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The first measurement of two-pion Bose–Einstein correlations in central Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC.
Trapping black hole remnants
(2005)
Large extra dimensions lower the Planck scale to values soon accessible. The production of TeV mass black holes at the LHC is one of the most exciting predictions. However, the final phases of the black hole's evaporation are still unknown and there are strong indications that a black hole remnant can be left. Since a certain fraction of such objects would be electrically charged, we argue that they can be trapped. In this paper, we examine the occurrence of such charged black hole remnants. These trapped remnants are of high interest, as they could be used to closely investigate the evaporation characteristics. Due to the absence of background from the collision region and the controlled initial state, the signal would be very clear. This would allow to extract information about the late stages of the evaporation process with high precision.
The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton–proton collisions at s=900 GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|η|<0.8) over the transverse momentum range 0.15<pT<10 GeV/c. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive (NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for |η|<0.8 is 〈pT〉INEL=0.483±0.001 (stat.)±0.007 (syst.) GeV/c and 〈pT〉NSD=0.489±0.001 (stat.)±0.007 (syst.) GeV/c, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger 〈pT〉 than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET.
The thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag was successfully used against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-associated thrombocytopenia refractory to immunomodulatory and antiviral drugs. These effects were ascribed to the effects of eltrombopag on megakaryocytes. Here, we tested whether eltrombopag may also exert direct antiviral effects. Therapeutic eltrombopag concentrations inhibited HCMV replication in human fibroblasts and adult mesenchymal stem cells infected with six different virus strains and drug-resistant clinical isolates. Eltrombopag also synergistically increased the anti-HCMV activity of the mainstay drug ganciclovir. Time-of-addition experiments suggested that eltrombopag interfered with HCMV replication after virus entry. Eltrombopag was effective in thrombopoietin receptor-negative cells, and the addition of Fe3+ prevented the anti-HCMV effects, indicating that it inhibits HCMV replication via iron chelation. This may be of particular interest for the treatment of cytopenias after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, as HCMV reactivation is a major reason for transplantation failure. Since therapeutic eltrombopag concentrations are effective against drug-resistant viruses, and synergistically increase the effects of ganciclovir, eltrombopag is also a drug-repurposing candidate for the treatment of therapy-refractory HCMV diseas.
The thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag was successfully used against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-associated thrombocytopenia refractory to immunomodulatory and antiviral drugs. These effects were ascribed to effects of eltrombopag on megakaryocytes. Here, we tested whether eltrombopag may also exert direct antiviral effects. Therapeutic eltrombopag concentrations inhibited HCMV replication in human fibroblasts and adult mesenchymal stem cells infected with six different virus strains and drug-resistant clinical isolates. Eltrombopag also synergistically increased the anti-HCMV activity of the mainstay drug ganciclovir. Time-of-addition experiments suggested that eltrombopag interferes with HCMV replication after virus entry. Eltrombopag was effective in thrombopoietin receptor-negative cells, and addition of Fe3+ prevented the anti-HCMV effects, indicating that it inhibits HCMV replication via iron chelation. This may be of particular interest for the treatment of cytopenias after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, as HCMV reactivation is a major reason for transplantation failure. Since therapeutic eltrombopag concentrations are effective against drug-resistant viruses and synergistically increase the effects of ganciclovir, eltrombopag is also a drug repurposing candidate for the treatment of therapy-refractory HCMV disease.
Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0–5% and 70–80% of the hadronic Pb–Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in |η|<0.8 and 0.3<pT<20 GeV/c are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same sNN, scaled by the number of underlying nucleon–nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor RAA. The result indicates only weak medium effects (RAA≈0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions, RAA reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at pT=6–7 GeV/c and increases significantly at larger pT. The measured suppression of high-pT particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies, indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC.
The concept of Large Extra Dimensions (LED) provides a way of solving the Hierarchy Problem which concerns the weakness of gravity compared with the strong and electro-weak forces. A consequence of LED is that miniature Black Holes (mini-BHs) may be produced at the Large Hadron Collider in p+p collisions. The present work uses the CHARYBDIS mini-BH generator code to simulate the hadronic signal which might be expected in a mid-rapidity particle tracking detector from the decay of these exotic objects if indeed they are produced. An estimate is also given for Pb+Pb collisions.
Background: The factors driving the late phase of COVID-19 are still poorly understood. However, autoimmunity is an evolving theme in COVID-19’s pathogenesis. Additionally, deregulation of human retroelements (RE) is found in many viral infections, and has also been reported in COVID-19.
Results: Unexpectedly, coronaviruses (CoV) – including SARS-CoV-2 – harbour many RE-identical sequences (up to 35 base pairs), and some of these sequences are part of SARS-CoV-2 epitopes associated to COVID-19 severity. Furthermore, RE are expressed in healthy controls and human cells and become deregulated after SARS-CoV-2 infection, showing mainly changes in long interspersed nuclear element (LINE1) expression, but also in endogenous retroviruses.
Conclusion: CoV and human RE share coding sequences, which are targeted by antibodies in COVID-19 and thus could induce an autoimmune loop by molecular mimicry.
Background: Bacterial burden as well as duration of bacteremia influence the outcome of patients with bloodstream infections. Promptly decreasing bacterial load in the blood by using extracorporeal devices in addition to anti-infective therapy has recently been explored. Preclinical studies with the Seraph® 100 Microbind® Affinity Blood Filter (Seraph® 100), which consists of heparin that is covalently bound to polymer beads, have demonstrated an effective binding of bacteria and viruses. Pathogens adhere to the heparin coated polymer beads in the adsorber as they would normally do to heparan sulfate on cell surfaces. Using this biomimetic principle, the Seraph® 100 could help to decrease bacterial burden in vivo.
Methods: This first in human, prospective, multicenter, non-randomized interventional study included patients with blood culture positive bloodstream infection and the need for kidney replacement therapy as an adjunctive treatment for bloodstream infections. We performed a single four-hour hemoperfusion treatment with the Seraph® 100 in conjunction with a dialysis procedure. Post procedure follow up was 14 days.
Results: Fifteen hemodialysis patients (3F/12 M, age 74.0 [68.0–78.5] years, dialysis vintage 28.0 [11.0–45.0] months) were enrolled. Seraph® 100 treatment started 66.4 [45.7–80.6] hours after the initial positive blood culture was drawn. During the treatment with the Seraph® 100 with a median blood flow of 285 [225–300] ml/min no device or treatment related adverse events were reported. Blood pressure and heart rate remained stable while peripheral oxygen saturation improved during the treatment from 98.0 [92.5–98.0] to 99.0 [98.0–99.5] %; p = 0.0184. Four patients still had positive blood culture at the start of Seraph® 100 treatment. In one patient blood cultures turned negative during treatment. The time to positivity (TTP) was increased between inflow and outflow blood cultures by 36 [− 7.2 to 96.3] minutes. However, overall TTP increase was not statistical significant.
Conclusions: Seraph® 100 treatment was well tolerated. Adding Seraph® 100 to antibiotics early in the course of bacteremia might result in a faster resolution of bloodstream infections, which has to be evaluated in further studies.
It has been suggested that the existence of a non-Gaussian fixed point in general relativity might cure the ultraviolet problems of this theory. Such a fixed point is connected to an effective running of the gravitational coupling. We calculate the effect of the running gravitational coupling on the black hole production cross section in models with large extra dimensions.