186 research outputs found
Australian art exhibitions: opening our eyes
No full textJoanna Mendelssohn, Catherine de Lorenzo, Alison Inglis, Catherine Spec
John J Deas: Scotland's typewriter pioneer
No full textWhen the first typewriters went on sale in Scotland in 1876, these American-made machines were little known novelties with few obvious customers. It took forward minded retailers to see the value in typewriters. One of the most successful was John J Deas of Dundee who pioneered the sale of typewriters in Scotland, which he marketed as “a machine to supersede the pen”
Abstract A32: The role of the ribosome in GCN2's ability to sense amino acid deprivation and initiate the integrated stress response
No full textAbstract
The ability to replicate without limit is one of the traditional hallmarks of cancer. It is therefore evident that the majority of tumor cells are operating in environments with limited nutrients. This means that tumor cells are disproportionately reliant on their stress response pathways in comparison to healthy cells. One such stress response pathway is a component of the integrated stress response pathway that responds to deprivation of amino acids. GCN2 is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is activated in response to a drop in the intracellular concentration of amino acids. Upon activation, GCN2 phosphorylates the translational initiation factor eIF2, inhibiting its activity in the translational cycle. This leads to a global inhibition of translation, whilst paradoxically upregulating the expression of certain genes involved in stress responses. It has been shown that knocking out GCN2 leads to a significant reduction in the growth of tumors in mice, suggesting that GCN2 could be a useful therapeutic target.
We have expressed and purified human GCN2 and found it to be a dimer, as has been observed for yeast GCN2. We have shown in vitro that GCN2 becomes autophosphorylated, and it catalyses phosphorylation of a putative binding partner GCN1 as well as eIF2. We have found that human GCN2 forms a stable complex with 80S ribosomes, and mammalian 80S ribosomes significantly increase GCN2 kinase activity in vitro, consistent with a previous report that an increase in ribosomal stalling leads to a rise in eIF2 phosphorylation in vivo. We are attempting to determine the structure of GCN2 bound to ribosomes in order to understand the detailed interactions and the molecular mechanisms that lead to GCN2 activation.
Citation Format: Alison J. Inglis, Sichen Shao, Glenn R. Masson, Olga Perisic, Ramanujan S. Hegde, Roger L. Williams. The role of the ribosome in GCN2's ability to sense amino acid deprivation and initiate the integrated stress response. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Translational Control of Cancer: A New Frontier in Cancer Biology and Therapy; 2016 Oct 27-30; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A32.</jats:p
An evaluation of semi-automatic approaches to contour segmentation applied to fungal hyphae
No full textSemiautomatic image analysis techniques are particularly useful in biological applications, which commonly generate very complex images, and offer considerable flexibility. However, systematic study of such methods is lacking; most research develops fully automatic algorithms. This paper describes a study to evaluate several different semiautomatic or computer-assisted approaches to contour segmentation within the context of segmenting degraded images of fungal hyphae. Four different types of contour segmentation method, with varying degrees and types of user input, are outlined and applied to hyphal images. The methods are evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively by comparing results obtained by several test subjects segmenting simulated images qualitatively similar to the hyphal images of interest. An active contour model approach, using control points, emerges as the method to be preferred to three more traditional approaches. Feedback from the image provider indicates that any of the methods described have something useful to offer for segmentation of hyphae
The characteristics and motivations of online health information seekers : cross-sectional survey and qualitative interview study
No full textBackground: Most households in the United Kingdom have Internet access, and health-related Internet use is increasing. The National Health Service (NHS) Direct website is the major UK provider of online health information.
Objective: Our objective was to identify the characteristics and motivations of online health information seekers accessing the NHS Direct website, and to examine the benefits and challenges of the health Internet.
Methods: We undertook an online questionnaire survey, offered to users of the NHS Direct website. A subsample of survey respondents participated in in-depth, semistructured, qualitative interviews by telephone or instant messaging/email. Questionnaire results were analyzed using chi-square statistics. Thematic coding with constant comparison was used for interview transcript
analysis.
