Preparation and Characterization of Highly Fluorescent, Glutathione-coated Near Infrared Quantum Dots for in Vivo Fluorescence Imaging

Fluorescent probes that emit in the near-infrared (NIR, 700–1,300 nm) region are suitable as optical contrast agents for in vivo fluorescence imaging because of low scattering and absorption of the NIR light in tissues. Recently, NIR quantum dots (QDs) have become a new class of fluorescent materials that can be used for in vivo imaging. Compared with traditional organic fluorescent dyes, QDs have several unique advantages such as size- and composition-tunable emission, high brightness, narrow emission bands, large Stokes shifts, and high resistance to photobleaching. In this paper, we report a facile method for the preparation of highly fluorescent, water-soluble glutathione (GSH)-coated NIR QDs for in vivo imaging. GSH-coated NIR QDs (GSH-QDs) were prepared by surface modification of hydrophobic CdSeTe/CdS (core/shell) QDs. The hydrophobic surface of the CdSeTe/CdS QDs was exchanged with GSH in tetrahydrofuran-water. The resulting GSH-QDs were monodisperse particles and stable in PBS (phosphate buffered saline, pH = 7.4). The GSH-QDs (800 nm emission) were highly fluorescent in aqueous solutions (quantum yield = 22% in PBS buffer), and their hydrodynamic diameter was less than 10 nm, which is comparable to the size of proteins. The cellular uptake and viability for the GSH-QDs were examined using HeLa and HEK 293 cells. When the cells were incubated with aqueous solutions of the GSH-QDs (10 nM), the QDs were taken into the cells and distributed in the perinuclear region of both cells. After 12 hrs incubation of 4 nM of GSH-QDs, the viabilities of HeLa and HEK 293 cells were ca. 80 and 50%, respectively. As a biomedical utility of the GSH-QDs, in vivo NIR-fluorescence imaging of a lymph node in a mouse is presented.     

Specialist Leaf Beetle Larvae Use Volatiles from Willow Leaves Infested by Conspecifics for Reaggregation in a Tree

Young, gregariously living larvae of the willow leaf beetles Plagiodera versicolora are known to exhibit characteristic aggregation-dispersion-reaggregation behavior and local fidelity to a host tree. In this study, we investigated whether plant volatiles induced by feeding P. versicolora larvae were involved in the reaggregation behavior. Under laboratory conditions, we conducted dual-choice bioassays and found that the first and second instars discriminated between volatiles from leaves infested by larvae and volatiles from uninfested leaves. The discriminative behavior was dependent on both the time leaves were infested and the age of discriminating larvae. First and second instars preferred odor from 1-d-infested leaves to odor from uninfested leaves, whereas third instars (solitary stage) did not discriminate between these volatile blends. Odor from 2-d-infested leaves was preferred to odor from 1-d-infested leaves by first instars, whereas odor from leaves infested for 3 d was not attractive to these very young larvae. Neither was odor of leaves infested for 1 d and then left uninfested for 1 or 2 d attractive to young larvae. The data suggest that the first and second instars use volatiles from a leaf newly infested by conspecific larvae as one of the reaggregation cues. We detected several herbivore-induced compounds in the headspace of the attractive leaves. Among those, a mixture of synthetic (E)-β-ocimene, (Z)-β-ocimene, allo-ocimene, and linalool was found to attract the larvae.     

Synthesis and hydrophilic property of polypropylene-graft-poly(polyethylene glycol-methacrylate) (PP-g-P(PEGMA))

Polypropylene-graft-poly(polyethylene glycol-methacrylate) (PP-g-P(PEGMA)), which is a hydrophobic-hydrophilic graft copolymer, was synthesized by a combination of an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of PEGMA with brominated polypropylene (PP-Br), which was synthesized from PP-OH prepared by metallocene-catalyzed copolymerization. Its structure was confirmed by ¹H NMR and GPC analyses. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs of PP-g-P(PEGMA) revealed the nanometer level microphase-separation morphology between the PP segment and the P(PEGMA) segment. The obtained PP-g-P(PEGMA) showed water-absorbing property as well as thermostability.     

Predator Avoidance by Phytophagous Mites is Affected by the Presence of Herbivores in a Neighboring Patch

When predators invade a leaf patch inhabited by herbivores, the herbivores disperse to a neighboring predator-free leaf patch, thus escaping from the predators. However, the neighboring patch might already be used by con- or heterospecific herbivores. We used laboratory bioassays to examine whether perception of odor from con- or heterospecific competitors on a neighbored lima bean leaf patch influences dispersal behavior of the herbivorous mite Tetranychus urticae when attacked by predatory mites Phytoseiulus persimilis. The dispersal rates of T. urticae that perceived odors from leaf patches infested by conspecifics or cowpea aphids (Aphis craccivora) did not differ from the control (the dispersal rate of T. urticae that perceived odor from uninfested leaf patches). By contrast, the dispersal rate of T. urticae was reduced when they perceived odors from leaf patches that were currently or had previously been infested by larvae of the common cutworm (Spodoptera litura). Previous herbivory by S. litura larvae induced resistance in leaf patches to T. urticae as indicated by the reduced number of eggs laid by T. urticae. Our results are discussed with respect to the feeding behavior of the tested competitors of T. urticae and the impact of the plant and arthropod community on the dispersal behavior of these mites.     

