225 research outputs found
Calum Colvin: The Magic Box
No full textArtist Calum Colvin introduces his new exhibition, The Magic Box, which is an archaeology of his practice from the last 25 years. The exhibition will feature image transparencies from the early 1980s, new prints created at Edinburgh Printmakers, and an installation of Colvin's photography studio, which will be in use when Colvin photographs Scottish author Janice Galloway.The Magic Box is on at Edinburgh Printmakers, until the 6th September 2014. Find out more at edinburghprintmakers.co.uk
Fortissat Science Alliance podcast: Calum McAndrew
No full textCalum McAndrew is a public engagement professional at the University of St Andrews. He took part in the Fortissat Science Alliance podcast recordings in March 2021.What is the Fortissat Science Alliance?The Fortissat Science Alliance is a Wellcome Trust & Children In Need "Curiosity" project. This scheme provided informal STEM learning opportunities for young people who attended the community centre Getting Better Together Shotts (GBT Shotts) between 2019 and 2023. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, deliveries had to pivot online so the podcast was founded. These recordings were made via Zoom with warm-up STEM activities sent to every young person in advance, along with a profile page for each researcher, so that they were relaxed and able to ask excellent questions.Link to episode on Spotify.Depending on the broadcast date, podcast deliveries were co-sponsored by Glasgow Science Festival, EXPLORATHON 2021, or EXPLORATHON 2022/23.For the duration of the project, it was supported jointly by Children in Need and the Wellcome Trust. In 2021, EXPLORATHON episodes were supported by the European Commission [grant agreement ID 101036101]. In 2022-23, EXPLORATHON episodes were supported by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/X020894/1].Author contributions to contentCalum McAndrew was the guest featured on this episode. Rebecca Hay was the youth worker coordinating the young people who conducted the interviews as well as co-editing and broadcasting the recordings. Iain Hamilton co-edited the episodes. Kirsty Ross was the STEM consultant for the project and uploaded completed episodes to Figshare. </p
Leptin-dependent Phosphorylation of PTEN Mediates Actin Restructuring and Activation of ATP-sensitive K+ Channels
No full textLeptin activates multiple signaling pathways in cells, including the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway, indicating a degree of cross-talk with insulin signaling. The exact mechanisms by which leptin alters this signaling pathway and how it relates to functional outputs are unclear at present. A previous study has established that leptin inhibits the activity of the phosphatase PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10), an important tumor suppressor and modifier of phosphoinositide signaling. In this study we demonstrate that leptin phosphorylates multiple sites on the C-terminal tail of PTEN in hypothalamic and pancreatic beta-cells, an action not replicated by insulin. Inhibitors of the protein kinases CK2 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) block leptin-mediated PTEN phosphorylation. PTEN phosphorylation mutants reveal the critical role these sites play in transmission of the leptin signal to F-actin depolymerization. CK2 and GSK3 inhibitors also prevent leptin-mediated F-actin depolymerization and consequent ATP-sensitive K+ channel opening. GSK3 kinase activity is inhibited by insulin but not leptin in hypothalamic cells. Both hormones increase N-terminal GSK3 serine phosphorylation, but in hypothalamic cells this action of leptin is transient. Leptin, not insulin, increases GSK3 tyrosine phosphorylation in both cell types. These results demonstrate a significant role for PTEN in leptin signal transmission and identify GSK3 as a potential important signaling node contributing to divergent outputs for these hormones.</p
Portrait of Hugh MacDiarmid
No full textA commissioned installation/portrait as one of the programme of public events at the National Galleries of Scotland/Royal Scottish Academy collaborative opus Ages of Wonder: Scotland’s Art 1540 to Now exhibition at the RSA. I was invited to ‘bring my studio’ into the building and create an artwork during the run of the exhibition in public view. The finished installation was marked with a public event in the Gallery with Calum Colvin and author James Robertson on 1/1/18. Subsequently the printed and framed photographic portrait was debuted at the RSA Annual Exhibition 2018, which was convened and curated by Colvin and included a number of guest artists who were invited to explore the links between poetry and visual art. This included a programme of public artist/poet talks. The portrait subsequently won the City of Glasgow College Purchase Prize
