Searching for modifications to the exponential radioactive decay law with the Cassini spacecraft

Data from the power output of the radioisotope thermoelectric generators aboard the Cassini spacecraft are used to test the conjecture that small deviations observed in terrestrial measurements of the exponential radioactive decay law are correlated with the Earth-Sun distance. No significant deviations from exponential decay are observed over a range of 0.7 - 1.6 A.U. A 90% Cl upper limit of 0.84 x 10^-4 is set on a term in the decay rate of Pu-238 proportional to 1/R^2 and 0.99 x 10^-4 for a term proportional to 1/R.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Late

Measuring the masses of the charged hadrons using a RICH as a precision velocity spectrometer

The Selex experiment measured several billion charged hadron tracks with a high precision magnetic momentum spectrometer and high precision RICH velocity spectrometer. We have analyzed these data to simultaneously measure the masses of all the long lived charged hadrons and anti-hadrons from the pi to the Omega using the same detector and technique. The statistical precision achievable with this data sample is more than adequate for 0.1% mass measurements We have used these measurements to develop and understand the systematic effects of a RICH as a precision velocity spectrometer with the goal of measuring 10 masses with precision ranging from 100 KeV for the lightest to 1000 KeV for the heaviest. This requires controlling the radius measurement of RICH rings to the ~10^{-4} level. Progress in the mass measurements and the required RICH analysis techniques developed are discussed.Comment: Submitted to special edition of NIMA, Proceedings of RICh2010. v2 as accepted for publicatio

Expression of the xenobiotic transporter P-glycoprotein in the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)

The mammalian mdr1 P-glycoprotein (Pgp) has been implicated in xenobiotic resistance of drug-resistant cell lines and tumors, and may function in excretion or exclusion of toxic xenobiotics at several sites within the body. Pgp gene family members are expressed in excretory epithelia of several aquatic taxa and may contribute to the survival of pollution-tolerant aquatic animals in contaminated environments. For this reason the expression of Pgp family members was investigated in the livers and liver tumors of creosote-resistant mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) inhabiting a creosote-contaminated site (Atlantic Wood) in the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Expression of members of the Pgp gene family was detected by immunochemical methods using monoclonal antibody (mAb) C219. An immunoreactive band in the size range of mammalian P-glycoproteins was observed in immunoblots of liver membrane fractions and detergent extracts of mummichog liver from both Atlantic Wood and a reference site. Immunohistochemical staining of mummichog liver demonstrated this antigen on the canalicular surface of hepatocytes in normal liver similar to expression in mammalian and guppy liver. The levels of Pgp were 2-3 fold higher in immunoblots of nontumorous livers of Atlantic Wood mummichog compared with levels in reference site fish. Similar to results reported in mammalian liver neoplasms, Pgp was overexpressed and had aberrant immunohistochemical localization in the majority of mummichog liver neoplasms. Because mAb C219 was expected to recognize all Pgp gene family members expressed in mummichog, molecular techniques were used to characterize the individual Pgp genes expressed in mummichog liver. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to amplify Pgp gene transcripts. A cDNA fragment (3004 bp) was amplified which was most similar to the recently described mammalian sister gene to P-glycoprotein (spgp). Northern blots showed predominant expression of this gene in mummichog liver. Another cDNA fragment (1713 bp) was amplified from mummichog liver and intestine which was a homolog of the mammalian multidrug-resistance or xenobiotic transporter (mdr1). These results indicate that a xenobiotic transporter may be elevated in the livers and liver tumors of pollution-tolerant mummichog consistent with the proposed role of these proteins in xenobiotic resistance

Measuring the masses of the charged hadrons using a RICH as a precision velocity spectrometer

The Selex experiment measured several billion charged hadron tracks with a high precision magnetic momentum spectrometer and high precision RICH velocity spectrometer. We have analyzed these data to simultaneously measure the masses of all the long lived charged hadrons and anti-hadrons from the pi to the Omega using the same detector and technique. The statistical precision achievable with this data sample is more than adequate for 0.1% mass measurements We have used these measurements to develop and understand the systematic effects of a RICH as a precision velocity spectrometer with the goal of measuring 10 masses with precision ranging from 100 KeV for the lightest to 1000 KeV for the heaviest. This requires controlling the radius measurement of RICH rings to the ~10^{-4} level. Progress in the mass measurements and the required RICH analysis techniques developed are discussed.Comment: Submitted to special edition of NIMA, Proceedings of RICh2010. v2 as accepted for publicatio