Results: In total 792 respondents completed some or all of the survey: 71.2% (534/750 with data available) were aged under 45 years, 67.4% (511/758) were female, and 37.7% (286/759) had university-level qualifications. They sought information for themselves (545/781, 69.8%), someone else (172/781, 22.0%), or both (64/781, 8.2%). Women were more likely than men to seek help for someone else or both themselves and someone else (168/509 vs 61/242, χ2 2 = 6.35, P = .04). Prior consultation with a health professional was reported by 44.9% (346/770), although this was less common in younger age groups (<36 years) (χ2 1
= 24.22, P < .001). Participants aged 16 to 75 years (n = 26, 20 female, 6 male) were recruited for interview by telephone (n = 23) and instant messaging/email (n = 3). Four major interview themes were identified: motivations for seeking help online; benefits of seeking help in this way and some of the challenges faced; strategies employed in navigating online health information
provision and determining what information to use and to trust; and specific comments regarding the NHS Direct website service.
Within the motivation category, four concepts emerged: the desire for reassurance; the desire for a second opinion to challenge other information; the desire for greater understanding to supplement other information; and perceived external barriers to accessing
information through traditional sources. The benefits clustered around three theme areas: convenience, coverage, and anonymity.
Various challenges were discussed but no prominent theme emerged. Navigating online health information and determining what to trust was regarded as a “common sense” activity, and brand recognition was important. Specific comments about NHS Direct included the perception that the online service was integrated with traditional service provision.
Conclusions: This study supports a model of evolutionary rather than revolutionary change in online health information use.
Given increasing resource constraints, the health care community needs to seek ways of promoting efficient and appropriate health service use, and should aim to harness the potential benefits of the Internet, informed by an understanding of how and why people go online for health
Dual processes in mathematics: reasoning about conditionals
No full textThis thesis studies the reasoning behaviour of successful mathematicians. It is based on the philosophy that, if the goal of an advanced education in mathematics is to develop talented mathematicians, it is important to have a thorough understanding of their reasoning behaviour. In particular, one needs to know the processes which mathematicians use to accomplish mathematical tasks. However, Rav (1999) has noted that there is currently no adequate theory of the role that logic plays in informal mathematical reasoning. The goal of this thesis is to begin to answer this specific criticism of the literature by developing a model of how conditional “if…then” statements are evaluated by successful mathematics students.
Two stages of empirical work are reported. In the first the various theories of reasoning are empirically evaluated to see how they account for mathematicians’ responses to the Wason Selection Task, an apparently straightforward logic problem (Wason, 1968). Mathematics undergraduates are shown to have a different range of responses to the task than the general well-educated population. This finding is followed up by an eve-tracker inspection time experiment which measured which parts of the task participants attended to. It is argued that Evans’s (1984, 1989, 1996, 2006) heuristic-analytic theory provides the best account of these data.
In the second stage of empirical work an in-depth qualitative interview study is reported. Mathematics research students were asked to evaluate and prove (or disprove) a series of conjectures in a realistic mathematical context. It is argued that preconscious heuristics play an important role in determining where participants allocate their attention whilst working with mathematical conditionals. Participants’ arguments are modelled using Toulmin’s (1958) argumentation scheme, and it is suggested that to accurately account for their reasoning it is necessary to use Toulmin’s full scheme, contrary to the practice of earlier researchers. The importance of recognising that arguments may sometimes only reduce uncertainty in the conditional statement’s truth/falsity, rather than remove uncertainty, is emphasised.
In the final section of the thesis, these two stages are brought together. A model is developed which attempts to account for how mathematicians evaluate conditional statements. The model proposes that when encountering a mathematical conditional “if P then Q”, the mathematician hypothetically adds P to their stock of knowledge and looks for a warrant with which to conclude Q. The level of belief that the reasoner has in the conditional statement is given by a modal qualifier which they are prepared to pair with their warrant. It is argued that this level of belief is fixed by conducting a modified version of the so-called Ramsey Test (Evans & Over, 2004). Finally the differences between the proposed model and both formal logic and everyday reasoning are discussed
Cutaneous afferent innervation of the human foot sole: What can we learn from single unit recordings?
No full textCutaneous afferents convey exteroceptive information about the interaction of the body with the environment and proprioceptive information about body position and orientation. Four classes of low-threshold mechanoreceptor afferents innervate the foot sole and transmit feedback that facilitates the conscious and reflexive control of standing balance. Experimental manipulation of cutaneous feedback has been shown to alter the control of gait and standing balance. This has led to a growing interest in the design of intervention strategies that enhance cutaneous feedback and improve postural control. The advent of single-unit microneurography has allowed the firing and receptive field characteristics of foot sole cutaneous afferents to be investigated. In this review, we consolidate the available cutaneous afferent microneurographic recordings from the foot sole and provide an analysis of the firing threshold, and receptive field distribution and density of these cutaneous afferents. This work enhances the understanding of the foot sole as a sensory structure and provides a foundation for the continued development of sensory augmentation insoles and other tactile enhancement interventions
"Running like big daft girls." A multi-method study of representations of and reflections on men and masculinities through "The Beatles"
No full textThe aim of this thesis was to examine changing representations of men and masculinities in a particular historical period (“The Sixties”) and to explore the impact that this had in a period of rapid social change in the UK and the legacy of that impact. In order to do this, a multi-method study was developed, combining documentary research with a set of eleven semi-structured interviews.
