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Far Exceeding (far + exceeding)
Selected AbstractsThermal relaxation and coherence dynamics of spin 3/2.CONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 2 2003Abstract The relaxation dynamics of the spin 3/2 density operator in the presence of fluctuating and static quadrupolar interactions is reviewed. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) line shapes are analyzed for any value of the static quadrupolar interaction, ranging from isotropic systems to systems exhibiting large splitting far exceeding the line widths. Pulse sequences optimized for the elimination of line broadening due to an inhomogeneous static quadrupolar interaction and for the detection of nuclei involved in slow molecular motion and/or in anisotropic, liquid crystalline environment are discussed. In Part II, the dynamics of spin 3/2 in the presence of a (pulsed) radio frequency (RF) field is reviewed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 19A: 97,116, 2003. [source] Plasticity of hair follicle dermal cells in wound healing and inductionEXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2003A. Gharzi Abstract: The capacity of adult hair follicle dermal cells to participate in new follicle induction and regeneration, and to elicit responses from diverse epithelial partners, demonstrates a level of developmental promiscuity and influence far exceeding that of interfollicular fibroblasts. We have recently suggested that adult follicle dermal cells have extensive stem or progenitor cell activities, including an important role in skin dermal wound healing. Given that up to now tissue engineered skin equivalents have several deficiencies, including the absence of hair follicles, we investigated the capacity of follicle dermal cells to be incorporated into skin wounds; to form hair follicles in wound environments; and to create a hair follicle-derived skin equivalent. In our study, we implanted rat follicle dermal cells labelled with a vital dye into ear and body skin wounds. We found that they were incorporated into the new dermis in a manner similar to skin fibroblasts, but that lower follicle dermal sheath also assimilated into hair follicles. Using different combinations of follicle dermal cells and outer root sheath epithelial cells in punch biopsy wounds, we showed that new hair follicles were formed only with the inclusion of intact dermal papillae. Finally by combining follicle dermal sheath and outer root sheath cells in organotypic chambers, we created a skin equivalent with characteristic dermal and epidermal architecture and a normal basement membrane , the first skin to be produced entirely from hair follicle cells. These data support the hypothesis that follicle dermal cells may be important in wound healing and demonstrate their potential usefulness in human skin equivalents and skin substitutes. While we have made progress towards producing skin equivalents that contain follicles, we suggest that the failure of cultured dermal papilla cells to induce follicle formation in wounds illustrates the complex role the follicle dermis may play in skin. We believe that it demonstrates a genuine dichotomy of activity for follicle cells within skin. [source] Climatic influences and anthropogenic stressors: an integrated framework for streamflow management in Mediterranean-climate California, U.S.A.FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 2010THEODORE E. GRANTHAM Summary 1. In Mediterranean and other water-stressed climates, water management is critical to the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. To secure and maintain water allocations for the environment, integrated water management approaches are needed that consider ecosystem flow requirements, patterns of human water demands and the temporal and spatial dynamics of water availability. 2. Human settlements in Mediterranean climates have constructed water storage and conveyance projects at a scale and level of complexity far exceeding those in other, less seasonal climates. As a result, multiple ecological stressors associated with natural periods of flooding and drying are compounded by anthropogenic impacts resulting from water infrastructure development. 3. Despite substantial investments in freshwater ecosystem conservation, particularly in California, U.S.A., success has been limited because the scales at which river management and restoration are implemented are often discordant with the temporal and spatial scales at which ecosystem processes operate. Often, there is also strong social and political resistance to restricting water allocation to existing consumptive uses for environmental protection purposes. Furthermore, institutions rarely have the capacity to develop and implement integrated management programmes needed for freshwater ecosystem conservation. 4. We propose an integrated framework for streamflow management that explicitly considers the temporal and spatial dynamics of water supply and needs of both human and natural systems. This approach makes it possible to assess the effects of alternative management strategies to human water security and ecosystem conditions and facilitates integrated decision-making by water management institutions. 