Search

We report the first results from a search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. Four Ge and two Si detectors were operated for 52.6 live days, providing 19.4 kg-d of Ge net exposure after cuts for recoil energies between 10--100 keV. A blind analysis was performed using only calibration data to define the energy threshold and selection criteria for nuclear-recoil candidates. Using the standard dark-matter halo and nuclear-physics WIMP model, these data set the world's lowest exclusion limits on the coherent WIMP-nucleon scalar cross-section for all WIMP masses above 15 GeV, ruling out a significant range of neutralino supersymmetric models. The minimum of this limit curve at the 90% C.L. is 4 x 10^{-43} cm^2 at a WIMP mass of 60 GeV., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett; minor clarifications in response to referee's comments

The anomalous magnetic moment of the negative muon has been measured to a precision of 0.7 parts per million (ppm) at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron. This result is based on data collected in 2001, and is over an order of magnitude more precise than the previous measurement of the negative muon. The result a_mu= 11 659 214(8)(3) \times 10^{-10} (0.7 ppm), where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is sytematic, is consistend with previous measurements of the anomaly for the positive and negative muon. The average for the muon anomaly a_{mu}(exp) = 11 659 208(6) \times 10^{-10} (0.5ppm)., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters, revised to reflect referee comments. Text further revised to reflect additional referee comments and a corrected Fig. 3 replaces the older version

Plasma-induced damage on 0.115 /spl mu/m Cu dual damascene technology devices is investigated. The metal-via-metal structure shows more plasma damage than other metal structures. Plasma damage has little impact on NMOSFET hot carrier degradation. For PMOSFET NBTI degradation, the plasma damage on thick oxide is clearly observed.

Using improved Ge and Si detectors, better neutron shielding, and increased counting time, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment has obtained stricter limits on the cross section of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) elastically scattering from nuclei. Increased discrimination against electromagnetic backgrounds and reduction of neutron flux confirm WIMP-candidate events previously detected by CDMS were consistent with neutrons and give limits on spin-independent WIMP interactions which are >2X lower than previous CDMS results for high WIMP mass, and which exclude new parameter space for WIMPs with mass between 8-20 GeV/c^2., 4 pages, 4 figures

A process that combines shallow nitrogen implant with rapid thermal nitridation is shown to double the nitrogen content in ultra-thin oxynitrides for the same EOT. Implanted nitrogen acts as a second source of nitrogen during gate dielectric formation and amount of incorporated nitrogen is directly proportional to the implant dose. Nitridation is shown to have opposite effects on N and PMOS mobilities. PMOS mobilities show a continuous decrease with increasing gate nitrogen content. In addition, increasing nitridation leads to severe NBTI effect on PMOS devices. Therefore, a trade-off between boron penetration resistance and performance for PMOS transistors is indicated.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is an intra-abdominal malignancy that typically has extensive peritoneal spread at the time of diagnosis. We report a case of DSRCT with involvement of the ovary and omentum as well as an elevated CA-125 level at presentation.A 23-year-old female presented to another institution with a pelvic mass and a CA-125 level of 140 U/ml. During tumor reductive surgery the right ovary, omentum, and liver were found to be involved. Initial histologic examination favored an undifferentiated small cell carcinoma of the ovary. The patient received two cycles of Taxol and cisplatin chemotherapy and was referred to the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Upon review of the pathology material at the time of the referral, a diagnosis of DSRCT was made. Despite two additional cycles of chemotherapy, the tumor progressed, and the patient returned home.DSRCT may mimic an ovarian primary tumor by presenting with involvement of the ovary and an elevated CA-125 level, and should be included in the differential diagnosis of ovarian neoplasms in young patients.

