The class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC class I) presents 8-10 residue peptides to cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Most of these antigenic peptides are generated during protein degradation in the cytoplasm and are then transported into the endoplasmic reticulum by the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP). Several lines of evidence have indicated that the proteasome is the major proteolytic activity responsible for generation of antigenic peptides--probably most conclusive has been the finding that specific inhibitors of the proteasome block antigen presentation. However, other proteases (e.g. the signal peptidase) may also generate some epitopes, particularly those on certain MHC class I alleles. The proteasome is responsible for generating the precise C termini of many presented peptides, and appears to be the only activity in cells that can make this cleavage. In contrast, aminopeptidases in the cytoplasm and endoplasmic reticulum can trim the N terminus of extended peptides to their proper size. Interestingly, the cellular content of proteases involved in the production and destruction of antigenic peptides is modified by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) treatment of cells. IFN-gamma induces the expression of three new proteasome beta subunits that are preferentially incorporated into new proteasomes and alter their pattern of peptidase activities. These changes are likely to enhance the yield of peptides with C termini appropriate for MHC binding and have been shown to enhance the presentation of at least some antigens. IFN-gamma also upregulates leucine aminopeptidase, which should promote the removal of N-terminal flanking residues of antigenic peptides. Also, this cytokine downregulates the expression of a metallo-proteinase, thimet oligopeptidase, that actively destroys many antigenic peptides. Thus, IFN-gamma appears to increase the supply of peptides by stimulating their generation and decreasing their destruction. The specificity and content of these various proteases should determine the amount of peptides available for antigen presentation. Also, the efficiency with which a peptide is presented is determined by the protein's half life (e.g. its ubiquitination rate) and the sequences flanking antigenic peptides, which influence the rates of proteolytic cleavage and destruction.

In recent years, high-mobility GaSb nanowires have received tremendous attention for high-performance p-type transistors; however, due to the difficulty in achieving thin and uniform nanowires (NWs), there is limited report until now addressing their diameter-dependent properties and their hole mobility limit in this important one-dimensional material system, where all these are essential information for the deployment of GaSb NWs in various applications. Here, by employing the newly developed surfactant-assisted chemical vapor deposition, high-quality and uniform GaSb NWs with controllable diameters, spanning from 16 to 70 nm, are successfully prepared, enabling the direct assessment of their growth orientation and hole mobility as a function of diameter while elucidating the role of sulfur surfactant and the interplay between surface and interface energies of NWs on their electrical properties. The sulfur passivation is found to efficiently stabilize the high-energy NW sidewalls of (111) and (311) in order to yield the thin NWs (i.e., <40 nm in diameters) with the dominant growth orientations of ⟨211⟩ and ⟨110⟩, whereas the thick NWs (i.e., >40 nm in diameters) would grow along the most energy-favorable close-packed planes with the orientation of ⟨111⟩, supported by the approximate atomic models. Importantly, through the reliable control of sulfur passivation, growth orientation and surface roughness, GaSb NWs with the peak hole mobility of ∼400 cm(2)V s(-1) for the diameter of 48 nm, approaching the theoretical limit under the hole concentration of ∼2.2 × 10(18) cm(-3), can be achieved for the first time. All these indicate their promising potency for utilizations in different technological domains.

Müller cell gliosis, which is characterized by upregulated expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), is a universal response in many retinal pathological conditions. Whether down-regulation of inward rectifying K ϩ (Kir) channels, which commonly accompanies the enhanced GFAP expression, could contribute to Müller cell gliosis is poorly understood. We investigated changes of Kir currents, GFAP and Kir4.1 protein expression in Müller cells in a rat chronic ocular hypertension (COH) model, and explored the mechanisms underlying Müller cell gliosis. We show that Kir currents and Kir4.1 protein expression in Müller cells were reduced significantly, while GFAP expression was increased in COH rats, and these changes were eliminated by MPEP, a group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR I) subtype mGluR5 antagonist. In normal isolated Müller cells, the mGluR I agonist (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) suppressed the Kir currents and the suppression was blocked by MPEP. The DHPG effect was mediated by the intracellular Ca 2ϩ -dependent PLC/IP 3 -ryanodine/PKC signaling pathway, but the cAMP-PKA pathway was not involved. Moreover, intravitreal injection of DHPG in normal rats induced changes in Müller cells, similar to those observed in COH rats. The DHPG-induced increase of GFAP expression in Müller cells was obstructed by Ba 2ϩ , suggesting the involvement of Kir channels. We conclude that overactivation of mGluR5 by excessive extracellular glutamate in COH rats could contribute to Müller cell gliosis by suppressing Kir channels.

The formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) perovskite has attracted immense research interest as it has much improved stability than methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) while still maintaining excellent optoelectronic properties. Compared to MAPbI3, FAPbI3 has shown an elevated decomposition temperature and a slower decomposition process and therefore it is considered as a more promising candidate for future high-efficiency and reliable optoelectronic devices. However, these excellent optoelectronic properties only exist in the alpha phase and this phase will spontaneously transform into an undesired delta phase with much poorer optoelectronic properties regardless of the environment. This is the main challenge for the application of the FAPbI3 perovskite. Herein, we report a novel strategy to stabilize the cubic black phase of FAPbI3 by using nanoengineering templates. Without further treatment, the black phase can be held over 7 months under ambient conditions and 8 days in an extreme environment with a Relative Humidity (RH) of 97%. A systematic study further reveals that this great improvement can be attributed to the spatial confinement in anodized alumina membrane (AAM) nanochannels, which prohibits the unwanted α-to-δ phase transition by restricting the expansion of NWs in the ab plane, and the excellent passivation against water molecule invasion. Meanwhile, we also demonstrate the potency of these NWs in practical applications by configuring them into photodetectors, which have shown reasonable response and excellent device stability.

Highly aligned arrays of ZnO/TiO(2) core/shell nanorods were fabricated on glass substrates by hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods cores followed by the deposition of anatase TiO(2) shells in a sol-gel process. The characterization of these composite materials with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and transmission emission microscopy (TEM) points to the formation of crystalline ZnO nanorod cores that are coated with anatase TiO(2) shells. Humidity sensors based on these core/shell nanorod arrays exhibit outstanding sensitivities with capacitances varying from 10(1) to 10(6) pF over a relative humidity (RH) range of 11%-95% at room temperature, which is 1.5 and 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of pristine TiO(2) films and ZnO nanorods, respectively. Complex impedance analysis indicated that the enhanced humidity sensitivity is probably due to the high surface/volume ratio of this core/shell material in combination with the remarkable hydrophilicity of the TiO(2) shell. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 2 AbstractHighly aligned arrays of ZnO/TiO 2 core/shell nanorods were fabricated on glass substrates by hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods cores followed by the deposition of anatase TiO 2 shells in a sol-gel process. The characterization of these composite materials with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and transmission emission microscopy (TEM) points to the formation of crystalline ZnO nanorod cores that are coated with anatase TiO 2 shells. Humidity sensors based on these core/shell nanorod arrays exhibit outstanding sensitivities with capacitances varying from 10 6 to 10 1 pF over a relative humidity (RH) range of 11% -95% at room temperature, which is 1.5 and 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of pristine TiO 2 films and ZnO nanorods, respectively.Complex impedance analysis indicated that the enhanced humidity sensitivity is probably due to the high surface/volume ratio of this core/shell material in combination with the remarkable hydrophilicity of the TiO 2 shell.