Changing perceptions and the impact of culture

This document is the written component that accompanies the MFA thesis exhibition Changing Perceptions and the Impact of Culture which took place from January 23 to January 30, 2015 at the Design on Main Gallery in Ames, Iowa. The thesis exhibition explores the impact of culture on perception, as well as differences and similarities in human life-styles across the globe, with special focus on South Korea, Italy and the United States. The exhibition consists of 2-D artworks using printmaking and digital photography techniques. A few 3-D installations are paired with the 2-D digital photographs. This thesis documents the main ideas and concepts that underlie the exhibition artworks. The artist tries to emphasize the reality behind the oftentimes superficial surface of what we see, juxtaposing contrasting lifestyles between the rich and the poor. She stresses that by changing our perception of taking-for-granted what we see on the surface, we can begin to understand each other, leading to positive changes of our behavior, attitudes and beliefs. This paper shows the progress and development of the artist\u27s work over a five year time period, including the methods, processes, artistic and cultural influences that contribute to the creation of her unique artworks

A single-ion conducting covalent organic framework for aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion batteries

Despite their potential as promising alternatives to current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion batteries are still far away from practical applications. Here, we present a new class of single-ion conducting electrolytes based on a zinc sulfonated covalent organic framework (TpPa-SO3Zn0.5) to address this challenging issue. TpPa-SO3Zn0.5 is synthesised to exhibit single Zn2+ conduction behaviour via its delocalised sulfonates that are covalently tethered to directional pores and achieve structural robustness by its beta-ketoenamine linkages. Driven by these structural and physicochemical features, TpPa-SO3Zn0.5 improves the redox reliability of the Zn metal anode and acts as an ionomeric buffer layer for stabilising the MnO2 cathode. Such improvements in the TpPa-SO3Zn0.5-electrode interfaces, along with the ion transport phenomena, enable aqueous Zn-MnO2 batteries to exhibit long-term cyclability, demonstrating the viability of COF-mediated electrolytes for Zn-ion batteries

A contact investigation after exposure to a child with disseminated tuberculosis mimicking inflammatory bowel disease

Purpose Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important diseases that cause significant mortality and morbidity in young children. Data on TB transmission from an infected child are limited. Herein, we report a case of disseminated TB in a child and conducted a contact investigation among exposed individuals. Methods A 4-year-old child without Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination was diagnosed as having culture-proven disseminated TB. The child initially presented with symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease, and nosocomial and kindergarten exposures were reported. The exposed individuals to the index case were divided into 3 groups, namely household, nosocomial, or kindergarten contacts. Evaluation was performed following the Korean guidelines for TB. Kindergarten contacts were further divided into close or casual contacts. Chest radiography and tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma-releasing assay were performed for the contacts. Results We examined 327 individuals (3 household, 10 nosocomial, and 314 kindergarten contacts), of whom 18 (5.5%), the brother of the index patient, and 17 kindergarten children were diagnosed as having latent TB infection (LTBI). LTBI diagnosis was more frequent in the children who had close kindergarten contact with the index case (17.1% vs. 4.4%, P=0.007). None of the cases had active TB. Conclusion This is the first reported case of TB transmission among young children from a pediatric patient with disseminated TB in Korea. TB should be emphasized as a possible cause of chronic diarrhea and failure to thrive in children. A national TB control policy has been actively applied to identify Korean children with LTBI

Changing perceptions and the impact of culture

This document is the written component that accompanies the MFA thesis exhibition "Changing Perceptions and the Impact of Culture" which took place from January 23 to January 30, 2015 at the Design on Main Gallery in Ames, Iowa. The thesis exhibition explores the impact of culture on perception, as well as differences and similarities in human life-styles across the globe, with special focus on South Korea, Italy and the United States. The exhibition consists of 2-D artworks using printmaking and digital photography techniques. A few 3-D installations are paired with the 2-D digital photographs. This thesis documents the main ideas and concepts that underlie the exhibition artworks. The artist tries to emphasize the reality behind the oftentimes superficial surface of what we see, juxtaposing contrasting lifestyles between the rich and the poor. She stresses that by changing our perception of "taking-for-granted" what we see on the surface, we can begin to understand each other, leading to positive changes of our behavior, attitudes and beliefs. This paper shows the progress and development of the artist's work over a five year time period, including the methods, processes, artistic and cultural influences that contribute to the creation of her unique artworks.</p

Which HCI Lab in South Korea Fits Best for Me? : Designing an HCI Lab Browsing System to Support Prospective Students&apos; Decision-Making Process: Designing an HCI Lab Browsing System

Prospective students looking for a human-computer interaction (HCI) laboratory that fts their needs and goals go through a challenging decision-making process. Often, labs and their body of work are ambiguous to the student. In this study, we aim to (1) design an HCI Lab browsing system named &lt;HCI LAB DIRECTORY&gt; and (2) investigate how the system supports decision making. We designed a system that can browse laboratories through research topics based on author-defned keyword (ADK) data from publications. We then conducted a user study, including an information browsing task and in-depth interviews. Findings show that our system supported decision making in (1) identifying what to look for at the initial stage and (2) developing one&apos;s own criteria by gaining saliency of the feld at the drill-down stage. Our fndings provide empirical understanding regarding decision-making theory and presents a new browsing system that organizes scattered and unstandardized information.N

