Screening the Beach – Probing the Past: The Baltic Sea in Contemporary German Cinema

Since the fall of the Wall, unification and the subsequent re-invention of the nation, filmmakers have revisited the German Heimat film / homeland film cinematic tradition with a view to placing themselves creatively in the context of its intellectual and artistic heritage. However, German directors like Ute Badura, Wolfgang Koepp, Andreas Dresen, Peter Welz and Andreas Kleinert, who, in their work and autobiographies, bring East and West together, choose an Eastern setting for their films – rather than alpine or heath-landscapes – as they ascribe symbolic value to the Baltic Region and former German territories in the East. In many instances their films culminate at the sea which stands for the rough elements of nature as experienced in numerous maritime disasters in the untamed tidal waters of Germany’s limited coastline. The ocean drives home the message that the only certainty in life is change. But why did they choose the contested Eastern German territories and the Baltic Sea? Is this re-orientation and paradigm shift in the Heimat genre from the west to the east a rapprochement or, rather, a territorial claim? Are the shores of the Baltic Sea perhaps expressing a yearning for former German territories further east that were lost after 1945? This article will probe several interpretations of the Baltic shore as a cinematic motif

Fluoroscopy Assisted Minimally Invasive Transplantation of Allogenic Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Embedded in HyStem Reduces the Progression of Nucleus Pulposus Degeneration in the Damaged Interverbal Disc: A Preliminary Study in Rabbits

This study was conducted to develop a technique for minimally invasive and accurate delivery of stem cells to augment nucleus pulposus (NP) in damaged intervertebral discs (IVD). IVD damage was created in noncontiguous discs at L4-L5 level; rabbits (N=12) were randomly divided into three groups: group I treated with MSCs in HyStem hydrogel, group II treated with HyStem alone, and group III received no intervention. MSCs and hydrogel were administered to the damaged disc under guidance of fluoroscopy. Augmentation of NP was assessed through histological and MRI T2 mapping of the NP after eight weeks of transplantation. T2 weighted signal intensity was higher in group I than in groups II and III (P<0.05). Disc height index showed maximum disc height in group I compared to groups II and III. Histological score of the degenerative index was significantly (P<0.05) lower in group I (8.6 ± 1.8) than that in groups II (11.6 ± 2.3) and III (18.0 ± 5.7). Immunohistochemistry staining for collagen type II and aggrecan staining were higher in group I as compared to other groups. Our results demonstrate that the minimally invasive administration of MSCs in hyaluronan hydrogel (HyStem) augments the repair of NP in damaged IVD

Effects of personality trait, motivation factors on performance of customer service personnel (CSP): a case of MPH bookstores

Staff performance has been discussed widely and endlessly. Several theories have been used in order to measure performance. Previous research found that personality and motivation showed a significant relationship towards staff performance. The objective of this study is to investigate which type of personality among Big 5 personality traits could be a predictor of staff performance and also which level of Maslow’s theory contributed most towards performance. Questionnaires have been distributed to eight departments in Head Office and twelve outlets around Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley. Results showed that extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience are positively correlated with performance, while social, self-esteem and self-actualization correlate positively with performance. The result shows that the three predictors of extrovert (Beta = 0.505; t = 7.661; Sig = 0.001), agreeableness (Beta = 0.219; t = 0.3475; Sig = 0.001), social (Beta = 0.143; t = 2.551; Sig = 0.013) and conscientiousness (Beta = 0.143; t = -0.136; Sig = 0.013) accounted for 34.4% increase in change in job satisfaction. MPH also does not forget a person with an agreeableness type of personality trait. However, organization should not consider the conscientious character. In terms of motivation, social need is the predictor for performance of the staff

Factors Influencing the Successful Isolation and Expansion of Aging Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Most studies highlight mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) extracted primarily from bone marrow (BM), very few report the use of peripheral blood (PB), often due to the associated low seeding density and difficulties with extraction techniques. As ageing populations are becoming more predominant globally, together with escalating demands for MSC transplantation and tissue regeneration, obtaining quality MSCs suitable for induced differentiation and biological therapies becomes increasingly important. In this study, BM and PB were obtained from elderly patients and extracted MSCs grown in vitro to determine their successful isolation and expansion. Patients' socio-demographic background and other medical information were obtained from medical records. Successful and failed cultures were correlated with key demographic and medical parameters. A total of 112 samples (BM or PB) were used for this study. Of these, 50 samples (44.6%) were successfully cultured according to standardised criteria with no signs of contamination. Our comparative analyses demonstrated no statistical correlation between successful MSC cultures and any of the six demographic or medical parameters examined, including sample quantity, age, sex, race, habits and underlying comorbidities of sample donors. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that typical demographics and comorbidities do not influence successful MSC isolation and expansion in culture

Uniaxial Cyclic Tensile Stretching at 8% Strain Exclusively Promotes Tenogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

The present study was conducted to establish the amount of mechanical strain (uniaxial cyclic stretching) required to provide optimal tenogenic differentiation expression in human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) in vitro, in view of its potential application for tendon maintenance and regeneration. Methods. In the present study, hMSCs were subjected to 1 Hz uniaxial cyclic stretching for 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours; and were compared to unstretched cells. Changes in cell morphology were observed under light and atomic force microscopy. The tenogenic, osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation potential of hMSCs were evaluated using biochemical assays, extracellular matrix expressions, and selected mesenchyme gene expression markers; and were compared to primary tenocytes. Results. Cells subjected to loading displayed cytoskeletal coarsening, longer actin stress fiber, and higher cell stiffness as early as 6 hours. At 8% and 12% strains, an increase in collagen I, collagen III, fibronectin, and N-cadherin production was observed. Tenogenic gene expressions were highly expressed (p<0.05) at 8% (highest) and 12%, both comparable to tenocytes. In contrast, the osteoblastic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic marker genes appeared to be downregulated. Conclusion. Our study suggests that mechanical loading at 8% strain and 1 Hz provides exclusive tenogenic differentiation; and produced comparable protein and gene expression to primary tenocytes

Data Analysis for Interactive Spanish (i-Spanish) in Virtual Reality Environment: A Case Study in University Malaysia Pahang (UMP)

This paper emphasizes on data analysis towards User Acceptance Test (UAT) of i-Spanish lesson that has been developed as a learning tool to learn Spanish Language. The objective of this paper is to analyze the user acceptance of learning foreign language using interactive learning software. The testing has been done to 100 students of University Malaysia Pahang (UMP) who have taken the Spanish Language Subject. The result shows that 77% of the students accept i-Spanish as a tool for learning Spanish Language. This finding indicates that i-Spanish can potentially be one of the efficient tools in learning Spanish Language. Through the implementation of various virtual environments, the students could better understand the words they are learning, especially everyday objects. Furthermore, the courseware also allows students to learn the language at any place and anytime. The use of 3D technology will give the students the experience of real environment and will improve their capability in mastering the foreign language