8 research outputs found
Net-baryon number fluctuations
The appearance of large, none-Gaussian cumulants of the baryon number
distribution is commonly discussed as a signal for the QCD critical point. We
review the status of the Taylor expansion of cumulant ratios of baryon number
fluctuations along the freeze-out line and also compare QCD results with the
corresponding proton number fluctuations as measured by the STAR Collaboration
at RHIC. To further constrain the location of a possible QCD critical point we
discuss poles of the baryon number fluctuations in the complex plane. Here we
use not only the Taylor coefficients obtained at zero chemical potential but
perform also calculations of Taylor expansion coefficients of the pressure at
purely imaginary chemical potentials.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, talk presented at the Workshop "Criticality in
QCD and the Hadron Resonance Gas", 29-31 July 2020, Onlin
Early Production of IL-22 but Not IL-17 by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Exposed to live Borrelia burgdorferi: The Role of Monocytes and Interleukin-1
If insufficiently treated, Lyme borreliosis can evolve into an inflammatory disorder affecting skin, joints, and the CNS. Early innate immunity may determine host responses targeting infection. Thus, we sought to characterize the immediate cytokine storm associated with exposure of PBMC to moderate levels of live Borrelia burgdorferi. Since Th17 cytokines are connected to host defense against extracellular bacteria, we focused on interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-22. Here, we report that, despite induction of inflammatory cytokines including IL-23, IL-17 remained barely detectable in response to B. burgdorferi. In contrast, T cell-dependent expression of IL-22 became evident within 10 h of exposure to the spirochetes. This dichotomy was unrelated to interferon-γ but to a large part dependent on caspase-1 and IL-1 bioactivity derived from monocytes. In fact, IL-1β as a single stimulus induced IL-22 but not IL-17. Neutrophils display antibacterial activity against B. burgdorferi, particularly when opsonized by antibodies. Since neutrophilic inflammation, indicative of IL-17 bioactivity, is scarcely observed in Erythema migrans, a manifestation of skin inflammation after infection, protective and antibacterial properties of IL-22 may close this gap and serve essential functions in the initial phase of spirochete infection
Interleukin-22 predicts severity and death in advanced liver cirrhosis: a prospective cohort study
Net-baryon number fluctuations
Schmidt-Sonntag C, Goswami J, Nicotra G, et al. Net-baryon number fluctuations. arXiv:2101.02254. Unpublished.The appearance of large, none-Gaussian cumulants of the baryon number distribution is commonly discussed as a signal for the QCD critical point. We review the status of the Taylor expansion of cumulant ratios of baryon number fluctuations along the freeze-out line and also compare QCD results with the corresponding proton number fluctuations as measured by the STAR Collaboration at RHIC. To further constrain the location of a possible QCD critical point we discuss poles of the baryon number fluctuations in the complex plane. Here we use not only the Taylor coefficients obtained at zero chemical potential but perform also calculations of Taylor expansion coefficients of the pressure at purely imaginary chemical potentials