Solvent-Free, Single Lithium-Ion Conducting Covalent Organic Frameworks

Porous crystalline materials such as covalent organic frameworks and metal???organic frameworks have garnered considerable attention as promising ion conducting media. However, most of them additionally incorporate lithium salts and/or solvents inside the pores of frameworks, thus failing to realize solid-state single lithium-ion conduction behavior. Herein, we demonstrate a lithium sulfonated covalent organic framework (denoted as TpPa-SO3Li) as a new class of solvent-free, single lithium-ion conductors. Benefiting from well-designed directional ion channels, a high number density of lithium-ions, and covalently tethered anion groups, TpPa-SO3Li exhibits an ionic conductivity of 2.7 ?? 10???5 S cm???1 with a lithium-ion transference number of 0.9 at room temperature and an activation energy of 0.18 eV without additionally incorporating lithium salts and organic solvents. Such unusual ion transport phenomena of TpPa-SO3Li allow reversible and stable lithium plating/stripping on lithium metal electrodes, demonstrating its potential use for lithium metal electrodes

Transdermal delivery of Minoxidil using HA-PLGA nanoparticles for the treatment in alopecia

Abstract Background Alopecia has become a very common disease that many people around the world are suffered. Minoxidil (MXD) is the most well-known commercialized drug in its treatment. However, in the case of MXD administration, there are some problems with low efficiency of transdermal delivery and additional side effects. Method MXD and Rhodamine B (Rho B) are encapsulated in poly(Lactide-co-Glycolide) grafted hyaluronate nanoparticles (HA-PLGA/MXD NPs, HA-PLGA/Rho B NPs) which is prepared with W/O/W solvent evaporation method. After then, the investigation is carried out to confirm the feasibility of NPs in alopecia treatment. Results Both of HA-PLGA/MXD NPs and HA-PLGA/Rho B NPs are successfully prepared. In addition, it is confirmed that HA-PLGA NPs sufficiently delivered to cells without any significant cytotoxicity by cell viability, cellular uptake and skin permeation test. Conclusion Taken together, HA-PLGA NPs as a transdermal delivery carrier to hair follicle cells can be exploited to develop the efficient and effective platform of transdermal drug delivery for the treatment of various diseases

Enabling On-Demand Conformal Zn-Ion Batteries on Non-Developable Surfaces

Conventional power sources encounter difficulties in achieving structural unitization with complex-shaped electronic devices because of their fixed form factors. Here, it is realized that an on-demand conformal Zn-ion battery (ZIB) on non-developable surfaces uses direct ink writing (DIW)-based nonplanar 3D printing. First, ZIB component (manganese oxide-based cathode, Zn powder-based anode, and UV-curable gel composite electrolyte) inks are designed to regulate their colloidal interactions to fulfill the rheological requirements of nonplanar 3D printing, and establish bi-percolating ion/electron conduction pathways, thereby enabling geometrical synchronization with non-developable surfaces, and ensuring reliable electrochemical performance. The ZIB component inks are conformally printed on arbitrary curvilinear substrates to produce embodied ZIBs that can be seamlessly integrated with complicated 3D objects (including human ears). The conformal ZIB exhibits a high fill factor (i.e., areal coverage of cells on underlying substrates, approximate to 100%) that ensures high volumetric energy density (50.5 mWh cm(cell)(-3)), which exceeds those of previously-reported shape-adaptable power sources

The risk of active tuberculosis among individuals living in tuberculosis-affected households in the Republic of Korea, 2015.

BackgroundIn the Republic of Korea (ROK), compared to other high-income countries, tuberculosis (TB) prevalence is relatively high. Active TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) surveillance of individuals living in TB-affected households has been conducted for several years. Although active case finding is an important strategy in low-prevalence, high-income countries, its effectiveness in a high prevalence setting is unclear. This study evaluated the risk of TB in household contact by calculating the incidence of TB among household contacts and comparing it with the general population of the ROK.MethodsA retrospective cohort study, including 36,133 household-contacts of 17,958 TB patients reported in 2015, was conducted. The data was extracted from the Korean National TB Surveillance System (web-based TB cases notification system, KNTSS). The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to evaluate risk factors for incidence of TB. A P-value ResultsIn this study, 319 (0.9%) of 36,133 household-contacts were reported as having TB within 1 year, which is a higher rate than the rate for the general population in the ROK. The rate of TB reported for contacts that had completed LTBI treatment (0.6%) was lower than for the LTBI group without treatment (4.6%). In multivariate analysis, age older than 65 (p ConclusionsIndividuals living in TB-affected households are at high risk of developing TB in the ROK and active case finding among them is a strategy effective in the early detection and prevention of TB

Water-Repellent Ionic Liquid Skinny Gels Customized for Aqueous Zn-Ion Battery Anodes

Despite the enormous potential of aqueous zinc (Zn)-ion batteries as a cost-competitive and safer power source, their practical applications have been plagued by the chemical/electrochemical instability of Zn anodes with aqueous electrolytes. Here, ionic liquid (IL) skinny gels are reported as a new class of water-repellent ion-conducting protective layers customized for Zn anodes. The IL skinny gel (thickness approximate to 500 nm), consisting of hydrophobic IL solvent, Zn salts, and thiol-ene polymer compliant skeleton, prevents the access of water molecules to Zn anodes while allowing Zn2+ conduction for redox reactions. The IL-gel-skinned Zn anode enables sustainable Zn plating/stripping cyclability under 90% depth of discharge (DODZn) without suffering from water-triggered interfacial parasitic reactions. Driven by these advantageous effects, a Zn-ion full cell (IL-gel-skinned Zn-anode||aqueous-electrolyte-containing MnO2 cathode) exhibits high charge/discharge cycling performance (capacity retention approximate to 95.7% after 600 cycles) that lies beyond those achievable with conventional aqueous Zn-ion battery technologies