Mujer Mas Segura (Safer Women): a combination prevention intervention to reduce sexual and injection risks among female sex workers who inject drugs.

Background: Female sex workers who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs) are at risk of acquiring HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI) and blood-borne infections through unprotected sex and sharing injection equipment. We conducted a 2×2 factorial randomized controlled trial to evaluate combination interventions to simultaneously reduce sexual and injection risks among FSW-IDUs in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Methods/design: FSW-IDUs ≥18 years reporting sharing injection equipment and unprotected sex with clients within the last month were randomized to one of four conditions based on an a priori randomization schedule, blinding interviewer/counselors to assignment.

Influence of birth weight on the renal development and kidney diseases in adulthood: experimental and clinical evidence.

Several clinical and experimental studies support the hypothesis that foetal programming is an important determinant of nephropathy, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes during adulthood. In this paper, the renal repercussions of foetal programming are emphasised, and the physiopathological mechanisms are discussed. The programming of renal diseases is detailed based on the findings of kidney development and functional parameters.

Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0 → K*0 μ+ μ-.

The angular distributions and the partial branching fraction of the decay B0 → K*0 μ+ μ- are studied by using an integrated luminosity of 0.37  fb(-1) of data collected with the LHCb detector. The forward-backward asymmetry of the muons, A(FB), the fraction of longitudinal polarization, F(L), and the partial branching fraction dB/dq2 are determined as a function of the dimuon invariant mass.

Measurements of WW and WZ production in W + jets final states in pp collisions.

We study WW and WZ production with ℓνqq (ℓ=e,μ) final states using data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider corresponding to 4.3  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from pp collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV.

First observation of the decays B(0) → D(+)K(-)π(+)π(-) and B(-) → D(0)K(-)π(+)π(-).

First observations of the Cabibbo-suppressed decays B(0) → D(+)K(-)π(+)π(-) and B(-) → D(0)K(-)π(+)π(-) are reported using 35 pb(-1) of data collected with the LHCb detector. Their branching fractions are measured with respect to the corresponding Cabibbo-favored decays, from which we obtain B(B(0) → D(+)K(-)π(+)π(-))/B(B(0) → D(+)π(-)π(+)π(-))=(5.9±1.

Association of ACE gene insertion/deletion polymorphism with birth weight, blood pressure levels, and ACE activity in healthy children.

Background: The human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene contains a polymorphism consisting of either an insertion (I) or a deletion (D) of a 287 bp Alu repetitive sequence in intron 16. The potential role of ACE polymorphism in the risk of developing hypertension or other cardiovascular disorders has not been determined in relation to birth weight (BW).

Methods: The ACE genotype and plasma ACE activity were determined in 167 children.

Measurement of the W boson mass with the D0 detector.

We present a measurement of the W boson mass using data corresponding to 4.3  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector during Run II at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider. With a sample of 1,677,394 W → eν candidate events, we measure M(W) = 80.

Observation of B(s)(0) → J/ψf(2)'(1525) in J/ψK+ K- final states.

The decay B(s)(0) → J/ψK+ K- is investigated using 0.16  fb(-1) of data collected with the LHCb detector using 7 TeV pp collisions. Although the J/ψϕ channel is well known, final states at higher K+ K- masses have not previously been studied.

Leishmania chagasi naturally resistant to nitric oxide isolated from humans and dogs with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role as a leishmanicidal agent in murine macrophages. NO resistant Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been associated with poor outcomes of their resulting diseases. NO resistant Leishmania braziliensis has also been identified and exacerbates the clinical course of human leishmaniasis.

A two-way road: rates of HIV infection and behavioral risk factors among deported Mexican labor migrants.

A large number of Mexican migrants are deported to Mexico and released in the North Mexican border region every year. Despite their volume and high vulnerability, little is known about the level of HIV infection and related risk behaviors among this hard-to-reach population. We conducted a cross-sectional, probability survey with deported Mexican migrants in Tijuana, Mexico (N = 693) and estimated levels of HIV infection and behavioral risk factors among this migrant flow.

Role of Cripto-1 during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in development and cancer.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical multistep process that converts epithelial cells to more motile and invasive mesenchymal cells, contributing to body patterning and morphogenesis during embryonic development. In addition, both epithelial plasticity and increased motility and invasiveness are essential for the branching morphogenesis that occurs during development of the mammary gland and during tumor formation, allowing cancer cells to escape from the primary tumor. Cripto-1, a member of the epidermal growth factor-Cripto-1/FRL-1/Cryptic (EGF/CFC) gene family, together with the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β family ligand Nodal, regulates both cell movement and EMT during embryonic development.

Search for universal extra dimensions in pp collisions.

We present a search for Kaluza-Klein (KK) particles predicted by models with universal extra dimensions (UED) using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.3 fb(-1), collected by the D0 detector at a pp center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV.

Search for charged massive long-lived particles.

