Hölzel Circle as the Proto-Bauhaus : the Situation in the Stuttgart Academy and the Concept Brought to the Bauhaus

In the very year of Bauhaus’ set-up, an artist left an academy: Adolf Hölzel (1853-1934) who was born in Austria, studied in Munich, worked in the artists’ colony in Dachau and was invited to the academy in Stuttgart in 1905. Even though the name of the artist is not well known now, Johannes Itten (1888-1967) who developed basic color theory in the field of art education, was one of Hölzel’s students and named the artist alongside Goethe and Chevreul in his book Art of Color. Itten’s theories and practices taught in the Bauhaus “preliminary course,” in fact, owed much to Hölzel’s teaching, and herein lies the direct relationship between Hölzel and the Bauhaus. However, Hölzel’s indirect contribution to the Bauhaus was much more fundamental. Not only did Itten bring Hölzel’s ideas to the Bauhaus but Oskar Schlemmer (1888–1943), a master of the Bauhaus theater workshop, had also been Hölzel’s student at the Stuttgart Academy with some other Bauhaus students involved. Hölzel attracted many eager students who consequently formed a group called “Hölzel Circle.” This paper first looks at the situation at the academy just before Hölzel’s appointment. The academy and applied art school had a close relationship and there was a perspective to unite art and applied art in the background. It is noteworthy that Bernhard Pankok (1872-1943) was appointed to Königliche Lehr- und Versuchswerkstätte [the Royal Teaching and Experimental Workshop] in Stuttgart in 1901 and engaged in the reorganization of the academies. The situation in Stuttgart at that time had a similar vision to the Bauhaus. After this introduction, Hölzel’s theory, which was almost complete before his appointment, is discussed on the basis of his published writings, in which some fragments of the Bauhaus education can be seen. Itten’s concepts of contrast and his analysis of the Old Masters, for example, rose out of Hölzel’s methods. After Hölzel’s appointment, it took some time for the Circle to arise. But in his first ten years, there were chances for the Circle to work as a group. The name “Hölzel Circle” was coined as the name of the group exhibition in 1916. Finally, Hölzel’s color theory is discussed to clarify the indirect but fundamental relationships between his ideas and the Bauhaus: the ideas of harmony and totality. This discussion aims to position Hölzel and his circle in the context of the Bauhaus.Theme I : Design Education before the Bauhau

Fabrication of bone marrow-like tissue in vitro from dispersed-state bone marrow cells

AbstractA three-dimensional (3D) bone marrow (BM) culture system may facilitate research into the molecular mechanisms involved in hematopoiesis and BM diseases. However, because >90% of BM cells are composed of non-adherent blood cells, it is difficult to organize the dispersed BM cells into 3D multicellular spheroids using conventional aggregation methods such as hanging drop, and rotary shaking culture. The objective of this study was to reproduce BM-like tissue. We reported successful formation of BM aggregates using a 3% methylcellulose (MC) medium. This medium could aggregate even non-adherent materials. In MC medium, BM cells formed tissue-like aggregates within 24 h. Although the cell density of the BM-like tissue is slightly low, sections of the organoids resembled those of intact BM tissue. Cells of the BM-like tissue were approximately 70% viable after 7 days in culture. Staining for CD68, PDGFRα, and CXCL12 indicated that the BM-like tissue contained macrophages, and mesenchymal cells including CXCL12-abundant reticular cells. These results indicated that the method using MC medium effectively reconstitutes the BM-like tissue

Wash or wipe? A comparative study of skin physiological changes between water washing and wiping after skin cleaning

Background/purpose: Presently, skin-cleaning agents that claim to be removed by water or wiping alone are commercially available and have been used for the purpose of bed baths. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how water washing and wiping differently affect skin physiological functions or ceramide content. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of water washing and wiping on skin physiological functions and ceramide content. Methods: Three kinds of the cleaning agents with different removal techniques (ie, water washing and wiping) were used in this study. Skin physiological functions (ie, transepidermal water loss, skin hydration, and skin pH) and skin ceramide content were measured before and after seven consecutive days of the application of each cleaning agent. Results: No significant differences in skin physiological functions or ceramide content were observed between water washing and wiping. Conclusion: Cleaning agents that claim to be removed by water washing or wiping do not affect skin physiological functions or ceramide content by either removal method. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Embargo Period 12 month

