286 research outputs found
Production of phi mesons at mid-rapidity in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC
We present the first results of meson production in the K^+K^- decay channel
from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV as measured at mid-rapidity by
the PHENIX detector at RHIC. Precision resonance centroid and width values are
extracted as a function of collision centrality. No significant variation from
the PDG accepted values is observed. The transverse mass spectra are fitted
with a linear exponential function for which the derived inverse slope
parameter is seen to be constant as a function of centrality. These data are
also fitted by a hydrodynamic model with the result that the freeze-out
temperature and the expansion velocity values are consistent with the values
previously derived from fitting single hadron inclusive data. As a function of
transverse momentum the collisions scaled peripheral.to.central yield ratio RCP
for the is comparable to that of pions rather than that of protons. This result
lends support to theoretical models which distinguish between baryons and
mesons instead of particle mass for explaining the anomalous proton yield.Comment: 326 authors, 24 pages text, 23 figures, 6 tables, RevTeX 4. To be
submitted to Physical Review C as a regular article. 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
CCL28 Induces Mucosal Homing of HIV-1-Specific IgA-Secreting Plasma Cells in Mice Immunized with HIV-1 Virus-Like Particles
Mucosae-associated epithelial chemokine (MEC or CCL28) binds to CCR3 and CCR10 and recruits IgA-secreting plasma cells (IgA-ASCs) in the mucosal lamina propria. The ability of this chemokine to enhance migration of IgA-ASCs to mucosal sites was assessed in a mouse immunization model using HIV-1IIIB Virus-like particles (VLPs). Mice receiving either HIV-1IIIB VLPs alone, CCL28 alone, or the irrelevant CCL19 chemokine were used as controls. Results showed a significantly increased CCR3 and CCR10 expression on CD19+ splenocytes of HIV-1IIIB VPL-CCL28-treated mice. HIV-1 Env-specific IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-5 production, total IgA, anti-Env IgA as well as gastro-intestinal mucosal IgA-secreting plasma cells were also significantly augmented in these mice. Notably, sera and vaginal secretions from HIV-1IIIB VLP-CCL28-treated mice exhibited an enhanced neutralizing activity against both a HIV-1/B-subtype laboratory strain and a heterologous HIV-1/C-subtype primary isolate. These data suggest that CCL28 could be useful in enhancing the IgA immune response that will likely play a pivotal role in prophylactic HIV vaccines
Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube
We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles
moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root
relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped
pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of
a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production
associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational
probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Phosphoproteomic Profiling of In Vivo Signaling in Liver by the Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1)
Our understanding of signal transduction networks in the physiological context of an organism remains limited, partly due to the technical challenge of identifying serine/threonine phosphorylated peptides from complex tissue samples. In the present study, we focused on signaling through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1), which is at the center of a nutrient- and growth factor-responsive cell signaling network. Though studied extensively, the mechanisms involved in many mTORC1 biological functions remain poorly understood.We developed a phosphoproteomic strategy to purify, enrich and identify phosphopeptides from rat liver homogenates. Using the anticancer drug rapamycin, the only known target of which is mTORC1, we characterized signaling in liver from rats in which the complex was maximally activated by refeeding following 48 hr of starvation. Using protein and peptide fractionation methods, TiO(2) affinity purification of phosphopeptides and mass spectrometry, we reproducibly identified and quantified over four thousand phosphopeptides. Along with 5 known rapamycin-sensitive phosphorylation events, we identified 62 new rapamycin-responsive candidate phosphorylation sites. Among these were PRAS40, gephyrin, and AMP kinase 2. We observed similar proportions of increased and reduced phosphorylation in response to rapamycin. Gene ontology analysis revealed over-representation of mTOR pathway components among rapamycin-sensitive phosphopeptide candidates.In addition to identifying potential new mTORC1-mediated phosphorylation events, and providing information relevant to the biology of this signaling network, our experimental and analytical approaches indicate the feasibility of large-scale phosphoproteomic profiling of tissue samples to study physiological signaling events in vivo
Low Concentrations of Methamphetamine Can Protect Dopaminergic Cells against a Larger Oxidative Stress Injury: Mechanistic Study