We report on a search for charged massive long-lived particles (CMLLPs), based on 5.2  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider. We search for events in which one or more particles are reconstructed as muons but have speed and ionization energy loss (dE/dx) inconsistent with muons produced in beam collisions.

Evidence for CP violation in time-integrated D0→h(-)h(+) decay rates.

A search for time-integrated CP violation in D(0)→h(-)h(+) (h=K, π) decays is presented using 0.62 fb(-1) of data collected by LHCb in 2011. The flavor of the charm meson is determined by the charge of the slow pion in the D(*+)→D(0)π(+) and D(*-)→D[over ¯](0)π(-) decay chains.

Abortion associated with Chlamydia abortus in extensively reared Iberian sows.

Reproductive disease was investigated in Iberian pigs on an extensive farrow-to-finish farm in the southwest of Spain. Chlamydia abortus was isolated in cell culture and C. abortus-specific PCR products were detected in placental and fetal tissues.

Measurement of the CP-violating phase ϕ(s) in the decay B(s)(0) → J/ψϕ.

We present a measurement of the time-dependent CP-violating asymmetry in B(s)(0) → J/ψϕ decays, using data collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC. The decay time distribution of B(s)(0) → J/ψϕ is characterized by the decay widths Γ(H) and Γ(L) of the heavy and light mass eigenstates, respectively, of the B(s)(0) - B(s)(0) system and by a CP-violating phase ϕ(s). In a sample of about 8500 B(s)(0) → J/ψϕ events isolated from 0.

Search for lepton number violating decays B+ → π- μ+ μ+ and B+ → K- μ+ μ+.

A search is performed for the lepton number violating decay B+ → h- μ+ μ+, where h- represents a K- or a π-, using an integrated luminosity of 36  pb(-1) of data collected with the LHCb detector. The decay is forbidden in the standard model but allowed in models with a Majorana neutrino. No signal is observed in either channel and limits of B(B+ → K- μ+ μ+) < 5.

Evidence for spin correlation in t ̅t production.

We present a measurement of the ratio of events with correlated t and t ̅t spins to the total number of t ̅t events. This ratio f is evaluated using a matrix-element-based approach in 729 t ̅t candidate events with a single lepton ℓ (electron or muon) and at least four jets. The analyzed p ̅p collisions data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.

Study protocol for the recruitment of female sex workers and their non-commercial partners into couple-based HIV research.

Background: Researchers are increasingly recognizing the importance of addressing sexual and drug-related HIV risk within the context of intimate relationships rather than solely focusing on individual behaviors. Practical and effective methods are needed to recruit, screen, and enroll the high risk and hard-to-reach couples who would most benefit from HIV interventions, such as drug-using female sex workers (FSWs) and their intimate, non-commercial partners. This paper outlines a bi-national, multidisciplinary effort to develop and implement a study protocol for research on the social context and epidemiology of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI), and high risk behaviors among FSWs and their non-commercial male partners in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Search for doubly charged Higgs boson pair production in pp¯ collisions at √s=1.96 TeV.

We present a search for pair production of doubly charged Higgs bosons in the processes qq¯→H(++)H(--) decaying through H(±±)→τ(±)τ(±),μ(±)τ(±),μ(±)μ(±). The search is performed in pp¯ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s = 1.96 TeV using an integrated luminosity of up to 7.

Wγ production and limits on anomalous WWγ couplings in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV.

We measure the cross section and the difference in rapidities between photons and charged leptons for inclusive W(→lν) + γ production in eγ and μγ final states. Using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.2  fb(-1) collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, the measured cross section times branching fraction for the process pp → Wγ + X → lνγ + X and the distribution of the charge-signed photon-lepton rapidity difference are found to be in agreement with the standard model.

Measurement of relative branching fractions of decays to (2) and / mesons.

The relative rates of -meson decays into / and (2) mesons are measured for the three decay modes in collisions recorded with the LHCb detector. The ratios of branching fractions ([Formula: see text]) are measured to be [Formula: see text] where the third uncertainty is from the ratio of the (2) and / branching fractions to .

Measurement of (2) meson production in collisions at [Formula: see text].

The differential cross-section for the inclusive production of (2) mesons in collisions at [Formula: see text] has been measured with the LHCb detector. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb. The (2) mesons are reconstructed in the decay channels (2)→ and (2)→/, with the / meson decaying into two muons.

Measurement of production in collisions at [Formula: see text].

The production of (1), (2) and (3) mesons in proton-proton collisions at the centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] is studied with the LHCb detector. The analysis is based on a data sample of 25 pb collected at the Large Hadron Collider. The mesons are reconstructed in the decay mode → and the signal yields are extracted from a fit to the invariant mass distributions.

Opposite-side flavour tagging of mesons at the LHCb experiment.

The calibration and performance of the opposite-side flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment are described. The algorithms have been developed using simulated events and optimized and calibrated with →/, →/ and → decay modes with 0.37 fb of data collected in collisions at [Formula: see text] during the 2011 physics run.