Kappa-contraction from SUq(2)SU_q(2) to Eκ(2)E_{\kappa}(2)

We present contraction prescription of the quantum groups: from $SU_q(2)$ to $E_{\kappa}(2)$. Our strategy is different then one chosen in ref. [P. Zaugg, J. Phys. A {\bf 28} (1995) 2589]. We provide explicite prescription for contraction of $a, b, c$ and $d$ generators of $SL_q(2)$ and arrive at $^*$ Hopf algebra $E_{\kappa}(2)$.Comment: 3 pages, plain TEX, harvmac, to be published in the Proceedings of the 4-th Colloqium Quantum Groups and Integrable Systems, Prague, June 1995, Czech. J. Phys. {\bf 46} 265 (1996

Cayley--Klein Contractions of Quantum Orthogonal Groups in Cartesian Basis

Spaces of constant curvature and their motion groups are described most naturally in Cartesian basis. All these motion groups also known as CK groups are obtained from orthogonal group by contractions and analytical continuations. On the other hand quantum deformation of orthogonal group $SO(N)$ is most easily performed in so-called symplectic basis. We reformulate its standard quantum deformation to Cartesian basis and obtain all possible contractions of quantum orthogonal group $SO_q(N)$ both for untouched and transformed deformation parameter. It turned out, that similar to undeformed case all CK contractions of $SO_q(N)$ are realized. An algorithm for obtaining nonequivalent (as Hopf algebra) contracted quantum groups is suggested. Contractions of $SO_q(N), N=3,4,5$ are regarded as an examples.Comment: The statement of the basic theorem have correct. 30 pages, Latex. Report given at X International Conference on Symmetry Methods in Physics, August 13-19, 2003, Yerevan, Armenia. Submitted in Journal Physics of Atomic Nucle

Yangians, finite W-algebras and the Non Linear Schrodinger hierarchy

We show an algebra morphism between Yangians and some finite W-algebras. This correspondence is nicely illustrated in the framework of the Non Linear Schrodinger hierarchy. For such a purpose, we give an explicit realization of the Yangian generators in terms of deformed oscillators.Comment: LaTeX2e, 10 pages, Talk presented by E. Ragoucy at ACTP-Nankai Symposium on Yang-Baxter systems, non linear models and their applications, Seoul (Korea) October 20-23, 199

Preconditioning with sevoflurane decreases PECAM-1 expression and improves one-year cardiovascular outcome in coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background. Cardiac preconditioning is thought to be involved in the observed decreased coronary artery reocclusion rate in patients with angina preceding myocardial infarction. We prospectively examined whether preconditioning by sevoflurane would decrease late cardiac events in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Methods. Seventy-two patients scheduled for elective CABG surgery were randomized to preconditioning by sevoflurane (10 min at 4 vol%) or placebo. For all patients, follow-up of adverse cardiac events was obtained 6 and 12 months after surgery. Transcript levels for platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31), catalase and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) were determined in atrial biopsies after sevoflurane preconditioning. Results. Pharmacological preconditioning by sevoflurane reduced the incidence of late cardiac events during the first year after CABG surgery (sevoflurane 3% vs 17% in the placebo group, log-rank test, P=0.038). One patient in the sevoflurane group and three patients in the placebo group experienced new episodes of congestive heart failure and three additional patients had coronary artery reocclusion. Perioperative peak concentrations for myocardial injury markers were higher in patients with subsequent late cardiac events [NTproBNP, 9031 (4125) vs 3049 (1906) ng litre−1, P<0.001; cTnT, 1.31 (0.88) vs 0.46 (0.29) µg litre−1, P<0.001]. Transcript levels were reduced for PECAM-1 and increased for catalase but unchanged for Hsp70 in atrial biopsies after sevoflurane preconditioning. Conclusions. This prospective randomized clinical study provides evidence of a protective role for pharmacological preconditioning by sevoflurane in late cardiac events in CABG patients, which may be related to favourable transcriptional changes in pro- and antiprotective protein