5. We illustrate the framework by applying a GIS-based hydrologic model in a Mediterranean-climate watershed in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A. The model is designed to assess the hydrologic impacts of multiple water users distributed throughout a stream network. We analyse the effects of vineyard water management on environmental flows to (i) evaluate streamflow impacts from small storage ponds designed to meet human water demands and reduce summer diversions, (ii) prioritise the placement of storage ponds to meet human water needs while optimising environmental flow benefits and (iii) examine the environmental and social consequences of flow management policies designed to regulate the timing of diversions to protect ecosystem functions. 6. Thematic implications: spatially explicit models that represent anthropogenic stressors (e.g. water diversions) and environmental flow needs are required to address persistent and growing threats to freshwater biodiversity. A coupled human,natural system approach to water management is particularly useful in Mediterranean climates, characterised by severe competition for water resources and high spatial and temporal variability in flow regimes. However, lessons learned from our analyses are applicable to other highly seasonal systems and those that are expected to have increased precipitation variability resulting from climate change. [source] Mesoporous Hydrous Manganese Dioxide Nanowall Arrays with Large Lithium Ion Energy Storage CapacitiesADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 7 2009Dawei Liu Abstract Novel nanowall arrays of hydrous manganese dioxide MnO2,·,0.5H2O are deposited onto cathodic substrates by the potentiostatic method from a mixed aqueous solution of manganese acetate and sodium sulfate. The deposition is induced by a change of local pH resulting from electrolysis of H2O, and hierarchical mesoporous nanowall arrays are formed as a result of simultaneous precipitation of manganese hydroxide and release of hydrogen gas bubbles from the cathode. The morphology and lithium ion intercalation properties are found to change appreciably with the concentration of the precursor electrolyte, with a significant reduction in specific surface area with an increased precursor concentration. For example, mesoporous nanowall arrays deposited from 0.1,M solution possess a surface area of ,96,m2 g,1 and exhibit a stable high intercalation capacity of 256,mA hg,1 with a film of 0.5,µm in thickness, far exceeding the theoretical limit of 150,mA hg,1 for manganese dioxide bulk film. Such mesoporous nanowall arrays offer much greater energy storage capacity (e.g., ,230,mA hg,1 for films of ,2.5,µm) than that of anodic deposited films of the same thickness (,80,mA hg,1). Such high lithium ion intercalation capacity and excellent cyclic stability of the mesoporous nanowall arrays, especially for thicker films, are ascribed to the hierarchically structured macro- and mesoporosity of the MnO2,·,0.5H2O nanowall arrays, which offer large surface to volume ratio favoring interface Faradaic reactions, short solid-state diffusion paths, and freedom to permit volume change during lithium ion intercalation and de-intercalation. [source] Development of a Severe von Willebrand Factor/ADAMTS13 Dysbalance During Orthotopic Liver TransplantationAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 5 2009I. T. A. Pereboom Patients with liver disease show profound changes in their hemostatic system, which may further change during liver transplantation. We previously demonstrated that highly elevated levels of the platelet adhesive protein von Willebrand factor (VWF) in patients with cirrhosis lead to an increased VWF-dependent platelet deposition under flow as compared to healthy controls. In this study we examined VWF parameters during the course of liver transplantation. We collected serial plasma samples from 20 patients undergoing liver transplantation in which we determined plasma levels of VWF and the VWF-cleaving protease ADAMTS13. Furthermore, we performed functional tests of VWF-dependent platelet adhesion. We found persistently elevated levels of VWF during and after liver transplantation. The capacity of VWF to interact with platelets normalized during the course of transplantation, and flow-mediated VWF-dependent platelet adhesion remained at levels far exceeding those observed in healthy individuals during and after transplantation. Plasma levels of ADAMTS13 dropped during transplantation, and in four patients levels below 10% of normal were observed after reperfusion. We observed the development of a hyperreactive primary hemostatic system, as evidenced by high levels of fully functional VWF and a temporary ADAMTS13 deficiency, during liver transplantation, and speculate that these changes contribute to postoperative thrombotic complications. [source] | ||||||||||