1,553 research outputs found
Multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Poland: identification of emerging clones
Penicillin resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates has rapidly
emerged in Poland during the last decade and has reached prevalence levels
of up to 14.4% in 1997. In order to investigate the nature of this
increase, a molecular epidemiological analysis of
non-penicillin-susceptible multidrug-resistant pneumococci isolated in
1995 and 1996 was conducted. Thirty-seven patients who suffered mainly
from upper respiratory tract infections and pneumococcal pneumonia were
enrolled in this study. The medical centers to which the patients were
admitted were located in 16 Polish towns across the country. Eight
distinct BOX PCR types were observed, representing 14 subtypes.
Restriction fragment end labeling (RFEL) analysis divided the pneumococcal
strains into 16 distinct types. By combining the BOX PCR and RFEL data,
four genetically distinct clusters of strains were identified. Two
clusters represented the genetic clones 23F and 9V, which have recently
emerged all over the world. The two other genetic clusters, which
represented serotypes 23F and 6B, clearly predominated in the analyzed
collection of Polish non-penicillin-susceptible pneumococcal strains.
Since the latter clusters did not match any of the 133 RFEL types of
non-penicillin-susceptible pneumococci collected in 15 other countries,
their Polish clonal origin is most likely
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Antibodies to Conserved Pneumococcal Antigens Correlate with, but Are Not Required for, Protection against Pneumococcal Colonization Induced by Prior Exposure in a Mouse Model
In mice following intranasal exposure to Streptococcus pneumoniae, protection against pneumococcal colonization was independent of antibody but dependent on CD4+ T cells. Nonetheless, concentrations of antibodies to three conserved pneumococcal antigens correlated with protection against colonization. Concentrations of antibodies to conserved pneumococcal antigens may be correlates of protection without being effectors of protection
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Streptococcus pneumoniae Capsular Serotype Invasiveness Correlates with the Degree of Factor H Binding and Opsonization with C3b/iC3b
Different capsular serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae vary markedly in their ability to cause invasive infection, but the reasons why are not known. As immunity to S. pneumoniae infection is highly complement dependent, variations in sensitivity to complement between S. pneumoniae capsular serotypes could affect invasiveness. We have used 20 capsule-switched variants of strain TIGR4 to investigate whether differences in the binding of the alternative pathway inhibitor factor H (FH) could be one mechanism causing variations in complement resistance and invasive potential between capsular serotypes. Flow cytometry assays were used to assess complement factor binding and complement-dependent neutrophil association for the TIGR4 capsule-switched strains. FH binding varied with the serotype and inversely correlated with the results of factor B binding, C3b/iC3b deposition, and neutrophil association. Differences between strains in FH binding were lost when assays were repeated with pspC mutant strains, and loss of PspC also reduced differences in C3b/iC3b deposition between strains. Median FH binding was high in capsule-switched mutant strains expressing more invasive serotypes, and a principal component analysis demonstrated a strong correlation between serotype invasiveness, high FH binding, and resistance to complement and neutrophil association. Further data obtained with 33 clinical strains also demonstrated that FH binding negatively correlated with C3b/iC3b deposition and that median FH binding was high in strains expressing more invasive serotypes. These data suggest that variations in complement resistance between S. pneumoniae strains and the association of a serotype with invasiveness could be related to capsular serotype effects on FH binding
Search for eta-mesic 4He in the dd->3He n pi0 and dd->3He p pi- reactions with the WASA-at-COSY facility
The search for 4He-eta bound states was performed with the WASA-at-COSY
facility via the measurement of the excitation function for the dd->3He n pi0
and dd->3He p pi- processes. The beam momentum was varied continuously between
2.127 GeV/c and 2.422 GeV/c, corresponding to the excess energy for the dd->4He
eta reaction ranging from Q=-70 MeV to Q=30 MeV. The luminosity was determined
based on the dd->3He n reaction and quasi-free proton-proton scattering via
dd->pp n_spectator n_spectator reactions. The excitation functions determined
independently for the measured reactions do not reveal a structure which could
be interpreted as a narrow mesic nucleus. Therefore, the upper limits of the
total cross sections for the bound state production and decay in
dd->(4He-eta)_bound->3He n pi0 and dd->(4He-eta)_bound->3He p pi- processes
were determined taking into account the isospin relation between both the
channels considered. The results of the analysis depend on the assumptions of
