The screen as boundary object in the realm of imagination

As an object at the boundary between virtual and physical reality, the screen exists both as a displayer and as a thing displayed, thus functioning as a mediator. The screen's virtual imagery produces a sense of immersion in its viewer, yet at the same time the materiality of the screen produces a sense of rejection from the viewer's complete involvement in the virtual world. The experience of the screen is thus an oscillation between these two states of immersion and rejection. Nowadays, as interactivity becomes a central component of the relationship between viewers and many artworks, the viewer experience of the screen is changing. Unlike the screen experience in non-interactive artworks, such as the traditional static screen of painting or the moving screen of video art in the 1970s, interactive media screen experiences can provide viewers with a more immersive, immediate, and therefore, more intense experience. For example, many digital media artworks provide an interactive experience for viewers by capturing their face or body though real-time computer vision techniques. In this situation, as the camera and the monitor in the artwork encapsulate the interactor's body in an instant feedback loop, the interactor becomes a part of the interface mechanism and responds to the artwork as the system leads or even provokes them. This thesis claims that this kind of direct mirroring in interactive screen-based media artworks does not allow the viewer the critical distance or time needed for self-reflection. The thesis examines the previous aesthetics of spatial and temporal perception, such as presentness and instantaneousness, and the notions of passage and of psychological perception such as reflection, reflexiveness and auratic experience, looking at how these aesthetics can be integrated into new media screen experiences. Based on this theoretical research, the thesis claims that interactive screen spaces can act as a site for expression and representation, both through a doubling effect between the physical and virtual worlds, and through manifold spatial and temporal mappings with the screen experience. These claims are further supported through exploration of screen-based media installations created by the author since 2003.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Mazalek, Ali; Committee Member: Bolter, Jay David; Committee Member: Do, Ellen Yi-Luen; Committee Member: Nitsche, Michael; Committee Member: Winegarden, Claudia R

Phylogenetic analysis and characterization of Korean orf virus from dairy goats: case report

An outbreak of orf virus infection in dairy goats in Korea was investigated. Suspected samples of the skin and lip of affected goats were sent to the laboratory for more exact diagnosis. Orf virus was detected by electron microscopy and viral DNA was identified by PCR. To reveal the genetic characteristics of the Korean strain (ORF/09/Korea), the sequences of the major envelope protein (B2L) and orf virus interferon resistance (VIR) genes were determined and then compared with published reference sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the ORF/09/Korea strain was closest to the isolates (Taiping) from Taiwan. This is believed to be the first report on the molecular characterization of orf virus in Korea

Support Routines for In Situ Image Processing

This software consists of a set of application programs that support ground-based image processing for in situ missions. These programs represent a collection of utility routines that perform miscellaneous functions in the context of the ground data system. Each one fulfills some specific need as determined via operational experience. The most unique aspect to these programs is that they are integrated into the large, in situ image processing system via the PIG (Planetary Image Geometry) library. They work directly with space in situ data, understanding the appropriate image meta-data fields and updating them properly. The programs themselves are completely multimission; all mission dependencies are handled by PIG. This suite of programs consists of: (1)marscahv: Generates a linearized, epi-polar aligned image given a stereo pair of images. These images are optimized for 1-D stereo correlations, (2) marscheckcm: Compares the camera model in an image label with one derived via kinematics modeling on the ground, (3) marschkovl: Checks the overlaps between a list of images in order to determine which might be stereo pairs. This is useful for non-traditional stereo images like long-baseline or those from an articulating arm camera, (4) marscoordtrans: Translates mosaic coordinates from one form into another, (5) marsdispcompare: Checks a Left Right stereo disparity image against a Right Left disparity image to ensure they are consistent with each other, (6) marsdispwarp: Takes one image of a stereo pair and warps it through a disparity map to create a synthetic opposite- eye image. For example, a right eye image could be transformed to look like it was taken from the left eye via this program, (7) marsfidfinder: Finds fiducial markers in an image by projecting their approximate location and then using correlation to locate the markers to subpixel accuracy. These fiducial markets are small targets attached to the spacecraft surface. This helps verify, or improve, the pointing of in situ cameras, (8) marsinvrange: Inverse of marsrange . given a range file, re-computes an XYZ file that closely matches the original. . marsproj: Projects an XYZ coordinate through the camera model, and reports the line/sample coordinates of the point in the image, (9) marsprojfid: Given the output of marsfidfinder, projects the XYZ locations and compares them to the found locations, creating a report showing the fiducial errors in each image. marsrad: Radiometrically corrects an image, (10) marsrelabel: Updates coordinate system or camera model labels in an image, (11) marstiexyz: Given a stereo pair, allows the user to interactively pick a point in each image and reports the XYZ value corresponding to that pair of locations. marsunmosaic: Extracts a single frame from a mosaic, which will be created such that it could have been an input to the original mosaic. Useful for creating simulated input frames using different camera models than the original mosaic used, and (12) merinverter: Uses an inverse lookup table to convert 8-bit telemetered data to its 12-bit original form. Can be used in other missions despite the name

