Measurement of the axial vector form factor from antineutrino-proton scattering.

Scattering of high energy particles from nucleons probes their structure, as was done in the experiments that established the non-zero size of the proton using electron beams1. The use of charged leptons as scattering probes enables measuring the distribution of electric charges, which is encoded in the vector form factors of the nucleon2. Scattering weakly interacting neutrinos gives the opportunity to measure both vector and axial vector form factors of the nucleon, providing an additional, complementary probe of their structure. The nucleon transition axial form factor, FA, can be measured from neutrino scattering from free nucleons, νµn → µ-p and [Formula: see text], as a function of the negative four-momentum transfer squared (Q2). Up to now, FA(Q2) has been extracted from the bound nucleons in neutrino-deuterium scattering3-9, which requires uncertain nuclear corrections10. Here we report the first high-statistics measurement, to our knowledge, of the [Formula: see text] cross-section from the hydrogen atom, using the plastic scintillator target of the MINERvA11 experiment, extracting FA from free proton targets and measuring the nucleon axial charge radius, rA, to be 0.73 ± 0.17 fm. The antineutrino-hydrogen scattering presented here can access the axial form factor without the need for nuclear theory corrections, and enables direct comparisons with the increasingly precise lattice quantum chromodynamics computations12-15. Finally, the tools developed for this analysis and the result presented are substantial advancements in our capabilities to understand the nucleon structure in the weak sector, and also help the current and future neutrino oscillation experiments16-20 to better constrain neutrino interaction models.

Benefits and Risks of Iron Interventions in Infants in Rural Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Universal provision of iron supplements (drops or syrup) or multiple micronutrient powders to young children in low-to-middle-income countries where anemia is prevalent is recommended by the World Health Organization and widely implemented. The functional benefits and safety of these interventions are unclear. METHODS: We conducted a three-group, double-blind, double-dummy, individually randomized, placebo-controlled trial to assess the immediate and medium-term benefits and risks of 3 months of daily supplementation with iron syrup or iron-containing multiple micronutrient powders, as compared with placebo, in 8-month-old children in rural Bangladesh. The primary outcome was cognitive development, as assessed by the cognitive composite score on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition, immediately after completion of the assigned 3-month regimen; scores range from 55 to 145, with higher scores indicating better cognitive performance. Secondary outcomes included the cognitive composite score at 9 months after completion of the assigned regimen; behavioral, language, and motor development, as well as growth and hematologic markers, immediately after completion and at 9 months after completion; and safety. RESULTS: We randomly assigned 3300 infants to receive iron syrup (1101 infants), multiple micronutrient powders (1099), or placebo (1100) daily. After completion of the assigned 3-month regimen, no apparent effect on the cognitive composite score was observed with iron syrup as compared with placebo (mean between-group difference in change in score from baseline, -0.30 points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.08 to 0.48) or with multiple micronutrient powders as compared with placebo (mean between-group difference in change in score from baseline, 0.23 points; 95% CI, -0.55 to 1.00). No apparent effect on any other developmental or growth outcome was observed immediately after completion of the assigned regimen or at 9 months after completion. At 9 months after completion of the assigned regimen, the prevalences of anemia, iron deficiency, and iron deficiency anemia increased in all three trial groups but remained lower among the children who received iron syrup or multiple micronutrient powders than among those who received placebo. The risk of serious adverse events and incidence of symptoms of infection were similar in the three trial groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial involving infants in Bangladesh, 3 months of daily supplementation with iron syrup or multiple micronutrient powders did not appear to have an effect on child development or other functional outcomes as compared with placebo. (Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia; BRISC Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12617000660381.).

Thirty-five years later: Long-term effects of the Matlab maternal and child health/family planning program on older women's well-being.

