Weaker HLA footprints on HIV in the unique and highly genetically admixed host population of Mexico

HIV circumvents HLA class I-restricted CD8+ T-cell responses through selection of escape mutations that leave characteristic mutational “footprints,” also known as HLA-associated polymorphisms (HAPs), on HIV sequences at the population level. While many HLA footprints are universal across HIV subtypes and human populations, others can be region specific as a result of the unique immunogenetic background of each host population. Using a published probabilistic phylogenetically informed model, we compared HAPs in HIV Gag and Pol (PR-RT) in 1,612 subtype B-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive individuals from Mexico and 1,641 individuals from Canada/United States. A total of 252 HLA class I allele subtypes were represented, including 140 observed in both cohorts, 67 unique to Mexico, and 45 unique to Canada/United States. At the predefined statistical threshold of a q value of <0.2, 358 HAPs (201 in Gag, 157 in PR-RT) were identified in Mexico, while 905 (534 in Gag and 371 in PR-RT) were identified in Canada/United States. HAPs identified in Mexico included both canonical HLA-associated escape pathways and novel associations, in particular with HLA alleles enriched in Amerindian and mestizo populations. Remarkably, HLA footprints on HIV in Mexico were not only fewer but also, on average, significantly weaker than those in Canada/United States, although some exceptions were noted. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggested that the weaker HLA footprint on HIV in Mexico may be due, at least in part, to weaker and/or less reproducible HLA-mediated immune pressures on HIV in this population. The implications of these differences for natural and vaccine-induced anti-HIV immunity merit further investigation

Mysterious Dust-emitting Object Orbiting TIC 400799224

We report the discovery of a unique object of uncertain nature - but quite possibly a disintegrating asteroid or minor planet - orbiting one star of the widely separated binary TIC 400799224. We initially identified the system in data from TESS Sector 10 via an abnormally shaped fading event in the light curve (hereafter "dips"). Follow-up speckle imaging determined that TIC 400799224 is actually two stars of similar brightness at 0.″62 separation, forming a likely bound binary with projected separation of ∼300 au. We cannot yet determine which star in the binary is host to the dips in flux. ASAS-SN and Evryscope archival data show that there is a strong periodicity of the dips at ∼19.77 days, leading us to believe that an occulting object is orbiting the host star, though the duration, depth, and shape of the dips vary substantially. Statistical analysis of the ASAS-SN data shows that the dips only occur sporadically at a detectable threshold in approximately one out of every three to five transits, lending credence to the possibility that the occulter is a sporadically emitted dust cloud. The cloud is also fairly optically thick, blocking up to 37% or 75% of the light from the host star, depending on the true host. Further observations may allow for greater detail to be gleaned as to the origin and composition of the occulter, as well as to a determination of which of the two stars comprising TIC 400799224 is the true host star of the dips

Search for direct production of electroweakinos in final states with one lepton, jets and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for electroweak production of wino-like chargino pairs, χ˜ + 1 χ˜ − 1 , and of wino-like chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino, χ˜ ± 1 χ˜ 0 2 , are presented. The models explored assume that the charginos decay into a W boson and the lightest neutralino, χ˜ ± 1 → W±χ˜ 0 1 . The next-to-lightest neutralinos are degenerate in mass with the chargino and decay to χ˜ 0 1 and either a Z or a Higgs boson, χ˜ 0 2 → Zχ˜ 0 1 or hχ˜ 0 1 . The searches exploit the presence of a single isolated lepton and missing transverse momentum from the W boson decay products and the lightest neutralinos, and the presence of jets from hadronically decaying Z or W bosons or from the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of b-quarks. The searches use 139 fb−1 of √ s = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. No deviations from the Standard Model expectations are found, and 95% confdence level exclusion limits are set. Chargino masses ranging from 260 to 520 GeV are excluded for a massless χ˜ 0 1 in chargino pair production models. Degenerate chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino masses ranging from 260 to 420 GeV are excluded for a massless χ˜ 0 1 for χ˜ 0 2 → Zχ˜ 0 1 . For decays through an on-shell Higgs boson and for mass-splitting between χ˜ ± 1 /χ˜ 0 2 and χ˜ 0 1 as small as the Higgs boson mass, mass limits are improved by up to 40 GeV in the range of 200–260 GeV and 280–470 GeV compared to previous ATLAS constraints

Evidence of pair production of longitudinally polarised vector bosons and study of CP properties in ZZ → 4ℓ events with the ATLAS detector at √s = 13 TeV

A study of the polarisation and CP properties in ZZ production is presented. The used data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The ZZ candidate events are reconstructed using two same-flavour opposite-charge electron or muon pairs. The production of two longitudinally polarised Z bosons is measured with a significance of 4.3 standard deviations, and its cross-section is measured in a fiducial phase space to be 2.45 ± 0.60 fb, consistent with the next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction. The inclusive differential cross-section as a function of a CP-sensitive angular observable is also measured. The results are used to constrain anomalous CP-odd neutral triple gauge couplings

