85 research outputs found
Status and overview of development of the Silicon Pixel Detector for the PHENIX experiment at the BNL RHIC
We have developed a silicon pixel detector to enhance the physics
capabilities of the PHENIX experiment. This detector, consisting of two layers
of sensors, will be installed around the beam pipe at the collision point and
covers a pseudo-rapidity of | \eta | < 1.2 and an azimuth angle of | \phi | ~
2{\pi}. The detector uses 200 um thick silicon sensors and readout chips
developed for the ALICE experiment. In order to meet the PHENIX DAQ readout
requirements, it is necessary to read out 4 readout chips in parallel. The
physics goals of PHENIX require that radiation thickness of the detector be
minimized. To meet these criteria, the detector has been designed and
developed. In this paper, we report the current status of the development,
especially the development of the low-mass readout bus and the front-end
readout electronics.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures and 1 table in DOCX (Word 2007); PIXEL 2008
workshop proceedings, will be published in the Proceedings Section of
JINST(Journal of Instrumentation
The D0 Run II Impact Parameter Trigger
Many physics topics to be studied by the D0 experiment during Run II of the
Fermilab Tevatron ppbar collider give rise to final states containing
b--flavored particles. Examples include Higgs searches, top quark production
and decay studies, and full reconstruction of B decays. The sensitivity to such
modes has been significantly enhanced by the installation of a silicon based
vertex detector as part of the DO detector upgrade for Run II. Interesting
events must be identified initially in 100-200 microseconds to be available for
later study. This paper describes custom electronics used in the DO trigger
system to provide the real--time identification of events having tracks
consistent with the decay of b--flavored particles.Comment: To be submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Methods A. 56 pages, 31 figure
The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC
The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current
status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for
making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of
RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program
available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix
Mycosis fungoides: is it a Borrelia burgdorferi-associated disease?
Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most frequently found cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with an unknown aetiology. Several aetiopathogenetic mechanisms have been postulated, including persistent viral or bacterial infections. We looked for evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the aetiologic agent of Lyme disease (LD), in a case study of MF patients from Northeastern Italy, an area with endemic LD. Polymerase chain reaction for the flagellin gene of Bb was used to study formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lesional skin biopsies from 83 patients with MF and 83 sex- and age-matched healthy controls with homolocalised cutaneous nevi. Borrelia burgdorferi-specific sequence was detected in 15 out of 83 skin samples of patients with MF (18.1%), but in none out of 83 matched healthy controls (P<0.0001). The Bb positivity rates detected in this study support a possible role for Bb in the aetiopathogenesis of MF in a population endemic for LD
Hepatocyte Permissiveness to Plasmodium Infection Is Conveyed by a Short and Structurally Conserved Region of the CD81 Large Extracellular Domain
Invasion of hepatocytes by Plasmodium sporozoites is a prerequisite for establishment of a malaria infection, and thus represents an attractive target for anti-malarial interventions. Still, the molecular mechanisms underlying sporozoite invasion are largely unknown. We have previously reported that the tetraspanin CD81, a known receptor for the hepatitis C virus (HCV), is required on hepatocytes for infection by sporozoites of several Plasmodium species. Here we have characterized CD81 molecular determinants required for infection of hepatocytic cells by P. yoelii sporozoites. Using CD9/CD81 chimeras, we have identified in CD81 a 21 amino acid stretch located in a domain structurally conserved in the large extracellular loop of tetraspanins, which is sufficient in an otherwise CD9 background to confer susceptibility to P. yoelii infection. By site-directed mutagenesis, we have demonstrated the key role of a solvent-exposed region around residue D137 within this domain. A mAb that requires this region for optimal binding did not block infection, in contrast to other CD81 mAbs. This study has uncovered a new functionally important region of CD81, independent of HCV E2 envelope protein binding domain, and further suggests that CD81 may not interact directly with a parasite ligand during Plasmodium infection, but instead may regulate the function of a yet unknown partner protein
A Novel PAN/Apple Domain-Containing Protein from Toxoplasma gondii: Characterization and Receptor Identification
Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that invades nucleated cells, causing toxoplasmosis in humans and animals worldwide. The extremely wide range of hosts susceptible to T. gondii is thought to be the result of interactions between T. gondii ligands and receptors on its target cells. In this study, a host cell-binding protein from T. gondii was characterized, and one of its receptors was identified. P104 (GenBank Access. No. CAJ20677) is 991 amino acids in length, containing a putative 26 amino acid signal peptide and 10 PAN/apple domains, and shows low homology to other identified PAN/apple domain-containing molecules. A 104-kDa host cell-binding protein was detected in the T. gondii lysate. Immunofluorescence assays detected P104 at the apical end of extracellular T. gondii. An Fc-fusion protein of the P104 N-terminus, which contains two PAN/apple domains, showed strong affinity for the mammalian and insect cells evaluated. This binding was not related to protein-protein or protein-lipid interactions, but to a protein-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) interaction. Chondroitin sulfate (CS), a kind of GAG, was shown to be involved in adhesion of the Fc-P104 N-terminus fusion protein to host cells. These results suggest that P104, expressed at the apical end of the extracellular parasite, may function as a ligand in the attachment of T. gondii to CS or other receptors on the host cell, facilitating invasion by the parasite
Limitations and utility of a cytolytic assay for measuring simian virus 40-induced cell surface antigens.
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