147 research outputs found
The Process of wayfinding
No full textThe author defines wayfinding as the act of finding one\u27s way to a destination: spatial problem-solving comprised of three interdependent processes: decision-making, decision-executing, and information processing. The goal of this thesis is to develop a wayfinding system by designing a system of directional signs. The application is the development of an interior signage system for the Rochester Institute of Technology\u27s National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)
Forever Girls:Necro-Cinematics and South Korean Girlhood
No full textForever Girls explores girlhood manifest in contemporary South Korean cinema within the conflicting socio-political forces that shaped the nation: coloniality, postcolonial and postwar traumas, modernity, and democracy. Author Jinhee Choi reorients the direction of current scholarship on contemporary South Korean cinema from patriarchy, masculinity and violence, to instead consider girls as a social imaginary. Drawing on the depiction of girlhood from the 1970s as a reference image, including that of low-wage working-class girls, Choi explores the extent to which the form of girlhood represented in the millennial South Korean cinema still resonates with such an image. From the popular teen pictures and male auteurs' work of the 1970s; to a contemporary film cycle on military sexual slavery ("wianbu"); to Bong Joon-ho's girl trilogy; and to South Korean independent cinema of 2010s directed by women, Choi focuses on girls' sexuality, labor, and leisure, and demonstrates how girls in contemporary South Korean cinema are increasingly represented to have agency (albeit still limited); they are subjects who remember the past, experience the present, and envision the future, and whose interiority lies beyond their status as victims of sexual violence and national trauma. Choi further critically engages with the girlhood associated with unproductivity and dismissed as mere irreality. In contrast, she foregrounds how cinema could adequately mourn girls' deaths and grant them shelter and idleness as part of what is desperately needed: the very girlhood that has long been denied.</p
Individualization and Information Quality of Location-Based Mobile Messages: An Application of Elaboration Likelihood Model
No full textLocation-based mobile technologies fulfilling consumers’ personalized needs during in-store shopping have gained significant attention in the retail world, as many brick-and-mortar stores and retailers had to adapt to the omnichannel presence in recent years. However, without sufficient knowledge about how to tailor location-based mobile messages (LBMM), retailers and marketers have been challenged by consumers’ perceptions of intrusiveness of receiving a LBMM and a lack of personal relevance of the LBMM, both of which can lead to suboptimal advertising effectiveness. This study empirically examined how varying levels of consumers’ task involvement in the generation of an LBMM, which is referred to in this study as LBMM individualization strategies, affect consumers’ perceptions of relevance and intrusiveness of an LBMM, which in turn impact the consumers’ elaboration (careful cognitive processing) of the LBMM content and attitude toward the LBMM.
Data were collected employing a 3 (LBMM individualization strategies: randomization vs. personalization vs. customization) × 2 (information quality: strong vs. weak) experimental design. A U.S. national sample of 455 consumers participated in the online experiment. Results of the study indicate that consumers perceive an LBMM more relevant and less intrusive when it is more highly individualized or when they are more involved in the message generation process (i.e., customization > personalized > randomized). This finding is alarming in that a rushed LBMM sent based on only the consumer’s locational data (i.e., a randomization strategy) can lead to consumers’ perceiving it to be intrusive and irrelevant and thus may result in their avoidance behavior. In addition, this study revealed that a more individualized LBMM promotes consumers’ greater amount of cognitive processing (i.e., elaboration) of the message, which in turn promotes their positive attitude toward the LBMM, and this effect was found stable regardless of the quality of information (strong vs. weak) contained in the LBMM. These findings imply that consumers do not consider the content of a LBMM as a critical determinant to evaluate an LBMM when they receive a highly individualized LBMM. Due to the heightened personal relevance, a highly individualized LBMM motivates consumers to invest their time in processing the message more carefully and like the LBMM more. The findings of the study provide valuable theoretical and managerial implications
Preclinical evaluation of duodenal mucosal regeneration for non-pharmacological intervention of type 2 diabetes mellitus
No full textIntroduction:
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) have become a major global health concern due to growing adoption of western dietary habits and an increasing aging population. Despite the growing demand for effective treatments, Type 2 diabetes remission using pharmacological methods alone remains challenging. The duodenum has been presented as a key organ for treatment of metabolic disorders including T2DM and obesity. Therefore, it is imperative that innovative non-pharmacological treatments related to the duodenum continue to be developed. Duodenal mucosal regeneration (DMR), which targets thickened mucosa to ablate and regenerate healthy tissue, has recently been implemented. However, current DMR procedures are complex and pose risks of irreversible damage, highlighting the need for developing safer and more effective methods. The aim of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effects of advanced DMR application using T2DM animal model including rodent and pig. We also assess the efficacy of DMR using application with light emitting diodes (LED)/Organic light emitting diode (OLED) by quantitatively analyzing molecular biological results and gut microbiome changes between the treatment and control groups.
