Early Mechanical Alterations in Phospholamban Mutation Carriers: Identifying Subclinical Disease Before Onset of Symptoms

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore echocardiographic characteristics of phospholamban (PLN) p.Arg14del mutation carriers to investigate whether structural and/or functional abnormalities could be identified before onset of symptoms. BACKGROUND: Carriers of the genetic PLN p.Arg14del mutation may develop arrhythmogenic and/or dilated cardiomyopathy. Overt disease is preceded by a pre-symptomatic phase of variable length in which disease expression seems to be absent. METHODS: PLN p.Arg14del mutation carriers with an available echocardiogram were included. Mutation carriers were classified as pre-symptomatic if they had no history of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), a premature ventricular complex count of <500/24 h, and a left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction of ≥45%. In addition, we included 70 control subjects with similar age and sex distribution as the pre-symptomatic mutation carriers. Comprehensive echocardiographic analysis (including deformation imaging) was performed. RESULTS: The final study population consisted of 281 PLN p.Arg14del mutation carriers, 139 of whom were classified as pre-symptomatic. In comparison to control subjects, pre-symptomatic mutation carriers had lower global longitudinal strain and higher LV mechanical dispersion (both p < 0.001). In addition, post-systolic shortening (PSS) in the LV apex was observed in 43 pre-symptomatic mutation carriers (31%) and in none of the control subjects. During a median follow-up of 3.2 years (interquartile range: 2.1 to 5.6 years) in 104 pre-symptomatic mutation carriers, nonsustained VA occurred in 13 (13%). Presence of apical PSS was the strongest echocardiographic predictor of VA (multivariable hazards ratio: 5.11; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37 to 19.08; p = 0.015), which resulted in a negative predictive value of 96% (95% CI: 89% to 98%) and a positive predictive value of 29% (95% CI: 21% to 40%). CONCLUSIONS: Global and regional LV mechanical alterations in PLN p.Arg14del mutation carriers precede arrhythmic symptoms and overt structural disease. Pre-symptomatic mutation carriers with normal deformation patterns in the apex are at low risk of developing VA within 3 years, whereas mutation carriers with apical PSS appear to be at higher risk

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 VH, H → b b ¯ production as a function of the vector-boson transverse momentum in 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

Cross-sections of associated production of a Higgs boson decaying into bottom-quark pairs and an electroweak gauge boson, W or Z, decaying into leptons are measured as a function of the gauge boson transverse momentum. The measurements are performed in kinematic fiducial volumes defined in the `simplified template cross-section' framework. The results are obtained using 79.8 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. All measurements are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model predictions, and limits are set on the parameters of an effective Lagrangian sensitive to modifications of the Higgs boson couplings to the electroweak gauge bosons

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]

Search for excited electrons singly produced in proton–proton collisions at \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV with the ALAS experiment at the LHC

A search for excited electrons produced in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV via a contact interaction qq¯→ee∗ is presented. The search uses 36.1 fb −1 of data collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Decays of the excited electron into an electron and a pair of quarks ( eqq¯ ) are targeted in final states with two electrons and two hadronic jets, and decays via a gauge interaction into a neutrino and a W boson ( νW ) are probed in final states with an electron, missing transverse momentum, and a large-radius jet consistent with a hadronically decaying W boson. No significant excess is observed over the expected backgrounds. Upper limits are calculated for the pp→ee∗→eeqq¯ and pp→ee∗→eνW production cross sections as a function of the excited electron mass me∗ at 95% confidence level. The limits are translated into lower bounds on the compositeness scale parameter Λ of the model as a function of me∗ . For me∗<0.5 TeV , the lower bound for Λ is 11 TeV . In the special case of me∗=Λ , the values of me∗<4.8 TeV are excluded. The presented limits on Λ are more stringent than those obtained in previous searches

Search for heavy neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with b-quarks and decaying into b-quarks at root s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with one or two b -quarks and decaying to b -quark pairs is presented using 27.8  fb − 1 of √ s = 13  TeV proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during 2015 and 2016. No evidence of a signal is found. Upper limits on the heavy neutral Higgs boson production cross section times its branching ratio to b ¯ b are set, ranging from 4.0 to 0.6 pb at 95% confidence level over a Higgs boson mass range of 450 to 1400 GeV. Results are interpreted within the two-Higgs-doublet model and the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model