Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia and Endocarditis among HIV Patients: A cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HIV patients are at increased risk of development of infections and infection-associated poor health outcomes. We aimed to 1) assess the prevalence of USA300 community-associated methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(CA-MRSA) among HIV-infected patients with <it>S. aureus </it>bloodstream infections and. 2) determine risk factors for infective endocarditis and in-hospital mortality among patients in this population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All adult HIV-infected patients with documented <it>S. aureus </it>bacteremia admitted to the University of Maryland Medical Center between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005 were included. CA-MRSA was defined as a USA300 MRSA isolate with the MBQBLO spa-type motif and positive for both the arginine catabolic mobile element and Panton-Valentin Leukocidin. Risk factors for <it>S. aureus</it>-associated infective endocarditis and mortality were determined using logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Potential risk factors included demographic variables, comorbid illnesses, and intravenous drug use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among 131 episodes of <it>S. aureus </it>bacteremia, 85 (66%) were MRSA of which 47 (54%) were CA-MRSA. Sixty-three patients (48%) developed endocarditis and 10 patients (8%) died in the hospital on the index admission Patients with CA-MRSA were significantly more likely to develop endocarditis (OR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.30, 5.71). No other variables including comorbid conditions, current receipt of antiretroviral therapy, pre-culture severity of illness, or CD4 count were significantly associated with endocarditis and none were associated with in-hospital mortality.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CA-MRSA was significantly associated with an increased incidence of endocarditis in this cohort of HIV patients with MRSA bacteremia. In populations such as these, in which the prevalence of intravenous drug use and probability of endocarditis are both high, efforts must be made for early detection, which may improve treatment outcomes.</p

Measurement of the t¯tZ and t¯tW cross sections in proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the associated production of a top-quark pair (t¯t) with a vector boson (W, Z) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented, using 36.1  fb−1 of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in channels with two same- or opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons), three leptons or four leptons, and each channel is further divided into multiple regions to maximize the sensitivity of the measurement. The t¯tZ and t¯tW production cross sections are simultaneously measured using a combined fit to all regions. The best-fit values of the production cross sections are σt¯tZ=0.95±0.08stat±0.10syst pb and σt¯tW=0.87±0.13stat±0.14syst pb in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. The measurement of the t¯tZ cross section is used to set constraints on effective field theory operators which modify the t¯tZ vertex

Measurement of τ polarisation in Z/γ∗ → ττ decays in proton–proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the polarisation of τ leptons produced in Z/γ ∗ → ττ decays which is performed with a dataset of proton—proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb−1 recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012. The Z/γ∗ → ττ decays are reconstructed from a hadronically decaying τ lepton with a single charged particle in the final state, accompanied by a τ lepton that decays leptonically. The τ polarisation is inferred from the relative fraction of energy carried by charged and neutral hadrons in the hadronic τ decays. The polarisation is measured in a fiducial region that corresponds to the kinematic region accessible to this analysis. The τ polarisation extracted over the full phase space within the Z/γ∗ mass range of 66 < mZ/γ∗ < 116GeV is found to be Pτ = −0.14±0.02(stat)±0.04(syst). It is in agreement with the Standard Model prediction of Pτ = −0.1517 ± 0.0019, which is obtained from the ALPGEN event generator interfaced with the PYTHIA 6 parton shower modelling and the TAUOLA τ decay library

Measurement of the inclusive and fiducial tt ¯ production cross-sections in the lepton+jets channel in pp collisions at s √ =8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and fiducial tt ¯ production cross-sections are measured in the lepton+jets channel using 20.2 fb −1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Major systematic uncertainties due to the modelling of the jet energy scale and b -tagging efficiency are constrained by separating selected events into three disjoint regions. In order to reduce systematic uncertainties in the most important background, the W+jets process is modelled using Z+jets events in a data-driven approach. The inclusive tt ¯ cross-section is measured with a precision of 5.7% to be σ inc (tt ¯ ) = 248.3 ± 0.7 (stat.) ± 13.4 (syst.) ± 4.7 (lumi.) pb, assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV. The result is in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. The cross-section is also measured in a phase space close to that of the selected data. The fiducial cross-section is σ fid (tt ¯ ) = 48.8 ± 0.1 (stat.) ± 2.0 (syst.) ± 0.9 (lumi.) pb with a precision of 4.5%

