A HIERARCHY OF GAUGED GRASSMANIAN MODELS IN 4p4p DIMENSIONS WITH SELF-DUAL INSTANTONS

We present a hierarchy of gauged Grassmanian models in $4p$ dimensions, where the gauge field takes its values in the $2^{2p- 1}\times 2^{2p-1}$ chiral representation of SO(4p). The actions of all these models are absolutely minimised by a hierarchy of self-duality equations, all of which reduce to a single pair of coupled ordinary differential equations when subjected to $4p$ dimensional spherical symmetry.Comment: latex file, 13 page

Pharmacokinetics of Tacrolimus in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Twice Daily Versus Once Daily Dosing

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72008/1/j.1600-6143.2004.00383.x.pd

Pinning of a solid--liquid--vapour interface by stripes of obstacles

We use a macroscopic Hamiltonian approach to study the pinning of a solid--liquid--vapour contact line on an array of equidistant stripes of obstacles perpendicular to the liquid. We propose an estimate of the density of pinning stripes for which collective pinning of the contact line happens. This estimate is shown to be in good agreement with Langevin equation simulation of the macroscopic Hamiltonian. Finally we introduce a 2--dimensional mean field theory which for small strength of the pinning stripes and for small capillary length gives an excellent description of the averaged height of the contact line.Comment: Plain tex, 12 pages, 3 figures available upon reques

Developing a translational ecology workforce

We define a translational ecologist as a professional ecologist with diverse disciplinary expertise and skill sets, as well as a suitable personal disposition, who engages across social, professional, and disciplinary boundaries to partner with decision makers to achieve practical environmental solutions. Becoming a translational ecologist requires specific attention to obtaining critical non-scientific disciplinary breadth and skills that are not typically gained through graduate-level education. Here, we outline a need for individuals with broad training in interdisciplinary skills, use our personal experiences as a basis for assessing the types of interdisciplinary skills that would benefit potential translational ecologists, and present steps that interested ecologists may take toward becoming translational. Skills relevant to translational ecologists may be garnered through personal experiences, informal training, short courses, fellowships, and graduate programs, among others. We argue that a translational ecology workforce is needed to bridge the gap between science and natural resource decisions. Furthermore, we argue that this task is a cooperative responsibility of individuals interested in pursuing these careers, educational institutions interested in training scientists for professional roles outside of academia, and employers seeking to hire skilled workers who can foster stakeholder-engaged decision making

Long-term Follow-up of Laparoscopic Splenectomy in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) has been reserved for intractable and relapsing immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) despite medical treatment. With further experiences of LS in ITP, we investigated long term outcomes of LS, especially newly developed morbidities, and tried to find predictive factors for favorable outcomes. From August 1994 to December 2004, fifty-nine patients whose follow-up period was more than 12 months after LS were investigated. After a long-term follow-up (median 54 months, range 12.5-129 months), a complete response (CR) was found in 28 patients (47.5%), partial response in 24 (40.7%), and no response in 7 (11.9%). The relapse rate during follow-up periods was 15.2%. The rapid response group (p=0.017), in which the platelet count increased more than twice of the preoperative platelet count within 7 days after LS, relapsing after medical treatment (p=0.02), and the satisfactory group as the initial result of LS (p=0.001) were significant for predicting CR in univariate analysis, but only the initial satisfactory group was an independent predictive factor for CR in multivariate analysis (p=0.036, relative risk=6419; 95% CI, 1.171-35.190). Infections were the most frequent morbidities during the follow-up period, which were treated well without mortality. LS is a safe and effective treatment modality for ITP. Active referral to surgery might be required, considering complications and treatment results related to long-term use of steroid-based medications

The uptake, retention and clearance of drug-loaded dendrimer nanoparticles in astrocytes - electrophysiological quantification

Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems may impose risks to patients due to potential toxicity associated with lack of clearance from cells or prolonged carrier-cell retention. This work evaluates vesicular cell uptake, retention and the possible transfer of endocytosed methylprednisolone-loaded carboxymethylchitosan/poly(amidoamine) dendrimer nanoparticles (NPs) into secretory vesicles of rat cultured astrocytes. Cells were incubated with NPs and unitary vesicle fusions/fissions with the plasma membrane were monitored employing high resolution membrane capacitance measurements. In NPs-treated cells the frequency of unitary exocytotic events was significantly increased. The presence of NPs also induce an increase in the size of exocytotic vesicles interacting with the plasma membrane, which exhibit transient fusion with prolonged fusion pore dwell-time. Live-cell confocal imaging revealed that once NPs internalize into endocytotic compartments they remain in the cell for 7 days, although a significant proportion of these merge with secretory vesicles destined for exocytosis. Co-localization studies show the route of clearance of NPs from cells via the exocytotic pathway. These findings bring new insight into the understanding of the intracellular trafficking and biological interactions of drug-loaded dendrimer NPs targeting astrocytes.The study was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (grants P3 310, J3 6790, J3 7605) and the European Science Foundation COST STSM grant attributed to S.R. Cerqueira. The authors would also like to acknowledge the funds from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (fellowships to S.R.C. SFRH/BD/48406/2008) and the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013, grant agreement no. REGPOT-CT2012- 316331-POLARIS). J.M.O. also thanks the FCT for the funds provided under the program Investigador FCT (IF/00423/2012 and IF/01285/2015).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio