CNT Binding Peptides Selected by the Phage Display Method

Using the M13 phage display method, 236 amino acid sequences (peptide aptamers) that could specifically adsorb to CNTs were selected. These peptide aptamers had abundant hydrophobic amino acids and evenly dispersed charged amino acids. The hydrophobic amino acids were postulated to contribute to CNT adsorption, while the charged amino acids contribute to their aqueous solubility. The frequency of proline amino acids, which causes the amino acid main chain bending, was slightly higher than in nature, suggesting that some conformational constraint might be required. Four peptide aptamers with a high frequency of occurrence in the selected sequences were further studied. Hydrophobicity scores were periodic along the amino acid sequence. 3D structure predictions by PEP-FOLD3 indicated that these aptamers would take a helical structure with hydrophobic amino acid residues on one side, suggesting that the aptamers bind hydrophobically to the CNT. The adsorption of these four aptamers to the carbon electrode was confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the phage display method. At the same time, it was shown that even for selected peptides, the adsorption performance varied, and verification was needed

‘Only Fathers Smoking’ Contributes the Most to Socioeconomic Inequalities: Changes in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Infants’ Exposure to Second Hand Smoke over Time in Japan

<div><p>Background</p><p>Exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) is one of the major causes of premature death and disease among children. While socioeconomic inequalities exist for adult smoking, such evidence is limited for SHS exposure in children. Thus, this study examined changes over time in socioeconomic inequalities in infants’ SHS exposure in Japan.</p><p>Methods</p><p>This is a repeated cross-sectional study of 41,833 infants born in 2001 and 32,120 infants born in 2010 in Japan from nationally representative surveys using questionnaires. The prevalence of infants’ SHS exposure was determined and related to household income and parental education level. The magnitudes of income and educational inequalities in infants’ SHS exposure were estimated in 2001 and 2010 using both absolute and relative inequality indices.</p><p>Results</p><p>The prevalence of SHS exposure in infants declined from 2001 to 2010. The relative index of inequality increased from 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 0.89) to 1.47 (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.56) based on income and from 1.22 (95% CI, 1.17 to 1.26) to 2.09 (95% CI, 2.00 to 2.17) based on education. In contrast, the slope index of inequality decreased from 30.9 (95% CI, 29.3 to 32.6) to 20.1 (95% CI, 18.7 to 21.5) based on income and from 44.6 (95% CI, 43.1 to 46.2) to 28.7 (95% CI, 27.3 to 30.0) based on education. Having only a father who smoked indoors was a major contributor to absolute income inequality in infants’ SHS exposure in 2010, which increased in importance from 45.1% in 2001 to 67.0% in 2010.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The socioeconomic inequalities in infants’ second hand smoke exposure increased in relative terms but decreased in absolute terms from 2001 to 2010. Further efforts are needed to encourage parents to quit smoking and protect infants from second hand smoke exposure, especially in low socioeconomic households that include non-smoking mothers.</p></div

Characteristics of the study population from the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21^st Century in Japan, by survey year.

<p>^a The number and prevalence in 2010 were weighted for the average parental age in 5-year age groups using a direct method and the age distribution in 2001 as the base.</p><p>^b Exposure to second hand smoke was measured by self-reported parental indoor smoking behaviour.</p><p>Characteristics of the study population from the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the 21^st Century in Japan, by survey year.</p

Proportion of each parent’s indoor smoking behaviour to the total SHS exposure in infants by survey year.

<p>^a The number and proportion in 2010 was weighted for the average parental age in 5-year age groups using a direct method and the age distribution in 2001 as the base.</p><p>Proportion of each parent’s indoor smoking behaviour to the total SHS exposure in infants by survey year.</p

Prevalence and magnitude of inequalities in SHS exposure in infants according to the income level by parental smoking behaviour by survey year.

<p>CI, confidence interval; SII, slope index of inequality; RII, relative index of inequality</p><p>^a The prevalence in 2010 was weighted for the average parental age in 5-year age groups using a direct method and the age distribution in 2001 as the base.</p><p>Prevalence and magnitude of inequalities in SHS exposure in infants according to the income level by parental smoking behaviour by survey year.</p

Additional file 1 of Feasibility and perceptions of a benzodiazepine deprescribing quality improvement initiative for primary care providers in Japan

Supplementary Material 1: Definition of BZRAs (Benzodiazepine receptor agonist medications

Prevalence of parental smoking and indoor smoking according to the income level by both parents smoking and only father smoking.

<p>The prevalence is presented in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0139512#pone.0139512.t004" target="_blank">Table 4</a>. The total bar represents the parental smoking in each survey year, and each coloured bar, dark gray and light gray, represents the parental indoor smoking (SHS exposure in infants) and outdoor smoking, respectively.</p

Contributions of parental indoor smoking behaviour to absolute income inequality in SHS exposure in infants.

<p>The total bar represents the total absolute income inequality (SII) in each survey year, and each component represents the SII of each parental indoor smoking behaviour.</p

Surface Instability of Sn-Based Hybrid Perovskite Thin Film, CH₃NH₃SnI₃: The Origin of Its Material Instability

To understand the instability of Sn-based perovskite, CH₃NH₃SnI₃, photoelectron spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation and theoretical calculations, such as density functional theory and <i>ab initio</i> molecular dynamics, were performed. Findings from this experimental and theoretical study highlight the crucial changes of surface-chemical states, the broken chemical bondings in Sn–I, and the depletion of a CH₃–NH₃⁺ cation on the surface region. The material instability origin of Sn-based perovskite can be explained by the chemical state instability in the surface

Plasmablasts as Migratory IgG-Producing Cells in the Pathogenesis of Neuromyelitis Optica

<div><p>Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent attacks of optic neuritis and myelitis. It is generally accepted that autoantibodies against aquaporin 4 water channel protein play a pathogenic role in neuromyelitis optica. We have recently reported that plasmablasts are increased in the peripheral blood of this autoimmune disease, and are capable of producing autoantibodies against aquaporin 4. Here, we demonstrate that CD138⁺HLA-DR⁺ plasmablasts, a subset of IgG-producing cells, are increased in the peripheral blood and are enriched among the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lymphocytes during the relapse of neuromyelitis optica. Notably, these CD138⁺HLA-DR⁺ plasmablasts overexpress CXCR3, whose ligands are present in the cerebrospinal fluid during the relapse of neuromyelitis optica. These results led us to speculate that plasmablasts producing anti-aquaporin 4 autoantibodies might traffic toward the central nervous system (CNS). Furthermore, we performed single-cell sorting of plasmablasts from peripheral blood and CSF samples from NMO and sequenced the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the IgG heavy chain expressed by the sorted plasmablast clones. There were high frequencies of mutations in the CDRs compared with framework regions, indicating that these plasmablast clones would represent a post-germinal center B-cell lineage. Consistent with the preceding results, the plasmablast clones from the peripheral blood shared the same CDR sequences with the clones from the CSF. These results indicate that IgG-producing plasmablasts, which are guided by helper T-cells, may migrate from the peripheral blood preferentially to the CSF. Since migratory plasmablasts could be involved in the inflammatory pathology of NMO, the B-cell subset and their migration might be an attractive therapeutic target.</p> </div