillary-leak syndrome after surgery that necessitates massive volume resuscitation, careful ICU monitoring, and, frequently, prolonged ventilatory support