Methods & Materials:
In this preclinical trial, we utilized Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat models of T2DM to conduct DMR using endoscopic application with LED/OLED. The study evaluated the safety and efficacy of an endoscopic application equipped with a dual-wavelength (630/850nm) point light source LED module and a catheter with a single-wavelength (650nm) surface light source OLED module. Additionally, scaled-up DMR application which is attachable to endoscopic to assess the potential for clinical application, the safety and efficacy of an expanded endoscopic attachment device with a dual-wavelength LED module were evaluated using T2DM mini pig model. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were conducted in GK rats and diabetic mini pigs after fasting overnight to assess blood glucose levels at multiple intervals post-DMR. Biochemical and hormonal analyses were performed on plasma samples to measure liver enzyme activities and hormone concentrations, including insulin, glucagon-like peptide 1, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide. Histological examinations of the duodenum, liver, and pancreas included Hematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, and multiplex immunohistochemistry staining, followed by digital analysis to evaluate tissue alterations and islet cell morphology. Additionally, microbiome analysis was performed on fecal samples to assess alterations in bacterial composition following DMR.
Results:
The promising therapeutic outcomes of DMR using LED and OLED catheters highlight the potential of these technologies in treating T2DM and related complications. Our research evaluated the efficacy of DMR with red or infrared LED light in a T2DM animal model, showing significant improvements in serum glucose levels, insulin sensitivity with preserved pancreatic islet and hepatic parameters in GK rats. Similarly, DMR with an OLED catheter resulted in notable reductions in blood glucose levels and improved insulin sensitivity, indicated by lower homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance levels. Additionally, DMR with LED/OLED light significantly decreased liver fibrosis and altered the gut microbiome. These findings suggest that DMR using LED/OLED catheters directly impacts the duodenal mucosa, leading to consistent metabolic improvements and reduced liver fibrosis, further supporting its potential in enhancing metabolic outcomes.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the endoscopic DMR using LED/OLED applications presents a noninvasive approach to improve glycemic control, reduce insulin resistance, preserve pancreatic islet regeneration, and modulate the gut microbiome. The findings not only suggest that DMR could serve as an effective treatment modality for metabolic disorders, including T2DM but also help validate the efficacy and safety of this DMR application. Further clinical trial using the endoscopic attachable DMR application based on dual wavelength are necessary to support the potential of this novel non-pharmacological treatment.Docto
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Second-harmonic generation and reflecance-anisotropy spectroscopy of vicinal Si(001)
No full texttextSpectroscopic second-harmonic generation (SHG) and reflectance-anisotropy spectroscopy
(RAS) of native-oxidized vicinal Si(001) with off-cut angles ζ = 0o
, 4o
, 6o
, 8o
and 10o
from (001) toward [110] are performed. The SHG spectra are first decomposed
using the macroscopic Fourier analysis. As a common microscopic analysis for SHG
and RAS, we use a simplified bond hyperpolarizability model. The description of the
expanded bond model and the result of the calculation are presented. The derived complex
hyperpolarizability spectra are compared with the corresponding inverted real and
imaginary parts using nonlinear Kramers-Kronig relations, thus confirming the consistency
of the developed bond model. RAS and SHG spectra from clean and selectively
H2 adsorbed reconstructed vicinal Si(001):6o
surfaces are obtained and analyzed in a
similar way.Physic
Circadian regulated changes in long non-coding RNA and heterochromatin
No full textThe circadian clock governs gene expression for a large percentage of protein-coding genes in a tissue-specific manner. In this capacity, the clock maintains exquisite control of cell physiology and metabolism. The predominant regulatory mechanism of the clock is a transcriptional negative feedback loop that facilitates circadian-regulated facultative heterochromatin. The long-term consequence of disrupted diurnal rhythm, or mutations in core clock genes, is accelerated aging and an increased incidence of age-related diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying the precise pathways of the circadian clock and aging are not well understood. To understand the mechanisms of clock-regulated facultative heterochromatin in aging, I performed molecular experiments to examine the connections between BMAL1 and telomere homeostasis. I determined BMAL1 is associated with the telomeres and binding is conserved in zebrafish and mice. Expression of Telomere Repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) transcribed from the telomere has a diurnal rhythm in expression. In addition, there is a conserved rhythm in histone H3 lysine 9 tri-methylation (H3K9me3) at telomeres in zebrafish and mice. Given the rhythms in lncRNA and heterochromatin at the central clock gene(s) and telomeres, I set out to explore whether this was a genome-wide phenomenon, which may impact age-related redistribution of heterochromatin. I performed RNA-Seq and H3K9me3 ChIP-Seq on zebrafish brain tissue at different times and different ages. The computational analysis of sequencing data followed by molecular confirmation revealed that the core clock genes maintain rhythmic expression regardless of age, but most diurnal genes change expression with age. Coincidently, there are diurnal and age-related changes in H3K9me3 that coincide with the changes in gene expression. Taken together, this study suggests a model where age-related redistribution of rhythmic facultative heterochromatin is potentially mediated by changes in diurnal lncRNA expression creating a circadian-chromatin regulatory network in aging.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Jinhee Par
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