Family planning programs are believed to have substantial long-term benefits for women's health and well-being, yet few studies have established either extent or direction of long-term effects. The Matlab, Bangladesh, maternal and child health/family planning (MCH/FP) program afforded a 12-y period of well-documented differential access to services. We evaluate its impacts on women's lifetime fertility, adult health, and economic outcomes 35 y after program initiation. We followed 1,820 women who were of reproductive age during the differential access period (born 1938-1973) from 1978 to 2012 using prospectively collected data from the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance System and the 1996 and 2012 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Surveys. We estimated intent-to-treat single-difference models comparing treatment and comparison area women. MCH/FP significantly increased contraceptive use, reduced completed fertility, lengthened birth intervals, and reduced age at last birth, but had no significant positive impacts on health or economic outcomes. Treatment area women had modestly poorer overall health (+0.07 SD) and respiratory health (+0.12 SD), and those born 1950-1961 had significantly higher body mass index (BMI) in 1996 (0.76 kg/m2) and 2012 (0.57 kg/m2); fewer were underweight in 1996, but more were overweight or obese in 2012. Overall, there was a +2.5 kg/m2 secular increase in BMI. We found substantial changes in lifetime contraceptive and fertility behavior but no long-term health or economic benefits of the program. We observed modest negative health impacts that likely result from an accelerated nutritional transition among treated women, a transition that would, in an earlier context, have been beneficial.

Simultaneous Measurement of Muon Neutrino ν_{µ} Charged-Current Single π

Neutrino-induced charged-current single π^{+} production in the Δ(1232) resonance region is of considerable interest to accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments. In this Letter, high statistic differential cross sections are reported for the semiexclusive reaction ν_{µ}A→µ^{-}π^{+}+ nucleon(s) on scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead targets recorded by MINERvA using a wideband ν_{µ} beam with ⟨E_{ν}⟩≈6 GeV. Suppression of the cross section at low Q^{2} and enhancement of low T_{π} are observed in both light and heavy nuclear targets compared with phenomenological models used in current neutrino interaction generators. The cross sections per nucleon for iron and lead compared with CH across the kinematic variables probed are 0.8 and 0.5 respectively, a scaling which is also not predicted by current generators.

Neutrino-Induced Coherent π

MINERvA has measured the ν_{µ}-induced coherent π^{+} cross section simultaneously in hydrocarbon (CH), graphite (C), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb) targets using neutrinos from 2 to 20 GeV. The measurements exceed the predictions of the Rein-Sehgal and Berger-Sehgal PCAC based models at multi-GeV ν_{µ} energies and at produced π^{+} energies and angles, E_{π}>1 GeV and θ_{π}<10°. Measurements of the cross-section ratios of Fe and Pb relative to CH reveal the effective A scaling to increase from an approximate A^{1/3} scaling at few GeV to an A^{2/3} scaling for E_{ν}>10 GeV.

Simultaneous Measurement of ν_{µ} Quasielasticlike Cross Sections on CH, C, H_{2}O, Fe, and Pb as a Function of Muon Kinematics at MINERvA.

This Letter presents the first simultaneous measurement of the quasielasticlike neutrino-nucleus cross sections on C, water, Fe, Pb, and scintillator (hydrocarbon or CH) as a function of longitudinal and transverse muon momentum. The ratio of cross sections per nucleon between Pb and CH is always above unity and has a characteristic shape as a function of transverse muon momentum that evolves slowly as a function of longitudinal muon momentum. The ratio is constant versus longitudinal momentum within uncertainties above a longitudinal momentum of 4.5 GeV/c. The cross section ratios to CH for C, water, and Fe remain roughly constant with increasing longitudinal momentum, and the ratios between water or C to CH do not have any significant deviation from unity. Both the overall cross section level and the shape for Pb and Fe as a function of transverse muon momentum are not reproduced by current neutrino event generators. These measurements provide a direct test of nuclear effects in quasielasticlike interactions, which are major contributors to long-baseline neutrino oscillation data samples.

Scaling-up an early childhood parenting intervention by integrating into government health care services in rural Bangladesh: A cluster-randomised controlled trial.

