Safety of anti-rheumatic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis in pregnancy and lactation

Women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are often of childbearing age and therefore questions regarding reproductive health and the use of medications, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) may arise during the clinical consultation. Each patient requires individual assessment in order to effectively manage the disease while minimizing any treatment-associated risks to the fetus. Although good-quality controlled trials are lacking, there is an increasing volume of evidence surrounding the use of immunosuppressive therapies in pregnancy and lactation. This review summarizes the currently available information which can be of benefit to clinicians guiding patients and their families through the risks and benefits of continuing RA therapy during pregnancy and lactation. Further studies and ongoing surveillance of drug safety in pregnancy are required to resolve the uncertainties that remain regarding synthetic and biologic DMARDs

Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date

Observation of B(s)0→J/ψpp¯ decays and precision measurements of the B(s)0 masses

The first observation of the decays B 0 ( s ) → J / ψ p ¯ p is reported, using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.2     fb − 1 , collected with the LHCb detector. These decays are suppressed due to limited available phase space, as well as due to Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka or Cabibbo suppression. The measured branching fractions are B ( B 0 → J / ψ p ¯ p ) = [ 4.51 ± 0.40 ( stat ) ± 0.44 ( syst ) ] × 10 − 7 , B ( B 0 s → J / ψ p ¯ p ) = [ 3.58 ± 0.19 ( stat ) ± 0.39 ( syst ) ] × 10 − 6 . For the B 0 s meson, the result is much higher than the expected value of O ( 10 − 9 ) . The small available phase space in these decays also allows for the most precise single measurement of both the B 0 mass as 5279.74 ± 0.30 ( stat ) ± 0.10 ( syst )     MeV and the B 0 s mass as 5366.85 ± 0.19 ( stat ) ± 0.13 ( syst )     MeV

Measurement of fs /fu Variation with Proton-Proton Collision Energy and B -Meson Kinematics

The ratio of the Bs0 and B+ fragmentation fractions fs and fu is studied with Bs0→J/ψφ and B+→J/ψK+ decays using data collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions at 7, 8, and 13 TeV center-of-mass energies. The analysis is performed in bins of B-meson momentum, longitudinal momentum, transverse momentum, pseudorapidity, and rapidity. The fragmentation-fraction ratio fs/fu is observed to depend on the B-meson transverse momentum with a significance of 6.0σ. This dependency is driven by the 13 TeV sample (8.7σ), while the results for the other collision energies are not significant when considered separately. Furthermore, the results show a 4.8σ evidence for an increase of fs/fu as a function of collision energy

Observation of a narrow pentaquark state, P-c(4312)(+), and of the two-peak structure of the P-c(4450)(+)

A narrow pentaquark state, P-c(4312)(+), decaying to J/psi p, is discovered with a statistical significance of 7.3 sigma in a data sample of Lambda(0)(b) -> J/psi pK(-) decays, which is an order of magnitude larger than that previously analyzed by the LHCb Collaboration. The P-c(4450)(+) pentaquark structure formerly reported by LHCb is confirmed and observed to consist of two narrow overlapping peaks, P-c(4440)(+) and P-c(4457)(+), where the statistical significance of this two-peak interpretation is 5.4 sigma. The proximity of the Sigma(+)(c)(D) over bar (0) and Sigma(+)(c)(D) over bar (*0) thresholds to the observed narrow peaks suggests that they play an important role in the dynamics of these states

Observation of the doubly charmed baryon decay Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+

The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+ decay is observed using proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb−1. The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+ decay is reconstructed partially, where the photon from the Ξc′+→Ξc+γ decay is not reconstructed and the pK−π+ final state of the Ξc+ baryon is employed. The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+branching fraction relative to that of the Ξcc++→Ξc+π+ decay is measured to be 1.41 ± 0.17 ± 0.10, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Study of charmonium and charmonium-like contributions in B+ → J/ψηK+ decays

A study of B+→ J/ψηK+ decays, followed by J/ψ → μ+μ− and η → γγ, is performed using a dataset collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. The J/ψη mass spectrum is investigated for contributions from charmonia and charmonium-like states. Evidence is found for the B+→ (ψ2(3823) → J/ψη)K+ and B+→ (ψ(4040) → J/ψη)K+ decays with significance of 3.4 and 4.7 standard deviations, respectively. This constitutes the first evidence for the ψ2(3823) → J/ψη decay

Observation of CP Violation in Charm Decays

A search for charge-parity (CP) violation in D-0 -> K-K+ and D-0 -> pi(-)pi(+) decays is reported, using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.9 fb(-1) collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the LHCb detector. The flavor of the charm meson is inferred from the charge of the pion in D* (2010)(+) -> D-0 pi(+) decays or from the charge of the muon in (B) over bar -> D-0 mu(-)(nu) over bar X-mu decays. The difference between the CP asymmetries in D-0 -> K-K+ and D-0 -> pi(-)pi(+) decays is measured to be Delta A(CP) = [-18.2 +/- 3.2(stat) +/- 0.9(syst)] x 10(-4) for pi-tagged and Delta A(CP) = [-9 +/- 8(stat) +/- 5(syst)] x 10(-4) for mu-tagged D-0 mesons. Combining these with previous LHCb results leads to Delta A(CP) = (-15.4 +/- 2.9) x 10(-4), where the uncertainty includes both statistical and systematic contributions. The measured value differs from zero by more than 5 standard deviations. This is the first observation of CP violation in the decay of charm hadrons

Measurement of the mass and production rate of Ξb− baryons

The first measurement of the production rate of Ξ − b baryons in p p collisions relative to that of Λ 0 b baryons is reported, using data samples collected by the LHCb experiment, and corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1, 2 and 1.6     fb − 1 at √ s = 7 , 8 and 13 TeV, respectively. In the kinematic region 2 < η < 6 and p T < 20     GeV / c , we measure f Ξ − b f Λ 0 b B ( Ξ − b → J / ψ Ξ − ) B ( Λ 0 b → J / ψ Λ ) = ( 10.8 ± 0.9 ± 0.8 ) × 10 − 2 [ √ s = 7 , 8     TeV ], f Ξ − b f Λ 0 b B ( Ξ − b → J / ψ Ξ − ) B ( Λ 0 b → J / ψ Λ ) = ( 13.1 ± 1.1 ± 1.0 ) × 10 − 2 [ √ s = 13     TeV ], where f Ξ − b and f Λ 0 b are the fragmentation fractions of b quarks into Ξ − b and Λ 0 b baryons, respectively; B represents branching fractions; and the uncertainties are due to statistical and experimental systematic sources. The values of f Ξ − b / f Λ 0 b are obtained by invoking SU(3) symmetry in the Ξ − b → J / ψ Ξ − and Λ 0 b → J / ψ Λ decays. Production asymmetries between Ξ − b and ¯ Ξ + b baryons are also reported. The mass of the Ξ − b baryon is also measured relative to that of the Λ 0 b baryon, from which it is found that m ( Ξ − b ) = 5796.70 ± 0.39 ± 0.15 ± 0.17     MeV / c 2 , where the last uncertainty is due to the precision on the known Λ 0 b mass. This result represents the most precise determination of the Ξ − b mass