http://experimentationlab.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/AFMImages/butt_AFM.pdf

Force measurements with the atomic force microscope: Technique, interpretation and applications

The widespread use of controlled molecular-level motion in key natural processes suggests that great rewards could come from bridging the gap between the present generation of synthetic molecular systems, which by and large rely upon electronic and chemical effects to carry out their functions, and the machines of the macroscopic world, which utilize the synchronized movements of smaller parts to perform specific tasks. This is a scientific area of great contemporary interest and extraordinary recent growth, yet the notion of molecular-level machines dates back to a time when the ideas surrounding the statistical nature of matter and the laws of thermodynamics were first being formulated. Here we outline the exciting successes in taming molecular-level movement thus far, the underlying principles that all experimental designs must follow, and the early progress made towards utilizing synthetic molecular structures to perform tasks using mechanical motion. We also highlight some of the issues and challenges that still need to be overcome.

Synthetic molecular motors and mechanical machines.

Rapid improvements in sequencing and array-based platforms are resulting in a flood of diverse genome-wide data, including data from exome and whole-genome sequencing, epigenetic surveys, expression profiling of coding and noncoding RNAs, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and copy number profiling, and functional assays. Analysis of these large, diverse data sets holds the promise of a more comprehensive understanding of the genome and its relation to human disease. Experienced and knowledgeable human review is an essential component of this process, complementing computational approaches. This calls for efficient and intuitive visualization tools able to scale to very large data sets and to flexibly integrate multiple data types, including clinical data. However, the sheer volume and scope of data pose a significant challenge to the development of such tools.

Integrative Genomics Viewer

Over the 100 years since its discovery, liquid crystals have been the intriguing subject for both academia and industries. The textbook of de Gennes The Physics of Liquid Crystals published in 1974 is still the bible for many LC researchers, but new subjects unmentioned in the book have also risen for these years. This chapter describes the story of the recent developments and the future perspectives in physics of liquid crystals, especially focusing on the contributions by Japanese research groups for the last decade.

Physics of Liquid Crystals

Dynamic atomic force microscopy methods

Light and electron microscopical observations were made on the seasonal progress of developmental stages of Hoferellus carassii, the causative organism of kidney enlargement disease (KED). In October to November, an early stage of trophozoites, a primary cell enclosing a secondary cell, was detected in the epithelial cell of the renal tubule and urinary tube. Division of the parasite was followed by division of the infected epithelial cell, and the tubule became gradually swollen. In November to December, the size of enlarged kidney reached a maximum. The parasite developed to a multicellular plasmodium, in which tertiary and quartenery cells were differentiated, whereas the primary cell was disintegrated. In January to February, the plasmodium was released to the lumen, and kept growing and developing there, and the sporoblast was differentiated in the tertiary cell. In April, spores matured in the tertiary cells, which were ruptured to release the spores into the lumen. Even at this stage, young and immature trophozoites were still observed in the host epithelial cells.

Light and Electron Microscopic Studies on the Development of Hoferellus carassii (Myxosporea), the Causative Organism of Kidney Enlargement Disease of Goldfish

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve extraction yield strength when shearing force acts in the 45-degree direction from a part on the concrete surface side of an expansion member positioned in a bore hole expansion hole by the expansion member of an anchor bolt tip part. SOLUTION: An anchor bolt attached with the expansion member smaller than an inlet inner diameter of a bore hole on the tip and larger than an outer diameter of an anchor bolt when positioned in the bore hole expansion hole, is inserted into the bore hole of expanding a bore hole bottom part of hardened concrete. The expansion member is positioned in the expansion hole of the bore hole. An organic injection material or an inorganic injection material is filled in a bore hole void. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

High load bearing force anchor structure installed in expansion bore hole

Effects of water temperature on infection of the microsporidian Kabatana takedai were investigated in salmonids under field and experimental conditions. “Cysts” of K. takedai appeared in the heart and the skeletal muscle of wild juvenile masu salmon Oncorhynchus masou from the Chitose River, Hokkaido, during summer in 2003 and 2004, when the river water temperature exceeded 15°C. Following the exposure of naive juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka to river water (18-19°C) for 3 days, the fish were transferred to separate tanks where the temperatures were set to 11, 13, 15 and 17°C. Prevalence of infection reached more than 70% in the 13, 15 and 17°C groups, but in the 11°C group, it remained less than 30%. However, shifting a part of the 11°C group to 18°C increased the prevalence to 71 % by 23 days after the elevation of the temperature. When juveniles were exposed to 11°C river water and subsequently kept at 9°C for 42 days, no development of K. takedai occurred even after the temperature was elevated to 15°C. These results indicate that temperature manipulation is partially effective as a preventive method of K. takedai infection.

Effects of Water Temperature on Infection of the Microsporidian Kabatana takedai in Salmonids

Scanning Maxwell stress Microscopy (SMM), which is a type of scanning probe microscopy designed to image microscopic electrical properties, has been applied to cyanine dye Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers. In combination of epifluorescence microscope technique with SMM, the cyanine J-aggregate formation way was clearly observed. Further the light induced electron transfer between cyanine and viologen in LB film system could be detected as a surface potential change by SMM technique.

Hiroshi Yokoyama

Papers

Light and Electron Microscopic Studies on the Development of Hoferellus carassii (Myxosporea), the Causative Organism of Kidney Enlargement Disease of Goldfish

High load bearing force anchor structure installed in expansion bore hole

Effects of Water Temperature on Infection of the Microsporidian Kabatana takedai in Salmonids

Imaging of surface potential distribution in cyanine dye monolayer by scanning Maxwell stress Microscopy (SMM)

Pressure-scanning DTA measurements of the cubic–smectic C phase transition of 1,2-bis-(4-n-octyloxy)- and 1,2-bis-(4-n-dodecyloxy benzoyl)hydrazines