Measurement of the Higgs boson mass with H → γγ decays in 140 fb−1 of √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

The mass of the Higgs boson is measured in the H → γγ decay channel, exploiting the high resolution of the invariant mass of photon pairs reconstructed from the decays of Higgs bosons produced in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy √s = 13 TeV. The dataset was collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is 125.17 ± 0.11 (stat.)±0.09 (syst.) GeV and is based on an improved energy scale calibration for photons, whose impact on the measurement is about four times smaller than in the previous publication. A combination with the corresponding measurement using 7 and 8 TeV pp collision ATLAS data results in a Higgs boson mass measurement of 125.22 ± 0.11 (stat.)±0.09 (syst.) GeV. With an uncertainty of 1.1 per mille, this is currently the most precise measurement of the mass of the Higgs boson from a single decay channel

Measurement of the tt¯ cross section and its ratio to the Z production cross section using pp collisions at √s = 13.6 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive top-quark-pair production cross section σtt¯ and its ratio to the Z-boson production cross section have been measured in proton–proton collisions at √s = 13.6 TeV, using 29 fb−1 of data collected in 2022 with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Using events with an opposite-charge electron-muon pair and b-tagged jets, and assuming Standard Model decays, the top-quark-pair production cross section is measured to be σtt¯=850±3(stat.)±18(syst.)±20(lumi.) pb. The ratio of the tt¯ and the Z-boson production cross sections is also measured, where the Z-boson contribution is determined for inclusive e+e− and μ+μ− events in a fiducial phase space. The relative uncertainty on the ratio is reduced compared to the tt¯ cross section, thanks to the cancellation of several systematic uncertainties. The result for the ratio, Rtt¯/Z=1.145±0.003(stat.)±0.021(syst.)±0.002(lumi.) is consistent with the Standard Model prediction using the PDF4LHC21 PDF set

Search for flavour-changing neutral tqH interactions with H → γγ in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search for flavour-changing neutral interactions involving the top quark, the Higgs boson and an up-type quark q (q = c, u) is presented. The proton-proton collision data set used, with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1, was collected at √s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Both the decay process t → qH in tt¯ production and the production process pp → tH, with the Higgs boson decaying into two photons, are investigated. No significant excess is observed and upper limits are set on the t → cH and the t → uH branching ratios of 4.3 × 10−4 and 3.8 × 10−4, respectively, at the 95% confidence level, while the expected limits in the absence of signal are 4.7 × 10−4 and 3.9 × 10−4. Combining this search with ATLAS searches in the H → τ+τ− and H → b¯b final states yields observed (expected) upper limits on the t → cH branching ratio of 5.8 × 10−4 (3.0 × 10−4) at the 95% confidence level. The corresponding observed (expected) upper limit on the t → uH branching ratio is 4.0 × 10−4 (2.4 × 10−4)

Electron and photon energy calibration with the ATLAS detector using LHC Run 2 data

This paper presents the electron and photon energy calibration obtained with the ATLAS detector using 140 fb-1 of LHC proton-proton collision data recorded at √(s) = 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018. Methods for the measurement of electron and photon energies are outlined, along with the current knowledge of the passive material in front of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter. The energy calibration steps are discussed in detail, with emphasis on the improvements introduced in this paper. The absolute energy scale is set using a large sample of Z-boson decays into electron-positron pairs, and its residual dependence on the electron energy is used for the first time to further constrain systematic uncertainties. The achieved calibration uncertainties are typically 0.05% for electrons from resonant Z-boson decays, 0.4% at ET ∼ 10 GeV, and 0.3% at ET ∼ 1 TeV; for photons at ET ∼ 60 GeV, they are 0.2% on average. This is more than twice as precise as the previous calibration. The new energy calibration is validated using J/ψ → ee and radiative Z-boson decays

Combination of searches for heavy spin-1 resonances using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combination of searches for new heavy spin-1 resonances decaying into diferent pairings of W, Z, or Higgs bosons, as well as directly into leptons or quarks, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV collected during 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting quark pairs (qq, bb, tt¯, and tb) or third-generation leptons (τν and τ τ ) are included in this kind of combination for the frst time. A simplifed model predicting a spin-1 heavy vector-boson triplet is used. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confdence level and are compared with predictions for the benchmark model. These limits are also expressed in terms of constraints on couplings of the heavy vector-boson triplet to quarks, leptons, and the Higgs boson. The complementarity of the various analyses increases the sensitivity to new physics, and the resulting constraints are stronger than those from any individual analysis considered. The data exclude a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 5.8 TeV in a weakly coupled scenario, below 4.4 TeV in a strongly coupled scenario, and up to 1.5 TeV in the case of production via vector-boson fusion

Measurement of vector boson production cross sections and their ratios using pp collisions at √s = 13.6 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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