AIMS: We evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of utilising government health supervisors to train and supervise primary health care workers (HWs) in community clinics to deliver parenting sessions as part of their usual duties. METHODS: We randomly allocated 16 unions in the Mymensing district of Bangladesh 1:1 to an intervention or control group. HWs in clinics in the eight intervention unions (n = 59 health workers, n = 24 clinics) were trained to deliver a group-based parenting intervention, with training and supervision provided by government supervisors. In each of the 24 intervention clinics, we recruited 24 mothers of children aged 6-24 months to participate in the parenting sessions (n = 576 mother/child dyads). Mother/child dyads attended fortnightly parenting sessions at the clinic in groups of four to five participants for 6 months (13 sessions). We collected data on supervisor and HW compliance in implementing the intervention, mothers' attendance and the observed quality of parenting sessions in all intervention clinics and HW burnout at endline in all clinics. We randomly selected 32 clinics (16 intervention, 16 control) and 384 mothers (192 intervention, 192 control) to participate in the evaluation on mother-reported home stimulation, measured at baseline and endline. RESULTS: Supervisors and HWs attended all training, 46/59 health workers (78%) conducted the majority of parenting sessions, (only two HWs [3.4%] refused) and mothers' attendance rate was 86%. However, supervision levels were low: only 32/57 (56.1%) of HWs received at least one supervisory visit. Intervention HWs delivered the parenting sessions with acceptable levels of quality on most items. The intervention significantly benefitted home stimulation (effect size = 0.53SD, 95% confidence interval: 0.50, 0.56, p < 0.001). HW burnout was low in both groups. CONCLUSION: Integration into the primary health care service is a promising approach for scaling early childhood development programmes in Bangladesh, although further research is required to identify feasible methods for facilitator supervision.

Simultaneous Measurement of Proton and Lepton Kinematics in Quasielasticlike ν_{µ}-Hydrocarbon Interactions from 2 to 20 GeV.

Neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like scattering, a reaction category extensively used in neutrino oscillation measurements, probes nuclear effects that govern neutrino-nucleus interactions. This Letter reports the first measurement of the triple-differential cross section for ν_{µ} quasielastic-like reactions using the hydrocarbon medium of the MINERvA detector exposed to a wideband beam spanning 2≤E_{ν}≤20 GeV. The measurement maps the correlations among transverse and longitudinal muon momenta and summed proton kinetic energies, and compares them to predictions from a state-of-art simulation. Discrepancies are observed that likely reflect shortfalls with modeling of pion and nucleon intranuclear scattering and/or spectator nucleon ejection from struck nuclei. The separate determination of leptonic and hadronic variables can inform experimental approaches to neutrino-energy estimation.

Insertion loss of regular finite cylinder arrays with porous layers between the rows.

It has been demonstrated recently via simulations in a duct that the sound transmission loss of porous materials can be increased with embedded periodic scatterers [Jena and Qiu, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 147, 978-983 (2020)]. In this paper, the insertion loss (IL) of two types of finite size structures constructed by installing two parallel porous sheets within rows of periodic scatterers is investigated in free field. One structure uses rigid cylindrical shells, while the other uses split ring shells, which are obtained by making uniform vertical slits in cylindrical shells. The simulation results show that the mixed structure has larger IL than the summation of the ILs of the individual periodic scatterers and two parallel porous sheets in the frequency range after the first bandgap due to Bragg diffraction, and an additional peak in IL is introduced for the split ring scatterers due to their local resonance. The amplitude, frequency, and bandwidth of the resonance peak can be tuned by changing the geometry of the slit for some specific broadband sound absorption. Finally, the experiment results obtained in an anechoic chamber are presented to support the simulation results and analyses.

Distributed-feedback blue laser diode utilizing a tunnel junction grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.