Mild stress can protect against a larger insult, a phenomenon termed preconditioning or tolerance. To determine if a low intensity stressor could also protect cells against intense oxidative stress in a model of dopamine deficiency associated with Parkinson disease, we used methamphetamine to provide a mild, preconditioning stress, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) as a source of potentially toxic oxidative stress, and MN9D cells as a model of dopamine neurons. We observed that prior exposure to subtoxic concentrations of methamphetamine protected these cells against 6-OHDA toxicity, whereas higher concentrations of methamphetamine exacerbated it. The protection by methamphetamine was accompanied by decreased uptake of both [3H] dopamine and 6-OHDA into the cells, which may have accounted for some of the apparent protection. However, a number of other effects of methamphetamine exposure suggest that the drug also affected basic cellular survival mechanisms. First, although methamphetamine preconditioning decreased basal pERK1/2 and pAkt levels, it enhanced the 6-OHDA-induced increase in these phosphokinases. Second, the apparent increase in pERK1/2 activity was accompanied by increased pMEK1/2 levels and decreased activity of protein phosphatase 2. Third, methamphetamine upregulated the pro-survival protein Bcl-2. Our results suggest that exposure to low concentrations of methamphetamine cause a number of changes in dopamine cells, some of which result in a decrease in their vulnerability to subsequent oxidative stress. These observations may provide insights into the development of new therapies for prevention or treatment of PD
J/psi production from proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV
J/psi production has been measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=
200 GeV over a wide rapidity and transverse momentum range by the PHENIX
experiment at RHIC. Distributions of the rapidity and transverse momentum,
along with measurements of the mean transverse momentum and total production
cross section are presented and compared to available theoretical calculations.
The total J/psi cross section is 3.99 +/- 0.61(stat) +/- 0.58(sys) +/-
0.40(abs) micro barns. The mean transverse momentum is 1.80 +/- 0.23(stat) +/-
0.16(sys) GeV/c.Comment: 326 authors, 6 pages text, 4 figures, 1 table, RevTeX 4. To be
submitted to PRL. 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
Measurement of Single Electron Event Anisotropy in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV
The transverse momentum dependence of the azimuthal anisotropy parameter v_2,
the second harmonic of the azimuthal distribution, for electrons at
mid-rapidity (|eta| < 0.35) has been measured with the PHENIX detector in Au+Au
collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The measurement was made with respect to
the reaction plane defined at high rapidities (|eta| = 3.1 -- 3.9). From the
result we have measured the v_2 of electrons from heavy flavor decay after
subtraction of the v_2 of electrons from other sources such as photon
conversions and Dalitz decay from light neutral mesons. We observe a non-zero
single electron v_2 with a 90% confidence level in the intermediate p_T region.Comment: 330 authors, 11 pages text, RevTeX4, 9 figures, 1 tables. Submitted
to Physical Review C. 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
Systematic Studies of the Centrality and sqrt(s_NN) Dependence of dE_T/deta and dN_ch/deta in Heavy Ion Collisions at Mid-rapidity
The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured transverse energy and charged
particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6,
130 and 200 GeV as a function of centrality. The presented results are compared
to measurements from other RHIC experiments, and experiments at lower energies.
The sqrt(s_NN) dependence of dE_T/deta and dN_ch/deta per pair of participants
is consistent with logarithmic scaling for the most central events. The
centrality dependence of dE_T/deta and dN_ch/deta is similar at all measured
incident energies. At RHIC energies the ratio of transverse energy per charged
particle was found independent of centrality and growing slowly with
sqrt(s_NN). A survey of comparisons between the data and available theoretical
models is also presented.Comment: 327 authors, 25 pages text, 19 figures, 17 tables, RevTeX 4. To be
submitted to Physical Review C as a regular article. 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
Centrality Dependence of Charm Production from Single Electrons in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV
The PHENIX experiment has measured mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra
(0.4 < p_T < 4.0 GeV/c) of single electrons as a function of centrality in
Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. Contributions to the raw spectra from
photon conversions and Dalitz decays of light neutral mesons are measured by
introducing a thin (1.7% X_0) converter into the PHENIX acceptance and are
statistically removed. The subtracted ``non-photonic'' electron spectra are
primarily due to the semi-leptonic decays of hadrons containing heavy quarks
(charm and bottom). For all centralities, charm production is found to scale
with the nuclear overlap function, T_AA. For minimum-bias collisions the charm
cross section per binary collision is N_cc^bar/T_AA = 622 +/- 57 (stat.) +/-
160 (sys.) microbarns.Comment: 326 authors, 4 pages text, 3 figures, 1 table, RevTeX 4. To be
submitted to Physical Review Letters. 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
- …