Performance of the upgraded PreProcessor of the ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger

The PreProcessor of the ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger prepares the analogue trigger signals sent from the ATLAS calorimeters by digitising, synchronising, and calibrating them to reconstruct transverse energy deposits, which are then used in further processing to identify event features. During the first long shutdown of the LHC from 2013 to 2014, the central components of the PreProcessor, the Multichip Modules, were replaced by upgraded versions that feature modern ADC and FPGA technology to ensure optimal performance in the high pile-up environment of LHC Run 2. This paper describes the features of the newMultichip Modules along with the improvements to the signal processing achieved.ANPCyTYerPhI, ArmeniaAustralian Research CouncilBMWFW, AustriaAustrian Science Fund (FWF)Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS)SSTC, BelarusNational Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaCanada Foundation for InnovationNational Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación ColcienciasMinistry of Education, Youth & Sports - Czech Republic Czech Republic GovernmentCzech Republic GovernmentDNRF, DenmarkDanish Natural Science Research CouncilCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)CEA-DRF/IRFU, FranceFederal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF)Max Planck SocietyGreek Ministry of Development-GSRTRGC and Hong Kong SAR, ChinaIsrael Science FoundationBenoziyo Center, IsraelIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT)Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceCNRST, MoroccoRCN, NorwayPortuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyMNE/IFA, RomaniaMES of RussiaMESTD, SerbiaMSSR, SlovakiaSlovenian Research Agency - SloveniaMIZS, SloveniaSpanish GovernmentSRC, SwedenWallenberg Foundation, SwedenSNSF Geneva, SwitzerlandMinistry of Science and Technology, TaiwanMinistry of Energy & Natural Resources - TurkeyScience & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)United States Department of Energy (DOE)National Science Foundation (NSF)BCKDF, CanadaCANARIE, CanadaCRC, CanadaEuropean Research Council (ERC)European Union (EU)French National Research Agency (ANR)German Research Foundation (DFG)Alexander von Humboldt FoundationGreek NSRF, GreeceBSF-NSF, IsraelGerman-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and DevelopmentLa Caixa Banking Foundation, SpainCERCA Programme Generalitat de Catalunya, SpainPROMETEO, SpainGenT Programmes Generalitat Valenciana, SpainGoran Gustafssons Stiftelse, SwedenRoyal Society of LondonLeverhulme TrustNRC, CanadaCERNANID, ChileChinese Academy of SciencesMinistry of Science and Technology, ChinaSRNSFG, GeorgiaHGF, GermanyNetherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) Netherlands GovernmentMinistry of Science and Higher Education, PolandNCN, PolandNRCKI, Russia FederationJINRDST/NRF, South AfricaSERI, Geneva, SwitzerlandCantons of Bern and Geneva, SwitzerlandCompute Canada, CanadaHorizon 2020Marie Sklodowska-Curie ActionsEuropean Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)EU-ESF, Greec

Measurement of the inclusive isolated-photon cross section at √s = 13 TeV using fb⁻¹ of ATLAS data

The differential cross section for isolated-photon production in pp collisions is measured at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1. The differential cross section is presented as a function of the photon transverse energy in different regions of photon pseudorapidity. The differential cross section as a function of the absolute value of the photon pseudorapidity is also presented in different regions of photon transverse energy. Next-to-leading-order QCD calculations from Jetphox and Sherpa as well as next-to-next-to-leading-order QCD calculations from Nnlojet are compared with the measurement, using several parameterisations of the proton parton distribution functions. The predictions provide a good description of the data within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties

Observation of electroweak production of two jets and a Z-boson pair

Electroweak symmetry breaking explains the origin of the masses of elementary particles through their interactions with the Higgs field. Besides the measurements of the Higgs boson properties, the study of the scattering of massive vector bosons with spin 1 allows the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking to be probed. Among all processes related to vector-boson scattering, the electroweak production of two jets and a Z-boson pair is a rare and important one. Here we report the observation of this process from proton–proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. We consider two different final states originating from the decays of the Z-boson pair: one containing four charged leptons and another containing two charged leptons and two neutrinos. The hypothesis of no electroweak production is rejected with a statistical significance of 5.7σ, and the measured cross-section for electroweak production is consistent with the Standard Model prediction. In addition, we report cross-sections for inclusive production of a Z-boson pair and two jets for the two final states