NF-κB-induced NOX1 activation promotes gastric tumorigenesis through the expansion of SOX2-positive epithelial cells

金沢大学ナノ生命科学研究所We previously showed that NADPH oxidase organizer 1 (Noxo1), a component of NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1), is a TNF-α-induced tumor-promoting factor in gastric tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism of NOX1-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling for the gastric tumorigenesis has not been understood. Here, we showed that expression of NOX1 complex components, including Noxo1, but not other NOX family members was significantly upregulated in both mouse models for gastritis and gastric tumors, which was associated with increased ROS levels. We also found that NF-κB directly regulated NOXO1 expression in TNF-α-stimulated gastric cancer cells, suggesting that inflammation induces NOX1 complex activation through TNF-α/NF-κB pathway. Notably, in situ hybridization indicated that Noxo1 mRNA was detected in proliferating cells of gastritis and gastric tumors, and pharmacological inhibition of NOX activity significantly suppressed the proliferation of MKN45 gastric cancer cells and gastric hyperplasia of K19-C2mE mice. These results suggest that NOX1/ROS signaling has an important role in increased proliferation of stomach epithelial cells in the inflamed mucosa. Moreover, we found that expression of SOX2, a marker of gastric epithelial stem cells, was increased by NOX1/ROS signaling. Furthermore, disruption of Noxo1 in K19-C2mE mice significantly suppressed gastritis-associated metaplastic hyperplasia, a potent preneoplastic lesion, which was associated with decreased number of SOX2-positive cells. These results indicate that inflammation-induced Noxo1 expression is responsible for development of metaplastic hyperplasia in the stomach through an increase in SOX2-expressing undifferentiated epithelial cells. Therefore, inhibition of the NOX1/ROS signaling pathway is a possible strategy for prevention and therapy for gastric cancer development. © 2019, The Author(s).Embargo Period 6 month

Beam and SKS spectrometers at the K1.8 beam line

High-resolution spectrometers for both incident beams and scattered particles have been constructed at the K1.8 beam line of the Hadron Experimental Facility at J-PARC. A point-to-point optics is realized between the entrance and exit of QQDQQ magnets for the beam spectrometer. Fine-pitch wire chamber trackers and hodoscope counters are installed in the beam spectrometer to accept a high rate beam up to 107 Hz. The superconducting kaon spectrometer for scattered particles was transferred from KEK with modifications to the cryogenic system and detectors. A missing-mass resolution of 1.9 ± 0.1 MeV/c2 (FWHM) was achieved for the ∑ peaks of (π±, K+) reactions on a proton target in the first physics run of E19 in 2010

Induction of hepatic tissues in multicellular spheroids composed of murine fetal hepatic cells and embedded hydrogel beads

Introduction: Three-dimensional (3D) multicellular spheroids are useful tools for simulation of cellular functions in vitro. However, it is difficult to culture certain epithelial cell types under 3D spheroid conditions because these cells cannot resist autonomous cell death, triggered by disordered cell polarity. The objective of this study was to find a method that enables spheroid culture of such epithelial cells utilizing hydrogel beads without cell death. Methods: We used murine E14.5 fetal hepatic cells for the spheroid composition because they are sensitive to disorganized structures. Spheroids were formed by injecting 1-μl fresh medium containing 1000 fetal hepatic cells and the same number of alginate hydrogel beads (20 μm in diameter) into a 3% methylcellulose medium in the presence of dexamethasone and oncostatin M to induce hepatic differentiation. After 7 days of culture, microstructures were observed using hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunostaining using anti-CK8/18 antibody. Albumin secretion rate was determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. In addition, polarity-related proteins, E-cadherin, ezrin, and MRP2 were observed with immunostaining. Results: Control spheroids without the use of alginate hydrogel beads showed extensive internal lack of epithelial hepatic cells. The spheroids containing alginate hydrogel beads exhibited sheet- or cord-like structures of epithelial hepatic cells, and it was clear that cell death of epithelial cells had been prevented. Albumin secretion data also supported the improvement of epithelial hepatic cell viability when alginate hydrogel beads were used. Localization of polarity-related proteins indicated the partial reconstitution of cell polarity in the spheroids using alginate hydrogel beads. Conclusion: Based on these data, we concluded that the application of alginate hydrogel beads was effective in improving the epithelial hepatic cell culture of multicellular spheroids