The documentary research took the form of a case study of The Beatles, arguing that their position as a group of men who became a global cultural phenomenon, in the period under study, made theme a suitable vehicle through which to read changing representations of masculinities in this period and to reflect on what this meant for men in UK society. The Beatles’ live action films were chosen as a sample of Beatle “texts” which allowed for the Beatles to be looked at at different points in the “The Sixties” and for possible changes over that time period to be tracked. Textual analysis within discourse analysis (based on a framework suggested by van Dijk [1993], Fairclough [1995] and McKee [2003]) was used to analyse the texts.
Ideas advanced by the Popular Memory Group (1982) about the interaction of public representations of the past and private memory of that past were influential in the decision to combine this piece of documentary research with interviews with a sample of men, in an age range of 18 to 74. The interview stage was designed to elicit data on the perception of the participants of the role of representation (with particular reference to the Beatles) of masculinities on them as individuals and their ideas about how this may have had an impact in terms of longer term social change.
Ehrenreich’s (1983) notion of a male revolt in the late 1950s, an emergence of a challenge to established ideas about men and masculinity, was also influential, particularly as it is an idea at odds with the “crisis in masculinity” discourse (Tolson, 1977; Kimmel, 1987; Whitehead, 2002) at work in a number of texts on men and masculinity. Examining further Inglis’ (2000b : 1) concept of The Beatles as “men of ideas” with a global reach, the chosen Beatle texts were examined for discourses of masculinity which appeared to be resistant to the dominant. What emerged were a number of findings around resistance, non-conformity, feminised appearance, pre-metrosexuality, the male star as object of desire and The Beatles as a global male phenomenon open to the radical diversity of the world in a period of rapid social change. The role of popular culture within this process was central to the thesis, given its focus on The Beatles as a case study. However, broader ideas about the role of the arts also emerged with a resultant conclusion that “the sixties” is where a recognition of the importance of representation begins as well as a period where representations of gender (as well as class and race) became more accessible due to the rise in popularity of TV in the UK and a resurgence in British cinema.
The thesis offers a number of ideas for further research, building on the outcomes of this particular study. These include further work on the competing crisis/ revolt discourse at work in the field of critical men’s studies, ascertaining female perspectives on representations of masculinities and their impact, further work on the Beatles through fans and an application of some of the ideas at work in the thesis to other periods of British history
Identifying strategies to increase influenza vaccination in GP practices:A positive deviance approach
No full textBackground. Influenza (flu) is an acute viral infection of the respiratory tract, which can lead to serious complications for individuals within at-risk groups. Evidence indicates that aspects of organization and delivery within GP practices can have an influence on the rates of flu vaccination uptake. Positive deviance is a methodological approach that facilitates identification of factors associated with high performance.Objective. To use positive deviance to isolate factors associated with high performance by comparing GP practices achieving high and low flu vaccination uptake.Methods. This was a qualitative study. A total of 18 practice managers and 2 GPs from 20 GP practices participated, 10 with high and low vaccination rates, respectively. Telephone interviews were conducted, audio recorded and fully transcribed. Framework Analysis was used to analyse the data.Results. High uptake practices were more likely than low uptake practices to have a lead member of staff who demonstrated tenacity, have aspirational uptake targets, have developed and used additional prompts within their IT systems to identify eligible patients, have GPs who were opportunistically vaccinating and use phone calls as a first-line strategy to invite patients for vaccination.Conclusions. This is the first known qualitative study to identify strategies used by UK GP practices to deliver seasonal flu vaccination programmes. It is one of few studies using the robust and novel approach of positive deviance to inform health care recommendations. This approach has offered new and more nuanced insights into GP practice factors associated high flu vaccination uptake beyond those captured through large-scale survey research. Publisher Statement: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Family Practice following peer review. The version of record Newby, KV, Parsons, J, Brooks, J, Leslie, R & Inglis, N 2016, 'Identifying strategies to increase influenza vaccination in GP practices: A positive deviance approach' Family Practice, vol 33, no. 3, pp. 318-323 is available online at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmw01
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