RNA signatures allow rapid identification of pathogens and antibiotic susceptibilities

With rising rates of drug-resistant infections, there is a need for diagnostic methods that rapidly can detect the presence of pathogens and reveal their susceptibility to antibiotics. Here we propose an approach to diagnosing the presence and drug-susceptibility of infectious diseases based on direct detection of RNA from clinical samples. We demonstrate that species-specific RNA signatures can be used to identify a broad spectrum of infectious agents, including bacteria, viruses, yeast, and parasites. Moreover, we show that the behavior of a small set of bacterial transcripts after a brief antibiotic pulse can rapidly differentiate drug-susceptible and -resistant organisms and that these measurements can be made directly from clinical materials. Thus, transcriptional signatures could form the basis of a uniform diagnostic platform applicable across a broad range of infectious agents

Rate Measurement of D0→K+π−π0D^{0}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{0} and Constraints on D0−D0‾D^{0} - \overline{D^{0}} Mixing

We present an observation and rate measurement of the decay D0 -> K+pi-pi0 produced in 9/fb of e+e- collisions near the Upsilon(4S) resonance. The signal is inconsistent with an upward fluctuation of the background by 4.9 standard deviations. We measured the rate of D0 -> K+pi-pi0 normalized to the rate of D0bar -> K+pi-pi0 to be 0.0043 +0.0011 -0.0010 (stat) +/- 0.0007 (syst). This decay can be produced by doubly-Cabibbo-suppressed decays or by the D0 evolving into a D0bar through mixing, followed by a Cabibbo-favored decay to K+pi-pi0. We also found the CP asymmetry A=(8 +25 -22)% to be consistent with zero.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Study of Charmless Hadronic B Meson Decays to Pseudoscalar-Vector Final States

We report results of searches for charmless hadronic B meson decays to pseudoscalar(pi^+-,K^+-,Pi^0 or Ks^0)-vector(Rho, K* or Omega) final states. Using 9.7 million BBbar pairs collected with the CLEO detector, we report first observation of B^- --> Pi^-Rho^0, B^0 --> Pi^+-Rho^-+ and B^- --> Pi^-Omega, which are expected to be dominated by hadronic b --> u transitions. The measured branching fractions are (10.4+3.3-3.4+-2.1)x10^-6, (27.6+8.4-7.4+-4.2)x10^-6 and (11.3+3.3-2.9+-1.4)x10^-6, respectively. Branching fraction upper limits are set for all the other decay modes investigated.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Search for a Scalar Bottom Quark with Mass 3.5-4.5 GeV/c2c^{2}

We report on a search for a supersymmetric $\tilde{B}$ meson with mass between 3.5 and 4.5 GeV/$c^2$ using 4.52 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity produced at $\sqrt{s}=10.52$ GeV, just below the $e^+e^-\to B\bar{B}$ threshold, and collected with the CLEO detector. We find no evidence for a light scalar bottom quark.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

First Measurement of Gamma(D*+) and Precision Measurement of m_D*+ - m_D0

We present the first measurement of the D*+ width using 9/fb of e+ e- data collected near the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the CLEO II.V detector. Our method uses advanced tracking techniques and a reconstruction method that takes advantage of the small vertical size of the CESR beam spot to measure the energy release distribution from the D*+ -> D0 pi+ decay. We find Gamma(D*+) = 96 +- 4 (Statistical) +- 22 (Systematic) keV. We also measure the energy release in the decay and compute Delta m = m(D*+) - m(D0) = 145.412 +- 0.002 (Statistical) +- 0.012 (Systematic) MeV/c^2Comment: 24 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

Correlated /\c-/\cbar production in e+e- annihilations at sqrt{s}~10.5 GeV

Using 13.6/fb of continuum two-jet e+e- -> ccbar events collected with the CLEO detector, we have searched for baryon number correlations at the primary quark level. We have measured the likelihood for a /\c+ charmed baryon to be produced in the hemisphere opposite a /\c- relative to the likelihood for a /\c+ charmed baryon to be produced opposite an anticharmed meson Dbar; in all cases, the reconstructed hadrons must have momentum greater than 2.3 GeV/c. We find that, given a /\c- (reconstructed in five different decay modes), a /\c+ is observed in the opposite hemisphere (0.72+/-0.11)% of the time (not corrected for efficiency). By contrast, given a Dbar in one hemisphere, a /\c+ is observed in the opposite hemisphere only (0.21+/-0.02)% of the time. Normalized to the total number of either /\c- or Dbar ``tags'', it is therefore 3.52+/-0.45+/-0.42 times more likely to find a /\c+ opposite a /\c- than a Dbar meson. This enhancement is not observed in the JETSET 7.3 e+e- -> ccbar Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 19 pages, Latex, one figure separat

