Photoproduction of J/psi and of high mass e+e- in ultra-peripheral Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

We present the first measurement of photoproduction of J/psi and of two-photon production of high-mass e+e- pairs in electromagnetic (or ultra-peripheral) nucleus-nucleus interactions, using Au+Au data at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The events are tagged with forward neutrons emitted following Coulomb excitation of one or both Au^{star} nuclei. The event sample consists of 28 events with m_{e+e-} > 2 GeV/c^2 with zero like-sign background. The measured cross sections at midrapidity of d\sigma / dy (J/psi + Xn, y=0) = 76 +/- 33 (stat) +/- 11 (syst) micro b and d^2\sigma/dm dy (e^+e^- + Xn, y=0) = 86 +/- 23 (stat) +/- 16 (syst) micro b/(GeV/c^2) for m_{e+e-} \in [2.0,2.8] GeV/c^2 are consistent with various theoretical predictions.Comment: 345 authors from 52 institutions, 20 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Physics Letters B. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Molecular characterization of Malassezia sympodialis and Malassezia furfur from cattle with and without otitis Caracterização molecular de isolados de Malassezia sympodialis e Malassezia furfur provenientes de bovinos com e sem otite externa

A molecular study of Malassezia strains isolated from cattle with or without otitis was carried out by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD). DNA was extracted and purified from nine strains of Malassezia sympodialis and fourteen of Malassezia furfur. These microorganisms were collected from eight different bovine herds in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The RAPD analysis and phenograms did not show the formation of genetically distinct groups among the strain isolated from cattle with or without otitis raised in the same herds. Genetic heterogeneity was observed among Malassezia strains from different geographic origins. These data suggest that genetically similar M. sympodialis and M. furfur strains found as members of the normal ear microbiota could become opportunistically active in the inflammatory process in cattle.<br>A caracterização molecular de amostras de Malassezia spp., isoladas de bovinos com e sem otite, foi realizada por meio da técnica do DNA polimórfico amplificado ao acaso (RAPD). DNAs de nove amostras de Malassezia sympodialis e quatorze de M. furfur foram extraídos e purificados. Essas amostras foram provenientes de oito diferentes rebanhos bovinos no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. A análise de RAPD e os fenogramas não revelaram a formação de grupos geneticamente distintos entre amostras isoladas de bovinos, criados no mesmo rebanho, com ou sem otite. Heterogeneidade genética foi observada entre amostras de diferentes origens geográficas. Os dados sugerem que isolados geneticamente semelhantes e membros da microbiota normal do ouvido podem participar, como oportunistas, no processo inflamatório do conduto auditivo externo de bovinos