Rodenticide residues in non-target small mammal species and their occurrence in owl pellets

OBJECTIVES: Distinguishing the patterns of autoantibodies (AAB) against G-protein-coupled receptors in Chagas' cardiomyopathy and megacolon and the discovery of such a pattern in patients who are as yet asymptomatic could help to identify patients at high risk of developing the life-threatening complications of Chagas' disease. BACKGROUND: Such AAB against receptors as beta 1 (beta1-AAB), beta 2 (beta2-AAB), and muscarinergic 2 (M2-AAB) are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of Chagas' cardiomyopathy and megacolon, the predominant manifestations of Chagas' disease, which is the most serious parasitic disease in Latin America. METHODS: Beta1-AAB, beta2-AAB, and M2-AAB were measured in the serum of asymptomatic Chagas' patients and in those with cardiomyopathy and/or megacolon. RESULTS: Nearly all Chagas' patients with cardiomyopathy and/or megacolon had AAB. Predominance of beta1-AAB combined with M2-AAB in Chagas' cardiomyopathy and beta2-AAB with M2-AAB in megacolon was found. Such patterns were also found in 34% of the asymptomatic patients, of whom 85% possessed a beta1-AAB level typical for Chagas' cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of asymptomatic Chagas' patients who had a specific AAB pattern and had a beta1-AAB level above a defined cutoff point mirrors very well the epidemiological situation, which showed that clinical manifestations develop in nearly 30% of Chagas' patients and cardiomyopathy in nearly 90% of them. We hypothesize that beta1-, beta2-, and M2-AAB measurement might be a useful tool for risk assessment in the indeterminate state of Chagas' disease to select patients for earlier involvement in care programs. However, prospective studies are needed to further evaluate this hypothesis

Novel approaches of nanoceria with magnetic, photoluminescent, and gas-sensing properties

The modification of CeO2 with rare-earth elements opens up a wide range of applications as biomedical devices using infrared emission as well as magnetic and gas-sensing devices, once the structural, morphological, photoluminescent, magnetic, electric, and gas-sensing properties of these systems are strongly correlated to quantum electronic transitions between rare-earth f-states among defective species. Quantitative phase analysis revealed that the nanopowders are free from secondary phases and crystallize in the fluorite-type cubic structure. Magnetic coercive field measurements on the powders indicate that the substitution of cerium with lanthanum (8 wt %), in a fluorite-type cubic structure, created oxygen vacancies and led to a decrease in the fraction of Ce species in the 3+ state, resulting in a stronger room-temperature ferromagnetic response along with high coercivity (160 Oe). In addition to the magnetic and photoluminescent behavior, a fast response time (5.5 s) was observed after CO exposure, indicating that the defective structure of ceria-based materials corresponds to the key of success in terms of applications using photoluminescent, magnetic, or electrical behaviors.Fil: Rocha, Leandro S.R.. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Amoresi, Rafael A.C.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Moreno, Henrique. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Ramirez, Miguel A.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Ponce, Miguel Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Foschini, Cesar R.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Longo, Elson. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Simões, Alexandre Z.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasi

Association of polymorphisms in the beta-2 adrenergic receptor gene with fracture risk and bone mineral density

Summary: Signaling through the beta-2 adrenergic receptor (B2AR) on the osteoblast influences bone remodeling in rodents. In the B2AR gene, three polymorphisms influence receptor function. We show that these polymorphisms are not associated with fracture risk or bone mineral density in the UCP, Rotterdam Study, and GEFOS cohorts. Introduction: Signaling through the beta-2 adrenergic receptor (B2AR) on the osteoblast influences bone remodeling in rodents. In the B2AR gene, three polymorphisms are known to influence receptor function in vitro and in vivo (rs1042713, rs1042714, and rs1800888). We examined the role of these polymorphisms in the B2AR gene on human bone metabolism. Methods: We performed nested case–control studies to determine the association of these polymorphisms with fracture risk in the Utrecht Cardiovascular Pharmacogenetics (UCP) cohort and in three cohorts of the Rotterdam Study. We also determined the association of these polymorphisms with bone mineral density (BMD) in the GEFOS Consortium. UCP contains drug-dispensing histories from community pharmacies linked to national registrations of hospital discharges in the Netherlands. The Rotterdam Study is a prospective cohort study investigating demographics and risk factors of chronic diseases. GEFOS is a large international collaboration studying the genetics of osteoporosis. Fractures were defined by ICD-9 codes 800–829 in the UCP cohort (158 cases and 2617 unmatched controls) and by regular X-ray examinations, general practitioner, and hospital records in the Rotterdam Study (2209 cases and 8559 unmatched controls). BMD was measured at the femoral neck and lumbar spine using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in GEFOS (N = 32,961). Results: Meta-analysis of the two nested case–control studies showed pooled odds ratios of 0.98 (0.91–1.05, p = 0.52), 1.04 (0.97–1.12, p = 0.28), and 1.16 (0.83–1.62, p = 0.38) for the associations betwee

Search for Λc+→pK+π−\Lambda_c^+ \to p K^+ \pi^- and Ds+→K+K+π−D_s^+ \to K^+ K^+ \pi^- Using Genetic Programming Event Selection