Globular Cluster and Galaxy Formation: M31, the Milky Way and Implications for Globular Cluster Systems of Spiral Galaxies

The globular cluster (GC) systems of the Milky Way and of our neighboring spiral galaxy, M31, comprise 2 distinct entities, differing in 3 respects. 1. M31 has young GCs, ages from ~100 Myr to 5 Gyr old, as well as old globular clusters. No such young GCs are known in the Milky Way. 2. We confirm that the oldest M31 GCs have much higher nitrogen abundances than do Galactic GCs at equivalent metallicities. 3. Morrison et al. found M31 has a subcomponent of GCs that follow closely the disk rotation curve of M31. Such a GC system in our own Galaxy has yet to be found. These data are interpreted in terms of the hierarchical-clustering-merging (HCM) paradigm for galaxy formation. We infer that M31 has absorbed more of its dwarf systems than has the Milky Way. This inference has 3 implications: 1. All spiral galaxies likely differ in their GC properties, depending on how many companions each galaxy has, and when the parent galaxy absorbs them. The the Milky Way ties down one end of this spectrum, as almost all of its GCs were absorbed 10-12 Gyr ago. 2. It suggests that young GCs are preferentially formed in the dwarf companions of parent galaxies, and then absorbed by the parent galaxy during mergers. 3. Young GCs seen in tidally-interacting galaxies might come from dwarf companions of these galaxies, rather than be made a-new in the tidal interaction. There is no ready explanation for the marked difference in nitrogen abundance for old M31 GCs relative to the oldest Galactic GCs. The predictions made by Li & Burstein regarding the origin of nitrogen abundance in globular clusters are consistent with what is found for the old M31 GCs compared to that for the two 5 Gyr-old M31 GCs.Comment: to be published in ApJ, Oct 2004; 13 pages of text, 2 tables, 7 postscript figure

Recommended immunization schedule for children and adolescents: the Korean Pediatric Society, 2013

This article contains the recommended immunization schedule by the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Korean Pediatric Society, updated in March 2013, when Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine is now included in the National Immunization Program in Korea. It also includes catch-up immunization schedule for children and adolescents who are behind the recommended schedule. These schedules are a minor revision of the corresponding parts of Immunization Guideline, 7th edition, of the Korean Pediatric Society, released in 2012. Pediatricians should be aware of these schedules to provide adequate immunization to Korean children and adolescents