In this paper, we demonstrate a novel approach utilizing tunnel junction (TJ) to realize GaN-based distributed feedback (DFB) laser diodes (LDs). Thanks to the use of the TJ the top metal contact is moved to the side of the ridge and the DFB grating is placed directly on top of the ridge. The high refractive index contrast between air and GaN, together with the high overlap of optical mode with the grating, provides a high coupling coefficient. The demonstrated DFB LD operates at λ=450.15 nm with a side mode suppression ratio higher than 35dB. The results are compared to a standard Fabry-Perot LD.

High-Statistics Measurement of Neutrino Quasielasticlike Scattering at 6 GeV on a Hydrocarbon Target.

We measure neutrino charged-current quasielasticlike scattering on hydrocarbon at high statistics using the wideband Neutrinos at the Main Injector beam with neutrino energy peaked at 6 GeV. The double-differential cross section is reported in terms of muon longitudinal (p_{∥}) and transverse (p_{⊥}) momentum. Cross section contours versus lepton momentum components are approximately described by a conventional generator-based simulation, however, discrepancies are observed for transverse momenta above 0.5 GeV/c for longitudinal momentum ranges 3-5 and 9-20 GeV/c. The single differential cross section versus momentum transfer squared (dσ/dQ_{QE}^{2}) is measured over a four-decade range of Q^{2} that extends to 10 GeV^{2}. The cross section turnover and falloff in the Q^{2} range 0.3-10 GeV^{2} is not fully reproduced by generator predictions that rely on dipole form factors. Our measurement probes the axial-vector content of the hadronic current and complements the electromagnetic form factor data obtained using electron-nucleon elastic scattering. These results help oscillation experiments because they probe the importance of various correlations and final-state interaction effects within the nucleus, which have different effects on the visible energy in detectors.

Measurement of Final-State Correlations in Neutrino Muon-Proton Mesonless Production on Hydrocarbon at ⟨E_{ν}⟩=3 GeV.

Final-state kinematic imbalances are measured in mesonless production of ν_{µ}+A→µ^{-}+p+X in the MINERvA tracker. Initial- and final-state nuclear effects are probed using the direction of the µ^{-}-p transverse momentum imbalance and the initial-state momentum of the struck neutron. Differential cross sections are compared to predictions based on current approaches to medium modeling. These models underpredict the cross section at intermediate intranuclear momentum transfers that generally exceed the Fermi momenta. As neutrino interaction models need to correctly incorporate the effect of the nucleus in order to predict neutrino energy resolution in oscillation experiments, this result points to a region of phase space where additional cross section strength is needed in current models, and demonstrates a new technique that would be suitable for use in fine-grained liquid argon detectors where the effect of the nucleus may be even larger.

Antineutrino Charged-Current Reactions on Hydrocarbon with Low Momentum Transfer.

We report on multinucleon effects in low momentum transfer (<0.8 GeV/c) antineutrino interactions on plastic (CH) scintillator. These data are from the 2010-2011 antineutrino phase of the MINERvA experiment at Fermilab. The hadronic energy spectrum of this inclusive sample is well described when a screening effect at a low energy transfer and a two-nucleon knockout process are added to a relativistic Fermi gas model of quasielastic, Δ resonance, and higher resonance processes. In this analysis, model elements introduced to describe previously published neutrino results have quantitatively similar benefits for this antineutrino sample. We present the results as a double-differential cross section to accelerate the investigation of alternate models for antineutrino scattering off nuclei.

Development of real-time PCR assay for the detection of Mycoplasma bovis.

Mycoplasma bovis is one of the important bovine mycoplasma involved in economically important clinical conditions like respiratory diseases, otitis media, and mastitis. The present study was undertaken with the objective of developing a SYBR Green dye-based real-time PCR assay targeting uvrC gene for the diagnosis of M. bovis. The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the assay were evaluated. The test showed 103-fold more sensitivity than conventional PCR and detected down to 100 fg level of DNA. It was found to be specific, as no cross reactivity was shown with other related bacteria and Mycoplasma species. The developed assay was able to detect down to 40 copies of uvrC gene from spiked bovine milk samples. At present, this developed assay may be used as a valuable diagnostic tool for the detection of Mycoplasma bovis.