the N* momentum distribution in the anticipated mesic-4He. Assuming as in the
previous works, that this is identical with the distribution of nucleons bound
with 20 MeV in 4He, we determined that (for the mesic bound state width in the
range from 5 MeV to 50 MeV) the upper limits at 90% confidence level are about
3 nb and about 6 nb for npi0 and ppi- channels, respectively. However, based on
the recent theoretical findings of the N*(1535) momentum distribution in the
N*-3He nucleus bound by 3.6 MeV, we find that the WASA-at-COSY detector
acceptance decreases and hence the corresponding upper limits are 5 nb and 10
nb for npi0 and ppi- channels respectively.Comment: This article will be submitted to JHE
Semiclassical theory of shot noise in ballistic n+-i-n+ semiconductor strucutres: relevance of Pauli and long range Coulomb correlations
We work out a semiclassical theory of shot noise in ballistic n+-i-n+
semiconductor structures aiming at studying two fundamental physical
correlations coming from Pauli exclusion principle and long range Coulomb
interaction. The theory provides a unifying scheme which, in addition to the
current-voltage characteristics, describes the suppression of shot noise due to
Pauli and Coulomb correlations in the whole range of system parameters and
applied bias. The whole scenario is summarized by a phase diagram in the plane
of two dimensionless variables related to the sample length and contact
chemical potential. Here different regions of physical interest can be
identified where only Coulomb or only Pauli correlations are active, or where
both are present with different relevance. The predictions of the theory are
proven to be fully corroborated by Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Title changed and Introduction rewritten.
Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Yield scaling, size hierarchy and fluctuations of observables in fragmentation of excited heavy nuclei
Multifragmentation properties measured with INDRA are studied for single
sources produced in Xe+Sn reactions in the incident energy range 32-50 A MeV
and quasiprojectiles from Au+Au collisions at 80 A MeV. A comparison for both
types of sources is presented concerning Fisher scaling, Zipf law, fragment
size and fluctuation observables. A Fisher scaling is observed for all the
data. The pseudo-critical energies extracted from the Fisher scaling are
consistent between Xe+Sn central collisions and Au quasi-projectiles. In the
latter case it also corresponds to the energy region at which fluctuations are
maximal. The critical energies deduced from the Zipf analysis are higher than
those from the Fisher analysis.Comment: 30 pages, accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics A, references
correcte
Cross section ratio and angular distributions of the reaction p + d -> 3He + eta at 48.8 MeV and 59.8 MeV excess energy
We present new data for angular distributions and on the cross section ratio
of the p + d -> 3He + eta reaction at excess energies of Q = 48.8 MeV and Q =
59.8 MeV. The data have been obtained at the WASA-at-COSY experiment
(Forschungszentrum J\"ulich) using a proton beam and a deuterium pellet target.
While the shape of obtained angular distributions show only a slow variation
with the energy, the new results indicate a distinct and unexpected total cross
section fluctuation between Q = 20 MeV and Q = 60 MeV, which might indicate the
variation of the production mechanism within this energy interval.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Search for the eta-mesic 4He with WASA-at-COSY detector
An exclusive measurement of the excitation function for the dd->3Heppi-
reaction was performed at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY-Juelich with the
WASA-at-COSY detection system. The data were taken during a slow acceleration
of the beam from 2.185 GeV/c to 2.400 GeV/c crossing the kinematic threshold
for the eta meson production in the dd->4He-eta reaction at 2.336 GeV/c. The
corresponding excess energy with respect to the 4He-eta system varied from
-51.4MeV to 22MeV. The integrated luminosity in the experiment was determined
using the dd->3Hen reaction. The shape of the excitation function for the
dd->3Heppi- was examined. No signal of the 4He-eta bound state was observed. An
upper limit for the cross-section for the bound state formation and decay in
the process dd->(4He-eta)bound->3Heppi- was determined on the 90% confidence
level and it varies from 20nb to 27nb for the bound state width ranging from
5MeV to 35MeV, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
Pion radii in nonlocal chiral quark model
The electromagnetic radius of the charged pion and the transition radius of
the neutral pion are calculated in the framework of the nonlocal chiral quark
model. It is shown in this model that the contributions of vector mesons to the
pion radii are noticeably suppressed in comparison with a similar contribution
in the local Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. The form-factor for the process
gamma*pi+pi- is calculated for the -1 GeV^2<q^2<1.6 GeV^2. Our results are in
satisfactory agreement with experimental data.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
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