Explicit solution of the quantum three-body Calogero-Sutherland model

Quantum integrable systems generalizing Calogero-Sutherland systems were introduced by Olshanetsky and Perelomov (1977). Recently, it was proved that for systems with trigonometric potential, the series in the product of two wave functions is a deformation of the Clebsch-Gordan series. This yields recursion relations for the wave functions of those systems. In this note, this approach is used to compute the explicit expressions for the three-body Calogero-Sutherland wave functions, which are the Jack polynomials. We conjecture that similar results are also valid for the more general two-parameters deformation introduced by Macdonald.Comment: 10 page

Enhanced glucose uptake via GLUT4 fuels recovery from calcium overload after ischaemia-reperfusion injury in sevoflurane- but not propofol-treated hearts

Background So far, no study has explored the effects of sevoflurane, propofol, and Intralipid on metabolic flux rates of fatty acid oxidation (FOX) and glucose oxidation (GOX) in hearts exposed to ischaemia-reperfusion. Methods Isolated paced working rat hearts were exposed to 20 min of ischaemia and 30 min of reperfusion. Peri-ischaemic sevoflurane (2 vol%) and propofol (100 µM) in the formulation of 1% Diprivan® were assessed for their effects on oxidative energy metabolism and intracellular diastolic and systolic Ca2+ concentrations. Substrate flux was measured using [3H]palmitate and [14C]glucose and [Ca2+] using indo-1AM. Western blotting was used to determine the expression of the sarcolemmal glucose transporter GLUT4 in lipid rafts. Biochemical analyses of nucleotides, ceramides, and 32 acylcarnitines were also performed. Results Sevoflurane, but not propofol, improved the recovery of left ventricular work (P=0.008) and myocardial efficiency (P=0.008) compared with untreated ischaemic hearts. This functional improvement was accompanied by reduced increases in post-ischaemic diastolic and systolic intracellular Ca2+ concentrations (P=0.008). Sevoflurane, but not propofol, increased GOX (P=0.009) and decreased FOX (P=0.019) in hearts exposed to ischaemia-reperfusion. GLUT4 expression was markedly increased in lipid rafts of sevoflurane-treated hearts (P=0.016). Increased GOX closely correlated with reduced Ca2+ overload. Intralipid alone decreased energy charge and increased long-chain and hydroxyacylcarnitine tissue levels, whereas sevoflurane decreased toxic ceramide formation. Conclusions Enhanced glucose uptake via GLUT4 fuels recovery from Ca2+ overload after ischaemia-reperfusion in sevoflurane- but not propofol-treated hearts. The use of a high propofol concentration (100 µM) did not result in similar protectio

Maximizing mutagenesis with solubilized CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes

CRISPR-Cas9 enables efficient sequence-specific mutagenesis for creating somatic or germline mutants of model organisms. Key constraints in vivo remain the expression and delivery of active Cas9- sgRNA ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) with minimal toxicity, variable mutagenesis efficiencies depending on targeting sequence, and high mutation mosaicism. Here, we apply in vitro assembled, fluorescent Cas9-sgRNA RNPs in solubilizing salt solution to achieve maximal mutagenesis efficiency in zebrafish embryos. MiSeq-based sequence analysis of targeted loci in individual embryos using CrispRVariants, a customized software tool for mutagenesis quantification and visualization, reveals efficient biallelic mutagenesis that reaches saturation at several tested gene loci. Such virtually complete mutagenesis exposes loss-of-function phenotypes for candidate genes in somatic mutant embryos for subsequent generation of stable germline mutants. We further show that targeting of non-coding elements in gene regulatory regions using saturating mutagenesis uncovers functional control elements in transgenic reporters and endogenous genes in injected embryos. Our results establish that optimally solubilized, in vitro assembled fluorescent Cas9-sgRNA RNPs provide a reproducible reagent for direct and scalable loss-of-function studies and applications beyond zebrafish experiments that require maximal DNA cutting efficiency in vivo