Different Context but Similar Cognitive Structures: Older Adults in Rural Bangladesh.

Most research in cognitive aging is based on literate participants from high-income and Western populations. The extent to which findings generalize to low-income and illiterate populations is unknown. The main aim was to examine the structure of between-person differences in cognitive functions among elderly from rural Bangladesh. We used data from the Poverty and Health in Aging (PHA) project in Bangladesh. The participants (n = 452) were in the age range 60-92 years. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the fit of a five-factor model (episodic recall, episodic recognition, verbal fluency, semantic knowledge, processing speed) and to examine whether the model generalized across age, sex, and literacy. This study demonstrates that an established model of cognition is valid also among older persons from rural Bangladesh. The model demonstrated strong (or scalar) invariance for age, and partial strong invariance for sex and literacy. Semantic knowledge and processing speed showed weak (or metric) sex invariance, and semantic knowledge demonstrated also sensitivity to illiteracy. In general, women performed poorer on all abilities. The structure of individual cognitive differences established in Western populations also fits a population in rural Bangladesh well. This is an important prerequisite for comparisons of cognitive functioning (e.g., declarative memory) across cultures. It is also worth noting that absolute sex differences in cognitive performance among rural elderly in Bangladesh differ from those usually found in Western samples.

Prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts among elderly persons in rural Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Depression, if broadly defined, is the commonest late-life mental disorder. We examined the distribution of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts, across age, sex, literacy, and marital status, among elderly individuals residing in rural Bangladesh and participating in a population-based study on health and aging. METHODS: Prevalence figures of depressive symptoms were assessed with SRQ20 (n = 625), and possible social network and economic associations were examined. Morbidity accounts of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts were examined for a subsample that also underwent complete medical examination (n = 471). RESULTS: We selected for analyses the items that corresponded to DSM-IV criteria and constructed a dichotomous variable. The prevalence was 45%, and most pronounced among the oldest women (70%). The overall prevalence of suicidal thoughts was 23%. Being a woman, illiterate or single were all risk factors for depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. These associations remained unaccounted for by the social network and economic variables. Co-residing with a child and having a high quality of contact were protective of both depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. The main findings were replicated in the subsample, where it was found that morbidities were also associated with the outcomes, independently of the four main predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence figures for depressive symptoms among elderly in rural Bangladesh are high. Demographic, social network, and morbidity factors are independently associated with both depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. This is the first study to report prevalence figures for depressive symptoms in this population.

Prevalence of dementia and factors associated with dementia in rural Bangladesh: data from a cross-sectional, population-based study.

BACKGROUND: There are currently no published reports of dementia prevalence or factors associated with dementia occurrence in Bangladesh. The aims are to report the prevalence of definite and questionable dementia in rural Bangladesh, and examine factors potentially associated with dementia occurrence, including sociodemographic, clinical, social, and nutritional factors. METHODS: We used data from a population-based, cross-sectional study from Matlab, in rural Bangladesh, on 471 persons aged 60+ years. Participants underwent a clinical examination including diagnosis of somatic disorders, and a structured interview including questions about sociodemographic and social factors. Nutritional status was measured with the Mini Nutritional Assessment, and blood tests were conducted to assess a range of nutritional and clinical aspects. Age- and sex-specific dementia prevalence was calculated. Crude and adjusted logistic regression was used to examine associations between dementia and clinical, social, and nutritional factors. Dementia was diagnosed using a two-step procedure by physicians according to DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence of questionable dementia was 11.5% and definite dementia was 3.6%. Dementia prevalence increased with increasing years of age (adjusted OR: 1.04; 95% CI = 1.002-1.1) and decreased with more years of education (adjusted OR: 0.8; 95% CI = 0.6-0.99). Being malnourished increased the odds of dementia almost six-fold (adjusted OR: 5.9; 95% CI = 1.3-26.3), while frequent participation in social activities was associated with a decreased odds (adjusted OR: 0.5; 95% CI = 0.2-0.9). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of dementia in rural Bangladesh is similar to other countries in the South Asia region, but lower than reports from other world regions. Malnutrition is strongly associated with dementia occurrence, and is a relevant area for future research within low-income countries.

Febrile illness and pro-inflammatory cytokines are associated with lower neurodevelopmental scores in Bangladeshi infants living in poverty.

BACKGROUND: An estimated one-third of children younger than 5 years in low- and middle-income countries fail to meet their full developmental potential. The first year of life is a period of critical brain development and is also when most of the morbidity from infection is suffered. We aimed to determine if clinical and biological markers of inflammation in the first year of life predict cognitive, language, and motor outcomes in children living in an urban slum in Bangladesh. METHODS: Children living in Dhaka, Bangladesh were observed from birth until 24 months of age. Febrile illness was used as a clinical marker of inflammation and elevated concentrations of inflammation-related cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10) in sera collected from a subset of the cohort (N = 127) at 6 months of age were used as biomarkers of inflammation. Psychologists assessed cognitive, language, and motor development using a culturally adapted version of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III) at 12 (N = 398) and 24 months of age (N = 210). We tested for the ability of febrile illness and elevated cytokine levels to predict developmental outcomes, independent of known predictors of stunting, family income, and maternal education. RESULTS: Every additional 10 days of fever was associated with a 1.9 decrease in language composite score and a 2.1 decrease in motor composite score (p = 0.005 and 0.0002, respectively). Elevated levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß (> 7.06 pg/mL) and IL-6 (> 10.52 pg/mL) were significantly associated with a 4.9 and 4.3 decrease in motor score, respectively. Conversely, an elevated level of the Th-2 cytokine IL-4 (> 0.70 pg/mL) was associated with a 3.6 increase in cognitive score (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and biological markers of inflammation in the first year of life were significantly associated with poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. Conversely, a Th2-like response was associated with a better outcome. These findings suggest that markers of inflammation could serve as prognostic indicators and potentially lead to immune-based therapies to prevent developmental delays in at-risk children.

Combination Targeted Therapy with Lenvatinib and Pembrolizumab in Progressive, Radioiodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancers.

PURPOSE: Lenvatinib, a potent multi-kinase inhibitor, improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with radioiodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC); however, most patients experience disease progression, warranting further therapy. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of combination lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab (LP) in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled patients with progressive, RAI-refractory DTC that were either naïve to multi-kinase inhibitors (cohort 1) or who had progressed on lenvatinib (cohort 2). Patients received oral lenvatinib daily (cohort 1, 20 mg; cohort 2, dose at progression ) and intravenous pembrolizumab (200 mg) every 21 days. RESULTS: 30 and 27 patients were enrolled in cohort 1 and 2, respectively. Adverse events were consistent with those observed in other cancers. In cohort 1, the confirmed overall response rate (ORR) was 65.5%. There were no complete responses (CR, primary endpoint). The 12 and 18-month PFS were 72.0% and 58.0%, respectively, and median PFS was 26.8 months. In cohort 2, the confirmed ORR was 16% (primary endpoint), and median PFS was 10.0 months (95% CI; 7.0-17.9 months). Tumor histology, driver mutations, and immune-related biomarkers, including PD-L1 expression, thyroid-specific antibody levels, and CD8+ T cell tumor infiltrate, did not correlate with response to therapy. Increased baseline peripheral blood monocytes and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio were associated with a worse PFS in cohort 1. CONCLUSIONS: Combination lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab may enhance the durability of lenvatinib monotherapy in lenvatinib-naïve patients. Furthermore, the addition of pembrolizumab may be a viable salvage therapy for patients who have progressed on lenvatinib.