Observation of a Narrow Resonance of Mass 2.46 GeV/c^2 Decaying to D_s^*+ pi^0 and Confirmation of the D_sJ^* (2317) State

Using 13.5 inverse fb of e+e- annihilation data collected with the CLEO II detector we have observed a narrow resonance in the Ds*+pi0 final state, with a mass near 2.46 GeV. The search for such a state was motivated by the recent discovery by the BaBar Collaboration of a narrow state at 2.32 GeV, the DsJ*(2317)+ that decays to Ds+pi0. Reconstructing the Ds+pi0 and Ds*+pi0 final states in CLEO data, we observe peaks in both of the corresponding reconstructed mass difference distributions, dM(Dspi0)=M(Dspi0)-M(Ds) and dM(Ds*pi0)=M(Ds*pi0)-M(Ds*), both of them at values near 350 MeV. We interpret these peaks as signatures of two distinct states, the DsJ*(2317)+ plus a new state, designated as the DsJ(2463)+. Because of the similar dM values, each of these states represents a source of background for the other if photons are lost, ignored or added. A quantitative accounting of these reflections confirms that both states exist. We have measured the mean mass differences = 350.0 +/- 1.2 [stat] +/- 1.0 [syst] MeV for the DsJ*(2317) state, and = 351.2 +/- 1.7 [stat] +/- 1.0 [syst] MeV for the new DsJ(2463)+ state. We have also searched, but find no evidence, for decays of the two states via the channels Ds*+gamma, Ds+gamma, and Ds+pi+pi-. The observations of the two states at 2.32 and 2.46 GeV, in the Ds+pi0 and Ds*+pi0 decay channels respectively, are consistent with their interpretations as (c anti-strange) mesons with orbital angular momentum L=1, and spin-parities of 0+ and 1+.Comment: 16 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, version to be published in Physical Review D; minor modifications and fixes to typographical errors, plus an added section on production properties. The main results are unchanged; they supersede those reported in hep-ex/030501

Improved Measurement of the Form Factors in the Decay Lambda_c^+ --> Lambda e^+ nu_e

Using the CLEO detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we have studied the distribution of kinematic variables in the decay Lambda_c^+ -> Lambda e^+ nu_e. By performing a four-dimensional maximum likelihood fit, we determine the form factor ratio, R = f_2/f_1 = -0.31 +/- 0.05(stat) +/- 0.04(syst), the pole mass, M_{pole} = (2.21 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.14(syst)) GeV/c^2, and the decay asymmetry parameter of the Lambda_c, alpha_{Lambda_c} = -0.86 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.02(syst), for = 0.67 (GeV/c^2)^2. We compare the angular distributions of the Lambda_c^+ and Lambda_c^- and find no evidence for CP-violation: A_{Lambda_c} = (alpha_{Lambda_c^+} + alpha_{Lambda_c^-})/ (alpha_{Lambda_c^+} - alpha_{Lambda_c^-}) = 0.00 +/- 0.03(stat) +/- 0.01(syst) +/- 0.02, where the third error is from the uncertainty in the world average of the CP-violating parameter, A_{Lambda}, for Lambda -> p pi^-.Comment: 8 pages postscript,also available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/2004/, submitted to PR

Measurements of the Mass, total Width and Two-Photon Partila Width of the ηc\eta_{c} Meson

Using 13.4 $fb^{-1}$ of data collected with the CLEO detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we have observed 300 events for the two-photon production of ground-state pseudo-scalar charmonium in the decay $\eta_c$ -> $K_S K^{\mp} \pi^{\pm}$. We have measured the $\eta_c$ mass to be (2980.4 +- 2.3 (stat) +- 0.6 (sys)) MeV and its full width as (27.0 +- 5.8 (stat) +- 1.4 (sys)) MeV. We have determined the two-photon partial width of the $\eta_c$ meson to be (7.6 +- 0.8 (stat) +- 0.4 (sys) +- 2.3 (br)) keV, with the last uncertainty associated with the decay branching fraction.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

First Observation of barB0 to D*0 pi+pi+pi-pi- Decays

We report on the observation of B0bar -> D*0 pi+ pi+ pi- pi- decays. The branching ratio is (0.30 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.06)%. Interest in this particular mode was sparked by Ligeti, Luke and Wise who propose it as a way to check the validity of factorization tests in B0bar -> D*+ pi+ pi- pi- pi0 decays.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, Version to appear in Phys. Rev.