Smelt and Mary Scotland: Nicknaming in Frank Macdonald’s A Forest for Calum
No full textFrank Macdonald’s novel A Forest for Calum (2005, Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press) illustrates a variety of nicknames and explores their social functions and naming practices. The novel is set in Shean, itself a nickname for the town of Inverness on the west side of Cape Breton Island. Macdonald celebrates the culture, traditions and customs of rural Cape Breton while at the same time recording the inevitable changes resulting from the closure of town’s coal mine. Nicknaming, one of these prominent customs, is explored from the point of view of young Rod Gillies as he matures as a person and an artist. Although nicknames of adults occur in the novel, the author has a particular interest in the naming patterns of the younger characters. For instance, the protagonist is named Smelt as a result of a fishing accident, and his girlfriend, Mary Scotland, receives her nickname from an elementary teacher because she is one of three Mary Camerons in the class and her father has an interest in Scotland. Macdonald presents a realistic treatment of nicknames as demonstrated by comparison with the research on nicknames in general and on Cape Breton Island.Le roman de Frank Macdonald intitulé A Forest for Calum (une forêt pour Calum) (2005, Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press) illustre une variété de surnoms et explore leurs fonctions sociales et les pratiques de désignation des personnages. Le roman se déroule à Shean, une localité qui porte elle-même un surnom de la ville d'Inverness située du côté ouest de l'île du Cap-Breton. Macdonald célèbre la culture, les traditions et les coutumes des régions rurales du Cap-Breton, tout en enregistrant certains changements inévitables qui ont résulté de la fermeture de la mine de charbon de la ville. L'emploi de surnoms, l'une des coutumes bien implantées, est exploré du point de vue du jeune Rod Gillies, au moment où il devient adulte et artiste. Bien que les surnoms soient surtout le fait des adultes dans le roman, l'auteur manifeste un intérêt particulier pour le mode de désignation des plus jeunes personnages. Par exemple, le protagoniste est nommé Smelt (éperlan) à la suite d'un accident de pêche, et sa petite amie, Mary Scotland, reçoit ce surnom d'un enseignant du primaire parce qu'elle est l'une des trois Mary Camerons dans la classe, et son père a un intérêt pour l'Écosse. Macdonald offre un traitement réaliste des surnoms comme le démontre son ouvrage comparativement à la recherche sur les surnoms en général et sur l'île du Cap-Breton
What are the bona fide GSK3 substrates?
No full textNearly 100 proteins are proposed to be substrates for GSK3, suggesting that this enzyme is a fundamental regulator of almost every process in the cell, in every tissue in the body. However, it is not certain how many of these proposed substrates are regulated by GSK3 in vivo. Clearly, the identification of the physiological functions of GSK3 will be greatly aided by the identification of its bona fide substrates, and the development of GSK3 as a therapeutic target will be highly influenced by this range of actions, hence the need to accurately establish true GSK3 substrates in cells. In this paper the evidence that proposed GSK3 substrates are likely to be physiological targets is assessed, highlighting the key cellular processes that could be modulated by GSK3 activity and inhibition
Without ground: Lacanian ethics and the assumption of subjectivity.
No full textIn this new paperback edition, Calum Neill explores the ideas of Jacques Lacan to present a powerful argument for an approach to ethics which is neither rooted in a traditional morality nor reduced to a relativism, an ethics, that is, which is without ground. However we conceive of ethics, whether by appeal to an exterior or traditional notion of right and wrong, or by appeal to some form of individual virtue or responsibility, it implies some form of agency. Where there is an ethical act, there must be someone acting ethically. Working from this simple premise, this book argues that the manner in which we conceive that 'someone' is the condition of possibility for our conception of ethics and, consequently, our ethical potential. Against the commonplace conception of the modern individual as self-identical, self-aware and self-governing, the author presents a detailed introduction to the Lacanian subject, a conception of the self as anything but self-identical, self-aware and self-governing. The book goes on to show how such a rethinking of the subject necessitates a rethinking of our relation to law, tradition and morality, as well as a rethinking of ethics
Ages of Wonder: Scotland's Art 1540 to Now. Commissioned Installation.
