Subdominant H60 antigen-specific CD8 T-cell response precedes dominant H4 antigen-specific response during the initial phase of allogenic skin graft rejection

In allogeneic transplantation, including the B6 anti-BALB.B settings, H60 and H4 are two representative dominant minor histocompatibility antigens that induce strong CD8 T-cell responses. With different distribution patterns, H60 expression is restricted to hematopoietic cells, whereas H4 is ubiquitously expressed. H60-specific CD8 T-cell response has been known to be dominant in most cases of B6 anti-BALB.B allo-responses, except in the case of skin transplantation. To understand the mechanism underlying the subdominance of H60 during allogeneic skin transplantation, we investigated the dynamics of the H60-specific CD8 T cells in B6 mice transplanted with allogeneic BALB.B tail skin. Unexpectedly, longitudinal bioluminescence imaging and flow cytometric analyses revealed that H60-specific CD8 T cells were not always subdominant to H4-specific cells but instead showed a brief dominance before the H4 response became predominant. H60-specific CD8 T cells could expand in the draining lymph node and migrate to the BALB.B allografts, indicating their active participation in the anti-BALB.B allo-response. Enhancing the frequencies of H60-reactive CD8 T cells prior to skin transplantation reversed the immune hierarchy between H60 and H4. Additionally, H60 became predominant when antigen presentation was limited to the direct pathway. However, when antigen presentation was restricted to the indirect pathway, the expansion of H60-specific CD8 T cells was limited, whereas H4-specific CD8 T cells expanded significantly, suggesting that the temporary immunodominance and eventual subdominance of H60 could be due to their reliance on the direct antigen presentation pathway. These results enhance our understanding of the immunodominance phenomenon following allogeneic tissue transplantation.     

Close‐Packed Two‐Dimensional Silver Nanoparticle Arrays: Quadrupolar and Dipolar Surface Plasmon Resonance Coupling

Silver nanoparticles (NPs) ranging in size from 40 to 100 nm were prepared in high yield by using an improved seed‐mediated method. The homogeneous Ag NPs were used as building blocks for 2D assembled Ag NP arrays by using an oil/water interface. A close‐packed 2D array of Ag NPs was fabricated by using packing molecules (3‐mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane) to control the interparticle spacing. The homogeneous 2D Ag NP array exhibited a strong quadrupolar cooperative plasmon mode resonance and a dipolar red‐shift relative to individual Ag NPs suspended in solution. A well‐arranged 2D Ag NP array was embedded in polydimethylsiloxane film and, with biaxial stretching to control the interparticle distance, concomitant variations of the quadrupolar and dipolar couplings were observed. As the interparticle distance increased, the intensity of the quadrupolar cooperative plasmon mode resonance decreased and dipolar coupling completely disappeared. The local electric field of the 2D Ag NP array was calculated by using finite difference time domain simulation and qualitatively showed agreement with the experimental measurements.     

Morphology and microphase separation of star copolymers

Star copolymers have attracted significant interest due to their different characteristics compared with diblock copolymers, including higher critical micelle concentration, lower viscosity, unique spatial shape, or morphologies. Development of synthetic skills such as anionic polymerization and controlled radical polymerization have made it possible to make diverse architectures of polymers. Depending on the molecular architecture of the copolymer, numerous morphologies are possible, for instance, Archimedean tiling patterns and cylindrical microdomains at symmetric volume fraction for miktoarm star copolymers as well as asymmetric lamellar microdomains for star‐shaped copolymers, which have not been reported for linear block copolymers. In this review, we focus on morphologies and microphase separations of miktoarm (A_mB_n and ABC miktoarm) star copolymers and star‐shaped [(A‐b‐B)_n] copolymers with nonlinear architecture. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1–21     

Simple and Precise Quantification of Iron Catalyst Content in Carbon Nanotubes Using UV/Visible Spectroscopy

Iron catalysts have been used widely for the mass production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high yield. In this study, UV/visible spectroscopy was used to determine the Fe catalyst content in CNTs using a colorimetric technique. Fe ions in solution form red–orange complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline, producing an absorption peak at λ=510 nm, the intensity of which is proportional to the solution Fe concentration. A series of standard Fe solutions were formulated to establish the relationship between optical absorbance and Fe concentration. Many Fe catalysts were microscopically observed to be encased by graphitic layers, thus preventing their extraction. Fe catalyst dissolution from CNTs was investigated with various single and mixed acids, and Fe concentration was found to be highest with CNTs being held at reflux in HClO₄/HNO₃ and H₂SO₄/HNO₃ mixtures. This novel colorimetric method to measure Fe concentrations by UV/Vis spectroscopy was validated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, indicating its reliability and applicability to asses Fe content in CNTs.     

Real time estimation of CO2 laser weld quality for automotive industry

Laser welding is one of the most precise welding processes in joining sheet metals. In laser welding, performing real time evaluation of the welding quality is very important to enhance the efficiency of the welding process. In this study, the plasma and spatter, which are generated during laser welding, are measured using UV and IR photodiodes. The factors that influence weld quality are classified into five categories; optimal heat input, slightly low heat input, low heat input, partial joining due to gap mismatch, and nozzle deviation. The data number deviated from reference signals and their standard deviations were also considered to evaluate the qualities. A system was also formulated to perform real time evaluations of the weld quality using a fuzzy multi-feature pattern recognition with the measured signals.     

Some new results on superimposed codes

A (w,r) cover‐free family is a family of subsets of a finite set such that no intersection of w members of the family is covered by a union of r others. A (w,r) superimposed code is the incidence matrix of such a family. Such a family also arises in cryptography as the concept of key distribution pattern. In the present paper, we give some new results on superimposed codes. First we construct superimposed codes from super‐simple designs which give us results better than superimposed codes constructed by other known methods. Next we prove the uniqueness of the (1,2) superimposed code of size 9 × 12, the (2,2) superimposed code of size 14 × 8, and the (2,3) superimposed code of size 30 × 10. Finally, we improve numerical values of upper bounds for the asymptotic rate of some (w,r) superimposed codes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Efficient microwave induced direct α-halogenation of carbonyl compounds

A novel and direct method for the synthesis of α-halocarbonyl compounds using sequential treatment of carbonyl compounds with [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]benzene followed by magnesium halides under solvent-free microwave irradiation conditions is described.     

Ternary univariate curvature-preserving subdivision

We present an interpolating, univariate subdivision scheme which preserves the discrete curvature and tangent direction at each step of subdivision. Since the polygon have a geometric information of some original (in some sense) curve as a discrete curvature, we can expect that the limit curve has the same curvature at each vertex as the control polygon. We estimate the curvature bound of odd vertices and give an error estimate for restoring a curve from sampled vertices on curves.