Cross-Sectional Structure of Liquid 1‑Decanol over Graphite

The interface of graphite and liquid 1-decanol was studied using frequency modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM). The topography of epitaxially physisorbed decanol on the substrate was traced with submolecular resolution. The tip–surface force was monitored in the liquid as a function of the vertical and lateral tip coordinates to reveal the cross-sectional structure of the interfacial decanol. Four or more liquid layers were identified by vertically modulated force distributions. The first and second liquid layers were laterally heterogeneous, as evidenced by a force distribution that was periodically modulated along lateral coordinates. A possible structuring mechanism is proposed on the basis of energy gain by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions

Water and 2‑Propanol Structured on Calcite (104) Probed by Frequency-Modulation Atomic Force Microscopy

The structure of liquid water and 2-propanol on the (104) surface of calcite (CaCO₃) was probed by frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy. The microscope tip scanned each liquid to record the tip–surface force perturbed by the liquid structure at the interface. In water, the force distribution on planes cross-sectional to the surface presents a 0.5-nm-thick checkerboard-like pattern matching the corrugated topography of the calcite surface. This provides evidence that the local water density was laterally and vertically modulated. With 2-propanol, a laterally uniform, vertically layered structure was found between the first laterally structured layer and the bulk liquid. These results are consistent with the density distributions of water and ethanol proposed in earlier X-ray and simulation studies

Specific Hydration on <i>p</i>‑Nitroaniline Crystal Studied by Atomic Force Microscopy

The molecular-scale structure of water was studied over the (101) surface of p-nitroaniline crystals using advanced atomic force microscopy. p-Nitroaniline contains two polar groups on opposite ends of the nonpolar benzene ring and presents a surface of controlled heterogeneity. The cross-sectional distribution of force applied to the tip was precisely determined and was related to the local density of the structured water. Force modulations were present on the polar end-groups and absent on the benzene ring, suggesting water localization on the polar end-groups

Spearman’s correlation coefficients between urinary L-FABP levels with clinical characteristic of patients.

<p>ACR, albumin-to-creatinine ratio; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate.</p><p>Spearman’s correlation coefficients between urinary L-FABP levels with clinical characteristic of patients.</p

Baseline patient characteristics.

<p>Data are mean (SD), median (IQR), or number of patients (%). ACR, albumin-to-creatinine ratio; ACE/ARB, angiotensin-converting enzyme/angiotensin-receptor blocker; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate.</p><p>Baseline patient characteristics.</p

Urinary L-FABP levels and albuminuria.

<p>Patients with albuminuria had significantly higher urinary L-FABP levels than patients without albuminuria (7.9 μg/gCr [2.0–21.2] vs. 2.8 μg/gCr [0.3–6.1], P < 0.001).</p

Independent predictors of urinary L-FABP^* in multivariate linear regression models.

<p>^*Log-transformed variables.</p><p>ACR, albumin-to-creatinine ratio; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; ACE/ARB, angiotensin-converting enzyme/angiotensin-receptor blocker.</p><p>Independent predictors of urinary L-FABP<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0126990#t003fn001" target="_blank">^*</a> in multivariate linear regression models.</p

Urinary L-FABP levels and anemia.

<p>Patients with anemia had significantly higher urinary L-FABP levels than patients without anemia (5.6 μg/gCr [2.3–20.2] vs. 3.3 μg/gCr [0.2–7.4], P = 0.002).</p

Additional file 1 of Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, liraglutide, attenuated retinal thickening in spontaneously diabetic Torii fatty rats

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Western blot analysis of eye CD31 (a) and α-Tubulin on the same membrane (b) in each group. Western blot analysis of eye eNOS (c), and α-Tubulin on the same membrane (d) in each group. The red lines represent the edge of each cut membrane

Beyond the Helix Pitch: Direct Visualization of Native DNA in Aqueous Solution

The DNA double helix was first elucidated by J.D. Watson and F.H.C. Crick over a half century ago. However, no one could actually “see” the well-known structure ever. Among all real-space observation methods, only atomic force microscopy (AFM) enables us to visualize the biologically active structure of natural DNA in water. However, conventional AFM measurements often caused the structural deformation of DNA because of the strong interaction forces acting on DNA. Moreover, large contact area between the AFM probe and DNA hindered us from imaging sub-molecular-scale features smaller than helical periodicity of DNA. Here, we show the direct observation of native plasmid DNA in water using an ultra-low-noise AFM with the highly sensitive force detection method (frequency modulation AFM: FM-AFM). Our micrographs of DNA vividly exhibited not only overall structure of the B-form double helix in water but also local structures which deviate from the crystallographic structures of DNA without any damage. Moreover, the interaction force area in the FM-AFM was small enough to clearly discern individual functional groups within DNA. The technique was also applied to explore the synthesized DNA nanostructures toward the current nanobiotechnology. This work will be essential for considering the structure–function relationship of biomolecular systems <i>in vivo</i> and for <i>in situ</i> analysis of DNA-based nanodevices