Negotiating Masculinity:Migrant Husbands and Cross-Border ‘Marrying-Up’

This chapter examines how South Korea handles its new reality as a multicultural society and as a new migration destination by looking at the integration process of South Asian migrant husbands, who are married to Korean women. In East Asia, scholars have paid very little attention to migrant husbands despite the increasing number of migrant husbands from low-income countries. Drawing upon ethnographic research on migrant husbands from Bangladesh and Nepal, this chapter argues that migrant husbands actively adapt and pursue new ways of understanding their gender roles – from traditional patriarchal to liberal urban-middle-class ideals. At the same time, however, they struggle between new and old gender roles in their nuclear-Korean family and in their extended families back in Bangladesh or Nepal. By addressing conceptions of ‘flexible and strategic masculinity’, this chapter highlights migrant husband’s shifting gender roles and masculine identities in the new family environment; one in which the Korean wife holds greater economic and social influence. This chapter also illustrates how global economic hierarchies in migration are intertwined with the locally specific gender strategies of male migrants

The Maguk protein, Pals1, functions as an adapter, linking mammalian homologues of Crumbs and Discs Lost

Membrane-associated guanylate kinase (Maguk) proteins are scaffold proteins that contain PSD-95–Discs Large–zona occludens-1 (PDZ), Src homology 3, and guanylate kinase domains. A subset of Maguk proteins, such as mLin-2 and protein associated with Lin-7 (Pals)1, also contain two L27 domains: an L27C domain that binds mLin-7 and an L27N domain of unknown function. Here, we demonstrate that the L27N domain targets Pals1 to tight junctions by binding to a PDZ domain protein, Pals1-associated tight junction (PATJ) protein, via a unique Maguk recruitment domain. PATJ is a homologue of Drosophila Discs Lost, a protein that is crucial for epithelial polarity and that exists in a complex with the apical polarity determinant, Crumbs. PATJ and a human Crumbs homologue, CRB1, colocalize with Pals1 to tight junctions, and CRB1 interacts with PATJ albeit indirectly via binding the Pals1 PDZ domain. In agreement, we find that a Drosophila homologue of Pals1 participates in identical interactions with Drosophila Crumbs and Discs Lost. This Drosophila Pals1 homologue has been demonstrated recently to represent Stardust, a crucial polarity gene in Drosophila. Thus, our data identifies a new multiprotein complex that appears to be evolutionarily conserved and likely plays an important role in protein targeting and cell polarity

Human pallial MGE-type GABAergic interneuron cell therapy for chronic focal epilepsy

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is the most common focal epilepsy. One-third of patients have drug-refractory seizures and are left with suboptimal therapeutic options such as brain tissue-destructive surgery. Here, we report the development and characterization of a cell therapy alternative for drug-resistant MTLE, which is derived from a human embryonic stem cell line and comprises cryopreserved, post-mitotic, medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) pallial-type GABAergic interneurons. Single-dose intrahippocampal delivery of the interneurons in a mouse model of chronic MTLE resulted in consistent mesiotemporal seizure suppression, with most animals becoming seizure-free and surviving longer. The grafted interneurons dispersed locally, functionally integrated, persisted long term, and significantly reduced dentate granule cell dispersion, a pathological hallmark of MTLE. These disease-modifying effects were dose-dependent, with a broad therapeutic range. No adverse effects were observed. These findings support an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial (NCT05135091) for drug-resistant MTLE

Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward fertility preservation in patients with breast cancer: A cross-sectional survey of physicians

BackgroundFertility is an important issue for young women with breast cancer, but studies about physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward fertility preservation (FP) are largely based on Western populations and do not reflect recent international guidelines for FP. In this international study, we aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physicians from South Korea, other Asian countries, and Latin America toward FP in young women with breast cancer, and identify the related barriers.MethodsThe survey was conducted anonymously among physicians from South Korea, other Asian countries, and Latin America involved in breast cancer care between November 2020 and July 2021. Topics included knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions toward FP; practice behaviors; barriers; and participant demographics. We grouped related questions around two main themes—discussion with patients about FP, and consultation and referral to a reproductive endocrinologist. We analyzed the relationships between main questions and other survey items.ResultsA total of 151 physicians completed the survey. Most participants’ overall knowledge about FP was good. More than half of the participants answered that they discussed FP with their patients in most cases, but that personnel to facilitate discussions about FP and the provision of educational materials were limited. A major barrier was time constraints in the clinic (52.6%). Discussion, consultations, and referrals were more likely to be performed by surgeons who primarily treated patients with operable breast cancer (FP discussion odds ratio [OR]: 2.90; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24–6.79; FP consultation and referral OR: 2.98; 95% CI: 1.14–7.74). Participants’ knowledge and attitudes about FP were significantly associated with discussion, consultations, and referrals.ConclusionPhysicians from South Korea, other Asian countries, and Latin America are knowledgeable about FP and most perform practice behaviors toward FP well. Physicians’ knowledge and favorable attitudes are significantly related to discussion with patients, as well as consultation with and referral to reproductive endocrinologists. However, there are also barriers, such as limitations to human resources and materials, suggesting a need for a systematic approach to improve FP for young women with breast cancer

Discs large and mLin -2 /CASK: Evolutionarily conserved modulators of epithelial cell polarity and synaptic junctions.

Cellular plasma membranes are organized into domains with distinct structural and biochemical properties, which are defined by unique sets of complex transmembrane proteins and associated cytosolic components present within each domain. A domain can consist of large surfaces, such as the apical or basal-lateral membranes of epithelial cells or the axonal, dendritic, and somatic surfaces of neurons. In particular, the polarized expression of receptors and ion channels in appropriate domains is crucial for the proper function of epithelial cells and neurons. Genetic studies in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans as well as biochemical studies in mammalian cells demonstrated that the Membrane Associated Guanylate Kinase (MAGUK) proteins play a significant role in cell polarity. MAGUKs contain multiple protein binding modules that act as adaptors for organizing the various components of protein complexes and thereby play important regulatory roles in establishing epithelial polarity and the synaptic junctions during development. Among them are the Drosophila tumor suppressor Discs Large (Dlg) protein and the C. elegans protein Lin-2. Genetic studies of loss of function mutations of these genes in both epithelial cells and neurons have largely contributed to our understanding of the principles governing organization of cell polarity. In this work, the functional significance of an evolutionarily conserved complex containing the SAP97 and mLin-2/CASK, the mammalian homologues of Dlg and Lin-2, respectively, in mammalian epithelial cell polarity is described. Our co-localization studies using dominant-negative mLin-2/CASK showed that the association with mLin-2/CASK was crucial for basolateral localization of SAP97 in epithelial cells. Furthermore, we also describe the identification of dSAP97, a neuronal specific isoform of Discs Large protein, and characterize its function at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Like its mammalian counterpart, dSAP97 forms a complex with Camguk, the fly homologue of mLin-2/CASK, and plays an essential role in modulating synaptic structure at the neuromuscular junction. Our observations demonstrate that an evolutionarily conserved complex containing dSAP97 and Camguk both physically and genetically interact to play an important role as modulators of epithelial polarity and synaptic structure.Ph.D.BiochemistryBiological SciencesCellular biologyGeneticsPure SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123888/2/3106105.pd