Convergence analysis of perturbed hemivariational inequalities

We consider the rate of convergence for a class of perturbed hemivariational inequalities in reflexive Banach Spaces. Our results can be viewed as an extension and refinement of some previous known results in this area.     

Dendritic cells: In the forefront of immunopathogenesis and vaccine development – A review

Dendritic cellls (DCs) comprise an essential component of the immune system. These cells, as antigen presenting cells (APCs) to na?ve T cells, are crucial in the initiation of antigen specific immune responses. In the past years, several DC subsets have been identified in different organs which exert different effects in order to elicit adaptive immune responses. Thus, identification of such DC subsets has led to a better understanding of their distribution and function in the body. In this review, several key properties of the immunobiology, immunopathogenesis and vaccine strategies using DCs will be discussed.     

Dielectric relaxation of polystyrene with side-chain- and chain-end-labels

Polystyrenes with different concentrations of side groups with cyano groups were prepared and complex dielectric constants were measured in the range of the glass transition temperature and the frequency range of 10^–2–10⁷ Hz.The GPC and DSC measurements showed that the molecular weight of these polystyrenes was about 10500 g/mole and the glass transition temperatures were 89.5°C for all samples.The dielectric relaxation spectra obtained for the side group polystyrene labels and also the chain-end polystyrene labels prepared before [9] were analyzed to find out the degree of coupling of the chain-end and side-group labels with the cooperative reorientation of the polymeric matrix. The analysis of the spectra was carried out using the analysis method developed by Mansour and Stoll [6].The results obtained showed that both end- and side-group labels are strongly coupled with the segmental reorientation and relax with relaxation times longer than that of the segments.The value of logf _m = (logf _m(label)) – logf _m(matrix)) was obtained from the recently designed comparison diagram suggested by Mansour and Stoll [6, 14]. The value of logf _m depends on the label length in the case of chain-end labels.It was surprising to find that the side groups relax slower than the segments by only 0.9 decades. These results obtained implied that the label relaxes through a multistep relaxation mechanism of the side and end groups and not through a diffusion mechanism of the whole chain. In addition, the effective lengths of the relaxing units were determined using the empirical equation obtained before in the case of rodlike molecules in polyisoprene [7].     

Graft polymerization of vinyl monomers onto cellulose in presence of soda lime glass. I

Sodium bisulfite–soda lime glass has proved to be a good initiator for polymerization and graft polymerization onto cellulose of some vinyl monomers. A scheme dealing with the mechanism of initiation has been proposed assuming trapping of the bisulfite radical inside the glass frame-work to form a so-called sulfur-impregnated solid. Such a solid has paramagnetic properties and acts on the vinyl monomers and cellulose as any free-radical-producing source thus leading to polymerization and graft polymerization onto cellulose. Other radicals containing sulfur, such as sulfite, sulfate, and persulfate failed to give such property with soda lime glass. With the sodium bisulfite–soda lime glass system the reactivity decreases in the order methyl methacrylate > ethyl acrylate > acrylonitrile which is inconsistent with the arrangement of acceptor monomers with decreasing electron-donating ability. This may reflect interference of the addition reaction which may take place between the monomer and bisulfite and the rate of which may depend on the activation energy of the monomer.     

Electrochemical behaviour of an indium electrode in concentrated KOH solutions at different temperatures

Summary The electrochemical behaviour of pure indium in KOH solutions (1–4M) was studied at different temperatures (25–70°C) by potentiostatic techniques. Two anodic peaks corresponding to the formation of In(OH)₃ and In₂O₃ were observed. The heights of the two peaks increased with the increase of alkali concentration. An increase of temperature increased the peak currents and shifted their corresponding potentials to more negative values. The variation of the peak currents and peak potentials with scan rate suggested that the anodic dissolution of indium was a diffusion controlled process. In cyclic voltammetry, the reverse scan consistently showed one peak which was attributed to the reduction of anodic oxidation products into indium. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the presence of In(OH)₃ at the first anodic peak, In(OH)₃ and In₂O₃ at the second anodic peak and In₂O₃ in the permanent passive region.

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Zum elektrochemischen Verhalten einer Indium-Elektrode in konzentrierter Kalilauge bei verschiedenen Temperaturen

Zusammenfassung Es wurde das Verhalten von reinem Indium in 1 – 4M KOH-Lösungen bei Temperaturen zwischen 25 und 70°C mittels potentiostatischer Methoden untersucht. Zwei anodische Peaks, entsprechend der Bildung von In(OH)₃ und In₂O₃, traten auf. Die Höhe der beiden Peaks wurde mit zunehmender Alkalikonzentration gesteigert. Eine Temperaturerhöhung verstärkte die Peakströme und verschob die entsprechenden Potentiale zu negativeren Werten. Die Abhängigkeit der Peakströme und Peakpotentiale von der Scangeschwindigkeit legte den Schluß nahe, daß die anodische Lösung von Indium in einem diffusionskontrollierten Prozeß stattfindet. Bei der cyclischen Voltammetrie zeigte der reverse Scan einheitlich einen Peak, der der Reduktion der anodischen Oxidationsprodukte zu Indium zugeschrieben wurde. Röntgendiffraktionsanalyse bestätigte die Präsenz von In(OH)₃ beim ersten anodischen Peak, In(OH)₃ beim zweiten Peak und In₂O₃ im permanent passiven Bereich.

     

Dielectric relaxation of ball-like labels in polyisoprene

Ball-like molecules with strong dipoles (labels) were mixed with synthetic polyisoprene (IR305) in low concentrations (<1%) and measured dielectrically in the frequency range 10^–2–10⁷ Hz and the temperature range –70–0°C (glass relaxation region). Calorimetric measurements showed that this type of label has a plasticizing effect on the polymeric matrix. The dielectric measurements showed that these ball-like molecules relax through cooperative rotations with the polymeric segments and at the same relaxation frequency. In addition, the label molecules showed a high-frequency local relaxation process. The relaxation strength ratio of the local process (X _local) to the total relaxation strength of the label was found to be dependent on the volume as well as on the shape of the label. A comparison between the relaxation behaviors of the ball-and rod-like molecules, having the same volume, showed that the length of the label is also an important parameter for the determination of the local contribution as well as of the cooperative relaxation mechanism of the label. The label relaxation process is discussed in relation to the molecular packing of the host polymer.     

Amplified detection of nucleic acids and proteins using an isothermal proximity CRISPR Cas12a assay

Herein, we describe an isothermal proximity CRISPR Cas12a assay that harnesses the target-induced indiscrimitive single-stranded DNase activity of Cas12a for the quantitative profiling of gene expression at the mRNA level and detection of proteins with high sensitivity and specificity. The target recognition is achieved through proximity binding rather than recognition by CRISPR RNA (crRNA), which allows for flexible assay design. A binding-induced primer extension reaction is used to generate a predesigned CRISPR-targetable sequence as a barcode for further signal amplification. Through this dual amplification protocol, we were able to detect as low as 1 fM target nucleic acid and 100 fM target protein isothermally. The practical applicability of this assay was successfully demonstrated for the temporal profiling of interleukin-6 gene expression during allergen-mediated mast cell activation.

Herein, we develop an isothermal proximity CRISPR Cas12a assay that harnesses the target-induced collateral cleavage activity of Cas12a for the quantitative profiling of gene expression and detection of proteins with high sensitivity and specificity.