Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Castro.
The X-chromosomal microsatellites HPRTB, DXS101, ARA, DXS7423, and DXS8377 were analysed by a pentaplex PCR in an expanded population sample from Cantabria and an independent sample of unrelated individuals from the Basque Country. Allele frequencies showed similar distributions, but minor variations were found for some loci.
We report results from a study of events with a double-Pomeron exchange topology produced in p p collisions at sqrt[s]=1800 GeV. The events are characterized by a leading antiproton and a large rapidity gap on the outgoing proton side. We find that the differential production cross section agrees in shape with predictions based on Regge theory and factorization, and that the ratio of double-Pomeron exchange to single diffractive production rates is relatively unsuppressed as compared to the O(10) suppression factor previously measured in single diffractive production.
We report a measurement of the tt production cross section using dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. Using a 197+/-12 pb(-1) data sample recorded by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab, we use two complementary techniques to select candidate events. We compare the number of observed events and selected kinematical distributions with the predictions of the standard model and find good agreement. The combined result of the two techniques yields a tt production cross section of 7.0(+2.4)(-2.1)(stat)+1.6-1.1(syst)+/-0.4(lum) pb.
An epidemiological study of Fasciola hepatica in cattle was implemented in the north central region of Portugal. Both an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an egg shedding quantification technique were used in the follow-up of seven herds. Two of these herds were negative and the other five were positive for F. hepatica. A herd cut-off of value of 0.425 optical density was calculated and herd sensitivity (HSe) and herd specificity (HSp) were defined. Three seroprevalence studies were also implemented in the region with stratification by county sub-regions for a period of 18 months. Overall mean herd prevalence in Vagos of 11, 23 and 48% was progressively found for the three studies, respectively.
We report the observation of a narrow state decaying into J/psipi+pi- and produced in 220 pb(-1) of p p-bar collisions at =1.96 Tesqaure root of sV in the CDF II experiment. We observe 730+/-90 decays. The mass is measured to be 3871.3+/-0.7(stat)+/-0.4(syst) MeV/c2, with an observed width consistent with the detector resolution. This is in agreement with the recent observation by the Belle Collaboration of the X(3872) meson.
We report on a search for anomalous production of events with at least two charged, isolated, like-sign leptons, each with pT > 11 GeV/c using a 107 pb(-1) sample of 1.8 TeV pp collisions collected by the CDF detector. We define a signal region containing low background from standard model processes. To avoid bias, we fix the final cuts before examining the event yield in the signal region using control regions to test the Monte Carlo predictions. We observe no events in the signal region, consistent with an expectation of 0.63(+0.84)(-0.07) events. We present 95% confidence level limits on new physics processes in both a signature-based context as well as within a representative minimal supergravity (tanbeta = 3) model.
We report on a search for B(0)(s)-->micro(+)micro(-) and B(0)(d)-->micro(+)micro(-) decays in pp collisions at square root of s=1.96 TeV using 171 pb(-1) of data collected by the CDF II experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The decay rates of these rare processes are sensitive to contributions from physics beyond the standard model. One event survives all our selection requirements, consistent with the background expectation. We derive branching ratio limits of B(B(0)(s)-->micro(+)micro(-))<5.8x10(-7) and B(B(0)(d)-->micro(+)micro(-))<1.5x10(-7) at 90% confidence level.
We report on a search for direct Kaluza-Klein graviton production in a data sample of 84 pb(-1) of ppmacr; collisions at sqrt[s]=1.8 TeV, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We investigate the final state of large missing transverse energy and one or two high energy jets. We compare the data with the predictions from a (3+1+n)-dimensional Kaluza-Klein scenario in which gravity becomes strong at the TeV scale. At 95% confidence level (C.L.) for n=2, 4, and 6 we exclude an effective Planck scale below 1.0, 0.77, and 0.71 TeV, respectively.
We present the results of a search for pair production of scalar top quarks (t(1)) in an R-parity violating supersymmetry scenario in 106 pb(-1) of pp collisions at square root of s=1.8 TeV collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. In this mode each t(1) decays into a tau lepton and a b quark. We search for events with two tau's, one decaying leptonically (e or mu) and one decaying hadronically, and two jets. No candidate events pass our final selection criteria. We set a 95% confidence level lower limit on the t(1) mass at 122 GeV/c(2) for Br(t(1)-->tau b)=1.