Constraints on mediator-based dark matter and scalar dark energy models using root s= 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector

Constraints on selected mediator-based dark matter models and a scalar dark energy model using up to 37 fb−1s√ = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015-2016 are summarised in this paper. The results of experimental searches in a variety of final states are interpreted in terms of a set of spin-1 and spin-0 single-mediator dark matter simplified models and a second set of models involving an extended Higgs sector plus an additional vector or pseudo-scalar mediator. The searches considered in this paper constrain spin-1 leptophobic and leptophilic mediators, spin-0 colour-neutral and colour-charged mediators and vector or pseudo-scalar mediators embedded in extended Higgs sector models. In this case, also s√ = 8 TeV pp collision data are used for the interpretation of the results. The results are also interpreted for the first time in terms of light scalar particles that could contribute to the accelerating expansion of the universe (dark energy).ANPCyT, Argentina; YerPhI, Armenia; ARC, Australia; BMWFW, Austria; FWF, Austria; ANAS, Azerbaijan; SSTC, Belarus; CNPq, Brazil; FAPESP, Brazil; NSERC, Canada; NRC, Canada; CFI, Canada; CERN; CONICYT, Chile; CAS, China; MOST, China; NSFC, China; COLCIENCIAS, Colombia; MSMT CR, Czech Republic; MPO CR, Czech Republic; VSC CR, Czech Republic; DNRF, Denmark; DNSRC, Denmark; IN2P3-CNRS, CEA-DRF/IRFU, France; SRNSFG, Georgia; BMBF, Germany; HGF, Germany; MPG, Germany; GSRT, Greece; RGC, Hong Kong SAR, China; ISF, Israel; Benoziyo Center, Israel; INFN, Italy; MEXT, Japan; JSPS, Japan; CNRST, Morocco; NWO, Netherlands; RCN, Norway; MNiSW, Poland; NCN, Poland; FCT, Portugal; MNE/IFA, Romania; MES of Russia, Russian Federation; NRC KI, Russian Federation; JINR; MESTD, Serbia; MSSR, Slovakia; ARRS, Slovenia; MIZS, Slovenia; DST/NRF, South Africa; MINECO, Spain; SRC, Sweden; Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden; SERI, Switzerland; SNSF, Switzerland; Canton of Bern, Switzerland; Canton of Geneva, Switzerland; MOST, Taiwan; TAEK, Turkey; STFC, United Kingdom; DOE, United States of America; NSF, United States of America; BCKDF, Canada; CANARIE, Canada; CRC, Canada; Compute Canada, Canada; COST, European Union; ERC, European Union; ERDF, European Union; Horizon 2020, European Union; Marie Sk lodowska-Curie Actions, European Union; Investissements d' Avenir Labex and Idex, ANR, France; DFG, Germany; AvH Foundation, Germany; Herakleitos programme; Thales programme; Aristeia programme; EU-ESF, Greece; Greek NSRF, Greece; BSF-NSF, Israel; GIF, Israel; CERCA Programme Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain; Royal Society, United Kingdom; Leverhulme Trust, United KingdomOpen access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Searches for scalar leptoquarks and differential cross-section measurements in dilepton–dijet events in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

Abstract: Searches for scalar leptoquarks pair-produced in proton–proton collisions at s=13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider are performed by the ATLAS experiment. A data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb-1 is used. Final states containing two electrons or two muons and two or more jets are studied, as are states with one electron or muon, missing transverse momentum and two or more jets. No statistically significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. The observed and expected lower limits on the leptoquark mass at 95% confidence level extend up to 1.29 TeV and 1.23 TeV for first- and second-generation leptoquarks, respectively, as postulated in the minimal Buchmüller–Rückl–Wyler model, assuming a branching ratio into a charged lepton and a quark of 50%. In addition, measurements of particle-level fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for the Z→ee, Z→μμ and tt¯ processes in several regions related to the search control regions. Predictions from a range of generators are compared with the measurements, and good agreement is seen for many of the observables. However, the predictions for the Z→ℓℓ measurements in observables sensitive to jet energies disagree with the data