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

Detection of Kudoa amamiensis Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method to reinforce a concrete structure that enables use of a long reinforcement material measuring 25 m or more, or 50 m or more if necessary, by using a belt-form flexible continuous fiber reinforcement material, at the same time eliminating a need on a lap joint and a concern over fatigue strength of a joint part, and furthermore allowing a depth of a cut groove formed on a concrete floor slab to be shallow, without a need on a complicated structure, and offering a sufficient effect even when a concrete surface has become brittle.SOLUTION: A flexible continuous fiber reinforcement material 10 hardens a resin inside a cut groove 30, is installed inside the narrow, linear cut groove 30 formed on a surface of a concrete structure 1 and contains a plurality of continuous reinforcement fibers and the not-yet-hardened resin. At the same time, the continuous fiber reinforcement material 10 made of an FRP material hardened inside the cut groove 30 is fixed to the cut groove 30 by a binder 40, thus fixing and integrating the continuous fiber reinforcement material 10 made of the FRP material with the concrete structure and thereby reinforcing the concrete structure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Method to reinforce concrete structure, concrete structure and flexible continuous fiber reinforcement material

Zigzag defects in surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (SSFLCs) originate from the structural transformation from C1 to C2 chevrons during the cooling process. This transformation occurs so as to accommodate the increasing tilt angle of the FLC under the constraint of the surface anchoring. Based on this scenario of zigzag defect formation, we propose a new scheme to obtain defect-free SSFLCs in which the C1-C2 transformation is suppressed by the use of an interfacial layer that has a gradually decreasing SmA-SmC* transition temperature toward the substrate.

Defect-Free Surface-Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals Fabricated by Lowering Smectic-A to -C* Phase Transition Temperature in the Surface Regions

Recursive photoalignment for single-shot large-area processing with micrometer scale details (Conference Presentation)

Interferon-related severe adverse events on the central nervous system are relatively rare, because interferon-alpha (INF-alpha) can not cross an intact blood-brain barrier. We experienced remarkable mental deterioration caused by INF-alpha administration in a 43-year-old man with renal cell carcinoma after surgical removal of a metastatic brain tumor. We detected a high concentration of INF-alpha in a cerebrospinal fluid sample, which was comparable to that in the serum at 24 h after the administration of INF-alpha; 5x10(6) IU i.m., suggesting that the blood-brain barrier was damaged somehow by the craniotomy. The mental deterioration improved shortly after discontinuation of the INF-alpha administration.

Hiroshi Yokoyama

Papers

Detection of Kudoa amamiensis Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

Method to reinforce concrete structure, concrete structure and flexible continuous fiber reinforcement material

Defect-Free Surface-Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals Fabricated by Lowering Smectic-A to -C* Phase Transition Temperature in the Surface Regions

Recursive photoalignment for single-shot large-area processing with micrometer scale details (Conference Presentation)

Interferon-related mental deterioration after craniotomy for removal of metastatic renal cancer.