No full textThis large scale historical exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy included a commissioned installation and residency by Calum Colvin. Ages of Wonder presents work from the NGS and RSA National Collections. The exhibition included over 450 works by over 270 artists and architects, from the masterpiece 'The Adoration of the Magi' painted by Jacopo Bassano of 1540, to recent Diploma Works by Callum Innes RSA and Alison Watt RSA. Integral to the exhibition was commissioned work for and during the exhibition by Calum Colvin RSA, Kenny Hunter RSA and Richard Murphy RSA.This project, recreating the artist's studio within an art gallery in order to allow a public viewing of the process of creation of an artwork over a period of time, allowed a unique access to the various stages in the slow evolution of one of Colvin's staged/painted and constructed pieces - from initial research, set-up and arrangement of objects to the process of painting and final photograph. A large format view camera was installed in the Gallery and the public were able to engage in dialogue with the artist as the piece evolved from an arrangement of objects in a three dimensional set to a large scale painted portrait. The subject was Hugh MacDiarmid- a major figure of 20th Century Scottish and European literature and a controversial political activist, this choice of subject stimulated much debate focussing artistic and visual dialogue alongside political and cultural discussion. Visitors contributed personal letters and objects associated with the poet, which became part of the fabric of the work. Images from the University of Dundee's Peto Collection were used as source material alongside photographic images made by the artist at Brownsbank Cottage, MacDiarmid's former home in Biggar. Public engagement was core to this project, with numerous spontaneous talks as well as pre-arranged lectures. Discussions around visual science, cultural and political engagement, art and poetry and potency of material culture were held. A final public lecture/discussion on the finished artwork/installation was held on Jan 1st 2018 alongside renowned Scottish author James Robertson
Multiple sets of solutions for harmonic elimination PWM bipolar waveforms: Analysis and experimental verification
No full textMultiple sets of solutions for the selective harmonic elimination pulse-width modulation method for inverter control exist. These sets present an independent solution to the same problem but further investigation reveals that certain sets may offer an improved overall harmonic performance. In this paper, a minimization method is discussed as a way to obtain these multiple sets of switching angles. A simple distortion harmonic factor that takes into account the first two most significant harmonics present in the generated waveform is considered in order to evaluate the performance of each set. The bipolar waveform is thoroughly analyzed and two cases are considered; single-phase patterns which eliminate all odd harmonics and three-phase counterparts which eliminate only the nontriplen odd harmonics from the line-to-neutral pattern but such harmonics are naturally eliminated from the line-to-line waveform. Experimental results support the theoretical considerations reported in the paper
The α-isoform of glycogen synthase kinase-3 from rabbit skeletal muscle is inactivated by p70 S6 kinase or MAP kinase-activated protein kinase-1 in vitro
No full textThe alpha-isoform of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3 alpha) was inactivated by 80% towards a synthetic peptide substrate upon incubation with Mg-ATP and either MAP kinase-activated protein (MAPKAP) kinase-l or p70 S6 kinase. Inactivation by either kinase resulted from the phosphorylation of Ser-21 and was reversed by treatment with protein phosphatase 2A(1). Phosphorylation also decreased GSK3 alpha activity towards glycogen synthase, inhibitor-2 and c-jun. The specificity of GSK3 alpha was similar to GSK3 beta, but with the synthetic peptide substrate heparin stimulated the dephosphorylated form of GSK3 alpha (6-fold) more than GSK3 beta (1.8-fold). After phosphorylation, both isoforms were stimulated 15-20-fold by heparin.</p
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