Microvascular abnormalities are associated with and causative of the development of end-stage organ complications in adult diabetic patients. Whether the same microvascular abnormalities are present in pediatric patients is not known and has not been studied because of a lack of real-time technology, methodology to study young patients, and availability of an appropriate noninvasive site for in vivo studies. We hypothesized that microvascular abnormalities should be present in pediatric patients despite their young age and the relatively short durations of the disease. In this study, computer-assisted intravital microscopy (CAIM) was adapted to blindly quantify microvascular abnormalities in 12 pediatric type 1 diabetic mellitus (T1DM) patients (ages = 6-16 years; mean +/- SD = 11.42 +/- 3.42; duration since diagnosis = 2-14 years; mean +/- SD = 6.75 +/- 3.79) in vivo, using the microcirculation of the bulbar conjunctiva as a noninvasive site. Microvascular abnormalities, commonly found in adult patients, existed in the conjunctival microcirculation of all pediatric T1DM patients in varying degrees despite their relatively young age. A severity index (SI) was developed to reflect the cumulative severity of the microvascular abnormalities and was computed as the summation of all microvascular abnormalities found in each patient. SI for the 12 T1DM patients (mean +/- SD = 7.42 +/- 1.88; median = 8; mode = 9) differed significantly from that for the nondiabetic controls (mean +/- SD = 0.67 +/- 0.78; median = 0.5; mode = 0; P < 0.0001). In addition, SI correlated with hemoglobin A1c levels (mean +/- SD = 9.18 +/- 1.57) of T1DM patients but did not correlate with the duration of disease since diagnosis of the same patients. This observation raises the possibility that diabetic pathogenesis may precede the onset of overt disease or clinical diagnosis. This study confirms that CAIM may represent the availability of a useful real-time technology to study conjunctival microvascular abnormalities in vascular diseases in juvenile as well as adult patients.

The magnetic moment anomaly a_mu = (g_mu - 2) / 2 of the positive muon has been measured at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron with an uncertainty of 0.7 ppm. The new result, based on data taken in 2000, agrees well with previous measurements. Standard Model evaluations currently differ from the experimental result by 1.6 to 3.0 standard deviations., Comment: Talk presented at RADCOR - Loops and Legs 2002, Kloster Banz, Germany, September 8-13 2002, to be published in Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.); 5 pages, 3 figures

A higher precision measurement of the anomalous g value, a_mu = (g-2)/2, for the positive muon has been made at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, based on data collected in the year 2000. The result a_{mu^+} = 11 659 204(7)(5) times 10^{-10} (0.7 ppm) is in good agreement with previous measurements and has an error about one half that of the combined previous data. The present world average experimental value is a_mu(exp) = 11 659 203(8) times 10^{-10} (0.7 ppm)., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. submitted to Physical Review Letters. as accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters. As accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

UNLABELLED We sought to correlate in vivo microvascular, systemic function, hemodynamic, and oxygenation changes in autologous shed blood (n = 4) and hemoglobin glutamer-200 (Hb-200) (n = 4) resuscitations in hypovolemic dogs. Hemorrhage (approximately 40% blood loss) reduced mean arterial pressure to approximately 50 mm Hg and caused significant (P < 0.01) decreases in hematocrit, total hemoglobin, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, cardiac output, and oxygen delivery and significant (P < 0.01) increases in heart rate, systemic vascular resistance, and lactic acidosis. Significant (P < 0.01) changes in conjunctival microvascular variables also occurred, including a 19% decrease in venular diameter and 79% increase in average blood flow velocity. Shed blood resuscitation returned microvascular, systemic function, hemodynamic, and oxygenation variables to prehemorrhagic baseline values. In contrast, Hb-200 failed to restore hematocrit, total hemoglobin, cardiac output, oxygen delivery index, and systemic venous resistance to baseline, but it restored other systemic functions and all hemodynamic and microvascular changes. In addition, Hb-200 resuscitation in hypovolemic dogs (approximately 40% blood loss) did not cause extreme hemodilution or fatal outcome. This study confirms that real-time (in vivo) microvascular studies, which were conducted only in small rodent models in the past, can be performed simultaneously with systemic function, hemodynamic, and oxygenation studies in a large animal model for relevant data correlation. IMPLICATIONS This is the first time that changes in the blood circulation have been studied, quantified, and correlated with systemic function, hemodynamic, and oxygenation changes in shock and during shock treatment in a large animal model. This study was performed by a new technology developed in-house to noninvasively and quantitatively study blood vessels in real time.

