Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Genetic Regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans Lysosome Related Organelle Function

Lysosomes are membrane-bound organelles that contain acid hydrolases that degrade cellular proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and oligosaccharides, and are important for cellular maintenance and protection against age-related decline. Lysosome related organelles (LROs) are specialized lysosomes found in organisms from humans to worms, and share many of the features of classic lysosomes. Defective LROs are associated with human immune disorders and neurological disease. Caenorhabditis elegans LROs are the site of concentration of vital dyes such as Nile red as well as age-associated autofluorescence. Even though certain short-lived mutants have high LRO Nile red and high autofluorescence, and other long-lived mutants have low LRO Nile red and low autofluorescence, these two biologies are distinct. We identified a genetic pathway that modulates aging-related LRO phenotypes via serotonin signaling and the gene kat-1, which encodes a mitochondrial ketothiolase. Regulation of LRO phenotypes by serotonin and kat-1 in turn depend on the proton-coupled, transmembrane transporter SKAT-1. skat-1 loss of function mutations strongly suppress the high LRO Nile red accumulation phenotype of kat-1 mutation. Using a systems approach, we further analyzed the role of 571 genes in LRO biology. These results highlight a gene network that modulates LRO biology in a manner dependent upon the conserved protein kinase TOR complex 2. The results implicate new genetic pathways involved in LRO biology, aging related physiology, and potentially human diseases of the LRO.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440