Exhibition Catalog on Rediscovering the Fashion of Hanboks and Kimonos: The Tale of Kisaengs and Geishas

This capstone project examines traditional costumes of Korean hanboks and Japanese kimonos and explores the wardrobes of kisaengs and geishas. It also highlights the contemporary design of hanboks and kimonos by rediscovering their fashion impact in today\u27s global era

Can you determine nanoparticle size from lattice vibrations?

Molecular dynamics simulation was used to calculate breathing mode frequencies of polyhedral ceria nanoparticles and determine whether the frequency can be used as an indicator of nanoparticle size and shape. In particular, energy was added to ceria nanoparticles, 2.7 - 8 nm in size, to induce vibration. The frequencies of the breathing mode vibrations were calculated to range from 28 - 78 cm-1 and change as a function of particle size in accord with experiment. This information is important with respect to analytical tools used to measure nanoparticle sizes and also nanomedicinal applications. Moreover, MD simulation can be used as a tool to help complement experiment in predicting structures that give rise to particular breathing mode vibrational frequencies

Structural modification and biological evaluation of Dmt1-DALDA analogues

The highly charged tetrapeptide Dmt-DALDA (Dmt-D-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2) has been previously identified as a potent μ-opioid receptor agonist1 and serves as a lead compound for the further development of novel therapeutic (peptidic) opioid analgesics. The present work describes structural modifications of the peptide in order to determine the role of the charges, role of N-methylation, and role of conformation. All prepared compounds have been tested for their in vitro affinity and activity (guinea pig ileum GPI and mouse vas deferens MVD assays), their in vitro permeability (caco-2 test) and in vivo tissue distribution, in- and efflux into and out of mouse brain. These experimental data indicate that : i) side-chain charges are not essential for in vitro activity, ii) the guanidine group of D-Arg2 is important for the blood-brain permeability iii) the conformational constraint of the Phe residue by the benzazepine ring results in highly potent compounds, but is not compatible with the Lys side chain, which can best be removed for high potency. A more detailed discussion of the obtained results will be presented. References: 1. Shimoyama, M.; Szeto, H.H.; Schiller, P.W.; Tagaito, Y.; Tokairin, H.; Eun, C.M., Shimoyama N. Pharmacology 2008, 83, 33-37. 2. Zhao, K.; Luo, G., Zhao, G.-M.; Schiller, P.W.; Szeto, H.H. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2003, 304, 425-432

Distinct functions and regulation of epithelial progesterone receptor in the mouse cervix, vagina, and uterus

While the function of progesterone receptor (PR) has been studied in the mouse vagina and uterus, its regulation and function in the cervix has not been described. We selectively deleted epithelial PR in the female reproductive tracts using the Cre/LoxP recombination system. We found that epithelial PR was required for induction of apoptosis and suppression of cell proliferation by progesterone (P4) in the cervical and vaginal epithelium. We also found that epithelial PR was dispensable for P4 to suppress apoptosis and proliferation in the uterine epithelium. PR is encoded by the Pgr gene, which is regulated by estrogen receptor ? (ER?) in the female reproductive tracts. Using knock?in mouse models expressing ER? mutants, we determined that the DNA?binding domain (DBD) and AF2 domain of ER? were required for upregulation of Pgr in the cervix and vagina as well as the uterine stroma. The ER? AF1 domain was required for upregulation of Pgr in the vaginal stroma and epithelium and cervical epithelium, but not in the uterine and cervical stroma. ER? DBD, AF1, and AF2 were required for suppression of Pgr in the uterine epithelium, which was mediated by stromal ER?. Epithelial ER? was responsible for upregulation of epithelial Pgr in the cervix and vagina. Our results indicate that regulation and functions of epithelial PR are different in the cervix, vagina, and uterus

The human posterior cingulate, retrosplenial, and medial parietal cortex effective connectome, and implications for memory and navigation

The human posterior cingulate, retrosplenial, and medial parietal cortex are involved in memory and navigation. The functional anatomy underlying these cognitive functions was investigated by measuring the effective connectivity of these Posterior Cingulate Division (PCD) regions in the Human Connectome Project-MMP1 atlas in 171 HCP participants, and complemented with functional connectivity and diffusion tractography. First, the postero-ventral parts of the PCD (31pd, 31pv, 7m, d23ab, and v23ab) have effective connectivity with the temporal pole, inferior temporal visual cortex, cortex in the superior temporal sulcus implicated in auditory and semantic processing, with the reward-related vmPFC and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, with the inferior parietal cortex, and with the hippocampal system. This connectivity implicates it in hippocampal episodic memory, providing routes for “what,” reward and semantic schema-related information to access the hippocampus. Second, the antero-dorsal parts of the PCD (especially 31a and 23d, PCV, and also RSC) have connectivity with early visual cortical areas including those that represent spatial scenes, with the superior parietal cortex, with the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, and with the hippocampal system. This connectivity implicates it in the “where” component for hippocampal episodic memory and for spatial navigation. The dorsal–transitional–visual (DVT) and ProStriate regions where the retrosplenial scene area is located have connectivity from early visual cortical areas to the parahippocampal scene area, providing a ventromedial route for spatial scene information to reach the hippocampus. These connectivities provide important routes for “what,” reward, and “where” scene-related information for human hippocampal episodic memory and navigation. The midcingulate cortex provides a route from the anterior dorsal parts of the PCD and the supracallosal part of the anterior cingulate cortex to premotor regions

Impact of carbohydrate substrate complexity on the diversity of the human colonic microbiota.

The diversity of the colonic microbial community has been linked with health in adults and diet composition is one possible determinant of diversity. We used carefully controlled conditions in vitro to determine how the complexity and multiplicity of growth substrates influence species diversity of the human colonic microbiota. In each experiment, five parallel anaerobic fermenters that received identical faecal inocula were supplied continuously with single carbohydrates (either arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (AXOS), pectin or inulin) or with a '3-mix' of all three carbohydrates, or with a '6-mix' that additionally contained resistant starch, β-glucan and galactomannan as energy sources. Inulin supported less microbial diversity over the first 6 d than the other two single substrates or the 3- and 6-mixes, showing that substrate complexity is key to influencing microbiota diversity. The communities enriched in these fermenters did not differ greatly at the phylum and family level, but were markedly different at the species level. Certain species were promoted by single substrates, whilst others (such as Bacteroides ovatus, LEfSe P = 0.001) showed significantly greater success with the mixed substrate. The complex polysaccharides such as pectin and arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides promoted greater diversity than simple homopolymers, such as inulin. These findings suggest that dietary strategies intended to achieve health benefits by increasing gut microbiota diversity should employ complex non-digestible substrates and substrate mixtures

The impact of overdiagnosis on the selection of efficient lung cancer screening strategies

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136362/1/ijc30602_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136362/2/ijc30602.pd

Humans use forward thinking to exploit social controllability

The controllability of our social environment has a profound impact on our behavior and mental health. Nevertheless, neurocomputational mechanisms underlying social controllability remain elusive. Here, 48 participants performed a task where their current choices either did (Controllable), or did not (Uncontrollable), influence partners' future proposals. Computational modeling revealed that people engaged a mental model of forward thinking (FT; i.e., calculating the downstream effects of current actions) to estimate social controllability in both Controllable and Uncontrollable conditions. A large-scale online replication study (n=1342) supported this finding. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (n=48), we further demonstrated that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) computed the projected total values of current actions during forward planning, supporting the neural realization of the forward-thinking model. These findings demonstrate that humans use vmPFC-dependent FT to estimate and exploit social controllability, expanding the role of this neurocomputational mechanism beyond spatial and cognitive contexts