Thermal conduction theoretical analysis of temperature distribution during multiple-electrode submerged arc welding

In recent years, in order to reduce the costs of transportation and construction of pipelines, which are often constructed using multiple-electrode submerged arc welding (SAW), higher joint performance is required. Therefore, there has arisen the need to understand theoretically and control appropriately metallurgical and mechanical characteristics in heat-affected zone (HAZ), which has a significant influence on the strength and toughness of welded joints. Commonly, metallurgical phenomena in HAZ are evaluated based on the highest temperature and the cooling rate. Therefore, in order to control metallurgical and mechanical characteristics in HAZ by means of the welding conditions, evaluating the temperature distribution and the temperature history near the melted zone is essential. However, a detailed investigation of the temperature distribution for multiple-electrode SAW has not yet been carried out enough. In this study, in order to investigate the temperature distribution and histories during multiple-electrode SAW, the experimental results are compared with the theoretical results. In the theoretical analysis, the temperature rise equation in multiple heat sources welding is developed using the method of summation. Furthermore, on temperature distribution during welding, the effects of multiple heat sources, such as the number of heat sources and the distance between each electrodes, are considered quantitatively through the thermal conduction theoretical analysis. As the result, the distance between lead heat source and final heat source primally influences the area with the difference between a single heat source welding and multiple heat sources welding. Based on the results, it is expected to control temperature distribution near melted zone by more appropriate heat input characteristics, which is depended on heat source arrangement.     

Ziegler-Natta/茂金属复合催化剂聚合性能的研究

制备了Ziegler-Natta/茂金属复合(Z-M)催化剂,用SEM技术对其形貌进行了表征,在10L丙烯液相本体聚合模试装置上对Z-M催化剂的氢调敏感性进行了评价。通过一段丙烯本体均聚、二段乙烯-丙烯近恒温恒压气相共聚模拟Spheripol-Ⅱ工艺制备了系列聚丙烯(PP)釜内合金;考察了二段共聚时的聚合反应动力学、乙烯与丙烯配比(n(C3)∶n(C2))对PP釜内合金性能的影响。实验结果表明,在一段均聚时Z-M催化剂具有较好的氢调敏感性,得到的均聚PP粒子具有较好的流动性;在二段共聚时,Z-M催化剂能在较长的共聚时间内保持较平稳、较高的共聚活性,改变n(C3)∶n(C2)时PP釜内合金中乙丙橡胶的质量分数可调(7.19%~10.75%),熔体流动速率(10min)可调(14.0~26.5g);n(C3)∶n(C2)对合金弯曲模量的影响不大;当n(C3)∶n(C2)=1.7时制备的PP釜内合金具有最大的冲击强度(92.9J/m)。     

Ziegler-Natta/茂金属复合催化剂中茂金属组分的休眠及对聚丙烯合金性能的影响

制备出了以二醚为内给电子体的Ziegler-Natta(Z-N)催化剂及Z-N/茂金属(Z-M)复合催化剂。研究了催化剂类型(Z-N或Z-M)、休眠剂类型(苯乙烯(St)或对甲基苯乙烯(pMS))及用量对聚合过程、中间产品(均聚聚丙烯(PP))和最终产品(PP釜内合金)性能的影响,还利用扫描电子显微镜观测了PP釜内合金粒子的形貌。结果表明:St是比pMS更适宜的休眠剂;在保证使Z-M复合催化剂中茂金属组分充分休眠的前提下,应尽可能降低休眠剂的加入量;在St休眠剂存在下使用Z-M复合催化剂可制得23,-30℃抗冲击强度分别为47,5.6 kJ/m2的高刚高韧PP合金。     

Biochip with integrated pumps for plug-based sequential exchange of solutions

A novel method for exchanging solutions used in biochemical analyses and a device to carry out the exchange are proposed. An array of plugs formed using six injectors was transported in a microflow channel using a main pump located at one end of the main flow channel. The injectors and main pump were operated on the basis of the change in volume caused by the electrolysis of water. Bubbles were produced from working electrodes; these bubbles caused a diaphragm placed below the injectors to inflate and occlude the inlet of the solution reservoir. Increase in the number of bubbles caused the reservoir to inject the solution into the main flow channel in the form of a plug. Each plug was individually transported downstream to the sensing area by the main pump, which was operated in a similar manner to the injector. The device was used for the detection of a tumor marker, α-fetoprotein (AFP). Plugs of necessary solutions were individually transported to the sensing area with immobilized primary antibodies to allow antigen–antibody binding, cleaning, and detection. The fluorescence intensity from the antibodies showed clear dependence on the concentration of AFP. The immobilization of antibodies could also be carried out on-chip.     

Pose-Invariant Facial Expression Recognition Using Variable-Intensity Templates

In this paper, we propose a method for pose-invariant facial expression recognition from monocular video sequences. The advantage of our method is that, unlike existing methods, our method uses a simple model, called the variable-intensity template, for describing different facial expressions. This makes it possible to prepare a model for each person with very little time and effort. Variable-intensity templates describe how the intensities of multiple points, defined in the vicinity of facial parts, vary with different facial expressions. By using this model in the framework of a particle filter, our method is capable of estimating facial poses and expressions simultaneously. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. A recognition rate of over 90% is achieved for all facial orientations, horizontal, vertical, and in-plane, in the range of ±40 degrees, ±20 degrees, and ±40 degrees from the frontal view, respectively. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Diffusion-controlled Adsorption Kinetics of Surfactant at Air/Solution Interface

For the diffusion-controlled adsorption, the expression of dynamic surface adsorption Γ(t) was ob-tained by solving the diffusion equation. Two cases, i.e. the short and long time limits, were mainly d...