Application of partial-filling capillary electrophoresis using lectins and glycosidases for the characterization of oligosaccharides in a therapeutic antibody

Oligosaccharides in therapeutic recombinant antibodies play important roles in regulation of various biological functions. To monitor the glycosylation profiles of antibody pharmaceuticals in the manufacturing process, a highly sensitive and specific method is required. We extended partial-filling techniques using lectins and exoglycosidases in capillary electrophoresis for the characterization of 8-aminopylene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid labeled N-linked oligosaccharides derived from the therapeutic antibody rituximab. In the lectin-filling method, Galb1–4GlcNAc-specific Erythrina cristagali agglutinin, a1, 6-linked Fuc-specific Aleuria aurantia lectin and Neu5Aca2–3Gal-specific Maackia amurensis lectin were used. The oligosaccharides migrated through the lectin plug during separation; the changes in separation profiles were observed according to the interaction with the lectins. The glycosidase-filling method allowed rapid digestion as suggested by the electropherograms. Partial-filling CE methods can avoid tedious hands-on procedures such as overnight incubation and optimization reaction condition with lectins and exoglycosidases. Combination of these partial-filling capillary electrophoresis methods makes the characterization of oligosaccharide profiles of therapeutic antibodies easier and faster.     

Novel enhancement of the reducing ability of ytterbium diiodide by irradiation with near-UV light

Irradiation with near-UV light, dramatically enhances the reducing ability of ytterbium diiodide (YbI₂). Organic bromides, iodides, tosylates, and tellurides are reduced efficiently by a YbI₂-hv system, while these can not be reduced with YbI₂ in the dark.     

Non-vanishing of the twisted cohomology on the complement of hypersurfaces

Generically, the cohomology with coefficients in a local system of rank one on the complement in of the union of a finite number of hypersurfaces vanishes except in the highest dimension. We study the non-generic case, in which the cohomology in other dimensions does not vanish. When the hypersurfaces are hyperplanes, many examples of this kind are known. In this paper, we consider the case in which the hypersurfaces need not be hyperplanes. We prove that the hypersurfaces given by some particular linear systems have non-vanishing local system cohomologies.

     

Oxygen-rich Ti1−xO2 pillar growth at a gold nanoparticle–TiO2 contact by O2 exposure

In-situ gas-injection transmission electron microscopy revealed that a pillar grew at the edge of the interface of a gold nanoparticle and a TiO₂ substrate during exposure to O₂ gas at 100 Pa. The pillar was found to have a titanium-deficient chemical composition of Ti_1 ? xO₂ (x > 0) by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The spectra showed a chemical shift of oxygen and titanium ions to have ionic states of Ti³⁺ and O^y? (y < 3/2). The formation of the Ti_1 ? xO₂ at the contact edge of gold–Ti_1 ? xO₂ interface is discussed from the perspective of an O₂ affinity, which plays an important role in CO oxidation process of supported gold particle.     

Photorefractive effect in composites of ferroelectric liquid crystal and photoconductive polymer

The photorefractive effect in composites of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) and several photoconductive polymers was investigated. The photorefractivity of mixtures of photoconductive polymers and an FLC (polymer/FLC), as well as that of photoconductive‐polymer‐stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (PPS‐FLCs) was examined. The polymer/FLC samples exhibited two‐beam coupling gain coefficients of about 6～12 cm^?1 in a 5 µm gap cell. The photopolymerization of a methacrylate monomer in the FLC medium established a polymer‐stabilized state in which the alignment of FLC molecules was mechanically stabilized. The noise in a two‐beam coupling signal was reduced significantly in the PPS‐FLC samples.     

Experimental study of annular bright field (ABF) imaging using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)

Experimental parameters used in the annular bright field (ABF) imaging method were tested using images simulated with the multislice method. Images simulated under identical conditions were found to agree well with experimental images. The ABF technique was shown to be relatively insensitive to the sample thickness and the defocus. In experimental ABF images, atomic columns exhibited dark contrast over a wide range of specimen thickness and defocus values, from 10 to 70 nm and ?20 to +20 nm, respectively. A series of diffraction patterns at atomic columns, obtained using the diffraction imaging method, exhibited higher intensities in their central regions (0–11 mrad) for light elements and in their peripheral regions (11–22 mrad) for heavy elements. The results indicated that the contrast of light elements is enhanced by subtraction of the central region of the transmitted beam, since this is blocked by a circular mask in the ABF-STEM technique. Thus, the overall contrast of light elements is greatly improved, allowing them to be clearly visualized.     

Spin transport in bimetallic pentalene complexes

Spin transport in bimetallic pentalene complexes (CpM(pentalene)M′Cp;M,M′=Fe,Co,Ni) between two gold electrodes was investigated, using a Green’s function formalism under density functional theory. Variation of the metal atom species in the complexes gives a considerable change in their spin properties, with hetero-bimetallic complexes containing an odd number of electrons exhibiting spin filter behaviour. In contrast, alternation in the contact condition, whether Cp-anchoring or adducting by sulphur-gold bonds, had almost no effect on spin filter behaviour, but did lead to variation in electrical conduction. We examined suitable bimetallic pentalene complexes in order to enhance their spin filter efficiency.     

Four-dimensional geometric element definitions and interferences via five-dimensional homogeneous processing

Abstract  

We have systematized various studies on 4-D visualization and interaction thus far, and we proposed 4-D geometric algorithms via 5-D homogeneous processing. Our framework uses 5 × 5 matrices and 5 × 5 determinants to express various types of transformations, and it simplifies geometric operations without the use of division operations. Using the proposed scheme, we developed an interactive 4-D space display system. The simplicity, generality, and duality of 5-D homogeneous processing are effective not only for 4-D geometric operations but also for interference problems among various 4-D objects. However, the processing regarding geometric characteristics of 4-D objects was not considered in our previous works. In this paper, we describe 4-D geometric elements, in general, and we discuss 4-D computational geometry via 5-D homogeneous processing. Unified geometric operations without the use of division operations constitute the most important part of 5-D homogeneous processing. We systematize the methods for 4-D geometric element definitions and interferences via 5-D homogeneous processing. In the field of 4-D visualization, the proposed algorithms can be potentially used in a user interface for feature detection of a 4-D object and collision detection of several 4-D objects. We comprehensively develop and advance the theoretical framework in the field of 4-D graphics. It is expected that this method of processing will be useful for the performance improvement of 4-D graphics systems.