Brain abscess in Korean children: A 15-year single center study

PurposeA brain abscess is a serious disease of the central nerve system. We conducted this study to summarize the clinical manifestations and outcomes of brain abscesses.MethodsA retrospective chart review of pediatric patients diagnosed with brain abscesses from November 1994 to June 2009 was performed at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.ResultsTwenty-five patients were included in this study. On average, 1.67 cases per year were identified and the median age was 4.3 years. The common presenting clinical manifestations were fever (18/25, 72%), seizure (12/25, 48%), altered mental status (11/25, 44%), and signs of increased intracranial pressure (9/25, 36%). A total of 14 (56%) patients had underlying illnesses, with congenital heart disease (8/25, 32%) as the most common cause. Predisposing factors were identified in 15 patients (60%). The common predisposing factors were otogenic infection (3/25, 12%) and penetrating head trauma (3/25, 12%). Causative organisms were identified in 64% of patients (16/25). The causative agents were S. intermedius (n=3), S. aureus (n=3), S. pneumoniae (n=1), Group B streptococcus (n=2), E. coli (n=1), P. aeruginosa (n=1), and suspected fungal infection (n=5). Seven patients received medical treatment only while the other 18 patients also required surgical intervention. The overall fatality rate was 16% and 20% of patients had neurologic sequelae. There was no statistical association between outcomes and the factors studied.ConclusionAlthough uncommon, a brain abscess is a serious disease. A high level of suspicion is very important for early diagnosis and to prevent serious consequences

α-Synuclein propagation leads to synaptic abnormalities in the cortex through microglial synapse phagocytosis

The major neuropathologic feature of Parkinsons disease is the presence of widespread intracellular inclusions of α-synuclein known as Lewy bodies. Evidence suggests that these misfolded protein inclusions spread through the brain with disease progression. Changes in synaptic function precede neurodegeneration, and this extracellular α-synuclein can affect synaptic transmission. However, whether and how the spreading of α-synuclein aggregates modulates synaptic function before neuronal loss remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effect of intrastriatal injection of α-synuclein preformed fibrils (PFFs) on synaptic activity in the somatosensory cortex using a combination of whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, histology, and Golgi-Cox staining. Intrastriatal PFF injection was followed by formation of phosphorylated α-synuclein inclusions in layer 5 of the somatosensory cortex, leading to a decrease in synapse density, dendritic spines, and spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic currents, without apparent neuronal loss. Additionally, three-dimensional reconstruction of microglia using confocal imaging showed an increase in the engulfment of synapses. Collectively, our data indicate that propagation of α-synuclein through neural networks causes abnormalities in synaptic structure and dynamics prior to neuronal loss.This work was supported by a National Research Foundation (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (NRF-2018R1A5A2025964 to S.-J.L.). Dayana Pérez-Acuña was supported by the Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (ANID) through the Becas Chile scholarship program PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS CHILE/ 2018-7219019

Recommendation for use of the newly introduced pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccines in Korea

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a leading cause of invasive infections including bacteremia and meningitis, as well as mucosal infections such as otitis media and pneumonia among children and adults. The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was licensed for use among infants and young children in many countries including Korea. The routine use of PCV7 has resulted in a decreased incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) by the vaccine serotypes among the vaccinees and substantial declines in IPD among unvaccinated populations such as older children and adults as well. In addition, there are increasing evidences to suggest that routine immunization with PCV7 is changing the epidemiology of pneumococcal diseases such as serotype distribution of IPD, nasopharyngeal colonization, and antibiotic resistance patterns. In contrast, there is an increase in the number of IPDs caused by nonvaccine serotypes, though it is much smaller than overall declines of vaccine serotype diseases. Several vaccines containing additional serotypes have been developed and tested clinically in order to expand the range of serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Recently two new pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccines, 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), have been approved for use in several countries including Korea. This report summarizes the recommendations approved by the Committee on Infectious Diseases, the Korean Pediatric Society

Recommendation for the use of newly introduced Tdap vaccine in Korea

Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection characterized by paroxysmal cough and inspiratory whoop for over 2 weeks. The incidence of pertussis has decreased markedly after the introduction of DTwP/DTaP vaccine, but the incidence of pertussis has increased steadily among young infant and among adolescents and adults in many countries. Td vaccine was used in this age group but the increase in pertussis has lead to the development of a Tdap vaccine. The Tdap vaccine is a Td vaccine with a pertussis vaccine added and is thought to decrease the incidence and transmission of pertussis in the respective age group. In Korea, two products are approved by the KOREA FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION, which are ADACEL™ (Sanofi-Pasteur, Totonto, Ontario, Canada) and BOOSTRIX® (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Rixensart, Belgium) for those aged between 11-64. This report summarizes the recommendations approved by the Committee on Infectious Diseases, the Korean Pediatric Society