First Observation of a New Narrow D_sJ Meson at 2632MeV/c^2

We report the first observation of a charm-strange meson D_sJ(2632) at a mass of 2632.5+/-1.7 MeV/c^2 in data from SELEX, the charm hadro-production experiment E781 at Fermilab. This state is seen in two decay modes, D_s eta and D^0 K^+. In the D_s eta decay mode we observe a peak with 101 events over a combinatoric background of 54.9 events at a mass of 2635.4+/-3.3 MeV/c^2. There is a corresponding peak of 21 events over a background of 6.9 at 2631.5+/-2.0 MeV/c^2 in the decay mode D^0 K^+. The relative branching ratio Gamma(D^0 K^+)/\Gamma(D_s eta) is 0.14+/-0.06. The full version of this paper has been accepted for publication in PRL (hep-ex/0406045). Here I have reproduced only the mass difference signal plots for the D_s eta and D^0 K^+ decay modes.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to be published in the proceedings of "XXIV Physics in Collision", Boston, June 200

Comparative genomics of Burkholderia multivorans, a ubiquitous pathogen with a highly conserved genomic structure

The natural environment serves as a reservoir of opportunistic pathogens. A well-established method for studying the epidemiology of such opportunists is multilocus sequence typing, which in many cases has defined strains predisposed to causing infection. Burkholderia multivorans is an important pathogen in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and its epidemiology suggests that strains are acquired from non-human sources such as the natural environment. This raises the central question of whether the isolation source (CF or environment) or the multilocus sequence type (ST) of B. multivorans better predicts their genomic content and functionality. We identified four pairs of B. multivorans isolates, representing distinct STs and consisting of one CF and one environmental isolate each. All genomes were sequenced using the PacBio SMRT sequencing technology, which resulted in eight high-quality B. multivorans genome assemblies. The present study demonstrated that the genomic structure of the examined B. multivorans STs is highly conserved and that the B. multivorans genomic lineages are defined by their ST. Orthologous protein families were not uniformly distributed among chromosomes, with core orthologs being enriched on the primary chromosome and ST-specific orthologs being enriched on the second and third chromosome. The ST-specific orthologs were enriched in genes involved in defense mechanisms and secondary metabolism, corroborating the strain-specificity of these virulence characteristics. Finally, the same B. multivorans genomic lineages occur in both CF and environmental samples and on different continents, demonstrating their ubiquity and evolutionary persistence

Phylogenomic study of Burkholderia glathei-like organisms, proposal of 13 novel Burkholderia species and emended descriptions of Burkholderia sordidicola, Burkholderia zhejiangensis, and Burkholderia grimmiae

Partial gyrB gene sequence analysis of 17 isolates from human and environmental sources revealed 13 clusters of strains and identified them as Burkholderia glathei Glade (BGC) bacteria. The taxonomic status of these clusters was examined by whole-genome sequence analysis, determination of the G+C content, whole-cell fatty acid analysis and biochemical characterization. The whole-genome sequence-based phylogeny was assessed using the Genome Blast Distance Phylogeny (GBDP) method and an extended multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) approach. The results demonstrated that these 17 BGC isolates represented 13 novel Burkholderia species that could be distinguished by both genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. BGC strains exhibited a broad metabolic versatility and developed beneficial, symbiotic, and pathogenic interactions with different hosts. Our data also confirmed that there is no phylogenetic subdivision in the genus Burkholderia that distinguishes beneficial from pathogenic strains. We therefore propose to formally classify the 13 novel BGC Burkholderia species as Burkholderia arvi sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29317(T) = CCUG 68412(T)), Burkholderia hypogeia sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29322(T) = CCUG 68407(T)), Burkholderia ptereochthonis sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29326(T) = CCUG 68403(T)), Burkholderia glebae sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29325(T) = CCUG 68404(T)), Burkholderia pedi sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29323(T) = CCUG 68406(T)), Burkholderia arationis sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29324(T) = CCUG 68405(T)), Burkholderia fortuita sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29320(T) = CCUG 68409(T)), Burkholderia temeraria sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29319(T) = CCUG 68410(T)), Burkholderia calidae sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29321(T) = CCUG 68408(T)), Burkholderia concitans sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29315(T) = CCUG 68414(T)), Burkholderia turbans sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29316(T) = CCUG 68413(T)), Burkholderia catudaia sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29318(T) = CCUG 68411(T)) and Burkholderia peredens sp. nov. (type strain LMG 29314(T) = CCUG 68415(T)). Furthermore, we present emended descriptions of the species Burkholderia sordidicola, Burkholderia zhejlangensis and Burkholderia grimmiae. The GenBank/EMBUDDBJ accession numbers for the 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences determined in this study are LT158612-LT158624 and LT158625-LT1158641, respectively

Heavy baryons - Recent and very new results

Recent results on observations, properties and decay modes of the charmed and beauty baryons will be reviewed. Candidates for several new high mass states which include a cleanly-identified daughter {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} baryon are seen in data from the SELEX experiment at Fermilab. These states are candidates for doubly-charmed baryons: a {Xi}{sub cc}{sup ++} state and a {Xi}{sub cc}{sup +} state. These candidates are more than 5{sigma} signals in each case at masses of 3520 and 3460 MeV respectively