Proteins of two plants, Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa) were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis with two modifications: (i) comigration of external standard marker proteins with resultant horizontal and vertical stripes in the gel, and (ii) deblocking with a vapor of aqueous heptafluorobutyric acid for N-acetylserine. Approximately 5000 protein spots were separated from both the five tissues of Arabidopsis and the nine tissues of rice. Over one hundred spots were electroblotted for N-terminal sequencing. Among the newly sequenced proteins, 62 were from Arabidopsis and 51 from rice.

Epidermal γδ T cells that reside in the front line of the skin play a pivotal role in stress immune surveillance. However, it is not clear whether these cells are involved in further induction of immune responses after they are activated in dysregulated epidermis. In this study, we found that activated γδ T cells expressed occludin and migrated into draining lymph nodes in an occludin-dependent manner. Epidermal γδ T cells in occludin-deficient mice exhibited impairments in morphology changes and motility, although they expressed activation markers at levels comparable to those in wild-type cells. Occludin deficiency weakened the induction of allergen-induced contact hypersensitivity, primarily as the result of the impaired migration of epidermal γδ T cells. Thus, occludin expression by epidermal γδ T cells upon activation in response to epidermal stress allows them to move, which could be important for augmentation of immune responses via collaboration with other cells.

Stability conditions of axisymmetric instabilities in tokamaks with a resistive shell and an active feedback control system are examined analytically, assuming a ring-shaped plasma. Using equations of plasma motion and equivalent circuits, the basic properties of the feedback control system are discussed. Above a critical n-index, the fast-growing mode is stabilized; the slow-growing mode is stabilized when the feedback loop gain is larger than the critical value, which is proportional to the n-index. The dependence of the stability condition on the positions and time constants of the shell and the control windings is discussed.

BackgroundThe mortality rate due to COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) is 16.8 to 32%. Vaccination against COVID-19 is expected to contribute to the prevention of infection, severe disease, and mortality; however, it has been reported that the humoral response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccine in KTRs is poor. Vaccination strategies against COVID-19 vary from country to country, and in Japan, the third dose is given 6 months after the second dose. Few studies have evaluated long-term humoral responses after the second dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine. In addition, the superiority of BNT162b2 vaccine and mRNA-1,273 vaccine in KTRs regarding humoral response is controversial.MethodsNinety-four KTRs were administered a second dose of the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1,273 vaccines, and anti-spike (anti-S) and anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were measured 5 months (149.2 ± 45.5 days) later. The cutoff value of anti-S antibodies was defined ≥50 AU/ml and 1.4 Index for anti-N antibodies. The primary outcome was the rate of seropositivity, and factors associated with an appropriate humoral response were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis.ResultsOf 94 KTRs, only 45 (47.9%) patients were positive for anti-S antibodies. The median anti-S SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody titers was 35.3 (Interquartile range 3.8 to 159.7). Anti-N SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in all patients were < 1.4 Index. Response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines were 43.2 and 65% for BNT162b2 and mRNA-1,273, respectively (p = 0.152). In comparison with high-dose, low-dose of mycophenolic acid was a robust factor associated with an adequate humoral response.ConclusionThe long-term humoral response after a second dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in Japanese KTRs was poor. In comparison with high-dose, low-dose mycophenolic acid was related to an appropriate humoral response. Five months is too long to wait for a 3rd dose after 2nd dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in KTRs. In this cohort, there was no statistical difference in humoral response to the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1,273 vaccines. Additional large observational studies and meta-analyses are needed to clarify the factors related to an appropriate humoral immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.

An experimental investigation of feedback control of the vertical plasma position in the non-circular tokamak TNT-A is described. When the loop gain of the feedback control system is high, the plasma displacement is small, but the saturation of the servo-amplifier limits the maximum loop gain. It is observed that the stable region in the diagram of the loop gain and the n-index (g-n diagram) shrinks as the n-index approaches a critical value. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical model in which the effect of the toroidal gaps in the resistive shell and the vacuum vessel is considered.