AIMS: Recurrence and multifocal nature are two important characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Leukoplakia is the most frequent pre-cancerous oral lesion and, in most cases, it is not possible to predict malignant capacity. The objective of this study is to identify p53 alterations in cells taken from the oral cavity of at-risk patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The following samples were collected from 34 patients with oral leukoplakia with and without previous carcinoma: oral rinse, a brush swabbed over the lesions and hair roots. Mutational analysis of the p53 gene was performed by single-strand conformation polymorphisms and confirmed by DNA sequencing. RESULTS: We detected 11 mutations in p53 gene in oral cytological specimens. These alterations were observed only in brush cytology samples in patients without previous carcinoma, and in both samples (rinse and brush) in patients with previous carcinoma. Three of these patients had disease recurrence. CONCLUSION: This non-invasive technique may be useful in the follow-up of at-risk patients, and introduces new possibilities to analyse molecular markers before malignant lesions are clinically apparent.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical, radiological, and pathological features which may be useful to differentiate intracranial schwannomas of the facial nerve from vestibular schwannomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study of 91 patients undergoing surgery with a clinical suspicion of vestibular schwannoma is presented. Clinical and radiological features are analyzed. Immunohistochemistry for neurofilaments was performed in selected cases of unilateral vestibular schwannomas, bilateral vestibular schwannomas, and facial nerve schwannomas. RESULTS: Facial function was normal in 83% of patients with vestibular schwannoma. Both patients with facial schwannomas had preoperative House-Brackmann grade II facial function. MRI showed no main differences between facial and vestibular schwannomas. A positive immunostaining was found in unilateral vestibular schwannomas, bilateral vestibular schwannomas, and facial nerve schwannomas. CONCLUSION: There are no specific clinical, radiological, or pathological factors to accurately differentiate schwannomas of the facial nerve from vestibular schwannomas.
We report on measurements of differential cross sections dsigma/dp(T) for prompt charm meson production in ppmacr; collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV using 5.8+/-0.3 pb(-1) of data from the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The data are collected with a new trigger that is sensitive to the long lifetime of hadrons containing heavy flavor. The charm meson cross sections are measured in the central rapidity region |y|</=1 in four fully reconstructed decay modes: D0-->K-pi(+), D(*+)-->D0pi(+), D+-->K-pi(+)pi(+), D(+)(s)-->phipi(+), and their charge conjugates. The measured cross sections are compared to theoretical calculations.
We report on a search for a high mass, narrow width particle that decays directly to emu, etau, or microtau. We use approximately 110 pb(-1) of data collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab from 1992 to 1995. No evidence of lepton flavor violating decays is found. Limits are set on the production and decay of sneutrinos with R-parity violating interactions.
We report a measurement of the fraction of events with a large pseudorapidity gap deltaeta within the pseudorapidity region available to the proton dissociation products X in p+p-->p+X. For a final state p of fractional momentum loss xi(p) and 4-momentum transfer squared t(p) within 0.06 3 is found to be 0.246+/-0.001 (stat)+/-0.042 (syst) [0.184+/-0.001 (stat)+/-0.043 (syst)]. Our results are compared with gap fractions measured in minimum bias pp collisions and with theoretical expectations.
We have searched for pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the top quark (stop) in 107 pb(-1) of pp collisions at square root of s=1.8 TeV collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). Each stop is assumed to decay into a lepton, bottom quark, and supersymmetric neutrino. Such a scenario would give rise to events with two leptons, two hadronic jets, and a substantial imbalance of transverse energy. No evidence of such a stop signal has been found. We exclude stop masses in the region (80</=m(t)</=135 GeV/c(2)) in the mass plane of stop versus sneutrino.
We present a search for associated production of the Upsilon(1S) and a vector boson in 83 pb(-1) of ppmacr; collisions at sqrt[s]=1.8 TeV collected by the CDF experiment in 1994-1995. We find no evidence of the searched signal in the data, and set upper limits to the production cross sections.
We report a search for the production of long-lived charged massive particles in a data sample of 90 pb(-1) of square root[s]=1.8 TeV pp collisions recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The search uses the muonlike penetration and anomalously high ionization energy loss signature expected for such a particle to discriminate it from backgrounds. The data are found to agree with background expectations, and cross section limits of O(1) pb are derived using two reference models, a stable quark and a stable scalar lepton.
We report the results of a search for a W' boson produced in pp; collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.8 TeV using a 106 pb(-1) data sample recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We observe no significant excess of events above background for a W' boson decaying to a top and bottom quark pair. In a model where this boson would mediate interactions involving a massive right-handed neutrino (nu(R)) and have standard model strength couplings, we use these data to exclude a W' boson with mass between 225 and 536 GeV/c(2) at 95% confidence level for M(W')>>M(nu(R)) and between 225 and 566 GeV/c(2) at 95% confidence level for M(W')<M(nu(R)).