A precise measurement of the anomalous g value, a_mu=(g-2)/2, for the positive muon has been made at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron. The result a_mu^+=11 659 202(14)(6) X 10^{-10} (1.3 ppm) is in good agreement with previous measurements and has an error one third that of the combined previous data. The current theoretical value from the standard model is a_mu(SM)=11 659 159.6(6.7) X 10^{-10} (0.57 ppm) and a_mu(exp)-a_mu(SM)=43(16) X 10^{-10} in which a_mu(exp) is the world average experimental value., 5 pages and 5 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters

The muon g-2 experiment at the Brookhaven National Laboratory is described, including its motivation, goal and present status. The latest result based on 1998 data is aμ+=g−2/2=11 659 191(59)×10−10 (5 ppm), where the error is primarily statistical. This value agrees with the present theoretical value. Data obtained thus far and now being analyzed should have a statistical error of about 0.5 ppm.

This article discusses tests of CPT and Lorentz invariance with data from the muon g-2 experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory. According to an extension of the Standard Model by Kostelecky et al., CPT/Lorentz violating terms in the Lagrangian induce a shift of the anomaly frequency omega_a of muons in a magnetic field. This shift is predicted to be different for positive and negative muons and to oscillate with the Earth's sidereal frequency. We discuss the sensitivity of the g-2 experiment to different parameters of this Standard Model extension and propose an analysis method to search for sidereal variations of omega_a., Comment: 6 pages; contribution to the proceedings of CPT '01 (Second Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry; August 15-18, 2001; Indiana University, Bloomington)

A new measurement of the positive muon's anomalous magnetic moment has been made at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron using the direct injection of polarized muons into the superferric storage ring. The angular frequency difference omega_{a} between the angular spin precession frequency omega_{s} and the angular orbital frequency omega_{c} is measured as well as the free proton NMR frequency omega_{p}. These determine R = omega_{a} / omega_{p} = 3.707~201(19) times 10^{-3}. With mu_{mu} / mu_{p} = 3.183~345~39(10) this gives a_{mu^+} = 11~659~191(59) times 10^{-10} (pm 5 ppm), in good agreement with the previous CERN and BNL measurements for mu^+ and mu^-, and with the standard model prediction., 4 pages, 4 figures. accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D62 Rapid Communications

The reovirus attachment protein, sigma1, is responsible for strain-specific patterns of viral tropism in the murine central nervous system and receptor binding on cultured cells. The sigma1 protein consists of a fibrous tail domain proximal to the virion surface and a virion-distal globular head domain. To better understand mechanisms of reovirus attachment to cells, we conducted studies to identify the region of sigma1 that binds cell surface carbohydrate. Chimeric and truncated sigma1 proteins derived from prototype reovirus strains type 1 Lang (T1L) and type 3 Dearing (T3D) were expressed in insect cells by using a baculovirus vector. Assessment of expressed protein susceptibility to proteolytic cleavage, binding to anti-sigma1 antibodies, and oligomerization indicates that the chimeric and truncated sigma1 proteins are properly folded. To assess carbohydrate binding, recombinant sigma1 proteins were tested for the capacity to agglutinate mammalian erythrocytes and to bind sialic acid presented on glycophorin, the cell surface molecule bound by type 3 reovirus on human erythrocytes. Using a panel of two wild-type and ten chimeric and truncated sigma1 proteins, the sialic acid-binding domain of type 3 sigma1 was mapped to a region of sequence proposed to form the more amino terminal of two predicted beta-sheet structures in the tail. This unit corresponds to morphologic region T(iii) observed in computer-processed electron micrographs of sigma1 protein purified from virions. In contrast, the homologous region of T1L sigma1 sequence was not implicated in carbohydrate binding; rather, sequences in the distal portion of the tail known as the neck were required. Results of these studies demonstrate that a functional receptor-binding domain, which uses sialic acid as its ligand, is contained within morphologic region T(iii) of the type 3 sigma1 tail. Furthermore, our findings indicate that T1L and T3D sigma1 proteins contain different arrangements of receptor-binding domains.

