Let X be a complex smooth Fano variety of dimension at least four. In this paper, we classify such X when the pseudoindex is at least n − 2 and the Picard number greater than one. We also discuss the relations between pseudoindex and other invariants of Fano varieties.

We investigated the role of hepatic macrophages in the inflammatory response following reperfusion injury by blocking Kupffer cell phagocytosis with gadolinium chloride (GdCl3). Liver ischemia was induced in rats by occluding the portal vein for 30 minutes. A bolus of GdCl3 (7 mg/kg) was injected intravenously 1 and 2 days before surgery. The serum levels of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) in untreated rats increased following reperfusion, peaked after 6 hours, and then gradually decreased. GdCl3 or heparin alone significantly decreased the serum levels of CINC (P < .05). In addition, pretreatment with GdCl3/heparin further inhibited the rise in the serum levels of CINC following reperfusion compared with those in untreated animals (P < .01). The in vitro production of CINC by Kupffer cells, obtained from animals pretreated with heparin or GdCl3, was significantly lower than that of cells isolated from untreated animals. Pretreatment with GdCl3/heparin further decreased CINC production by Kupffer cells compared with that of cells from animals that were pretreated with heparin or GdCl3 alone. The expression of CINC transcripts in Kupffer cells or in liver tissue peaked 3 hours after reperfusion in untreated animals. Pretreatment with heparin, GdCl3, or both significantly decreased the levels of CINC messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts. Pretreatment with heparin, GdCl3, or GdCl3/heparin significantly decreased the number of neutrophils that accumulated in the liver 24 hours following reperfusion, compared with those in untreated animals. These results suggest that Kupffer cells release CINC and may play an important role in early neutrophil infiltration into the liver following ischemia/reperfusion.

Abstract. There are two kinds of higher-order extensions of model checking: HORS model checking and HFL model checking. Whilst the former has been applied to automated verification of higher-order functional programs, applications of the latter have not been well studied. In the present paper, we show that various verification problems for functional programs, including may/must-reachability, trace properties, and linear-time temporal properties (and their negations), can be naturally reduced to (extended) HFL model checking. The reductions yield a sound and complete logical characterization of those program properties. Compared with the previous approaches based on HORS model checking, our approach provides a more uniform, streamlined method for higher-order program verification.

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