We apply a genetic programming technique to search for the double Cabibbo suppressed decays $\Lambda_c^+ \to p K^+ \pi^-$ and $D_s^+ \to K^+ K^+ \pi^-$. We normalize these decays to their Cabibbo favored partners and find $\text{BR}($\Lambda_c^+ \to p K^+ \pi^-$)/\text{BR}($\Lambda_c^+ \to p K^- \pi^+$) = (0.05 \pm 0.26 \pm 0.02)$ and $\text{BR}($D_s^+ \to K^+ K^+ \pi^-$)/\text{BR}($D_s^+ \to K^+ K^- \pi^+$) = (0.52\pm 0.17\pm 0.11)$ where the first errors are statistical and the second are systematic. Expressed as 90% confidence levels (CL), we find $< 0.46$ and $< 0.78$ respectively. This is the first successful use of genetic programming in a high energy physics data analysis.Comment: 10 page

Measurement of the D+ and Ds+ decays into K+K-K+

We present the first clear observation of the doubly Cabibbo suppressed decay D+ --> K-K+K+ and the first observation of the singly Cabibbo suppressed decay Ds+ --> K-K+K+. These signals have been obtained by analyzing the high statistics sample of photoproduced charm particles of the FOCUS(E831) experiment at Fermilab. We measure the following relative branching ratios: Gamma(D+ --> K-K+K+)/Gamma(D+ --> K-pi+pi+) = (9.49 +/- 2.17(statistical) +/- 0.22(systematic))x10^-4 and Gamma(Ds+ --> K-K+K+)/Gamma(Ds+ --> K-K+pi+) = (8.95 +/- 2.12(statistical) +2.24(syst.) -2.31(syst.))x10^-3.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

A Non-parametric Approach to the D+ to K*0bar mu+ nu Form Factors

Using a large sample of D+ -> K- pi+ mu+ nu decays collected by the FOCUS photoproduction experiment at Fermilab, we present the first measurements of the helicity basis form factors free from the assumption of spectroscopic pole dominance. We also present the first information on the form factor that controls the s-wave interference discussed in a previous paper by the FOCUS collaboration. We find reasonable agreement with the usual assumption of spectroscopic pole dominance and measured form factor ratios.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, and 2 tables. We updated the previous version by changing some words, removing one plot, and adding two tables. These changes are mostly stylisti

Measurements of Ξc+\Xi_c^{+} Branching Ratios

Using data collected by the fixed target Fermilab experiment FOCUS, we measure the branching ratios of the Cabibbo favored decays $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^+K^-\pi^+$, $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^+ \bar{K}^{*}(892)^0$, and $\Xi_c^+ \to \Lambda^0K^-\pi^+\pi^+$ relative to $\Xi_c^+ \to \Xi^-\pi^+\pi^+$ to be $0.91\pm0.11\pm0.04$, $0.78\pm0.16\pm0.06$, and $0.28\pm0.06\pm0.06$, respectively. We report the first observation of the Cabibbo suppressed decay $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^+K^+K^-$ and we measure the branching ratio relative to $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^+K^-\pi^+$ to be $0.16\pm0.06\pm0.01$. We also set 90% confidence level upper limits for $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^+ \phi$ and $\Xi_c^+ \to \Xi^*(1690)^0(\Sigma^+ K^-) K^+$ relative to $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^+K^-\pi^+$ to be 0.12 and 0.05, respectively. We find an indication of the decays $\Xi_c^+ \to \Omega^-K^{+}\pi^+$ and $\Xi_c^+ \to \Sigma^{*}(1385)^+ \bar{K}^0$ and set 90% confidence level upper limits for the branching ratios with respect to $\Xi_c^+ \to \Xi^-\pi^+\pi^+$ to be 0.12 and 1.72, respectively. Finally, we determine the 90% C.L. upper limit for the resonant contribution $\Xi_c^+ \to \Xi^{*}(1530)^0 \pi^+$ relative to $\Xi_c^+ \to \Xi^-\pi^+\pi^+$ to be 0.10.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Dalitz plot analysis of D_s+ and D+ decay to pi+pi-pi+ using the K-matrix formalism

FOCUS results from Dalitz plot analysis of D_s+ and D+ to pi+pi-pi+ are presented. The K-matrix formalism is applied to charm decays for the first time to fully exploit the already existing knowledge coming from the light-meson spectroscopy experiments. In particular all the measured dynamics of the S-wave pipi scattering, characterized by broad/overlapping resonances and large non-resonant background, can be properly included. This paper studies the extent to which the K-matrix approach is able to reproduce the observed Dalitz plot and thus help us to understand the underlying dynamics. The results are discussed, along with their possible implications on the controversial nature of the sigma meson.Comment: To be submitted to Phys.Lett.B A misprint corrected in formula

Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay D^0 -> \pi^-\mu^+\nu relative to D^0 -> K^-\mu^+\nu

We present a new measurement of the branching ratio of the Cabibbo suppressed decay D^0\to \pi^-\mu^+\nu relative to the Cabibbo favored decay D^0\to K^-\mu^+\nu and an improved measurement of the ratio |\frac{f_+^{\pi}(0)}{f_+^{K}(0)}|. Our results are 0.074 \pm 0.008 \pm 0.007 for the branching ratio and 0.85 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.01 for the form factor ratio, respectively.Comment: 13pages, 3 figure