The new muon (g−2) experiment at BNL aims at a final precision of 0.35 ppm on the muon anomaly. The experiment has completed four runs beginning in 1997 and has sub-ppm data on tape. Analyzed data include a published 13 ppm result from our initial commissioning run and a recently completed 5 ppm result from our 1998 initial muon injection run. We are actively working on the remainder of the data analysis and on systematic studies.

A new and improved experiment for measuring the muon magnetic anomaly at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) was successfully started and has yielded first results. New major components of the experiment include a superferric storage ring, a superconducting inflector, electrostatic quadrupoles, lead-scintillating fiber electron calorimeters and a high precision NMR magnetic field measurement and control system. The first measurement of the ratio R of the spin precession frequency of the positive muon relative to that of a free proton gives R=(3.707 219±0.000 048)×10−3. It is similar in accuracy and in good agreement with previous CERN measurements for μ+ and μ−. A muon kicker has been installed to boost the number of stored particles in the storage ring magnet and was successfully commissioned recently. The data acquired so far is expected to lower significantly the uncertainty in R. First extensive data-taking will start soon.

The muon anomalous magnetic moment has been measured in a new experiment at Brookhaven. Polarized muons were stored in a superferric ring, and the angular frequency difference, {omega}{sub a} , between the spin precession and orbital frequencies was determined by measuring the time distribution of high-energy decay positrons. The ratio R of {omega}{sub a} to the Larmor precession frequency of free protons, {omega}{sub p} , in the storage-ring magnetic field was measured. We find R=3.707thinsp220(48){times}10{sup {minus}3} . With {mu}{sub {mu}}/{mu}{sub p}=3.183thinsp 345thinsp47(47) this gives a{sub {mu}{sup +}}=1thinsp165thinsp 925(15){times}10{sup {minus}9} ({plus_minus}13 ppm ), in good agreement with the previous CERN measurements for {mu}{sup +} and {mu}{sup {minus}} and of approximately the same precision. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

To evaluate long-term changes after surgical correction of skeletal Class III deformity, postoperative cephalometric radiographs at 1 year and 2 or more years postsurgery were digitized for 92 patients who had received either a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy for mandibular setback, Le Fort I maxillary advancement, or a combination of the two procedures. Patients' perceptions of treatment were determined by four self-administered questionnaires: satisfaction, postsurgical perception of occlusion and function, problems with facial sensation, and postsurgical perceptions. From 1 year to longest follow-up, there were almost no mean changes in landmark positions for the maxillary advancement group and minimal mean changes in the mandibular setback and two-jaw groups. In all three groups, more than 90% of the patients showed no clinically significant long-term changes, which suggests that long-term changes are less likely after Class III than Class II treatment. At long-term recall, 89% of the patients expressed satisfaction with their treatment and would recommend it to others, 74% reported improved social interaction, and 63% said their appearance changed as they expected. The predominant problems reported were altered facial sensation for 67% of the patients and surprise at the length of recovery for 52%.

The muon (g−2) experiment at Brookhaven has just completed a 3-month run for checkout and initial data-taking. In the first two months beam was taken in a parasitic mode where one out of ten AGS pulses was delivered for commissioning of the beam line, quadrupoles, detectors, and data acquisition system. This was followed by four weeks of dedicated data collection. The main components of the experiment, which include the pion/muon beam line, the superconducting inflector, the superferric storage ring with its pulsed electric quadrupoles and magnetic field measurement system, and the detector system based on lead-scintillating fiber electron calorimeters, have been satisfactorily commissioned. The muon (g−2) precession frequency is clearly seen as a large signal. It is estimaed that over 25×106 decay positrons with energies greater than 1.5 GeV have been detected.

Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) are a strong candidate for the Cold Dark Matter of the Universe. CDMS-II is a direct-search WIMP search experiment, operating at 50 mK and housed at the Soudan mine, Minnesota. The 250 gram Ge detectors utilize athermal phonon sensors where tungsten transition edge sensors are operated in negative electrothermal feedback. The search at Soudan is ongoing with an expected final reach of CDMS-II by the end of 2008 of a WIMP-nucleon cross-section sensitivity of 2.1 x10-44 cm2, at a WIMP mass of 60 GeV/c2. To proceed further, we have proposed the SuperCDMS program.

15180 Background: For metastatic pancreatic cancer, no combination chemotherapy has been shown to improve survival significantly in comparison to single agent gemcitabine. A novel combination with oxaliplatin 60 mg/m2, irinotecan 90 mg/m2, cetuximab 250 mg/m2 (OIC) given every two weeks appears to produce a high rate of radiographic response. Since our reporting (ASCO 2007 GI Conference), we continue to see a high rate of clinical and radiographic responses (50% by Recist Criteria). We therefore decided to look carefully on the survival data of OIC versus control (mainly gemcitabine single agent or in combination with other agents). Methods: We retrospective reviewed patients seen from 10/2002 to 10/2006 with diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic cancer. The survival duration was calculated from the date of diagnosis to the date of death. We included only patients whose dates of death could be confirmed with death certificates. Results: A total of 37 patients were identified. 11 of those were in the OIC arm and 26 were treated with other regimens (17 with gemcitabine-based regimens, 9 with either capecitabine or 5-FU-based regimens) that function as control. The range of survival duration was 4 - 28 months for OIC arm and 1 - 28 months for the control. Median survival was 10 months for the OIC arm versus 5 months for the control. Conclusions: OIC regimen produces a high rate of tumor response and may have a survival advantage with this retrospective analysis. We believe it is a regimen deserves further evaluation. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Water temperature was calculated at hourly intervals for periods of several consecutive months in Chaudiere and Du Nord rivers, Quebec, Canada. Calculations were made by the thermal budget method using routine meteorological and hydrological observations from nearby stations. Hourly observations of water temperature for 112 consecutive days on Du Nord river were compared with hourly calculated values: the maximum difference is 3.3°C, the overall r.m.s. figure is 1.2°C and the maximum mean monthly difference is 0.9°C. Comparable results are obtained for Chaudiere river. A discussion follows on method, results and differences between the two rivers.

A protein isolated from timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus) venom by ion-exchange and high-pressure liquid chromatography is hemorrhage inducing and lethal to mice (LD50 of 10 micrograms/g of body weight). It is a Ca2+- and Zn2+-containing proteinase and has the ability to hydrolyze hide powder azure. Atomic absorption spectroscopy shows 2.5 Ca2+ and 1 Zn2+ per protein monomer. The proteinase activity is destroyed by incubation with disulfide-reducing agents and by dialysis against ethylenediaminetetraacetate. Coincident with the loss of proteinase activity is a corresponding loss of lethal and hemorrhagic activities, suggesting that all three are related. Attempts to replace the metals and restore activity have been unsuccessful. Amino acid analysis and isoelectric focusing reveal that this component is an acidic protein (pI = 5.1) containing about 20 disulfide bonds and 507 residues. Reduction of one disulfide bond per molecule decreases proteinase activity by 50% while reduction of eight disulfide bonds decreases activity by 80%. Loss of hemorrhagic activity parallels the decrease in proteinase activity.

This paper proposes a method of network reconfiguration based on symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm for reducing power loss of the electric distribution system. The SOS is a recent developed meta-heuristic algorithm inspired from the symbiotic interaction strategies of organisms for surviving and propagating in the ecosystem. Compared to other algorithms, SOS does not need any control parameters during the searching process. The advantages of the proposed SOS method have been validated in two electric distribution systems. Three network cases have been considered for each system, consisting of performing network reconfiguration on the system without distributed generator (DG) placement, the system installed type-P DGs and the system installed type-PQ DGs. The comparison results with particle swarm optimization and other previous methods show that the proposed SOS can be a promising technique for the problem of electric network reconfiguration.