Role of Local Conductivities in the Plasmon Reflections at the Edges and Stacking Domain Boundaries of Trilayer Graphene.

We employed infrared scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (IR-sSNOM) to study surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in trilayer graphene (TLG). Our study reveals systematic differences in near-field IR spectra and SPP wavelengths between Bernal (ABA) and rhombohedral (ABC) TLG domains on SiO, which can be explained by stacking-dependent intraband conductivities. We also observed that the SPP reflection profiles at ABA-ABC boundaries could be mostly accounted for by an idealized domain boundary defined by the conductivity discontinuity.

One-STAGE Tip Method for TMT-Based Proteomic Analysis of a Minimal Amount of Cells.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based profiling of proteomes with isobaric tag labeling from low-quantity biological and clinical samples, including needle-core biopsies and laser capture microdissection, has been challenging due to the limited amount and sample loss during preparation. To address this problem, we developed OnM (On-Column from Myers et al. and mPOP)-modified on-column method combining freeze-thaw lysis of mPOP with isobaric tag labeling of On-Column method to minimize sample loss.

Vibrationally Hot Reactants in a Plasmon-Assisted Chemical Reaction.

Recent studies on plasmon-assisted chemical reactions postulate that the hot electrons of plasmon-excited nanostructures may induce a non-thermal vibrational activation of metal-bound reactants. However, the postulate has not been fully validated at the level of molecular quantum states. We directly and quantitatively prove that such activation occurs on plasmon-excited nanostructures: The anti-Stokes Raman spectra of reactants undergoing a plasmon-assisted reaction reveal that a particular vibrational mode of the reactant is selectively excited, such that the reactants possess >10 times more energy in the mode than is expected from the fully thermalized molecules at the given local temperature.

Thermodynamics of π-π Interactions of Benzene and Phenol in Water.

The π-π interaction is a major driving force that stabilizes protein assemblies during protein folding. Recent studies have additionally demonstrated its involvement in the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). As the participating residues in IDPs are exposed to water, π-π interactions for LLPS must be modeled in water, as opposed to the interactions that are often established at the hydrophobic domains of folded proteins.

Spatially Controlled Fabrication of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Hot Spots through Photoinduced Dewetting of Silver Thin Films.

A well-designed narrow gap between noble metal nanostructures plays a prominent role in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to concentrate electromagnetic fields at the local point, called a "hot spot". However, SERS-active substrate fabrication remains a substantial hurdle due to the high process cost and the difficulty of engineering efficient plasmonic hot spots at the target area. In this study, we demonstrate a simple photolithographic method for generating ultrasensitive SERS hot spots at desired positions.

Phosphoproteome Profiling Using an Isobaric Carrier without the Need for Phosphoenrichment.

Phosphorylation is a crucial component of cellular signaling cascades. It controls a variety of biological cellular functions, including cell growth and apoptosis. Owing to the low stoichiometry of phosphorylated proteins, the enrichment of phosphopeptides prior to LC-MS/MS is necessary for comprehensive phosphoproteome analysis, and quantitative phosphoproteomic workflows are typically limited by the amount of sample required.

Rag2 Deficiency Enhances Susceptibility to Systemic Mouse Adenovirus Type 1 Infection.

Introduction: Recombination-activating gene (Rag) 1 and Rag2, which are essential in V(D)J recombination, play a crucial role in B- and T-cell maturation.

Method: We investigated the effects of Rag2 deficiency in clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9-mediated FVB-Rag2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice infected with mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) via the intranasal route.

Results: MAV-1 infection caused more severe histopathological changes in FVB-Rag2 KO mice than in WT mice.

Stoichiometric Doping of Highly Coupled CuS Nanocrystal Assemblies.

The hole density of individual copper sulfide nanocrystals (CuS NCs) is determined from the stoichiometric mismatch () between copper and sulfide atoms. Consequently, the electronic properties of the material vary over a range of . To exploit CuS NCs in devices, assemblies of NCs are typically required.

Lentivirus-Mediated VEGF Knockdown Suppresses Gastric Cancer Cell Proliferation and Tumor Growth in vitro and in vivo.

Purpose: Gastric cancer has a high mortality rate worldwide. Although treatments, such as molecular-targeted therapy, have been introduced, the resulting long-term survival and prognosis remain unsatisfactory. Downregulation of the target genes using lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) can be an effective therapeutic strategy for patients with gastric cancer.

Comparison of the virulence of in ICR mouse stocks of three different origins.

causes many people to suffer from pneumonia, septicemia, and other diseases worldwide. To identify the difference in susceptibility of and treatment efficacy against in three ICR mouse stocks (Korl:ICR, A:ICR, and B:ICR) with different origins, mice were infected with 2 × 10, 2 × 10, and 2 × 10 CFU of D39 intratracheally. The survival of mice was observed until three weeks after the infection.

Radioprotective effect of newly synthesized toll-like receptor 5 agonist, KMRC011, in mice exposed to total-body irradiation.

Exposure to ionizing radiation leads to severe damages in radiosensitive organs and induces acute radiation syndrome, including effects on the hematopoietic system and gastrointestinal system. In this study, the radioprotective ability of KMRC011, a novel toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) agonist, was investigated in C57BL6/N mice exposed to lethal total-body gamma-irradiation. In a 30-day survival study, KMRC011-treated mice had a significantly improved survival rate compared with control after 11 Gy total-body irradiation (TBI), and it was found that the radioprotective activity of KMRC011 depended on its dosage and repeated treatment.

Enthalpy-Entropy Interplay in π-Stacking Interaction of Benzene Dimer in Water.

Aromatic groups can engage in an interesting class of noncovalent interactions termed π-π interactions, which play a pivotal role in stabilizing a variety of molecular architectures, including nucleic acids, proteins, and supramolecular assemblies. When the aromatic compounds interact with each other in an aqueous environment, their association is facilitated by the hydrophobic effect-the trend of nonpolar solutes to aggregate in a polar solution. To develop an in-depth understanding of hydrophobic association, we investigate in the present work π-π interactions in water, employing as a paradigm the benzene dimer.

Differences between immunodeficient mice generated by classical gene targeting and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knockout.

Immunodeficient mice are widely used for pre-clinical studies to understand various human diseases. Here, we report the generation of four immunodeficient mouse models using CRISPR/Cas9 system without inserting any foreign gene sequences such as Neo cassettes and their characterization. By eliminating any possible effects of adding a Neo cassette, our mouse models may allow us to better elucidate the in vivo functions of each gene.

A Seamless Grid-Based Interface for Mean-Field QM/MM Coupled with Efficient Solvation Free Energy Calculations.

Among various models that incorporate solvation effects into first-principles-based electronic structure theory such as density functional theory (DFT), the average solvent electrostatic potential/molecular dynamics (ASEP/MD) method is particularly advantageous. This method explicitly includes the nature of complicated solvent structures that is absent in implicit solvation methods. Because the ASEP/MD method treats only solvent molecule dynamics, it requires less computational cost than the conventional quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approaches.