Perifollicular Hypopigmentation in Systemic Sclerosis: Associations With Clinical Features and Internal Organ Involvement

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether perifollicular hypopigmentation in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is associated with demographics, distinct clinical features, and autoantibody profiles. METHODS: Patients with SSc were prospectively enrolled, with a standardized data form used to collect anatomic distribution of perifollicular hypopigmentation. Associations between hypopigmentation and features of SSc were assessed. RESULTS: Of 179 adult patients with SSc, 36 (20%) patients had perifollicular hypopigmentation. Of these 36 patients, 94% (n = 34) were female and 33% (n = 12) had limited cutaneous SSc. In univariable logistic regression, Black race (odds ratio [OR] 15.63, 95% CI 6.6-37.20, CONCLUSION: Perifollicular hypopigmentation is observed in a subset of patients with SSc and associated with diffuse subtype. Larger prospective studies determining whether perifollicular hypopigmentation precedes end-organ involvement and whether specific patterns associate with internal organ involvement are needed

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Determination of quantum numbers for several excited charmed mesons observed in B- -> D*(+)pi(-) pi(-) decays

A four-body amplitude analysis of the B − → D * + π − π − decay is performed, where fractions and relative phases of the various resonances contributing to the decay are measured. Several quasi-model-independent analyses are performed aimed at searching for the presence of new states and establishing the quantum numbers of previously observed charmed meson resonances. In particular the resonance parameters and quantum numbers are determined for the D 1 ( 2420 ) , D 1 ( 2430 ) , D 0 ( 2550 ) , D ∗ 1 ( 2600 ) , D 2 ( 2740 ) and D ∗ 3 ( 2750 ) states. The mixing between the D 1 ( 2420 ) and D 1 ( 2430 ) resonances is studied and the mixing parameters are measured. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.7     fb − 1 , collected in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV with the LHCb detector

Updated measurement of decay-time-dependent CP asymmetries in D-0 -> K+ K- and D-0 -> pi(+)pi(-) decays

A search for decay-time-dependent charge-parity (CP) asymmetry in D0 \u2192 K+ K 12 and D0 \u2192 \u3c0+ \u3c0 12 decays is performed at the LHCb experiment using proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb^ 121. The D0 mesons are required to originate from semileptonic decays of b hadrons, such that the charge of the muon identifies the flavor of the neutral D meson at production. The asymmetries in the effective decay widths of D0 and anti-D0 mesons are determined to be A_\u393(K+ K 12) = ( 124.3 \ub1 3.6 \ub1 0.5) 7 10^ 124 and A_\u393(\u3c0+ \u3c0 12) = (2.2 \ub1 7.0 \ub1 0.8) 7 10^ 124 , where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The results are consistent with CP symmetry and, when combined with previous LHCb results, yield A_\u393(K+ K 12) = ( 124.4 \ub1 2.3 \ub1 0.6) 7 10^ 124 and A_\u393(\u3c0+ \u3c0 12) = (2.5 \ub1 4.3 \ub1 0.7) 7 10^ 124

Updated measurement of decay-time-dependent CP asymmetries in D-0 -> K+ K- and D-0 -> pi(+)pi(-) decays

A search for decay-time-dependent charge-parity (CP) asymmetry in D-0 -> K+ K- and D-0 -> pi(+)pi(-) eff decays is performed at the LHCb experiment using proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb(-1). The D-0 mesons are required to originate from semileptonic decays of b hadrons, such that the charge of the muon identifies the flavor of the neutral D meson at production. The asymmetries in the effective decay widths of D-0 and (D) over bar (0) mesons are determined to be A(Gamma)(K+ K-) = (-4.3 +/- 3.6 +/- 0.5) x 10(-4) and A(Gamma) (K+ K- ) = (2.2 +/- 7.0 +/- 0.8) x 10(-4), where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The results are consistent with CP symmetry and, when combined with previous LHCb results, yield A(Gamma) (K+ K-) = (-4.4 +/- 2.3 +/- 0.6) x 10(-4) and A(Gamma) (pi(+)pi(-))= (2.5 +/- 4.3 +/- 0.7) x 10(-4)

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM