Angiogenic and Neurotrophic Effects of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Conditioned Medium for Erectile Dysfunction

Department of Biomedical EngineeringA three-dimensional spheroid culture system to harvest conditioned medium (CM) from human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) with high efficiency were introduced and investigated the therapeutic effects of hBM-MSC-CM on erectile dysfunction (ED). In order to harvest CM with higher protein concentration than CM harvested by conventional method in 2D culture system, a variable parameter study considering the culture conditions such as spheroid diameter and centrifugation time was performed. As a result, it was confirmed that CM harvested from 3D spheroid culture system had much more proteins than those cultured in 2D environment. In addition, the total protein concentration in CM increased in proportion to the centrifugation time using a centrifugal filter. Additionally, ELISA and secretome assay showed that CM contained growth factors that help in angiogenesis such as angiogenin (ANG) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and in nerve regeneration like glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Also, it was identified that angiogenic effects of CM contributing to tube, node and mesh formation of endothelial cells was proportional to the concentration of CM in vitro tube formation assay. Then, histomorphometric studies such as immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were performed using the cavernous nerve (CN) injury rat model. In result, histomorphometric analysis showed that neural regeneration and vascular regeneration increased along with CM concentration. To sum up, we established an efficient method to obtain hBM-MSC-CM containing high concentration of growth factors, which is expected to be one of the promising methods of regenerative medicine for treating ED disease.clos

Late stage, non-equilibrium dynamics in the dipolar Ising model

Magnetic domain structures are a fascinating area of study with interest deriving both from technological applications and fundamental scientific questions. The nature of the striped magnetic phases observed in ultra-thin films is one such intriguing system. The non-equilibrium dynamics of such systems as they evolve toward equilibrium has only recently become an area of interest and previous work on model systems showed evidence of complex, slow dynamics with glass-like properties as the stripes order mesoscopically. To aid in the characterization of the observed phases and the nature of the transitions observed in model systems we have developed an efficient method for identifying clusters or domains in the spin system, where the clusters are based on the stripe orientation. Thus we are able to track the growth and decay of such clusters of stripes in a Monte Carlo simulation and observe directly the nature of the slow dynamics. We have applied this method to consider the growth and decay of ordered domains after a quench from a saturated magnetic state to temperatures near and well below the critical temperature in the two dimensional dipolar Ising model. We discuss our method of identifying stripe domains or clusters of stripes within this model and present the results of our investigations.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, submitted to JMM

Stability of periodic domain structures in a two-dimensional dipolar model

We investigate the energetic ground states of a model two-phase system with 1/r^3 dipolar interactions in two dimensions. The model exhibits spontaneous formation of two kinds of periodic domain structure. A striped domain structure is stable near half filling, but as the area fraction is changed, a transition to a hexagonal lattice of almost-circular droplets occurs. The stability of the equilibrium striped domain structure against distortions of the boundary is demonstrated, and the importance of hexagonal distortions of the droplets is quantified. The relevance of the theory for physical surface systems with elastic, electrostatic, or magnetostatic 1/r^3 interactions is discussed.Comment: Revtex (preprint style, 19 pages) + 4 postscript figures. A version in two-column article style with embedded figures is available at http://electron.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#ng_do

Religijność i wiara Górali Czadeckich zamieszkałych w Polsce na terenie gminy Brzeźnica

artykuł zamieszczony w materiałach sympozjum "W kręgu relacji polsko-rumuńskich"

The Rememberance of a Moon Village

This article describes one of urban renewal projects in Seoul in 1990s that caused severe tragedies in the area based on the writer’s experience. Despite the criticisms of the “slum clearance” approach to urban renewal in the U.S. after the 1960s, Seoul adopted the concept to redevelop slum areas during 1970-1990s since the city government had to figure out the middle-class housing shortage as soon as possible. The urban renewal project abused the civil rights of slum residents by destroying their living foundation.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120401/1/Lee_TheRemembranceOfAMoonVillage.pd

Two of a kind

Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only.This body of work visually explores and expresses the frustrations of being a Korean American living in the U.S. in a socio-political climate that is intolerant of immigrants. I utilize base metals and enamels as my media choices to examine and visually depict the challenge that comes from being immersed in two different cultures. Cloisonné is an important form of art in Korea and the materiality assigns preciousness to the objects. This project addresses and opens a dialogue between Korean Americans, Asian Americans, and all other Americans and Koreans to address the sense of alienation that often results from being neither fully one or the other culture and the feelings of separation that result from this experience. The primary technique I use in my project is the process of cloisonné enameling, and I choose to use it because of its prevalence in Korean metalwork. The iconography that I use is not typically seen in Korean art, and the limited availability of Korean art outside of the country makes it difficult for Americans to understand. My goal with this creative project is to analyze the stereotypes associated with each culture as a way of raising the awareness of what it means to operate in and navigate through different worlds.Thesis (M.F.A.)School of Ar