88 research outputs found
Serological evidence of hepatitis E virus infection in pigs and jaundice among pig handlers in Bangladesh
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of viral hepatitis in humans. Pigs may act as a reservoir of HEV, and pig handlers were frequently identified with a higher prevalence of antibodies to HEV. The objectives of this study were to identify evidence of HEV infection in pigs and compare the history of jaundice between pig handlers and people not exposed to pigs and pork. Blood and faecal samples were collected from 100 pigs derived from three slaughterhouses in the Gazipur district of Bangladesh from January to June, 2011. We also interviewed 200 pig handlers and 250 non-exposed people who did not eat pork or handled pigs in the past 2 years. We tested the pig sera for HEV-specific antibodies using a competitive ELISA and pig faecal samples for HEV RNA using real-time RT-PCR. Of 100 pig sera, 82% (n = 82) had detectable antibody against HEV. Of the 200 pig handlers, 28% (56/200) demonstrated jaundice within the past 2 years, whereas only 17% (43/250) of controls had a history of jaundice (p < .05). Compared to non-exposed people, those who slaughtered pigs (31% versus 15%, p < .001), reared pigs (37% versus 20%, p < .001), butchered pigs (35% versus 19%, p < .001) or involved in pork transportation (28% versus 13%, p < .001) were more likely to be affected with jaundice in the preceding 2 years. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, exposure to pigs (odds ratio [OR]: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2–3.9) and age (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95–0.99) was significantly associated with jaundice in the past 2 years. Pigs in Bangladesh demonstrated evidence of HEV infection, and a history of jaundice was significantly more frequent in pig handlers. Identifying and genotyping HEV in pigs and pig handlers may provide further evidence of the pig's role in zoonotic HEV transmission in Bangladesh
Design and characterization of AmLi neutron sources for the LZ experiment
In this paper we describe the development, testing, and characterization of
three low-emission rate AmLi neutron sources. The sources are used to calibrate
the nuclear recoil response of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment. The
sources' neutron emission rate was measured using He proportional tubes.
The sources' gamma emissions were characterized using a high-purity germanium
(HPGe) detector. Source-validated GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations allowed to
calibrate the Ge and neutron detector responses.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, revised manuscripts after
accommodating the reviewer's comment
Convergence of Humans, Bats, Trees, and Culture in Nipah Virus Transmission, Bangladesh.
Preventing emergence of new zoonotic viruses depends on understanding determinants for human risk. Nipah virus (NiV) is a lethal zoonotic pathogen that has spilled over from bats into human populations, with limited person-to-person transmission. We examined ecologic and human behavioral drivers of geographic variation for risk of NiV infection in Bangladesh. We visited 60 villages during 2011-2013 where cases of infection with NiV were identified and 147 control villages. We compared case villages with control villages for most likely drivers for risk of infection, including number of bats, persons, and date palm sap trees, and human date palm sap consumption behavior. Case villages were similar to control villages in many ways, including number of bats, persons, and date palm sap trees, but had a higher proportion of households in which someone drank sap. Reducing human consumption of sap could reduce virus transmission and risk for emergence of a more highly transmissible NiV strain
Background Determination for the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Dark Matter Experiment
The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment recently reported limits on WIMP-nucleus
interactions from its initial science run, down to cm
for the spin-independent interaction of a 36 GeV/c WIMP at 90% confidence
level. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of the backgrounds
important for this result and for other upcoming physics analyses, including
neutrinoless double-beta decay searches and effective field theory
interpretations of LUX-ZEPLIN data. We confirm that the in-situ determinations
of bulk and fixed radioactive backgrounds are consistent with expectations from
the ex-situ assays. The observed background rate after WIMP search criteria
were applied was events/keV/kg/day in the
low-energy region, approximately 60 times lower than the equivalent rate
reported by the LUX experiment.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figure
A search for new physics in low-energy electron recoils from the first LZ exposure
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a
dual-phase xenon time projection chamber. We report searches for new physics
appearing through few-keV-scale electron recoils, using the experiment's first
exposure of 60 live days and a fiducial mass of 5.5t. The data are found to be
consistent with a background-only hypothesis, and limits are set on models for
new physics including solar axion electron coupling, solar neutrino magnetic
moment and millicharge, and electron couplings to galactic axion-like particles
and hidden photons. Similar limits are set on weakly interacting massive
particle (WIMP) dark matter producing signals through ionized atomic states
from the Migdal effect.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. See https://tinyurl.com/LZDataReleaseRun1ER for
a data release related to this pape
A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics
The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the mostpressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenontime-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the availableparameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), whilefeaturing extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates.These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decayand through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-baseddetector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantlyadvance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, andcosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.<br
First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment
The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) 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
LZ'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/c. The most stringent limit is set at 30 GeV/c, excluding
cross sections above 5.9 cm at the 90\% confidence level.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. See https://tinyurl.com/LZDataReleaseRun1 for a
data release related to this pape
- …