Sequence of Plasmodium falciparum chromosomes 2, 10, 11 and 14

The mosquito-borne malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum kills an estimated 0.7-2.7 million people every year, primarily children in sub-Saharan Africa. Without effective interventions, a variety of factors-including the spread of parasites resistant to antimalarial drugs and the increasing insecticide resistance of mosquitoes-may cause the number of malaria cases to double over the next two decades. To stimulate basic research and facilitate the development of new drugs and vaccines, the genome of Plasmodium falciparum clone 3D7 has been sequenced using a chromosome-by-chromosome shotgun strategy. We report here the nucleotide sequences of chromosomes 10, 11 and 14, and a re-analysis of the chromosome 2 sequence. These chromosomes represent about 35% of the 23-megabase P. falciparum genome.     

First measurement of the double spin asymmetry in (-->)e(-->)p-->e(prime)pi(+)n in the resonance region

The double spin asymmetry in the (-->)e(-->)p --> e(prime)pi(+)n reaction has been measured for the first time in the resonance region for four-momentum transfer Q2 = 0.35-1.5 GeV(2). Data were taken at Jefferson Lab with the CLAS detector using a 2.6 GeV polarized electron beam incident on a polarized solid NH3 target. Comparison with predictions of phenomenological models shows strong sensitivity to resonance contributions. Helicity-1/2 transitions are found to be dominant in the second and third resonance regions. The measured asymmetry is consistent with a faster rise with Q(2) of the helicity asymmetry A1 for the F(15)(1680) resonance than expected from the analysis of the unpolarized data.     

Q2 Dependence of quadrupole strength in the gamma*p --> Delta(+)(1232) --> p pi(0) transition

Models of baryon structure predict a small quadrupole deformation of the nucleon due to residual tensor forces between quarks or distortions from the pion cloud. Sensitivity to quark versus pion degrees of freedom occurs through the Q2 dependence of the magnetic (M1+), electric (E1+), and scalar (S1+) multipoles in the gamma*p-->Delta(+)-->p pi(0) transition. We report new experimental values for the ratios E(1+)/M(1+) and S(1+)/M(1+) over the range Q2 = 0.4-1.8 GeV2, extracted from precision p(e,e(')p)pi(0) data using a truncated multipole expansion. Results are best described by recent unitary models in which the pion cloud plays a dominant role.     

Comparison of nonequilibrium molecular dynamics with experimental measurements in the nonlinear shear-thinning regime

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics of a low-molecular-weight fluid (squalane) are compared with experimental measurements in both the linear (Newtonian) and nonlinear (non-Newtonian) regimes. The experimental and simulation data are shown to follow the same time-temperature superposition master curve. This represents the first comparison of the nonlinear rheology predicted by nonequilibrium molecular dynamics with experiment, and is thus the first experimental test of nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations in the nonlinear regime.     

Fluidity of hydration layers nanoconfined between mica surfaces

We perform molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the shear dynamics of hydration water nanoconfined between two mica surfaces at 1 bar pressure and 298 K. Newtonian plateaus of shear viscosity comparable to the bulk value for different hydration layers D=0.92-2.44 nm are obtained. The origin of this persistent fluidity of the confined aqueous system is found to be closely associated with the rotational dynamics of water molecules, accompanied by fast translational diffusion under this confinement.     

Measurement of the muonic branching fractions of the narrow upsilon resonances

The decay branching fractions of the three narrow Upsilon resonances to mu(+)mu(-) have been measured by analyzing about 4.3 fb(-1) e(+)e(-) data collected with the CLEO III detector. The branching fraction B(Upsilon(1S)-->mu(+)mu(-))=(2.49+/-0.02+/-0.07)% is consistent with the current world average, but B(Upsilon(2S)-->mu(+)mu(-))=(2.03+/-0.03+/-0.08)% and B(Upsilon(3S)-->mu(+)mu(-))=(2.39+/-0.07+/-0.10)% are significantly larger than prior results. These new muonic branching fractions imply a narrower total decay width for the Upsilon(2S) and Upsilon(3S) resonances and lower other branching fractions that rely on these decays in their determination.     

Study of the semileptonic charm decays D(0)-->pi(-)l(+)nu and D(0)-->K(-)l(+)nu

We investigate the decays D(0)-->pi(-)l(+)nu and D(0)-->K(-)l(+)nu, where l is e or mu, using approximately 7 fb(-1) of data collected with the CLEO III detector. We find R(0) identical with B(D(0)-->pi(-)e(+)nu)/B(D(0)-->K(-)e(+)nu)=0.082+/-0.006+/-0.005. Fits to the kinematic distributions of the data provide parameters describing the form factor of each mode. Combining the form factor results and R(0) gives |f(pi)(+)(0)|(2)|V(cd)|(2)/|f(K)(+)(0)|(2)|V(cs)|(2)=0.038(+0.006+0.005)(-0.007-0.003).     

Observation of eta'c production in gammagamma fusion at CLEO

We report on the observation of the eta(')(c)(2(1)S0), the radial excitation of the eta(c)(1(1)S0) ground state of charmonium, in the two-photon fusion reaction gammagamma-->eta(')(c)-->K(0)(S)K+/-pi(-/+) in 13.6 fb(-1) of CLEO II/II.V data and 13.1 fb(-1) of CLEO III data. We obtain M(eta(')(c))=3642.9+/-3.1(stat)+/-1.5(syst) MeV and M(eta(c))=2981.8+/-1.3(stat)+/-1.5(syst) MeV. The corresponding values of hyperfine splittings between 1S0 and 3S1 states are DeltaM(hf)(1S)=115.1+/-2.0 MeV and DeltaM(hf)(2S)=43.1+/-3.4 MeV. Assuming that the eta(c) and eta(')(c) have equal branching fractions to K(S)Kpi, we obtain Gamma(gammagamma)(eta(')(c))=1.3+/-0.6 keV.